maygoddess

I am just starting Zepbound tomorrow! Ihave had a long journey. I was lapbanded in 2002. I lost 130lbs. In 2014, after not seeing any doctors for 5 years, I went to a local bariatric surgeon just for a checkup. He found my esophagus had expanded. My band was too tight and I was packing my esophagus..didn't even know..no pain. Immediately unfilled and gained 30lbs in a month..eating NOTHING! LIke almost! I was refilled after about 3-4 months and then developed an infection..and to cut to the chase..band was removed in 2018 and revised to sleeve. By then I was up 50lbs. Since then I gained another 50lbs..so the sleeve did nothing. Between covid, bad eating habits and menopause, I cannot get this weight off..I tried keto..lost a few lbs..tried intermittent fasting..lost a few more..but my body just won't move the weight down..so broke down last week and saw my new primary doctor and she prescrived Zepbound..well orginally Wegovy but that is harder to find and Costco had Zepbound. I will start this Saturday.

I had revision from lapband to sleeve in March 2018. I had the band for 16 years. I lost 130lbs initially with band..kept it off until year 12 when I had learned I stretched my esophagus. My band was unfilled to let my esophagus heal and in less than 2 months, I quickly gained back 50lbs. It was devastating. I didn't go out and suddenly eat all the bad foods I couldn't. I ilterally was gaining 5lbs a day initially after literally starving myself. So after 2 years, I had an infection of the port and tubing and that was removed. I was supposed to go back in 3-4 months to have it replaced. I never did..2 years later..I developed another infection and my surgeon decided it was time to remove the band and he suggested sleeve revision.I literally had no time to research the sleeve. I was hoping to finally get this extra 50lbs off and go back to where I was. Surgery was a success..band removed, sleeve revised..I was not hungry AT ALL initially..I did slowly lose about 20lbs..Was happy to think I was only 30lbs from my lowest weight and fitting into all the old clothes I had put aside 4 years earlier.I started to regain the weight..slowly..I started doing HIIT classes (High intensity interval training) in a 21 day transformation challenge. I finished that and then wound up trading membership for marketing services. So I have been doing that for 2 months at least 4 days a week..sometimes 5. My body is definitely stronger and more toned, but I gained back just about all the 20lbs I lost shy a few lbs. And please don't say muscle weighs more than fat..it doesn't..it is just more dense and takes up less space than fat...so I know I didnt gain 20lbs of muscle. So although I feel more fit and strong, I am back up to my fat clothes...sighhh...I am more hungry than I was initially. I figure I put my body into starvation mode out of surgery and my body decided it wanted back to the old set point. I don't know! I didn't eat dramatically different.No I am not measuring everything but at minimum I should be maintaining at what I am eating and not gaining..especially since now I am working out more regularly. My body is majorly confused. I think because this was my 2nd surgery..and I didn't have a larger amount to lose.. With all the quirks of the bad..once I lost the weight I didn't have to work hard to keep it off..it stayed off all those years. This was a kick in the gut to quickly gain everything I lost a few months earlier. Not loving this sleeve at the moment...

