Revision to sleeve. Please no hate!

I had my band removed three years ago.  I wasn't mentally ready to have them done at the same time.  As far as recovery, the band was much easier on me.  I had my surgery at 8 am and was at my son's baseball game at 6pm the same day.  I think the sleeve recovery has been harder because of the damage of the band coupled with the fact that it is a more intense surgery.  I took 6 weeks off, but I work in patient care.  Even at that, I could have probably gone back at 4.  If you have a desk job, I would plan on taking at least 2 weeks off.  I love my sleeve.  I am so glad I made the decision to have it done. Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for sharing this!

I would very much advise against the mini gastric bypass it is not a very effective surgery and doesn't last very long as far as losing weight. The sleeve surgery has been around since the 1940's at least/ In the past it was used for ulcer and cancer of the stomach and they noticed many patients lost weight with it. It was also used as the first part of the DS (duodenal switch) weight loss surgery. So the actual surgical technique has been used for a very long time.

You need to look at how you eat and if you will be compliant with any vitamins you will have to take. How much weight do you need to lose if it is 100 or less restriction like the sleeve may work for you. If it is more than 100 lbs you should probably look at malabsorbtive surgeries like the RNY or gastric bypass (but not the mini bypass!) or the DS which has a sleeved stomach and a by pass. With the DS you will malabsorb calories and vitamins for life but with the RNY you will malabsorb calories for only 18-24 months then you will start absorbing calories again but not vitamins. You will continue to malabsorb vitamins for life. So if you have either of these RNY or DS you will have to take lots of extra vitamins and keep track of your levels for life.

The sleeve has been not just popular but also effective for weight loss. With any surgery tho you will have to eat mainly meat and veggies so you will basically be eating low carb style. Staying away from pasta, rice, bread, fruit and anything doughy. There are some who have lost over 100 lbs with the sleeve but it is mainly being able to stick with the low carb lifestyle.

You really need to get that band out before it does anymore damage, the longer it is in the more damage is being done. Don't let fear or indecision ruin the rest of your life you have to get that thing out of there. Best of luck to you and if I can answer any questions for you feel free to PM me.

Hislady, thank you so much for the information on the mini gasttic bypass!!! I knew nothing about it and had never heard of it until about a week ago when I startedreading some older posts. Explains why there aren't recent posts on it. I honestly think it has narrowed down to the 3 basic/most popular surgeries (the RnY, the DS, and the sleeve). I am still considered a light weight and don't have 100 or more lbs to lose. However, I have been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance syndrome for well over 10 years now. I was successful with the band initially, but I think it was largely due to the fact that I simply couldn't consume much and was NEVER able to get much down, especially health foods! They never went down for me, except when my band was completely unfilled. I remember the stryggle as if it were yesterday! Never would have imagined id miss veggies and cold water so much!!! I've read several places that the sleeve is/does what the band was promised to be/do. My fear is going through everything all over again and it not working for me longterm or be enough for me due to my metabolic issues. On the other hand, I have yet to come across any weight loss surgeon who feels any surgery other than the sleeve is right for me, despite my metabolic issues. The more I think about it, the more I lean towards the sleeve. However, I can't help but think to myself that this is exactly what happened in 2005; I made the "smart" decision to go ahead and go along with what the surgeon decided would be "least invasive" for me and got that darn band. Will we be making a mistake again?? Just some thoughts from the rambling mind of an on-the-fencer LOL!!! My main concern is if I decide to put myself through this again, I want to give my best effort as far as choosing the BEST surgery for my needs. It's quite scary! 

The biggest problem with the RNY is a lot of people are getting reactive hypoglycemia a few years out and that really messes them up. No matter which surgery you have you will need to follow a low carb/hi protein diet and that alone will help your metabolic syndrome. My brother is diabetic and I finally got him to try eat hi protein/ low carb and he was amazed. His sugars had been up in the 300 range several times but just never steady numbers he bounced around all the time. He went low carb (under 100) and his numbers have been nice and low and steady ever since.

For a true low carb diet you should stay under 50, so I bet once you eat that way you will lose just fine and your sugars will even out. The sleeve plus low carb should work great for you, in fact you can go ahead an try it before the surgery. Ir is a bit rough the first few days and for a week or so but once you get those carbs out then it gets so much easier. If you go on line you can find all kinds of plans. Atkins is good but you need to count total carbs not net carbs like they say. They have changed the plan from the original one by Dr. Atkins. But do the low carb for 2 weeks (under 20 carbs a day) and anytime you are hungry eat all the meat, eggs, and cheese you want until you get thru the heebie jeebies. Then start adding in non starchy veggies and full fat like mayo, butter and other healthy oils. If you stick to this type of eating you will lose. Be sure to stay away from fruit because that is pure sugar!

Thank you so much!!! I've done Paleo, and it has worked each time. However, I never manage to stay on it exclusively for over 6 months. Whenever I feel the need to stop the weight gain or lose a few pounds prior to an important event, I do Paleo or primal. I love it, but it's uber expensive. I would like to think that wls would help me stay on the path of such a lifestyle.

