girliegirl

whats the point in waiting to do the sleeve? does the scar tissue repair itself by waiting? i mean won't there always be scar tissue there? i want a sleeve too and i have my band removed about 4 yrs ago , but I'm still nervous about scar tissue. I'm guessing i waited enough time in between huh?

why is the dr suggesting this?

id love to hear too. im researching the sleeve and considering it very much too.

i was happy with the band because I lost weight and felt good. but then when i started to have issues,it changed. of course i wanted to maintain my new weight but i couldn't live with the nightly reflux and the other symptoms of the slip. it had to be removed,

my band slipped, had it revised and it slipped about a year afterwards for a 2nd time. i decided to have it removed.

thats great news. im glad you decided on what you will get. thats great that its the surgeon choice as well. good luck

Josie- i just read your post today. im wondering if you made any decisions yet? im still on the fence as well, have been for about 1 1/2 year. im just controlled by the fear of it all.

Hi, i am someone who was banded a few years back but had issues. i will say that the weigh tloss was wonderful for me, but after maybe 10 months out, i had a slip. the dr was able to do another surgery and revise it and replace it with yet another band but he did tell me that once the band slips that its common for it to slip again. well, about a year later that band also slipped (prolapsed). at that point, i ended up having the band taken out. i was sad and grieved the loss of my band, as it was the one thing that helped me to get close to my goal weight. my hopes were lost! i thought, as well as my surgeon that id be able to keep the weight off but after a few years it just all came back. at the time he did mention i could do a sleeve but i wanted to wait to see if i could do it on my own since i had 3 surgeries over the past 3 years and i was just tired of my bad luck. my advice to you is to be open minded to the sleeve, dont be so afraid of it because it is more of a permanent tool. for me, i want the sleeve now but im so terrified because of my bad experiences that its holding me back. i also have some staples left in my stomach from the band removal that could be an issues if i were to get sleeved, so that has me more cautious. i have been on these boards for many many years and I read so many stories of people having problems with the band. they claim its a low risk, but im reading more and more problems with it. just educate yourself on both surgeries equally then decide whats best for you!

i had my band removed a few years ago and im been researching the sleeve for the past 1 1/2 years. as you can see im not rushing into anything...lol. its a hard choice to make, as i question myself daily as to what I should do too. im afraid of leaks after surgery and thats what holds me back....fear!!! i want a guarantee this time around because I had issues with my band that I would have never thought would happen to me. so now im extra afraid!!!!

wow, thats great to hear. im srtuggling trying to decide if i should get the sleeve I was banded and it slipped, then my dr did a revision but warned that the chances of another slip are common and sure enough about a year later it slipped as wll. I did lose around 70 lbs with my band and although i had such bad reflux and was sos ick with it, there was a part of me who mourned the loss of my band. i remember crying on the wy to the hospital having it removed because I felt it was my only chance to have a normal weight. well, its been about 4 years and i regained all the weight and im so unhappy. im trying all sort of attempts to lose the weight, carb counting, now weight watchers but i cant make any real progress and i feel its a losing battle and so damn hard. my problem is that I was told that i have a few staples left in my stomach from my band removal and that could be a problem when they try to sleeve me and they wont know until they go in to see where the stape will actualy fall in relation to the sleeve. im so afraid of leaks. in the meantime, I'm living my life wishing and dreaming of being thinner and happier.

i was told the same thing as well by a few different doctors. one doctor told me he wouldnt even do it because of all the scar tissue he claims id have. I have had a band, a band revision because of a slip and then a band removal. I was also informed that I have staples left in my stomach from the band removal and depending on where they actaua that it might make it riskier for me as well because any time you staple over staples, its a greater cause for a leak. I havent had the surgery and this is something I've been tossing around for a year and a half. im just too afraid at this point.

wow..thats a scary story, but its reality for some and it important that we hear the good and the bad. why did you opt to have the sleeve and just not have the band removed? did you still want to lose more weight? i had a band too and it slipped, then i had a revision and a new band placed and that too slipped about a year later. at that point i opted to have the 2nd band taken out and nothing done. its been about 4 years and i gained back the weight i lost and now im thinking of the sleeve, i just cant get over the fears i have that something will go bad for me like it did with the band. how do you overcome that??