Hi all! I was banded in mexico in 2002. I started at 285lbs and over the years (I was a slow loser) I had lost just over 130lbs by 2009. I had stay steady at same weight from 2009-2014. Was filled to where I wanted and THOUGHT I was ok. I decided to just get checked out at Kaiser just because it had been so many years since I had ANY type of checkup on it. They did a flouroscopy and found my esophogus had doubled in size. My band had been overfilled all those years..my doctor in Mexico ALWAYS does fills under flouro, but eventually had started getting "blind" fills by a local doctor. This is what caused the overfill. But I lived with it over the years figured just the band quirks..my weight stayed off so it worked. So when they found the expanded esophagus they completely unfilled my band and had me weight about 3 months for improvement. My esophagus returned to normal, so they agreed to refill me slowly. I got a few fills at Kaiser, but then moved to central california from northern..and went back to surgeon I had been getting blnd fills before at his northern cali location. I was now closer to his central ca location. So in Feb 2016, his NP filled me and most likely introduced an infection when she filled me. She may have stabbed me twice. So not knowing I had an infection, I was starting to have pain shortly after. I felt a hard lump in my stomach that felt like my port but the lump was now higher than the port was always stitched. So I thought my port had become unstitched and moved up to my waistline. SO I contacted my surgeon in Mexico and he advised I head down there to get checked out, so I did. He did a flouroscopy and everything looked normal..but he decided to go in and open me up to see what was going on. He found a massive infection brewing in there. He did an endoscopy to make sure my band had not eroded. It was fine.So he cleaned me out, stitched me up and sent me home with a few heavy duty antiobiotics. After almost the full course of antibiotics, my incision wasn't healing and was still oozing. So he figured my body was attacking the port and tubing, so he had me come back to Mexico to remove the port and tubing..let me body heal and said to come back in 4-5 months to put port and tubing back in. This was May of 16. My band was filled again..and I know I need to have the port/tube in but for almost 2 years, did not go back due to time and money. I had NO issues. I had gained 50lbs quickly after that initial unfill, but have not had luck really losing this 50lbs. Admittedly had not been trying extra hard..but figured my body was adjusting to all the fill, unfill, fill activity. I was glad I had not gained ALL my weight. So fast forward to today. About a week ago in the midst of being sick with bad flu for over 2+ weeks, developing a yeast infection and ear infection, I started having pain in my abdomen at the site of the incision from 2 years ago. I feel a lump now underneath and was feeling like it did when I had the infection before. Not sure why now..so I went to ER and they did a CT Scan. They sent to a local bariatric surgeon to review..he said he didn’t really see anything unusual..he didn’t know I didn’t have a port so I think whatever lump I have he thought was my port. Before I could get my story out, he basically said he advises to remove the band now, wait 4-5 months and revise to sleeve! I was floored. I was not expecting that AT ALL! I never really thought about the sleeve, know anything about it and know if would be successful at this point. I am more worried about gaining back all my weight and keeping it off long term. Like I said I have 50lbs of it I still want to lose, but given it is a revision and not a brand new out of the box patient..will I still have a hard time losing it with a sleeve revision or will having a new surgery help? I am still deciding if I want to have the surgeries local or go back to Mexico. I would have to pay out of pocket in Mexico or get it covered 100% here in town. BUT I trust my Mexican surgeon more..more experienced with bands and surgery in general. I need to decide quickly because of the infection going on. What has been your experience if you revised from band to sleeve after a long time. Were you able to lose weight again or basically did the sleeve just help you keep off what you have lost? I am nervous about the non reversable cutting of my stomach for the sleeve. Any advice would help at this point!!

I wanted to come back with an update. I am 45 days post surgery and now down 15lbs from pre-surgery weight. As much as I was upset to lose my band, I am now glad it is gone. I didn't realize how much **** I was putting up with being banded.. 1. I can now drink before bed if I need to without worrying that it is going to come back up and I aspirate into my lungs or down my nose. This is important when I want to take pills before bed and need to drink something with it. 2. I have not had to run to a bathroom and throw up food AT ALL. The band was a constant fight of what might get stuck or not. Those are the big issues. Now that I am on solid food, I can see how small my new stomach is. I don't have much of an appetite now. I am told that most of the hormone grehlin is removed with the majority of your stomach gone. WHo knows, this may change. Some sleevers say they are always hungry..for me..I can really go all day without eating. I DO eat..making sure I get plenty of protein..but it is a struggle to really be hungry enough to eat. I have no idea what the future will hold with the sleeve. I am sure I will not easily lose this last 35-40lbs..but doing my best to get as much off as quickly as possible. Ironically I just started dating someone who does not want me to lose any more weight! He said he didn't sign up for skinny! So after all this time not being happy with my body, I find someone who is fine with my body as it is now and has made me more confident where I am now..BUT for me..I need to be where I want to be..we shall see what happens there. Attaching a recent picture of me.

You make this sound so simplistic and totally negates why most of us got the surgery in the first place. If you were able to learn new eating habits, why did you get the band in the first place??? You obviously failed at that..like the rest of us..over and over and over. You do know that only 5% of people who lose weight are able to keep it off for more than 5 years..so THAT is exactly why I got banded 16 years ago. I was tired of pushing the rock up the hill, only to have it come back down on me again..and again. If it was that easy to learn new habits NONE OF US would have had surgery in the first place. The band was not only a tool to help me lose weight, but more importantly to keep it off. My band was doing that until i had issues with it 4 years ago. When my band was unfilled in 2014 due to the esophogeal dilation found, I gained 30lbs in less than a month. I was practically eating a napkin and glass of water and gained weight. There was no learning new habits..I was gaining weight on eating nothing...so your "new habits" would not have helped with the gain..well.perhaps I would have gained more if I didn't starve myself to prevent the gain. Chances are if your band was removed with no new surgery, you would gain back most of the weight too..it is a quick scary free fall that I hope you never have to experience and make that decision to have a new surgery. My body was stuck with the extra 50lbs I gained after the unfill. No matter what I did..the weight would not come off. Now 45 days post sleeve surgery, I have lost 15lbs. I have 35-40 more lbs to lose to get back to where I was before all the problems started. So do your best to keep that band inside you so you don't have to make the decision that many of us have had to do. Not an easy decision..but we are all here because the traditional way to lose weight failed. Surprised you are so judgemental, but I guess you can be if your band is fine.

