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I was originally banded 4-28-11 then my band slipped the beginning of 2015. My doctor told me that the Sleeve surgery would be better for me now since I have a higher chance of my band slipping again. They told me that the Sleeve surgery was like having your sweet spot with the band right off the bat. Wow that sounded great. I had the band removed and the Sleeve surgery done both at the same time on 11-18-15, so I am 10 weeks post op. I went for my 2 month post op check up and explained the problems I was having of not being able to get food down, not able to get liquids down, I have not been able to get Protein down nor any Vitamins due to the constant nausea and vomiting (actually dry heaves). They told me that my body is rejecting the food and that after surgery it is common to have an increased amount of acid in your stomach. Even drinking Water can create acid. They said the increased acid in my stomach is what was causing the nausea/vomiting. So they put me on a prescription strength antacid and a nausea pill. They also told me to take ONE bite of food every two hours for the next week or two to get my body use to food again. So I have been doing that for the last two days. Have not noticed any changes yet and the nausea pill makes me so tired that I cant take it during working hours. Has anyone else experienced this? Also, in the past 10 weeks I have eaten very little I am tired and have no energy to begin with and the last week or so I have been getting really dizzy. My blood pressure is low (around 92/63 to 89/61). At this point I am wondering if I should have taken my chances with the band again because this is not what I thought I was signing up for with the Sleeve. I am just wondering if anyone else is experiencing any type of issues like this and what you did or did not do. My doctor also told me the 3 oz of protein and 1 oz of something else per meal 3 times a day is not realistic and will not be realistic for a very very very long time if ever.

Thanks for the replies. Since my band has been un-filled, food passes through like I was never banded. All the food I did not or would not eat when my band was working I am now able to eat (hence the huge weight gain). I went into a full blown panic when my doctor told me they had to un-fill the band completely. I know myself and I have no self control with the amount of food I eat, that is why the band worked for me so well. It put limits on the amount I could eat. I am glad to hear that with the sleeve it has pretty much the same food limits as the band. As much as I tried to eat the same way as being banded it just does not work. The longer time goes on and the more weight I gain the more depressed I get. I have started hiding the amount of food I eat again. I have pretty much stopped going out (except when absolutely necessary) because I am embarresed with my weight gain. You know how you hear "you dont play well with others" well..... I dont play well with food. My doctor warned me about the scar tissue and such and although he is going to try the all in one surgery from band to sleeve there is a possibility I will wake up and only have the band removed. This thought alone drives me crazy. As for my insurance, my doctors office filed an appeal to get both the removal of the band and the sleeve surgery both covered and my insurance stayed steadfast with the fact they have a "lifetime weight loss benefit limit" and getting my band took 75% of that "lifetime limit". I did GOOGLE "Bougie Size" and found that information very interesting and helpful. Did anyone else go from band to sleeve and have that LONG period of time where they could eat anything they wanted and gain a whole bunch of their weight back?

I was banded in 2011 and did very well and lost over 150 pounds. Then at the end of last year I noticed I was having problems with heart burn and things were getting stuck more often. I put it off to stress of the holidays. Then the begining of this year getting things down got worse and the only thing that really could get down and helped with my heartburn was ice cream and milk shakes. Well of course I started gaining and gaining. I finally broke down and saw my primary doctor. He sent me for an Upper GI. Come to find out my band slipped, so I made an appt with my WLS doctor. They looked at my Upper GI results and said all the Fluid had to come out of my band and they would monitor it to see if it slipped back in place. Now we are at the point that the band is not useable any longer and they have recomended removing the band and replacing with the sleeve. I have gained over 100 pounds back through this process and have a save the date surgery for November 18th to get the band out and the sleeve in (my insurance is requiring a new 6 month nuntrition counceling plan before they approve and then they will only pay a portion, I have to come up with $10,300 out of pocket). But has anyone had an issue where when they went to take the band out they could not get the sleveve surgery done all at once, my doctor said it is always a possibility and I am worried about the cost of having to possibly come up with even more money for a 2nd surgery if they cant do it in a "one and done" surgery. I am glad to hear that people that had the band and now have the sleeve are happy with the switch.

I was banded in 2011, I too had great success, started out at 321 and got down to 144 at my lowest and i am 6 feet tall. Over the past several months I started cheating my band (I have always been a stress eater) and the stress has been out of control. Now I add even more stress because I am so unhappy with my weight gain (41 pounds) that I eat even more due to stress. I now have out of control acid reflux (I feel like the girl from the excercist - it just pertrudes) on top of that I will eat too much and I will intentionally get rid of it and I just tell people that I was stuck. Even though I know I wasnt. I am having such a hard time getting back on track. How do you know if your band has slipped due to too much vomiting? I too can eat anything french fries, white bread, pasta etc. I am so embarresed to go back to the doctor and I have even refused to see my primary doctor because I dont want to get weighed by anyone else. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I am 12 pounds away from my goal, it is amazing to me to even say that after being a size 28 just 16 months ago I am now in a size 10, but anyway here is my question...... Once you have reached your goal, how do you maintain your weight and not continue to lose? I mean really... for over a year now I have stayed away from white flour products, candy, cakes, carbs (except for whole wheat), taken smaller bites and smaller portions, you all know what I am talking about, that is how we lose our weight, but once you have lost the weight and reached your goal weight how do you just maintain? I mean I still have the band so I will not be able to eat like non lap band people do. I will continue to have to stay away from the white flour products and such (I hate getting stuck), continue to take small bites and smaller portions, so how do I do all of this and maintain and not continue to lose? Do people get there band removed, the fills taken out? My band is my security blanket to me and it scares me to think of it not being there or not filled. Any suggestions or personal experiences would be greatful on how you do it. Thanks, Donna

