Band to Bypass?

[Chow Chow]

Hello everyone,

Id like to introduce myself, Im Sam, 41 years old from north wales. Im 22 stone and 5ft 8.
Ive been a big fatty all my life, ive never ever been a normal BMI.
Back in 2011 i had a gastric band, paid privately, and successfully lost 4 stone until i went for it filled in 2013 and it was over-filled (my stupid fault). all the vomiting caused slippage and even though i got it de-filled the damage was done and i had to have it finally removed as an emergency by the NHS in 2017
Over the years the weight piled back on and im now heavier than ever, so im considering a gastric sleeve or bypass and im going to have to pay privately for this with a loan as i cannot loose weight on my own!
I absolutely loved having my band, i loved not feeling hungry! i loved not thinking about food at all. Obviously there were times when i missed eating big meals when out with friends but being slimmer was so worth it.
Im just hoping ill have the same feelings with the bypass / sleeve.
Ive opted not to have another band as im afraid it will fail again, and to be honest the fail rates on them not has increased over the years.

Is there anyone on here who had a band, had it removed and then had sleeve/bypass? id love to know what the differences are.
Also, im planning to take 2 weeks off work to get this done and then i dont want to tell anyone (not even my family as they will go nuts with me having surgery again when the band almost killed me off). Thats the plan anyway, but my 13 year old son will know as he will have to help me out with the dogs until im feeling better.

I was on this forum when i had my band any loved the support!

S x

 

[Bling Babe]

Welcome again, I’m sorry your band failed you but wish you luck with whatever surgery you choose, there are a few people on here who had a band then a bypass or sleeve and they may pop up with advice, to be honest only you can make the final decision but be warned neither are an easy option, I guess you know this from having a band, but I cannot stress enough how difficult it gets as time goes on, in my opinion anyway and it doesn’t switch of the brain so you still crave all the food that got us here in the first place. I’m sorry if I’m telling you what you already know, good luck, please keep in touch.
im a little concerned that your 13 year old will have to keep such a huge secret from his family, that could be a heavy weight for him to carry (no pun intended) could he not be told that you’ve had to have abdominal surgery rather than the actual surgery? X

 

[Mazza]

Hi @Chow Chow I had a band in 2009 and got to target, only to develop issues further down the line. Including becoming malnourished and developing awful reflux.

I had my band removed in 2015 and needed another year (surgeons opinion) for my stomach to heal enough to convert to a sleeve. The bypass wasn't an option for me due to the damage to my stomach but mainly because my starting BMI was relatively low.

I lost weight quickly with the sleeve and coped really well with it. No more issues with deficiencies and no more GERD.

My advice would be to seek some advice from the surgeon over which option would be best for YOU because that's the key.

Have you been to see anyone yet?

Good luck on the next stage of your journey