Hi all! Just wanted to keep this updated with my progress. I am on Day 20 post op. Tomorrow I will finally start on mushy foods. I don't really have any pain anymore. I am not as tired. I was having some low blood sugar issues..or could have been anemic, so I upped my sugar intake a little and added fresh spinach to my smoothies..that seemed to have helped. I know I am not supposed to worry about the scale at this time, but of course we will always look!! I have lost 10lbs as of today from my pre-surgery weight. I was always bouncing up 4-5 lbs above that..so feels like I am really down 15! I believe my "window of opportunity" will be shorter than when I was newly banded. I have less to lose this time around and 16 years of my body adjusting to being banded. So I am going to behave as much as possible to get as much of the 40lbs I want off to come off without too much struggle. I am sure I will have some stalls and need to cajole off the last lbs..so we shall see. I am grateful to see some weight off at all. Was really nervous the sleeve would maybe just help keep off what I have, but not help me lose. I do notice a full feeling with slight thicker stuff..but really won't know my limits until I start eating food that will stay in my stomach longer. Will update again soon!

Hi all! I have seen a few threads here and there, but wondering if there is a place for lapbanders to sleevers here to share our stories and progress. It is a bit discouraging to read the posts of surgical newbies who are losing much faster (of course). Would like to know how others who revised are doing since having surgery.

Thanks..updated..too bad they don't let you put in your whole journey..my original band info and then my sleeve info as well..look like a newbie now...oh well!!

Thank you FluffyChix! Yes..10 days post op and now finally seeing a drop in weight..I know we should not really be looking at loss this early..but heck..of course we will! Doh! That's why we got surgery..just so reassuring for a previous bandster to know this will work to get the weight off I gained back. I have to say the band WAS successful for me..it got off 130lbs..kept it off as it should until 2014 (12 years in with it) when the issues came back..so happy that I at least didn't gain ALL the weight back..50 sucks..but 130 would have sucked even more! So scale was down 5lbs below my pre-surgery weight and 11lbs below my post surgery. I gained about 6 lbs after surgery..water weight I am sure..so it was nice to see that extra gone and now BELOW my pre-op weight. I will be happy with a steady 1-2 lbs per week over nothing..hoping to get as much off as quickly as possible...betting that last bit will be the hardest! So excited to finally pull my old skinny clothes I loved out of the bins in garage and wear them again. It's almost as it if is new again..will be so happy to get rid of these flat clothes I hate!! ++++++ thoughts for everyone all around!!

I am now 10 days post op with the sleeve. I FINALLY today saw a drop BELOW my pre-op weight. I think the Weightless tea has helped with the water gain after surgery..I was up by 5lbs post surgery..this morning, I saw 4lb drop which took me 3lbs below pre-op weight. So compared to the newbies, it is slow so far..but I am just happy to see a drop from where I was stuck last few years. Feeling better every day. I am happy I can now drink before going to bed with no worry about choking on fluids while I sleep. I don't have stuck food that I have to bring back up. I am still on full liquids for another 10 days. Seems like Dr Kuri's post op is a bit stricter than some I have seen here with local surgeons..some folks are already on mushy food after week 1. Rather take it slow and safe. Have not been very hungry..only really hungry if I have not eaten all day..will have to see what happens as I heal up and eat more.. I didn't really have a lot of time to research the sleeve since my band removal was unexpected. I just knew I didn't want the band removed with no option to replace it. Kinda scary to think I cut my stomach to a smaller size..but glad I didn't opt for bypass. That seems scarier to me.

Thanks for everyone dropping by. I am now 10 days post op with the sleeve. I FINALLY today saw a drop BELOW my pre-op weight. I think the Weightless tea has helped with the water gain after surgery..I was up by 5lbs post surgery..this morning, I saw 4lb drop which took me 3lbs below pre-op weight. So compared to the newbies, it is slow so far..but I am just happy to see a drop from where I was stuck last few years. Feeling better every day. I am happy I can now drink before going to bed with no worry about choking on fluids while I sleep. I don't have stuck food that I have to bring back up. I am still on full liquids for another 10 days. Seems like Dr Kuri's post op is a bit stricter than some I have seen here with local surgeons..some folks are already on mushy food after week 1. Rather take it slow and safe. Have not been very hungry..only really hungry if I have not eaten all day..will have to see what happens as I heal up and eat more.. I didn't really have a lot of time to research the sleeve since my band removal was unexpected. I just knew I didn't want the band removed with no option to replace it. Kinda scary to think I cut my stomach to a smaller size..but glad I didn't opt for bypass. That seems scarier to me. Anyway..will keep posting my journey! Patty

