a few questions (lapband to vsg)

[adavis 2]

I am currently researching a revision to vsg and i have a few questions. First about me, I am 27 and was banded 6 years ago. I did great in the beginning lost weight and around the 2nd year started having reflux. It scared me at first, never said anything to the dr just said that i wanted my fill out. So i tried to do it on my own. Ended up gaining - obviously! Went back to get a fill to try again and had HORRIBLE HORRIBLE reflux. couldnt sleep at night because i would wake up strangling/choking on acid. I have never been so scared in my life! Went back the next day for them to take the fill out again. Had an upper GI and they said maybe the band had moved a little and that was causing my reflux.

So we talked about a revision at that point but the only option was another band or RNY (that i knew about ) i had thought about the DS but the surgeon that had done the lapband for me didnt do it and i would have to see another dr at the practice. If i used my dr he supposedly will wave his surgeon fees. But about a month or so later i ended up getting pregnant. My sweet boy is now almost 2. So i feel like it's time to do something. I had knee surgery in Dec for torn cartilage.. Found out in Jan i had thyroid cancer, had thyroidectomy in Feb. and now my blood sugar is wonky.. had gestational diabetes and i am fighting with all that i can not to get diagnosed with type 2.

Anyway doing well now but i just feel like i am falling apart at too young of an age and i have to do something NOW before it gets too bad. I am 5'1 and weigh 230...

I am waiting for a call back right now to know for certain about the fees...

anyway I am really interested in the VSG because it seems like something i could live with. i am scared of malabsorptive stuff because one of my main reasons for doing this is hopefully to have another baby. and dont feel comfortable getting pg knowing my body isnt absorbing food correctly. It was very difficult being pg so heavy and i think that my weight caused alot of unneccessary complications. i cannot allow myself to get pg at this weight again. I would like to be a thin, active, healthy mom for my little boy. I dont want him to battle this..

I know i am rambling but i guess here are my questions for now.. i will probably add more as i think about it.

1.) i couldnt eat ANYTHING really with the band. I basically resigned to the fact that i could only eat a bite of something and lived that way for a while... i had problems with just about any foods... meat, bread, veggies, fruit, Soup... nothing really went down well... my question is are you able to eat like normal after this surgery? meaning, does it feel like you are full like you old pre surgery full felt? it didnt feel this way with the band. I mostly felt like i had horrible pressure in my chest or that it was stuck in my throat.

2. does food get stuck with this surgery? I was MISERABLE all of the time with food getting stuck. it is very embarrassing when you are in public! Not to mention painful and disgusting!

i guess that's all for now.. hopefully ya'll will understand all my rambling..

haha! thanks for any info, i really appreciate it!

april

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Eating with the sleeve is nothing like eating with the band. The sleeve works like the band is supposed to. I can eat anything I want, only just a little bit of it. There are no foods that get stuck.

There are some people who are taking longer to heal, and are having trouble and having to eat really slowly, and sip really slowly . That has never been the case with me. Even in the hospital, I could drink whatever they brought me, and I had to force myself to go slowly.

When You feel full, you feel like your stomach is full from just a few bites. It's not in your chest.

[Ruthi 60]

I have to agree with Daisy, I love my sleeve, it is perfect for me. I can eat anything that I did before but not much of it. I just had a 2 oz grilled boneless pork chop for dinner and I am full. If I eat too much, I feel miserable as in nauseated or some chest pressure but that was mainly before I learned how to eat. I have to overcome what my head wants and my stomach can do. In other words, I may want more of something I am eating because it tastes so good but....My stomach cant hold anymore. I can have more of it, not just this minute, maybe I can have some more later if I still want it but I usually dont. The head hunger thing passes.

Best of luck to you and keep posting

[Malaika 50]

I am one of those that is taking longer to heal - however, I was not a revision - and my surgeon assures me the issues I am having will go away; however it may take up to 6 months -- I can live with that as long as I know it will go away. My surgeon said I was in the 1% of patients who have any complications -- and I wouldn't really call it a complication; just slower to heal.

[adavis 2]

Thanks for responding. I have been obsessing and researching like crazy. I am ok with the fact that things will be iffy while healing and learning, that's a given with any surgery. I just want to know that there is a point where you can relax and little and live, i guess. I dont think i ever got to that point with the band. I was talking to my friend today who had the band (she would have rathered the sleeve but her insurance wouldnt cover it.) anyway, she was complaining how tired she was of costantly throwing up everything she ate. I told her how the band was for me, she was there with me through most of it.... :sneaky2: i am so sad that she is going through this with the band now.

Anyway while talking to her, i couldnt even remember what I ate with the band. I know i usually picked Soups because they were generally easier but I really cant remember... I do know most of the time i was only able to take one bite of something.

anyway i am rambling on about the band. I am really excited about the surgery. Hopefully i will hear from my surgeon's office Monday with a price so i can start sellling all my valuables haha! I would be so thrilled if they managed to find some way to get my insurance to pay - maybe saying it's surgery for reflux instead? even if they would cover a portion would be great!

rambling again... thanks for the info i am lurking and will post more as i think of questions...

:hurray:

[Malaika 50]

Well if you can't get your insurance to cover it, there's always Dr. Aceves in Mexicali - his regular price is $9500 for a sleeve, not sure what a revision price is; others will know. He's absolutely fantastic.

[*susan* 1,709]

Hi adavis, and welcome to the forums. Life with the sleeve is completely different than it is with the band. I had no idea just how badly my band had affected my quality of life until I revised to the sleeve. With the band, it occupied my mind 24/7. I was always thinking about if we go here, what will they have that my band will tolerate? Should I eat lunch with my coworkers or skip it again to avoid the pb embarrassment? I mean it literally affected every aspect of my life. With the sleeve, you really don't think or worry about that stuff anymore. I have found there is nothing I can't eat, nothing gets stuck and I have no worries. You can eat anything, just not as much of it. Now, granted, if you eat to much, you will be miserable, but that is part of the learning process of listening to your body and knowing when you are full and need to stop eating.

[adavis 2]

thanks for your reply susan, i really appreciate hearing about your experiences. I am still searching, i want to know everything. What to expect day to day recovery-wise etc. So i'm still obsessing... hoping to hear good news tomorrow from the dr's office...

thanks for everything

[MacMadame 81]

I never had a band. Stories like yours scared me off it.

For me, I never felt full before surgery no matter how much I ate. And now I do. If I eat too much, I do get a horrible pressure in my chest, but mostly that doesn't happen. It only happens if I deliberately push it or I am not paying attention.

Nothing is ever truly "stuck" though. If I wait long enough, the pressure goes away.

I haven't thrown up in months either. (I'm 10 months out.)