Band to sleeve?

[Bandedlauren 18]

Hey there!

So, it has been three months since I've lost any weight. I have had to have fills and unfills and now there's barely anything in my band. I am getting an upper GI soon to be sure that my stomach is ok, I lost 70lbs and now I'm back up to only have losing 62...so over this course of time I've gained 8lbs. I am feeling very discouraged and depressed and have tossed around the idea of converting to a sleeve, I work in the OR and have seen quite a few patients converting due to the band no longer helping, erosion, and slippage. Have any of you experienced prolonged weight loss complications and thought of switching or have switched? Just needing some fellow bandster advice!

Lauren

[B-52 7,113]

This is always on my mind also.....not because I have not had success with the band, quite the contrary, the band has been that "Magic Pill" for me......but more for long term maintenance.

Never had a problem, but as years go on I fear the odds rise I will encounter something such as erosion, slippage, etc......not to mention the unsightly golf ball protruding through my shirts....

Before I turn 65 and my insurance changes I will probably do something.....interested also what other people do.....

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Lauren,

Have the fills and unfills been done to deal with side effects or complications?

I've experienced long weight loss plateaus as well as weight regain during my 5+ year WLS journey. I do know how frustrating it is. Personally, I think it's too soon for you to give up on your band, and the potential for weight regain will be just as real after a revision as it is now. WLS does not cure obesity, it only treats it.

From my perspective, the only advantage the sleeve has over the band is that it doesn't require fills. It is what is is the moment you're wheeled out of the OR...whether you like it or not. No possibility of fine-tuning or adjusting, and 75-80% of your stomach is gone forever.

I wrote about my band-to-sleeve revision experience in a length blog post, here:

htp://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-lot-of-people-especially-those.html:

Good luck!

Jean

[Bandedlauren 18]

Lauren' date='

Have the fills and unfills been done to deal with side effects or complications?

I've experienced long weight loss plateaus as well as weight regain during my 5+ year WLS journey. I do know how frustrating it is. Personally, I think it's too soon for you to give up on your band, and the potential for weight regain will be just as real after a revision as it is now. WLS does not cure obesity, it only treats it.

Jean[/quote']

I have had 3 complete unfills and I am scheduled for a fill on Wednesday May 22 as I have nothing in my band right now.

I have had unfills due to heartburn, a pill getting stuck, and inability to keep down solids. I don't have symptoms of a slipped band and have only had my band for a little over a year.

I need to lose a total of 105lbs in order to be at a healthy weight and I am feeling discouraged because of all of the unfills and fills.

I will chat with my dr on Wed about where to go from here. I don't want to give up on my band, I just want results. It sucks when I work extremely hard on following all the rules, work out, eat healthy, and the scale or inches don't budge. The only thing that has worked to drop a couple lbs is to detox, but I can't detox my whole life.

Thanks for your advice!

Lauren

[drehn88 251]

Lauren,

Have the fills and unfills been done to deal with side effects or complications?

I've experienced long weight loss plateaus as well as weight regain during my 5+ year WLS journey. I do know how frustrating it is. Personally, I think it's too soon for you to give up on your band, and the potential for weight regain will be just as real after a revision as it is now. WLS does not cure obesity, it only treats it.

From my perspective, the only advantage the sleeve has over the band is that it doesn't require fills. It is what is is the moment you're wheeled out of the OR...whether you like it or not. No possibility of fine-tuning or adjusting, and 75-80% of your stomach is gone forever.

I wrote about my band-to-sleeve revision experience in a length blog post, here:

htp://jean-onthebandwagon.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-lot-of-people-especially-those.html:

Good luck!

Jean

Thank you for sharing your story on your blog. It was very informative. Those I know with the sleeve just LOVE their sleeve and think my band is a waste of time. It is so good to hear there are negative aspects of it.

[It'sTime 82]

If I'm understanding your post correctly you're considering abandoning the LapBand for a more risky surgery over 8 lbs?

