Band to Sleeve Revisioners - How are you able to lose weight?

"Lastly Nana, in your attempt to once again discredit the Sleeve, I think that you have done the opposite. It's good to compare the two since you think the LapBand is "the cats meow" and the Sleeve is "the cat's poo" -- I loved my Band for many years. I was probably the biggest LapBand Cheerleader in the world, but once I started watching my friends suffer great agony and problems with the Band - and then enduring my own problems, I realized there was something more out there. The Sleeve is not perfect and some have problems, but for me, it's been wonderful and I feel I have my life back and I am able to live it! I had surgery 15 weeks ago and I've lost 58 lbs. I think that is pretty darn good for a revision. How much have you lost since your revision to your new LapBand? Are you still waiting for restriction?

Exactly!!!  Naomi, without realizing it, is keeping this discussion going.  This allows the benefits of sleeve over band to be discussed with intelligent and informative information for those having problems with the band and those seeking WLS info.

There is so much great info on this thread.  It was probably not started to serve the purpose that it has.

Thanks to all who took their time and effort to explain how much better their life is since revising to the sleeve!

Yes! If the aim was (and it probably was!) to discredit the sleeve it has backfired! And that is from a contented bandster! Kate

Mary D.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience with the Sleeve. You know BEFORE BAND BASHING started and the Lap band Board was destroyed about 3 years ago, I used to post on a board that had a few Sleevers and they used to share their experiences with it. I've NEVER said the Sleeve was "Poo", but you could not log into the Band forum without the Sleeve being shoved down every ones throat.

I have insurance coverage that pays 100 percent for a revision surgery of MY CHOICE. I had the opportunity recently to get a Sleeve, I am not ready for that, the band is the ONLY risk I am willing to take for now since it's removable. I've NEVER EVER SAID the band as PERFECT, I've said OVER AND OVER AND OVER again, it can be a PAIN in the REAR. I AM JUST NOT READY TO remove parts of my stomach, does this make the Sleeve not a good choice for OTHERS? NO, I've always SUPPORTED those WITH A SLEEVE and those who have revised to the Sleeve, I've even said how good Sleevers look.

But let's get REAL, the Sleeve has REAL problems and complications MORE dangerous than the lap band. Lap band problems are more ANNOYING than anything else, some people are TOO SICK TO COMPLAIN....

I am very leery of people trying to "sell me a permanent" weight loss surgery that can't be undone. I NEVER recommend the band because it can get expensive and it is not a good fit for everyone and can be a nightmare for people on limited incomes and those with limited to poor aftercare.

The POINT to my post was I was SIMPLY CONFUSED how the Sleeve works, many say they can eat more solid food with the band, slice of pizza, 1/2 sandwich, etc. Believe it or NOT MANY Lap banders CAN EAT SOLID FOOD ALSO.

Guess what? Even with my old band and hiatal hernia, I rarely had problems with my band, I could eat small amounts of food and get full, vomiting was RARE with me and I lived a good normal life with my band. I work as a professional and I am NOT willing to go more invasive than the band, with the band I have NO SIDE EFFECTS, NONE.

So..to say that ALL Lap banders can't eat solid food and still have restriction IS A DISCREDIT TO THE BAND...THOSE WHO CAN'T EAT SOLID FOOD WITH THEIR BAND HAS SLIPPAGE OR IS TOO TIGHT. -- AT LEAST that is WHAT MEDICAL LITERATURE INDICATES...WHEN A LAP BANDER CAN'T TOLERATE SOLID FOOD SOMETHING IS WRONG AND IS A BAND COMPLICATION AND NOT A WAY OF LIFE FOR A LAP BANDER.

There are a lot of lap banders that secretly hate their band, and wish they had something else....I have excellent insurance and IF I wanted to take my band out tomorrow and get a Sleeve I can DO just that, so again, some people will ONLY risk the band, and you are CORRECT NO weight loss surgery is perfect, I am glad you realize that.

