Is the Sleeve what the lap band was 5 years ago? in Popularity?

 This SHOULD be very concerning to those getting the Sleeve... It is almost deja vu...lol

I remember the lap band board hopping and popping, it used to be the most used forum on Obesity Help, there were debates,  dating, fun, SV, NSV...it was  glamorous .I was part of that..

The lap band was the NEW IT....it was that surgery that everyone thought to be the the answer from not having to get the gastric bypass,....it was reversible , adjustable and more important...safer....BUT......

Dark and seedy things start to happen...many people was so eager and desperate for that "Miracle Tool" that they did not look at precautions, they did not look at the dangers, MANY took off for Mexico, with no pre op screening or backup plan for critical aftercare,,,some surgeons don't pre screen if you pay cash,  some surgeons did not care if you had pre existing esophagus mobility issues.....and YOU did not care either  Did you?, YOU were just as eager to get on the band wagon and get the band adjusted "tightly" and weight would just drop off ...right?

Many surgeons jumped on the band wagon too, and offered the lap band without fully disclosing how it REALLY WORKED....again, it was suppose to be this new  glamorous weight loss tool..

The ONLY CON that was listed was "slower weight loss" and "no clinical history in the US" on the long term outcomes.....NOW WE KNOW   .....and sadly....about 90 percent of those who got the band in Mexico has had it removed and about 40 percent of those who got it placed in the US has had it removed for various reasons.....but I remember Nancy D who used to post here for years ...gave us WARNINGS and training us on how to pick a surgeon and how the lap band REALLY works...as a Newbie...I DID NOT want to listen, I DID NOT want to hear, that I could get my band adjusted as "tight" as I wanted with no consequences, or eat until I am satisfied....

BUT I listened, she was smart and knew the lap band inside and out....she stopped posting, I think her last post was in 2007.....I kept that knowledge and it has SAVE ME and my band...and I am forever grateful to Nancy D....some ole timers know her, she was a New Yorker and could be condescending and abrupt ...but she meant well and I thank her ...I listened and she save me...from self destruction.

Sadly...I see the same thing happening with the Sleeve.....we will see the REAL outcome with the Sleeve in about 3 more years and we will see the results of long term weight loss and complications and issues it may cause.....the good thing about the lap band is ....IT IS REVERSIBLE.....and THAT keeps me at peace with my decision.

Stepping down...from my ramblings of the Lap band.....

I would love for you to cite your sources Naomi.

I am closing in on four years sleeved. on the sleeve boards everyday !!!


I have NOT had any issues and still maintaining easily.


Folks please research and visit our VSG boards and other boards in making an informed decision.

Hey Phyll...I have NOT said VSGrs don't maintain or will gain their weight back....I am just saying I see dega vu....there are many people that NEVER had weight loss surgery that can maintain their weight.

Also did you take the time to READ my post! ...lol...why would I need to cite source on similarities of the band and Sleeve?

If you are maintain your loss -- CONGRATS!! This post is NOT a competition of the band and sleeve...just erry similarities....

I am just saying there are just a lot of erry similarities between the popularity of the lap band and popularity of the Sleeve now....

You also have to remember there are thousands of lap banders out their MORE than Sleevers, they just don't post here, there are several lap band ONLY websites of long term banders doing well, the more people that have are particular weight loss surgery the more issues and failures you get that all I am saying....

NONE are perfect, but I see deja vu of the same thing of when people put the lap band on a pedistal and it was the perfect surgery and now they are dong the same thing for the Sleeve....but we will SEE the outcome in about 2-3 more years after more people get the Sleeve....

Trust me...I have gained about 20 pounds from my lowest weight ...BUT I AM almost 7 years post op...I kept my weight down with no problem for the last 5 years that is SUCCESS in itself...I got married, stopped walking and ate out every night with my husband and ate candy every single day..lol...I DO NOT blame my weight gain on my band...it's ME....

Should I revise to the Sleeve because of 20 pound weight gain....I will be HONEST...if I KNEW for SURE weight would just drop off me with NO effort and I DID NOT DUMP, or have ANY Problems I would revise over to the Sleeve in a heartbeat...but I KNOW those are possibilities and the Sleeve is NOT perfect just like the lap band...SO I will keep my lap band until something Perfect comes along and that may never ever happen...

