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lapband from my reserch also doesnt have the same long term sucess as bypass/sleeve and more risks for things like slippage.
i absolutly agree and thats one of my concerns about weight loss surgery. as it becomes more main stream...i worry people will not think as hard on the risks, this is a life changing surgery (no matter what method you use) and can be a life ending surgery.
i think it needs to be tripply made clear that this is a surgery that is prone to complications even after healing and is not some "easy" way to loose that last 25-50lbs.
lapband from my reserch also doesnt have the same long term sucess as bypass/sleeve and more risks for things like slippage.
i absolutly agree and thats one of my concerns about weight loss surgery. as it becomes more main stream...i worry people will not think as hard on the risks, this is a life changing surgery (no matter what method you use) and can be a life ending surgery.
i think it needs to be tripply made clear that this is a surgery that is prone to complications even after healing and is not some "easy" way to loose that last 25-50lbs.
I absolutely agree with everything you have said here. When I found out they are going to lower the weight requirement for approval for the surgery, It made me think that people with just naturally think that over the last several years the complications are lower and that the surgery must be safer now. This is not the case, and I hate for anyone to have a false sense of security on any every level. Good luck Foxy.
I absolutely agree with everything you have said here. When I found out they are going to lower the weight requirement for approval for the surgery, It made me think that people with just naturally think that over the last several years the complications are lower and that the surgery must be safer now. This is not the case, and I hate for anyone to have a false sense of security on any every level. Good luck Foxy.
That's a good point. Just because the weight requirement is less doesn't make the surgery safer. In fact, three out of ten lap band surgeries "slip" and the patient has to have corrective surgery or ends up getting gastric bypass anyway. I wanted to avoid all that so I went with gastric bypass. As it turns out I've lost WAY more weight than my sister-n-law that had lap band surgery at the same time I had gastric bypass surgery. I'm glad I chose gastric bypass.
lapband from my reserch also doesnt have the same long term sucess as bypass/sleeve and more risks for things like slippage.
i absolutly agree and thats one of my concerns about weight loss surgery. as it becomes more main stream...i worry people will not think as hard on the risks, this is a life changing surgery (no matter what method you use) and can be a life ending surgery.
i think it needs to be tripply made clear that this is a surgery that is prone to complications even after healing and is not some "easy" way to loose that last 25-50lbs.
"you must spread some reputation around before giving it to foxywench again"...sorry, I tried, LOL. I agree with you foxy
I want to share a story with you all considering or even just wanting to know more about weight loss surgery. I had a gastric sleevectomy. This is similar to the bypass, but no moving of any intestines, no malabsorption problems, etc. Its basically just cutting the excess stomach off. I almost died due to complications. I developed a leak. My surgery was laproscopic, and the stiches didn't hold and I became septic as a result. I spent over a month in ICU. I was listed in patient information as "critical but failing" for a week and then bumped up to "critical" for a few more weeks. And I did not have some other complications that I am told usually happen with leaks, like needing to be put on on a ventilator or have a chest tube, although I was close to both. I was finally sent home with a PIC line in my arm because I could not take in anything orally, and when that got infected I had to have a stent put in my esophogus. That was painful, and I could barely function. My surgery was in the beginning of July, the stent came out in the middle of October. I would like to think that if I had understood that if this one particular thing happens I would PROBABLY die, I would have tried something different.
Each weight loss surgery has significant complications, and everyone considering should know what the complications are, how often they happen, and what the outcomes are. It turns out that with the sleeve, if you develop a leak the result is USUALLY death. Even though I knew that complications could occur, I did not know the severity. It was definately not put to me in a manner that I really had to think about it. In fact, it was more passed over, because my surgeon had performed this surgery 90 times before and had never had a leak, so I just thought that since we was a top notch surgeon it just doesn't happen. I knew that with the bypass leaks are more common, but for some reason the severity of the complication seems to be worse with the sleeve. I would think that if my doctor said "if you do have a leak, you will most likely die" I probably wouldn't have gone through with it.
So if you or anyone you know is considering having any type of weight loss surgery please be sure to find out all the information possible. From the track records of the surgeons and hospitals, to what the outcomes are of even the most rare complications.
Thank you for sharing your story. I am currently in the process of completing my requirements to get sleeved and your story is proof that there are risks involved with the surgery. Can you share if your doctor did the leak tests after your procedure?. My PCP was trying to lead me towards the RNY but I know that the long-term rate of complications with that procedure are very high and almost 100% of GP patients end up with a serious vitamin deficiency. I've already been on iron in the past for anemia so I ruled that surgery out completely.
I know WLS is not for everyone but I do wish you luck and wellness.
bigblue, after rny the risk of vit deficiency is higher because of the malabsorbtion but saying almost 100% suffer serious deficiences is a little overboard, if you stick to the regime of specified daily multi-vit, calcium and d and get your blood tests as required so you can adjust as nessicary the risk is much lower and ive not personally heard of anyone suffering "serious vit deficiency" after rny as long as they stick to the "regime"
sleeve is definatly a plus because you dont have the risks of the malabsorbtion, BUT...alot of insurances still wont cover the sleeve and it is relitivly "new"
sounds like your doing your reserch though and THAT is the most important thing.
good luck :P
i had rny back in september and honestly if i had to go back and make the descision again, i would absolutly do it all again in a heart beat, im 16 weeks out and down 78lbs!
Thank you for sharing your story. I am currently in the process of completing my requirements to get sleeved and your story is proof that there are risks involved with the surgery. Can you share if your doctor did the leak tests after your procedure?. My PCP was trying to lead me towards the RNY but I know that the long-term rate of complications with that procedure are very high and almost 100% of GP patients end up with a serious vitamin deficiency. I've already been on iron in the past for anemia so I ruled that surgery out completely.
I know WLS is not for everyone but I do wish you luck and wellness.
Yes, my doctor did perform the leak tests - many times. He sent me for the tests immediately after my original surgery, then on the second day, and then again on the third day before my discharge. I was readmitted 3 days later, but the leak was not showing at that time. So they began treating me for pneumonia - I did have some fluid in my lungs, but my doctor had a suspicion of a leak the whole time - so he kept ordering the leak test. I was having terrible pain in my left shoulder - which we know now was related to the leak. The leak finally showed up on the 4th day. By that time I was septic and that is when I was rushed for emergency surgery and then I almost died.
I was originally scheduled for the RNY, but when my insurance company began approving the sleeve I was thrilled. As I stated earlier, the complications don't happen as often, but they are deadly when they do happen. And that is scary. I don't now that having this information would have stopped me from having the surgery, but I believe I would have at the very least thought about it harder, and discussed it more with my family. It just seemed so easy......cut off the extra stomach....simple. No moving intestines - no vitamins and deficiencies for the rest of my life....much much less risk of complications later etc.
i had rny back in september and honestly if i had to go back and make the descision again, i would absolutly do it all again in a heart beat, im 16 weeks out and down 78lbs!
whats more wonderfull is how amazing i feel!
i am officially off CPAP *dances*
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