Been to homerton today....now im confused!HELP!

[los in it]

had my long awaited for appointment at homerton hospital to see the bariatric team.
now from the start of this I been told im more likely to be getting a band I did want the sleeve as I thought that would be better for me but was told no its a band for me! so I settled for that read up watched you tube clips read blogs and joined up here so I think I know near enough all there is to know about the band and have become happy with it and put all ideas of having the sleeve out of my head after all the team must know what would work better for me .so for the last 1 year that's all ive been looking at and planning for.
back to today ive rocked up all excited got there really early(London tube strike!)and waited for the clinic to start ....well it was only me!
I had a chat with a member of the team just going over my details and eating habits etc nothing to hard so, she explains the stages of what will take place between now and meeting mr.Mannuar in march again nothing I didn't know but the shocker was .....she is saying its more likely to be the sleeve now as the success rate is much better!
talk about a head buck!
it did take me back a bit I had totally dismissed the sleeve and now happy to have a band im now in a bit of a head spin I SHOULD be happy about it but I just don't know what to think,
anyway I with my head in a fog went of to be weighted and have a blood test and an ecg test then returned back to have a group meeting with other people also starting this experience but again it was only me!
this time a different woman talked about the types of operations, risks, outcome she also talked about the sleeve as a better option and the band is not carried out so much as the sleeve is much better!
at this point someone else comes in so its now 2 people in this group session
I asked all the questions I wanted so that was good but did leave a tad confused as to what to do .because ive researched soo much on this when she was giving her chat I was saying to myself "I know that ...I know this...not her fault I just like to know as much as I can I don't think she was expecting that where as the other person seemed to me not to have done any work at all just sat there nodding
I understand I have to attend 2x group sessions not sure when the bariatric team have a mass meeting talk about all the cases and decide who gets the go ahead, funding(I was told my funding was sorted but judging by what she was saying maybe its not) or if other steps need to be carried out first ive also been told I need to lose around 10%of weight but not told when for.
so I went in feeling like ive done a lot of work preparing myself for this getting things in my head sorted only to walk out feeling in a spin and not sure where I am now
sorry for the extra long entry and it rambling I just had to get it out on here in my safe place as only you guys may know what this is like
I am still looking ahead to my next meet in march with my surgeon
thanks for taking the time to read this

 

[joanne7271]

Hi Los, Sounds like you have been messed about a bit. I have been going through my journey for the last 18 months and have had another operation in between (nothing to do with wls). I like u read up on the sleeve, knew all about it and was happy in my head that yes this is what i wanted.

However, when i went for my endoscopy at beginning of January the consultant told me that i wouldnt be able to have a sleeve and that the bypass would be better for me! EEEk. I had to chooses there and then whether or not to go on the waiting list!

Well........ I explained that i preferred to have a sleeve but he said well i can go back to the mdt and they would discuss this and then they still my recommend a bypass, and in that case be wasted time. OR I could go on the waiting list there and then for a bypass.

Well after thinking for literally 20 seconds I thought u know what......... it is surgery at the end of the day whichever one you have you kinda go through the same process, anaesthetic, pre op diet and liquids after etc.

I asked to be put on the list for bypass and on way home thought I would speak with family and see what they thought too. more for reassurance. Also I thought you know what, if i have major OMG-what-am-i-doing doubts later i could always cancel it.

I ahve had plenty of time now to read up and research and am thankful I have made that decision to go on list. I am just glad that they are willing to help me in my journey and cant wait for them to give me my start date.

I hope this helps you and I am sure you will work out what ever is best for you xxx

 

[los in it]

thanks Joanne,
yes it does help your right I do feel a little tad miffed at been messed about with if it was a choice between the 2 at would have read up on both know all the ins and outs as I find information settling for me
at the start of this while meeting with the pysch team I did say I was keen on the sleeve but was told my surgeon only does the band so that's why I went away and researched researched researched on it and its all that's really been mentioned for the last 13 months
your right in saying an op is an op no matter which one they do and if the sleeve is better than the band then its daft not to go for it ,its just I feel a little on the back foot ,but will feel better once I fill my head with information on the sleeve I think its that ,that's giving me the jiggers a bit
anyway off I go looking on here for threads re sleeves and you tubing !
thanks again x

 

[princess4d4]

i have never looked into banding as i knew this was never what i would want so i did all my research on both the sleeve and the bypass and as luck has it the surgeon agreed with me that i would bypass if possible but if not then would sleeve all depending on the liver but do the research on the sleeve and see how you feel if you dont think it is right for you i would say so you have to do what feels right for you

 

[los in it]

thanks princess,
I have to say after sleeping(not really up half the night thinking!)on it I will do some research around the sleeve it was the shock in the change of plan but they did say it MAY be that instead of the band
with all said and done I will have whatever is best for me and gives me the best long term results

 

[joanne7271]

My personal opinion is that you have to go through an op anyway, the bypass is reported to have the best wl, the sleeve second and band third.

At the end of the day I think it is up to the person and what suits and of course how much weight the person has to lose.

I wanted a sleeve mainly to kid myself into thinking I could eat normally just smaller quantities which in my heart of heart I probably would have eventually overeaten! But the decision was made for the bypass and now I am trying and almost there getting my head around it.

Good job we have to wait in between appoints etc so we can research etc. xx

 

[WeightlossDreamer]

bit of a shocker hun but try to stay calm and focused and do your research x x x

 

[Matra]

Hi Los, when I decided to have wls I also did all the research on the band, as I had decided that this was the surgery for me. Well after meeting with the consultant I left with my head in a spin. He was very good in not telling me what to do but suggested that a sleeve might be better suited. He elaborated by adding that you have to consider the long term maintained of the band, the success rate, complications etc, etc (also did complications of sleeve & bypass) he further went on to say that if he had to get rid of one type of wls, it would be the band.
After a long discussion he told me to go away and think about it, stating that most patients choose the correct surgery for them!
Cue lots more research...........and I was sleeved 3 weeks ago!

Ps bypass was never an option for me, the whole malabsorption thing was a no go for me! And the average 60% excess weight loss the sleeve can assist you in getting would be more than enough to keep me happy. Well fingers crossed anyway!!

Good luck
X

 

[G'G]

I think the sleeve looks the best option for most and certainly better than a band from what I have researched, I hear and read so many bands haven't really helped people long term or some have had problems then reverted to a bypass anyway.

Mr Mannur's team said exactly the same to me about the sleeve having extremely good weight loss results now, equalling the bypass. Even so I'm very headstrong I want a bypass as I hear the sleeve can be stretched which is a worry to me as I love my food.

They told me a bypass may not be possible due to my size at this stage but they did mention the duodenal switch if they felt the weight loss wasn't enough with the sleeve.

In the end, we agreed that they will try a bypass if they think it's easy enough once they opened me up, if not a sleeve will initially be the best option.

Mr Mannur definitely seems to prefer the sleeve now. Which seems to sound better than a band to me, I'm sure if you insisted on a band tho they would do one as it's 1 of the 3 ops they do at Homerton.

As with funding I'm sure it's agreed otherwise they wouldn't be seeing us, as it would be a complete waste of their time and resources. I think it is now a case of jumping through the hoops and tick the boxes that Homerton need to tick.