Any input whatsoever...

First I want to say that I am not a band basher and I am still down 60 pounds. I know zero about other types of WLS. The band was the only option I would consider. All that being said....I have lost weight but I think the pain, discomfort, sliming, getting stuck has caused me more life disruption than my weight did. My heart is broken and sad. I followed 95% of the rules 98% of the time. No one is perfect. I In the past 2 years I had about 6 months problem free months. I have zero fluid in my band and I still slime, get stuck, have chest pains, and vomit. I am going for more tests over the next few weeks and I hope they will find out what is wrong. I am not trying to freak you out but I wish I had listen more before my surgery. I wanted so desperately for the band to be my tool to success with hard work. Two years later I am heart broken, in pain, and hoping to get this thing out of me before it cause any more damage.

I pray my fitbit and fitness pal along with my determination will help me. This was my one and only WLS.

Good Luck in your reasearch.

research

Regarding foreign object in the body, if your band is done right you will feel nothing, most people don't feel port discomfort, but some do, but again it all depends on on well your surgeon stitch your port to a muscle, I have never had port pain, if you decide on the band just make sure you allow it to heal post op and follow your surgeons healing instructions.

In this post you say you never felt your band.  Yet in another reply you post the new band feels softer.  This is conflicting info posted often.  I have seen these two opposing statements several times.

We all KNOW what the band can do long term, all the possible complications are out there in BOLD print, the good news is that MOST complications that can happen are not serious and can be easily fixed, most band complications are reflux, vomiting and heartburn, but guess what? REFLUX, VOMITING AND HEARTBURN IS COMMON IN the SLEEVE, something you CAN'T REVERSE.

Most complications can easily be fixed?  Yes, requiring another surgery.  Which really needs to be considered when self pay.  The band is also something that CAN’T BE TOTALLY REVERSED, it can be REMOVED.

Some lap banders will get too tight and cause band slippage and develop horrible reflux and then they say  -- oh I am going to revise to the Sleeve...which has MUCH WORSE REFLUX, including bile reflux when it happens

Sorry, unless you have had both you cannot make this statement. You can’t know if the REFLUX IS MUCH WORSE.  I have had both surgeries, had never had reflux/heart burn before the band.  So far the reflux was much, much worse with the band.

Never let people here fool you to say you will not get reflux with the Sleeve, it IS VERY COMMON and sometimes requires another surgery or conversion to the Bypass to get rid of it.

I have never heard a sleeved person state you can’t get it.  Reflux is VERY COMMON in the general population of people, especially the obese, even without any weight loss surgery.  So, yes, you will find it in sleeved people.

Here are the PROS that I see with the Sleeve from my own research: No fills, you have tight restriction right after surgery from the fact that your stomach has been removed, faster weight loss and possible more weight loss overall that most lap banders.

Here are the CONS that I see with the Sleeve from my own research and talking with Sleevers over the years: Very hard recovery post op for most people, cannot be reversed you cannot turn back, once your stomach is gone, it's gone. Reflux both short and long term, requires more vitamins than that lap band, since part of the stomach that absorb vital nutrition such as B12 is removed. Also there are lots of studies that indicate the Sleeve WILL STRETCH out over time, it usually start happening between 2-4 years post op for some much earlier with larger size Sleeves.

Again unless you have had both the band and sleeve surgery you don’t know if the recovery is harder for you.  I had more trouble recovering from my band than sleeve.  Yes the hospital did make me stay an extra night as it is their policy.  I would have rather not had stayed the second night.  With the band I didn’t feel I was ready to go home after one night. 

I also have to take the same vitamins with the sleeve that I took with the band.  Including a sub-lingual B-12

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Here are the Pros of the Lap band: Easy recovery for most people , no dumping syndrome, adjustable -- you can always get the band adjusted to help with weight loss and if any adverse symptoms like slippage, erosion,  esophageal motility issues can be reversed when the band is removed.

You can have the band removed but NOT TOTALLY REVERSED!  Much of this damage would be permanent.

Here are the Cons of the Lap band: There is a possibility that fills can be a nightmare, make sure you research your surgeon. It can take months to get to a good fill level, fills can get costly for those with limited incomes or no insurance. Most fills costs average from free with co-pay to over $1,200 without insurance, so make sure you ask your surgeon about fill costs and aftercare. If you don't have good insurance and have a limited income the lap band is probably NOT a good choice.

Here are more on lap band risk: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/lapband/lapband_risk_in

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Some people report they never reached the green zone, happy medium of the sweet spot, this is where you must have a GOOD surgeon to fill your band properly, and yes some surgeons DO NOT fill the band properly, they either fill the band too tight (to cause complications), or the patient can eat too much to be successful, the green zone does exist, you just have to know how to tweak the band and work with surgeon, once you start to feel restriction with the band the next fills should be smaller and smaller until you reach the sweet spot.

