kimmr

Hey all, thanks for your words of encouragement. I do need to do this. First and foremost, I have a malfunctioning band that needs to come out. As poor as my band is right now, it is giving me some restriction, and I gained 40 lbs on that 'some restiction.' I can't imagine how fast I'd gain with no band. ....actually, I don't need to imagine that, that was my life over and over and over again pre-WLS. Tomorrow's the day. I'm nervous, for sure, but like I said before, I'm confident I'll come out of surgery just fine, I just worry about the long term unknowns. But, as someone said earlier, I can't live in fear. I just have to make the best decision I can with the information I have in front of me. Thanks everyone.

I currently have a band and am revising to a sleeve in 2 days. I don't understand when VSG patients talk about sliders. With a band, a slider was something that went quickly through my band's restriction, and into the major part of my stomach. With a sleeve, how can you have a slider? Where does it slide to, exactly?

I lost 90 lbs last year with the lap band (I'm on this board because I'm revising) and got down to a 32DD. I went and got good supportive bras from VS, and I was pretty happy with how they looked...in the bras. Naked was a whole different deal. Totally deflated and stretched. I could live with it, but I had a really hard time finding swimsuits. My body was in good enough shape that I could wear a two peice, but finding a top that didn't hurt was really difficult. Most two piece tops tie around the neck, and to have all that weight hanging off my neck was just so painful. If I get back to that weight this time around, I'm going to see if I can find a bikini top that structured like a true bra. That would help me quite a bit.

I'm on day 5 of my pre-op, surgery is in 4 days. I've been super duper tired. And weak. I worked this week, but I have a desk job, so it was ok. I always saved my last Protein shake of the day until I got home. Walking the 6 block to my car just wiped me out. Then driving, my arms just felt so stinkin heavy. My husband has been great, he would take care of the kids and get them supper while I laid down for half an hour every day after work. Last night, though, he was really tired, so I gave the kids their baths. I was totally dead after that. Just so weak.

@Wheetin...I think you've hit the nail on the head, but maybe in a round about way. This statement is interesting, though: "It's not about the weight I'm going to lose, it's about the weight I'm never going to have to lose again." See, that's what I told myself when I got the band, and here I am, needing to lose the same lbs. I think that really is what it boils down to..I've been through this once, thought it was once and for all, and clearly it wasn't. And..when is your date? Mine is Tuesday, the 27th. Also, I'm pretty close to you...up near Omaha.

You know what's funny, Wheetsin? I don't even know if I can put a finger on specific fears. Just that we'll discover that this surgery is completely horrific and I won't be able to continue living. This just highlights how irrational my fears are.

@MNB...all good points, and I appreciate your honesty, but I've already been down that path. What about being happy and healthy for my kids' younger years? Why wait to take care of myself? That's what has motivated me the most through all of this. Plus, I already made the band decision, it failed, I have to have it taken out anyway, and I do want to do something. Bottom line is, I'm typing cause I'm scared, and the folks on this forum are so freakin' supportive. Thanks everyone, truly.

Thanks everyone, I totally know what you're saying. I know what the risks are, and I know that the risks I took with the band were significantly higher than those I'm taking with the sleeve. I'm a huge advocate of CORRECTLY calculated risks...I have issues with parents who freak out about allowing their child to play in a friend's house containing guns, but have no issues sending that kid to a friend's house that has a pool. Statistically, pools kill lots more kids than guns do. Or the same parents who freak out about the possibility of their kids being kidnapped walking to school, but then have no qualms about driving them to the mall. Statistically, your kid is much more likely to be injured when you drive them down the interstate at 80 mph than be kidnapped walking 8 blocks to school. I'm a fan of Freakonomics. Anyway, my point is that, logically, I know I'm not being rational, but I can't help but acknowledge my emotional fears. And to Sara...for some reason I'm the opposite of you. I'm sure I'll be fine through surgery, but I'm scared about something going wrong in 10 years and I don't get to see my kids grow up. My husband's 24 year old sister is currently dying of ALS. I think this has lots to do with it. I have a very real example of someone leaving this world way to soon. Stuff like that makes you step back and think. And before anyone suggests it, I've got a great counselor. I've been seeing him for over a year now (not just my bad band, but the previously mentioned situation, too), and he's been wonderful. I know it's perfectly reasonable to be scared at this point, but I can usually 'logic' my way out of it. For some reason, it's different this time around.

