metawnny

I agree with Hockeyfan7 that I can eat foods with my sleeve that I could NEVER eat with my band. chicken being one of them. I wouldn't call the feeling with the sleeve restriction. You just feel full and no longer want to eat. Not like the band where I would feel tightness, pain, and urge to vomit. I do not miss my band at all. Also, it is just a guess but I doubt you would be able to put on 90 pounds in the three months that you would be without the band. Even if you do put some weight back on you should be able to lose it again with the sleeve. I just can't tell you how much better I feel without the band and it's complications, hassle of fills and unfills, and constant sliming/vomiting episodes. Good luck in whatever you choose to do!

Hi Tazwella, I have not done much research on revision patients and I had never heard that band revisions could be larger. In my case (and again, it has only been a month with the sleeve) I really don't think I can eat more then I should. The main reason I think that is because my husband got the sleeve the same day as I did. He had no previous WLS and I know that I eat either same or usually less then him at each meal. Prior to getting my sleeve, I hate to admit it because it isn't very lady like but prior to getting the sleeve I could keep up with his large appetite without any problems. I am not sure if the wait between unbanding and sleeve surgery helped or not but it makes sense to me that it could. I know my doctor still called it a revision because he said he would have to clear out the scar tissue left over from the band before doing the sleeve procedure. In any case, so far I love my sleeve.

I was also a band patient that fought with my band for 7 years. I had severe acid reflux, could never get to the sweet spot with my fills, and ultimately had the band slip. I had it removed in March 2014 and was converted to sleeve on June 1, 2015. I did gain all my weight back after band removal but GERD was instantly gone! Since, I was a self pay, I had to wait for a year to save up and have the sleeve performed. I ended up going to OCC in Tijuana and it was the best medical care I have ever received. Since getting the sleeve a month ago, I have not had any sliming/vomiting episodes or acid reflux. The pressure is way different. With the band, I always felt like I was choking when I would eat. I have thrown up in so my public restrooms, I could not even begin to count. Now with the sleeve, I just full. Much better then choking.

I am a band patient that now has the sleeve. I was banded in March of 2007 and unbanded in March of 2014. My band did get my weight down but it was a struggle from the beginning. I had a lot of side effects. Getting the adjustments and finding the sweet spot for fills was really a pain. I would get too tight, then too loose, and you have to wait a few weeks between the visits so it is a time consuming process for sure. I never did get the "chewing my food into pulp" thing down, so I had tons of sliming/vomiting episodes. I had massive issues with GERD and could not lay flat to sleep for over 4 years. Ultimately, I ended up getting food poisoning and the pressure from needing to vomit and the band being in the way caused my band to slip. For me it was an easy decision to remove the band at that point. Sadly, my weight began to creep back up and I made the decision to get the sleeve on June 1, 2015. I know it has only been a month but the experience so far is entirely different. With the band, every time I ate I would get a choking feeling because the food sits above the band and gives pressure. Now when I eat, I just feel full. It is easy to feel satisfied with a minimal amount of food. So far I have not had any issues with acid reflux but I do realize it is still early. Overall my vote would be for the sleeve. It requires so much less hassle and doesn't make you feel like you are choking when you eat. In any case, I wish you the best of luck with whatever decision you make.

Man...I am still really struggling to get on track. Everyday I wake up with a determination not to "blow it" today and everyday I mess up. Then I read all the new post here at night and get determined to do it right tomorrow. But of course the cycle starts again the next day. Aggghhhh.. I am so frustrated. I know the main problem is that I have no restriction at all. I can't get in until the 24th. Second to that I have really been struggling with my anxiety/depression these last few weeks so maybe I need to get my meds readjusted. Send me warm thoughts that tomorrow I am strong enough to even have a mediocre day. Thanks for listening. :rain:

I am glad I am not alone with my weakness although I hate to hear that so many of us are struggling. The good news is that when my band is restricted properly I can't drink diet soda at all and I don't crave the sugar, the bad news is that my band is not restricted right now and I can't get in until the 24th. So, until then I have to grit my teeth and fight hard to keep from blowing all my progress. At this point I would be happy to just NOT gain weight by the 24th. Wish me luck.

I am having such a hard time getting back on track since the holidays. It is brutal. I am craving sugar big time. It hasn't helped that I have no restriction right now and I have been drinking diet soda again. Aghhhh. What are you guys doing to get remotivated?

I was just talking to my hubby last night and asked him if he thought we could write off the surgery costs. He suggested I come online and look and sure enough the answer was right there. Thanks for the help. Shawna

I'll need all the support I can get to make this happen, but I am determined to try. name ...... starting# ....... current#.........goal#.......togo# Rainer...........264................264..............248.........16 wombat712....154.8.............154.8............140.........14.8 LessnLess......172................172..............164.........8 metawnny......252................252..............240.........12

Of course he doesnt have any openings again until the 24th of this month which means I have to be extra careful not to lose the momentum I had going for weight loss. I think I will call today though and make a second appt for the following week and maybe even a third appoint for the week after that. I'll get the appointments all lined up in case he botches it again. Also I am taking my hubby with me on my next appt. Somehow men seem to listen to other men better then women sometimes. Well see how that goes. I'll keep you posted and thanks for all the support.

Thank you Mindy and Gwen for your replies. Just to clarify my situation, my doc is being excessive with the poking. The last time he did the unfill I counted 11 needle marks on my tummy, not to mention the rooting around each time the needle was inserted. When I brought this up to him and asked if my port, tubing, or any organs were in danger he said not to worry because there was no way he could hurt anything. I know my port is not flipped because the doc ended up having to send me to the hospital and do the unfill with the help of an ultrasound machine the last time. My port is also very close to the surface so I am not sure why it is suddenly an issue for him to find (he used to find it in one or two sticks). All that being said, I could deal with that if I could just get him to follow the plan. I sat down with him the last time and we both were clear on the plan before he started sticking me, but somehow when we were all done I only ended up with 2.5 cc's in my band. I was laying on my back with a pillow under my spine so that I could not see the needle in my skin, otherwise I would have asked him how much he took out before he completely pulled the needle out. I don't know how to get through to him. It seems like we are both on the same page and then wham-o, he changes it midstream. I have an appointment for next week and I think this time I will write in magic marker on my stomach the amount of fill that I need : ) Maybe that will work. If not I will have to recycle cans, have a garage sale, and raid the kids piggy banks for extra cash to switch doctors (providing I can find one of course).

Ok Rosi, I am not making this up. My grandma swears that if you put a bar of soap between the mattress and the sheet near your feet or legs that it will get rid of leg cramps. She read it in Dear Abby or something and has done it ever since. She even takes her bar of soap on vacation. I figure it couldn't hurt to try it, right? Let me know if you try it and if it works. Good luck.