Sleeve vs. Lapband

Love Dr G. He has a Facebook group. He is a great surgeon and great support. I had surgery July 22....five months ago. You'll be pleased!

Please don't get the band. If you were my daughter and thought about getting the band I would lock you up until you changed your mind. There are a million horror stories.

I had RNY, and couldn't be happier. But the sleeve is a fine choice also.

Well I have experience with lap band and RNY. Had the band about 7 years ago, for the first year or so all went ok, then I had a TREMENDOUS amount of complications and difficulties with the band. I had really bad reflux (which everyone told me would greatly improve with the band) but it worsened. I wasn't dropping weight so they would tighten my band to the point that I couldn't eat anything. Then it was so tight that I would aspirate at night (stomach contents into my lungs) and had pneumonia at least 20 times (probably more). Well I'm kind of stubborn and thought it must be me and kept trying (for 7 years without success and much complications). Anyhow I had a revision took out the lap band and converted to RNY on 12/16/2013. As soon as I woke up I was absolutely delighted that the damn band was gone! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!

I have less restriction with the RNY then I did with the band and feel so much better! I mean from the time I woke up; it was a delightful day. Now I'm almost 5 weeks post op have lost 19 pounds and feel great. 

You need to decide what's best for you, but if you ask me a lap band is a foreign body that shouldn't be in someone's body which will eventually cause problems. I would recommend the RNY or sleeve, please consider my story while deciding what is right for you. Good luck!

The sleeve and the RNY are similar statistically in their results, and they both have their pluses and minuses and chances for complications, as do all weight loss surgeries. No NSAIDS and the possibility of reactive hypoglycemia and dumping with the RNY; bad for GERD and irreversible for the sleeve. Both are major surgeries that profoundly rearrange the innards.

The lapband does have a high complication factor, though I know several people who have been successful for years with it. It also is high maintenance, but then all the weight loss surgeries require daily high maintenance.

The DS has substantially more risk and complications than any of the surgeries, and is by far the most extensive with regard to the rearranging of the insides. It is also by far the least performed WLS, and there are reasons for that. Both of my Bariatric surgeons choose to not perform it.

There is no perfect WLS. They all require a high level of personal responsibility and work to manage successfully over the long haul. There has to be major ha*****ange.

It is great to ask here regarding people's experience and opinions, but they are only that- personal experiences and opinions.

Personally I prefer to rely on professional expertise and recommendations re: type of surgery to choose that will fit me best. 

I decided on RNY because it was the best personal fit for me- I had severe GERD pre surgery. Thankfully I no longer have GERD or high cholesterol since surgery, and I am grateful every single day for the weight loss gift that my surgery gave me. I also have had to work harder than I imagined pre-surgery at learning to manage myself and my food addiction and dislike of regular exercise.

And I am glad to hear you have done your research.

Again, here you will only be able to get personal experiences and opinion, which will be helpful but non-professional.

Please make sure you work with your Bariatric surgeon and attend info sessions as the main part of your research. I would also suggest looking into as many different sources of information as you find including books, internet, and support groups, as well as reading the different forums here. You can also keep posting with your questions.   

Hope this is helpful to you! Good luck and use your smarts in choosing what works for you!

Get the sleeve.  The band has such a high failure/complication rate, and you don't want that.  Just in my area I know six people who got the band and only one of those is successful.  One had to have her band out, and it had fused onto her liver which made that surgery complicated and dangerous.  Fortunately, she is okay now.  Just remember, you surgery is only a tool.  If you play by the rules, you should do just fine.  From everything I've seen, the sleeve is a great surgery.  If I had the money, I'd revise my RNY to a sleeve because I have really bad reactive hypoglycemia.  I've been approved by the surgeon, but not my insurance.

As some others have said, I would not get the band if it was free.  If I had a choice between the band and staying obese, I would pick staying obese.  The band has such a high rate of complications and in many cases, it does permanent damage to internal organs.

Hello!

When I started considering WLS, I was thinking that I wanted the lap band because it seemed to be the least invasive. However, after researching it more I have found out that it requires a lot of maintainence (going in for fills, etc.) and the fills can be very expensive and I dont think insurance always covers it. Also, there are complications such as the area where the port is getting infected and the band eroding into the stomach. Finally, lap band patients tend to not lose as much weight, and a lot of people end up having the band revised to something else years after because the band isnt really designed to work long term. I hope this helps! Good luck!

Wow. I echo these comments. I am surprised the Band is even offered as an option anymore. As someone who has had one for 7 years and while I was happy for maybe 3 of them I had to revise, HAD to because of the damage it was doing.  If it was 2006 again and the sleeve was one of th options I'd have chosen the sleeve. Because of the damage done I had no other option than RNY in 2013. Very happy with my bypass and I hope I always will be.  I am glad to be rid of the foreign object in my body. It is very uncomfortable to live with. You also need to think about the future in terms of fills and unfills. As more people opt for alternative WLS you may have difficulty getting the proper care that is Essential.  The Lapband is just. Lot of hard work and I don't mean the work it takes to lose the weight. 

Good luck with your journey