Kristina J.

When I had my first band removed it was due to a slip, I was told it would be a night in the hospital and a couple days of taking it easy, but I had a horrible erosion and ended up in the hospital for 9 days! :-/ Hopefully that's not the case for anyone else. I was rebanded a year later but after how awful it's been I'm getting this one out in May and revising to a sleeve. Hopefully this removal goes smoother than the last one!!

Yay!!!!! That's so exciting!!!!! Congratulations!!! I'm in May ... so I'm definitely pulling for May for you too!!

I kinda thought we both did!! And I even stood up for repeat questions when someone wants to reach out!

There was only one negative response! Everyone else was being supportive! Don't let one bad response ruin your experience here. There is a lot of very valuable information!!

Geez... Welcome to VST! Funny, I just read an old post toady that talked about people asking old questions that had already been asked. Has it been asked and answered on this site before? Yes, probably a few times over. Does that mean she can't put herself out there and ask the question and get her toes wet? It is her very first post!!! You're going to have a lot of questions at a lot of different points along this journey. Some you'll search for and some you'll want to talk to people about. Don't let people discourage you from reaching out!! With that said, I have heard of a lot of people who have had no pre-op diet and a lot of people who have had month long pre op diets!! But I'm with Kristen... I wouldn't ask too many questions about it (to your SURGEON she means) and just enjoy your lucky break!! And welcome to VST!

Omg pickles!!!! I miss pickles so much!! I still have my band in until my revision in May and pickles are a guaranteed "stuck" food with my band so I haven't had pickles in YEARS and they have been one of my favorites since I was a toddler!!! I didn't even think about being able to eventually eat pickles again! You guys just made my day!!!

No way!!! Do you know how zombies work?! lol "BRAINS!!!!! Must have BRAINS!!!!" It's the one sole purpose that drives them! We'd all be doomed. Lol

Lol that's only because you're post op and have cat like skills now!! I have bull in china shop skills!! Lol for now anyway... Hahaha

We drive back and forth from Phoenix to San Diego at least once every month or two to visit my family (that's how we'll go for my surgery in fact and just drop the girls off with my parents and sister). I tend to go a lot with just the girls when the hubby works 4 days straight, so I know how a lot of driving can take a toll on your body and that's less than half your drive time!! Best to be safe for sure.

Scheduled for May 3rd... this wait is going to be torturous which seems silly since it's been a couple of years in the making... I'm filling my time with getting started with an exercise routine, though admittedly, I'm not doing as well as I should. Working up to it. I have hired a very handsome personal trainer (henceforth known as "Hottie Trainer") who kicks my booty once a week and I try to walk with my handsome hubby a couple times the rest of the week. Also filling some time working on passport applications right now and some new diet routines to carry through post op. Who else is finding the wait unbearable (either scheduled or close to it)? What are you doing to pass the time?

I worked for Marriott for 5 years here in Arizona (best job I've ever had) before becoming a stay at home mom... Is it kinda weird that one of the things I am really exited about is staying at an international Marriott?? lol Obviously more so the life changing surgery... But kinda a lot about the Marriott too! Hahaha

Oh yeah... Ouch. That would be a very long ride, and a dangerous one considering the heightened risk of blood clots after surgery! Best to go for April... Like make her come back with you so you can go as soon as you can get home... But April!

I'm pretty sure, given a badass samurai sword, I could find a reason to wield it like a badass. Perhaps not a valid one. But I could find a reason. You bet your sleeved and soon to be sleeved butts!

This is very true... if we become zombies, we'd just be a bunch of fat zombies... which means we'd all just be fat bitter and angry zombies!! Otherwise known as, the worst kind.

Well I'm going with Dr. Garcia and I'm STILL over 2 months out!!! I had to book May 11th for my husband's work schedule and to have enough time to change my name on my passport! I think the wait might kill me! lol Good luck!!!!

Oh I've got a total whack job survivalist friend... he says he can make jerky that can last me 5+ years!! Now that I say that I realize it seems odd that this has recently come up in conversation... but it is what it is... hahaha

If insurance provides you any option for revision coverage, that's a good thing. The hoops that they make you jump through, while a pain, are a pain a lot of us wish we had lol. I know for me reflux is horrible with the band so while a lot of band to sleevers find some relief, I'm not banking on it, though I would welcome even the slightest bit of relief. I take protonix daily and still have a lot of burn through! I think anyone considering a band to sleeve revision should visit both the band to sleeve revision forum and the complications forum of the VST website for sure. There's a lot of valuable information to be found on both sides, people who have found the success they were hoping for with the revision and people who have found the sleeve to be just as difficult (if not even more so) in different ways!! At this point, I don't really have much of a choice and just need to take a leap and pray... but research should be our best friend when going into something like this! My insurance won't cover my band out or my revision. My insurance has a full exclusion on all WLS. Ugh!

Well, with the exception of Joatsaint, we're all pre-op, so the zombie's better take their sweet time... we got some work to do first!! lol

Oh, I was at Hiranandani Hospital! I loved it I'm sure you will have a wonderful surgery!! No worries!

Seriously!! lol That looks like my clothes compared my 3 year olds! haha I'm a big fat fatty... those small pants look like doll pants to me!! hahaha Very nice!!!

I thought about this. A lot. I think this is saving us in the event of the zombie apocalypse. food will be in short supply. We can survive on less. Sleevers will be the survivors. Done. I paid my deposit the next day. Cut me open doc. Let's do this.

Fitinmumbai, what hospital are you going to?

The real answer here is that no one is going to be able to give you the answer. I am 5'1, I weighed in this morning at 254. That puts my BMI at 48. If I could get down to your BMI and no comorbidties, I'd be dancing for joy. I really wouldn't consider WLS at your size, especially not something permanent like the sleeve. But I understand the emotional pain of feeling too fat for the world around you and the desperation of not being able to do it on your own. But I know it's all a matter of perspective and our personal starting point. But please, please spend some time reading through the complications section of this forum before you make your decision. We need to know the risks we open ourselves up to, no matter how desperately we need this surgery.

5? My goodness... I'm exhausted with two!! lol Thank you! I'll have my eye on you too!