Also if I REALLY want more help from my band I can jump start it and deal with a tighter fill level, but right now, I don't want to deal with that, but it's always there if I really need it.....that is one thing I like about my band, I can always jump start my weight years out...

I am happy the Sleeve worked for you! Just like the band worked for ME.....

The sleeve isn't "a new thing"  It has been in the US as the the first part of the DS.  The data is here even if the insurances say not.  It was found to work in these very, very large people as working so well many didn't go back for the second, mal-absorb part.  If you do the research you can find much more data than on the band.  I "settled" for a band when I couldn't get the insurance to pay for it.  I was so sorry I didn't wait it out.  I don't see it as the next new thing at all.  The people I talked out of the band are doing great.  I't didn't take much talking when they had me to look at.

Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain she is smoke and mirrors and doesn't know what she's talking about!

 Reversible...lol. Taking something out doesnt make it reversible. Can't undo the damage that it frequently causes. 

I totally agree with you Nana, We have to do our research and not regret OUR desicion once **** hits the fan!!!
I love my band and if it ever has to come out i will be very grateful to it because it made me feel alive :)

As being someone who like you has been here for 5 years (or more) I CAME to OH researching the LapBand and if you saw the ONLY CON as slower weight loss you were NOT reading on THIS forum, on the REVISION forum, on the FAILED forum or any other forum because I saw it ALL and was quite worried but STILL determined to get my LapBand UNTIL I heard about the Sleeve and researched the Sleeve.

Like many who seek the LapBand I was "worried" about removing a "perfectly good body part" only I came to REALIZE that my stomach was NOT my friend.  And while the LapBand would provide me with a "smaller" stomach under the GUISE that it wasn't permanent I got to thinking WHY ON EARTH WOULD I EVER WANT MY OLD SIZED STOMACH BACK??  Interesting question.  So I took my research OFF of merely WLS and looked up documentation of people who lived with partial and full gastrectomies and their lives and it turned out that REMOVING part of my stomach wasn't the HORROR that I originally thought.

Ms Shell

Ms Shell,

I am happy to hear you are doing well with your Sleeve! I appreciate all the support you've given me over the years and vise versa....I think it would not be wise to believe the many stories that band bashers tell you, I am sure some people had horrible experiences with their bands, it just does not work for alot of people.

I am sure there are many people the Sleeve does not work for either, but it's SO much easier to blame an object rather than blame something done to your body. If the band does not work you, you can curse it and get it removed this is why I think so many people complain about it since it can be removed if they are not losing weight with it, and they can move on to another surgery that may work for them.

My lap band experience has not been totally perfect I've had ups and downs, weight gain and weight loss, but nothing to cause me to hate it, when I work with it...it works with ME..

I have to be honest the thought of removing my stomach is not something I will quickly do, I would have to be in a very desperate situation to get the Sleeve, but it seems to work for many people and the post op pictures look great, most of the Sleevers I see on the board look awesome and healthy and I give congrats to them.....I just wish people would stop bashing surgery types and respect each other decision.....

If it's NOT wise to believe the many stories of people WITH bands then who am I to believe?  I'm not referring to the wars that are being waged today I'm referring to people who when I came on this form in 2007 were SUFFERING from many band related ailments and NOW run rampant on the boards.  I'm not simply either referring to the horrible experiences I'm referring to the fill unfill, the lack of insurance coverage and/or changing insurance, the fills and unfills, the costs many incur etc etc ummm etc.  I saw this YEARS ago so again if not the people living with the band WHO are people to look to?

The people who the sleeve haven't worked for are THERE and I SEE them as well but I'd pit say 2 sleeve failures up against 20 bands any day and there are those who can't "merely remove" the band, they are suffering LIFE long issues after the band that will NEVER go away.  And many can't revise either...but I digress.

I'll call it a query ...  Queries like yours asking these types of questions against a surgery you didn't have don't help the "can we all get along" that you speak of.

Ms Shell