Can't believe it's been 2 years...

[Rev Me Up! 75]

Hi All,

I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away.

Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now.

I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful.

And, of course, I was wrong

The sleeve was everything the band promised and more.

On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management.

That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl.

The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!).

I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed.

At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone.

It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-)

So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy Water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat Protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness.

I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!!

I could never have done this without the sleeve.

I am completely happy with the result.

My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside.

I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it.

My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months.

Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June.

My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady.

With gratitude,

Lara

[SoCalDixieGal 172]

Thank you so much for sharing! Your band experience sounded a lot like mine.

I'm so grateful whenever people with the sleeve for some time come and share their experiences.

[himalaya62 221]

I'm grateful to you as well. Although I was never banded I understand the ups and downs you encountered. I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I lost my dad this year as well and I too drank a lot, granted it was before my sleeve but I did gain quite a bit of weight due to the stress of it all. I am just 17 days post op and started solid foods this week. I am not doing as we'll as I thought I would. My life is so rush rush that I know I am eating too fast and I get that awful pain between my shoulder blades. It comes on before I realize I am full. I need to learn to slow down. I have lost 26 lbs so far so I'm happy for that. I can't wait to be a size 8. It's been since high school that I was that size!! Thank you again for sharing your story. It's wonderful to hear about the sleeve veterans experiences. God bless!!!

[crystal525 26]

Congrats on your loss. I too had the band for nearly 4 years. Went from 254 to 175 (at my low) and then it failed and I ballooned back up to 250 before I had my sleeve. I'm just 5 1/2 weeks out and I'm down 26 pounds...the last 2 weeks have been SLOW...but I know it's because my calories and Protein are so low. I'm sorry to hear of your dad...stress will do crazy things to our body. I was drinking way too much and gaining like crazy in the months before my surgery... I've got that back under control now though.

It's very nice to hear you are still happy with your sleeve. I hope to be as successful as you!

Crystal

[mysleevemylife 158]

Thank you so much for sharing! Your band experience sounded a lot like mine.

I'm so grateful whenever people with the sleeve for some time come and share their experiences.

First of all, I'm sorry about your father & I sincerely will pray for you & your loved ones.

Congrats to you for being strong & for all of the successes you've encountered along your journey! I am glad that you've shared this, b/c I love to hear from those who are AT LEAST 2yrs out.

I will be "Sleeved" March 6, 2013. I look forward to the journey. :-) I wish you the best from today forward with all you go through in your continued journey. God bless you always!

[clk 3,519]

Great update, Lara, and congrats on your success!

I think a lot of where you're at (even considering a new baby) is pretty close to where I was at two years post op. In fact, just about ten days before my two year anniversary my husband and I opted to use the rest of our frozen embryos to have another little one (she's due in a few weeks now) so best of luck to you two on the fertility frontier.

I still get nagged about my plate not being empty but I ignore it all. I also watch bread and rice (and Pasta, and tortillas) because they do tend to swell on me and cause discomfort all of a sudden. And I can't possibly drink after I eat, even when I want to, because it makes me terribly uncomfortable. And yes, even at more than two years out, I sometimes forget that I can't do those things.

Congrats - you have so many positive things in your life right now and so many reasons to be happy with your choice to be sleeved. Enjoy it, you've earned this!

~Cheri