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

Amen Shell.  That is a sticking point with me.

I have a sleeve.   My sleeve is perfect for ME.

And no I will NOT  believe the rumor that a failed lap band revised patient are encouraging newbies to go with the Band.    Nobody would want that "Karma" in their future.


Research pre-op on this forum and others sites.   Google !!!

Honestly Phill..I honestly would not even bother with even learning about the Sleeve or researched...I got sick and tired of it being shoved down my throat every time I wanted to support lap banders or stay on track with my weight loss....

My life is totally normal, I don't have illness or sickness with my band, as a MATTER OF FACT, it feels good eating my food, don't have to get any more fills UNLESS I want one, and I don't even take vitamins unless I want too my life is care free at 7 years ...my food slowly dumps down gently and I get satisfied on about 2 cups of food nowadays...I lost my weight by following rules and IT IS WELL KNOWN many people DO NOT follow lap band rules...of exercising and eating right...this has been going on for as long as I can remember....

When people complain about vomiting, heartburn, and other issues...I CANNOT RELATE..I don't have those issues...my band was installed right. and I don't' abuse it and keep it too tight, so every one will have difference experiences with the band...everyone is different how the band works with them....I guess I got lucky and I am happy about that...I feel bad for people who the band did not work for...but this IS A LAP BAND SUPPORT FORUM and we JUST GET SICK AND TIRED OF OTHER PEOPLE ON OUR FORUMS...I NEVER EVER POST ON THE SLEEVE FORUM or even venture over there....because I am VERY HAPPY with my band....the only reason I went there was when there was so much band bashing here...

I have a few friends that had RNY the same time I did and they are MUCH larger than I am now and they still try to exercise to lose weight and is having a hard time...so why should I hate my band???


I gained back about 20 pounds and it was MY fault ...I ate high calorie foods while traveling with my husband and eating out all the time, I ate sweets and did not exercise for almost 1 year...and you know what? If I did not have my band I would easily be back at 300 pounds....I am happy that I ONLY gained back 20.....I am almost 7 years post op and I still can wear my size 12 clothing with little to no exercise and I still eat whatever I want....so I have NO REASON to hate my band....if others hate theirs...SO BE IT.....

P.S. this post was about deja vu....because I see SO many people getting thier bands removed and revising over to the Sleeve....and some of those same people probably are going to DRIVE THE SUCCESS STATS DOWN with the Sleeve just like they DRIVE THE success STATS DOWN with the band....sorry to say that.....we will see what will happen in a few years...

I was enticed by the reversibility of the band.  RNY seemed so scary to me and I was told that even though my weight loss would take 2;years as opposed to 1 , long term the band would be the same so it seemed so much safer.  

What I discovered was fills would never reach a sweet spot for me.  I had severe damage to my esophogus when I had the flu and was coughing violently from it.  I ended up with a hiatal hernia from the band which damaged my stomach so severely my surgeon had to revise me to RNY and remove y remnant stomach completely because of said damage.  In the 5 years I had the band I only lost an initial 30 lbs and became unable to eat solid type foods and the resulting mush food only diet brought me back up from that tiny loss to a net gain.  Not very many people in our monthly support group had much success even though our surgeon in the current president of the bariatric associatin and considered one f the best in the country.  No one in the medical community is that enamored wih the band.  In fact the nurse practioner told me in the beginning that better results are achieved with rny but the reversibility issue is what I clung too.  But although my band was removeable it was in no way reversible.  I have a damaged esophogus which my surgeon had to surgically repair; I had a ruined stomach which had to be thrown away and I had a net weight gain which was the only reversible aspect of my band.   

NanaB, usually I do not agree with many of your posts that bash the sleeve, because in all honesty, it has been nothing short of a miracle for me and at 2.5 years out, I have not had any issues with it at all.  Having said this, I think you are on to something with this post.  I have seen that since the sleeve has become more accepted by insurance, there have been a myriad of new doctors that are now learning to do the sleeve.  I am worried that there will be a steep learning curve and many of the sleeves will not be done as well as they could be done.  Also, I am seeing some really wacky eating plans popping up all over the place.  How well will they work?  Who knows, it's going to take time to sort this all out.  If I was getting a sleeve today, just like if I was getting any other surgery, I would only go to a surgeon with a proven track record.  I would want to see their results, their leak rates and know the number of sleeves they had done.  I do believe that the big difference between the sleeve and the band, is that in the end, these surgeons will come up with a more standardized surgery and eating plan, and eventually the success rates will go back up, but there might be a downturn in the numbers for a while. 

Nana –

You do pose a very good question. I have been following WLS since I began exploring getting my Lapband in late 2007. You are correct that at that time many people flocked to the band for that easier WLS surgery with quick recovery. I now see that with the sleeve. I kind of look at this from two different perspectives.

The medical community is ever changing and improving procedures. Research and past history led to improvements. I would say that the experiences with Lapband over the years have had a lot to do with influencing how the sleeve works and is designed. Medical researchers developed the sleeve to offer an improved surgery. So, to your point, it is the new IT.

On the other hand, WLS is all about marketing. Surgeons do not want to talk about this. They know that they need to constantly market something that is new and improved. We see that in everything in our everyday life. New and improved drives us to the stores. The same works for WLS.

It comes down to the fact that there are many WLS techniques and I can say there will be many many more in the years to come. Some are better for some people and not for others. Your point that many people commit to a solution without fully understanding it is true. Most people never read their owner’s manuals and warranties. It’s the Google mentality that everything today should be easy to understand. Unfortunately with a medical procedure, abusing it and then knowing you have done wrong puts your body in danger and at a too late time.

Tom

You don't seem to bother with facts.

The band is REMOVABLE, but the damage is not reversible.

The sleeve is becoming popular because so many COMPLIANT people with top surgeons are looking for a better option to our failed crap bands.