misslex

My revision to a sleeve is scheduled for Aug 12 also. Can't wAit!

Okay folks, I need the honest truth here.... I currently have a Band, had it 3 years now.... loved it, lost 65 lbs, hit my goal weight and maintined for 6 months. Then my band slipped and my dad got sick at the same time...very stressful....now a year out from that, my band has slipped even more, I have gained 25-30 lbs. (but my dad is well again) and my doctor wants me to convert to a sleeve. I was self pay with the band, we are not rich people, it was a HUGE sacrafice to come up with the money for the Band, no way I can come up with another 14-16K and still be able to sleep at night. I have a hard working husband, 2 little boys and a future to take care of..... anyway...considering Mexico for a conversion, different topic I know....here is what I want to know.... Give me the good, the bad and the ugly about life with a sleeve!!! I want to know what I am getting myself into. I can promise you, if I had been told that my band was not a life long commitment, I would not have done this.....I was told this was a life long change/tool and now they are saying 50% failure rate...grrr!!! So, give it to me....what are the pro's and con's of sleeves!!

Okay folks, I need the honest truth here.... I currently have a Band, had it 3 years now.... loved it, lost 65 lbs, hit my goal weight and maintined for 6 months. Then my band slipped and my dad got sick at the same time...very stressful....now a year out from that, my band has slipped even more, I have gained 25-30 lbs. (but my dad is well again) and my doctor wants me to convert to a sleeve. Devestated that the band has failed and feel like a fool that I waisted money on it, lots of new data out that it isnt really all that great, wish I had known that!! I was self pay with the band, we are not rich people, it was a HUGE sacrafice to come up with the money for the Band, no way I can come up with another 14-16K and still be able to sleep at night. I have a hard working husband, 2 little boys and a future to take care of..... anyway...considering Mexico for a conversion, different topic I know....here is what I want to know.... Give me the good, the bad and the ugly about life with a sleeve!!! I want to know what I am getting myself into. I can promise you, if I had been told that my band was not a life long commitment, I would not have done this.....I was told this was a life long change/tool and now they are saying 50% failure rate...grrr!!! So, give it to me....what are the pro's and con's of sleeves!!

Thank you for your reply!! All the cons of the band didnt bother so long as it was working (fills, the slime in my mouth, food stuck, vomitting) but now that I am unfilled because of the slip, I do have to admitt that it is kind of nice not to have all that.... I am just scared to spend more money for something that might not work...I know I have to do my part too, which I feel I can because I DID with the band. I gained about 5-10 lbs when my dad got sick (Lukemia) but I really feel I could have gotten that back off if the band hadnt slipped then too.... Thanks again!

I'm glad I ran across this thread....I had lapband 3 years ago, been dealing with a slipped band for about a year, have gained 25 lbs back. I am devestated. My doc wants me to revise to a sleeve, but I am self pay. We are not rich people and it was a HUGE sacrafice for me to come up with the money for LapBand, no way I can come up with another 14K and be able to look myself in the eye, not when my husband works so hard, we have 2 little boys to take care/plan for. I am beginning to think a conversion to a sleeve in Mexico might be a real alternative for me..... but a little scary and still expsenive. Thanks for all the info and comments.

I'm needing to have my band converted to a sleeve, Can you give me info on surgeons in Mexico, how did you find yours?

Yes, 100% can sympathize with you and am going thru it myself! I am just shy of my three year band anniversary. I lost about 65 lbs, got to 165 which was my foal! Though at that time I kind of thought another 10 lbs would be great! I maintained for about 9 months hovering around 167, sometimes as high as 170, after maybe a weekend out, but always right back down. In Feb of last year my dad was diagnose with Luekemia and seriously for about 7 months the stress of that was insane! I also had to have some Fluid let out of my band after I developed reflux....I was addicted to that "too tight" feeling....anyway, I hit to 183 and seriously it was making me crazy!! Depressed, demotivated, totally unnerved me! I found this blog about 2 weeks ago and read some great things and was reminded of things I knew, but in the stress had slipped away from. Last week I did the 5 day pouch test, totally reset my mind and my band. My dad is currently disease free after a stem cell transplant, in fact he is coming to visit us this weekend! I thought, you know what, 15 lbs is NOT a failure! It's mot going to be easy, but it is do able! I have an awesome tool to use called a lapband! This is a great chance for me to face some of the things that haunt me, especially when life gets hard. food is always going to be a "demon" for me if I let it! So many encouraging things on here! We've got this! You can do it and so can I. Ps...this morning I was 179 lbs and I am typing this on my ipad while on my elliptical...7 times now in the last 10 days!!!

