I have PCOS and have had many miscarriages. First one was my twins (I always thought they were boys) and then I refused to allow myself to become attached. I still grieve for the future my husband and I will never have. At times when I'm by myself I cry. We have been married for 18 years this year and I have given up on having a child. Yes, we have done IVF. This is how the twins were conceived.

My periods are regular and come on time all the time so I could get pregnant naturally....Apparently.

no, i have just seen so much permant damage caused by the so called reversable band that i think choosing a band on its gone if i dont like it a very bad decision.

applesauce

Ive had 2 bands in 6 years (first one slipped, and second one I couldnt tolerate any fill in it so I put on weight even though I would vomit during every meal).
The risks of the proceedure with the band might be slightly lower than with a sleeve but the long term effects on your body and general health are much worse with the band.
ie; the constant vomiting (which is seen as 'normal' to bandits) can cause terrible hiatus hernias (I know as I had one caused by the band which I had repaired when I had the sleeve) this results in reflux and other symptoms.
Also you eat such crap with the band simply because everything healthy gets stuck causing pain and more vomiting and sometimes a trip to the hospital(many trips for me over the years) to remove fill and get put on a drip, because of this your health really suffers and you can become deficient in vitamins and minerals (I needed a hysterectomy after even iron infusions and blood transfusions didnt help as you cannot take iron tablets with the band as they can erode the band)
There are many other health problems that I have had to get through simply because I supposedly had a 'safe' band put in me,
even things you would never think of like my teeth going rotten from all the vomiting and damage done to the throat even things like burst blood vessels in my nose and eyes due to the strain when vomiting these are now problems I will have forever that nobody warned me about. I believe a band is simply medically induced bulimia and you lose weight because you bring everything up and if you dont vomit you dont lose much weight.
Since Ive had my sleeve my health has improved greatly, I dont vomit ever, my iron levels are now normal so are all my other blood tests , I am no longer diabetic (this was getting worse with the band because I couldnt eat healthy food) and I no longer
have high blood pressure or high cholesterol and I no longer take anti-depressants as I can now go out and socialise normally
with family and friends as I am not scared of having to vomit or of something getting stuck.
I do believe that you have to make the choice thats right for you but please do not base this on the operation itself as there have been deaths from the band proceedure and from it slipping at a later date and also remember that it is difficult to travel overseas with a band as alot of countries dont know how to treat problems that can occur.
DO your research and look at the problems people have had 2 ,3, 4 or 5 years down the track for both proceedures I wish I had and then I would never have had the band.

Lisab

Hi applesauce
Like I said in previous posts, I've seen both good and bad with both procedures and lets face it when we committ to any sort of surgery, there's always an element of risk.
I appreciate you are passionate about the sleeve. It's good to get another persons perspective as I've only known one person to have the sleeve done, which is why I've posted on this forum, so thanks for that.
Did you have a bad experience with the band?

Lets talk about risks. you have a 1 in 4 risk of further surgery with a lapband further surgery with a sleeve is close to unheard of. The big boogie man ooooooooo leaks with a sleeve. If you went into all the ICU's in Australia you would find more beds occupied by bandits with leaks in their stomach from the laprascop or erosion than you will EVER find sleevers with a leak from the surgery.

There is NOTHING to go back and fix with a sleeve, the worst thing after a leak and as I said more bandits have them than sleevers is you might need a day procedure for a stretch. NO surgery they just pop a tube down the throat and espand it. totaly painless afterwards. You would NEVER need to reverse a sleeve ever. It is the nightmare of shit that rains down on you with a band that makes it needing to be reversed. Oh and the so called reversable tell that to some of the people on here who can no longer have surgery because of the PERMANENT mess that reversable band made of their insides. The scaring is PERMANENT and horrific it can involve your livers your intestine let alone your stomach. Hell I have even heard of one idiot band surgeon banding the spleen. So many hacks get on the lets make money band wagon and it is a mess. But having said that you can have the best surgeon and your surgery can go perfectly and you can STILL end up with permanent damage from the band.

