Choosing a band or a sleeve

He's a lovely man isn't he Zip. I haven't seen him for AGES....probably part of my problem. I need to get my butt back up there. Fancy him being pro sleeve now...i kind of the like the sleeve idea better i think, sounds like you get proper physical restriction without all the actual eating pains of the band...tightness, reflux, pb's etc... though i guess the sleeve probably has is own issues too when you have to live with it. Our out of pocket costs sound similiar too...band and gasman (rip off! :) i think i was out about $4000 by the time hospital excess was paid too. Be good if the sleeve was cheaper, you'd think so as there is no actual 'device'.

I think i did meet Cathy. The name is familiar but i can't really remember. Did she have blonde hair? If its who i'm thinking of she was really lovely, and think she might have popped in to see me after surgery too (though its hard to remember through my drug addled vomitious haze.)

It'll be interesting to hear how it goes on Monday, keep us posted.

Nige is my doc too... You will be pleased to know he has changed his tune about the sleeve and is quite pro...but only if you have band related problems I suspect.

I will find out on monday what change over costs are if I choose to go that way.. I imagine they will be approx the same as the band going in. However if I remember correctly with my insurance I was only out of pocket a bit for the gas man and for the prosthetic device ( the band) so perhaps the sleeve will be a tad lighter on the pocket and only be a slug for the gas man..... who I might say is expensive!

Did you ever meet Cathy his nurse... or had she left by the time you came on board. She was on the ward when I was wheeled back in and popped in to say Hi.

You're on the midnorth coast Zip? Me too! Your doc is in Port? Mine too! Is it Dr Peck or the other one...gosh i 've forgotten his name, how terrible of me. Mine is Dr Peck. He is a lovely man but when i went to ask about weighloss surgery two years ago he never mentioned the sleeve....he was ALL about the band. lol
I don't know...the sleeve is sounding kind of cool. I wonder if its more expensive than the band?

Glad you're doing well. My boyfriend lives by the 'only eat if you're hungry' thing and he's always been skinny so it must work (he doesn't think beer guts count though :)

Well done Zip, sounds like you're doing well.

Nope I am on the Mid North Coast of NSW. My doctor is in Port Macquarie.

I have been debanded a week now and have the same level of hunger I had with the band but then I never ever was hunger free with the band anyway and controlled myself with the protein first pricipal which I am still doing....and so far so good.



Ok i tell a lie I ate half a tim tam last night but I only had a shake all day and I considered it dinner... I wasnt hungry at all so I am working on the 'if you arent hungry dont eat pricipal'... how long this will last I dont know, I imagine its due to swelling of the stomach after the band removal.

I am taking vitamins because I am deathly tired and the port site still after a week hurts like a bitch.

I see the band doc on Monday for follow up...

If you are talking about a Sleeve, Zippy; it is stapled. What happens is that a instrument cuts the stomach and either side of that blade a series of staples are fired to keep the two edges sealed. The sewing he is talking about is possibly the 'omentum', which is a layer of fatty tissue that some surgeons sew onto the staple line to keep it from twisting. And also some feel that the omentum helps with any sign of infection and helps alleviate it.

I think you might be talking about Dr Greenslade, if so, i think you will be in good hands anyway.

zippy wrote:

having my band removed on tuesday...living free for 6 months then he will either sleeve or reband me if I want.

Normally he is anti sleeve but has some overseas seminars and is in high praise of it now.. I asked about leaks he said you have a window of a short period ( I think a month) after the sleeve op that is the worry time for a leak, after that it wont spring a leak.

He said the sleeve is cut and sewn not stapled.. it is as strong as any other body part that is sewn together...it is sealed and once healed it forms strong join. So he said dont worry about that. As for stretching he said its possible as it is with the band but where you have to remove the band if the stomach stretches you can retrim the stomach if needed.



He said he would not be afraid of the sleeve and weightloss up to 7 years ( the longest documented info) is excellent where as its usually 2 years with the band then high chance of regain or band malfunction.

This is a huuuuuge turnaround from the doctor that wouldnt discuss the prospect prior.