I've had 4 major surgeries requiring general anesthesia. Never had a problem with hair loss. I am almost to my 3 year anniversary of my band. The past year or so I have experience a ton of hair loss. It is insane the amount of hair I lose. It is every where in my house. I've gotten pretty serious again about my protein and also went to a homeopathic doc who found I am mineral deficient and perhaps have a weak thyroid so I just started taking those supplements.

I looked up the 5 day pouch test....I've never heard of that. Going to start tomorrow. So you do all liquids for 6 days to??? Shrink up your pouch? Test your fill level? I love being banded and believe I can get thru this. Just finding this forum today has helped so much. This is a good opportunity for me to face some of the things that haunt me and get back to a good place in my own head. Thanks for the encouragement!!!!!

I too fell off the wagon, sometimes I feel like the the wagon ran me over. I gained about 15-20 lbs last year after a very very stressful year. I too had to have a slight unfill and lost my sweet spot after that. With my stressful year, I am now seriously addicted to carbs again and just totally unnerved about it at my weight, feel free to message me too, I could use a friend too. I don't know if I need a fill or not....some days I feel tight but others not feel much restriction...been since May that I had a feel, but everytime I think about going in I have a day where I feel tight. I've had my band just shy of 3 years. Any others have days where they don't feel as much restriction?

Wow! I really needed to "hear" what MSRTO just said. I am almost 3 years out. I lost 65 lbs, which was my initial goal (tho once I got there I had wanted to lose 10more). I was so addicted to feeling tight, I got too tight and had awful reflux at night. I had an upper gi test with the borium swallow which showed I was too tight and the bottom of my esophagus had expanded some. We took a few cc out of the band, did liquids and soft foods for 10 days and then slowly refilled. Right as all this started, my Dad was diagnosed with Leukemia. Between the stress of that, the 600 mile round trip drive to see/tend him that I made weekly, sometimes more, I gained 15 lbs last year. I've never really been able to achieve that perfect spot with my band since it was too tight. I haven't had a fill since May. But every time I think about getting 1 I have one of those tight feeling days and think I am okay. I am glad to hear MSRTO say you have days that you aren't as tight, I sometimes worry that might mean something bad with my band. I think I just allowed the stress to get to me and now I am struggling with sugar addiction and self doubt. I also think that I got in the habit of eating foods that go down too easy and snacking, so the band doesn't even have a chance to do what it is supposed to. I gotta get my head back in the game!!!

Thank you! What is the 5 day pouch test that someone mentioned earlier in this thread?

Hi I'm new to this forum, but could use a little support and ideas. I was banded in March 2011. I weighed 224 the day of my surgery. I got to 165, which was my initial goal (tho I later revised that to 155). I held that weight within a pound or 2 for about 7-8 months. I then started having extreme reflux and had an upper gi test done. It showed my band was way too tight so we let a little Fluid out. About that same time my dad was diagnosed with leukemia and it was a very stressful time for me. This was all started about 12 months ago. I have gained about 15 lbs and I am so unnerved about it, I can't seem to get it off. The stress eating kicked in when my dad was sick and now it's like that is all I can eat. I haven't had a fill since May 2013 because I don't want to be too tight again. Some days the bad feels just right, other days I feel like I can eat anything. I have this "brain hunger" even when I am full or have something stuck and have had to vomit I still think I am hungry, I think that is the stress and also the fact that I am upset about the weight and its just messing with me.....If anyone has any ideas, I could use the support to reset myself and get back on track. Thanks