new_beginnings_

I get teary eyed from all this support, Thank you so much...Becca, I regretted getting the band from the very first time I threw-up which was the 1st day. I was self pay $15,000 and if I'd had any money left to get that evil thing out of me sooner I would have. Luckily, the military picked-up the tab on the removal but it took some time and lots of patience to finally get it done. And LilMiss I have to say the band wasn't effective for me either. I started at 278. Three years and 2 pregnancies later I clawed my way down to 203 but I quickly gained back 43 lbs which leaves me at 246 and scared to death that I'm going to keep on gaining. I was ALWAYS hungry with the band; never could feel satisfied because food couldn't reach my stomach, I always threw up the first part of every meal and only on good days I'd be able to keep the second part down. I hated running to restrooms when we'd go out to eat, I know people had to think I was a fat bulimic! I'm so glad those days are behind me; I'm hoping to be losing like you all someday soon - your loses are so inspirational! Thanks again!

I feel your pain speedy, although I didn't have the complications you had, I can totally relate. I too felt like I was bulimic because of my band. I'm sorry that you are not able to get your sleeve yet but hopefully with time, your body will heal some of the damage your band has done. I was lucky that I changed insurance and was able to have a revision to the sleeve, otherwise I would have been stuck with it. I just had my surgery on the 6th so currently I am fighting the gas pain and also trying to drink but hopefully it will be worth it in the end. Good luck and best wishes!

Monica

wow, for those of us that choose the band and have switched or are switching to the sleeve, this should come as no surprise... It's amazing to me how we are brain-washed into thinking that this is the best WLS choice... I just hate that I spent two and a half miserable years TRYING to lose weight with this piece of crap.

Thanks Becca, I agree with you totally. All I can say is this is a new start for me and I am trying really hard to keep all the negative thoughts out of my mind. It's really hard when you have felt like a faliure for so long ... you wonder is this going to be just another failure... I'm doing really well on my pre op diet though, haven't cheated at all, which is surprising for me cause I have always been the "one bite won't hurt" person.

I'm glad you did too Lily, I wish more people would talk about problems with their bands because I think we are led into thinking that these problems don't happen to everybody that has a band. I also think that maybe these doctors are getting kickbacks from the companies that sell Lap or Realize Bands, I mean, why would they be pushing the band so hard when there is such mixed results? And think about it, when you get the RNY or the sleeve, there is no device or whatever, so basically no outside company is making money off the surgery. Sorry for the mini rant but I get kinda pissed when I think about how much time and money I have put into my band and I am no where near where I want to be (weight wise). I am very fortunate that I now have insurance that will cover a revision to the sleeve, otherwise I would just be stuck with it.

I had the same problems with the band. It was either too tight and I could barely eat, or too loose to be effective. I could eat junk and sweets no problem, but lean Protein or veggies, forget it. I felt like a big failure, and I was sure I was the only one. I was even afraid to go to my doctor. Long story short, I revised to the sleeve in January, and it is the best decision I could have made. I have lost almost as much in two months with my sleeve as I lost in 4 years suffering with my band. My band now sits in a jar in my closet, where it belongs, not in my body, it is a reminder of how far I have come and struggled, but finally I'm on my way to success. Good luck to you, you will love the sleeve, it's everything the band was supposed to be and more.

Yup sounds just like my life since the band.... I did get my surgery date and it is April 6... I couldn't believe how fast the process is compared to my band surgery. (It took me about 11 months to jump through all the hoops that Blue Cross made for bariatric surgery). I am so excited and can't wait to get this band out! I started a pre op diet on Thurs, which isnt so bad. Im thinking of it as my divorce from food. I am not going to let food take over and control my life any longer!

I wanted to update with what my doctors office told me... they said that it

would be a good idea to put plastic jewelry in and cover them with bandaids.

If it was a bellybutton piercing, I would def have to take it out. Thanks

for all the input! Seems like my piercings are safe for now!

