63 yrs old & doc said can only do lap-band. Not sure.

After researching surgery and attending a seminar at Vanderbilt I was leaning towards gastric sleeve.  After my surgical eval doc told me that his over 60 patients he would only do the lap-band.  I'm not too disappointed and would go with the lap-band but have heard/read some horror stories and now I'm really not so sure I want to continue.

Main "scare" I see with lap-band is stoma blocking...does this happen often?  It just seems like it would be a horrible thing to experience.  Also, frequent vomiting...that definitely seems like a no-fun thing.  Although I know there can be downsides to all procedures, I'm just afraid now, with the lap-band and the idea of vomiting a lot and having the narrow channel blocked/plugged!

Can anyone offer insights, experiences or dispel my fears of these things being an ongoing part of the lap-band surgery?

Thanks for any responses!

I have had one painful stuck episode in my 4 3/4 years of being banded and it lasted a few minutes!

Bringing back small amounts of food is more common but nothing like as nasty as vomitting. In the UK we call it "bringing back" and I think that actually explains it better than the US phrase "productive burp"!

If we eat too much, eat too fast or simply eat an unsuitable food, our bodies produce thick saliva ( sliming) in an attempt to help us pass the offending food through for digestion. Unfortunately, our bodies have got this wrong! The last thing a bandster needs is thick mucus on top of an existing problem. So the food may come back up.  Sometimes we PB without the preceeding sliming and sometimes we can slime without a PB!

The movement is like vomitting but there is none of the unpleasantness asociated with a normal vomit - no stomach acids are involved and the food is undigested so while we may not want to taste the food on the way down and the way back up, it is not horrendous! And it relieves any discomfort we may have been feeling.

We need to avoid doing this as much as possible as doing it too often can be a contributory factor in band slips.

By the way, I am 60!

Kate

Happened with me all the time.

You should fight for the surgery you want. Your age should have absolutely nothing in the world to do with it. My doc sleeved a 71 y/o doctor and she's still practicing! Yet there are some 20 y/o's that are a very high surgical risk due to medical conditions.

Honestly, I have had a band and now I have a sleeve. I wouldn't take another band if someone paid me to.

Here is my band story;

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/failed_wls_second_time_around/4295389/Failed-Band/

Maybe find a different doctor?

The embarrassing social situations, the vomiting, getting stuck, not wanting to eat in public.. it's awful.

The first six months everyone is in love with their surgery type. For banded people the problems really seem to kick in around 18 months post op.

BTW, a couple more links for you:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/revision/

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/failed_wls_second_time_around/

Hi:
The biggest issue with blocking or vomiting is that people eat too fast and take bites that are too big.

There are other reasons, of course, but, those are the two main reasons. If there is a lot of vomiting, the band can be displaced. It also may slip in time, as well.

You should read the book Bandwagon by Jean McMillian. She posts on this forum often. It's very informative, and you can get the book from Amazon for about $20.

Good luck.

Mary

You can also buy Bandwagon directly from me (click on the Bandwagon horizontal banner ad at the top of the band forum page, or go to jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com), and I'd be much happier if you did that because I make virtually no money off Amazon sales. My price is the same as theirs - $19.95 plus shipping & handling.

Thanks,
Jean

I don't know why the surgeon wouldn't do the sleeve in a patient over 60 yrs old. There are plenty of WLS patients on OH who had gastric bypass, the band, the sleeve, you name it - when they were in their 50's, 60's, even 70's. But Vanderbilt's surgical weight loss program has a super reputation, so I think you're in good hands.

Good band eating skills can prevent stuck episodes, PB's (productive burp or regurgitation), and other side effects. In 3-1/2 years, I've had a few bad stuck episodes that were no fun to go through, but honestly, they were not the most horrible experience I ever had. It is not necessary to accustom yourself to frequent vomiting or stuck episodes or any other problems after band surgery. The people who experience that either need to work on their eating skills or their bands are too tight and should be unfilled to a more manageable level.

Jean

My surgeon will do bariatric surgery including bypass on people who are up to 80 as long as they are in good shape, but if you like your surgeon, and since Vanderbilt's program is very good, then using good band eating skills you should do fine. If you really don't want band then relearch the sleeve.

I was 60 1/2 when I had my surgery, I bounced back very well, and feel 100% better than before, even with chronic pain issues. Aside from a little more skin droop I look darned good for my age. It sure beats 3 chins and a huge belly. I would do it over again in a heart beat. My quality of life is soooo..... much better, and the improvement in my health just thrills my pcp.