I have no idea where you got your information about the sleeve having problems more dangerous that the lap band.  Never in a million years will that be true.  As long as you keep making statements like that, people are going to set the record straight.

So if you are tired of hearing about the sleeve, don't say things about it that are just not true.

there has always been what you call band bashing, you just don't want to remember it.

So if you are happy with the band, and you don't want to lose part of your stomach then don't worry about getting the sleeve.

Just don't ever tell the people that have the band eroded into their stomach, or the people that have had permanent damage to the diaphragm or are in pain now for most of their life because of the band, that their problems from the band are only annoying.

No one is trying to sell you anything permanent or not, you are the one that keeps bringing this up.

So if you don't want a sleeve why does it matter to you if I can eat 1 sandwich and so and so can eat only 1/2 a sandwich. At this point it's just strange  why you keep saying you can eat solid food. So what........

You really need to learn not to preach to the choir, we (revisions) already know................

Thanks for pointing me towards this discussion. It has been EYE OPENING and wonderful to read everyone's experiences. You are a band2sleeve SUPERSTAR!!!!

Hi,

I find it fascinating to note the differences between my band and sleeve! In some ways it is so very different and some ways similar. I've made some comments next to your questions. Now, before you read my answers please note that I am about 5 weeks out from my revision and I have the sleeve as part of the DS, so my sleeve is made a smidge larger than just a sleeve without the intestinal rearrangement.

I have a question for those *****vised to the Sleeve. I was lurking the Sleeve board and most Sleevers can eat WAY more than a typical lap bander WITH optimal restriction. I remember being on another board 3 years ago with a few Sleevers and they would post what they ate.

I remember one girl mentioned that she ate for breakfast 2 eggs and 3 pieces of bacon and something else for breakfast and she was only 2 months post op. And I nearly freaked out and I was about 3 years post op with my band at the time and I could NOT eat that much for breakfast or lunch with optimal restriction.  When my band was very tight due to scar tissue buildup (no more unfilling to be done) I could eat max 1/2 cup of food. Think something the texture of tuna salad. When my band was loose, before any scar tissue issues, I could eat 1 to 1.5 cups of food w/o any problems. A meal would consist of 1/2 cup of dense protein and 1 cup of fibrous veggies. I took smallish bites and ate slowly. It would take me 30 minutes to eat that amount of food. Now, with a sleeve (granted I am only 1 month out) for breakfast I can eat one egg, 1/2 of a small slice of whole grain bread and one ounce of cheese. I have to take tiny bites and chew very well -- takes 30 min to eat. For a lunch visit with a friend today, I ate one bowl of white chicken chili, this had a lot of chicken chunks and a few beans. It took me 1.5 hours to eat -- this was probably 2 cups of soup. Today's lunch is very similar to what I would've eaten at a lunch out on a bitter cold day when I had a band.

Also, after lurking the Sleeve board yesterday, there are many that are able to eat A LOT more than a typical lap bander, so what's the secret to weight loss with the Sleeve? Both the band and Sleeve are restrictive surgeries. Keep in mind I still could eat solid food with my band, but only a few bites and my food has to be very moist with restriction. In my opinion there isn't a secret. I personally see that a lot of sleevers are at least early out are eating very low calories. When I was researching what surgery to revise to, one of the reasons I did not choose just the sleeve, was because I was ALREADY eating low calories and small meals and realized it was not getting me close enough to a normal weight, even with a lot of exercise.  One other thing I noticed while reading the boards was there seemed to be quite a few sleevers that were farther out that were struggling with regain or had stopped loosing long before they hit goal just like I did with the band. Time will tell on this, because the sleeve is only beginning to really gain popularity, think how popular it will be in the next 2-4 years.

