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New - Lap Band fail

M

mlbcle

Member
Hi all - new here. Still trying to figure out how to navigate the site, but I'm getting there!
In the meantime, wanted to share my story. Mainly to see if there is anyone out there who is in the same boat and might have some helpful advice.

About 6 years ago (2014), I got the LapBand while I was toward the end of my college experience. I thought it was the right thing to do because I was overweight for my age. My parents were huge fans of it, and I kind of was too, but let's just say that part of me looks back and thinks that I did it for them.

From 2014 until this year, I only lost about 25 pounds -- and most of that was from the first week of getting the Band. I decided to go to a new surgeon a few months ago (who I very much like), to see if I have other options for different surgeries. This time, it was my choice.

She informed me that the Band isn't really done much anymore. Apparently, they've found out that it doesn't work as well as they thought and can also lead to complications. We decided to take it out, which I did about 2 weeks ago.

The reason I visited the surgeon in the first place was because I wanted to see if I should do the sleeve or bypass. I have an appointment to speak with her this week, but I'm really on the fence about which one I should do, and if I should do it at all. I've been through the recovery process and know some of what to expect based on my experience with the Band -- the pain from the gas, the pain from the recovery, nausea, vomiting, etc.

I'll just say -- I'm 5' 7'', 260 pounds, and 27 years old. If I do one of the two options, am I making a big mistake? My biggest fear is that it won't work, just like the Band...

Any advice / thoughts / experiences would be much appreciated.
 
Either of those procedures would work for you. It's a decision many people struggle with.

There are many people here who has had the sleeve and had great success with it. However if you have reflux the sleeve is not going to make it better and it might make it worse.

I am one of the ones who had RYGB surgery and even though I never had the sleeve, I can imagine enough about it to think I would never want it.

I had my surgery 13 years ago and I had an open procedure through a 7 in incision that went from my navel to my rib cage. However, I have never regretted it. It was a more difficult recovery time but nowadays they do RYGB laparoscopically so that probably won't be an issue, unless you would prefer to have an open procedure.

I feel like I got really lucky. I don't think I would even ever opted for laparoscopic surgery for anything. But I would especially not want laparoscopic surgery in the gut because they have to pump you full of gas. I had a tiny little incision made in my navel where I had my tubes tied and I remember the intense pain for a few days as the gas left my body.

You should spend some time in the archives here. Just do a search and use a keyword and you can read about people's experiences and that might help you decide.

I'm sure many other members here will also respond to your post to welcome you and to share their personal experiences as well.
 
The incidence of GERD with a revision from band to sleeve is extremely high, which I found out AFTER going with the sleeve 2 years after my band. This past August, I had to convert to bypass due to the severity of the GERD... I wish I had gone with the bypass from the start.
 
dianeseattle said:
Either of those procedures would work for you. It's a decision many people struggle with.

There are many people here who has had the sleeve and had great success with it. However if you have reflux the sleeve is not going to make it better and it might make it worse.

I am one of the ones who had RYGB surgery and even though I never had the sleeve, I can imagine enough about it to think I would never want it.

I had my surgery 13 years ago and I had an open procedure through a 7 in incision that went from my navel to my rib cage. However, I have never regretted it. It was a more difficult recovery time but nowadays they do RYGB laparoscopically so that probably won't be an issue, unless you would prefer to have an open procedure.

I feel like I got really lucky. I don't think I would even ever opted for laparoscopic surgery for anything. But I would especially not want laparoscopic surgery in the gut because they have to pump you full of gas. I had a tiny little incision made in my navel where I had my tubes tied and I remember the intense pain for a few days as the gas left my body.

You should spend some time in the archives here. Just do a search and use a keyword and you can read about people's experiences and that might help you decide.

I'm sure many other members here will also respond to your post to welcome you and to share their personal experiences as well.
Click to expand...


Thank you for this! I'll definitely do my research on here (there are a lot of experiences to go through!).
 
eladams2015 said:
The incidence of GERD with a revision from band to sleeve is extremely high, which I found out AFTER going with the sleeve 2 years after my band. This past August, I had to convert to bypass due to the severity of the GERD... I wish I had gone with the bypass from the start.
Click to expand...


I'll definitely bring this up with my surgeon. I'd like to find out more, because that's definitely something I need to consider. Thank you!
 
I had the VSG, but I have never had any issues with reflux or heartburn at all, so I decided to go that way. If I had those experiences, I would have done RYGB, because from my research a lot of people had very bad experiences with the VSG if they had a previous band or reflux/heartburn issues. Many people on this site are proof that both procedures can lead to great success, but definitely talk it through with your surgeon and do as much research as you can about it.
 
I had the lap band placed in 2007 when it was fairly new. I lost 115 pounds in the first year then just STOPPED. Over the course of 10 years I gained it all back plus some. Almost exactly a year ago I was so restricted that I could not get water or anything down and had had enough! I consulted my current healthcare team and we decided to remove the band. I then joined their weight loss program and am in the final stages to get the gastric bypass which I hope to have done within the next couple of months! I haven't done much research on the sleeve but when I got the band I did plenty of research on that and the bypass to make this decision easy for me. At the time, I wanted something that was able to be reversed and that is why I opted for the band. I just know that the bypass is the most common and successful over a long time and I won't go with the "latest and greatest" again, personal choice! Best of luck!
 
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