Band to Sleeve - What can I expect? Differences?

[AnneHB 0]

Hi everyone,

Just switched over to this board. I had my lap band 3 years ago (almost to the day). After 2 years of initial success, I experienced 2 complications, a slip and espophogal dialation. At that point, I wasnt happy with the band anyways. So last October I started exploring revision surgery going from the Band to the Sleeve.

I want to hear from people who have done this revision in the last couple of years because already there are noticeable differences. For starters, I am not happy about the pre-op diet even though I know it has to happen. Just don't feel as positive mentally about it as much as I did the first one. Maybe because I have had complications with the band, I dont know.

What I really want to know was physically speaking how were the recoveries different? I am not sure what to expect from my stomach in comparison to the band. But I have been told the actually recovery time is somewhat the same.

Anyways, just wanting to hear some positive reinforcement as I head into my second (and please god my last) surgery on Monday. Thanks everyone!

[anonynurse 13]

i am four days postop now from having the sleeve portion of my revision. My doc does the two (removal of the band and then doing the sleeve) in two separate surgeries. Because my surgeon saw my liver when removing my band, I didn't have to do a pre-op diet, so that was nice. I too was struggling with having to do that again. But my loss from the band was good and my liver was small.

I can tell you the recovery from this surgery is much much harder than the band was. More pain. Less energy. Stricter diet. But I feel a little better every day. Since I am so fresh from the OR, you may want to read other threads of a similar nature posted here to get more info. Good luck!

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I had a very easy recovery from both surgeries. I was walking around outside of the hospital cause I was so bored in my room when I was sleeved.

Living with the sleeve compared to the band is like night and day. I eat anything I want, whenever I want. I don't worry about food getting stuck or

"not working" like how you have to give up certain foods with a band.

The best part is I am never hungry.

[Rev Me Up! 75]

I am 3 and half months out. I found the recovery much harder with the sleeve. I had less energy, but I am sure that was because I had a terrible time getting liquids down. Also, once you start eating, you can hardy eat anything at all. Remember the 6 week wait bofore you could get your first fill? And you could eat fairly normally? THat is not the case with the sleeve. You restriction is very tight and very consistent.

I had a hard time getting excited about my surgery the second time around. I think once you have a failed weight loss surgery, you are much more guarded about your prospects the second time around. However, I can say with 100% certainty that this surgery works. It does for you what was promised with the band but never delivered. I eat healthier and my restriction is very consistent.

Mentally, it is hard because you will have to come to terms with your limited ability to eat. According the "old timers", this gets better after 6 months or so as your consumption goes up a little more.

I am so happy with my sleeve. Now I am over the worst of the recovery, I feel more normal than I have in years. No more port, no more food sticking, no more random stomach pain, no more fills. I am losing a lot of weight and I am extremely satisfied with my decision to make the change.

Good luck with your decision!

[gloinva 0]

I wondered much the same things as you. As of June 20th I am sleeved! yeah! I had both the band out and revision in one surgery. They also had to fix my previously fixed hiatal hernia. (Fixed the first time with my band) I think it came undone partially because of all the heaving the band caused. Tomorrow will be my 1 week appt. and hopefully they will take out this blasted port. Something I didn't have to bother with in sleeve surgery. It's just plain yucky! I feel like this is probably the nastiest part of this surgery over last one. That and the fact that I wasn't lactose intolerant before surgery OR on the preop diet (2 weeks even though I lost 85 lbs with the band and kept off 70 of it. ) so now I'm taking lactaid with all my full liquids part of the diet. But this revelation came as several violent attacks before I realized what it was. So needless to say the next additional 8 days on full liquids isn't something I'm looking forward to. Getting my head around the pre-op diet was also something I had to work on, and still battling the band issues too.

My surgeon here in VA did both surgeries. He said there was a lot of scar tissue from the band removal (it was in for 3years 21 days.) something I was worried about but my UGI looked good, no leaks! My additional good news or is it? Is that everything is either too sweet or too salty now. My tastes have surely changed. Not sure if this goes back to normal after awhile or what. But I'm on the sleeve journey. Looking forward to soft mushies 8 days and counting!

[justtjohn 0]

Thanks for sharing everyone, I too have the same anxiety over have another weight loss surgery. The lap band was a miserable failure for me, hoping the sleeve will be better.

[AnneHB 0]

Just wanted to post some follow up comments now that I am 15 days out.

