An unhappy bandster & a typical story

[betrthnever 107]

Hi All, I am a bandster, banded 2/19/08. Sure you all have heard stories upon stories but I do feel the need to discuss mine. The surgery went well, tho afterwards I had to fight to get a fill. And yet, after my fill, I felt no restriction. Not unusual, but I still felt no restriction after my 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th fill. 8 MONTHS after surgery the NP decided something must be wrong and pulled out my Fluid. Come to find out that the person giving me the fills NEVER made it into my port. I only had 3.5 cc in my band and that was given to me by a different person all together. The ironic thing was was that I still managed to lose 50 pounds by sheer momentum of the desire to lose weight.

Fast forward 9 months later. I only lost 10 pounds since last October, gained almost all of the 10 pounds back, and have just lost it again. After the first "real" fill I fell into a depression. I felt like I missed the boat & that I was left behind. That I slipped through the cracks - if I didn't have to "rely" on the Drs care I would be better off. If you think about it, most weight is lost very early on 'cause of the excitement of being banded and I feel like I could have done better. Yes, my fault about what I was putting in my mouth and I'm now adjusting my mindset again, gearing it again towards weight loss. Currently, I have about 35 pounds to go or so to goal.

I had no idea there was such a thing as a sleeve before my surgery. Only the RNY & Band were discussed at that time. The sleeve would have been such a better choice - no reliance on the DR. I am lucky in the respect that I've had no mechanical issues with my band - which isn't too surprising as it's only ever been minimally utilized anyway.

Questions for you Sleevers: How's the hunger? Anyone have a similar experience as mine and was able to revert to a sleeve? Thanks for your help!:biggrin0:

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Having the sleeve is nothing like having the band. You have restriction from day one of surgery. I am never hungry. I could

not be happier to have that band out of me. Like you, I wish I had known about the sleeve first. I lost all my weight with the band but gained 15 back from having band problems and having to be completely unfilled. I lost that on the post

op diet after sleeve surgery. It's been easy

to maintain that and lose 8 more. I'd still like to lose a few more, but I am good with

where I am if I don't. Living with the sleeve is a breeze.

[*susan* 1,709]

My experience with the band was great the first two years. I lost a good amount of weight and was thrilled with it. Then, I got overfilled one time. After that, things were never right again. My band slipped three times. Even if I had almost zero fill, I found eating to be very difficult. I started living on ice cream, which I know was a very poor choice, but if it is the only thing you can get down and keep down, well, that is what you eat. I ended up gaining most of my weight back as a result.

In April, I had the opportunity presented to me to get sleeved. I was miserable with my band, tired of pb'ing everything I tried to eat and my quality of life had literally gone down the toilet. Since getting sleeved, I have my life back. I have perfect restriction, don't worry about if I am going to embarrass myself when eating out in public anymore, am losing weight and feel great. Getting the sleeve is the best thing that has ever happened to me in terms of my health.

[betrthnever 107]

BTW I feel I have to be very selective about where on the lapbandtalk.com site I post because I believe theres a certain "its your fault not the band's" mentality among those having the success. Perhaps I'm misreading but I do feel safer vening here. Also, I want to start researching my options with the sleeve. Thanks for your help!

[Tiffykins 673]

BTW I feel I have to be very selective about where on the lapbandtalk.com site I post because I believe theres a certain "its your fault not the band's" mentality among those having the success. Perhaps I'm misreading but I do feel safer vening here. Also, I want to start researching my options with the sleeve. Thanks for your help!

I felt the same way over there. My own mom thinks the LapBand is the most awesome thing in the world. She's had hers for almost 2 years, and she throws up, pb's, slimes, can't eat some days, but she just thinks that is "normal". When she found out I was switching to the sleeve, she was livid.

I hope through your research you find the best surgeon, and surgical option that is best for you.