No thanks.

[JACKIEO85 308]

Unfortunately NO WLS is a "Magic Pancea" IT's allot of work and doesn't happen overnight. BUT..problems do occur, months, weeks, years out

I work in the OR and have seen quite a few patients converting due to the band no longer helping, erosion, and slippage.

So your seeing some of the complications banders face, these are only a few..

I have had 3 complete unfills and I am scheduled for a fill on Wednesday May 22 as I have nothing in my band right now.

I have had unfills due to heartburn, a pill getting stuck, and inability to keep down solids.

Have you had any tests ?

I'm adding a link to LB complications

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038361/

In both types of slip, the patient usually presents with dysphagia, vomiting, regurgitation and food intolerance. The diagnosis is made by upper gastrointestinal series.

[Bandedlauren 18]

If I'm understanding your post correctly you're considering abandoning the LapBand for a more risky surgery over 8 lbs?

No thanks.

I am definitely not considering abandoning the band due to 8lbs...there is far more to it then that. I will post an update on Wednesday after my Dr and I chat.

[emeryhns 30]

I defiantly don't see that you are abandoning the band... Just like any other surgery, it might not work for everyone, someone could have major heart surgery hoping for a fix that MAY save their life and it does not... You get the point! No it's not magic it works wonders for some and for others it does not. Good luck with your appt.

[Bandedlauren 18]

Hey there! I talked with my dr and he looked at my band today, he says everything looks great! I am back up to 5.5cc's in my band and he says I should expect to lose about 1lb per week. I was too tight for about 2 months and then too lose for about 3 weeks. Hopefully I am just right now and will start using my favorite tool to help me succeed again!

[Sokoyoko 6]

Lauren.

I am in the same boat as you. I have had many fills, unfills, and micro fills. I could never found my sweet spot like you I lost a total of 72 lbs and now its back to only losing 62, I gain and lose the same 10 lbs. I have thought about the sleeve like you, but again I only weight between 170-180lbs... it is risky to have another surgery just to take off 30-40 more lbs to be at a healthy BMI. I go into get a fill june 4th so I hope it kick starts me. I have been trying for 3 years to get under 170 it wouldn't budge .... so lets hope something is quick start this weight loss again. Good luck to you !

[lellow 1,713]

This thread interests me because when I decided to revise to another band, I got asked over and over again (here and elsewhere) why I didn't 'just' revise to a sleeve. Jean's blog post is the perfect example of why I chose the band. The sleeve was so unknown, and the band was so known to me. I have had a good experience with the band for the most part, so it seemed the safer route to go. I can live with the band, I don't know if I could live with the sleeve, because I knew nothing about living with a sleeve.

A friend of mine has the same fill/unfill dance and she's sick to death of it. We talked last night and she said she was sick of the band not working. And yet what she considered 'too tight' was what I considered my green zone, it turned out. She couldn't eat cookie dough? Naturally she should get an unfill! I don't get an unfill unless I can't swallow my own saliva. And without fail if I baby the band, I'll be able to go back to eating solids after a few days even after a stuck episode.

We were also out to dinner when I was well restricted (and when she said she was 'too tight'), and got a piece of salmon and 3 balls of arancini to share. I ate 2 balls of arancini and half the salmon and she ate the rest. Then as we were walking through the city, she stopped at two chocolatiers and an ice cream parlour to get 'treats'. I was well restricted so I actually could not physically eat anymore, but she could!

I know my band and I know it well and I know when it helps me control my hunger. I am completely happy with my decision to revise to another band, and I think they would have to tell me that I couldn't ever have another band to revise to a sleeve.

[ronzo80 11]

Can I recommend that you read Mis73 post about carb cycling. Several people have mentioned breaking the plateau in that post after trying it. They do it for a couple weeks just to get the weight losing going again. Check it out. That is going to be my backup plan if I see myself stuck later on (i am only a month out today, and so far losing some).