I am THRILLED to be on mushies. However I take 3 bites and I am full. Definitely still feel hunger pains. I never heard this would go away. However, once I eat - literally two bites in - that feeling is gone. For me I do feel satisfied at least getting a taste of what I am craving. Having fish yesterday was heaven for me.

Going into the surgery and the pre/post op diet were awful and much worse the second time around - but I have explained a little why (not being to go out, etc.)

But my actual physical recovery and now integration into eating has been much easier than the band. I had pain and discomfort from the band right from the get go. I eventually had esophogas problems, slip, etc. So it was a very rocky road.

Granted I am only 2 weeks out but right away not having pain when I eat was half my battle. The one side effect I have at this point that I plan on asking my Dr. about is that when I do eat my 3-4 bites of food, I get really super tired. Almost like someone has drugged me and all I want to do is sleep. Anyone else experience this?

And I also was wondering the rate at which people lose weight with the sleeve. When are the expected "stalls"? With the band, I would lose 5-7 lbs and then not lose for a month or so - then sudden drop - then nothing for awhile - then drop. Is it the same with the sleeve?

Thanks for sharing everyone, I too have the same anxiety over have another weight loss surgery. The lap band was a miserable failure for me, hoping the sleeve will be better.

[Martin64 0]

Just wanted to post some follow up comments now that I am 15 days out.

I am THRILLED to be on mushies. However I take 3 bites and I am full. Definitely still feel hunger pains. I never heard this would go away. However, once I eat - literally two bites in - that feeling is gone. For me I do feel satisfied at least getting a taste of what I am craving. Having fish yesterday was heaven for me.

Going into the surgery and the pre/post op diet were awful and much worse the second time around - but I have explained a little why (not being to go out, etc.)

But my actual physical recovery and now integration into eating has been much easier than the band. I had pain and discomfort from the band right from the get go. I eventually had esophogas problems, slip, etc. So it was a very rocky road.

Granted I am only 2 weeks out but right away not having pain when I eat was half my battle. The one side effect I have at this point that I plan on asking my Dr. about is that when I do eat my 3-4 bites of food, I get really super tired. Almost like someone has drugged me and all I want to do is sleep. Anyone else experience this?

And I also was wondering the rate at which people lose weight with the sleeve. When are the expected "stalls"? With the band, I would lose 5-7 lbs and then not lose for a month or so - then sudden drop - then nothing for awhile - then drop. Is it the same with the sleeve?

When I first got sleeved (2.5 yrs ago) - I had that exact same feeling after I ate too much - very sleepy. I felt like I had been drugged! I don't know how long it lasted, but it finally went away. I don't get that feeling anymore. But you are the only other person I have ever heard mention it. It must be something to it! Good luck to you!

Monica

[kekerene 35]

This week makes 4 weeks post-op for me for my band to sleeve revision. I have lost 21 lbs so far and I feel great. I think the recovery was about the same as the band. I was walking the halls right out of recovery 4 weeks ago. I had the band for 5 years and experienced the same failures as you. It feels so good now to not have my food come back up to see me after taking 1 bite. This to me is way different than the band and I am sooooo glad that I did it. Good luck to you and please keep us posted

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Just wanted to post some follow up comments now that I am 15 days out.

I am THRILLED to be on mushies. However I take 3 bites and I am full. Definitely still feel hunger pains. I never heard this would go away. However, once I eat - literally two bites in - that feeling is gone. For me I do feel satisfied at least getting a taste of what I am craving. Having fish yesterday was heaven for me.

Going into the surgery and the pre/post op diet were awful and much worse the second time around - but I have explained a little why (not being to go out, etc.)

But my actual physical recovery and now integration into eating has been much easier than the band. I had pain and discomfort from the band right from the get go. I eventually had esophogas problems, slip, etc. So it was a very rocky road.

Granted I am only 2 weeks out but right away not having pain when I eat was half my battle. The one side effect I have at this point that I plan on asking my Dr. about is that when I do eat my 3-4 bites of food, I get really super tired. Almost like someone has drugged me and all I want to do is sleep. Anyone else experience this?

And I also was wondering the rate at which people lose weight with the sleeve. When are the expected "stalls"? With the band, I would lose 5-7 lbs and then not lose for a month or so - then sudden drop - then nothing for awhile - then drop. Is it the same with the sleeve?