So, I'm gearing up for my sleeve surgery... 11 more days! I am so excited! Everything is happening so fast... I started my pre op diet on Thursday and it hasn't been that bad but can I just say that I will NOT miss my band and all the problems I have with it. Tried to eat some egg beaters this morning and got stuck epically... foamed and pb-ed for hours... wasnt able to get in my pre op diet requirements... now have horrible heartburn. I swear, the band has been one of the worst decisions I have ever made... I just pray that things will be better with the sleeve

Yeah I think I am going to get some plastic retainers. I am going to ask when I go in next week and make sure there wont be a problem with the retainers.

When I had my band surgery, I was honest with EVERYONE! I was so excited and wanted to share. It was ok at first except all the " so how much have you lost?" questions. But once I started having problems with my band, I totally regreted telling anybody. They have this expectation that you are going to be barbie when you walk in the door one day. When I have my sleeve revision, I'm only telling CLOSE family and friends.

I had to take out all mine.. including nipple .... *my parents now know :S awwwkwward!!*

omg i would die if my parents found out ( I think they would die as well) lmao

I thought they would make me take them out but wasn't sure, using the plastic barbells is a good idea, im just scared to change them cause i have a friend that changed hers too soon and she ended up with an infection in her breast scary stuff... I had them pierced about 3 months ago so they might be ok...

oh believe me I know, I had a VCH but ended up taking it out not long ago because I kept having problems with it so I guess it wont be so bad considering now I only have 2 piercings, instead of 3 lol

I'm going to ask when I go in next week (*awkward conversation*) lol

Ok so i'm hopefully gearing up for my VS soon and I was wondering, do you have to take out all your piercings for surgery? I have both nipples done and i'm afraid that since they haven't been pierced that long, it will be a problem if I have to take them out.

I think after reading on this site and some others, that I am def going to go with the sleeve. I just can't get past the massive trauma that you body goes through with the bypass, it just doesn't seem safe. I read a statistic that 1 in 350 die from the bypass whereas 1 in 1000 die from the sleeve. That seems like proof enough to me that I will try all other avenues before going to that extreme. Thanks everyone for responding, God knows i'm going to need all the support I can get. I will never forget when I was getting ready to have my band surgery and I got on lap band talk, it seemed like most people were in their own little cliques and they didn't want to talk to anybody but their clique. It really made me feel like an outsider, and the same thing happened at my support group too. It seemed like everybody had their own little group. Everyone on here seems to be really helpful and not negative...

So do you guys have any advice for me as I start this process? I'm going next Tuesday to do a mental evaluation and to meet with the nutritionist. Hopefully I will be able to have my surgery within the next month.

Hi everyone! I'm new to this site and I'm looking for some advice...

I had my Realize band placed in Sept 2008, over the first year and a half, I lost aprox. 85 pounds but over the last year I have gained back at least 30 pounds. To make a long story short, my problems started when I began getting my fills and I had a really hard time trying to find my sweet spot. I would think I was there but then it would be end up being too tight or too loose. Over the course of 2 years I had to go in for a couple of emergency unfills, had several barium swallows, and had an endoscopy. My doctor was horrible and acted like everything was my fault. He would always say that everything looked ok from the tests and tell me I was eating too much or whatever. So many times I would feel like I was becoming bulimic because my band would be so tight that I keep very little down, but if i went in for a slight unfill, I would be able to eat pretty much what I wanted. It was a vicious cycle that would last for about 3-6 months before I would have to get unfilled.

After my last unfill, I pretty much just gave up on my band and have been miserable for the past 6 months. I switched my insurance and just recently found out that they will pay for the sleeve. I went to get a consultation on a revision with a different doctor and the doctor told me that we could try the sleeve and later revise to bypass if im not losing like i want to because i expressed to him my concerns about the bypass. But he recommended the bypass for me because of the amount of weight I have to lose and the problems that i have had with the band. I'm now at a crossroad because I want to lose this weight that I have struggled with my whole life but the reason I went with the band was because I didn't want the drastic change of the bypass. But now I have the option of getting the sleeve, which seems like the way to go but I'm also considering the bypass now. I just am really unsure because I'm young and I still want to be able to have kids soon without any problems. I'm just so confused because I still have at least 150 pounds to lose and I don't think I can make it through another disappointment like the band. Any advice would be appreciated because I plan on having my revision soon and my time is running out... Thanks for listening....

Monica