Thanks everyone for coming by and sharing your stories! Glad to hear a few of you have had some success..albeit slower than the newbies. I am 9 days post op now. Started full liquids 2 days ago. I FINALLY am down a few lbs post op, but showed a 6lbs gain after surgery..so today I am now at where I started pre-op. Everyone said it is water weight from all the IV fluids..I did feel like my feet and legs seemed a little swollen the other day. I started drinking Weightless tea from Traditional Medicinals and that has probably helped. It is an herbal tea for temporary water weight gain.Now would like to see some weight loss BELOW my pre-surgery weight. I gained 50lbs (but at least kept off the additional 80 I lost with the band) after a complete unfill in 2014.I would LOVE to get back to 150 where I was for years before my band issues started in 2014. I figure it will be slower than the first time and given when you have less to lose. So how do the rest of you recently revised feel without the band? One thing I noticed right away..I can drink before going to bed and not have to worry about it coming back up and choke on it! I don't drink a ton..but before I couldn't even take medicine at night that required me to drink fluids with it..that's a plus.. I have not been terribly hungry..the clear liquids stage was hard only because I got tired of just broth, jello and juice. I didn't have any pre-planning time since this was emergency surgery to get any clear protein drinks or anything else..so was limited. This will be an interesting new journey for sure!

Hi all! I was sleeved on March 29th after my band was removed. I was banded 16 years..had some issues last few years and ended last week with removal. I am now a week post op. I know it's still early..but I have gained 5lbs. I know I shouldn't weigh myself, but of course I see others here who have dropped weight the first week. I know newbies are different than previously banded..but my weight has just stuck at 206.2. It has not budged down even an ounce. Yesterday while getting a pedicure, I finally noticed that my feet, ankles and legs looked a little swollen. Wondered why the flip flops felt a little tighter..but subtly..so I figure I am retaining fluids..wondering if anyone else has? Probably the newbies dropping weight right away may not have noticed this..but is already discouraging to see nothing happening. I had band completely unfilled 2 years ago after a routine check after many years showed my esophagus had expanded. I had quickly gained 30 lbs in a month and added another 20. So been 50lbs up since..even after being refilled. At least i didn't gain back 130lb I lost with band..but really would like to see this 50lbs go. Hoping that this turns around. I realized I had this tea by Traditional Medicinals in the house called Weightless for temporary water weight gain..so herbal diaruretic tea..see if that helps. Anyone else have this??

Hi! So sorry to hear of your troubles. I had a good run of 16 years..well at 14 years I made that fateful decision to just a checkup and found the esophagus expanded...if I never did that checkup, I would probably still have the band. But of course the esophagus was a problem..otherwise, I was maintaining my weight at 150 for years..didn't have any pain or issues..the real problems didn't start until I got that fill at the local surgeon down here who I believe infected me..that started the trouble with the port and tubing and then this last infection..but my doctor said it was probably time anyway..I got banded a few years after it was approved here in the states..so not many people banded much longer than me..at least that I have found.. Does your insurance company require you to do two separate surgeries and jump through all the hoops in between? That was my problem here..I could have had it all done for free but no way was I going to do two surgeries, wait at least three months in between and have to do all the psych evals and other dietary BS that the newbies have to do and should do..but being banded 16 years should mean I am way past that!! Insurance sucks here!! But I also wanted my more experienced doctor in Mexico to take care of this and took a chance that all was fine and I could get it all done at once. So happy it turned out that way!! Best of luck in your journey for revision..hope it all goes smooth..would love to stay in touch with other band to sleevers here..we are definitely different than the first time patients...hard to relate!!!

Hi all! I was just sleeved 6 days ago after having lapband removed I had for 16 years. The band was fine, but what was rest of the tubing got infected. I had the port and tube removed 2 years ago after a local band surgeons office infected me after a fill. So I went back to Mexico to my original surgeon and paid out of pocket so I could get the two surgeries done at once as long as band was not eroded. Didn't know until surgery time if I was going to get the sleeve, but luckily all was well with my stomach and he did both! I am home now and recovering. Little bit of pain, but I am staying off pain pill for now so I can work. Luckily work at home so can work in bed with my laptop. I had gained back 50 of the 130bs I had lost with the band back in 2014 when I had the band completely unfilled due to expanded esophagus found in just a routine check of the band. I immediately gained 30lbs even though I was severely restricting calories..eventually went up to 50 and stayed there. Couldn't get the rest of the weight off even when refilled..then I had to deal with the infections, etc. So now I have 50lbs to get back off..and worried it will be harder than the first time. I know I should not be looking at the scale right now, but of course I do and I am UP 6lbs. Did you all check your weight right away and have a gain? Hoping it is just swelling and water weight. Scared because of that immediate gain after unfill. Since I am still on clear liquids for another day, I really don't know what my restriction is..I guess until I can eat some mushy food, I won't be able to tell. I figure that the sleeve should at least help me keep it off. The option of just trying to wing it with nothing was scary!!