My sleeve recovery was much slower than the band. I felt healed after 3 days with my band and got this incredible hunger!!! Me and my band didn't get along from day one pretty much. I was in a lot of pain from my sternum upward, and the port pain was unreal... which never really went away ever.

Anyway with the sleeve it just took me a lot longer to transition to real food, and I felt fatigue for at least the first 2 months. I didn't have the stamina for real workouts until about month 4 on.

Regarding the sleepiness after eating, I get this too and still do. I just passed my 10th month post op. I feel like I have Narcolepsy! I've even fallen asleep at my desk at work if you can believe it. No big deal though it's always during my lunch hour so no one has caught me thank goodness... LOL

The weight loss is usually very high for the first 3-4 months post op, and mostly depending on how much you have to lose. I needed to lose around 80-100 Lbs. I've just recently hit my goal (size) but I'm still pushing for more. I'm thinking around 20 ish. Note, the smaller you are the harder it is for the weight to come off. I'm losing around 5-6 Lbs per month right now and for me being smaller still isn't too bad.

It is also highly likely you WILL experience a stall of some sort between week 3-5 post op. Do not panic! Just keep it moving and the weight will start dropping again. Most sleevers will stall from time to time, but for me it has not been anything like the band. You simply cannot eat as much and the restriction is from day one and is much more consistent. Good luck to you!!

[AnneHB 0]

Hi there - I am now 3+ weeks post op and have had a couple of things come up and was curious if this is normal.

Yesterday I started to feel a little nauseous when I ate and then had severe diarrhea that now 24 hours later has not stopped. I kind of feel like I got a little stomach bug and I have a call into my dr. But the diarrhea is bad to the point of me not being sure I can leave the house tonight. Plus the feeling a little sick when I eat and drink has me concerned. I will say I have read some other posts and this can be normal I guess. Anyone experience this before?

My sleeve recovery was much slower than the band. I felt healed after 3 days with my band and got this incredible hunger!!! Me and my band didn't get along from day one pretty much. I was in a lot of pain from my sternum upward, and the port pain was unreal... which never really went away ever.

Anyway with the sleeve it just took me a lot longer to transition to real food, and I felt fatigue for at least the first 2 months. I didn't have the stamina for real workouts until about month 4 on.

Regarding the sleepiness after eating, I get this too and still do. I just passed my 10th month post op. I feel like I have Narcolepsy! I've even fallen asleep at my desk at work if you can believe it. No big deal though it's always during my lunch hour so no one has caught me thank goodness... LOL

The weight loss is usually very high for the first 3-4 months post op, and mostly depending on how much you have to lose. I needed to lose around 80-100 Lbs. I've just recently hit my goal (size) but I'm still pushing for more. I'm thinking around 20 ish. Note, the smaller you are the harder it is for the weight to come off. I'm losing around 5-6 Lbs per month right now and for me being smaller still isn't too bad.

It is also highly likely you WILL experience a stall of some sort between week 3-5 post op. Do not panic! Just keep it moving and the weight will start dropping again. Most sleevers will stall from time to time, but for me it has not been anything like the band. You simply cannot eat as much and the restriction is from day one and is much more consistent. Good luck to you!!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Hi there - I am now 3+ weeks post op and have had a couple of things come up and was curious if this is normal.

Yesterday I started to feel a little nauseous when I ate and then had severe diarrhea that now 24 hours later has not stopped. I kind of feel like I got a little stomach bug and I have a call into my dr. But the diarrhea is bad to the point of me not being sure I can leave the house tonight. Plus the feeling a little sick when I eat and drink has me concerned. I will say I have read some other posts and this can be normal I guess. Anyone experience this before?

Absolutely yes this is very normal. Sometimes our new Sleeves find things that we could easily tolerate pre sleeve that its having a little trouble getting acclimated to after. That is why I mentioned having to take my time with all new foods. My suggestion to you would be to take it slow for a day or so and go back to liquids. Let your sleeve take a break until you're feeling better. I see that you already called your Dr, so that wouldve been my next suggestion, just to make sure.

What was it that you ate before you became ill? You might want to keep that off the menu for about another month before trying it again. Sometimes it takes a long time before you can handle it again, and sometimes its just that you never will again (however that is rare). I can pretty much eat anything now that I did have some issues with for awhile. Nothing is off limits to me... except milk (lactose).

I hope this helps.