Revision 6 years after band
Thanks! T.
My mother is, my Grandmother was and my Sister now is diabetic. When I got the band I was just told by the doctor I would be any minute and that is why I got the band. So as far as that goes it helped me as when I was tested for the sleeve I was doing better than four yars ago. I too was tiered of the vomiting and waking up drowning in reflux.
I was banded 2/25/09 and had the band removed 9/4/12. I was sleeved 1/22/13. I to did well initially and lost a couple pounds as I could eat dense protein again. Then I went on a 3 week cruise came home to Christmas and New years and ended up almost thirty pounds. I am now three week out and within 1/2 pounds of my lowest with the band.
My insurance had a once in a lifetime WLS policy so I had to fight to get the sleeve. I had to have the band removed before I could start the fight for the sleeve and had to go thru everything like I never had one. My BMI had dipped below 35 so had to add a few pounds for my medical data collection with the PCP and initial consult with the surgeon.
So far the sleeve is working 100X better than the band. My DD has had hers two years and one sister for one year. Both doing great and 100% better than I did with the band.
If you go on the VSG boards you will hear from those ex-banders that the sleeve does what the band promised but didn't
BAND REMOVED 9-4-12-fought insurance to get sleeve and won! Sleeved 1/22/13! Five years out and trying to get that last 15 pounds back off.
i also had the lap band, got it done in 2007...i had it taken out june 2012 and went with the sleeve...I LOVE it...i just had the sleeve done in october of 2012 so im not that far out to be able to give you long term advise...i just know, my acid reflux is gone, i dont get things stuck, like with the band and i actually FEEL when i am full... i had a choice between the sleeve and the rnyx..at one point, my insurance only approved the rnyx, but i was terrified with the rerouting part of that, finally the insurance approved the sleeve... my doctor stated the sleeve is comparable with the rnyx , but with any wls, it is just a tool to help you, not a cure all...i can tell you, my weight is coming off and i am totally loving it...i hope this helps....
I am going on 10years with my band and I am looking to have it removed. I am a bit terrified of what they will fin in terms of damage from the band. The more i think about a revision, the more I think I want to do it in 2 surgeries. I also did not have loss with the band and I have the same concerns about the sleeve.
I had the band placed in May 2007. Mine was evil too....made me starve myself for almost 6 years, my teeth are mostly capped in the back due to vomiting. Anyways, I had my crapband removed 23 days ago and revised to the DS. I went with the band because I was scared to death of being cut on my insides......with that being said I went for the gusto! I have lost more with the DS than I ever did with the crapband. If you have diabetes, you may want to look into the DS.....it does wonders for diabetics and has the best stats on keeping the weight off....
No more vomiting for me, and towards the end of my 8 yr band it was 2-3xs/day. I am unusal i was 300+lbs down to about 127 with the band......too many complications...revised to ds. quality of life is NO comparison. after so many years of living with the band I lost my sense of normalcy.....why using beliteweight? band removal is necessary in 2 parts when there is damage-I had to have my removed since I had severe damage (of which is permanent for me) and rested/healed for 7 months before anyone would even look at me... yes you will balloon up especailly if you are vomiting now, when you can eat.....trust me you will, I had developed a maladaptive eating disorder, dammm when the band was ou****ch it I could eat, essentially I was malnutritioned before and anything I ate.....weight gain...if there is no damage etc, that is not necessary to do it in 2 surgeries. pick a great surgeon, the band can really chop up your esophogus...and the VSG is dangerous with a damaged esophogus. do more research on band to vsg, depending on what is going on you could have no weight loss due to the esophogus damage caused by the band (essentially you lose your ability to know when you are full, since you are used to feeling like there is an elephant on your chest) one reason i had to go to the ds and not the vsg. very difficult to caputre this all in text. find a great surgeon....don't know where you are located...but use a dr on the dsfacts to do this revision, wishing you all the best...i know it is scary, what i can tell you, i suffered too many years with the band, did i lose all my weight an then some...yes, but at what cost? if i had to do it again i would not get the band....and for me the vsg would eventually have to be revised to the ds.....
I was also told by my surgeon that my body is rejecting the lapband that I got in 2007. I didn't lose much weight either and I'm now having reflux and vomiting issues which I never had pre-band. My chart shows years of fills and unfills with no longterm weight loss success. He suggested that I consider either the Sleeve or Bypass as a revision option. He did warn me that the weight loss is typically less for people who have revisions compared to people who have had WLS for the first time and the Sleeve may result in the same issues I have with the band due to restriction. Based on my consultation with him, I've decided to do the Bypass but I'd be lying if I told you I'm not nervous. Bypass is a more aggressive surgery, but I'm hoping it yields in more aggressive weight loss too. At this point it's really up to my insurance company. Not sure they will approve the revision b/c my BMI isn't quite at 35 even though I still have hypertension. It's a waiting game now.
The band has been a failure for more people than you can imagine! I constantly read that the sleeve is what the band was promised to be, but wasn't! I only know of one person who wasn't very happy with her sleeve but she didn't really want to lose her band. The band is the only surgery I know of that causes constant vomiting. I personally would only consider getting a sleeve, I don't want a surgery where I will malabsorb. Now it won't help your sweet tooth but neither will an RNY if you are considering that because only 30% of them dump from sweets, so you can't count on that. However if you stick to the high protein low carb diet that most sleevers do you should have success. I wish you the best and sorry you have had to join the rest of us with band problems.
No more stuck.....no more vomiting here. I had the band taken out and then the doc did the revision....all in the same procedure. The lapsite where my port was is still tender BUT not as tender as it used to be when Iwas well healed with the band. the doc said it would be tender...but not really bad at all. I never had the full feeling...ever...Ionly felt stuck. I am now full after a few bites....and I mean full. I am so glad I did the revision,)
Liz
