New here~awaiting band revision

[msbug 0]

Hi all. I'm a 34-year-old mom of 2, dd is 10 and ds is 7. I was banded in August of 2006. Immediately after my port flipped and needed to be repaired. THat should have been my first clue I made the wrong choice! I managed to lose almost 100 pounds with the band in the first 2 years, but it was s-l-o-w. At the end of 2008, my band surgeon said I should get a consult with a plastic surgeon about my huge apron of skin. It was horrible, hung down past my girlie bits, made me look a lot heavier than I was, my skin was constantly tearing and it gave me rashes.

So, in Feb of 09 I had a Tummy Tuck and breast lift. Holy crap what a difference! He took off 16 pounds of extra skin and the surgery took 11 hours. The recovery was horrible. Because of the band, I've had problems with medication working right and it took a bit before we found an oral pain killer that actually worked. I was off work for 6 weeks and the recovery was horriblle. I managed to mess up my knee the day after surgery so it was always going numb and giving out on me. No one knew why. Then I got a stomach virus and puking after a tummy tuck, with a lapband, is it's own special kind of hell. Just as i was starting to feel human again I got scarlet fever. Which I thought went out of style with hoop skirts and mutton chops! Evidentally not though. My pcp said because my system was so screwed up due to the surgery, a strep infection just went haywire. That took another 2 weeks to recover from.

I'd finally gotten to a weight that, while it wasn't as low as I wanted, I was happy with my body. I looked good, felt normal for the first time in my life and liked the way I looked in the mirror. I no longer walked into a room and got that horrible feeling of "Oh no, I'm the fattest person here". I felt like people noticed me and not my weight.

A couple months ago I started having restriction problems, bouncing between too loose or too tight, and waking up at night with horrible reflux and choking on my stomach contents. Yuck! Had an upper gi done last week after an unfill didn't help matters and surgeon says the band needs to come out. It is extrememly tight, which he said makes no sense because it's empty and I don't feel like I have any restriction (which is why I've gained some weight back ). So, now we start the process of getting insurance approval for the band removal and revision to the sleeve. He said he'll push for the sleeve instead of bypass because bypass does not appeal to me. I'm already deficient in B12 and vit D and take injections and supplements for that. I'm afraid of what would happen if I had the malabsorption issues to deal with too. If insurance (Anthem Blue Cross) wil only cover the removal but not the sleeve, I'm hoping it will be cheap enough for me to self-pay for the sleeve. And I really want to get this done soon! The idea of being on a liquid diet over the holidays is not at all appealing.

I've been reading all your stories since finding out I might lose my band and have gotten so much help from them! Thanks for sharing your stories. :001_smile:

[*susan* 1,709]

Hi Tracey, and welcome! We are happy to have you join us here. I am also a band to sleeve revsion after numerous problems with the band. I have not once regretted switching. I hope all goes well for you and you get your insurance approval soon.

[pcindy 8]

Wow, what a story! You're a brave woman. I wish you all the best with your financing and a speedy surgery and recovery. You've worked hard and deserve great outcome. I'm very happy with my VSG, and hope you will be too.

[Dave_NW 92]

Wow, Tracey, what a journey you've had! From all I've read here, especially the band to sleeve revisions, you're absolutely heading down the right road, Wishing you all the best of luck with things.

And can I say, reading of the issues you've had with the band is exactly why I changed my mind and decided to skip the band, and go right to sleeve as a first choice. I was gung ho to have the band at first, but the more I researched beyond the media hype, the more "real world" problems I was discovering. Once I made my sleeve choice, it was a no-brainer.

Dave

[Becca 108]

Hi! I am also a 34 year old mom who is about to go from band to sleeve. (Just waiting on final approval from the insurance). I have had nothing but problems from my band and I did once lose 70 pounds, but gained back 30 when my tubing cracked. I just found out today that my band has slipped, so my doc said my band has to go and he wants me to get the sleeve. You have had one hectic journey! Hopefully we will have some great new stories to tell when we get out sleeves!:001_unsure:

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Hi MsBug!!

Well I'm a former Bander as of barely 3 days ago. It was not pleasant, but I'll tell you right now - I don't regret it for one second. That piercing port pain that has been eating at me for nearly 3 years is FINALLY GONE!!!!

I'm on my way down again, and I hope that you can join the rest of us who have dumped the Band and enjoying our new sleeved selves.

:scared0: