NoMoBand

Remember I'm 1 year out. My food intake is 1/2 cup at meals and is plenty for me. Sometimes I can finish it and sometimes I cannot. I got into a habit of measuring my meals. My esophagus issue was resolved a few months after surgery on it's own. As far as pain, every now and again, I get a pain in my stomach when I eat too fast or don't chew my food, but, I know how to prevent it. jake

Moe, my hernia was repaired at the same time that I had my lap band installed. Prior to getting the lapband I remember that I had issues with heartburn that was due to the hernia. After the hernia repair and lapband install, all my heartburn issues went away. Now, with the sleeve I have heartburn again. My doctor warned me that many patients have issues with acid reflux (heartburn) post op with sleeve and must be on medications. Unfortunately I am one of the unfortunates. :-( He also told me that there is a very good chance that the heartburn will go away, but, that is not a absolute. I'll just have to wait and be patient. jake

I had a hernia and repair when I had the lapband done. No hernia present with the sleeve revision surgery. The hernia is probably the cause to your issues, along with the lower dilated esophagus that is still healing. You will probably need to get the hernia repaired. Unfortunately it requires surgery. What did the surgeon tell you? I'm doing well. The only complaint I have is that acid reflux is back again after getting better 6 months post op. I take a 24 hour Nexium pill that works really well. I had an appointment to see my doc next Thursday and they cancelled and rescheduled for May 12. Keep me posted on your progress. Jake

My paperwork was submitted early on a Tuesday morning, I had my approval by that afternoon. I couldn't believe it! I guess it all depends on the work load. I should mention that mine was a very unexpected revision. I didn't have to go through any of the hoops that one normally goes through because I already had a lap band. I was lucky because some insurance companies require that you go through all the consults and evaluation from the beginning.

You'll be fine. Hang in there. A prayer your way. jake

You won't regret this! After 8 years you will appreciate a normal life. This revision for me was all accidental, because my employer changed insurance company and the bariatric program was different. The new bariatric program required a barium swallow before they would accept me or not. To my surprise my esophagus was in real trouble and things happened really quickly. With all the complications I had with the band my wife was also against me going into another potential mess. We decided that I would get my band removed and continue my gym life and watch my diet. Once my band was unfilled I started gaining weight and quickly decided to get revision. Insurance approved, but, wife was still convinced that I was getting into another mess, but, supported me anyhow with reservation. I proceeded and am extremely pleased with the sleeved life style. My wife has also come around and tells me that I am very different without all the stuck, unstuck drama. We can go on dates and don't worry if the band will act up or not. We are both extremely pleased with the outcome. The recovery diet is tough, but, once you get through it, it's awesome! No regrets here whatsoever! jake

You said: "Also, what I found out from other threads that people with enlarged esophagus tend to eat more and lose weight slower and less than others? Is it correct?" I don't have a definite answer on this, but, you could be on to something. In my case with my enlarged esophagus I could eat very little during my progressive post op diet, but, a few months later I was able to progress up to 1/2 cup of food, thus, looks like my case of my enlarged esophagus did not make a difference on more food intake. I always measure my food, because I don't want to take a chance of enlarging my sleeve, like I did my lapband pouch occurring several times. I do recall my doctor telling me that my esophagus would shrink back to normal within 6 - 8 weeks. I don't feel anything that tells otherwise and asked about it at my 6 month appointment and he said all was well. Anyhow, my weight loss has been crawling slow (1 -3 pounds a month and I work out 6 days a week.). I have my yearly appointment coming up in 3 weeks and will ask my doctor about this. Let's see what he says. IMO, my body is holding on to any nutrition it can for dear life. My body is in a serious plateau and I just have to be patient. I do have some encouraging results and that is I can get into some 32 waist pants. Heck, I think I wore a 32 waist pants when I was elementary school. LOL The pant size and the so many complements that I receive is what keeps me encouraged and going!! jake

Dang Mike4132,no loose skin, how'd you do it? You look awesome! Me personally I don't care for the huge bulky muscle bound stuff, but, to which one their own. I understand that it take lots and lots of hard work and those should be proud! I personally just want to tone up and work on the loose skin without surgery, but, in my case that probably won't happen and I don't desire anymore elective surgery and will learn to live with the arm flaps. It sucks, but, I'm content! Good job!! jake

Hi Moe. I was thinking about you today. How are you doing? One thing that I forgot to mention is that post op, things get better overnight and everyday you get a burst of feeling better and stronger. Anyhow, hope you are doing better. Keep me posted. jake