Hi all! Been home a few days and in the clear liquid phase. Have some slight pain but trying to avoid taking pain pills as I am trying to work..luckily I work from home, so my bed is now my office for now! Been a little harder to return home and next day have my boyfriend leave for good. That was planned for over a month, so was not sprung on me..he stayed to take care of the animals while I was gone, but decided not to stay any further..so recovering alone and trying to keep up with my cats and dogs and work...sigh.. I of course stepped on the scale and am up 5lbs from where I started before Ieft home. I think I was up 6lbs, but may have dropped 1lb. Hoping it is just inflammation and perhaps some water weight. I know we are not supposed to look at this time as weight loss, but I recall immediately losing weight once banded..even during initial recovery. Also just nervous given the weight I gained after I was unfilled that this sleeve is not going to work as well as when I first banded.I am hoping at least it will help keep the weight I haven't gained off. But getting this extra 50 off would be fantastic!

Hi all! I have been been banded now just over 12 years and lost 130lbs and last 5-6 years have been at the same weight..pretty much at what I would call a "goal" weight..not what BMI charts say. My last fill was at least 5 years ago..don't even remember. The last fills were not done under flouro as I did not go back to my surgeon in Tijuana. Found a "local" dr willing to fill me..but he does "blind" fills..so we never saw my restriction level. The last fills I felt like I finally had restriction enough to get off the last 40 or so lbs I needed to still lose. I was never a really compliant bandster, so it took me awhile to get the weight off. I have been happy at the same size for years. I learned to live with the quirks of the band..I was careful about eating foods that I know would get me stuck. I probably compensated for too tight of a band by drinking liquids alot. I did PB daily, but thought this was just because I was not careful enough. I avoided eating or drinking too close to bed so I would not reflux up..though sometimes still did. This all was just the way it was for a bandster. I was happy to be keeping this weight off. I only even went up and down by 5-7 lbs but knew what I was doing to gain and stopped. So..here is where I am now. Since my band had not really been checked by flouro since my last fill in Mexico at least 7-8 years ago, I figured I should at least have a look at it to make sure all was okay. Figured it was since band seemed to be doing its job. I figured a slip or erosion would make it self know. I didn't need a fill..so just plugged along. I finally made appt with Kaiser here in Nor Cal to just do a routine Flouro this past August. The flouro showed that the barium would barely drain down. They had me practically dance around the room to try and move it down..nope. What this restriction caused was for me to pack my esophagus and it was double its size. The band was perfectly in tact, upper pouch was there..but now my esophagus was dilated. The bariatric surgeon saw the results and told me to get an appt to get an unfill. So a week later, the doctor drained my band. I have a 4cc band and had 2cc in it. For at least a week, I had horrible pain off an on..lots of air and gas..that subsided and the weight started piling on. I was unfilled Sept 19th and as of today, December 17th, I am up by 40lbs! Doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat for that matter, how much I work out at the gym..the weight just piled on. Most of that was right away..at least 1/2 but I continue to go up. This has been an expensive lesson as I have had to buy new work clothes, casual clothes. All my clothes have been size 8 and 10 for years. I quickly went through 10s to 12s and now to 14s. I ache in joints I haven't ached in for years. Dramatically gaining 40lbs in 3 months has been difficult. What I miss the most is the lack of hunger..not necessarily the restriction. This is what I fear the most..that I won't get to that "green zone" where I don't have an appetite. I always told people to not wait on me to be hungry because they would starve. I could go most of the day and not care about food. I want that back!! I worry that getting to that spot again won't happen. So I had a follow up flouro done a month ago and my esophagus had improved enough where my doctor is willing to start refills. He wanted to give it another month at that point, so I am scheduled for a first refill in two days. I have no idea how much we will start with. I am sure he will increment me back up again. I know we won't be going back to a total of 2cc's again since that was obviously too tight...but all I want is that hunger to go away! Has anyone else had to go through this and get back to where they were. I just need to stop this weight gain. I am trying so hard to stop it and nothing works. I watch calories, I am excercizing..even on weeks where i had walked thousands of steps around the city for a conference and ate very well as far as calories and food types, drank tons of Water and managed to pack on 5lbs that week anyway!! I should have at minimum maintained if not dropped a 1lb! I really do think our bodies are thrown into some long term low calorie survival mode when banded and restricted properly. If the vagus nerve controls our appetite and is effected by band restriction against it..perhaps not feeling like you are starving helps us survive on less calorie intake. When that pressure against the nerve is reduced due to unfill, your body is sending signals to get back to where you can store it up again for possible times of "starvation" again..who knows..everyone has a theory..SOMETHING happens. This is not normal to gain this much weight in short amount of time when your calorie intake is at a level where any normal person would at least maintain or lose the avg 1-2lbs per week. I could eat celery sticks or a box of chocolates and still gain weight right now!! I am tired of people telling me I just need to reduce my calories and get in some excercise! I AM I AM I AM!! Doesn't matter!! I am sure I have ONLY gained 40lbs because I have been trying hard not to. If I decided to just fully let loose every day, I am sure 100lbs would have already been packed on! OKay...enough of my rant...I am praying that in 2 days,I get a starter fill that will get me back to wherever it was to help me keep the weight off so I can now get off this excess 40lbs. I am sure it will take work, but right now I feel like I am swimming against a riptide with a wide open band. Maintaining on extremely low calories is impossible right now, never mind weight loss..Uggh!! If anyone else has gone through similar with unfills to refills, would love to hear how it went!!

