JamieLogical

Yay! I was sleeved Sept. 1, so only a little ahead of you surgery-wise, but you are way ahead of me weight-loss wise! Only 15 pounds to goal? You should definitely make it by June! I'm hoping to reach goal by my one year surgeversary. You look great!

Even if you had done more research, you might have reached the same conclusion. I see a lot of people on these forums that have had a lot of success going from band to sleeve. Every outcome is different and it's tough to predict what YOUR outcome will be. Plus, if you opted for band in the first place, I would assume it's because you were trying to be very conservative in your decision. Bypass is, arguably, the most extreme option (along with duodenal switch), so lap-band to sleeve is a more conservative choice. As they say, hindsight is 20/20. But it sounds like you are moving forward and working to solve the problem, so hopefully you will end up where you need to be.

Well, I hope you have success with MGB. It sounds like you've had a pretty rough go of it and it must really suck to have to undergo so many operations. Wishing you the best of luck on whichever surgeon you choose!

Ha! That's the way to do it! I bet that's a big change from how you would have celebrated pre-op!!!!

@@Nyelaah @@drmeow I had a tummy tuck 3.5 years ago after having lost 90 pounds "on my own". Unfortunately, I re-gained and re-lost and re-gained my way back up to within 10 pounds of my original starting weight over the course of 3 years. So with my BMI back up over 40 and facing another long haul to re-lose the weight, I decided to have VSG in the hopes that this time will be the LAST time and I will not regain once I am back down to goal. Luckily, my tummy tuck held up exceptionally well through the regain and looks awesome now that I am back down close to the weight I was at when I had it. Edit: I also have fake boobs! I had a breast lift with augmentation at the same time as my tummy tuck. Unfortunately they have NOT held up as well as my tummy tuck through the weight fluctuations and I will have to have a revision done once I am back down and maintaining at goal.

Glad to know things went well at your follow-up! I know the gym can be boring, but there are ways to make it more interesting. You can stream movies/music on your phone while doing your cardio. And I have been having a TON of fun doing free weights. I love the feeling that I am getting STRONGER every week. I didn't realize it before, but now I have this dream of being kind of a badass!

Surgeons will only remove a LAP-BAND if it is failing, slipped, causing erosion, or other serious complications. They aren't going to remove it just because you aren't feeling it anymore.... It is major surgery to put it in AND have it removed. I'm sleeved and going on vacation next week. I plan to fully enjoy myself and partake of the local food. You can definitely still enjoy special occasions and Holidays with the sleeve, you are just severely limited in how much you can eat. That would be the case with the band or the sleeve. Even an unfilled band causes significant restriction. Most people who get a band don't get their first fill for at least a couple months post-op, but still drop weight in those first couple of months because the unfilled band causes restriction of its own. Definitely do some research on both options. At this point it sounds like you aren't ready to make an informed decision and this is not a decision to be made lightly.

I definitely think it's worth taking the time to do the research and make an educated decision. If you just decided on MGB within the last few days, slow down and really find out what you are getting yourself into. Why are you revising from sleeve in the first place? When were you sleeved?

I have a follow-up appointment scheduled with my PCP in late April already and I thought I would try to just hold out until then to ask her about it. But now I am thinking that maybe I should try to reschedule it for a couple weeks sooner, since I know she'll want to do some lab work once I tell her about this dizziness situation....

As soon as I received my Vitaleph multivitamin before my pre-op diet started, I went ahead and started taking 3 a day as labeled. I did not bring my large vitamins with me to Mexico as I was told to stop taking some of them prior to surgery (make sure you email Dr. Jimenez about your current medications and vitamins and get his advise on when to stop them pre-op), I wasn't allowed anything by mouth the day of surgery, and I wasn't allowed to start swallowing larger pills again until 7 days post-op, when I was back home. IIRC, I only brought my birth control with me, since I was allowed to continue taking that straight through surgery.

Uh no. This is after 7 months. The ones in my gallery show the photos from 2 months ago, but the ones in my post are my pre-op photos and the ones I took yesterday, which was exactly 7 months after the pre-op photos and about 6.5 months post-op. There's a 54 pound difference between the before and after photos in my post. In my gallery there is a set of photos from 2 months ago that show only a 12 pound difference between then and now.

I haven't, because in order to make room for that much carbs, I'd have to sacrifice protein, which I'm not willing to do. If I go out to breakfast, I order one scrambled egg with some feta mixed in and one sausage patty (I only eat half of the sausage and give the other half to my husband).

Congratulations! Sounds like you are making great progress. Keep up the hard work!

How many days out are you allowed to start purees? I think I was at 18 days post-op? If you can just hang in there a little while longer with the liquids. Definitely try to get protein in the form of shakes or drinkable yogurt. That will help you feel more full.

You are a week out and already eating solids?!?!?! WTF? I wasn't allowed solids until 40 days post op.

Can I ask why? I wouldn't be discouraged by the people who are saying your BMI is too low. Only you can determine what is best for YOU. None of us know your situation, how many times you've gained and lost weight in the past, what your current issues with food are, etc. Any surgery is a risk and you will have to work VERY hard afterward in order to see results. But if you truly feel it is what you need to lose weight and successfully keep it off, then that is between you and your surgeon. Lap-band is an option, but it is by no means an easier or less dangerous option. Do your research. Read these forums. And then make the best decision for YOURSELF.

Heh. I was hesitant to highlight that back photo, because I thing my butt is still looking like kind of a mess now that my hips are kind of just drooping, but I wanted to show how much fat I'd lost in my back.

I can completely understand why you would be emotional posting it. I got teary watching it myself!

Every surgeon's requirements are different, but you should stick to YOUR surgeon's rules and not worry about what other people did or didn't have to do.

I do have a scar, but it is VERY low so as long as I'm wearing even super skimpy panties, you can't see it. I promised some folks in another thread that I'd have my husband take some pics of my scar soon.

I posted my latest progress pics: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/335927-overweight-including-progress-pics/

Uh... what? I was on a 15 day pre-op diet with my Mexican surgeon. Three protein shakes a day, one green salad with calorie-free dressing, and sugar-free jello and popsicles.