Please complete these statements: I had VSG _____ (days, weeks, months, years ) ago, and I've lost _____ lbs. When I started, my goal was to lose ______ lbs, and I am ____ tall. I know a thread like this has been done in the past, but it's sort of buried these days. Plus, I'd rather see how far away you are from surgery (rather than knowing the date of your surgery), so I don't have to calculate the duration myself. I'd also like you to complete the second portion, as I think that will help put it all into perspective. I'm not comparing myself to you, I know, I know, but there's got to be an average or something out there, right? I'll start: I had VSG -7 days ago (March 27th) , and I've lost 2 lbs (on pre-op diet). When I started, my goal was to lose 40 lbs, and I am 5'6" tall. Thanks everyone!

KatyB! I, too, have had a band fail, and I'm scheduled for a sleeve next Tuesday, the 27th!

I'm excited to hear from the lightweights, too. I'm a band patient, and I'm having a revision to a sleeve in 9 days. I got down to about 155 w/ my band (about 10 lbs above my ultimate goal), but since my band is now not functioning, I weigh about 195.

@Luck...Still! 5 years out is one of the oldest sleeves here! I'd love to see a general update from you...how you eat, how your maintenance has been, etc.

Luck...you're 7 years out from VSG? I think you're the 'oldest' sleeve I've ever come accross. Can you give us an update on how you're doing? What you think if the sleeve this far out?

Hi VSG 4 Me. I got a lapband exactly 2 years ago. It has slipped, and cannot be filled without slipping again. I am scheduled for my revison to a sleeve on 3/27/2012. Best of luck.

I was diagnosed w/ a band slip in October of 2011, and I'm scheduled for a revision on March 27th. Anyway, I'm all nervous about my band killing me in the mean time. I've had most of the fill removed, but I still have a touch of restriction occasionally So lately, sometimes when I eat, I get a weird pain in my abdomen. Not up in my chest hear my band, but lower near my port, sometimes it feels even lower than that. I don't have any problems swallowing or anything, but like standing up after eating sort of hurts. I've also felt a twinge of pain (or something) when I twist wrong when I'm laying in bed. Also, sorry for the TMI, but my abdomen aches lots of times after I go #2. Thoughts on that? I'm seriously terrified of erosion. I'm planning on doing my revision in 1 surgery, and I don't want anything screwing it up.

Welcome to the club, colorchic. Seems like there's a lot of us here.

Band revised to a sleeve, all in one surgery. Also, I forgot to mention, all this achy-ness goes away after a short while. Like I digest a bit, and then it doesn't hurt any more.

I have had one lapband, currently diagnosed with a slip. I was self pay for the band (insurance excluded WLS), but now have bariatric coverage with Aetna. Normally, Aetna requires a high BMI, a six month supervised weight loss plan, etc. I was approved for my revision, and I am not required to do any of that. My BMI is currently about 31. I'll be doing my revision in a month or two.

You know what? Every since I had my band emptied, I get weird twangs of pain from my abdomen. Because I now know of all the possible band complications, I'm nervous that it's something ominous. Then, I realize that I'm eating a whole helluva lot more than I have for several years, so maybe it's just my stomach hurting from overeating. Who knows.

FXD, I self paid for my band nearly two years ago, as the insurance that I had at that time had a WLS exclusion. I was diagnosed with a slip this past October, and based on my symptoms, I'm thinking it was slipped for most of 2011. Anyway, I have a different insurance now (new employer) that does cover WLS. My doc worked with me to write a strong letter to my current ins company to cover revision to a sleeve, and they just approved me this week. At this point, I honestly cannot understand why they approved me so quickly (my paperwork had been submitted less than a week prior). When I got the band, I doubt I would have qualified for any insurance coverage - my BMI was around 39, and I had no co-morbids. Clearly, I'm not complaining, but I have to admit that I don't understand why they approved so quickly. I've been fighting for months with this same company to cover a $50 prescription, so when we submitted my case, I didn't have much hope. And even though they are covering me, I have a lifetime max of $10K, so I'll still pay quite a bit out of pocket. $10K is better than nothing, though. That's my story. I know it doesn't help you, but I was in your situation with the self pay, malfunctioning band.

