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

According to my Therapist is is the underling cause of most this.

I believe this in EVERY way. But MAN it's hard to work thru those demons!

The statistic that's constantly referred to on dumping is that 1 in 3 will dump.  So odds are against you if you want to dump as a modification tool.

Both rny and vsg are effective surgeries.  I can only tell you why I went with the sleeve - no malabsorption (no intestinal re-routing), maintaining pyloric valve, ability to take NSAIDs if necessary, fewer complications.  It's a simpler surgery.  The one you choose needs to be the one that will do the job that you want done and fits your lifestyle.  Both surgeries require supplementation, although the sleeve is more forgiving because we don't malabsorb.  But I still take multis, calcium, iron, and B12.  And you're going to have to dose a few times a day because the calcium can only be taken 500mg at a time.

I never had a lapband, so can't help with any insight on the revision part of things.  Hope this helps.

It does help - all responses help. I did this once with that horrible LB and don't want to do ANOTHER thing that goes wrong. So getting all input from all people is exactly what I want to make this life-altering choice. I want to be around for my son (yes, he's 23 but still - all you Momma's know where I'm comin' from), and maybe even see a grandbaby... and I won't be if I continue down my current path.

I was banded from 2005-2013; lost 27 pounds at most - and weighed 14 pounds MORE than my band weight on 2/6/2013 the date of my revision to RNY.  I can only tell you my experience and tell you that everyone is different. I am down 92 freaking pounds!!!!!!!!!  I love my revision and here is my perspective on my choice:

1. YES - vitamin supplementation is for life.  I am managing to do it. 

2. Only 30% of RNY patients dump. I have never have full fledged dumping syndrome...but I pushed the envelope with sugar twice and felt like crap. I am guessing that I may dump if I ate a bowl of icecream.  So I won't. Totally worth it. Who needs that crap? That's why I was fat in the first place.

3. Re-routing intestines - YES.  Other than constipation which I manage with Colace daily - I have no intestinal issues. You have an experienced surgeon and that is what he is paid to do.

4. I had a 1/2 a glass of wine with dinner last night.  Now I have no intention of starting a board flame war - because many many will tell you that you should never touch alcohol and the dangers of transfer addiction.  My program said to wait 6 months and proceed with caution.  Many programs say a year to wait - some say never.  You are an adult, make your own decisions about alcohol - but do your research and be careful!!

5. If I could have qualified for it I would have done the DS instead, but my BMI was not high enough. With the DS you get to retain your pyloric valve in your stomach and have the malabsorption.

6. I did not choose the sleeve because I wanted the aversion to sweets and the malabsorption and was really afraid that I could eat around the sleeve easier and it would be band nightmare x2.

Best of luck to you!!

 

WOW - such great responses from everyone - it's so nice to be back on this site with all the great info, encouragement, kindness and honesty. Plus, I can really TALK to all of you and you GET it. So hard to explain to those who were genetically blessed with the skinny-gene... like my b/f - he can eat ANYTHING - and does - not an OUNCE - and he barely works out! Grrrr....
Sherrie - you hit the nail on the head! And 92 pounds - holy ****e! Your pics look amazing - you look so much younger! All of you do!! I can only fantasize (right now) at how that would feel since I've always stalled out around 40-45 pounds... then it was all back on. I can gain 10 pounds in a week I swear! I often wonder if I sabotage myself out of fear - being skinny is a whole other world to live in... the adjustment seems terrifying - but worth it.
Thanks for the perspectives from ALL of you. I just keep going back and forth, but to paraphrase another OH'er: Why am I so paranoid about it being permanent when I want the weight loss to be permanent? D'oh! Even Homer would get THAT one!
I think I can live with the vitamin thing... I mean I take pills now for high cholesterol and BP (and my bi-polar meds which I'm hoping MIGHT improve by losing weight - hmmm - might be a new thread coming soon on THAT topic), anyway, taking those already so subbing them for supplements seems a no-brainer.
To be honest, I HOPE I dump. I don't have a sweet tooth... I have a full set of sweet TEETH! Ugh. Chocolate sings its siren song to me quite often and I am lured more often than not to See's! But if I dump then I'd be happy as it would be an even better tool for control. So good point - who needs that crap anyway.
And yes, TOTALLY re feeling that the sleeve, for me, might be Lap-Band the Sequel... that scares me to death. I would totally freak out if that's the way it turned out. It's one of the reasons I'm leaning towards RNY - at least for today - LOL. I have been eating around the band for the entire three years since surgery - this "sweet spot" thing was never found for me.
Re alcohol - my surgeon is the Never Ever Ever kinda guy - so when he declared the moratorium I was way bummed. But when I read on here that quite a few people do drink again, albeit moderately, I was stoked!
If I could have a Sleeve and Dump I'd be ever so happy - but alas, I have to choose one. Supposedly I will know by tomorrow whether or not I've been approved - then I have to get SERIOUS.
Ok, well, again, thanks to ALL of you for your fabulous words of wisdom... I hope I can be as supportive to a new person as you've all been to me. Oh, and I'm open to new "friends" so feel free to hook up!

