My Story - One Week Post Op - From Band To Sleeve

[Kmasden 14]

Well, i have lurked here off and on and it's time to tell my bit. I get so much help from just reading posts, i feel it's time to give back. I'll try to be concise, but that's not exactly my nature! Bear with me please LOL.

Many moons ago, in August of 2001 to be exact, i got all excited about the upcoming FDA approval of the lapband in the US (where i live - California). I had never, ever considered a surgical weight loss option, even though i was over 300 lbs for much of my post baby life. I was one of those "healthy fat" people...i walked a lot, hiked some, got around pretty easy and my body was preportionate. I had a zest for life and enjoyed it. No high bp, no issues that i could tell were weight related. I had been a chunky teen, at 5'7" i had been about 170 to 190 lbs, and after i had my two children, i just ballooned up...gained 100lbs during the first pregnancy that i never fully took off, then more with the second. Being a housewife, my activity level dropped and i really had no education or thought i was the type of person that could even follow a diet, so i had almost never been on one.

I had found my biological mother and family back in 1997. Out of a huge family, she was the only one that was big like me. We connected really well (it was a fairy tale, but that's another story!) and of course had the commonality of excess weight. For some reason, both of us at the same time started investigating surgical options, even though we had never before considered them! I think we ended up on the phone and realized we were excited about the same possibility...dealing with our weight with surgery. We read up on the bypass and were soon deflated. While knowing many do well, the thought of bypassing anything was scary and well, some people did have pretty negative effects and in some cases, didn't make it. We just weren't ready for that type of surgery yet. But lo and behold, the band!! Not FDA approved yet, but was done a lot in other countries. We scoured the internet, joined message boards, found that many were having their surgery's outside the US by self paying (and it was much cheaper too!) and we found a doctor in France that had lots of experience. We made a snap decision and booked our surgeries and flew to France with Grandma and my bio sister there for support.

We toodled around France and Italy and Switzerland for a few weeks before surgery and while in Provence, 9/11 struck! We were scared and devestated. We were lucky enough to be in a bed and Breakfast with two fabulous English girls that ran back to "take care of the Americans" and translated for us and helped us reach our families. We had to decide whether to get home or to move forward with surgery 4 days later. We couldn't get flights out and decided we would move forward. Dr. Frering was excellent and we were successfully banded, i believe on about the 14th of September. We figured when we came back to the US, we'd be able to get after care once the band was approved and in the meantime we could manage with "underground fills" and/or going to Mexico. Well, as others have said, hindsight was 20/20. When we got back, we expected this tool to work for us, not with us. My mom had horrible pain issues with each fill and while she lost some weight, she unfilled and remained that way. I ran back and forth to Mexico, seeing Dr. Kuri there, who tried his best to deal with me, but my port was hard to access (they didn't secure down back then) and he even had to take me in and cut into the port area to find it. Evenutally my band was full and i was losing weight hand over fist by eating and vomiting for about 10 months. I dropped 170 lbs and was thrilled, but honestly was dying a little. I was so dehydrated that touching my skin left an indent! I couldn't swallow my own saliva and we rushed to a nurse who was also a bandster and doing fills on the side (secretly) and had her remove Fluid so i could swallow again. I maintained my weight for a little bit, maybe 6 months or a year, and one day was attending a Dodger game and took a bite of a hot dog and could swallow it....instead of thinking "uh oh", I thought "abondanza!!" and gained about 10 lbs a month for the next year and a half, eating my brains out now that i was not restricted. I gained all my weight back and even a bit more.

I couldn't afford going to Mexico and getting fills anymore, and frankly, was just done with it and decided i had learned nothing (my own fault for not having good aftercare and not learning about nutrition or proper eating!) and needed to lose weight on my own. I tried Jenny Craig and some other things, lost little bits of weight but always gaining back. At band surgery, i weighed in at 341#. Evenutally, i hit 394#. My blood pressure was high, my back and knees were so bad i was barely walking, i started having chest pain and major anxiety issues...i was a mess for about 4 years. I knew i had to get healthy but really didn't know how. I knew the diet programs weren't for me, although with Jenny Craig i finally saw the connection between tracking food calories and losing weight when staying under a certain limit. I ended up joining My Fitness Pal and actually took off about 50lbs. Kept it off for a year, then regained it. My mom started my fitness pal and slowly lost her weight. It worked! Tracking calories and eating healthy really does work! But i still struggled and kept losing and gaining the same few pounds. My resistance to fun and happy hours and eating was minimal...i just couldn't say no. Eventually i lost about 65 lbs with MFP and felt good overall, that i had the secret to weight loss and maybe, over the next few years would be successful. In my mind though, i still wasn't sure i could ever keep it off.

My primary care provider was convinced my chest pain was anxiety, but i was not. I pushed and pushed for all kinds of tests (found i had a premature heartbeat, a thyroid node, etc. etc.) and eventually asked for a referral to a surgeon who could check my gallbladder and also my band. I knew i had gallstones before band surgery, but they were big and unlikely to cause a problem, but i was at my wits end. I had done some research and chose a surgeon with a good reputation. Dr. David Martin in Pasadena. He was not a doc in my medical group referral system, but i convinced my primary that i needed to see someone close to home due to work time off and we took a chance on the approval and got approved to visit him. On my first visit we decided it was probably not my gallbladder causing pain (it was on the wrong side) but that it was my band. He agreed to take me on as a patient and I was elated! Over the previous 10 years, i either couldn't find a doctor who would touch me because my surgery was out of the country and my band was a MIDband, not the bands approved here in the US, or my insurance was not covering anything. I felt blessed that my insurance covered band fills now, and i was able to see this surgeon!

