klandes89

HI everyone! I had my surgery 12/15. Its been a rough month. Lost 30 lbs but I have stalled for the past 2 weeks- my surgeon says its because I am not getting enough calories and protein so my body is holding on to everything I eat but I still have no appetite so hopefully I will slowly feel like eating again. I also came down with an infection in my largest incision site on Christmas which healed then a week ago it burst open again so now im back on antibiotics and back to packing my wound. Not giving up just a bit discouraged with this wound- im not able to workout as much because of the pain but hopefully this heals correctly this time so I can move on Hope you all are doing fantastic with your new sleeve!

Sorry its taken me awhile to respond- been super busy. My surgery took a little over 3 hours (with my surgeon the sleeve surgery usually takes 2 hrs) mine took longer because I still had my band in- I know at least in my area most surgeons require the band out first then 6 months later doing the other surgery. My band had been empty for over 1 year which is why I was allowed to have 1 surgery. I had a 2 day hospital stay I was actually up and walking in the recovery unit post op. Pain was never an issue for me. I did have a complication- the site that my lap-band port was is the largest incision and because of all the work they do in that area along with my port had alot of scar tissue build up they had to remove i ended up with an infection. the incision leaked about 10 days later resulting in me going back in and having the site drained and being placed on antibiotics for 7 days. Overall I really wish this surgery was an option when I had my band put in. This has been the best decision I ever made. Im almost a month post op, i've lost 30 lbs total but i have plateaued because i have not been getting enough food in. My doctor today said when i get my Protein back up I will start losing again. (Im currently getting 60oz Water and maybe 50grams protein (needs to be 70grams) ) the biggest difference ive noticed is the instant restriction. I have no appetite currently and have to set alarms to remind myself to eat. I just got back to solid foods and it took me an hour to eat half a sub which i took apart and only ate 1/2 the bread. If you have any other questions or want me to explain more feel free to ask!!

The first few days were rough I wont lie- mainly gas pains and muscle aches- but by day 4 I was off pain meds except for children's tylenol and up cleaning my house. By 1 week post-op I was driving and grocery shopping.

I took 2 weeks off and it was actually on the day that I was planning to go back to work that my incision opened. But for me at least if it wasn't for that set back 2 weeks off was a perfect amount of time.

Definitely call your surgeon!! I had the same issue. I was sleeved on dec 15th and every time I moved or sneezed my largest right incision killed. I thought I was just over doing it so I called my surgeon they said it was fine just to keep icing the incision every hour. 2 days later my incision started leaking like a waterfall which lead to them cutting the incision open and draining a blood pocket/ infection that formed around the incision. :/ Good luck!!

Good luck! I really hope the process goes well for you. It has been the best decision I ever made. Im 2 weeks post op from my revision. Had several issues during surgery because of scar tissue buildup around my port which ended up leading to a post-op infection but now that is healing and life is getting back to normal!

HI all, I had my surgery Dec 15th - band to sleeve. So far I have not struggled too much. I was up and walking in the PACU. Water is my greatest issue- I hope its just because my stomach is still tender but its almost like i can feel the water just hanging out in my stomach then gurgling down :/ hope that changes soon. Good luck to everyone who just started their journey and those still waiting!!!!

I chose the revision to the sleeve because I still don't like the whole rerouting of the intestines the bypass does. I also had heard so many good things about the VSG and when I met with my surgeon she said that was the way to go. I think also that VSG is so much more popular and common to see band to sleevers that there is more support available when issues arise. So far the sleeve is not as picky as the band- granted Im only 4 days post op so we will see as time goes- when they say full liquids they mean full liquids you cant go back to normal foods quickly like with the band. Im struggling with getting all my water intake now because you constantly have to sip all day you cant take big gulps of water. Pain wise for me my band had adhered to my stomach so there was alot of scar tissue that had to be removed. Also the incision where your port was is the largest but they stretched that thing to the max so its more abdominal muscle pain than stomach pain.

Congrats on a revision date! I also was banded in 2008, lost 70 lbs but ended up in the ER twice both resulted in having the band completely emptied and told to "start over" finally after the last complication in 2013 I told my surgeon not to refill it. after a year I ended up gaining all my weight back. I just had my revision Dec 15 where they took out the band and replaced it with the sleeve. I also am afraid about failing with this second surgery but you got to remember we have all the information for success it was just our tool complicated success. I feel this surgery is a bit more painful than the lap-band but I've been so excited already seeing results on the scale. These forums have been a life saver in my pre-op phase and now in my post op.Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

I'm 25 years old and 5 days post op. My situation was a bit different because I had the lap-band when I was 19 and completely struggled with that until I got my sleeve. The biggest thing is to start healthy eating habits- it will make the process less drastic. also start increasing your Water intake because post op hydration is key. IF you have any questions feel free to ask

I cant agree with you more. I had the band in 2008 and after little success and getting the band completely emptied twice to "start over" due to complications ,I finally had it emptied for good in 2013 and on Dec 15th 2014 Im having a revision and having the darn thing taken out and replaced with the sleeve.