So you want permanent damage talk the band. You want clean inevasive surgery that doesnt leave a mess of your insides talk sleeve.

applesauce

There has been quite a lot of issues on both sides really.
Perforation of the band
port flipping
adhesions (which can deter a lot of surgeons to proceeding with the sleeve following lap band removal).
food getting stuck (all of the time)
Having to regurgitate food
gurgling sounds while eating

I am sure there are plenty of people on here who have had the band and then removed who will add to this list of complications etc..... there is even one lady on here that has so much damage from the lapband that she now can not have the sleeve....

But as you said, it is an individual choice.... but me personally having the sleeve and knowing that it is permanent is the better option for me.... I know that once the surgery is over there are no more "complications"... it is done and I can eat anything but in smaller portions. I don't have to worry about my brain not being in control....ie with a lapband if you are an emotional eater, you can still eat a tub of icecream if you want to.. with a sleeve it is impossible.... so I believe the sleeve fixes two problems, my emotional eating and the portion size I eat.... I just could not shout it from the roof tops more... I would have a sleeve over a band any day....

Hi mapmar

I'm interested about knowing more about the problems that those people had with the band ...what a user problem (i.e. did they stretch the pouch from overeating/vomiting) or were they an actual band problem (i.e. prolapse)?

I decided to go with the lap band rather than the sleeve for a few reasons;
1. I'm fairly risk adverse which is the main reason to go with the lap band. At this stage of my journey, I can't bring myself to having a permanent procedure done. No, it's not that I'm affraid of the committment. I'm very committed to my decision and am preparing for a new life. I've had so many other operations over the last 3 years that I wanted to take the option with the least amount of risk and although the band is intended to be permanent, I feel more at ease with the fact that it can be reversed should something go wrong. This isn't to say that I wouldn't consider a sleeve in the future.
2. Of all of my friends & colleagues who have had WLS, only 1 has had a sleeve (she's doing really well, she chose the sleeve as she works at a mine site and thought it would be difficult to do the follow up sessions to have her fill), so I've been able to get more 'in the flesh/real life' information from 'bandits' and have been able to see first hand their ups and downs. This includes one bandit who had a cardiac arrest during her procedure (by the way she came through the op, is ok and looking absolutely fabulous 4 years on) and one other that just keeps sabotaging herself and is going no where with the band.
3. My BMI fluctuates between 38-41. I'm on the border line for the weight restriction of getting WLS done, so I'm more suitable for the band.
4. It's come down to what I feel is right for me after weighing up the pros & cons of both ...and the band is what I need.

I strongly believe that it is very much an individual thing.

It's great to have these forums available and there is heaps and heaps of information available online. It's also great to have people like you comment in these forums who have seen first hand the problems so people like me can be aware and know what to do to avoid it.

I wish you all the best.....

Can I ask why you have chosen the band over the sleeve? After reading all of the posts on here about peoples problems with the band, I personally would never have one.... also I work for a Gastroenterologist and also see the problems that the band causes.....

I do hope you have a good outcome and the band will do wonders for you....

Hi all
I too have never had a normal period in my life unless I was on the pill. Everyone is different and I just thought this was normal for me. Up until a few years ago it didn't bother me too much other than my gyno saying that I had to loose 10% of weight before she would allow me to go on fertility drugs.

Everything I did just wasn't sustainable and as someone who has been relatively healthy their whole life, I got hit with a series of accidents/illness each year for the past 4 years (ACL reconstruction in 2007, nasty pre-cancer cells removed from my cervix in 2008, gallbladder removed in 2009, and last week I had surgery to remove endometriosis & cysts and a mystery mass (which they still aren't sure what it is). I should point out that I had the endo surgery due to the pain from the endometriosis.

I feel as though I've been in a holding pattern for the last 3 years as I've wanted to get WLS done but something else has happened.

Well NO MORE. I'm not going to let another year go past being obese. I've decided to get a lap band rather than a sleeve and am booked in to get the band on 31.05.10. So with the band and last weeks endo surgery, I feel as those I'm on the path to finally shift this weight permanently, improve my health and increase my chances of having a baby (hopefully naturally) in another 12 months. WAHOO

All the best to everyone else out there.