I'm brand new to sleeve talk, and I just found out within the past month that my band is slipped beyond use. It's a long story, but not atypical, as I have come to realize after reading and reading and reading. Some day I'll explain, but I have what seems like a more pressing issue. I did well with my band, lost 90 of the 100 lbs that I wanted to lose. Over the last three months, with my band slipping, unfills, trying to refill, another slip, another unfill...now totally empty, I've gained back about 20 lbs. So, as I type this, I weigh about 172 lbs. I'm terrified of committing to what seems like such a drastic surgery, but I'm equally terrified of gaining back up to the 240 lbs I was banded at. Like many of you, I have a lifetime history of losing and gaining, over and over and over and over again. So it is completely ridiculous of me to go in for major weight loss surgery when, in reality, I am only about 30 lbs overweight? For those of you that were sleeved after being banded, did you tell yourself that you could keep the weight off, fail at it, and then go for a sleeve? Or, did you do the sleeve when you were relatively small? Or, is it that everyone that went from band to sleeve seems to belong to that group that never really lost with the band, THEN went to sleeve? Are the people out there that did great with the band weight-loss-wise, but had to go to the sleeve for some mechanical problem, like the slip that I keep having? Thanks in advance. I'll have lots more questions.

Glenda, what was it that went wrong? I have had my band for not quite two years. It is slipped, and I'll need to have it removed/revised. I'm just working on insurance coverage now before moving forward with something.

Keller, thanks for the reply. I think my BMI is just now crossing 30. I don't have a high BMI, but only because I've had the band for the last two years. My weight is most certainly coming back, and I have no disillusions that I'll actually be able to keep it off on my own. Plus, my doc told me there she wouldn't recommend leaving my slipped band as is, as there is no good that can come of it. Therefore, if I have to go under the knife again to have my band out anyway, I'm doing a sleeve.

So I found out about a month ago that I'm going to need surgical correction for my band that slips with any sort of fill. I don't want a reposition of the band, I think I want to go for a sleeve. When I was banded, I had 100 lbs to lose. I lost 90 of them with the band, and have gained back about 20-25 with this slip business. Anyway, I find myself incredibly sad about this whole process. As in, I was doing fine with the band, had a bit if reflux, but was managing it ok. This need for surgical correction basically came out of the blue, and now I'm trying to wrap my head around all of this. I feel like I'm mourning myself. Mourning the person that I was for an oh so short period of time. As in, I see/hear things that reminded me of the me last summer that was happy with my body for the first time in my whole entire life. This weekend, I drove by the Victoria's Secret store that I spend $300 (!!!) at this past summer, when I was at my low for a couple of months, to restock my entire undies drawer. Never in my life have I had such a great undies wardrobe. They all matched! Now, of course, none of those things fit me and I'm back to wearing one bra all week until I can get to the weekend and wear a sports bra while my one bra goes through the wash. Back to shitty Wal-mart underwear. Anyway, driving by that VS this weekend nearly sent me into tears. And then, me being me, I snowball the whole thing. So I'm self pay, which means I paid for my band out of pocket, and will pay for revision out of pocket. So I paid $10K the first time around, looking at $15K-$20k this time. Will I screw us out of being able to get the bigger house that we want to raise our kids in? Will I screw my kids out of their college funds? Then, I proceed with the mourning....find myself thinking about something while I'm driving, and suddenly I'm in tears. God forbid there are complications after surgery....I've actually researched bankruptcy options. Am I crazy? For anyone wondering, I plan to start counseling in the next week or two. Do you know what I'm talking about? Did anyone go through this mourning period?

Rev me up! That's awesome! I'm glad to hear from someone who fits this criteria! I guess I'm trying to convince myself that it's not crazy to do a sleeve at a BMI of 30. I'm struggling with the two thoughts of "I can keep off the 70 lbs that I lost" vs "there's no way I'll be able to keep this off, I never have before...." I assume, like everyone else, you wish you had done the sleeve first?