Weight loss lecturers and others often try to help people distinguish between the desire to eat and “true hunger.” On the surface, the idea makes a lot of sense. Overweight people clearly consume more calories than they need, so a great they deal of the time they must not be truly hungry when they are eating, or at least that’s the thinking. Unfortunately, it’s not nearly so simple. Hormones drive a great many of our feelings of hunger, and that’s an important fact to consider when contemplating the pluses and minuses of Lap Band vs. sleeve gastrectomy procedures when obtaining a weight loss surgery with Dr. Feiz and Associates.

As one of Southern California’s top bariatric specialists, Michael Feiz, M.D., F.A.C.S. has been at the forefront of raising awareness about the hormonal link between hunger and the difficulty of defeating obesity. It appears that one reason most people who try to lose significant weight fail over the long term is that, the more weight they lose, the more hunger hormones their body produces – and the feelings these hormones produce are impossible to distinguish from “real” hunger.

Among these hormones, ghrelin appears to be a key player. Patients who opt for sleeve gastrectomies may therefore enjoy an additional benefit over those who obtain a Lap Band, because the sleeve procedure remove the portion of the stomach that appears to be most associated with manufacturing ghrelin. This does mean that all Lap Band patients should get a band to sleeve conversion, but it does mean that, if results are disappointing, a patient might well want to examine her options.

Whether you are consider a Lap Band revision surgery, or are having your first procedure and want to explore your options, the entire team at Dr. Feiz and Associates are looking forward to hearing from you.