amybaby33

Hi everyone! I'm Amy and I am a former Lapbander that will be sleeved on July 11th by Dr. Mueller in San Diego. I have kind of a unique story, but I hope my experience being a bariatric patient for the 3.5 years will help all of us with our journey to becoming sleeved. I was banded in Feb 2008 and lost 70 pounds. I did very well that first and half until my band slipped in August 2009. I got a band replacement and through the grace of God got pregnant in November 2009. (DH and tried for over 8 years and never thought it would happen) I had a fabulous pregnancy up until 37 weeks when I suddenly got VERY sick. My band had slipped again and this time it was completely obstructing my stomach. I ended up having a c-section at 38 weeks and unfortunately had to be under general anesthesia because they removed my lapband at the same time. It was very traumatic and upsetting to not be awake for the birth of my son, but there were not any other options. Fortunately, he was born beautiful and healthy. I remained in the hospital for 6 days because I was still super sick from the stomach obstruction. Since losing my band in August, I have gained back 40 pounds. I knew there was no way in hell I was going to get another band, but I have definitely missed the restrictive componenet and healthy lifestyle I had with the band. I was sooo fortunate that my surgeon went to bat for me and petitioned my insurance to do a revision to a sleeve. I'm very excited. So, I've done it all! This will be my 3rd time dealing with the strict post op diet, so I hope i can lend support to all of you and perhaps answer questions as we get closer to our surgery dates! Look forward to getting to know all of you!

That was a great post! I think we can all relate to the self sabotage issue. I just started reading Women, Food and God. It is a fantastic and eye opening book. I can't wait to finish it! Easy read too. By the first chapter I had already had several "ah ha" moments.

Bravo Lucia and THANK YOU for posting this!! As a breastfeeding Mom of a 6 month old preparing to get sleeved, I was soooooo relieved to read this post! I have been full of angst about having surgery and being able to continue to breastfeed. I wasn't planning on weaning, but I was really worried about supply issues related to the surgery. Fortunately, I have a fabulous surgeon who reassured me from the beginning that I wouldn't have to stop B/F'ing. The only thing he said was that I would have to pump and dump for 24 hours after surgery. I will have plenty of stored milk for my little one and I really appreciate you reiterating the fact that our decrease in calories DOES NOT mean a decrease in supply! I plan on BF'ing for a year and am grateful that I can integrate my health into the process. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a valuable post!

Great pics and description! Totally shows life as a sleever..thanks for sharing

I went through TWO bands in 3 years and suffered greatly from complications! The second band slipped when I was 37 weeks pregnant and made for a traumatic delivery. I don't miss my band ONE BIT and will be getting the sleeve in a few months. I learned a lot through my lapband experience and will carry over the good lessons learned..but I REALLY won't miss having foreign objects in my body, having food get "stuck" and being in miserable pain and having fills. Tiffykins summed up a lot of what I went through. So bye bye band..hellllllooo sleeve!

I went through TWO bands in 3 years! My first one slipped almost one year to date of my surgery. They replaced it and 3 months later I got pregnant. I had an uneventful pregnancy and it was helpful having the band as a tool as I only gained 10 pounds my entire pregnancy. HOWEVER, at 37.5 weeks I got horribly sick and found out that my band had slipped again and caused a complete stomach obstruction. I ended up having to have my baby under general anesthesia (which was devasting) and get my lapband removed at the same time of delivery. It was horrible and traumatic! I am soooo happy to not have foreign objects in my body and am having a consult with my bariatric surgeon on Friday to discuss the sleeve. I did really well with the portion control and diet aspects of the band, so I would like to continue to have a "tool" help me and continue with my quality of life. Will keep you posted!