So thats it, as of Tuesday I am an exbandit!

Zippy

You should be ok I had 8 months with no restriction and I stayed the same.

You know how it works.

I have always been able to eat eye fillet cut thin in pan over and out and salad so really I don't miss out on anything. I make sure that I have some mayo on the salad and sauce on the steak if I need it. I know by the first bite. My Dr wants us to be able to eat like normal just a lot less of it.

Delia

Best wishes for the path you've taken Zippy.

I dont know... part of me feels free, mostly because I will no longer be plagued by reflux or gagging on food that wont go down... also to be able to eat a decent steak and OMG salad with be beyond fantastic. However the prospect of gaining weight scares the pants off me and as much as I want to say it wont happen there is a chance it will. My doc said there is a one in 3 chance of regain.

I will just have to be in the two that dont

OMG Zippy !!!!!!

Are you pleased with the outcome? Talk to you tomorrow after visit to Surgeon

Westy

having my band removed on tuesday...living free for 6 months then he will either sleeve or reband me if I want.

Normally he is anti sleeve but has some overseas seminars and is in high praise of it now.. I asked about leaks he said you have a window of a short period ( I think a month) after the sleeve op that is the worry time for a leak, after that it wont spring a leak.

He said the sleeve is cut and sewn not stapled.. it is as strong as any other body part that is sewn together...it is sealed and once healed it forms strong join. So he said dont worry about that. As for stretching he said its possible as it is with the band but where you have to remove the band if the stomach stretches you can retrim the stomach if needed.



He said he would not be afraid of the sleeve and weightloss up to 7 years ( the longest documented info) is excellent where as its usually 2 years with the band then high chance of regain or band malfunction.

This is a huuuuuge turnaround from the doctor that wouldnt discuss the prospect prior.

So thats it, as of Tuesday I am an exbandit!

Yes we can't wait to hear what the doc has to say.

Zippy

I made a few Phone Calls yesterday inquiring about the sleeve, I was trying to find out about the leaking after Surgery, but no one would tell me anything. Then this morning I was reading that the sleeve can expand over time. I dont want anymore Surgery in the future, so maybe I will just see how my band goes.

But in saying that even my Baratric Surgeons Receptionist "Brenda" has had the sleeve and speaks so highly of it!!!!!!!!!. what to you do for the best? It all costs $$$$$.

Anycase Zip good luck for Today, fingers crossed it all goes well.

Westy

Fills that all makes sense and to be quite honest they were the worries I have had in the back of my mind.

My band doctor is an extremely cautious filler so the process of reaching the right spot has been very slow nearly over 12 months. When I found that spot where I could still eat solid foods in small portions but had no hunger to binge etc it lasted fine for three months then it tightened on its own to the point where I could not eat and had horrendous reflux so all the fill was removed to give my stomach a "holiday" from the band.

In a 10 ml band I never had more than 3.5 ml even at my fullest fill... after the removal of the fill I waited 8 months with out fill till I got a quarter of a ml increments every 8 weeks till I reached 2 ml... then it started all over again with the not being able to eat after a while and the reflux. Last week I had all my fill removed and have been on fluids ever since. I can not tollerate more than 1 shake a day spread over the entire day and no solid or mushy food at all will go down at all and I am constantly refluxing my days intake during the night.

I see my doctor this afternoon and most probably will be in theatre on Friday to rectify the situation. I was coveing my bases with looking at the sleeve. I am not the type of person to jump in eyes closed so I wanted to fully understand both sleeve and band.

I am very grateful for your info, it helps to understand the down side... because ultimately that is the important part that will plague me. So far I have only heard the praises of the sleeve... most are reluctant to sprook the negatives, perhaps so they dont scar the delicate little preciouse flowers that like only to hear sunshine and flowers....But at the end of the day I want to know if the sleeve has the possability of being a bitch or indeed life threatening.

So anymore you have to say I would truely appreciate you being blunt and honest.

Thank you again

Surgeons know all too well the risks involved with sleeves.