I have had hypothyroidism for 19 years now. Before my weight loss journey started I was on 200 mcg now 6 months later or so I just had it checked again 1 month ago and my docotr has kept me on 200 mcg so for me my weight loss has not made any difference in the strength of my medicine.

I found it at Wal-Mart and Safeway/Vons

Thanks for the information everyone. As for my stomach growling. When I first got banded it did nothing but make noises all the time. Now I do not hear my stomach growl at al, no noises ever. I have wondered if I chew my food up real good what makes it stay in the pouch area. I thought the whole point of having the band was to have the food sit in the pouch area and that is what is suppose to make you feel full/satisfied/content with what you are eating. I am just so confused. You would think this should be an easy call... Do I get a fill or don't I? I still have no clue. Ugggggg

I was banded on 4-28-11 and have had two fills so far. I am in the same situation. I am not sure if I need a fill or not. The onIy difference I can notice after the 2nd fill is that I now have to chew my food up real good or it will get stuck. But...... after I eat (usually about 1 cup or less depending upon what I am eating - chicken vs Tuna Sald) - I am still hungry. I take the alloted time of at least 20 minutes to eat, do not drink 30 minutes before, during or 30 minutes after a meal. And I still do not even get satisfied. I am always hungry. I am getting my protien but I do supplement the total amount a day with protien shots and/or proten shakes. I was suppose to get a fill today but I canceled it after reading the above questions to ask yourslef. I am tired of this thing they call will power. If I had this much will power I would have never needed to get the band. I know it is a tool and I have been using it as a tool and I have been losing weight. But I know myself and my will power is starting to fade. I had two choc chip Cookies last week and felt terrible about eating them (afterwards of course). I have never had a satisfied or full feeling since I have been banded. Now you know my life story on the band..... My questions are ...... Since I do get restriction when I eat as far as having to chew my food, just nothing satisfies me or ever have that full feeling, should I get a fill? And if I get a fill and they tighten the band, is that going to make the band too tight so I can not get Water down? I had no idea that getting a fill or not getting a fill was going to be so hard to determine. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. .

Hi all, Just thought I would check to see if anyone else experiences nausea for no reason. I am just a little over 6 weeks post op - I got my first fill just over a week ago. But I have noticed since my fill I am nauseated all the time. It takes me 30 minutes to get a protien shake down in the morning but while drinking it I feel nauseated. Later in the morning just sipping Water makes me nauseated. Even though I got a fill I do not feel any restriction (well it was only my first fill so I did not expect that sweet spot yet) lol - I eat slow, chew real good just in case just not sure what this nauseated feeling is all about. Has anyone else experienced this? And to answer the big question No Iam not pregnant and I am not sick (well not physically anyway) lol Any thoughts you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Donna

That could be it. Thanks for the reply.

Thank you so much for researching that! I truly appreciate it. I will look into right away.

If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you choose the band again or would you try the gastric sleeve? I have the band but my friend is debating between the band and the sleeve. She thinks the sleeve might be better? Would love to hear what you think and why.

I was not on any pre-op diet either before surgery. I ate regular all the way till the day of my surgery (I had a l ot of last meals the couple weeks before my surgery). My doctor did say that the day before surgery I could eat a big lunch but to keep dinner light and nothing to eat or drink after 10:00 pm But if your doctor has you on a pre-op diet. I would say you really should stick to your diet. Each doctor is different and your doctor is only thinking what is best for you. Good luck

There are no Endo doctors where I live. I think the closest one is probably by the costco miles and miles away. My primary doctor will and has prescribed Armour but I just can not get the pharmacies in my area to fill the prescription for it. They all say they can not longer get it and I was told the manufactuer stoped making it. I will have to look into further.

I am so suprised to hear that you are still able to get Armour. The closest Cotco is about 80 miles away. I have checked Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS and Sams Club pharmacies. I even asked my grocery store's pharmacy (Safeway/Vons) and all say they can no longer get it. Maybe I need to move just to be closer to a costco. LOL I will talk to my doctor next time I go in about it. Thanks

Thank you to everyone that has responded. I do beleive she has decided to go with the band instead of the sleeve. She is suppose to get her surgery date next week. Thanks for everyones input.