Let’s see my surgeon did fills .25cc at a time in a 10cc band after the initial fills.   NOPE! No sweet spot.  I could be too tight to drink and wide open with the same fill.  Don’t see how picking a different surgeon would change that.

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Edited to Add: Regarding long term issues with the staples in the Sleeve, my sister had stomach stapling surgery years ago, in the 1980's, that is similar to the Sleeve, she also had some of her stomach removed due to ulcers, some of her staples did not come out until about 10 years later, she had a revision surgery in 2006 that like to killed her, she did not lose weight with the revision, but she is doing ok now, but she complained about stomach pain for years and vomited daily. She is older than I am and on disability, due to stomach issues and back pain.

For someone to compare the stapling in 1980 to any surgery in 2013 is just plain silly.

To the OP:  I had both the lap band and the sleeve, skip the cost of two surgeries.

""Regarding foreign object in the body, if your band is done right you will feel nothing, most people don't feel port discomfort, but some do, but again it all depends on on well your surgeon stitch your port to a muscle, I have never had port pain, if you decide on the band just make sure you allow it to heal post op and follow your surgeons healing instructions."

I meant , as in our bodies reject (attack) things that are not natural to the body.

Thanks , so you are for the sleeve? 
 

totally; you are so right on.  I had port pain.  It got to were it hurt horrible to get a fill unfill.  The first year I never even felt the fill.  I would hurt if I stretched, lifted or did any thing physical.  The Doc suggested moving the port and putting me on PPI's for the rest of my issues.  I pointed out that 18 months earlier he had upped me from 1 to 2 PPI's a day.  So he agreed to remove.  When he got in there my body had made a pseudo capsule around the port out of scare tissue.  I had told him it felt like my body was trying to expel the port and it really was.  When they would straighten the port, it was tipped in the capsule, it would pull everything the scare tissue had adhered to.  The band had also caused adhesion to other tissue but, not completely encapsulated.

I have had the band and sleeve and yes the sleeve has been so much easier.

It seems you have some misconceptions about the band. :-(

~I like that the band is not permenant,~

I don't understand. Why would you NOT want permanent??? When I got my band I wanted a PERMANENT solution to my weight issue! Why would I just want a temporary solution? Makes no sense.

~If I want or need it out, it can be done,~ 

Oh it can, and more than likely WILL be removed. You will notice that you seldom see a bandster that has made it 5 years out with their band, and if you do......they more than likely they have had complications!

~no irreverseable modifications to my body.~

The band is removable, NOT reversable. It does damage. Scar tissue is formed. Nerve damage can occur.  Now some bandsters have been able to have theirs removed and not have permanent complications, but others are not so lucky. :-(

~I'm also thinking frequent visits for fills/unfills, sounds like a pain.~

True. While some bandsters are lucky and achieve restriction easily, others can get 10-20 fills and never reach restriction as it has been advertised. Yet others have had wonderful luck with their bands,  only to have a complication and need an unfill, then have no luck in reaching restriction the 2nd time.

~There is no LONG term info, as many have been removed.!~

Correct! Bands have an extremely high removal rate!!!

So as you see, bands *can* work........but they are very iffy! No rhyme or reason to why they work or fail. Or how long they will work. If I could suggest one thing to you it would be to post the same thing on the VSG forum. You will find plenty of FORMER  bandsters on there. Ask how many of them would rather have their bands back.

""~I like that the band is not permenant,~

I don't understand. Why would you NOT want permanent??? When I got my band I wanted a PERMANENT solution to my weight issue! Why would I just want a temporary solution? Makes no sense."

Yes, I am not overjoyed about any of the choices, I'd rather not have any form of modification. Where I'm at now, if the band could help, and then I'd maintain...

This is the first time in my life I have a huge weight gain (over 100 lbs), and am having GREAT difficult losing it . 6 years ago, I weighed over 100 lbs less ,and was in great shape.

Irreversible meant procedure. It is an irreversable procedure. You have it removed..

Some of those points weren't mine, and as I mentioned earlier, I have posted the OT on lapband, sleeve & my local forum  :-)

JFTR...

The one person that gives out the absolute worst, most incorrect, and most exaggerated info regarding the sleeve and band is Nana.  I would really do your research and talk to those who have been sleeved AT LEAST two years.  Wait for them to complete the honeymoon stage that every WLS goes through.  Get a more realistic view of both surgery types and see what you think then.  Read the studies, really do your research.