kristenmh

My revision surgery did take about an hour longer than usual due to the scar tissue left behind by the band. In general, the band to sleevers have a higher risk of having a leak -- my surgeon said our risk doubles from a 1% leak rate to a 2% leak rate. I'd ask your surgical practice if they have ever had any leaks -- mine (@ UCLA Bariatrics) had never had a leak. They were super cautious with me and kept me on liquids double the amount of time of their virgin sleevers. I think it's smart to plan for the worst case scenario. I'd recommend asking your surgeon Their leak rate Are there any special post-op dietary considerations for a revision patient How do they alter the surgery for revision patients -- for example, most band to sleevers end up having a slightly larger stomach due to the damage/scarring left by the band (this is also why we end up losing a little less weight than virgin sleevers) Revising is scary, but it's also the best thing I've ever done. Life with a sleeve is so much better than with a band.

I had my band to sleeve revision in two stages, 3 months apart. I did gain a little weight between the surgeries -- about 5lbs. You do need to keep an eye on things, especially after years and years of not being able to eat normal food (hello, bread and veggies) but gaining weight isn't inevitable. in retrospect, i was really glad to have the 3 month period between surgeries to really get my head in the game for the sleeve surgery. it is harder for revision patients to lose weight with the sleeve (not impossible, just harder due to our pouch usually being slighly bigger than a virgin sleever due to scar tissue). use the time to start and exercise routine, learn to meal prep and track what you are eating, etc. for context: i lost around 60lbs (ended up around 175) with the band and gained it all back within a year. from year 1 until year 9, i gained another 35lbs. i'm just shy of 9 months post-op with the sleeve, down just shy of 130 lbs and within 6lbs of my goal. My BMI this AM was 25.1 -- just .1% until I hit a "normal" weight.

It really depends on the person. I'm 10lbs from goal (135lbs) and my plastic surgeon told me that I look like my extra skin is about 50% of that.

I'm 5' 3" and 6.5 months pos-op. My consult weight was 271 and my surgery weight was 238.7. I'm down 109.6lbs as of this AM.

Not done losing yet (I'm about 25ish lbs from goal), but I'm down 109.6lbs from my pre-surgery weight.

I'm on pins and needles waiting for an approval to remove my lapband. Has anyone received a denial just for band removal? We didn't request the conversion to Sleeve yet -- my doctor wants to wait until three months post band removal.

It's totally normal (it happens to almost all of us) to stall between weeks 3 and 5 post-op. I'm also seeing a trend of stalling again around month 5. Most of the March 2017 sleevers I know report stalling about 5 months out. It's true that revision patients lose slower -- I made a very conscious decision to throw everything I have at losing wait in the first six months. I started exercising (walking) 2 weeks post-op. At month 5, I'm doing cardio (elliptical) 4x a week, weight training 4x a week and doing yoga 2x a week. My calories are hovering between 800 and 1000 a day. As my weight loss has started to slow a bit, I've just started experimenting with Intermittent Fasting. I figure the harder I work during the "honeymoon" phase, the more likely it is that I'll have good habits to sustain me as I approach goal and maintenance.

I had my band in 2008 and lost 70lbs. Had the band removed in December 2016 and was sleeved on March 20th, 2017. As of this morning, I've lost 98lbs. 38 pounds until I hit goal! Recovery from the band removal was super easy; the VSG recovery wasn't hard, but it definitely was harder than the band placement and removal.

