Bornagainbabe

I agree with everything you say. I have been on Facebook for about 3 years now and it is so easy for people to get really wound up over comments made. It's the same with texting in that you can't always 'get' the intonation of the person commenting and it may p you off a bit. I try to be very careful in what I say but don't always get it right and then have to say 'I was only joking, having a laugh'. Last week one of my Fb friends had a friend of hers delete her because she said that Elvis was more talented than Michael Jackson! Eh?? How sensitive is that! You just have to be careful I guess.

I am a band to sleeve revision, only being sleeved since last Monday, so I can't compare the two yet, but I can tell you of my experiences with the band. I suffered two severe slippages during the two years I had it, neither of them caused by my not following the diet correctly. I suffered from horrendous indigestion and acid reflux (never suffered from them prior to banding) which did make me vomit a lot. It was truly awful. I was tired, dehydrated and in pain quite a lot of the time. A lot of foods just wouldn't go down at all and whilst I don't regret having it (I lost 105lbs in 12 months) I was absolutely desperate to get it out at the end. When my surgeon performed the revision he found the band to have slipped down to a third of my stomach. Also fills, defills and finding your 'sweet spot' are a pain. You can easily find yourself too tight, not even being able to get liquids down and then you really are in trouble, especially if you have to find someone to perform a defill for you as an emergency procedure. I had the band for the exact reason that it was reversible but even after two years I still need restriction. I have had weight issues for nearly all my life and they are not going to be resolved in the space of 2 years. I needed the permanence of the sleeve for my future health. I don't know much about the long-term issues of sleeving but my husband's grandmother had most of her stomach removed, for different medical reasons when she was young, and lived until she was 87 (dying from unrelated causes) so I am not too concerned about that. Diabetes could hit me quicker and be more of a risk to my health. Keep researching and ensure you make an informed and educated choice. Good luck, Helen xxx

LOL!!! I think that there a lot of people out there looking at any WLS as being the easy option, the quick fix etc.without the necessity of making some lifestyle changes as well! If we could wave a magic wand it would be easier for all of us. Helenxxx

Thanks everyone! All is fine at the moment. It's a bit difficult to tell where the pain is coming from with having the two ops at the same time but I have experienced the cramping and now it's mainly if I eat too much. My feelings of fullness aren't kicking in very quickly now and I feel like I can keep going so will have to be very careful. I am also craving food and want chocolate and all sorts. Think that's more in my head tahn anything else. My diet guidelines are slightly different to yours over there in that I was kept on Water for 3 days and then had to have some blended food before I could go home. I am now on a diet of 5 small meals a day with a main meal consisting of some blended meat, potato and veg. It has to be of a very runny soup-like consistency. It's going down fine except that last night I overdid it and ended up feeling really rough with stomach pains and general discomfort for a while. It does worry me that I could end up bursting my staples by stuffing myself but am guessing from what I have read of others' experiences on here that I would be sick before that happened. Keep in touch Ash. You and I are at the same stage of our journey so it will be interesting to see how we get on and swap tips and experiences. Thanks all for your support and encouragement! Helen xxx

Welcome Chancie. Awesome weight loss so far xxxxx

I had the headache from hell after my surgery and that pain was worse than my op pain. Talk to anaesthetist about it. Opiate based painkillers such as morphine and Tramadol may also be responsible and there are many other painkillers that can be administered in their place. Just make sure you emphasise this strongly. I have had surgery where I experienced no side effects at all in the past and was jumping on and off the toilet 2 hours post surgery so I do think it is important that you speak to the docs about it and hopefully they will tailor your meds to your needs. Try not to worry though because, as I said, I have had surgery and experienced no side effects whatsoever, so it's not pre-determined that you will have an adverse reaction. Good luck xxx

Bless you! Same here with post-op nightmare as a result of adverse effects of anaesthesia and morphine! Can't sleep, nightmares, uncomfortable.... All quite normal though (have had 4 ops to date) and will improve with time. Just get plenty of fluids and rest!

Same thing here! Probably anaesthetic, painkillers, hormones, vitamins, everything at the moment!

Ooh I hope so lol! Now that IS something to look forward to! Look out husband of 22 years - you won't know what's hit you ha ha!!!

