HELP!! SLEEVE or band?

 You are correct, b/c we have a pyloric valve still it is not AS important that we not drink with our meals, although most doctors still tell you not to eat before/during/after the meal for at least 30 mins even with the VSG. 

 Hi Jennifer,
Following your posts and just wanted to add to this last post that you CANNOT drink and eat at the same time with your sleeve.  No drinking 20 minutes before eating and no drinking for 45 minutes after eating. I am also a person that LOVED to drink a ton while I ate. Honestly it is not a huge deal for me now. Your eating so little you don't even really miss it. Good luck with your research =)

Actually every doctor has different rules about drinking and eating.  My doctor said you can drink right up until your first bite, and while you shouldn't drink for 20 minutes after you eat because you will get hungry more quickly after, it won't kill you if you do.

Again, everyone should follow their own surgeon's rules.  There is no one standard.

 Based on your BMI and the amount of weight you want/need to lose I would say the sleeve. 

My sleeve is rocking, it is everything I thought the band would be and wasn't. Even though I didn't have a choice about having my band removed, I am VERY happy that it was.

First off don't cry and don't stress out! YOu have 6 months to make up your mind, so just research all the WLS's. There are 4. Then go with the one that will work best for YOU.

Now as far as the band.............

~the Band can be taken out if need be.~

True. It can, and in fact they are taken out all the time b/c of complications. One lady post recently that they told her at the Drs. office they take more out than they put in. Keep that in mind.

Please visit the Revision forum. Also Visit the VSG, RNY and DS forum. You will find many members on all of those that were former bandsters, so they can compare the two from personal experience.

Good luck!

 The trouble with the "removable" mind set is that yeah, the band can come out, but the damage that it leaves behind when they take it out can be for a lifetime. They over sew the band with your stomach tissue in the hopes that the scar tissue that forms will keep it in place, that scar tissue can cause problems all on it's own. Usually if you have it removed it's b/c it is already doing/done damage, and that damage can sometimes even keep you from being able to have a revision to another surgery. 

Thank You to all that posted a response... I had to pull myself away from the PC for a couple of days b/c I am stressing! I am going to continue to do my research and hope I make the right decision!! 

Thanks Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,

It's a huge decision, I know.
I'm going to simply lay out the facts as I experienced them. It doesn't mean that you will have the same experience, but please know that I had surgery back in 2002 and I've watched a lot of bandsters have a lot of problems, so my opinion stems from this.

I immediately had huge complications. My diaphragm was damaged during surgery. I don't remember the first week or so after I came home, the pain was so enormous. The referred left shoulder pain felt like a butcher knife being repeatedly rammed through my shoulder- morning, noon and night. It never stopped. When I'd try to breathe deeply, I would nearly pass out.

I tried to think of it as a "temporary" thing, but then the constipation started. After about 6 months of nonstop pain, I went to my doctor and told him that I couldn't breathe, I couldn't poop (nearly 2 weeks with NO bowel movement!) and my abdomen hurt all the time. I couldn't even stand up straight or drive on days when it was really bad.  Other days, I drove when I shouldn't have been, I'm sure.

My doctor told me it was in my head and I needed a hobby. I immediately sought out a specialist in Chicago who did a fluoroscopy X ray and determined that my stomach was twisted into a Figure 8, my intestines were kinked and I was just about to die from the toxins accumulating in my body. I had a corrective surgery in the hopes that it would resolve the issues.

Unfortunately, the diaphragmatic damage was pretty bad and the pain continued. I was also unable to eat solid foods the whole time I had my band. I kept losing weight and it was what I had always wanted... and yet, I became anemic, malnourished and in chronic pain. I was actually suicidal at certain points because the pain was so amazingly intense. My family BEGGED me to have the band removed, but I refused. I knew the damage had been done and I would simply regain the weight I lost. I was stubborn as a person could be.

The day I was driving home from ANOTHER doc appointment in Chicago and actually heard myself screaming from pain but didn't realize it was ME was kind of the turning point. I got home and literally had to crawl from my car up the stairs to my bed. My son sat next to me, crying, asking me if I was going to die.

My husband came home and was beside himself with worry. He called my original surgeon (who asked WHY he was calling and refused to help. Nice guy, huh?)  I couldn't even lift my head off the bed at that point, I was so weak and in so much pain. I think if I had had just a little tiny bit more strength, I probably would have killed myself. I can't describe the pain. I was like a constant assault... left shoulder, under the left ribcage, pain that radiated from my shoulder up into my jaw and head. I was nauseated, constipated, hungry, frustrated and miserable.

The day after band removal was like an awakening. The pain had lessened enough that I could actually breathe. The pain from the surgical incisions felt like a tiiny mosquito bite compared to the pain I had just a day before.

It's been over 6 years since I had the band removed and I still have left shoulder pain at least once or twice a week. But it's more of a reminder than a constant source of agony, at least. I was recently diagnosed with a hiatal hernia from where my diaphragm was damaged. I also have gastitis, diverticulosis and ulcers. I had none of these things before banding.  My metabolism is so screwed up from the time I had the band. I'm NEVER full since band removal. It's as if my nerves were damaged and the consequence is that my ability to feel full disappeared.

Oh, and for a year after band removal, the diaphragmatic damage manifested as hiccuping and sneezing. Some days I would sneeze nonstop for hours until I passed out. 

So, my experience was very much less than optimal... and while the chances of something similar happening aren't great, be aware that I also thought none of this stuff would happen to me, either.

There are safer options than the band. The sleeve may seem more drastic, but believe me, the band is removal. It's not reversible. I think it causes more damage in the long run than having part of the stomach removed, that's for sure.