I am 4.5 months out from my band to sleeve revision and my surgeon and nutritionist told me the exact same thing -- Band to sleevers don't lose as much weight as virgin sleevers. The reasoning is that we are not at our highest weights ever when we get revised AND our pouches are not as small as virgin sleevers because our "damaged" stomachs from the bands prevent the surgeons from making a smaller sleeve. That said -- I am 4.5 months post-revision and am down close to 91 pounds. I have 45lbs more to goal. My surgeon and nutritionist are both shocked at how much I've lost and are super supportive of me. I hope they rethink their position on band to sleevers not losing as much weight. I have, however, put in alot of hard work. I am exercising 4-5 days per week for an hour --- cardio plus weight lifting and then doing yoga and walking 2-3 miles on my "off" days. I am a vegan and religiously stick to my meal plan -- 800 calories/day; 60g of protein and 100 ounces of water - and I log everything I put into my mouth, even on days when I've not made the best choices. It's not easy, but I am fighting hard to get to goal.

This just happened to me -- I am 19 weeks post-op and about 3 weeks ago, I hit a wall. I was losing 2-3 lbs a week and then BLAM! nothing. My weight was fluctuating up and down a pound or two every day for 3 weeks. It was driving me crazy. Just 3 days ago something seemed to break and I'm down 3.5lbs in 3 days. I did literally all of the things they tell you to break a stall -- upped my water, logged every single thing that went into my mouth, changed up what I was eating and changed how I was exercising. I have no proof, but I think what broke things for me is radically upping my fiber (I prioritized getting 25g a day above everything, including protein) and completely cut out dairy. (I am a vegetarian, but I went totally vegan for the past week.) I was super upset during the stall -- I would blame myself, yell at the scale, etc. Just keep fighting your way through this -- it sucks, but I promise you it will break.

Per my surgeon, Band to Sleeve patients tend to have slightly larger pouches b/c of all the scar tissue from the band. That's why we tend to lose slightly less weight than virgin sleevers.

I had my band removed in Dec 2016 and was sleeved on 3/20/17. I'm down close to 61lbs total and around 28lbs since surgery 7 weeks ago.

I am 6 weeks out and hovering around 750-800 calories and 75-80g of protein a day. I am a plant-based eater, so getting 80g requires me to eat that many calories. I was eating 480-550 cals per day and started to stall -- upping my calories has made a huge difference in my weight loss.

i am so sorry. I had a great first 6 weeks and then BLAM, I hit a wall this last week.

you aren't doing anything wrong. everybody is different -- as long as you are meeting your surgeon's guidelines and losing weight, you are doing well.

The first few days I just walked up and down my block a few times. By 1 week out, I was walking a mile. I'm a month out and up to 3miles a day.

I was having similar issues -- by NUT suggested Psyllium Husks and a "Squatty Potty". It's helped tons.

My surgeon reported the same thing -- I had a bunch of adhesions on my stomach from when the band was there that needed to be removed. So glad you are doing well.

question for everyone following a pound of cure -- how much protein do you get? i mentioned it to my dietian and she told me not to follow it b/c there wasn't enough protein. but I really want to follow it!

i'm right here with you guys. i just started in pureed food and am hovering right under 500 calories. I'm getting about 60-65g of protein a day.

I just started on pureed foods this week and am hoping you all could share some advice with me. Since surgery, I simply don't have any hunger at all. Right now I've scheduled myself to have 6 small meals a day, approximately two to two and a half hours apart. (I am eating 3 2oz purees and 3 5.5 ounce Protein shakes). When the time rolls around to eat, I am not hungry. I am not NOT hungry, just not feeling any hunger pains. When this happens, should I still force myself to eat something? Also, I am not really getting a "full" feeling after eating. Is this normal?

Hey there -- we're the same height and were sleeved 10 days apart. I'm happy to buddy up! I could also use the support.

i am 50lbs down (and still have another 98 to go) and also cold all the time. so strange.

I had my band removed in December and was sleeved last month. It's been a great experience. There's a Band to Sleeve forum here there's tons of great info in there.

i had trouble sleeping the first week -- I'm a side sleeper and my stomach was just a little too tender to do that the first week. i was also having some low-level issues with gerd (despite taking a PPI). i found propping myself up on a few peoples helped. I'm two weeks out now and sleeping soundly -- this will pass, i promise.