I am 6 days out and can sip liquids ok, hot or cold, without too much problem. I can get a full cup down now and just have to take it easy and watch I don't forget and gulp it down. I get some cramping occasionally but all this is very normal just after surgery and will get easier with time. I had a band for two years and it was all very similar after that so am not concerned at this stage. The trick is to just take it very easy with everything you eat and drink and all should be fine. There's no band in there now for things to get 'stuck' at or to be vomited back up thank goodness! I think the answer is to not get complacent and to respect your stomach. Goodness, I sound like an expert after 6 days out and I can assure you that I am most certainly not. I have just experienced some of 'the signs' before and am very lucky to have had no complications as of yet. Respect to the many others on this site who are the 'real experts'. Much love and good luck xxx

Hi, I am 6 days post revision op from band to sleeve plus I had abdominal surgery on my stomach muscles as well which has added to my discomfort. Try not to worry too much about being uncomfortable and experiencing some cramping etc. It's only normal that after surgery like this all your insides are going to be very tender. Unless you have fever, hypertension etc it is unlikely that there is anything to be seriously worried about at this stage. Just take it very easy with everything you eat and drink. Don't gulp liquids (it's easy to forget at times) as this will cause some cramping and discomfort and follow your dietician's guidelines re. food. Listen to your stomach. If you feel full then stop eating. Eat slowly, don't rush it. I was very anxious about leakage after surgery and kept going on about it to my surgeon and the nurses. It isn't tested routinely for in the hospital I was in and when I enquired as to why, was told that it would be highly obvious as to whether or not I was suffering leakage as a result of my obs and the pain I would be in. I would have fever, my blood pressure may be raised etc etc. In other words I would be feeling a LOT more than uncomfortable and would be very poorly. Of course, if you are feeling these things and are very anxious then shout and ensure it is checked out. There are lots of people on this site who know more about this than me and have experience which is paramount but cramping, burping, felling uncomfortable are not signs to be too concerned about in the early stages. With any WLS it is going to take a while for things to settle down. xxx

Hi, I'm home too now. Had my op on Monday - 2 ops in one actually. I was opened up right down my front, had all my abdominal muscles stitched and re-stitched and had my revision to sleeve. All went well with no problems apart from severe side effects from anaesthesia and morphine and being very sore. I am up and about now but wanting to rest a lot as very uncomfortable most of the time. Every position is ok for a while and then I have to move. Am now on blended food and managing that very well despite only needing very small portions. I get some discomfort after eating but that is only to be expected after having more than half my stomach removed and the remaining stapled up! The band guided me well as far recognising 'the signs' and I am only optimistic now for some more substantial weight loss. Size zero here I come!!! Well done to everyone who has just had surgery like me. It's not the easy option everyone thinks it is but, to those considering it or about to embark on it, with the right research, support and of course, surgeon, it is a step- up to coming a new, confident and above-all healthy you. And the advice and support I have received from the lovely people on this site is second to none and that is really what you need - to hear from people who have experience and have been through it all. On the losing side now. Just looking forward to getting more mobile now and back to normal. Won't be long but feels interminable at the moment!! Good luck all!!! Lots of love Helenxxx

Hi, I'm sticking my nose in again, but thanks as well. I have done loads of research and am just getting a bit jittery as it's close to my op date now, but you have confirmed to me what I already know and that I AM making the right decision for me. Thank you

Yes, thanks! That's really helped me as well as I am having revision surgery from band to sleeve on Monday 13th and had all kinds of second thoughts going round my head!

Thanks everyone. Yes, I am being very, very careful now in what I eat and am sticking to foods that I know will go down easily. Am making sure I take my lansoprazole regularly and am supplementing with Benefibre and Lactulose to ensure I don't get constipated again. I shall try and adhere to my surgeon's prescribed pre-op diet as much as I can but I will be sensible. The hospital have sent me home with senna laxative tablets to take and yet last time my hernia was operated on that was not advised! My friend is a nurse and she is helping me to draft up some notes to take into hospital with me that will help the staff and give them the info they need to hand regarding my op on Monday and my issues with sickness and constipation regarding my hernia repair. No doubt they won't have a clue and will be treating me solely for the sleeve op (have no faith!). I shall be insisting that all my pain relief etc. is administered iv rather than risking being sick on tablets. I shall pack my own dissolvable paracetamol to give them if they start messing around as on Monday when I insisted that I wasn't taking tablets they left me with no medication for more than two hours. Can't believe they tried to make you take tablets, charlie! I have already told my husband to ensure that they take me to the bariatric ward after theatre as I am being admitted to another one first with the promise that I will go up to the other one. I know that that doesn't always happen and they put you where they have a bed but I shall be as vocal as I can be in assuring that my needs are adequately met. What else? Just stay as healthy as I can and get past this op to the other side.... Thanks all. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Helenxxx

