Going in Crazy Circles - HELP - Band to... RNY or VSG?!?!?

Thanks for the info. And has your daughter done as well as you have with her sleeve?

The daughter lost and has kept off 130 pounds.  She had gotten down 20 lower the first year than went up and settled.  My sister two years out is doing awesome.  She is below goal and gets on it if she sees a 2 pound gain.

Hmmm... so all of you have the sleeve and are doing well. I have no problems with gastric reflux except if I drink caffeine so I'm not sure if RNY is for me - it kinda scares me... for some reason the sleeve, not so much.
Thanks for ALL your answers. They really really help. Really!

I do have problems with coffee/tea but, it is due to the quantity.  It is an addiction and I drink way to much.  I have switched to decaf like I was told but, I just can't stand decaf tea.  Just not the same at all.

Feel free to IM me anytime if you have any other questions or just want to chat!

I haven't revised and may not but do have a crap band so I know what a disappointment that is! After much reading and this is just my personal opinion, if it were me I would go with the sleeve because it would give me the most normal life afterwards and keep my pyloric valve. That is the valve at the bottom of your stomach and what holds the food in to make you feel fuller. So when you eat dense protein it will stay in your stomach longer and prolong the full feeling.

I also do not want to deal with malabsorbtion and dumping. The vitamin deficiencies can be down right dangerous if not dealt with and not all people dump so wouldn't want to count on that for success. I would rather go with therapy and the sleeve than do RNY since the results are very similar. Like I say that is just my reasoning you may feel differently and many do. So if you think you can do it with restriction and counceling the sleeve should work. If you think you will need something more drastic then you may need RNY and therapy is a good idea with any of the surgeries. Good luck to you!

 

Yes, that "normal" life thing is soooo enticing... but if it turns out to be ANOTHER bad decision on my part, then what? A THIRD surgery? IDK, I just want to DO IT and then MOVE ON... and lead a "normal life" from then on out... Does that make sense?

I know just how you are feeling and were you are at.  I started the research before I was banded.  Back than my only options were Band and RNY.  By the time I was having surgery I was already finding out how great the people with "something called a sleeve" were doing.

Than I had all my problems with the band and started doing more research.  My insurance still only covered the band and RNY.  So, I spent another 18 months of hell trying to save my band until I couldn't stand the port pain and the band getting tighter shortly after every fill.

One day I  found out the insurance was covering the sleeve.  A fellow band suffer took them on as I was in the process of trying to.  I had my band removed 9/4/12 and won to get my sleeve on 1/22/13.  I am 9 months out, flew by my surgery centers goal, my first goal, my second goal and am 9 pounds from normal bmi.

The sleeve is working like I was told the band would and didn't.  With out the high maintenance, pain and suffering of the band.  For me the VSG beats out the RNY because you get the long term results without the higher risk and lifetime nutritional issues.  I am living a very "normal life" now.  If you look at how I eat in a restaurant, it is like the skinny people and not like the overweight people I ate with before.  I eat, I get full and I walk away.  Loving this new life.

Each surgery has pros and cons and you need to figure out which fits you life and medical issues best.

Just a FYI I am seeing a therapist this time around.  Working on issues from the past and the "failure" with the band has made a big difference.  My therapist had a RNY  so she knows where I'm coming from.

Hi Pineview - thanks for your detailed response. Yes, I am seeing a therapist big time, although she's a skinny minnie and despite her sympathy and kind words, doesn't fully KNOW how fat people are so discriminated against - and she sure as heck doesn't know what it's like to be a fat woman - being invisible to the world is so horrible... like being shunned in the old days! The funny thing is that as I am now considering WLS The Sequel, I realize that I'm not being honest with my therapist about my eating. And I need to - I need some (a lot!) accountability. I am a closet binge eater and food hider. When other people come home from work and need a drink, I need to eat. I don't even enjoy it all that much.. it's a compulsion... it's an old response to bad, stressful, and anxiety producing events. For example, I just came home from work and bought a BIG Hershey's with almonds and ate the entire thing. When I look at that as an outsider might, I'm appalled! How can I continue to abuse my body like this? Do I hate myself that much? Well, kinda sorta pretty much Yes. I grew up with HIGHLY critical, condemning, emotionally distant, non-compassionate, inappropriate parents with no boundaries. Anger was the ONLY accepted emotion in our house and hitting (and the dreaded Big Black Belt) was aok! So, when I left the house, I just kept on doing what I had learned... abuse. My five brothers and I discuss the mess we grew up in repeatedly and how as a result, beat our selves up constantly... and one of the ways I abuse myself is with food. I will tell you that to the world, other than my weight, people think of me as a super star... great job, good at it, good parent, good friend, etc etc, but to me, I am still that same person who doesn't believe I deserve anything better than what I have. Crazy huh?
Jeez... sorry this turned into a therapy session! I've never ever ever told anyone that I'm a closet binger and hider and here I go and announce it to the world! And ya'know what? It feels kinda good to come clean... this board makes it safe to do so since no one understands like you all do. Thank you for "listening".

Sounds like we are Sisters.  We had the "Paddle" but, Mom just used what was close at hand. There were 5 girls and 2 boys in my messed up house.   When I got a full time babysitting job at 12 I used the money for apples, candy and Root Beer.  I would hide the food and even have apples go bad but, would never share.  Even as an adult I would take stuff the kids got DH for Holidays, candy bars and other goodies and would put them were he wouldn't think about/see them.  Than I would eat it.

Your life is what I thought was normal!

Just keep in mind I have a sleeve and a sugar sensitivity.  If your would like to ask questions, just yell.  It is a big decision.

Boy, our childhoods really mess us up huh? Kinda wondering how much of THAT caused all of THIS.