Hi elle!! I literally just got back from Mexico yesterday from my band removal and sleeve conversion. I was fine since my removal of the port and tubing in May of 2016..my band was filled. I didn't manage to lose the weight during that time. I managed to stay at a steady weight, so that band WAS doing its job of keeping off what was already lost, but not helpful in getting off the extra 50 I had gained after the complete unfill. Can't totally blame the band as I did not always watch my diet and had a lot going on as well. So fast forward to last month. I was sick most of the month with a bad flu..worst I ever had..by week 3 was diagnosed with strep, had a yeast infection, ear infection and then developed some pain in my abdomen under the incision site from the port removal 2 years ago..had no idea what was going on. Went to ER and had a CT scan and a local bariatric surgeon was consulted and he didn't really see anything but suggested we just remove the band sight unseen. I was not really thrilled with him at all. But I had to decide between totally free removal and eventually a revision with insurance here OR go back to my surgeon in Mexico and pay out of pocket for both. The problem here with insurance is that they would never allow the removal and revision at same time. I would have to do removal and then go through same process as a brand new surgical patient..psychological counseling, dietary evaluation, etc etc. So stupid for someone banded for 16 years. So I decided to take a chance and go back to Mexico and see if he could do both at same time. We didn't know if band was eroded or not until time of surgery. He performed an endoscopy and found the band was fine. It turned out from what I understand what was left of the tubing got infected somehow and that what was causing the pain..so he successfully removed and did the sleeve revision at same time. I was thrilled I made the decision to take a chance and go to Mexico. So I really don't know where this journey goes from here. I am just 4 days post op dealing with clear liquids for a few more days. I am hoping I can get this 50lbs off and back to where I was. Was not really prepared for all this at last minute so really don't know success rates for band revision patients vs someone starting brand new. We shall see! And as for boyfriend...funny you ask..he decided a month ago to leave me but was not leaving right away..which I guess was good given the unexpected surgery..he stayed to take care of the animals and left the day after I returned from surgery. Bad timing, but like the band going away..I am sure it is all for the best once I get past all this!! Such is life.

Hi Back with update. sitting in hospital bed in Tijuana right now. Had my surgery yesterday with Dr Kuri and he was successfully able to remove my band and revise to sleeve! Wooooo!! I wa sworried because of the pain,I had erosion, but it was prbabaly just some infection around the tubing. So happy I stuck to my guns and did not have the removal surgery only in the states and have to wait 3 months for new surgery.. Now on to recovery and figuring out how to live with the sleeve..

I have been banded 16 years and as weight loss surgery was becoming more popular I think even Oprah did a talk show segment on surgery and called it " the easy way out". I am sick of even seeing people on here who have decided to get rid of bands and will just "eat healthier and excercise more"..uhh..yeah right...we all tried that...over and over and over. The statistics are that only 5% of people who lose weight will keep it off 5 years or longer. That is what got me to surgery back in 2002. I decided was sick of pushing that rock up the hill only to have it come back down at me again and again and again... Surgery is never an easy way out..it is being realistic that food is not only life sustaining, it is pleasurable and necessary. Portion sizes are out of control and we have access to a lot of very tasty food that is hard to resist..even healthy food has calories and too many will make you gain. I got the surgery not really to lose the weight (I call that the side benefit) but to KEEP IT OFF!! I want to be that 5% finally who KEEPS IT OFF!!! So tell your boyfriend those statistics and then ask him again if he thinks you are cheating...you are just tired of pushing that rock up the hill..and also heading towards obesity related illnesses and issues you would rather not have..CHEAT AWAY!! Congrats on the loss..you do you...don't worry about the outside "noise" even from loved ones....

