Help Please!

I am in the process of attending the specialists for the sleeve surgery, I had the band removed and I was wondering what would the psychologist ask about the reasons why the band did not work for me, I am planning to be honest. In my case, the band removal was due to a complication, I had reflux which went away as soon as the band was removed. But I would not deny that I had unsuccessful weight loss, (considering that success means 50% or more of excess weight lost.)Some people seem to think that those who were not capable of losing weight with the band will not lose with the sleeve....... They say that another restricted procedure may not be the best option and that a malabsorptive procedure like the bypass or the ds will be a better choice. I am sure those two procedures have more weight loss. But I am afraid of the higher risk of complications. If you, like me had the band removed and had or will have revision to the sleeve any help you could provide for this request would be appreciated.

I don't think you can second guess what they are going to ask you. Be honest. Have you figured out for yourself why it didn't work? Many people are not successful with the band so it is not abnormal. Have you talked to the surgeon yet about which surgery he recommends for you? From my understanding there is a greater chance of reflux with the sleeve... that could be a concern. There are chances of complications with every surgery. Did you chose the lapband in the first place because of what you thought was less invasive and less complications? My suggestion is to spend time on the RNY and DS forums and make your decision based on what you think is going to be the most successful for you, not fear. It is not easy deciding, good luck.

I cannot thank you enough. It was nice to read your advice, and I will check outthe forums you suggested to me. Thank you very, very much.

You are welcome, hope it is all going well.

It is all a matter of educating yourself on the best procedure. If the Lap band did not work then there was a reason for it and the reflux seems to be the case. Just relax with the psych test you will do fine if you just be honest and answer the questions to the best of your ability. From my experience with the psychologist I felt as though this was a big deal because if I failed the test then I couldn't get the surgery.

I did go through a great deal of depression in my second year but came out of it after realizing my successes. I think back now on my psych test and realize that they were testing my ability to accept change. I have lost a business and a marriage due to the extreme change but as always the human condition is the ability to overcome cir****tance with the reasoning of your successes. In other words we need to count our blessings before we give up hope. I hope this helps, it did for me.

Thanks so much for your advice. I am still contemplating my decision but you definitely gave me some good ideas to consider. I appreciate the  response!

Sleeve can also cause reflux. Think long and hard about which surgery is best for you. You don't want to trade one that caused reflux for another with that same potential. JMO

My surgeon thinks that reflux is not a contraindication for sleeve gastrectomy, and is in fact improved by the operation in moderate to severe cases. I dont have reflux at the present though.

Hi NatalieSophia,

I am in your boat. After having a very negative experience one night with the band, and after losing 80 pounds, mostly from vomiting because we could never get good restriction, I had it removed 7years later.  At first, I thought it was mostly my fault but could not justify that because I had followed the band rules all the way until 2010.  At that point, I gave up on everything in my life for a year and a half, and regained all my weight.  But, I knew I had not failed - my band failed me. In 2012, I started looking into the removal and found info about the Sleeve.  That info was not apparent to me until then but I probably would not have gone for it anyway because the lure of the band is that it is "reversible" and there was no removal of any body parts.

Now, after a lot of research, I am going for the Sleeve.  I too have heard about the malabsorptive benefits of RNY and DS. Because I have severe osteo arthritis thoughout my body, I will always be on NSAIDS for that and so RNY is out of the question. My new surgeon explained to me that he does not do DS because he has seen too many patients who had DS and came to realize that they could have done the same with the Sleeve without all the other surgical transforming.  It makes sense to me.  But I do have the option still.

To answer the rest of your post...I did fine with just the restrictive procedure in that:  I did not feel the need to eat until I was TRULY hungry and so, I did not eat when I was not hungry.  I loved being able to get by on small portions as I do not live for eating anyway.  I hate grocery shopping, would rather be clothes shopping.  The only thing that makes me a bit uneasy about the Sleeve is that I may not have the weight loss percentage I want.  But, reading the posts on here for so long, there are many more people who lost their desired amount and have kept it off.  So, that's a toss up to me, it all depends on what I do with it. 

Thank you so much for your response. Your words have provided a clearer perspective. Thank you once again for such an insightful and helpful response. It was greatly appreciated and very much needed!