Not sure I can handle failing again.

Hi Y'all! I will try to keep this short and sweet. I used to be a member here about 9 years ago when I had Lap Band surgery. I weighed 303 at surgery and over the course of about 1.5 years got down to 215. The Lap Band was horrible. I never found my "sweet spot" and I lost all of that weight by throwing up, usually on a daily basis. It was awful. I had it unfilled and left it that way for about 2 years. I gradually gained weight back and 4 years ago I had it removed. (My port flipped and it was either remove or replace.)

I am now back to 303lbs. I know that one thing I did wrong the first time was that I need to address the addiction to food. I know I will need to see a therapist and work through this. With the band, I finally had my head in the "I am gonna eat right" zone but then that food would not physically go down. That got old fast and there was not warning, it just started sliming and coming back up.

I am considering having the sleeve done, but I am TERRIFIED of failing again. I would love to hear from those of you who had the band and went to sleeve or those of you who are years out. I am so worried about losing weight and then it gradually starting to come back. So please share with me, the good, bad and ugly if you don't mind. 

Got banded in 2007 - went from 233 to 157 which took a long time - like til 2011...started having trouble with the band, choking on saliva at night, unable to get right fill amount, etc.  Had a terrible doctor who it took months to get an appointment and then waited hours every time in the waiting room.  Changed doctors and tried for a year to make the band work.... He took it out and 2 months later performed the sleeve on April 28, 2014.  As you can see I am now 125 pounds.  Best thing i ever did - i LOVE the sleeve and it is much better than the band - and I loved my band for a long time.  I think with any procedure you could gain it back but i have much more confidence that I can make this work long term.  However, unlike the band, there is no changing your mind.  Once your stomach is gone, it's gone.  You should be certain before you move forward.  I personally have no regrets.

the sleeve works if you use the tool correctly

 you need to measure everything going into your mouth , everything , and track it , I use myfitnesspal.com

 going to a therapist is a great idea so is going to your surgeons support group as much as possible people that go to a support group usually do better than people that don't

your story with the crap band is the same as most people , there are a few it works for but most have problems with it

most people have little or no problems with the sleeve (vsg)  I eat my meals and planed snacks  and have almost no hunger 

I stick yo my plan 95% of the time or better and I lose weigh I am a slow loser but lose every month something

you can do this I did

ps I never had the crap band my surgeon said it was not for me and he only does a few a year for people that have insurance that will not pay for anything else

The Band has known complications and many people see the weight come back. Or so i have read. 

It sounds to me like you know where you went wrong and with a new tool you can do it. I say give it a shoot :) I have not had surgery yet I go on Thursday for VSG Very excited I have done my research and know this is only a tool and its up to me to do all the work :)

I know you will make the right decision for you, Good Luck with what you decide to do :)  

Hi Jamie. I am fron New Brunswick as well and I am waiting for surgery in Bathurst. Where are you having your surgery done?

Mine will be done with the Dr in Fredericton Dr boisvert on Thursday 

Hi Sunshine!  I did not have the band first, so I can't speak to that part of your post.  My dr. did tell me, when I asked for a referral for the band, to keep an open mind about RNY (we didn't then have info on the sleeve), as many of her patients who had had the band didn't like it and ended up having RNY later, with better success.  I had my sleeve 3 1/2 years ago.  All went well and I didn't have any real problems.  I had to follow guidelines such as eating slowly, and not eating or drinking within at least 30 minutes of the other.  I have experienced foamies 2-3 times, but usually it's been because I didn't wait long enough to drink, ate too fast or too much.  I did have to, through trial and error, figure out what foods my sleeve didn't like.   I did find that chinese food didn't always agree with me.  I primarily only ate chicken and veggies with almost no sauce, and other protein.  One time, we just walked into the chinese restaurant, and the smell caused my tummy to churn and hurt.  Otherwise, I can eat basically everything, though I choose to stay away from my triggers.   Others have different experiences, so I can't say that what happened with me will happen with you.  However, the sleeve preserves a much more normal GI system, where as the band is a foreign object and restricts your stomach.  Also, the sleeve greatly reduces the production of gherlin, the hunger hormone.  Having said all of that, the need to stay commited and following a plan is vital no matter which procedure, in order for long term success.  I did great with weight loss, but struggled with maintenance as I tried to find a balance of carbs and calories.  In addition, I got complacent and ended up putting a few pounds back on.  I had to go back to basics, and follow my plan, using tools such as this forum, tracking my food and fluid intake, etc.  I haven't done it perfectly, but I'm showing up every day and the weight I gained is slowly coming off.  It sounds as if you're ready to move forward.  Good luck!

::raises hand::  Me, me! I was in the same boat. I ROCKED my band for the first year and a half. I was 327 at surgery and got down to 227 and got pregnant and unfilled. That pregnancy ended in miscarriage and I almost immediately gained 30 pounds. I got my head on straight again, got restriction back, started losing that weight and got pregnant again (totally planned).  I didn't gain much weight during my pregnancy and had a picture perfect experience there.  I never could get back to the sweet spot, though.

I struggled with the band, being a first time mom, stressful events and losses in my life and managed to get back up to 312 with a band that was way too tight. Ben and Jerry were my best friends. I had reflux, back on BP meds, Type II Diabetes back in full effect.

I found a new doctor at the beginning of 2014 and told him about my struggles and failures. He took the time to listen to me and ordered an Upper GI which showed that my band had slipped. We discussed the options and decided to remove the band and revise to the sleeve. I had my revision on April 29, 2014. 

The only thing I might change would be that I would think twice about having the removal and revision done at the same time. I had a lot of inflammation and reflux and ended up aspirating on stomach acid in my sleep and developing a life threatening case of pneumonia. So it's good your band has been gone for a long time.

I've lost 89 pounds this time around and I won't lie, it's been a struggle. I have struggled a lot with nausea. I found out my gallbladder was diseased and had that removed in October. That was supposed to fix the nausea but it didn't. HOWEVER, if I eat the right foods in the right quantities, I'm fine. I struggle to get my protein.

All that being said, I'd do it again. Am I scared that I'll fail again? Yep. I managed to do great before and ruin it all so I know it can happen again. I'm really going to try not to fail again but I know it can happen. Still worth it.

Good luck.

My experience with the band was far different than my experience with the sleeve. First off, I never hit good restriction with the band, so I was either puking up my guts or starving. Second of all, the maintenance was a pain in the butt. With the sleeve you get restriction from the start (though it'll grow more keen as your nerves heal) and it's just felt way more natural and manageable to me. That's not to say it's a magic bullet, but I know you already know that. :) We are here to support you!

Thank you guys. I am just now getting to the point of looking into the sleeve and I won't finish nursing school until Dec so I wont be able to have the surgery until then. But, if I remember correctly it took me months to go thru all the pre approval process the first go round. Of course this is all pending insurance approval anyway.