Decision Decision - Which Surgery?

Hi Caz,

I've just had my lap band removed as I had lost only 5kg in 9 months. All the vomitting and loud hiccupping was just embarrassing! My family would tell me to shut-up when I'd hiccup loudly - like I could help it! After each meal, I would hiccup at least 5 times before settling. Also if you ate food that was a bit cold (like having a mouthful of left overs out the fridge) I would vomit immediately. I had to drink hot tea with everything so the food would go down. Once, when I'd had a fill, I was soooo hungry (couldn't eat solids) so I stuffed 3 cadbury koalas down in the car after having gone shopping! I felt like I was gonna pass out so just had to have some calories! Not very healthy.

However to be fair, the doctors withdraw the filling out of the band for pregnant women so you can take in more nutrients - however expect to put on weight with it too!

I'm awaiting a gastric sleeve as the band just didn't work for me. Since having the band out 3 weeks ago, I'm still having trouble swallowing so it must have done some damage to my oesophagus. Delightful.

All the best with your decision!

Kris.

Hi.... I have had a gastric bypass, and as far as i know, that is the only surgery where DUMPING occurs.... It happens because a small part of the intestine is bypassed, to aid in weight loss, so if you eat any high fat or high sugar foods, you will get dumping... caused when the sugary/fatty food is dumped straight into the next part of your bowel ( please someone correct me if Im wrong :) ) This for me was the biggest reason I chose the bypass as opposed to the sleeve. Pre surgery, I used to eat icecream, and chocolate, and just knowing now that I could dump is a HUGE detterent for me not to eat these things.... Dumping causes you to become quite ill for 1 hr up to sometimes 3 or 4 hrs.. NO THANKS :) ...... goodluck with your decision....

Karen

Wow, thank you for your prospectives.

That's really helpful.

There's something I'm sort of confused, i'm reading a lot of something called the Dumping Sydrome can someone explain what that actually is?

Thanks

Caz

Do you want to be PB'ing the rest of your life....PB'ing is a cute little name the bandits give to vomitting up food that gets stuck. I went to a combined bandits and sleevers meet and the whole topic of conversation from the bandits was what got stuck and how often they had chucked. Grossed me out and I simply cant stomach attending anymore combined meets. And not to mention the dramas with finding the right amount of fill.
WHy would you not want a permanent solution?
Also with the band often you dont know the damage its doing until too late. I have heard of so many bandits who have had slips and erosiions etc.
I firmly believe less and less Bariatric surgeons will do bands as time goes on. I also beleive there will come a time when the band is no longer allowed. The better surgeons are already refusing to do them because of the damage they do.

Read the band forums and see ALL the problems they have and how it goes on for years and years. Read about their horrid diet and how so many are left eating nothing but rubbish.

Read the sleevers forum and see how after healing there is no problems and you eat a well balanced healthy diet.

Now which lifestyle would I want pregnant.

As for permant oh of course I want yet another go up go down waste of my time and life putting on taking off weight cyle yet again or do I want a permant solution so I can just get on with living a NORMAL life .

hard choice not.

You also have to remember that most surgeons can not do sleeves and tend to push bands they also get a life time of you having to come back and back for fills unfills surgeries over and over again.

applesauce

sleeve all the way for me!

Daz,

Thanks for sharing your story.

Dr Kuikovas was wonderful.

hi just wanted to say regardless of which way u go , i was recently sleeved by Dr Kuzinkovas and saw Phil Seely yesterday about a few minor issues, which im sure are nothing,you are in great hands, Kuzinkovas is a great surgeon, never had a leak, u can read a bit about him in the surgeon section, i found him compassinate, never dismissive and just a nice bloke, just a little to well dressed for me lol, and his consultant Phil is a wonderful man, treated me like he had been my life time Gp, something u miss going to a medical center like many of us do .
I was sleeved all be it a week ago today and not one regret,
.IT IS ONLY MY OPINION , but i think Dr Kuzinkovas, is a fan of the sleeve, he doesnt do gastric bypasses, he likes sucess and i felt he sees that as the best way for his patients, and i think he genuinly cares for us,to suceed.

good luck in your decision, in my consult we both agreed 30 secs after chatting i was not a candidate for a band, a decision i had already decided on

there is a link to this subject in this forum..

good luck with your decision.....after reading the probs with the band i would not choose this option........sleeve it all the way...lol

in the secret womens business section under pregnancy with the sleeve...

Hi Guys,
I'm 24, I weigh 122kgs, height 165cm. My goal weight is 70kgs.
I have had family members who have had the sleeve and have watched them melt away their fat. It’s amazing at the transformation. I had a friend who did the band and she hated. She kept saying that everything she ate she couldn’t keep down.
I went and saw Dr Kuzikovas yesterday at St George Private. Wonderful man. Before I saw him, I went and saw his consultant Dr Searly, he was a really great guy as well. He was very adamant that the sleeve wasn’t the best choice because it was not reversible.
Having discussed with Dr Kuzikovas yesterday about either option, he said with the band you need to be very committed. The band requires lots of maintenance, there are many Doctors visits, band tightening etc. This option was definitely for people who didn’t have a busy lifestyle. He also mentioned the statics of weight loss. That you achieved more weightloss with the sleeve then the band. He said with the band I would lose 20kgs from the 50kgs and with the sleeve I would lose 30-35kgs and it was achievable to lose 100% with the sleeve.
Another thing I shared my concern was pregnancy. I wanted to start having children within the next 5 years and wanted to know whether the baby could have enough nutrients. He said that it wasn’t a problem.
Are there any women out there who have had either the sleeve or band and have fallen pregnant and everything has been fine? This is a big factor for me.
Can anyone just shed some light on either one? I have a big decision to make. I have been overweight since I was 7 years old and I keep on getting bigger and bigger.
Thank you
Caz