pdubzzzz

So it is sort of a weird title, I know. Let me catch you up to speed...
I had lab band surgery January 2009. I was quite successful in my first 6 months then had some set backs as new insurance would not cover any fills. In May 2010 I had a few fills that brout me to the so called "sweet spot" live was good. I was losing weight steadily and all was good. All of the sudden in January 2012 out of nowhere I started feeling pains in my shoulder, really bad and similar to that gas feeling you have after band surgery. Dr. released some of the Fluid from the band to ease up pressure if it truly was gas. He only did a little so I ended up feeling worse and the pains lead me to the ER. In the ER I met a really great doctor who saw from the Xrays that for some reason there was a lot of gas filling my abdomen all the way down to my intestines. He removed all fluids from the band and I almost immediately felt relief.
We went to refill in May after giving the band some rest and in June, same problem. I went to his office and he sent me for several tests, and again had to remove the fluid. The band somehow had shifted and he feels that the reason is my body rejecting it and creating too much scar tissue due to the foreign object. After an endoscopy confirmed this it was determined that I can't have fluid in the band and that it would eventually need to be taken out. About a week following this I got engaged so the doctor allowed me to postpone surgery until after the wedding which was at the end of December.
So after much debating between getting bypass and the sleeve I have opted to get the sleeve and am scheduled for a February 18th surgery date! Band will be removed and sleeve procedure done in one surgery. My doctor actually recommended WLS pre pregnancy instead of after as he says this will help prevent any fertility issues....so having explained all of this I have a few questions for all of you out there.
1. How similar was the experience post revision to sleeve from the band?
2. How was the diet the same/different?
3. How do you keep hydrated...I see a lot of people mentioning problems with drinking.
4. Has anyone on the forum gotten pregnant after WLS and what was the experience like?
5. Does anyone wish after getting the sleeve that they had actually gone with bypass? If so why?
6. Please feel free to give any unsolicited advice!
I have to say the main thing that I struggle with right now is that I'm quite sad that the band did not work out. I was very excited for the lab band surgery and "all in" so to speak. I wasn't prepared for the idea I would have to do WLS all over again so it's a wee bit overwhelming, but I know it is best for my health for the long run so I'm sure it will be worth it.

I know this sounds very morbid and I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if you have a baby in the next year, then when the baby is less than a year old, would you want to risk having what is essentially a very risky, elective surgery? How old would your baby have to be before you could contemplate possibly side effects keeping you in hospital for 3 months or more? How big do you want the age gap to be between children? If your baby is 1 year old when you have the surgery, you wait a year to 18 months to lose the weight, then have another one, that is going to be about 3 years difference. If you do have complications, god forbid, could you survive financially without your income, plus having to hire someone else to look after your baby and your house while you can't?
If you have surgery first, you can be selfish and focus only on you. Once you have children, your whole world changes and you will never again be your own number one priority. You can lose the weight, then start a family, not put on much weight in the pregnancy, bounce back to your pre baby weight, fall pregnant again (if that's what you wish), chase your toddler around and be a fit, healthy young mummy.
It is your choice and only you can decide, but as a mother, I can tell you that it is so much harder being fat, and the decision to have something as dramatic as 85 percent of your stomach removed is so much harder to make.
Good luck.

Your lapband experience is amost identical to mine. I am getting a sleeve this month. I am more scared than most, and certainly less excited but its because I've been there before, I know what
challenges likely face me, and I'm wiser for it.
Obviously I have not HAD the sleeve yet so I can only say what I know now, but here is the way I look at it, not being head over heals about surgery is probably better than people who are so giddy they are calling their surgeons office every day. We are more realistic. I PURPOSELY search out people who have had terrible experiences with all types of weight loss surgeries, where as before I would have TOLD you that I did that, but in reality I glossed over it, feeling that tons of it was all self inflicted and like that wasn't going to happen to me.
Here is what I can tell you - lapband has about the same success rate as Weight Watchers, had I known that I would have never done it. The sleeve has ABOUT the same weight loss as RNY patients, and better long term outcomes as far as complications go.