After a year and six months LapBand out!

I lost 50 lbs with the band. 30 within the first 3 months. The physician assistant that did my fills never knew how much fluid she was putting in. In September of last year my band was sooo tight I could barely ge****er down. She removed 3cc's of fluid and 2cc's of air??? Soooo in November I am driving to work and almost have to pull over due to the horrible pain in my side! My first thought OMG my band has slipped. I go in to see the physician assistant (cause I can't get an appt. with the surgeon!). I tell her about the pain and that I believe my band and slipped. She says "oh no, you wouldn't be able to keep anything down". I go back in December because I am having shoulder/arm pain and slight pain in my side. Last month she sends me for an upper GI scan. Seems that my band has slipped! She then removed the remaining 5cc's of fluid and 1 cc of air??? You told me I had about 5cc's of fluid in my band at the last fill...go figure! Being revised to the sleeve 3/8.  

I would love any advise from anyone who has experienced a band to sleeve revision

Hi There!

Im having my bad removed as well on the 21 of this month. The same thing happened with me. I knew my band had slipped, pains in my back, chest and left arm constantly and sudden onset of reflux even after drinking water. They (the surgeon mainly) insisted that it hadnt slipped and that I was not using the tool....a GI scan later...oops.

So here we are!

Good luck!!!!

Hi Sugan Spice

You feel my pain!  Good luck to you and please keep me updated on your progress

I had the band put in 4 years ago... In 2008. I never lost a big chunck of weight at once, it was very slow! The only time I lost was when I had the band so tight that I could not eat. After many efforts to hit the sweet spot, and feel well I decided to get a revision. I initially wanted the sleeve but I have decided to revise to a bypass. I am a vegetarian, and eat a lot of carbs, so the docs think I could benefit from it more then just a restrictive procedure. I also have very bad reflux and the endoscopy I just had showed that I have a large deep ulcer.
I live in Los Angeles, and have met with so many docs asking for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinions. They all agree that the sleeve is a great procedure but not great for people that have reflux and carb addiction. So I am going with bypass instead.
I don't have my revision date confirmed bc I have to get rid of the ulcer first by taking nexium twice a day for 3 weeks. Then they said I am good to go. So we are thinking that feb 29th may be my date. Keep me updated with your progress.

Hi Shopping Sarah  

Good luck to you as well. Please keep me posted on your progress  

Hi, I'm a totally different revision, RNY to DS :) But I have several friends who are doing fantastic going from the band to the sleeve. I think the point above about  doctors agreeing "the sleeve is a great procedure but not great for people that have carb addiction" is a good point; I can't speak to the reflux. I would like to add that it also depends on your own obesity history, BMI. If you think you will do well with just restriction because your issues are mostly portion control, volume eating, than the sleeve is a good way to go; if you are chronically obese, have emotional/addiction food issues, challenged metabolism, than you might want to consider a procedure with malabsorption. Personally, in that vein, I think the DS is far superior (the sleeve is 'half' the DS, the stomach part without the intestinal switch). If you are unfamiliar with the DS, go to DSfacts.com, and you will learn a great deal. It can never hurt for you to have as much information as possible about all of the surgeries, really understand how they work. I'm sorry to hear about your band, I know its stressful, wish you well in your search. 

I dont understand why they say the sleeve is not good for someone with reflux?  The part of the stomach that causes reflux is the part that is removed so it should virtually eliminate it.

Hi Rock Chick,

Thank you. I will research the DS as well.

Thanks

I had my band 4.5 years and was just revised to a sleeve on Thursday. My band had slipped too and there was a lot of scar tissue. The surgery took 5 hours most of it cleaning up the adhesions. I spent 2 nights in the hospital due to the first night being too inflamed to be able to swallow fluids but they were able to open my esophagus a little with a EGD and from then on it was smooth sailing. I have been home since Saturday and am recovering well. Feels so good to have that band out i can't even tell ya.