Thank you for sharing your story..let's definitely follow each other's journey..you are at the same place I am at..we started close to same weight (mine was 286). My lowest was 150 until my band was unfilled and eventually gained 50 and have been sitting at 200 now for last year + or 1 a lb or two. What I worry about is this being effective at all to get the sleeve. I asked the doctor this yesterday. Since are already banded and lost alot of weight and maintained until we had issues..do we go back to starting line like we were when first banded...you have this new restriction you never had before..you increased it and lost weight fairly quickly. I was l slow too...small fills..resistant to want to ALWAYS eat healthy..etc..it was fine for me..but NOW..we start at a place where we had already been restricted for years..and now we are just getting a different restriction..so will we have t he same momentum as a newbie or have to work harder to get the weight we gained off? I guess I have to look at this sleeve as a way to keep the weight off for most part. Totally unbanded with no replacement means we are back to being mere mortals again with yo yo dieting all our lives..no thank you!! I have been trying to find band>revision long term results here. The surgeon I saw yesterday seems to think I should be able to get his 50lbs I regained off with the sleeve and then maintain it..who knows. With this infection looming inside me..the timeline is being pushed. I don't really want to have two surgeries here in states because insurance requires me jump through the pre-surgery hoops I wouldn't have to do back in Mexico with the surgeon I know and trust with my life..free vs pay...uggh....have to decide quickly..if infection doesn't get better..it may happen this week if I can get the money scrambled together.. Keep me posted on your journey...would love to here how you progress post band with sleeve!! Best wishes on speedy recovery! Patty

Yeah..it was interesting...on a day that I even was walking around San Francisco all day at a conference and logged over 20K steps..the next day I was up 5lbs!! I had seen this with a few other bandsters who had complete unfills..it was a quick weight gain with no stopping it with diet and excercise..any normal person restricted to 500-600 calories a day should be losing a few lbs a day..not gaining it..but I think it is just the abnormal state of being our bodies are throw into when banded..I think if I did not restrict my calories like I did, I would have gained more..my body adjusted to this new set point and now is maintaining there.. I wish I could trust that I would be okay with just living without a band and hope for the best and try with diet and excercise that failed many times before. I'm older and metabolism is slower, about to hit menopause anytime now which doesn't help..so if I can get this weight back off and maintain it..I would be happy. If I was good at eating healthy ALL the time and excercising all the time, I never would have been overweight and needed the band. We are humans..we need food..we love food..we will always slip and fall when it comes to food. I wish I had that willpower..never did and won't start now at age 50.. Anyway...best of luck to you!! I will post my follow up...

Thank you for sharing your story. If your advice worked, none of us would be having weight loss surgery! Sorry..a bit simplistic.."just watch your eating habits" LOL!! Food is one addiction that we cannot live without..and it is hard to just "eat right". The band was not meant to stop you from eating chips and shakes..it also doesn't make you want to eat kale and fish either. It limits food good or bad. I got the surgery mostly to keep it off rather than just to lose weight. I was sick of the 5% chance of keeping weight off you lose..those are bad odds. Unfortunately, when I was unfilled when they found the esophagus issue, I gained 30lbs in a month..I ate barely anything..I watched EVERY bit and sip I took..counted calories..was eating like 500 calories a day and worked out and gained 5lbs a day..it was a nonstop freight train. I am afraid when the band goes, I will gain more. I originally lost 130lbs with the band..gained 50 so far after the unfill..but have now stabilized. I have a fill but no port or tube..so the band is still doing what it supposed to do..keeping weight off..BUT still not helping with losing these 50lbs no matter what I do to "eat right". I do hope that works for you..sounds like you have resolved to just try and wing it like the rest of the mere mortals. I cannot risk gaining that weight with no way to lose it and most importantly keep it off long term. I went back to the surgical office locally today to ask the surgeon more questions. Looks like insurance requires ANYONE getting a new surgery..even if a revision..to jump through all the hoops...psych evals, dieting, etc etc..all the BS that is important for a brand NEW patient, but rediculous for someone banded for 16 years. So I am looking at possibly just paying out of pocket and going back to my surgeon in Mexico. He has more experience, he can do the removal/revision at same time..no hoops to jump through..a lot to consider..but just winging it again and just "watching my eating habits" never worked and won't at my age to stop the gain that will most likely happen nor get off what I gained. Good luck with your journey!