I was diagnosed with Graves Disease 19 years ago. Instead of having the surgery to remove my gland I had the radioactive iodine treatment. It did not work the first time so I had to go through a second time but with a higher dose. So now I have my gland but it is a dead. When I first went on thyroid medicine they gave me synthroid. It just was not controlling my thyroid levels. Then they switched me to Armour Thyroid which was great. I did so well everything even'd out. But now for the last couple years I can no longer get Armour. They say that the manufacture no longer produces it. So I am back on synthroid trying to get my thryroid level under control but they are still really high. I was told that due to my hypo thyroidism that if I lost 1 pound a week that was doing really good. I was banded on 4-28-11. So far so good but they tell me that it is probably alot of Water weight. Well I will take all the water weight loss I can get. We all know this process is really hard but the people that do not have a thyroid problem have no idea how much harder it is for us folks with a thyroid problem. So good luck to all of the other hypo thyroid bandsters. We will get there just may takes us twice as long.

I have failed every diet and diet program miserbly. I want this to work so bad as well. I have pretty much followed my doctors advise. My problem is that I am so afraid of eating too much or making the wrong food choices I just do without. Which I keep being told it not good either. I eat once a day sometimes twice a day plus 1 protien shake. I do not get nearly enough protien like my doctor wants. But I too would rather be hungry and deal with the hunger then let myself and everyone around me down. This is my last ditch effort to lose weight. If I do not succeed on this, then I have no idea what I would do. I know this summer is too late to look like a "hottie". But I would love to be able to go to the river next summer and be able to get in and out of the boat without looking like a whale is trying to get on board! I wish everyone great success in their journey!

Well I did not have a pre-op diet at all. So I had a lot of last meals. But the week after surgery I lost 17 pounds (which I know was a lot of water weight) the 2nd week I lost 3 pounds and this last week which was my 3rd week I lost 3 pounds. I weigh myself once a week but I am always afraid to get on the scale because I am so afraid of a plus number instead of a minus number. I get my first fill on June 2nd. Can't wait. This never feeling full business is for the birds.

Thanks for the information. I know I need to start excersing especially stomach crunches or something but the port area just hurts to do them. Well that is my excuse right now for not doing them. (lol). I will just wait and as time goes by I am sure it will be like you and it will eventually get better and better. Thanks again.

Well May is coming to a close here pretty quickly. Just checking in to see how all the April bandsters are doing? Going okay here. I know I did not put this weight on over night but with the limited amount of what I have been eating I thought I would have lost more weight then I have. Oh well the journey continues. I do have a question for all of you though.... I was banded 3 weeks ago today. Is anyone else have soreness where your port is? When I bend or cough or twist the wrong way it sure lets me know it is there. It is not real bad just I definately know it is there and I worry sometimes if I have torn the stitches or something. Hope to hear how other people are doing.

I am 2 1/2 weeks post surgery and I have no restriction. I can chug Water and those ucky protien shakes. My problem is that I am such a picky eater (that is when it is not junk food or carbs) so for me I pretty much stopped eating cause I do not like my options. I have one protien shake in the morning and then do not eat anything else the rest of the day. Maybe at night I may have some tuna salad and I eat it with a fork. Other days I may just have two protien shakes and that is it. I do not think that I have had more then 600 cal's in one given day since I have been banded. For some reason I find it easier to just not eat then to figure out what to eat. I am so afraid that if I cheat once I will never stop. Isn't funny how our minds have so much control over us.

Name~ Donna Age~ 48 Weight on May1st~ 312 Goal Weight for May 29th~ 299 (I want to be under the 300 mark) Exercise Goal for May~ Start doing some Dietary Goal for May~ Consume enough protien each day Personal Goal for May~ Have more patience with myself Date Banded~ 4-28-11 (1 week ago today) Total Weight Loss Since Banding~ 17 lbs

Hi everyone, I need to know if this has happend to anyone else. I was banded on the 28th. I only had to be on clear liquids for 24 hours. Per my doctor from day 2 through day 21, I am on the creamy liquid diet and then gradually move into mushie foods and then on day 22 solid foods. So here is the problem. I am not sure if I created it myself or what. Last night for dinner I had about a tablespoon of mashed potates that were whipped really fine, put enough gravey on them to make them more liquidy. I also at about a lima bean size piece of a biscuit. That little bit of biscuit I broke it down into 3 tiny bites and did not swallow till it was like disolved throughly. (just wanted to taste something normal). Well that was about 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Never had any pain or felt any discomfort between the potatoes and the biscuit peice. I did not eath anything else after that the rest of the night. But now this morning, I woke up at 4:30 am coughing. I couphed so hard that it made me do that frothing thing and it would not stop till I threw up the bile stuff. Does anyone think this happend because of what I are several hours ago? I would have thought after 9 plus hours all that would have passed through already. So just wondering if anyone else has expierienced this or what your thoughts are?