I have PCOS and have never had a normal period in my life that wasnt orchestrated by my Gynae.

I was sleeved in November and had my first normal, on time, right length period came in January.

Im hopeful that sometime next year i'll be able to get pregnant as well.. Take things one step at a time.

Hi All,

Angel my story is so similar to mine, I have a 6 year old too, and many years of POCS and a painful misscarriage. Well I am happy to say I am 31 weeks pregnant and so very healthy and happy! I fell 11 months after surgery but had already lost 70% of my excess weight and had the blessing of my surgeon. I can tell you it is worth the wait! My blood sugars are very normal (last Hbc1a was 5.1) and I can feel the baby move heaps, no fluid retention (yet) it's a million percent better than my first! I had indegestion and feel hungry again (not used to that since the op) and now have graze cause my tummy feels so small!! I know those small things will be worth it in the end!

Will let you know how I go and stay positive!

Trace x

hi,

i was sleeved in may last year and so far have lost 23 kilos. i am diabetic, i also have pcos and endometriosis, plus a number of other health issues. I am 38 and my partner is 42. i desperately want a baby and i am booked for endo surgery in may this year. I have been advised to wait 12 months before trying for a baby. the fertility specialist wants my bmi back to 35, if possible 30. which means my weight needs to be about 70 kg. my bmi at the moment is about 40.

i agree with apple, best to wait the full twelve months to loose as much weight as possible, get your health on track and your body as healthy as possible. that's what i am trying to do.

good luck! my prayers are with you :)

take care

del.

i too suffer from PCOS and when we first started trying i was about 130kgs. at the time a was refered to a fertilty professor who put me on clomid. at the time they did not test me for PCOS (i have since found out that Clomid isnt recommended for PCOS suffers) I fell pregnant six months after starting clomid and despite a tricky pregnancy i managed to give birth to a beautiful baby girl. One of the reasons i had the surgery was to help my chances of falling pregnant. Since Dec 09 I have had 2 regular periods and a recent blood test has shown the my hormone level is back to a normal leveland also the effects of PCOS has reduced dramatically except for the hair growth! . what applesauce has said about even a 10% weight reduction can have a dramatic effect on the hormone changes. I have been advise by my surgeon that I need to give my body a chance and would prefer me not to fall pregnant under the 12 month mark however if it happens prior to this the body is able to cope. At the moment I am running a 28 day cycle however at this stage i am approx 1 day late. I have decided not to stress until after about a week.

I hope this helps and wish all the best of luck with their journey

Jane

We have been trying for a baby since 1996, when I went off the pill- I was then diagnosed with PCOS. I won't go into the whole IUI/IVF story but suffice it to say that the only time I had a period during that time was when doing a fertility cycle.

I was sleeved last May and have lost 43 kilos. A few weeks after my op, I got my first natural period. I have been getting them regularly since then although the length of cycle was long- although each cycle was shorter than the last. The last couple have been a perfect 28 days.

I had a scan late last year and there was evidence that I had recently ovulated and the appearance of the ovaries had gone from severe to mild PCOS.

We are giving it another couple of cycles to see if we can do it ourselves, but will then be doing a FET.

Hi Sesha,

I'm only newly sleeved but think I can help answer your question. I have both PCOS and insulin resistance and was sleeved a mere 4 weeks ago. I've already lost 10 kilos - something I never thought possible!!! I've been struggling to loose just one kilo for such a long time and my sleeve has done so much within 4 weeks. That does include my pre-surgery diet.

I honestly thought my body was constantly fighting against me. I craved carbs all the time, and was hungry immediately after eating a good sized meal.

I have a 6 year old son (concieved very quickly after we got married and I lost LOTS of weight before our wedding). Then it took me 3.5 years to fall pregant again after I regained weight. I suffered from 3 miscarriages in between (two after 14 weeks) and it was awful. I've never managed to loose my babyweight and it was only after my second child that I was finally diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance.

I'm sure my weight loss will slow down. But i'm off to a wonderful start and it has made me feel like I can get my life back. And I feel like i'm losing the weight for the last and final time.

