Band to Sleeve....Questions...

    For those who had the band and now have the sleeve can you PLEASE give me some advice....What are the feelings of the sleeve when you eat?? Are they the same as having the band?? How is eating different?? Do you ever get STUCK?? What foods can you eat or cannot eat?? How different is your life with the sleeve??? Thanks I really appreciate all the advice you can give me....

Like night and day.  There is no getting stuck because you don't have a stoma or a pouch.  There isn't anything I can't eat now and unlike when I had the band there isn't any pain!  I was in pain for over 2 years with the damn band, it screwed up my esophagus and now almost 7 months with the sleeve my esophagus is finally beginning to heal with the help of Prilosec twice a day.

I can eat like a normal person, I don't vomit anymore, I'm satisfied and I'm healthy again.  You should post this on the VSG board, you will get a lot more responses.  There are a ton of band to sleeve revisions there.

Good luck.

Michelle,
You & I have been banded the same year and I am now having problems. My doctor gave me 2 chooses sleeve or RNY. When you decide on the sleeve were you concern about the unknown long term result?

No I wasn't because the gastrectomy has been around for a very long time, the procedure has been used for severe ulcers and stomach cancer, not to mention it has been used the first part of the DS for many years.  For me, I knew a restrictive surgery was enough, I have a good metabolism so I didn't need RNY or the DS.  I know too many people who have regained down the road from RNY or gotten reactive hypoglycemia from it, so that was a choice I wasn't willing to make.  Plus you only malabsorb your calories for 2-3 years and then your body adapts, but you malabsorb your nutrients forever.  If I were to go with a malabsorptive surgery, I would have gone with the DS, it has the best longterm results.  I also didn't have any other co-morbidity like diabetes or high blood pressure.

I hit goal in under 6 months and I'm still losing.  Like any other surgery, I will have to remain vigilant in what I eat and make sure I don't slide back into any other habits.  But I am happy with my choice.  Only you can decide what is right for you based on your body and eating habits.  Do your research on all the surgeries and surgeons carefully.

Good luck!