Lap-band to VSG or RNY???

My band slipped and I want to revise to RNY but was talking to a surgeons coordinator and she was almost trying to sell me the VSG. My BMI is 35.6 but I still have ALL the comorbidities I had before I was banded. Joint pain, asthma, GERD, depression.  I can't really exercise due to all the joint pain so I need a surgery that works. I only lost 50 pounds in three years with the band. My question is this: If the Band didn't work, why will the VSG work?  Can I still eat around the sleeve just like I did with the band? I love sweets and I still need to lose 80 pounds so I think RNY is the better choice. What do you all think?

If you didn't do well with one restrictive procedure you are not going to do well with another.

Don't let someone sell you something you don't want.  Get whatever procedure is right for you.

I don't know if doctors consider 50 lbs in 3 years a failure with the band but obviously you do and that's what matters.  I had my band half as long as you did and gained back all my pre-op diet weight.  I ended up having more co-morbs with the band than prior to the band.  My type 2 diabetes was worse and due to the strange eating habits I adopted with the band also developed high cholesterol and HBP.  Depression I don't consider weight related and have that whether I'm fat or thin and am medicated for it.

I know I struggled with sugar on the band and something that has subsided, at least for the time being that I've revised to RNY.  I am also off my diabetes medication now and still waiting to get off the rest of the meds and my CPAP machine but need the tests required to do that.

I can only share my experiences and am not an expert on the sleeve but have seen many people revise to the sleeve on forums who have had band complications but had done well on the band before the removal as it's a purely restrictive procedure.  Someone else will have to go into details with you about the sleeve.

I don' t have joint pain and don't know if that is something you will totally get rid of having either surgery.  Asmtha is another issue that isn't necessarily weight related but I'm sure your doctor can help you with that or others on the board who have had these issues.

So far I have done very well with my revision to RNY from the band and I had it done 8 months after it was removed.  I weighed more before my RNY than I did before the lap band.  I'm still on meds for GERD but that's a preventative I'm on for RNY.  I am happy with my revision and probably should have just had the RNY in the first place.  I hope you get the information you are looking for to help make your decision easier.  Good luck, Nancy.

Comorbid conditions are not necessarily caused by the weight. They are exacerbated by it.  My asthma and depression  are greatly decreased when my weight also decreases. I was banded at 274. I'm now 223. This is a failure to me and my surgeon. I did get pregnant 4 months after getting the band and my restriction was never the same. I saw him yesterday and they took 3.3 cc's out of my 4cc band. I don't have a slip but esophageal dilation and severe reflux. He said he will revise me to a sleeve if I want since I will be self pay and it's more affordable for me. I look at it like this, I get a second chance to do this right. Now I need to spend a few months researching the sleeve and get that warm fuzzy feeling that I had about the band before I proceed to have the revision.

HI,

Since we dont know why you consider a nearly 50% loss of excess weight a failure and why you did not do well with the band, I cant comment on whether or not another restrictive procedure will work for you. If the band slip was one of the reasons you did not have proper restriction, then a VSG might work for you. I cannot eat a lot of sugar with my VSG due to how quick the sugar moves through my sleeve stomach. A cookie yes, but a huge piece of cake, heck no. I would vomit or get really shaky from the sugar OD. I still eat sweets , but definitely not a lot of it. By the way, not all RNYers dump from sugar. Some have no trouble with sugar at all.

Babs

On August 13, 2009 at 1:24 PM Pacific Time, Barbara B. wrote: HI,

Since we dont know why you consider a nearly 50% loss of excess weight a failure and why you did not do well with the band, I cant comment on whether or not another restrictive procedure will work for you. If the band slip was one of the reasons you did not have proper restriction, then a VSG might work for you. I cannot eat a lot of sugar with my VSG due to how quick the sugar moves through my sleeve stomach. A cookie yes, but a huge piece of cake, heck no. I would vomit or get really shaky from the sugar OD. I still eat sweets , but definitely not a lot of it. By the way, not all RNYers dump from sugar. Some have no trouble with sugar at all.

Babs I didn't  lose half of my weight. My ticker has my "achievable with this band" goal of 175. My surgeons goal (and my dream weight) is 145. I'm 5' 7" and I was banded at 274. I still weigh 223 which is obese. I need to lose 80 more pounds.  Anyway, I saw him yesterday and they took out all my fill and checked me under fleuro and told me my band has not slipped but I have esophageal dilation and the band has to come out. I was put on Carafate for the severe reflux and so far it's not helping that much. I'm glad to see that sugar gives you trouble. I hope it does this for me as well.
(update: I changed my ticker)

Hi
I have had a lapband (actually 2) for the past years.  Lost 100 lbs. maintained that weight loss but still have another 60+ lbs to lose.  Never was able to lose 1 more pound with the band and had nothing but problems.  When it worked though it was great.  I am scheduled for a revision August 31.  I did explore doing the sleeve but my doctors advised that if I did not have success with a band then the sleeve works under the same premies the likelihood of success is slim.  I am having an RNY done.  Good luck to you.
Maryjo

Given the fact that you did get pregnant soon after having your Band well who knows.

You can still eat around almost ALL of the surgeries even to a degree the DS (which if I was going for a surgery to malabsorb I'd go for).  I have several friends who NEVER once dumped on sugar and fat after their RnY...in fact I get sicker then a few of them off sugar and fat.  I also have friends who did dump initially and who don't dump now that they are further out and now they struggle with OLD habits which die hard.

So it's almost a crap shoot cause from my research and I could be wrong or outdated "only" 50% of RnYers dump, so what happens if you aren't part of the 50%? 

Good luck in your research and becoming warm and fuzzy about your decision.

Ms Shell

Thanks for your reply. I've decided on the sleeve. The RNY is just too expensive and I'm self pay. I have also been reading a lot of  peoples post and the weight loss is incredible. A lot like RNY. I do need a few more months of research but the sleeve is the only thing I will revise to at this point.