So Scared Now

[girliegirl 49]

I have read some terrible stories about some complications with the revision from band to sleeve and now i feel super nevous. This is normal right? Part of me is extra afraid because i was confident when i got y band that i woudnt be part of that small percentage who has problems and i was! Im afraid i will be in e percentage that has problems if i had a sleeve. Can someone be that unlucky ? Please tell me im not alone?..

[omamilam 11]

Hi, I have not heard of anyone going from band to sleeve that wished they hadn't changed. Everyone loves it and wishes they had done it sooner. Don't back out, you will be fine and wonder why you didn't do it sooner. Hang in there.

[jhansen71 257]

I posted this on another thread...

I had band to sleeve revision on 3/13. Here is what can tell you:

food always got stuck on my band even when it was all the way open and even after I would chew, chew, chew. I would throw up at least 3 times per week from the feeling of food getting stuck. Since revised, I've only thrown up once and not because food got stuck, but because I took Vitamins that did not sit well with me. I've never had a stuck feeling since the revision and in fact can eat anything now, just very small amounts. The reason people throw up with a sleeve is from eating too much and/or too fast in one sitting, drink when they eat or too soon after they eat and/or something didn't sit well with their new tummy. Your tastes definitely change. If you just listen to your body and follow the Protein guidelines and liquid rules you will lose the weight pretty easily. I'm rarely hungry and actually struggle to get all of my calories in. Way different than the band when I always still felt hungry. My weight loss would be much higher if I could eat more each day (35lbs to date).

For the actual surgery, I took off two weeks from work and should have gone 1/2 days on the 3rd. After the 1st week I had no pain, but the extreme weakness I felt week 2 made me feel as though I might had made a big mistake getting the surgery. I was worried it was going to last forever. It carried over into the 3rd week, though not as bad. It gradually improved every week and today I feel better than I have in a long time (prior to surgery even).

One more thing to add...I wish I had chosen the sleeve over the band in 2009 because today I would be sitting at goal. I feel it works much better than the band.

No complications and soooooo happy I had it done. I feel great!

[desertmom 297]

Let me tell you I absolutely didnt expect to have problems with the band and suffered greatly for quite a few years.I really expected issues with the sleeve and have had none what so ever.I recover slower than others and just took that in my stride,gave myself more time to heal and get use to it all.

I am lazy and only exercise twice a week (play squash) and yet,unlike with the band I am losing weight anyway because I am just eating a little.(will start exercising soon)

You will be fine.The sleeve does what we thought the band would do.

xxo

[girliegirl 49]

Let me tell you I absolutely didnt expect to have problems with the band and suffered greatly for quite a few years.I really expected issues with the sleeve and have had none what so ever.I recover slower than others and just took that in my stride,gave myself more time to heal and get use to it all.

I am lazy and only exercise twice a week (play squash) and yet,unlike with the band I am losing weight anyway because I am just eating a little.(will start exercising soon)

You will be fine.The sleeve does what we thought the band would do.

xxo

did the dr warn you that you were a higher risk? i guess i just got scared because i read a terrible story of someone who ended up with leaks and in ICU etc etc and almost died. i don't want to risk my life to be thin, but i so want to be a normal weight and i know this would help me so much control the amnt of food i eat. i know I'm still in the early stages and all these are normal thoughts i guess. i just don't want to push my luck. part of me says i should learn from my bad experience with the band and be thankful it was removed with a problem and learn to do it on my own. the other part of me says its so hard and i tried and i need help!! i guess in time the answers will come. thanks everyone for your input, it does help!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

My surgeon really laid out the risks of a revision - and it scared me. The risks of a revision to a gastric bypass were even scarier. i think the main risk in a revision is the higher risk of leaks. If I remember right, leaks might be 3-5% of revisions. I got the idea that there aren't alot of published studies on actual occurance of serious complications for revisions either so the information seems less structured.

So, after getting this big long horror story, I asked about the results of the revisions done at their practice. Well, in their practice they have not had so many complications and no deaths either.

I am also told that statistically, revision patients don't lose as fast. for myself, and others that post here regularly, that hasn't been a problem and I am very happy with my weight loss. I have lost more 4.5 months post sleeve then I ever lost with the band.

I have not had complications and am very happy with my choice, but I do think it is wise to really research and understand the risks.

I had the band for 10 years. After the first couple of years, I had to have all the Fluid removed so I was sitting there with an empty band which eventually slipped. So, I had the band removed and became so hungry 24/7 - I was in misery. That is what convinced me that I needed to get the sleeve, that I needed that tool because I wasn't doing it on my own. If I could have gotten control over my appetite and eating without surgery, I would have done that.

Obesity has created a real imbalance in my system and I need help to overcome that.

[desertmom 297]

My storie is almost exactly like cowgirljane's.I had my band for 7 years and it was empty for 5.Started getting way to tight for no reason and had to be removed.

My dr is very experienced and he didnt think I was higher risk.A lot of his patients here are band to sleeve revisions.

We are all fine.

Good luck and I must confess I had to be very strong to do this surgery,I was petrified and thought it would kill me.I had to just go ahead and be brave.

When you are ready you will to.

xxo

[girliegirl 49]

My surgeon really laid out the risks of a revision - and it scared me. The risks of a revision to a gastric bypass were even scarier. i think the main risk in a revision is the higher risk of leaks. If I remember right, leaks might be 3-5% of revisions. I got the idea that there aren't alot of published studies on actual occurance of serious complications for revisions either so the information seems less structured.