I had my surgery in 2002 with Dr Pedro Kuri and would do it again if given the choice. Back then, the band was only approved in the US for a few years..most insurance companies would only cover gastric bypass and even if I wanted to self pay here, most US surgeons had only placed a handful of bands. I did a lot of research and found the top band surgeons were in Mexico and Italy at that time. Dr Kuri had already placed over 300 bands when I went for surgery. He was at a little hospital run by nuns at the time..Sanatorio San Francisco. Very simple place, but clean and had no issues. Living in Nor Cal at the time, I did return for fills for the first few years..only had a few fills..but started going to a somewhat more local surgeon willing to fill Mexican patients.. I managed to lose all the weight I wanted to..over 130lbs and stayed at my goal weight for over 4-5 years. Unfortunately I wish I would have kept going to Dr Kuri..2 years ago I did a routine fluoroscopy at Kaiser just to make sure all was well..it had been years since I had a flouro..well..turns out that last fill years ago with the other surgeon I got overfilled and wound up expanding my esophagus. My band was unfilled, I gained 50lbs back quickly and after a few refills by Kaiser and one final one InFebruary of this year by that same surgeon's office I first went to after stopping going to Mexico..that nurse most likely caused a massive infection around my port..I just had two procedures inTJ with Dr Kuri to first get rid of the infection and then have to go back and have the port removed as the infection was not healing as we had hoped. If I had continued my aftercare with Dr Kuri all those years, he never would have overfilled me under flouro and I would not have gotten an infection from a surgeon's nurse with God knows how many fills she has done in comparison. I am lucky after 14 years to still have my band. A new port will be put back in after I time to heal up. Iam filled to close to where I was without being overfilled. I would never hesitate to have surgery in Mexico. I actually have only ever had surgery in Mexico as my band surgery and those last two port procedures were all the surgery I ever have had. Dr Kuri is very caring and he knows bands..he has to date installed over 5500 bands!! 5500!! He has a very low rate (less than 1%) problem rate..the skill of the surgeon and how he places the band and the aftercare are what I believe makes this surgery a success. His newest hospital is literally less than 2 miles across the border. Very modern and the staff all fabulous.It is definitely less formal than here...we talked about food and where to get the best agua frescas nearby while I was stitched up! I was under local for the port removal. The pharmacies there are interesting too. I wound up going to pick up antiobiotics prescriptions to same place both times and they have everything already boxed up. Quick to get in and out. Love that! If you are choosing Mexico, I advise: 1. Do your research on the Doctor. How many bands has he placed and how long as he been doing it? Don't base your decision on who is the lowest price. This is your life and long term commitment. 2. Aftercare- can you easily get back for aftercare. Don't rely on a local doctor for fills. Does your doctor do free fills for life? Dr Kuri only charges for fluoroscopy which is the hospital charge...$95. Of course you have travel costs..but factor this into your decision. If you must rely on local doctor, make sure you go with flouroscopy fills OR get the band checked under flouro at least once a year to make sure all is well in there. Your bands longevity depends on it!! Believe me. 3. Go to TJ with an open mind. Yes..it is a bit crazy there in some areas..some folks may not be used to this..I grew up in Los Angeles and TJ is like some parts of L.A...so no big deal to me..but I never felt unsafe there..at all!! It does take some patience if you don't speak Spanish. Everyone there is very accommodating. Make sure your doctors office helps with making sure you get in and out of Mexico easily and what to expect. If anyone wants more information from me, feel free to send me a private message..happy to talk to anyone by phone as well! My family was skeptical at the time, but they knew I did my research. Best of luck!!

if the pain does not go away or persists..go back to the surgeon. Take my advice. I most likely got an infection around my port after my last fill from a local surgeon,..not my original surgeon..and this was with a nurse for the first time. I have been banded for 14 years and have had at least 10 fills over that time from three different surgeons..this was first time down by an RN and I NEVER had any pain afterwards. I recall her possibly jabbing me twice to get to port. Two days later I was in tremendous pain..I could barely walk..long story and a few months down the line..I had to head back to Mexico to get care from my band surgeon..what I thought was my port had moved as I had sharp hard pain at my waistline..turns out to be massive infection around the port area! My band was checked for erosion just in case and went home..two weeks later had to go back and have port removed as my body was not healing up. Doctor was thinking it was my body attempting to heal all foreign objects including the port. Going to go back in 2-3 months to replace. So NEVER ever ignore pain. Hoping you already resolved this and no longer in pain..so hopefully this is just a future warning. Insist on seeing the doctor if pain gets worse or persists. I never had pain even after first fills shortly after surgery..you should be all healed form original surgery by then.. Hope all is well..don't mean to scare you with my store..but lesson learned...now always going back to Mexico..these doctors here have been nothing but trouble for me.