Pros and Cons of Sleeve

My name is Tiffany and yesterday I meet with a Dr regarding getting Lap Band and after the meeting Im a little more concerned witht he sleeve. I would love to get some advise on this procedure. I have 6 months of eval to go through and Im sure it will be well worth it. I have struggled with weight all of my adult life and cant seem to take if off. Just a few pros and cons will help out so much. Thanks

There are lots of good sights such as you tube and http://www.sleeveguide.com/uploads/1/7/9/4/1794785/dietguidevged42006feb.pdf

just type in vertical gastric sleeve.  There are some people on here that can tell you the best choices.   Hope you decide and do something WONDERFUL for yourself!

Thanks for the help
i will look into them

The sleeve is an amazing (and i feel far more effective and safer) option over the band.

I was going to have the Lap-Band but after researching thoroughly went with the sleeve. With the VSG your risks go down post op where the Lap-Band your chance of complications increases after surgery.

Many people do not lose the weight they want with the Lap-Band and revise to gastric bypass or sleeve due to this or complications (which are common, and i mean like 25-85% common, we aint talking 1% here) with the band.

The band is a foreign object which can irrepariably damage your stomach, and esophagus so it is not as "reversible" as some say it is..

The band requires lifetime maintainence, fills, unfills and cannot possibly last a life time, especially for younger people. which means more surgery. And frequently after fills people with the band are nauseaus and vomiting (which causes band slippage which requires more surgery) and unable to eat normal food for a while.

The sleeve is maintainence free, allows your stomach to function normally, it is just a smaller stomach. I can tolerate anything which allows me to get in my protein and have a healthy more balanced diet. I frequently hear people with the band complain they cannot eat solid food which leads them to junk foods which go down easier..

please do your research thoroughly, this is one of the biggest decisions you will make in your life.

You will find MANY VSG'ers *****vised to the sleeve from the band due to complications, I hope they post.
xox
kristen

Oh wow thanks for the post. I will look into it more but as of right now i feel the sleeve is the best of the two. Im hoping this journey will be the best decision for me. Im so excited about the thought of loosen some of this weight

Regardless of what you chose, as long as you feel it is right for you we will support you. Losing the weight is awesome, being able to feel better, lighter, being more healthy, less aches and pains, and of course a new cute wardrobe is a plus.

And the daily struggle with over eating and then hating yourself for it is diminished, at least for me. I struggled with it since I was 9 and had surgery at 27..thats a long struggle. I didnt realize how much time I spent worrying about my weight!

Hope you get the support and results you are looking for. If there is any way we can help you let us know!

I just put up a post with the appeal letter I sent to my insurance provider, in it I call out alot of the pros and cons that lead me to the decision and why I feel it's right for me... reading through it might give you some insight.  Just click on my profile and the latest blog post should be right at the top.

Check this topic that I replied to earlier. I've had both, and can guarantee you that the sleeve is superior in many aspects vs. the sleeve. If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact me.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4382314/Thought-I-was-sure-re-band-but-considering-sleeve/#36220628

I was just about to post the exact same thing Tiffany. While I do know one or two people who have been successful with thee bands with few problems, they are in the minority. Check out my reply to that thread, as well as the revision board, the failed weight loss board, failed lap band group and terr lap band board. Then make an informed decision.

Good luck.

I walked into the WLS seminar thinking I wanted the band, then I saw the model of the stomach with the band around it and the tubing with the port.  All I could think of was "mechanical failure."  Too many parts for something to go wrong with.  Continued researching and realized that the band is NOT reversible - it's removable.  But it often causes damage to the stomach and esophagus.  Not to mention problems with the port.  It's sewn to a muscle and has been known to come unconnected, flip, and leak.

I didn't go back to a seminar for a few years and that's when I learned about the sleeve.  It has all of the advantages of the band without the downside.  Yes, it's permanent.  When the stomach is reduced, it takes away the part that produces the hunger hormone, ghrelin.  Most (not all) people experience a reduction in hunger.  I did.  If you've already decided that a restrictive procedure is all you need, then go for the sleeve.