New to this board...

Hi I am new to this board...I was previously on the Pregnancy Related board...however..now I think this board is more appropriate as I recently had my band removed (November 2012) and on Monday had the revision to Sleeve.  

I had my LAPBand surgery July 2009 and I did extremely well with it...better than most and better than the doctor even predicted.  I had lost almost all my weight within the 1st year.   In July 2010 I got a surprise positive pregnancy test.  In November 2010 I had my fluid removed, as I started having difficulty with eating. This continued throughout the pregnancy and in April 2011 had a Gall bladder attack.  Subsequently, I found out I had gall stones. Due to this attack my daughter was one week early (no complications) and I have not had any gall bladders attacks since..thankfully.  Still no fluid and trouble keeping food down.  Had an upper GI and everything was "perfect".  Then in July 2011 another surprise positive pregnancy test.  Throughout this second pregnancy, no fluid in the band....not keeping food down well. Fast forward to November 2012. Two babies later, no fluid, no gall bladder attack, but STILL can't keep food down.  So after having another upper GI, abdominal ultrasound, and endoscopy, it turns out the band may be causing my issue. Doctor says that I may have formed scar tissue under the area where the band is placed.  So even tho I have no fluid in the band, there is still restriction from the scar tissue making it hard for me to eat and process food completely.  I had the band and my gall bladder removed in November right after Thanksgiving and I got approved to get revised to the sleeve at the same time but the doctor wanted me to heal for 6-8 weeks to confirm that the issue is just the band and not anything else internal.  Turns out it was just the band.  

So here we are, Sleeve revision was completed this past Monday, everything went smoothly, I stayed in the hospital one night and went to work by Wednesday.  I am a single mother of 2 so cant really afford to be out of work.  But let me tell you, I feel great. Im tolerating the liquids with no problem, im walking, no gas, no pain, its almost as if I didn't have surgery.  

So my question now is, for those *****vised from Band to Sleeve, how did the tranisition go for you? Anything to really look out for? How long did you do the liquids/mushy/solids time table? Im not trying to pu**** but honestly, I am so sick of the liquid diet, and since I feel fine, I feel like I can move on to some soft things (babyfood, mashed potatoes)....am I just crazy..lol.  Any feedback would help.  This is my last go around with surgeries and taking this weight off for live.... 

Thanks for letting me rant..hope to make some new connections on this board!!  Hope you all have a great Friday!!

Melinda

NO! Remember the nerves in your stomach have been cut so you don't really know what you feel, because you aren't feeling anything from your stomach area. I would suggest you go to the VSG forum for even better advice. Great people over there and they can give you good ideas! The last thing you want tho is a leak because your stomach had to churn too much trying to digest a food that is too solid for this stage.

In the words of my Dr. go slow... Please follow recommendations. You'll be eating solids before you know it. 

Whit

I had my lap band placed 2/09.  Had it totally unfilled at 1 year and again at 2 years for issues.  My band showed "perfect" to but a scope showed a different story.  The last 9 months they kept unfilling as the scare tissue built up.  I had it out 9/12 and sleeved 1/22/13.  I was sent home on full liquids whi*****luded shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt, SF jello & pop cycles and strangly, thinned out instant hot cereal

Week 2 started puree

Week 4 started soft foods

They put this in place to help the stomach heal.  As you can't tell until the stomach heals and the nerves and brain figure out the new signals just follow the plan.

I too felt better after this surgery than getting the band and getting the band out.  Recovery was so much easier.