Scared, not sure I'm making the right choice

I'm scheduled to have a band to sleeve revision on January 12.  I've had my band for over 2 1/2 years, lost 112 pounds in less than a year and kept over 100 pounds off.  Since May when I had my gallbladder removed I've been dealing with fills/unfills and two slips since September, I decided I've had enough.  My surgeon thinks I should reposition my band since I've done so well with it (and he's banded so he's a big band guy) but I'm afraid that it will slip again and I'll need another surgery, so I decided on the sleeve.  Now I'm afraid that I'm making a mistake.  I've heard from a lot of people who are happy with their sleeve revision and some who are not.  Can anyone tell me their story and why they are or aren't happy with their revision choice?

Well, I have the DS, so my stomach is a sleeve. If the restriction of the band was working for you, then the sleeve may be a great option that doesn't have all the fussing of the band. It's as close to a "set it and forget it" option as WLS gets.

I know a few folks that weren't happy with their sleeve, but they really needed the help of malabsorbtion, and were afraid of it. They wouldn't have done well with the band then either, which apparently was working for you. I'd have gotten the sleeve in a skinny minute if I only needed help with portion control.

This board is sorta dead, so you may want to ask this over on the sleeve board, and it should get more responses. Good luck.

Thank you Bearmom.  The restriction of the band did work for me for 2 years.  I don't need the malabsorption factor, it's the portion control that I needed.  What I didn't like about the band was the stoma...the PB'ing, the sliming and all the joys that went along with it :)

Well as u know, I haven't had a revision. I can say this though. When someone has a slip the odds go up even higher of them having another one.

I know u have lost a lot of weight with the band, but I have just seen so many ppl spend years trying to make the band work for them. Just from what I have observed on the band forum my thinking is CUT YOUR LOSSES WHILE YOUR BEHIND! I just can't see waiting for more band problems to occur.

If u like your band and want to try to make it work that is up to u, but it just seems like I see so many bandsters having to have 2nd.........n some even 3rd surgeries with the band.

As far as VSG most of the problems I have seen with that are with surgical error (some have had misshaped sleeves or the surgeon using a too large bougie size). Of course there is always the exception, but I do see wayyyyyyyyy more VSG'ers happy with their surgery than bandsters!!!

Good luck to u hun!!!

Thank you Maria, I think I'm just looking for some reassurance that I'm making the right decision and not making another mistake.  My surgeon does a 34 bougie and stitches over the staples to eliminate the chance of a leak but I'm still scared.  He thinks I won't have another slip if I reposition the band but I'm not convinced which is why we submitted a revision to sleeve into my insurance.  I'm sure that there are people who have had issues with my surgeon, as happens with every surgeon, but I love him and have complete trust in him, so I'm not worried about surgeon error.

Thanks for your support as always Maria!

It really helps to have a surgeon that u love n trust!

U'll do great with the revision! Make sure u keep us updated!

Thank you Maria.  I do trust him, but I decided that I'm going to get a second opinion from a doctor who is more experienced in band to sleeve revisions, and then I will decide who I am going to use.

Fingers crossed!

Michelle, I was where you are, I lost 115 pounds with the band, kept it off for over a year, had a slip and it wouldn't go back in place with a complete unfill.  I gained back 40 pounds with complete unfill and got sleeved because I was afraid of getting a second band and having another slip.  I was self pay for my surgeries. 

I got a sleeve (34 bougie and oversewn like you will have) and I can tell you that for me, it was like no surgery at all.  I couldn't even lose the whole 40 pounds I gained, I lost 25 in a year, and now have gained back 8 pounds after my final round of plastics.  I am looking into getting a barium swallow to see if my sleeve has stretched, or if it's just too big for me to lose weight.

You will never have the band-type restriction you have now.  I don't know exactly what to tell you, I may re-sleeve smaller, or end up with DS....

Also forgot to mention that I was not hungry for 5 years with the band, but feel hunger now all the time.  And now I have iron deficiency anemia that I didn't have before the sleeve.

This is what scares me!  I made an appointment with a surgeon who several people I know used to have band to sleeve revisions.  From what I've seen they have been happy and successful, but this is something that I need to talk to this new doctor about.  I decided that it's not only the revision surgery I'm scared of, it's mainly the fact that my doctor isn't experienced enough in band to sleeve revision surgeries, he's mainly a band surgeon.  If I was going to reposition my band I would have him do it, but to do a sleeve revision, I just don't have that confidence. 

I'll let you know what happens after my second opinion.  Thank you so much for letting me know your experience.  I'm so sorry you had to go through so much pain, especially being self pay.