Sleeve! I had the band 5 years and had it removed due to complications. I was revised to sleeve 11 months ago and couldn't be happier! My biggest frustration with the lap band was the high maintenance that comes with it. As far as acid reflux, I did not have it with the band and now I have it with the sleeve. It's hard to say how your body will react regardless of which you choose. I take medication for the acid reflux and I'm fine. Good luck. jake

My esophagus did resume back to normal, but, it took about 2 months. All our bodies heal so differently. The spasms or mild pain that I felt was off and on for a few weeks. Every now and again I feel that pain, but, it's usually from not chewing my food well enough or swallowing to quickly. 3 weeks into this would have you at the soft food (mushy) stage. If you are having issues with taking in mushies I would go back into the liquid stage for a day or so. I would also contact your doctor just to be sure. I had to revert to the liquid stage several times. The most important thing is that your stomach is healed enough to continue through the progressive diet.

Moe, I have revised from band to sleeve due my esophagus also enlarging. I'm 11 months into my journey and it is going extremely well with the exception that weight loss is much slower and I'm ok with that. There is a Huge difference between band and sleeve with all positives on the sleeve! Once you have healed you will learn to appreciate the sleeve and the "no mores" - no more stuck episodes, no more sliming, no more choking episodes while sleeping, no more unfills/fills, no more worries about ending up in an emergency situation and no bariatric medical experience available, no more port issues, no more high maintenance, no more.............. Congratulations on your revision. You won't regret it one bit! You will be fine! jake

Moe, Probably all normal things you are experiencing and coming here to see if others might or may have experienced what you are experiencing is one of the reasons this site exists and is about. I remember experiencing stomach pain at first and probably due to spasms. I didn't worry much because I read at another support site that others had experienced the same. I did talk to my doctor about it, but, before I did, I was comforted to know that I wasn't in trouble or dying. I completely understand where you are coming from. Hang in there it will get better. jake

GOOD JOB BigTink2LlTink!

Over 1 week smoke free! Cold Turkey is the only way that I've been able to quit in the past. I had just recently started up again. My wife smokes and I would join her for a cigarette late in the day and I was starting to have one at work once in awhile. First 3 days were difficult, but, I think I got this. This post along with my friend dying of pneumonia was the eye opener for me. Prayers for a speedy recovery for kranky813. jake

I learned this sometime back and every so often will purposely eat 3-4 of these candies to clean out the system. They do definitely work. LOL The Russell Stover brand and others use Splenda and usually marked on the package. jake

First, 160 lost pounds is an enormous victory!! Congratulations! A couple of comments: 1. I also think you would do well with the sleeve, however, you really need to work on the food addiction first. With the addiction in place, the sleeve will eventually stretch leaving you with a bigger stomach and appetite and gaining weight again. 2. You are in a very bad place with your insurance with the "one bariatrics surgery per lifetime" policy. Not real sure if you would be able to fight this or not. You may need to look into either financing or Mexico or both. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens. jake

Thank you for your honesty. I needed to hear this! I started having one here and there and here and there more frequently. I lost a good friend to pneumonia just last week and for my own good and in her honor, I quit. I'm doing really well, but, this only verified what I needed to do before it got out of hand. Do you mind me asking how many cigarettes you had per day? Thank you for posting. jake

I wish I had an answer for you. I really don't know if the same rules apply, but, I can only speculate that the same rules will apply. Keep us posted. I'm really curious. Should this be the case, you may consider joining weight watchers, Adkins diet..... I do know that the weight does come on quickly and it's scary as heck! I was really shocked! Hopefully, someone out there has the answer for you.

I was in the same boat 10 months ago. Band needed to come out. From the time I was unfilled until getting approval I also gained 40 pounds. I understand your frustration! My doctor suggested GB revision, however, I insisted on Sleeve and am so glad I did, however, I will tell you that a higher percentile of sleeved revision patients lose weight slowly. I am one of those patients, but, I'm ok with it. The very awesome two benefits for me is that I don't feel the hunger I felt with the band and as long as I eat slowly, full is full and no second guessing and overeating happens very little for me. Most surgeons will do revisions with 2 surgeries because they tell you it is safer and there is less of a chance of complications like leaks on the staple line when you allow your insides to heal for 2-3 months before getting sleeved. Other surgeons such as my surgeon will proceed with band removal and sleeve procedure in one surgery contingent that there are no major issues, such as erosion or band slippage and also if there is not a lot of scar tissue that has to be removed/repaired. The surgeon sometimes will not know until they are inside. I was told that I could wake out of surgery only to discover that he could not proceed with the sleeve. I was lucky! Deciding on GB or Sleeve, in my opinion, depends on how much weight you need/want to lose and how active your are. GB will get you to your goal quicker than the sleeve. GB is also a bit more complicated with the re-routing of the plumbing (intestines). For me I am extremely pleased with sleeve because of two outcomes resulting from the sleeve. I feel much less hunger compared to the band and I think that this is due to the ghrelin cells that are removed when 80% of the stomach is removed and second I know when I am full beyond any shadow of any doubt! Love it! There is a facebook site called "Band to Sleeve revision" where members are only people that have had band to sleeve revision done or currently have band and are thinking about getting it done. Very informative people there. They really have been a God sent to me. Sorry for going on and on, but, I hope this has been of some help. Jake