I hope you have found this useful, and if you need any more information at all, just ask.

Most surgeons recomend a year to get the most out of your weight loss surgery. I know where you are coming from wanting a baby and wanting it right now. Ten years of infertility treatment 3 miscarriages and so much heartbreak. I so did not like being told that my weight was a factor in all this but I had to face the reality it was. I took a year out from all treatment lost the weight and and wham easy peasy twins. I did so much with infertile couples during that ten years and I am telling you they are not being mean telling you to get the weight off it works for so so soooooooooooo many women who have tried for years.

You are looking at just 1 year of your life that you are going to give your baby the BEST start it possibly can by being so much healthier than rushing back.

Libby THAT is a lot of money you want to give yourself the BEST shot at getting pregnant, honestly if I was you I would wait just a few more months and get a bit more weight off first. It is not like anybody is saying wait years just a few more months.

do I get to say how jealous I am hehehehe I would love another baby but this old duck turns 45 in a couple of months I am so going to cry on that birthday as I have to admit no more babies then .

applesauce

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for the replies. The thing is I managed to fall pregnant naturally when I was 135kg, I went full term, overdue 6 days, and lost my baby girl. I had no complications during my pregnancy or my labour and they couldn't find out why she passed, but I won't get into all that. That was 6 years ago. In 2008 I was 111kg, we attempted IUI and on the third go all of a sudden my weight became an issue. Upon seeing the head specialist to discuss treatments at our first appointment he never brought it up and allowed me to proceed with IUI, but not IVF. Then after the third treatment the door basically got slammed in my face through a letter saying no more treatments until I get my weight down. This was a very difficult thing for me to deal with because well, I had already lost a child and felt that my hopes of having more children were crushed and taken away. It's like dangling a lolly in front of a child and then taking it away.

I've been banded since 2005, had recent complications hence why I'm researching the sleeve and asking a whole bunch of questions whenever I can. I'll be 32 this year and clocks ticking so these are things along with the sleeve I'm investigating.

How long after surgery do the docs usually recommend before falling pregnant?

Im kind of contemplating pregnancy soon as well. I would love to get to goal first but seeing as my time is ticking away (and my husband is 13 years older than I am) I am thinking of having another go of IVF soon. My husband had a vasectomy about 15 years ago and it wasn't worth trying to reverse it. We have one frozen embryo in storage so we are hoping this is the miracle baby that has cost us over $12,000 to get.

I doubt there is a infertlity doctor out there that will NOT tell you how much your infertility with PCOS will improve with weight loss. Even 10% makes a differenece. The heavier you are the more of those "bad" hormones are floating around because there is more of you. Less of you and it just makes a dramatic difference. Now my husband and I are old timers but 16 years ago we lost 30kg each using optifast and THAT ended 10 years of infertility from PCOS and we finally had our twins. Of course the weight crept back on, hence we now have sleeves that are keeping the weight off.

You will also find that most infertility clinics is you need assistance have weight limits, and programs that insist you lose 10% if you are over weight.

As for getting pregnant after the sleeve any surgeon will recomend you lose the majority of your weight first, this for most takes about 1 year again depending how heavy you are. Not as if you would harm your baby by getting pregnant earlier but it WILL dramaticly effect your weight loss. It just seems such a tiny time to wait to get so much healther for a baby.

How slow you lose weight with PCOS is really depedant upon how bad you have. It could slow it down a bit but no different than if you where on a diet. You can again if it is severe try meteformin to see if that helps with the weight loss. You need to talk to your GP or surgeon about that as not all aprove of the use with PCOS.

applesauce

Hi Shesha,

I too am curious about this. I am not a huge 'overeater' as such. I mean, I must eat more that what my body needs to be the size I am, but having PCOS, whatever I eat just seems to go straight to stored fat. I am wondering if people with PCOS and insulin resistance lose the weight much slower once sleeved.

I am interested in what other people have experienced too.

cacooned

Hi,

I'm curious if there are any women who's infertility improved after being sleeved, with the weight loss, and how long does one have to wait before trying for a baby after surgery??

Does having PCOS slow down weight loss with the sleeve?

Shesha