People who had the band removed

So I am getting my band removed sometime in june and I dont have a date yet, and I am not getting a revision to another sugery, but i was wondering if anyone else who had the band removed w/o getting another surgery or just got it removed in general, what your recovery time was and what type of food they reccommened and what it felt like afterwards like was there more or less or the same amount of pain after getting the band put it. thanks for any info! 

I would have never considered NOT revising because in my case if I can eat, I do.  I'm good to go with restriction alone, I am lucky that I do not need malabsorption.  But in my case I would have regained in no time and I was a 20.8 BMI when I revised to a sleeve.

I had my revision done in one procedure, I didn't have the band removed and then get a sleeve at a later time... all at once is what I wanted and what I got.  So I  can't tell you what it is like just removing the band without a sleeve at the same time but I can tell you that the absolute worst part of the recovery was... without a doubt... port removal.  It was not drop to the ground and bury your face in the mud kind of pain.  I don't mean that at all.  Recovery was not bad at all but the one thing that was the most uncomfortable was where the port was.  It felt like a bon fire in that muscle.

Why are you having your band removed?

 Im getting the band removed, bc one day i have no restriction and some days i have so much that i can barley get a bite down w/o it getting stuck and having to throw it up.  There is nothing wrong with my band, and i absolutly hate having to worry weather today i can eat or not.  And its not a matter of that i want to eat a footlong sub without problem, i just want to eat a normal meal daily.  Most days i cant eat, meat or veggies or starch. it has become a constant battle with it and it makes me so unhappy.  i just want a normal life of eating breakfast,lunch and dinner w.o getting stuck on food and being in pain and runining meals.  I obey the rules and nothing will work.  

Thanks for the info about after surgery.

Yep, I totally get it.  I completely and totally understand.  Band intolerance.  Same as me.  Your story is the same as mine.

You know, the sleeve is also an option.  I LOVE my sleeve, hated the band with a passion but love the sleeve.  The sleeve is like a band that actually works without all the complications.  Just a tiny stomach.  No barfing, stoma spewing, getting stuck, sliming, or foaming like a rabid dog.  Restriction is the same every single day.  No wondering if it is a food and water day or an IV fluids day.  Just your stomach but smaller.  No maintenance, no aftercare, no fills, no unfills, no slips, erosion, stoma spasms, NOTHING!  Just a small stomach.  It's great.

 Yea i was thinking about the sleeve, but my dr doesnt do it so i would have to find a new dr, but i have to do more reserach on that maybe in the future, but for right now i kinda just want to go back to living a normal life and try and do this on my own, bc i think i have a new mentality about this.  

I noticed that you go to Dr. Kim so I assume you are at Tufts.  When I was going thru the behavioral change group, there was a girl in my group that was getting the sleeve, and as I said, this was at Tufts.  I don't remember who her doc was, but you might want to mention it.  Maybe Dr. Shikora or Tarnoff do the sleeve.

Just a thought.

 Oh! thanks for the info, i thought dr kim said she didnt do the sleeve, but maybe thats just her, and not tufts in general or maybe im just making it up lol.  but yea maybe ill ask next week when i go in for edoscopy(sp) lol

I had mine out last October and the recovery was so much easier than getting it in the first place.  I was outpatient which also helped.  I haven't revised yet but am in the process of getting approved to have a revision to RNY this June, it took me a few months to get over the whole bandmare.  Whatever you do good luck with your removal and hope it is as easy for you as it was for me.

 Thats good to hear thanks! after the surgery removal, what types of food did you eat during the first week or weeks?  and did your stomach feel "normal" after surgery?

I was kind of surprised that it went as smoothly as it did I expected more pain for some reason.  I think the biggest thing was people always complained about the port site being an issue but it really wasn't that big of a deal.

It's been a few months so you'll have to forgive me if my memory is fading but my doctor had me on liquids the first day, which I believe was surgery day and then I could eat fairly normally from then on.   You'll still be a bit out of it anyway from anesthesia etc...  I was surprised also that they didn't put me on some liquid diet before hand, just the typical night before surgery no food/drink after a certain hour.

The stomach feels shrunken at first.  And also once the band is gone you can almost hear food or liquid go from the top to the bottom, you'll know what I mean when you have it done.  I know it sounds crazy but you're used to it stopping at the pouch.  At first I lost weight because I could eat healthy food again, protein, salad, fruit not my typical band diet but then my stomach went back to it's "bigger" size and I was eating more and had put on weight during the holidays just like a lot of people do but it really bothered me and why now I'm deciding to get WLS again.  I was hoping I wouldn't but things changed for me.  So anyway good luck and hope it goes smoothly for you!