Wow, I had forgotten about this and now you are reminding me and I can relate. Initially, I started out wanting the gastric bypass, I attended seminar, first appointment and due to friends and family scaring the crap out of me I discontinued. 1 year later, due to developing more obese related medical issues, I looked at lapband - seminar, first nutrition appointment and I discovered that a co-worker had died on the table from getting the lap band. This was a sign in my mind and discontinued the process. Shortly after, I discovered that he actually died from a heart attack that just so happened the day before his scheduled surgery and not on the operating table or due to getting the lapband. With mind at ease, months later I started the process again and got a far as a lapband surgery date set and was on the pre-op diet for 2 weeks, then, a few days before my surgery the hospital called and said that they cancelled my surgery because there was a shortage of a drug required for surgery at the hospital and I was re-scheduled for 2 weeks from the day they called, which put me at 2 more weeks of the pre-op diet. Oh hell yes this was a sign and I decided not to proceed. Long story short my doc and wife and 1 of my 3 sons convinced me that I should proceed. I went forward. I was a success with lapband and lost 120 lbs. and have no regrets. Fast forward. Right before my 5th anniversary of being banded, I discovered that my lapband had caused my esophagus to enlarge. Band came out and I was revised to sleeve. This time I had zero hesitation and 11 months ago am sleeved and I am extremely satisfied with my sleeve and wish I had done this the first time. Anyhow, I can relate. You need to really dig deep down and search for what you want. Others will have opinions on both the positive and negative ends and if your family is like mine, it will be mostly negative. You have to do what makes you happy, but, be absolutely sure that you have done all your research and are sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is what you want! Next, lean on the positive supporters, you will need them. Should you go forward you will be very pleased! Much luck to you. Jake

You will not regret making this transition. Best of Luck going your way. Please do keep us posted as how you are doing. jake

When I had the lap band done, the doc told me I didn't get a catheter, but, who knows, once you've gone under they can do what they want. When I had my band to sleeve revision they did put in a catheter, but, was done when I was under. I didn't have any after affects that I can recall.

Craig, I had my lapband installed in 2010. Just last April I discovered that my esophagus was in trouble. I had revision in May. Today, 9 months later and I am very pleased with the outcome with 40 pounds lost. I wish I had chosen sleeve from get go, however, at the time it was too new of a procedure, but, no regrets for me because the band did what it was supposed to do. Here's the awesome thing: Sleeved life is completely different than the banded life. No more stuck episodes, no more sliming, foaming, gurgling, being scared as hell of getting a stomach flu or food poisoning, going to an Emergency room and no bariatric doctor available, fills, unfills, being placed on liquids for 6 weeks at a time, Huber needles, inexperienced fill nurses etc. etc. etc. The very best of the best is that a filled sleeve lets you know when you are full. Full is really full, no questioned asked! This is truly a normal life for me! The only complaint I have, is that many sleeved patients lose weight much slower and there seems to be more band to sleeve revised patients complaining about slower weight loss. I finally put the scale in the shed and go by how my clothing fit. Being scared and nervous is normal as you remember from the lapband surgery. Do this, you won't regret it one bit. jake

What I can share is that I did not have GERD, nor acid reflux pre-band or post band. 5 years later, my band had to come out and I was sleeved and now have acid reflux. My understanding of this is because the size of the stomach post sleeve still wants to produce the amount of acid it did when it was larger. The good news is some people stomach's adjust very quickly, bad news is that others take longer or as my doc told me sometimes will not adjust and you end up with acid reflux for a very long time. I was taking Prilosec on a daily basis for about 6 months. 8 months later I take a Prilosec maybe 2 times a week if that, so, there is hope. I'm not sure about GERD, but, I'm sure they are both related. I would talk more to you Doc about this. My doc initially suggested by-pass, but, I insisted on sleeve and am so glad that I went this route. Although, I was initially scared with the reflux, I am very pleased with the outcome! The benefits exceed the reflux and I don't mind taking the Prilosec on a daily basis and I do live a very normal happy life. You might consider a 2nd opinion, if you have that option. Much luck to you. Jake