So, after getting this big long horror story, I asked about the results of the revisions done at their practice. Well, in their practice they have not had so many complications and no deaths either.

I am also told that statistically, revision patients don't lose as fast. for myself, and others that post here regularly, that hasn't been a problem and I am very happy with my weight loss. I have lost more 4.5 months post sleeve then I ever lost with the band.

I have not had complications and am very happy with my choice, but I do think it is wise to really research and understand the risks.

I had the band for 10 years. After the first couple of years, I had to have all the Fluid removed so I was sitting there with an empty band which eventually slipped. So, I had the band removed and became so hungry 24/7 - I was in misery. That is what convinced me that I needed to get the sleeve, that I needed that tool because I wasn't doing it on my own. If I could have gotten control over my appetite and eating without surgery, I would have done that.

Obesity has created a real imbalance in my system and I need help to overcome that.

I'm just wondering if they removed your band and did the sleeve in the same surgery. my band has been removed for 3 1/2 years so I've had nothing all this time.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Mine were two seperate surgeries almost 3 months apart. The reason is that it is thought (not sure of the evidence!) that this is lower risk. Most importantly, I wasn't ready to be sleeved - mentally - but that band needed to come out as they feared i could have a critical problem if it slipped further. It was a bummer to do 2 surgeries, but the advantage is they removed alot of scar tissue from the stomach (the band was encrusted in scar tissue, the photos are gross) which theoritically helped with having more good tissue to staple the sleeve shut. The other advantage is that I knew beyond a doubt that I needed a replacement tool because i was just so hungry starting about 5 days after the band was removed.

Oddly, the band removal surgery kinda depressed me/made me feel icky. I happened to catch a virus right after, but I also think the anesthesia kinda messes with me.

[girliegirl 49]

Mine were two seperate surgeries almost 3 months apart. The reason is that it is thought (not sure of the evidence!) that this is lower risk. Most importantly, I wasn't ready to be sleeved - mentally - but that band needed to come out as they feared i could have a critical problem if it slipped further. It was a bummer to do 2 surgeries, but the advantage is they removed alot of scar tissue from the stomach (the band was encrusted in scar tissue, the photos are gross) which theoritically helped with having more good tissue to staple the sleeve shut. The other advantage is that I knew beyond a doubt that I needed a replacement tool because i was just so hungry starting about 5 days after the band was removed.

Oddly, the band removal surgery kinda depressed me/made me feel icky. I happened to catch a virus right after, but I also think the anesthesia kinda messes with me.

did the same dr who did your band revise you to the sleeve?

[girliegirl 49]

My storie is almost exactly like cowgirljane's.I had my band for 7 years and it was empty for 5.Started getting way to tight for no reason and had to be removed.

My dr is very experienced and he didnt think I was higher risk.A lot of his patients here are band to sleeve revisions.

We are all fine.

Good luck and I must confess I had to be very strong to do this surgery,I was petrified and thought it would kill me.I had to just go ahead and be brave.

When you are ready you will to.

xxo

thanks for the input. it helps to know that everyone feels this way at one time or another. i had 2 lap band surgeries and 1 surgery to remove the band so in all i had 3 operations. this would be 4! scary!

dawn

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

The other thing that pushed me over the edge was finding out that my insurance changed as of Jan 1st and the sleeve was not covered (but they did cover gastric bypass and lapband). I was preapproved for the sleeve on my old insurance so I decided to go for it. I went to the same surgical practice for the two operations but actually had different surgeons. My original one went on vacation for the month of December so I was promoted to the chief surgeon! They were both awesome and I am very happy with them. One thing I considered is that these guys do a fairly high number of sleeves and a decent number of revisions. Nothing like the higher volume Mexican docs, but pretty good by local standards. The sleeve is now the main weight loss procedure they perform so they have worked the kinks out. i feel like they have seen it all before and my chances were better of having low complications. The sleeve isn't that complex of a surgery, but the scar tissue and all that can make the stapling an issue. Especially if you are a revision, seek out an experienced surgeon with as good of a history as you can find.

Did you really join this forum in 2006? That is a long time - they weren't doing many sleeves then, were they? I was under the impression that it has been more like the last 3-5 years that the sleeve surgeries became so popular.

[ChaChaBurch 60]

I had the band to sleeve revision in one single surgery. No complications, no issues. I am extremely happy with the sleeve! Wish I had done it first!!

[deltadawn817 106]

I think it all depends on the Dr. When I was in mexico on the way home there was a lady that couldn't get placation she had to wait 6 months her band was removed and there was too much scar tissue and she also had a hernia repair and there was mesh than was in the way so the Dr removed the mesh, cleaned out all her scar tissue and she had to go back. (by the way she was a nurse also) So with all that being said if you have a GREAT Dr. HE will not do the surgery unless it is safe.

[girliegirl 49]

I think it all depends on the Dr. When I was in Mexico on the way home there was a lady that couldn't get placation she had to wait 6 months her band was removed and there was too much scar tissue and she also had a hernia repair and there was mesh than was in the way so the Dr removed the mesh, cleaned out all her scar tissue and she had to go back. (by the way she was a nurse also) So with all that being said if you have a GREAT Dr. HE will not do the surgery unless it is safe.

But how does a dr know how much scar tissue you would have ? Doesnt he need to wait until he see when he does the surgery? I dont think xrays show it