Hi everyone, I have just been reading through the recent posts and found it all really interesting. I have just got home after having emergency surgery on Monday night on a strangulated hernia and am even more convinced than I was last year, when I had the original hernia surgery (it's all a really long story), that they are absolutely useless when it comes to proper dietary advice. I am still having my sleeve op on July 13th, thankfully, and cannot wait to get my slipped band out. I just don't think that the surgeon or the nurses really appreciate the problems I have had with this slipped band. I was retching and vomiting so much last week and over the weekend on an empty stomach (the indigestion would come from nowhere regardless of whether or not I had eaten or drank) that I ruptured myself and ended up with this strangulated hernia. Directly after the op they were wanting to administer me various tablets despite me repeatedly telling them that taking anything could cause me to start retching again. So they brought me a bowl to be sick in!!! That was what ruptured my stomach so eh??? I ended up getting quite panicky and then they toook notice and did administer my medication intravenously in the end. Have been discharged though, despite not really being able to eat (although tbh I have tried some soup today and am ok and not had any indigestion or reflux) and told to follow the milk and yoghurt diet prior to my sleeve surgery. When I told the sister that the m and y diet had really constipated me 2 years ago and that I had been told I could introduce a bit of dry toast, soup etc she told me that was rubbish and that I was to follow it exactly! I told her that I was not going to risk getting constipation so soon after hernia surgery and that I wold take the surgeon's advice on that! Am going to do the same as I was advised two years ago though as that was good enough advice then. They have all really annoyed me as they just don't seem to have a clue. I was discharged from hospital yesterday without them giving me any advice on my recovery nor them even inspecting my stitches, so it's just a good job that I am sensible and know that I need to take it easy and keep an eye on wound and keep it clean. Anyway, I shall be having my band revision two weeks on Monday and will no doubt be back here asking for your advice again as I'm not relying on the hospital to be particularly helpful diet-wise!!! All the best to everyone Love Helenxxx

Thanks, that's all been really useful. I had open surgery last year and was out of bed the next day so I am guessing that this will be much the same. I know it's different for everyone but you have given me a rough idea of what to expect. When I had my band done it was privately and I can remember them giving me IV meds for the sickness afterwards but last year when I had a huge hernia operated on with the NHS I felt lousy from the anaesthetic and morphine with a splitting headache and nausea and had to keep asking for some anti-emetics as they weren't all that willing to part with them! At least I know I can request them though! Yes, I still have the band and it's really giving me a lot of grief now. It has slipped significantly and recently I have been suffering from terrible indigestion which is making me sick. Can't wait to have it out. I am having the op done in Sheffield by Roger Ackroyd. He did my band and the hernia op so is well-familiar with my insides! I have a lot of faith in him as he has been really helpful all the way. Unfortunately for me the band just hasn't worked out the way it should have - but I did lose 7.5 stone with it so I have no regrets. I have gained 2 stones since and am looking forward to losing that and more now! Thanks for all your help, Helenx

Hi Jane, I'm having my sleeve surgery on July 13th. I am having revision surgery from a slipped band...Just a few questions which i haven't been able to find the answers to so far - How long does the surgery take? I will probably be having open surgery as I only had an operation last year but I guess the operation duration will be similar to laparoscopic won't it? What sort of pain can I expect (don't worry about telling me it all!) and will I be on my feet straight afterwards? Were you tested for leakage in any way before you left hospital? I could do with a step-by-step guide of everything to expect including my diet afterwards etc.! Many thanks for you help and hope you are doing well. Helenxxx

I had nothing but problems with my band too. I am awaiting sleeve surgery so I can't make any comparisons yet but I suffered slippage twice, due to no fault of my own, horrendous acid reflux (I am right with you there on sleeping in a chair Elisabeth) from which I woke nightly choking and eventually vomiting up the contents of my pouch, what else? Pains in chest and back, indigestion, etc. etc. I lived with it as I was also losing a lot of weight in the process but I was tired and miserable all the time. I had to keep going for fills and would think I was well-restricted and then I would have to go back because I wasn't restricted enough and then I was over-restricted and slippage had occurred, and so on.....Plus the pain when something gets stuck is awful and different foods can have a different effect on different people so you can't really follow the band diet by the book so to speak. It can be a lot of trial and error and when you do a problem you really do have to find a toilet very quickly to be sick in. My band is not fully effective at the moment, but I was starving and shared soem fried chicken and chips at a motorway services last week with my daughter. Big mistake! I shovelled the food down and then regretted it as later on whilst driving down the motorway I had to pull over to be sick. I had had this nagging pain all the time I was driving and was writhing around. Only the coffee came up that time but 2 hours (!!!) later I had to pull over again and only had time to grab a tupperware box from out of the back into which I brought up all the chicken and chips. Nice! My daughter was not impressed at all. And I have had my band nearly 2 years so you would think I would know better....!

How long did you have your band for? I am really lucky as the NHS has agreed to fund my sleeve surgery which neither me or my surgeon was expecting. I originally paid for my band privately, lost enough weight to have the hernia surgery and now because of the slippage they have agreed to pay for the revision surgery! They must have considered lots of issues with me as patients now have to have a BMI of 50+ before they are even considered for surgery on the NHS in the UK. I am very lucky. I am not surprised that a lot of people are going for this revision surgery though as it seems to be a common story hearing peple complain of slippage, reflux, erosion etc. Will be glad to have my band out once and for all...

