After You Have Been Sleeved For A While, What Does Retriction Feel Like?

[PJ_Sleeve 45]

I am scheduled for a revision from Lapband to sleeve on September 17th and the closer I get, I am feeling more and more nervous.

For two reasons:

Reason One: I am AFRAID of suffering a terrible complication. (I have read some real scary stories on here and all I can do is hope and pray that these poor souls will feel better soon.) But if I am doing this surgery to enrich my life, it is complete irony to come out of it suffering with chronic pain or end up on a feeding tube.

Reason Two: I am really note sure what to expect by way of restriction. Can anyone describe what Sleeve Restriction feels like after they are fully healed? Is it pain? Is it nausea? If you are banded can you describe the difference?

[Go Kart Mozart 44]

I'm 2+ years out now, and restriction for me feels no different than before I was sleeved. It feels like I'm full if I eat a certain amount, just like I used to (of course, with a lot more food back then). I don't get pain or nausea.

[kyllfalcon 768]

Same as Go Kart Mozart... I just feel full. I don't really follow the rules about eating slowly, taking small bites, and chewing unto death, so the full feeling comes on quite suddenly, and I know better than to ignore it. I DO NOT TAKE JUST ONE MORE BITE... I don't get nausea or throw up, I salivate from the over-fullness until it runs out of my face like a faucet. It only takes a couple of times to learn your lesson.

And once I've had a certail meal a couple of times, I know how much of it I can eat. Let's say it's my sweetie's Reuben sandwich, I know I can eat about 2/3 of it. He gets the scraps!

[CRainwater 1]

I too was extremely nervous going from lap-badn (which didn't work) to sleeve. I felt like I was falling down the rabbit hole without a chance to return. That said the transition has been a good one.

With the lap-band I felt like food would get "stuck" and I felt real discomfort. With the sleeve I don't feel discomfort and I simply get this feeling after a few bits that I should stop. It is much, much easier. I hope this helps.

[*susan* 1,709]

Like the others have said, it is a totally different feeling than with the band. You just feel uncomfortable if you eat too much, like a normal person. My only weird thing is, my body lets me know when I have had enough to eat my expelling a few loud and obnoxious hiccoughs, always pleasant to hear when dining out, lol.

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[Sassygirl06 962]

I just feel full too, but it is really uncomfortable if I have that bite to many, and I too salivate uncontrollably, as well as get the hiccups....only like 2-3 right before I am going to be to full....so weird!

[Heatherr 149]

It's the same for me. I have the same full feeling, but I know not to eat anymore. It comes on sudden and then I must stop becuase one more bite may lead to the ridiculous salivation. And it is a ridiculous amount, as in I have to spit constantly for about 10 minutes.

[Sleeved&Hopeful 182]

I am 6 1/2 months out and I feel full just like before the sleeve as well. I do get the hiccups now when I get full and I have occasionally (maybe 4 or 5 times) had the salivation issue too. Nothing ever feels stuck or like I have to force it down like I've heard with the band. As far as throwing up--I have only had that happen once. I ate eggs about 2 months after surgery and they just didn't agree. I tried them again a month later and ever since I've been able to eat them fine.

[swizzly 901]

18 mos post-op here, and I just feel full, as I did prior to surgery. No big whoop. I've never been sick, in pain, nauseated, or had the saliva thing -- not once. I feel extremely 'normal' only I just can't eat a huge plate of food. It's awesome!!

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I am almost 2 years post op, and, like what others say, I just feel full (on much less). I am still surprised at how little I eat most of the time this far out. It is of course more than in the beginning, but I still have great capacity. If I eat too much, which doesn't happen very often, I have one of the following:

a-if I am just a little over full, I burp like crazy...like big manly burps...I could out-belch anyone!

b-if I really over do it, which does not hardly ever happen, but it happens...it hurts, bad. And yes, sometimes I throw up. But that is from overeating, and has nothing to do with the restriction of the sleeve.

I described it to my husband as this...imagine Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner...when you would eat so much it physically hurt...that is what it feels like if I eat too much, but my too much is usually 1 or 2 bites too many. You learn pretty quickly what your limits are and how much you can eat. Just make sure to listen to your body!

[PJ_Sleeve 45]

Thank you all for responding to this topic! It certainly puts me at ease. You can find many people talk about how they feel right after surgery. (I have a feeling that will be rough.) However, I didn't see many people talk about how it feels to be sleeved after everything is healed and back to "normal." Once again, thank you all!

By the way, insurance just approved me. I had a "tentative" surgery date of September 17th. Now that I am approved, it is not longer a tentative date, but it is actualy a REAL DATE! I AM SOOOOO SCARED! :0)

[Go Kart Mozart 44]

Also, don't worry about constantly eating too much. It's a little trial and error at first, but once you get used to it, you can literally look at a meal and know exactly where your "sweet spot" is going to be.

[AnewdayAnewlife 17]

I ditto the others. However, when I eat simple carbs. (which I know I'm not suppose do) I don't get that full feeling but when I eat Protein (which you are suppose to eat) then I feel full. This is just my experience. Everyone is different but I thought I would give you another experience. Good luck - it was the best thing I ever did.

[max3sons 4]

I had my lapband removed in Dec. I had my sleeve put in on Monday. Am so excited. The thing that concerns me is this surgeon told me the other lapband dr. had left a "buckle' from my lapbamd still in me. WOW. No wonder my fibromyalgia was going crazy.

[Wheetsin 714]

Below in blue.

I am scheduled for a revision from Lapband to sleeve on September 17th and the closer I get, I am feeling more and more nervous.

For two reasons:

Reason One: I am AFRAID of suffering a terrible complication. (I have read some real scary stories on here and all I can do is hope and pray that these poor souls will feel better soon.) But if I am doing this surgery to enrich my life, it is complete irony to come out of it suffering with chronic pain or end up on a feeding tube. Is your band already out? Or are you having it out & sleeve done at the same time? The risks for complications with revision procedures goes down a LOT when there's a waiting period between removal and revision. I think the threshold is acout 2 months. I.e. risk is still higher before then, but only negligibly lower after.

Reason Two: I am really note sure what to expect by way of restriction. Can anyone describe what Sleeve Restriction feels like after they are fully healed? Is it pain? Is it nausea? If you are banded can you describe the difference? It actually doesn't feel that different from what my band restriction felt like. Neither is what I would call a "normal" full feeling. I maybe feel the sleeve fullness lower, physiologically (because we're filling up in our stomachs, not above our stoma). I would say they both feel/felt like a barely uncomfortable pressure.

I expected my restriction to become much more consistent. It really hasn't, though it has changed. With my band, I mostly ate comfortably between about 2pm and 5pm. Anything outside of that window was TBD. With the sleeve I don't have to question whether or not I'll be able to eat, I know I can. But I really don't tolerate eating at night (I've pretty much given up dinner), quantities are totally random, etc. Some mornings I will have an egg + turkey bacon + strawberries and not really feel that full. The next morning maybe 3/4 of an egg and I'm done.