Ask Dr. Curry!

Hi Dr. C.  Thanks so much for your help!!!!  It feels really good to have someone who will answer questions.  When I try to get my surgeon to answer questions about which procedure is best for me he says "I am the employee and you are the employer, I do the procedure you instruct me to do".  I really think that since he is the expert he should give me some guidance.  So, I'm going to ask you.

I am scheduled for surgery on May 14th for the Realize Band.  I am 5' 11.5" female and I weigh around 291.  I have type II diabetes and high blood pressure.  I am wondering if the sleeve might be a better option for me.  I am afraid that I might not lose as much weight with the band and I really want to come off of my diabetes and HP medications. 

One of the reasons I like the band is that you have years to have fills so if you start to gain you can get a fill and get things back under control quickly.  Does the sleeve stretch back out as some bypass patients seem to do? 

Anyway, would you at least give me what you think the pros and cons are for each type of surgery for someone with my stats?  Thanks.

Sabrina

Well I agree with your surgeon, there is nobody that can make the decision as to which operation is right for you, only you can.

The risk of the band is much lower than the sleeve, yet the rate of weight loss is much slower.  You have to decide which suits your personality the best.  Cost is also a factor, as usually sleeve is not covered by insurance and is more expensive than band.  We have had great success with both operations, so there is no right or wrong answer.  Good luck!

Dr. Curry,

I was banded on June 30, 2008, I have lost about 65 pounds and 48 inches, which I am very happy about , my band (realize band) has 7 3/4 cc in it and I do good for a while, but after about 6 weeks or so, I want  to eat everything in site (but I don't, I just drink more water), but during the winter time I do drink a lot of tea, some have caffeine and some are decaff, can you tell me if the Caffeine has anything to do with you losing or not losing weight?  I just hate the bouncing back and fourth the 3 to 5 pounds.

I am not sure what else to do. 

Do have any advice or what I should do or what I can change, I do go for a fill next Thursday May 14, 2009.

HELP ME PLEASE  This is how I feel!!!!

Caffeine is an appetite stimulant, so the first thing we do in a patient struggling with hunger is to try to eliminate all dietary sources.

It's possible that you just need more restriction and this will take care of your hunger issues.

I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around what is going on with my band.  Let me take you back to November when I had my last fill.  I went through the holidays and into mid January with no restriction.  I ate, I enjoyed, I gained.  At my check up in January I got a good chewing out and no fill.  Late January, early February is when my trouble began.  I had my first stuck episode in which I threw up and learned a lesson.  Since then I have had a small amount removed.  I still have pain when eating.  Often I feel this pain after only one-three well chewed bites.  I have learned to stop and wait and sometimes it is better.  I often start to belch after the first -third bites and this goes on for 10 or more minutes.  I have been throwing up one or two times a week for the past month or so.  I had a really bad stuck episode during the past month in which I spent nearly two hours throwing up.  It was a food I had eaten the day before without any problems.  Why if I have less in my band now than in January am I having problems?  Is the pain part of being banded?  I have been xrayed and had an esophagram all with normal results.  I am chewing with a conscious effort to mush and eating slowly?  What else should I do?  I keep hydrated 64+ glasses of water a day?
Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Sharon Pagel

It's hard to say for sure, I would probably think about an endoscopy to look at things on the inside.  Sometimes we will take a patient with this problem and unfill them completely for a month and see if symptoms resolve.

Dear Dr. Curry,

I just had to have a the tube on my realize band reattached, and I can't figure out why the tube unnattached from the  band port in the first place. Have you ever heard of this happening, what is usually the cause?

Amanda

I have seen it before, they are mechanical devices and have a failure rate, albeit very low.

Thank you so much for availing yourself to us without a consultation fee

Sorry for the play on words, but I didn't realize there were two types of bands. What is the difference between the two? What makes one any better than the other? Also, what are the co-morbidites insurance companies accept for authorization of revision surgery. I had a RNY in 2004. My doctor did an endoscopy and stated that my pouch is found but my stoma is stretch.