We worked on filling the band, but at one point my port flipped over. Dr. Martin suggested we go in surgically and flip it and mesh it down so i wouldn't have that issue anymore. I agreed and asked to have my gallbladder removed at the same time as i was having pain issues that i were thinking might be referred gallbladder pain. He agreed and away we went. Had surgery in June of 2011 and everything went swimmingly. We went back to filling the band. But I was in the office every month adjusting, seemed my body just wasn't reacting very well to the band and although some pain did disappear with the gallbladder removal, overall, i was still suffering off and on with shoulder and other pains around the band location. Eventually i decided to talk to him about the sleeve. We decided to put in a request to the healthcare group/insurance to see if we could get an approval since i was already his patient and he knew me well at this point. Lo and behold I got a call a few days later. His office staff asked if i was sitting down, and then let me know i had been approved for the band removal and the sleeve! I really felt so blessed at this point, while i had struggled for so many years with no care, or no insurance approval, here this last year it seemed like i never got denied!! Of course my surgeon did not guarantee he would do both surgeries. My band was an unknown and he really cares about his patients and their safety. If my body was not in good condition, he would remove that band, but we would have to wait for healing before doing the sleeve. I was okay with that. Of course i wanted life more than a sleeve! And his reputation is so good, and he is such a caring doctor, that i trusted his opinions about my health.

Problem was, the though of getting the sleeve was a bit of a whim, i hadn't really thought i'd even get approved...so my brain went a little wonky on that one! Then my company sold and my insurance was going to move over from Anthem Blue Cross to Cigna. I didn't want to take the chance on losing approval, so decided to just go with it...the stars had aligned after all...and picked a surgery date just 2 weeks later. I knew i wanted the band out, and knew i wasn't wanting a bypass and the problems that can come with that. I also knew that while i had lost weight calorie counting, my health still wasn't the greatest and i really worried about losing it all and keeping it off. It seemed to me that out of all the options out there, the sleeve was the most simple, requiring little after care throughout life and very successful. I was going for it.

I was sleeved just 9 days ago, on October 17. The surgery was a little tough...we found a big hernia, and my esophogus was dilated from the band. I had a lot of scar tissue as my band was wider than the bands approved here, so more work for that. I was in the hospital for two days, mostly just because i was so nauseous and had a bit of a fever! But overall i'm doing great. I feel totally blessed to have found my surgeon and get all my approvals so easily. I don't know why i've gotten this lucky, but i have!

I have to say that being on liquids is a little hard. food does smell good, and overall i'm a little headachy and nauseous off and on. My mind is blown that i decided to forever cut off a portion of my stomach LOL, but in the end, i'm thrilled! I truly believe i have my life back, and knowing that my stomach capacity is reduced to approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups of food when i'm all healed and eating regularly, helps me know that i have more than just my "feeling" of fullness to rely on, i can be sure that i'm not "overeating" by keeping an eye on quantity.

Anyhoo, that's my story! I'm looking forward to support on this site and continuing with MFP once i share my story there. I think that the band works for some, and i definately feel that good support from a care provider is essential, but for me, i believe the sleeve is the right choice and i'm so happy to have had a revision. Feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

[Marissa Moreno 0]

I had my surgery on the 18 th of october. I started at 497 pounds and lost down to 457 ( weigh in weight at the hospital) I feel ok having a little trouble with Protein and other meds I need to take. Keep up the good work! I am very happy for you!

[tparkerc59 334]

Amazing story. I hope you continue to be blessed and to become healthier with your new sleeve. I've been waiting three months for mine and nov 6th is the big day. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

[SleeveDreamer 383]

What a great story. Thanks for sharing. I am almost 11 months and love my sleeve. You will love yours I am sure. I too had extensive esophagus repair done at the same time. I feel as though my doctor saved my life and gave me a second chance. Good luck to you.

[Savedbyamazinggrace 66]

awesome job of telling us your story and awesome story...thank you for taking the time : ) Im not sleeved yet but will tell my story wehn i get it done

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

Thank you for sharing your story it was so enjoyable to read. I too had a revision on September 10th and it was the best decision I could have made. I had my band for 5 years but new it would not be forever. I love my sleeve and my new journey of weight loss.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Thank you for sharing your story! I was sleeved in April 2000 by Professor Dr. Rudolph Weiner in Frankfurt - I was living there at the tim. Great surgeon and he did use the Lapband (which is what was approved) but I really did not get the follow up care i needed. When i came back to the US, the band was approved by then but no docs would help me or see me since they weren't my surgeon. IT shocked me really, I mean if you have open heart surgery does that mean you need to live in your cardiologists zip code the rest of your life?

Anyway, I ditched that crapband in Sept 2011 and was sleeved in Dec 2011 and so far it has worked out great! I m sure it will for you too!

[jillb 45]

Great story, thanks. I had my sleeve the same day as you.... Oct. 17th. Haven't told my story yet but will soon. I am doing great with the sleeve, diet, etc.... Good luck to you.

[Kmasden 14]

Thanks guys, for the positive words. I'm glad there is a community where people can share thier stories and questions and support each other. Ha, i love the term crapband...i may have to adopt that one! So fun to see all of you who are sleeved long ago or recently!