Hi, I have already posted a couple of times on the site but I haven't really introduced myself properly so I apologise for that. I shall try to be brief though. I am Helen and I live in Sheffield UK. I had a gastric band fitted 2 years ago after battling with my weight for year. I have an autistic son and have been through Hell (not back yet) caring for him and already having an issue with food i.e. loving it and not having any self control, found myself piling it on. I tried every diet going and it was a familiar story of losing a bit and then reverting back to old habits. To be honest I didn't really care. I had a huge stomach hernia that required surgery but my doctor refused to discuss it with me until I lost weight. And even that didn't encourage me as I was already lost within this huge vicous circle of depression, eating, wanting to be slim, depression, not caring and then caring again. I was at my wit's end and made a very quick decision to have a band fitted. Other surgery was too frightening to consider and as band surgery was reversible I decided to go for it. I was only kidding myself that I wasn't really 'all that fat' and didn't require any 'major' intervention. Anyway (I said I would keep this brief), I had the band, lost 7.5 stone in a year, my dad died and I had to help my mum deal with all the stress of an inquest etc and cope with my own family, and then I had further surgery on my hernia and to reposition my band which had slipped. Despite following my dietician's instructions to the letter I suffered from horrendous reflux which led to bouts of vomiting thus dislodging my band. It happened again last year and my band has now been slipped since before Christmas. My surgeon originally wanted me to try and continue losing weight without any further intervention (!!!) but eventually decided that further surgery would be the best option for me as I am slowly regaining my lost weight. As I have already had open surgery he would probably have to open me up again and if that is the case he may as well do a VSG rather than messing about with my band again. So (phew), I have had my pre-op assessment and am awaiting a date for my revision surgery to VSG. I have researched that and a bypass and have also weighed up having my band repositioned again but to be honest I can't be bothered with it anymore and suspect that I will always be prone to difficulties. That and having to pay for fills and defills and wondering if it's too tight or not tight enough have decided it for me. I can't wait for my date to come through so that I can start making plans for childcare etc as that is my major issue and not really the surgery. I can cope with that after having had two ops in the last two years. I doesn't really faze me at all. I just want to get on with losing weight again and feeling healthy. This slipped band is not only uncomfortable but causes continuous indigestion plus I feel hungry most of the time so it really is of no use to me now...

Ditto on everything already said re. your post. I 'get' absolutely everything you say regarding issues, mentality, etc. etc. Like you I could run my own diet club, I could hand out advice and encourage others no problem as I too have tried nearly every diet going, but, I can't do it myself!!! I cannot practice what I preach and nothing is going to stop me stuffing my face continuously. I would stuff it until I felt sick just for the sake of it. When I had my band people told me that once I had lost my weight I would never let myself get like that again. What rubbish! I expect that I am like most people here and need that permanence of restriction. Good luck! :confused1:

Thanks for your responses. They are very helpful. In the UK we don't differentiate between revision surgeons and otherwise as there are relatively few of them over here. My surgeon is the only bariatric surgeon in the Sheffield area who performs all ops. He has an excellent reputation in the UK though and people travel from all over the country to be operated on. He fitted my band two years ago, then operated on my hernia and repositioned my slipped band last year, and will be performing my VSG op this year. I am fully confident in his ability as he has plenty of experience. I'm not really all that worried to be honest as I know that the risks of being fat and getting fatter are worse than going for this op. I don't want my hernia to rupture again and I don't want to risk getting diabetes either. There are risks with all surgery and that is something we have to weigh up against being obese don't we? Flab2Fab4Ever - I hope you continue to make a good recovery and wish you well. Thanks :confused1:

Hi I'm new to the site. I am due to have revision surgery sometime this summer. I don't have a date yet. Like most people, I thought that I knew everything I needed to know about the VSG after conducting some research of my own, but, similarly to the band, am finding that there is a lot I wasn't aware of, i.e. revision surgery being more complex etc. However, the more I read about complications, the more I am going to worry and despite needing to be fully informed and educated, had I knew half of how the band was going to affect me I may possibly not have gone ahead. Saying that, I don't regret having the band at all as I initially lost 105lbs in just under a year which as well as making me feel and look great, enabled my surgeon to operate on my huge stomach hernia. Unfortunately my band has now slipped for the second time, I suffer constant indigestion (reflux was a huge problem when the band was filled), have gained about 28lbs (don't go the scales at the moment) and am now, with the advice of my surgeon going for the VSG surgery. I am not afraid and really think that this is the best option for me. Reading about the problems the lady on here had with leakage are quite frightening but I continue to be optimistic. The other option for me is regaining all my lost weight, which I know I could do very easily as I still like snacking and have absolutely no self-control whatsoever. I think that the pros outweigh the cons for me. Your comments and encouragment would be most appreciated. Thank you, Helen :thumbup1: