lap band to sleeve
Hi there! I was banded in 2006 and did pretty well for a long time. Had certain food issues, but for the most part not too bad....I just knew that chicken and I were not friends, nor did my innards like eggs and some other stuff.
A few years ago, my hiatal hernia kicked up big time and I knew by the end of 2015 that it had to be addressed. At first we thought that the band was aggravating it, so we removed fluid....still problematic and to top it off, I gained more weight than had been slowly creeping up over the prior two or three years. I didn't gain back all of the weight I had lost when I was banded though, so I was relieved by that.
We made the decision to go with a revision, so I had my band removed in March 2016 with plans to have vsg done in June. My doctor likes to wait 3 months in between. In the meanwhile, I had a health issue that had me on prednisone for over two months and that added another 15 pounds....ugh!!!
When my band was removed, I still had some actual restriction while my stomach was going back to normal shape and recovering from 10 years of being banded. I had no pain at all, just a recovery of a few weeks. Once my stomach was recovered from the band removal, that's when the prednisone "episode" occurred, and it was at times a free-for-all in the refrigerator.
Since my sleeve surgery, all has been super!!! Chicken - good, eggs - still a bit problematic, but not like before, no getting stuck, no up-chucking, no other problems. The one thing that I've had to learn is that once I feel full, I MUST stop......that one extra bite was a doozey and I learned that very quickly once I got onto solid foods. I know we aren't supposed to drink with our meals, but I need an occasional sip while eating....so with meals, I generally "polish off" about a half ounce of water. Then I don't drink anything for another hour or more. I try to get the majority of my fluids in by around 5 PM so that I'm not struggling at night to get my 64 oz. I also try to get the bulk of my protein as early in the day as possible because for some reason I'm usually not all that hungry at dinner time (in fact......I'm rarely hungry, which is the wonderful part of the sleeve).... I just don't seem to be able to tolerate as much food in the evening as during the day - I have no idea why.
As to my hiatal hernia, it was repaired when my sleeve was done. I stayed on daily Nexium for about 3 months after surgery and have since not needed it.....and no more issues with the hernia either.
Other than that.....best of everything on your journey.....hopefully we've been able to answer your questions!
Good friends are like stars.
You don't always see them but you always know they're there. 
HI!! How are you doing? I am scheduled to remove my band (of 12 years) on March 16 and revise to sleeve. The plan is to see how it looks when the go in. So I may come out with no band and no sleeve. I'm so nervous.. scared, confused, second guessing. just want to wish you good luck and see how it's going for.you so far.