Is it HONESTLY the dumping syndrome or sweety carby foods that make you sick? Don't tell me you don't get hungry because I've talked to some Sleevers and they still get hungry and eat 3 meals per day. One thing I was especially happy about with the band is that it really did reduce my sense of hunger. I feel the same thing with the sleeve, only more so. Up until last week, I literally had to FORCE myself to eat/drink a protein shake. I had NO desire or interest WHAT SO EVER in food. I literally went to a potluck at work with the best foods you could ask for and I had ZERO desire to eat. That was so surprising!! This past week I have been having episodes of what I call true hunger -- it sneaks up on me and all of a sudden I feel like my body is saying "HEY FEED ME NOW". It is not a head hunger craving type thing. Any kind of protein rich food satisfies it and then I'm good for a couple of hours. I've heard lots of sleevers report they experience hunger too. The only carb craving I've had since surgery was for a good quality ice cream, so I made some protein ice cream and that did the trick.  Used real sugar and ate 1/2 cup. No dumping or other ill effects. 

Or is it true that some Sleevers bougies sizes are larger than others and others are able to eat a lot more than others. Also many Band to Sleeve revisioners mention that they can eat solid food better with the Sleeve than with the Band. But I find that to be odd too, because even when my band was VERY restricted I still could eat small amounts of solids without vomiting. My sleeve is a tiny bit larger than someone would get if they had just a sleeve. My surgeon says that by the 6 -10 month mark it is expected that your sleeve has gone through something called "sleeve maturation" which means that it stretches out to accommodate larger amounts of food. My sleeve should stretch to eat 6-8 ounces of dense food at one time -- he said if you constantly stuff yourself to bursting, you WILL be able to eat more than 6-8 ounces, but obviously that is NOT a good idea to do!

There is no malabsorption so if a Sleever is able to eat more than a Lap bander there has to be some other negative mechanism going on like the Bypass to keep you on track... This is a good question and I have wondered that myself. For me, I think I have simply gotten used to eating small meals for the last 3 years, I seldom feel the need or temptation to over eat. It has become a new normal for me. Plus I have never been a grazer, pre banding just ate larger volume at meals. So, I do really wonder how most sleeve patients seem to have much better weight loss  than band patients -- especially once they are farther out. Again, this is why I ended up doing the DS, because I knew I needed the malabsorption -- it's kind of odd when you think about it. You could ask, well, why then couldn't you just eat even LESS food than you did with the band and you would lose more weight?! Good question, and I did try that -- and turns out that was not a long term solution for me The long term solution to obesity is more than just eat less and less and less.

P.S. Also remember a poster name Greg? That revised to the Sleeve recently and he admitted to having more restriction with the band than the Sleeve and he has to stop himself from eating with the Sleeve, but as with the Band,-- he had a brick wall. The Sleeve confuse me more and more. I know when my lap band is tightly restricted, IT WILL stop me from eating, and since I fear vomiting...that's my behavior modification, I stop eating, if I don't want to slime.

Best of luck with your DS! 

Beagles...I did not know you were revising to the DS. Good to hear you are doing well with it. Like you, I have always wondered how Band to Sleeve revisioners lost weight since many have said over the years they had more restriction with the band. I am wondering though if they were TOO TIGHT with their bands, hence reasons for getting it removed...lol.

I've always been able to eat healthy food with my old and new band. I've been too tight a few times with my old band and I would have trouble eating any thing, but I always went back to my surgeon to remove saline, so over all I've always been able to eat a healthy diet with my band.

Over the years I've seen MANY band to Sleeve revisioners struggle and some never lost 1 pound with their Sleeve, they mentioned that they never had the restriction with the Sleeve that the band gave them.

Like you this is my biggest fear of A revision to a NON adjustable surgery. Especially after having an adjustable surgery that can provide very tight restriction.

Wishing you a very successful life with your DS.

Thank you NanaB for posting your question. I learned a great deal as I head to the hospital this week to get a revision from Band to Sleeve.....so much wonderful insight was shared here. And, I will be happy to share likewise once I adjust to life with my sleeve.

Best of luck to you!