Hi Gwen,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write back with all the details! I am thinking on the sleeve surgery possibility now. It scares me that is irreversible, and the stomach left so small. How can a normal person eat all the person needs in such small amounts? Do they have to take vitamins forever after? Are there special vitamins they need to supplement? Did you have the sleeve surgery done? What is your experience, if you do not mind me asking. Thanks in advance. Take care! XX

If you gained 30lbs in 2 weeks there is something very serious going on. Unless you are eating over 10 thousand calories a day the weight gain isn't from eating.

I would get a second opinion. I had a band for over 10 years and had numerous fills and unfills, but never got bloated or gained that large amount of weight in such a short period of time.

Here's my experience:

I had Lap Band surgery in 2010. I chose it because I thought it was safer, it was removable, and they weren't cutting out any body parts. "Everybody" was doing it. My (then) surgeon assured me it was great for me, as long as I ate right, exercised all the time, and learned how to live with the band. That was the good part, all before surgery.

At first, it worked great, and over the first year I lost more than 125 pounds. I ate exactly as they taught me, I worked out like a maniac, and I was obsessed with numbers on the scale. But it was unsustainable, the band was too tight and my diet was unbalanced. I always felt like I was starving. My bariatric team advised loosening the band some, and relaxing my super-strict diet. I did that, and over the next two years I regained about sixty pounds. Even returning to my unhealthy diet from before didn't help, and over the few years after that, my weight yo-yo'ed up and down by a margin of almost fifty pounds. The only way I knew the band was there was when I'd get stuck if I ate too fast.

Last year I got very ill, and spent weeks with that cold everyone had that wouldn't go away - I was wracked with long, hard coughing fits that left me breathless and seeing spots. My band didn't slip, but something definitely went wrong, and I started getting stuck or sick at every meal, no matter how tiny a bite I took. Imagine what it's like vomiting through a lap band - not a great thing to experience. I knew I needed to do something, and I went back to the bariatric team at my surgical center. They were all new staff by then, and much more trained (in my opinion), than the people who had been there previously. They emptied the band, which immediately relieved my stuck/sick problems, and we began discussions about what could be done.

Long story short: This last Monday I had my band removed, and a VSG was performed. The surgeon said there was so much scar tissue from the band, it was a very complex surgery, and took them a "long time" to get the band out. They were able to perform a VSG, and I spent only one night in the hospital. I am now six days post-op, and doing beautifully. My incisions are healing well, I am off all "heavy" medications, and down to only Tylenol a time or two a day. I'm active, running errands, drinking my Stage 2 liquid diet of protein shakes and water without issue, and most important - I am feeling zero pain.

Here's the advice part: My surgeon advised me that Lap Band is not the long-term solution it once was hoped to be. There are many, many people who develop complications, which result in additional surgeries. He said the Sleeve process has been "dialed in" to be much more consistent than it used to be, resulting in many more satisfied patients. If your surgeon is experienced at the process, that would be my recommendation. When I asked my surgeon how many bariatric procedures like this he has performed, he said, "I can't put an exact number on it, but it's over four thousand." I trust his judgment quite a bit.

Knowing what I know now about Lap Band, for all the effort I put in, and the problems I encountered even as a "perfect" patient, I would have opted for VSG over Lap Band eight years ago. Instead of having to start over again this week, I'd have reached my sustainable goal years ago. My strongest recommendations is to do this for yourself only once, and choose the Sleeve.

I know everyone is different, and you have to make a choice that fits your situation. Good luck with your decision.

Dave

As a former lap bander I would say run not walk away from it. There are so many long term issues that have come up over the years that many surgeons no longer place the band.

For me due to the damage the band did I could not have the sleeve, so I revised to the bypass which was the best decision ever. I kind of wish I had done that first instead of the band.

I think the sleeve is a good virgin surgery to have, but know that some folks have had to revise from the sleeve to the bypass due to GERD/heartburn/reflux.

I am having my lapband removed and revised to VSG on 11/30/2018. Do not waste abother moment of your life even thinking about the lapband. A dramatic number of doctors have stopped doing them. Some entire hospital systems have stopped doing them. Recent studies show a very high complication rate. I want to say 20 or 30% but it could be higher. And only 50% long term weight loss success. I am in a VSG Facebook group and soooo many people have had their bands revised to VSG. Just please don't. There might still be a few people on this board that are diehards and successful but they are the exception, not the rule. Look on the revision board. Visit the Facebook group "failed lapbands". The lapband is just an erosion waiting to happen.