Conversion

CRainwater · October 13, 2011

I had lap-band surgery back on 7/19/2010. My primary reason for the lap-band was to send my diabetes into remission.

On the day of my surgery as I waited to be call (got there 4 hours early) I had a horrible tooth ache from a tooth that I found out later needed a root canal. I didn't say anything because I was concern that it would cancel the surgery. The surgery was fine and the only real pain was from my tooth afterwards. It took me awhile to get the root canal done and so I lived with the tooth discomfort for a while. As a result I ate very little and therefore I lost a lot of weight - the doctors thought lap-band, I wondered tooth. When I started the fills food began to get stuck immediately and also pain and discomfort. They stopped the fills thinking I had enough and after all I had lost 20 pounds fairly quickly. I felt good and my AC1 almost return to normal levels.

I won't go into the details of port fills and lack of results because we have all been there. Three months ago when I was in the doctors office they mentioned that I was a "lap-band failure" and suggested that one possibility might be the sleeve. My first reaction was I had purposely gone with the least invasive procedure and that to pursue the sleeve was to be going down the rabitt hole permanently. Which frankly scared me. However after thinking about the real consequences of diabetes in the long term and how much I hurt physically with the weight regained I signed up for the conversion from lap-band to sleeve. I have requested that they remove the lap-band and do the sleeve at once which the doctor says that he will try. I am now scheduled for surgery on December 21st.

I'm not sure that I have any specific questions. I have concerns about the quality of life after surgery. I am also concerned about the psychological impact of the surgery. Thanks.

jillw8 · October 14, 2011

Hello. I can't say I have experience with the band personally but I am a nurse so have seen patients and have a friend who are going through the same thing. I was originally considering the band but after hearing so many experiences like yours I chose the sleeve and it is the best thing I have ever done. I am only 6 weeks out and know this was the right decision. The recovery was easy. Without the hernia repair I could have went back to work after a couple weeks. I have lost 34 lbs so far. I love the fact that for the rest of my life I won't have to worry about overstuffing myself....it would be nearly impossible. I have never puked, and never had pain. I wish you the best and can't wait to hear how it all goes! Jill

CRainwater · October 14, 2011

Hello. I can't say I have experience with the band personally but I am a nurse so have seen patients and have a friend who are going through the same thing. I was originally considering the band but after hearing so many experiences like yours I chose the sleeve and it is the best thing I have ever done. I am only 6 weeks out and know this was the right decision. The recovery was easy. Without the hernia repair I could have went back to work after a couple weeks. I have lost 34 lbs so far. I love the fact that for the rest of my life I won't have to worry about overstuffing myself....it would be nearly impossible. I have never puked, and never had pain. I wish you the best and can't wait to hear how it all goes! Jill

Thank you for your comments. Do you have to follow the lap-band eating procedures of chewing everything 25 times before swallowing and not have liquids 30 minutes before the meal and until 30 minutes after the meal? What kind of diet does your doctor have you on as a post surgery eating?