My hunger level is completely void, and I'm 3 months out. I had a flipped port that went untreated by my original surgeon and I revised to the sleeve due to pain and my quality of life was deplorable with a different surgeon. The port actually moved, and caused tugging on the band that was attached to my stomach. It was horrific.

The sleeve has been great for me. I had complications post-op, and have my own unique struggles every day. But, my successes outweigh the struggles, and every day gets a little better.

[betrthnever 107]

Hi Tiffykins, at my Drs. they seem to "lump" the sleevers with the RNYers in the support groups and since I'm not either I don't attend. My friend does, tho, and says she hears sleevers having more issues post op then even bypassers. More issues with drainage...?

My mom was banded (against my suggestions) in April and has lost very little weight. Her main concern before she was banded was if the band was going to take away her hunger. NO, I said. So she feels the hunger and can't eat. Also, she has physical issues that make it hard for her to move around so I suggested before her surgery that even the RNY would be better for her (even her Dr. thought so) . She has restriction but that doesn't seem to matter. She's very disappointed.

Sweetspot one week, more opened the next. Just no consistency.

[Tiffykins 673]

Hi Tiffykins, at my Drs. they seem to "lump" the sleevers with the RNYers in the support groups and since I'm not either I don't attend. My friend does, tho, and says she hears sleevers having more issues post op then even bypassers. More issues with drainage...?

My mom was banded (against my suggestions) in April and has lost very little weight. Her main concern before she was banded was if the band was going to take away her hunger. NO, I said. So she feels the hunger and can't eat. Also, she has physical issues that make it hard for her to move around so I suggested before her surgery that even the RNY would be better for her (even her Dr. thought so) . She has restriction but that doesn't seem to matter. She's very disappointed.

Sweetspot one week, more opened the next. Just no consistency.

I'm going to assume by drainage, they mean loose bowel movements or spontaneous "UT OH I gotta run to the bathroom?"

Since moving to regular food, and off of the liquid post-op diet, I've had zero issues with any type of "drainage". In the beginning, it was liquid in, liquid out.

[betrthnever 107]

Tiffikins, LOL no by drainage I mean the tube they have coming out of the stomach for excess fluids to drain out of? Am I getting this all wrong?:thumbup1::biggrin0:

[Tiffykins 673]

LOL, I wasn't sure what type of "drainage" you had heard about. I didn't have any drains until I had the leak repair surgery 2 days after my original band to sleeve revision.

[MacMadame 81]

Drainage is no biggie. It's a temporary thing -- the drain isn't in that long maybe 10 days or two weeks tops. Heck a lot of surgeons don't even use them.

(Plus, I'd be surprised if sleevesters really have more trouble in general than RnYers when it comes to that. Maybe to the sessions she attended, but even then anecdotal evidence is notoriously unreliable.)

[Soon2lose 0]

OK?.Here we go, first I would like to thank every one of you! You may ask why?

The reason is, I was a silent forum reader. Every time I had a problem or question I would run to the site for Q&A, from per diet to post op questions- 9-times out of 10 I could find the answers. I?m 29 days post op down 38lbs. I feel a lot better and now people are starting to wonder?lol J. **NOTE** If you are a silent reader I encourage you to join. Thanks to all?.. Oh btw Isopure Cookies and cream is undrinkable.

[Ky.hen 5]

Welcome to the forum Soon2loose. I'm glad that you have decided to post. I don't think anyone here bites. lol Please tell your story. We are all ears and ready to listen.

[*susan* 1,709]

Yay, we are so glad you decided to start posting, Soon2loose! We love talking with fellow sleevers and sharing experiences.

And, I agree about the Isopure Cookies and cream.

[betrthnever 107]

Hi Soon2lose, glad my post inspired you to speak up! And great for the loss!! Also, my father's family is from the Gulfport area...I was there 1 month before Katrina but haven't been back since.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Please keep posting on the rate your liquids threads. We want people to know everyone's opinion on what people really like or the opposite and think it's not drinkable.

There is also a thread I made where you can order samples so that you don't buy too much of one thing.