And some are just simply uncomfortable taking those risks for the sake of being competitive in their field. Most would love to be able to attract the interest in the sleeve, but like your surgeon...why try and compete in that field when banding has been quite successful and still remains the safest operation. I'm hearing of more and more serious issues from sleeving, and some hospitals are even banning the operation. If a sleeve goes bad, it's horrendously bad. If a band goes wrong, it generally isn't life threatening.

zippy wrote:

no no thats fine... like I said all of his posts that I have read in both forums have always been respectful so I was quite curious.

If I might ask... fills seems to be a little reluctant to go to a sleeve from a band preferring instead to go with adjustments of the band to get it right. Can I ask why do you steer away from the sleeve. My band doctor has the same reaction but wont elaborate on why he feels this way... all he says is I successfully lost weight with the band.

I'm sorry, i didn't mean to create such a stir.
I have seen hundreds of sleeves and bands done by many different surgeons, because i used to sell surgical equipment to hospitals.

I have a passion for video and have started to make a business of it particularly for surgeons and their websites.... to try and convey what they do so that patients can get a better idea of what the operation is about and also get a feel for the surgeon.
And in doing this, i have realised that so many patients still have no where to go to get the facts. So i decided to have a look at these forums and found myself sharing what i know and what i feel.

Someone mentioned, that i don't like the idea of sleeving over a band. That's not the case. I think foremost you should try and resolve the band and your fill adjustment, because in the right hands and and with the right advice you won't need to go under the knife again. Finding that sweet spot is where you want to be. Too many patients get fed up of it and want to swap to a sleeve without knowing the real dangers. It's the anaesthesia that will kill you, and if it's not that, a leak might well leave you in ICU for months. I've read it in these forums as well, so many real complications.

I hope that helps. I might need to put more about my bio in my profile, so people don't get the wrong impression.

tumultuous-tara wrote:

Thanks heaps ladies.

Thanks heaps ladies.

its our sister site created by the same lovely that created this one...and yes its Aussie but does have pond jumpers who post

Thats the one Lossingit

Westy

Don't know that this is strictly Aussie, but there seem to be aussies posting there (including Fills):

http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/

Oooh can I please have the link to the sleeve site . I've only been lurking on an American one - would prefer Aussie.

Ta
Tara

Zippy

I was reading about Fills on the Sleeve site, yes he does not believe in going from the Band to the Sleeve, I wonder why? I was reading that he works in conjunction with my Baratric Surgeon, Justin Greenslade. Puts me in a bit of a dilemma, weather it be the band or sleeve. I am going into Hospital Friday, so I have made an appointment on Thursday to discuss matters and to have some fill out. (Maybe that might be the problem)

Is it better to be sleeved I do not know, everyone that I know with the sleeve has had geat results but in the long run it will just cost $$$$. I know that he will remove the band for free (Bulk Bill) then for the sleeve $3500 for Surgeon and I think about $1500 for Gas Man, I dont know. Hanging in Limbo dont know what to do!!!!!!!!.......

Westy

no no thats fine... like I said all of his posts that I have read in both forums have always been respectful so I was quite curious.

If I might ask... fills seems to be a little reluctant to go to a sleeve from a band preferring instead to go with adjustments of the band to get it right. Can I ask why do you steer away from the sleeve. My band doctor has the same reaction but wont elaborate on why he feels this way... all he says is I successfully lost weight with the band.

He is genuine but he will have to tell you.
Delia

I have seem Fills posting on the sleeve forum... Fills has never been insensative in any way nor rude...but I just wondered about the background...doctor (though I imagine a doc would know the answers already) so Im guessing nurse maybe

Yep, I was trying to be polite last night but who the hell is this "Fills" person ???

Fills,
If you are indeed genuine (and do fills {or observe them} for a GP maybe) perhaps you should be here listening, learning and asking lots of non patronising questions.

There are many vets here that have valuable knowledge, experience and insight.

I do not mean to be offensive or rude, in fact, I would like to be welcoming to you but coming in only a couple of times and chucking about uninformed statements will not win you any friends.

Tara