Will the band work?

Hi April!!  I originally thought I wanted the band for the same reasons as you but once I found out about the sleeve it was a no brainer for me.  Why chance the complications or deal with all he fills and unfills etc.??   It has been wonderful in every way...the best thing I have ever done for myself!  Wishing you ALL the best and in my opinion you can't go wrong with the sleeve!!

I've had the band and it made me really sick. I did lose most of my weight with the band but   I would have gained it all back if I had not gotten revision surgery to the sleeve. I started having band problems and had to have all my fill removed. My Dr. said I could not get another fill unless  I wanted to risk damage to my esophagus.

There are so many complications with the band and you don't find many people who have had the band more than 5 years.

Living with the band was a nightmare . Living with the sleeve is effortless.

Darn. I had this long post and my browser ate it.

I nned to go to bed so I'll just say that I hung out on a band board for months when I thought I was going to get a band. I saw PLENTY of people lose their hair. So don't think you'll skip that by getting a band. You might, but most likely you won't.

Spend a little time on the VSG board here (very friendly board btw, much like this LW board -- not like the scary, nasty other ones!)... you'll find lots and lots and lots of people who had the band, were either not successful or had major huge problems with it, and have revised or are looking to revise to VSG.  I mean TONS of people.  (also at www.verticalsleevetalk.com.)

On the other hand, although every surgery has it's share of people who are miserable for the first few weeks, I have yet to see one single person who's not been happy with their sleeve in the long-term.  I won't repeat what everyone's already said above, but for me, given what I've learned in the last few years of researching WLS, if I had the choice between getting banded and having no surgery at all, there's no way I'd let anyone put that thing in me.

Good luck with your surgery, whatever you decide on!

I will share what I have learned from this board and from my doctor. ANY SURGERY WORKS, if you work it. There is so much success on this board, because the people stay in support groups and follow their physician's protocols.

That said, the band has the most post-surgery followup with fills and adjustments. You need to know what you are comfortable doing. It is a life altering decision. Thank goodness!!!! You will be healthier and that will help you deal with your depression.

I have disagree....sometimes a surgery just does not work.  I have seen several band people on this site who were 100% compliant and it did not work for them.  USAFWIFE on the VSG board comes to mind.  She only lost 7 pounds with her band and had all matter of complications from it.  Since revising to the sleeve she has lost over 150 pounds.  Rachelena is another one I can think of.  She lost hardly any weight with the band and is now revised to the sleeve and dropping weight left and right.  I am assuming that this is because finding that "sweet spot" of just the right restriction is very hard to get to and I do not see that as the fault of the patient at all so it is not always a matter of "working it". 

 I guess I am thinking that being willing to do all the fills and adjustments are "working it". Of course, if the fill isn't right it is complicated and not the patient's fault. 

I wanted April to know that commitment to changing things seems to be a big part of success. The eating changes, exercise, getting support. Obviously, I am only commenting on people I know. I support any decision April makes, since that is part of our LW creed.

Kimberly, you have done an awesome job and inspire me. You look fabulous and are one of my role models. 

Aw, thank you...you are very sweet.  And, I wasn't trying to be contentious with my post so I hope I didn't offend you.  I too will be supportive of whatever surgery she decides on.  I just knew for me, I couldn't take a chance of "failing" again and I have seen too much of it with the band whether it is by someone eating around it (I actually know a couple who go get "unfills" at holidays and for vacations, cruises etc. so they can eat like before surgery and at 18 mos out neither has reached goal) or by no fault of their own because of complications or not being able to achieve proper restriction.  So, all I am saying is that if the VSG can do what the band is supposed to but without the chance of slippage, erosion, rejection, subpar restriction etc. I really don't know why someone would take a chance.

Okay, I'm going to try again...

I was going to get a band. Just like you, I was okay with the extra work and the slower weight loss compared to RnY and I liked that it could be removed. (I am also around 5 foot and weighed around 225. So we're around the same BMI.) However, I couldn't have surgery right away because of my work schedule.

So I hung out on a band board for months while I was waiting. And what I saw made me very, very worried! I saw people following all the rules and never getting to the sweet spot -- they were either too loose and hungry and not losing or they were too tight and had issues with reflux and not being able to eat healthy food because it wouldn't go down.

I saw people who did wonderfully with the band for a while start to have problems around 18 months to 3 years out -- problems that almost always resulted in the band being removed. (Slippage and esophageal spasms, mostly, with a few erosions thrown in.)

I also didn't like what I saw of band life. It was fills, unfills trying to get (or get back) to the sweet spot. There was a lot of what they called PBing. (Vomiting back up your food because it got stuck in your stoma.) There was a lot of foods that a lot of people just couldn't eat. The real kicker is that the foods they couldn't eat -- meat, veggies -- was the good stuff. But those milk shakes and cookies and crap like that always went right down!

The final nail in the band coffin, for me, was a series of studies that came out showing a very high re-operation and band failure rate as people got farther out. One study of band patients 5-10 years out showed a 40% re-operation rate!! That pushed me over the edge and made me re-think my entire approach to WLS and re-look at the other surgery types.

The main thing about the VSG that appealed to me is that it removes ghrelin, the hormone that gives us our appetite. I had a HUGE appetite pre-op due to excessive ghrelin. Not only does the band not remove the part of the stomach that makes ghrelin, but some studies have shown that ghrelin production in people with bands goes UP. This scared me because, if I didn't get to the sweet spot, I'd be worse off than I was without WLS. The hunger control of a VSG is a much more sure thing.

In the end, the band did not meet my criteria for a WLS. It didn't have very good WL stats yet it had a high complication/re-operation rate. It didn't directly address my food issue -- ghrelin -- but only indirectly addressed it (hunger control, if and only if I found my sweet spot).

After everything I have been reading. I wanted to go with the sleeve but didn't think cutting my stomach off wasn't what I wanted to do. Today I decided my deciding factor was my surgeon. I wanted to know how many he has done what how many he has lost from this surgery. How long it takes...When I called I found out he does them often. He has been doing WLS surgery's for over 15 years. She said I would have to ask her about how many has pasted away. Only because she was new in the office and didn't know. Along with the lady I would have spoken to was out till Wednesday. But she was very helpful. But after all of this. I decided what could be worse. Having the band erode into my stomach cut into my liver or even my erode into my Esophagus. Or having my stomach cut off!!

To the people who got the sleeve. How long were you on the table?