You need to seriously consider getting the full Duodenal Switch. It has the same fully-functional stomach that the Sleeve has, plus an intestinal bypass similar to, but far more effective than, that of the RNY/gastric bypass. Like the Sleeve, it will still allow you to take NSAIDs. It has the very BEST long-term, maintained weight loss stats, period, and is absolutely the best WLS for treating high cholesterol. (DSers only absorb about 20% of the fat/cholesterol we eat---and the malabsorption lasts forever.)

The 'average' DSer eats 2500-3000 calories a day, but because of malabsorption only absorbs about half of them. This makes maintaining your weight loss pretty easy, while allowing you to enjoy tasty foods in generous amounts. (Best 'diet' I've ever been on! *grin*)

Thanks for the question.. and thanks to all the ppl that replied..  I have had my band for almost 5 years.. First 2 years were ok.. I lost close to 65lbs,  but have gained 20 since Sept 2012 ..   Im def having the bad removed, hopefully before the end of this year.  Im just starting my research on the sleeve procedure, but am scared of what new issues might replace the band issues!  Plus my company is getting a new insurance package next year and my surgeon in consider out-of-network and I REALLY dont want to find a new surgeon for the new procedure..

Ah yes... the Band. What a horrible invention and silly me for choosing it. I should have listened to all those people on this site who advised against it... but No, I had to have it my way. All I can say about that now is that I have LEARNED MY LESSON. I am researching the HELL out of this and looking at ALL sides of each procedure and listening to ALL people.

Although I'm still undecided I am leaning towards the RNY - as others have stated, I have a great fear that the Sleeve will give me the same result as the LapBand did - and might be too easy to eat around. I NEVER got the supposed "restriction" my doctor and all of his staff alluded to - never. So I just kept on eating. At first I was eating only good food, but since I could eat so much (and still can), I rapidly slid into my bad ways yet again. Again Again Again. And now, I am wondering if I can ever really stop. It just seems so futile, and that I will be fat the rest of my life. For a long time I just accepted it. Gave away all my skinny clothes knowing I would never need them again, and when I looked in the mirror and HATED what I saw, I just said, "Whatever... it doesn't matter...I don't care... I am what I am." But then a different doctor told me, no, you had the worst kind of WLS and it is NOT a solution... and then he told me, "It's not your fault"... I almost cried in his office... I was forgiven and absolved and then, hopeful. Maybe it COULD work again. But Hope is a funny thing... humans can believe it for awhile, but when your hopes are dashed over and over and over again, at some point you just can't get up anymore. So he planted the seed and once again, here I am. Ready to fight the fight and give it ONE LAST GO. If this doesn't work, well.... there it is. I'll die young and call it a day.
As Yoda said: "Do or do not. There is no try"

I had a band and switch to the sleeve (hence my name:)  I think you should really seriously consider the DS. With the DS you can eat a lot more and still lose weight.  It will help you cope with your emotional eating issues with more ease. The RNY and the sleeve require a more restrictive diet to be successful, although they make it easier to stay on that diet.

Although the complication rate of the surgeries is a concern, it's really not much different for an experienced surgeon in all three surgeries.  You need to make sure you have the best surgeon possible.  Ask your particular surgeon for his/her rate of complication for each of the surgeries you're considering.

All three of the surgeries will require lifelong vitamin supplementation. I take exactly the same vitamins/dosage as the RNY/DS patients for my surgeon.

 

I think you said you're bipolar?  You really need to dial in your meds prior to surgery and work with your therapist on your emotional eating issues. There is some evidence that all three of the surgeries affect the absorption of psychiatric medications and/or production of seratonin. It's important to work those things in tandem with your surgery decision.