Lap band or VSG???? What to do what to do???

After getting several opinions and doing more research I'm even more confused then before!!!!!! I thought that I had my mind SET on the lap band and then the more I read the more I hear about sooooo many people switching from the band to the VSG and all the complications that are more likely to occur with the lap band. I don't have insurance and the cost for the lap band is 13000 and that includes all visits and fills for a lifetime. The VSG is 12000 and covers all pre and post visits with Dr. Nick Nicholson in Plano. The amount is so close but I'm still a Little confused on what I want. We finally have the money this week for either one and I'm just waiting to make sure that  this VERY Permanent decision is going to be the right one for me!

My friend wants me to take 2k and pay for a years membership at the gym AGAIN and pay for the dietitian and a personal trainer and see if I can loose the weight again that way. The most I have been able to loose is 60lbs and that's half of what I need to drop. I figure why not do that AND have the surgery so that I know I will have the results that I NEED to have. I can loose the weight but I can never keep it off longer than a few months at a time.

I'm finishing my last semester before I start my internship for teaching and I want to have this before next semester. I want to graduate as a new me.. I want to be able to run around with my 2 year old little girl and my 8 year old son without stopping 10 times to catch my breath. I don't want to worry if my son is being made fun of because his FAT mommy comes to eat with him at school or worry if MY kids that I'm teaching are looking at my fat but instead of the book that I'm reading to them.

I need suggestions, thoughts, words of wisdom, ANYTHING!

If you feel that you only need restriction, I personally would suggest the VSG over the LB.  I am pre-op (going for the full DS, the VSG is the first part of that surgery), and was very interested in the VSG.  No fills.  No errosion.  No sliming.  Full functioning stomach (just smaller).  Removal of the part of the stomach that creates ghrelin (hormone that makes us feel hungry), while I understand that banders have increase in the release of ghrelin.  These are just a few things I have learned in my research here and other places.  

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Hi,
     I originally had the lapband in December of 2006.  I just had it removed and revised to the VSG March the 11th.   I can only tell you my experience: The lapband, for me, just did not work. I lost  from 191# to 171# in the first year, then I slowly gained back to 193#.  I was self pay with the band. I did not have any of the complications; slip, band erosion etc. But what I did have was an inability to tolerate solid healthy food. It would be like if I ate something healthy, no matter how muched I chewed, chewed , chewed, someone was sitting next to me choking me. But since I was still hungry, I learned to eat around the band and ate stuff that went down easier. All junk food goes down easy. Also, I should not have to live off of soup, I am not an invalid. 
   Fast forward to the VSG. I am 16 days post op and I have no hunger. People will tell you that the VSG and the Lapband are both purely restrictive procedures. That is not quite true. Yes, the VSG is restrictive but it also removes the Ghrelin hormone, which accounts for the lack of hunger. Also, I have an intolerance for sweets. Sweets were the downfall pre surgery and during my 2+ years with the lapband.  I was self pay for both procedures. I am a little over 2 weeks out and my incisions are healed. I have no pain, no nausea. I am still not hungry. I still cannot tolerate sweets. And, I have lost 18#.

Thank you soooo much for sharing your expierence! Is the 12k that he is asking a fair amount? He is out of Baylor hospital in Plano, Tx... My husand and i are going to another seminar of a few different doctors to do some more research on them both. Thanks for your help!
Rose

I paid 12,500 to Dr Aceves in Mexicali. But, I was a revision.  Don't quote me but I think he charges under $10,000 for virgin sleeves; someone will pipe in and correct me, he has a lot of patients on this board.
I would caution you to research, research, research. Read posts on both the lapband board, the VSG board and the complications board. This will help guide your decision. Also, price should not be the deciding factor. You want a surgeon who has tons of experience with the procedure. My surgeon has a lot of experience and there are others, too.
Start a thread asking about your particular surgeon and his experience level or simply search for his name. This too, will help guide you in the right direction. Good luck. Feel free to ask me anything regarding the band or sleeve.

Hey Serious....

I know you from LBT!  I'm WASa over there.  Nice to see you here!

Hi MWG,

I know.  You have a distinct   writing style.  I have enjoyed reading your posts. During my research, you are the main person who pointed me in the direction of Dr Aceves. Thankyou.

I keep getting screen freeze when I respond so this might come up twice.


You couldn't pay me to have another band.  Look at what Dr. Husted writes, it has a 25% failure rate.

Look at the stats...

It's the hardest WLS to lose weight,
It has the slowest weight loss,
It has the lowest weight loss,
Re-ops are 30-50% within the first five years.  You'll need to budget for this.

At a convention a few weeks ago doctors discussed the situation of replacing or repositioning a band, if you have this done you can figure there is a 70% chance of another slip in the first 5 years.

Per Inamed the 5 year stats for lap bands show 55% of your excess weight will be lost.  Are you okay with only losing half your excess weight?  If you are a high BMI you'll still be obese in the end.

It's the doctors (some) that are claiming the band will last a lifetime.  Inamed doesn't say that, the FDA doesn't say that.

With bands you can get an erosion, slip, pouch/esophageal dilation, infections, and those are not even all of the complications.  Then, when you get to goal your port sticks out and you look like a turkey that is done cooking and the red poky thing sticks out.  That or it looks like you have a tumor.  It's disgusting.  Try wearing a spandex shirt with the turkey timer sticking out. :o(  And *I* had the LOW profile port.  You should see the mega ports!

Aftercare for life, you will always need to be near your surgeon or a surgeon that will see you if you didn't have them do your surgery.  IOW, take good care of your surgeon and make sure he never dies or retires. ;o)

I can go on, should I?

This isn't the board to ask this question on! There are representatives here of every surgery type, and all of them either haven't worked or have gone wrong in some way - we won't be cheering you up any!

People will tell you the band is rubbish, the sleeve is rubbish, the RNY is rubbish, and even occasionally that the DS is rubbish too. In general all weight loss surgery is fairly rubbish - if there was a magic pill instead we'd be pushing to the front of that line...

Ignore your friend's well-meaning advice - if you have more than 100lbs to lose you only have a one per cent chance of doing it on your own. Then just keep researching until you feel happy. Then if whatever you choose doesnt work, you know to come back here and try the next one...(like I say, we don't do cheery). Good luck!

I know your friend means well and is only suggesting they gym membership because she loves you, but she probably hasn't read the stats on maintaing a weightloss that's been achieved in that manner. Only 5% will succeed, long-term... especially those who have a history of weight loss and regain, like most of us have.

The Band is so popular because there is a phsyical product that is marketable and makes money for the folks who manufacture it. They pay to have their product promoted, they make money when someone sees the commercials and chooses this surgery. The surgeon makes money on installing it, and everyone involved is happy until the weight returns or the band errodes.

The use of the lap band is declining rapidly in Europe, and for good reason. It may take the market in US a little longer to follow suit, because we tend to be media junkies, here, and the ads are targeted toward a market that's desperate to reduce their weight.

I'm glad to see you're doing your research. Between the two surgeries you've mentioned, I consider the VSG to be a better option. It doesn't insert a foreign object into your body and has a better short-term success rate (remember the VSG is still considered "experimental" - the long-term stats simply don't exist).

Have you looked at the DS at all? I personally think you do yourself a disservice by not thoroughly exploring ALL your alternatives.

Whichever surgery you end up with, i wish you all the luck in your journey!

Kathy