  OMG!!!!!!!! I just came back from my doctor for a band fill and was told I have to have my band removed. A little history, I'm 6 year post op lapbander. I love the lap band it has been everything I thought it would be.  I was 335 pre op lost 60 in 7mths 82 in 9 more and loved it. I went from fat ex-college athlete  to working out 2 times a day and a complete low carb diet lifestyle change. I was the perfect lapband patient. I ate small meals took  small amounts putting my  spoon down after every bite and  I got used to living this way. I felt GREAT no more high bp or joint pain not to mention I loved what I saw in the mirrors so did my wife!! My guns looked good traps out I felt GOOOOOD . I was able to keep up with my kids I coached in basketball and football. Like I side lapband gave me my life back! I only had my initial fill of 5cc and never had another fill seen my surgeon twice 30 days and 60 days after that just calls from his RN and his office until I called 4 weeks ago for a ban fill for feeling hungry and gaining 53 pounds back. I did go over my goal of 200 and reached 193 and I maintained 5yrs fluxing from 200 to 215 but never going over 220.

At the end of 2014 I stated to notice I was getting a lot of acid reflux after eating I so I contacted my primary physician who gave me medication that worked sometimes but  I was able to change some things in my diet so it wasn't that bad. In the summer of 2015 I had a kidney infection  and was told by my doctor I needed to stop working out for 3 months while taking medication (dehydration was a big concern). Same low carb diet but was so hungry all the time I just knew I needed a band fill. Nov 2015 while not working out and eating a little more than normal I went to 238 and was having massive heart burn and acid reflux and chest pain. I made it past the holidays but the heart burn was so bad I went back to my primary physician who told me that the Nexium wasn't working and I need to make an app with my lapband surgeon because it may be a lap band problem. I laughed and thought it had to be something else the lap band saved my life IT'S THE BEST!! When I saw my surgeon he said yes the band was to tight and he had to take all the fluid out. He said if everything is good and the heart burn and chest pain stop he would re-fill and possibly add. I waited the 4 weeks and the heart burn and acid reflux went away but I gained another 13 pounds so here I am going back in today ready to get a fill when after drinking that nasty white milky stuff he told me I had something called a dilation esophagus and it was so bad that I needed to have my lap band removed!!! It was like some one ripped my heart out. I then asked some question like why after all this time has this happened. He then said from time to time this happens to some long term patients. I said well how many? He said about 70 to 75% in some form!!!! WHAT!!! Why wasn't I told about this? I got online and just ran across this website.

I read a lot of the topics and responses and it appears that I'm not alone. I feel I've been left in the dark!!! What options do I have? I don't  know if I can maintain without the lapband just with my current weight at 253 I feel miserable and after reading the post on this site I have a lot of other concerns. The last 5 weeks I've  been sitting with a empty lapband. I'm really kind of out of it because his office said they're sending me the info to go on a liquid diet for 5 weeks to see if the esophagus can heal itself.  Then what? Do I want a refill?  Now I'm reading about scar tissue and other health concerns. Can someone  please tell me if they have this happen to them and can this liquid diet work? What other options do I have?  I'm just blown away right now.. How could this happened? How could this be?

This is really very common and I would advise not even trying to keep the band because I too have issues with heartburn still, even tho my band was removed 2 yrs ago. Once it starts damaging the esophagus it just keeps irritating it and can cause Barretts esophagus a pre cancerous condition. If you look on FB there are several failed band groups that have lots of information. Basically we were lied to and used as guinea pigs in the US to test the bands Allergan made deals with the FDA but that info doesn't help you. What you need to do is read about the other 3 weight loss surgeries DS or duodenal switch, RNY or gastric bypass and the VSG or sleeve surgery. If the band worked for you the sleeve should be good for you as long as you can get rid of the GERD with removing the band. The sleeve removes 80% of your stomach so it is like the band in that it makes you a smaller stomach, The RNY and DS involve malabsorbtion and involves re-routing the intestines.

Once the esophagus muscles weaken they won't repair and will just continue to weaken as long as the band is in there. If you have any specific questions I can help you with I'll be happy to try to answer them. Just be assured you are far from the only one that has had his issue there are thousands of us out here that have had what you have and some that are in even worse shape I even know a few people who have completely lost their stomachs because of the damage done by their lap bands. There are many who have come close to death from their bands eroding into their stomachs. It is a horrible device and has caused damage and continued pain for many people! PM me if you have any questions I can help you with.

Thanks you so much for taking the time to respond. I'm just lost for words and I think your right because I really felt I had a great relationship with my surgeon and he couldn't even look me in the eye and all he kept saying was how sorry he was. It's funny you should say but it does feel like I was a guinea pig. I was told that this will last for life and I had nothing to worry about. After sleeping on it I know I have to get it removed and that's heart breaking because I don't know if I can maintain my weight. I just cant go back to 300 pounds and I see I'm on my way at 250. I will PM because I have a lot of questions about removal and moving forward. Thanks again for your response and I look forward to hearing from you!! THX  EB

UPDATE: I just spoke with my surgeon I was told that due to the problems I'm having with the band he can submit my lap band info to my insurance co and could possibly get the sleeve at the same time they remove my band. Is this possible? Has anyone heard of anything like this and how do the insurance co make their decision? Any info will help and is truly appreciated!!! THX!!

EB