How is the sleeve diffferent than the band? how did you overcome your fears to go ahead and go for another surgery? I'm very afraid because of the issues i had with my band. Im afraid ill have something go wrong with the sleeve

hi, i have been facing the same dilema as you. i want the sleeve, but I'm very very afraid to take the risk. i was banded and lost around 65-70 lbs and had a slip. i then had it revised and just maintained that weightloss but then the 2nd band slipped as well as my dr said it might. at that point i had the band removed and today i sit here with all my weight back on. i want the sleeve, i guess i just want a guarantee that I wont ruin my health by having it done, either with some sort of stricture, or leak or reflux, issues like that. thats what im worried about. im been strggling with this for over a year now. im so torn!

okay...so what is she saying? Is she basically telling you to keep your mouth shut and dont eat then you would lose weight? i cant understand how people can be so hurtful, but of course this comes from a skinny person, a person who probally has no clue what its like to even have to lose 20 lbs. its not easy!! try not to let her get to you. i am like you and id probally cry the entire ride home too, because im sure you are experiencing so many mixed emotions. i always think of better stuff to say afterwards too. i hate that!! lol

i was banded back in 2006 and had a slip, the doctor removed that band and replaced it with another but warning me that usually 1 slip can mean that the next band would slip as well. about a year later that band slipped leaving me no choice but to have it removed. he offered me the sleeve back then which was 2009 but i said no way. i was at a decent weight having lost 70 lbs and just wanted the band out. the dr thought id be able to manage my weightless too. anyway, here i am today with all the weight back on and deciding if i should go ahead and get sleeved. ive been considering it for well over a year. im terrified because of my past experiences, im afraid something down the road will go wrong with the sleeve and its not fixable. i want it so bad though, i need that once of hope that the band gave me. i struggle with this every day.

cani ask you what problems post -op you had with the sleeve?

oh i see. i was banded too and had it removed a few years ago because of a slip, 2x. i have been considering the sleeve for over a year now. i have such a fear because of what happened with my band. how does one overcome that fear???

I'm wondering what will be different when the dr does it in August? Will the scar tissue disolve?

im still on the fence about the sleeve. i have been for the past year. i actually joined weight watchers in the meantime while i figure things out for myself. i am so afraid of making a decision and having it turn out badly, like the band. i thought that was the greatest thing ever and i thought i would never have to battle with my weight the way i always have. i did weel, lost around 70 lbs but then had a prolapse (slip), i had surgery to repair that and about a year or so later that band slipped, as the dr. waned me it could happen again. so ive have my band out for maybe 3 years and i put all the weight back on...ughhhh. i am so afraid of leakage with this surgery. i have scar tissue from my band surgeries and i also found out i have a few staple left in me as well, so that adds to the risk. im so torn about this. i want it but im so afraid!!

don't feel like you are doomed for the rest of your life!! you do not have to weigh 293 forever. you are going to have to keep trying on your own! maybe you can lose 50 lbs and then you would weigh 243. wouldn't that be nice? imagine how you would feel just 50 lbs less. let me tell you something. i had 2 failed lap band attempts and i was debating on having the sleeve done. right now i decided to keep doing it on my own. i wanted to lose 80 lbs and i told myself what if i lost 40 lbs on my own ?? would i still go for sleeve surgery to lose 40lbs? my answer was no way. i have currently spend the past 7 weeks watching my carbs and I'm down 17 lbs,......thats 1/2 to my 40 weight loss goal!!! take it I'm small steps. you can do it. i tell myself ill never weight 130 lbs and thats okay. i just want to be average, feel better and more confident and I can do that and so can you!! don't give up good luck

it sure does sound like a problem. her band might be too tight, has she seen her fill dr? she needs to be sure it isn't a slip or something else. she should be able to eat food and not throw everything up and her hair should not be falling out. tell her to call her dr.

i won't tell you to go for the sleeve, that has to be your choice but i can tell you from my own experience that once your band slipped it is likely that the 2nd band can slip as well. i am proof of that! i have a revision after my 1st band slipped and had a 2nd one put in only to have in prolapse a 2nd time almost a year later with no weightless. right now i have nothing, just me! i was thinking of the sleeve but i decided to put more effort into consistent dieting and i have lost 15 lbs in 4 weeks just watching my carbs. i would suggest removing the band and not getting another band, i hope that helps somewhat.

hi, i was wondering if anyone heard or used a Dr John Angstadt in New York?

im not sure if i had just 40 lbs to lose if i would undergo a bypass or the sleeve. thats just me. i feel thats maybe something you might be able to lose on your own or at least get close.