Rachel,

I belive Vanessa had either sleeve or lap band but Before her surgery...and said that the combination of the 2 was not a good thing.

I live in a world were 9/10 of my friends have had or are considering lap band surgery. (3 have moved on to sleeve surgery where the cut the stomach down to a large tube removing a huge part of it as well as the digestive process). With the lap band they put a tiny inflatable inner-tube very high up around your stomach creating a mini-stomach. (kind of like an uneven hourglass)..the content in usually around 4-6 oz. Which means that you can only eat (or drink) a very small amount of food at any one time. If you eat more (or meat, bread or any very difficult to digest foods) you throw up.  They throw up consantly.

Most lost a huge amount of weight quite quickly but over time put quite a bit back on. The problem is that there is a (for a better word) button under your skin where the surgeon injects saline to inflate the lapband. It closes it off the neck of the hourglass allowing the food to move down less quickly. Again, the more it is closed, the 

slower the food goes through. Also fluids. (most of them had it 'opened' in the end and put all of the weight back on)

Their biggest problem was dehydration. J pouchers have a problem with dehydration. The 2 put together can make for a huge problem. So you must be extra vigilant. You may have to consume a lot of smoothies, soups, blended foods etc in the begining in order to get enough hydration + nutrition. 

It has its + and its -....

I would have a long talk with your j pouch surgeon and/or his nurse...They may have more insight.

Personally I feel for you but would be shy about having it done (not that the surgery part scares me)...I would also consult a nurtionist if you do have it done to make sure that you are getting enough of everything.

Good luck

Sharon 

I had pretty good luck with a medically managed weight loss program (over 60 pounds in 30 weeks). It takes a lot of committment and it is not cheap, but it works. You are on a very restricted calorie diet at first to get fast results and motivation, and you attend classes on nutrition, not just the weekly "weigh in." We tend to overestimate how much we exercise and under estimate how much we eat. Even if you opt for surgery, you need to learn about what your body needs and what triggers overeating for you.

I also contemplated bariatric surgery, but I really do think you are asking for other problems to replace your weight issues. You still will have to learn protion control. But, talk to your primary doctor or get a consult to a bariatric clinic to find out if you are even a candidate. You may have already had too much surgery for this to be an option.

Jan

Man, I just had this discussion with my doctor.  I wanted to have the sleeve done.  She said, not a good idea and I would be subjecting myself to simuliar stuff as Jeffrey Is dealing with.  She said it is not a good solution.  I too am on a medically supervised weight loss program.  They are also giving me shots of B-12 and something else, two kinds of appetite suppressants, and some prescription because my sugar was a little high.  Pre-diabetic.  The food is God awful, but I'm trying to suck it up and eat it.  So far I've lost 15 lbs!  I'm curious what diet were you on.  If this doesn't work, although I think it will, I need options!

thanks.

dianne

Well I had the Jpouch done in 1994 and a sleeve gastrectomy in 2012.  I have hardly any insides left!!!  But seriously, I've lost 120# since my gastrectomy surgery and I have had no problems.  The only complaints with the pouch are sometimes frequency, which I can control with Immodium/Metamucil, and the ever present gas.  Now I have gas from my pouch-end and burping from my sleeve-end when I eat too fast. I'm a barrel of laughs.... but seriously, my sleeve surgeon was the same one that did my colectomy back in 1994 and he did not want to do the gastric bypass because it would further interfere with intestinal absorption so we went with the sleeve.  I am very glad I did it and after the hell of UC, having an ostomy at the ripe old age of 23 and then the subsequent bathroom learning-curve after that, the sleeve was nothing.  Hope this helps or rather, it's just my two cents.

Amy

I saw my colorectal doctor yesterday and HE brought up weight loss surgery - not me.  He suggested I seriously consider the Sleeve surgery.  I told him I have thought about it but wasn't sure if I was a candidate since I have a J-Pouch. He said, "Oh you are definitely a candidate."  So...lots to consider here.  Losing the prednisone weight is just awful and discouraging.  I always have a fear of those worst-case scenarios where surgery is concerned. I have two precious kiddos and I want to be healthy for them and my husband.

Amy, glad to hear a positive outcome for you!