themaestroswife

Hi, I had my preop with my surgeon two days ago in prep for final insurance submission. In that meeting, my surgeon said that band to sleeve conversion patients tend to not lose as much as people who've never had any sort of weight loss surgery. This seemed odd to me that this was never brought up for vet the past 9 months that we've worked together. It kind of made my heart sink for him to tell me that I should probably expect a 60-70 weight loss in total out of the 160 that I'd like to lose. I'm wondering if there are any patients who are band to sleeve conversion who have actually met or exceeded their goal weight? My surgeon said that most patients will lose 60 out of 100 pounds for band to sleeve conversions, but that seems odd to me as the friends of mine who are straight VSG patients have all met their goals. Thanks in advance for any and all replies. Amy

Yes because my surgeon said that in my case it was the safest. I don't regret having it done this way now, but hindsight is 20/20.

I had so many adhesions that mine took 3 times as long to remove the lap band, and 5 months later I had more adhesions, so my sleeve surgery took twice as long, or 2.5 hours to complete. The plus side for me was the my nurse in the recovery room let me sleep for a few hours before getting my family. I was happy, they were not!

Eating a lot of carbs may be the issue. Losing 30 pounds is no small feat and you should not consider your self a failure. As the poster above this points out, we all lose at different paces, and dependent on how much in total you have to lose. Maybe you should try using a meal tracing all like myfitnesspal if you're not already doing so. It helps keep me in line and lets me know what I'm lacking in a day. I am following a high protein and fat, low carb diet, and it seems to work well for a lot of people. Speak to your nutritionist and see if they can give you and insight on how to make it easier on yourself. You've always got this community here to help you out when you need it.

Tomorrow at 8:30 am, PST, I'm having my sleeve surgery. It's nearly been a year to the date since I had my first meeting with my surgeon and it's been a rollercoaster ride getting here. While I am nervous, I'm a hard stick, I will be fine as soon as they get my IV line in. Pray that all goes well and that the surgeons hands are steady, that there isn't any scar tissue to have to cut through this time, that all goes well without complications, and that I make a swift and complete recovery.

I'm 3 weeks out now and on soft foods and couldn't be happier. I've lost nearly 30 pounds this past month and I'm tolerating most everything just fine. I am SO glad that I had this surgery and look forward to many, many happy and healthy years ahead of me.

I NEVER had any success with my lap band and had it removed after having it for 13 years. I've been sleeved for 22 days and am doing great, but I am meeting all of my calorie and liquid intake for the day. Sometimes it takes longer to eat certain meals, but when all else fails, I throw a Premier Protein shake in the blender with a scoop of PB Fit powder and drink it to make sure that I've met my daily intake. We all lose at different paces. One thing that I've noticed is that you have to get a certain minimum of protein and fluids to be able to get the scale moving or else your body will start attacking your muscles. Just curious, how far out are you?

I've never gotten sick off of anything, thankfully. My NUT's calorie range for me is 600-800 calories a day and I'm 22 days out. I too am a LB to sleeve patient and I think that I remember reading somewhere that we have a harder time being able to tell when we're full and can eat more if we let it get away from us.

I'm 17 days post op and I've lost 25 pounds since the week before surgery and 21 since.

I had a ton of scar tissue and a lot of inflammation with the band removal, causing surgery to be a longer procedure at 3.5 hours vs 1 hour. When I had my sleeve done, I STILL an enormous amount of inflammation after 5 months and the surgery itself took 2.5 hours due to the amount of scar tissue that was present from the previous removal. Apparently its pretty common, and one of the main reasons that it's suggested that there should be 3 month healing time between procedures. Some of our bodies just are more inclined to have surgical adhesions than others and require a little extra monitoring. My full liquid stage was extended a week so that my staple line had a bit of extra time to heal before I progress on to soft foods next Wednesday. All in all, I am pleased. The pain with the sleeve was much more intense for me, however, it was gone in a few days and my incisions remained sore for about 10 more days. I am 17 days post op and I've lost 25 pounds so I'd say that conversion patients can be just as successful as virgin sleevers, but it just may take a little bit longer. I've decided to follow a Ketogenic diet because I see the most success in patients who've gone this route. I'm in this for life, and not until I get to a specific, so I found it necessary to find what would work with my body forever.

We do tend to lose slower, but that's just on average. Obviously there are tons of conversion stories where many reach their goal weight and then some, but they have to really put the work into it. I had surgery on 9/27 and I'm already down 15 pounds, so I don't consider that slow by any means, but I also want to lost 160 pounds, so that may partially be why I've done so well this soon.

Thanks so much. I am so glad to be on the other side of surgery. It's been a rough couple of days, but things should only look up from here on out.

I've been keeping myself moving every few hours to ensure that I hopefully won't develop any. That's second biggest fear, first being leakage, but I'm doing everything by the book to hedge my bets against any complications. Overall today, I was in more pain from my incisions, but am feeling a bit better this evening. I know that this will pass swiftly, but it feels like an eternity when you're the one that's going through it. Thanks for the advice!

I've been walking a lot more today, even if I do feel much worse today. I know that this is temporary, but it's still tough to get through regardless.

Has she been back to see her surgeon for follow-up appointments? They are very crucial to the progress. If you drink while eating, you can most certainly push food through the sleeve, and alcohol, well, that relaxes your stomach to the point where she can probably push things through due to the relaxation in the stomach caused by drinking. The only advise that I have, because I've not been in this situation, nor do I know anyone who has, is that she start with her surgeon and for her to behest with him. I do believe that she can start the post-op diet from the beginning again to reset her stomach and to allow for weight loss again. Best wishes to both of you. Amy

Thanks, Jeff. I feel anything but great right now. I'm so sore and the gas pain is killing me.

I feel horrible today and the pain from the air they pump in to your stomach is causing it. It's so terrible. I really want to cry.

I'm a bit anxious tonight, but know that I'll be okay. Thanks for the kind words and thoughts. I can't wait until it's over and I'm in recovery!

Thank you so much!

Mine doesn't either, but they are well worth the cost, especially for the large horse pills.

This is so refreshing to hear. I'm having surgery on Wednesday and have to stay overnight in the hospital, but I'm fine with that. I had the lap band done, zero pain, had it removed, zero pain but sore and got an abscess, which was worse than the surgery times 10! My surgeon said the sleeve would be a piece of cake compared to my 3 hour lap band removal because my stomach was adhered to my organs via scar tissue. Not fun!

Was it Zofran? I got nauseous after my patch wore off and used Zofran to avoid vomiting with great success.

Ask for the 72 hour patch they put behind your ear. It worked wonders for me

Have you been walking a lot? That helps move the air out of your body and creating less discomfort