Shell88

If I were you I would choose the sleeve. I had the band put in in 2008 and it never did one thing it was promoted as doing. I hate it. The lap band has fallen out of favor with bariatric surgeons and Allergan no longer makes them and never released any studies about their effectiveness. And for good reason. Most research shows that the band in the long run is not good for long term weigh loss and indeed many have had theirs taken out for a variety of reasons or complications.
But continue to do your research so that you can make an educated decision - which is yours and only yours to make.

Technically speaking, you will have foreign objects inside you forever with sleeve as well. You will get hundreds of tiny staples that stay inside you.
Here are my reasons for choosing sleeve over band:
- I was terrified of erosion or slippage
- I didn't want the hassle and ongoing doctors visits for fills/unfills
- I didn't want a port poking out beneath my skin like a bone once I lost weight
- I was concerned about having the band and port inside me for decades (I'm only 35)
- I was concerned about going back to my old eating habits if I ever had the band removed
- I liked the idea of my stomach no longer producing ghrelin
As for your mother's concern about stretching, it is not nearly as much of an issue with sleeve as with RNY. With sleeve, the stretchy part of your stomach (the fundus) is removed. Here's a good article about stretching of the sleeve:
http://tinyurl.com/qxchkcv
In the end, you should definitely discuss the options with your surgeon and choose what is best for YOU and your specific needs.

Best advise I can give you is this. Never trust a fart.

Well, you're probably already there and well on your way to a new life...
But I wish I had known how *thirsty* I would be in the hours before my leak test. I also wish I had known how *cold* I would be after surgery. In August. In Virginia. I had to send my husband out to buy me like 3 different heating pads/warmers. I'm six months out and I'm still cold, lol!
I wish I had known that weight loss and the attendant changes could trigger a sort of "mid-life crisis." Nothing major, I mean--I haven't wanted to have an affair or anything--but I suddenly find myself rethinking all sorts of things I've always taken for granted. And this cat-girl got a big, dumb dog who loves long walks!

Oh and I wish someone would have told me I would finally not craze food or be hungry anymore! Disclaimer: not everyone loses all sense of hunger like I have. I feel "lucky" but to some that may seem like a bad thing. I have been hungry and overstuffed myself for so many years I'm thrilled I have no desires to do that anymore.....as of now anyway.

I wish someone told me to take others experiences with this surgery with a grain of salt. Based on what I read on forums I thought I would experience all types of issues like pain, trouble swallowing, unable to get my fluids or Protein in, etc. And I had none of those problems. The only one I can relate to is the Constipation issue, which seems to have cleared itself up now that I am 3 months PostOp. So my advice is that this is your experience and it will be different from others.

@@Chrystee I am! Day 4! The first 3 days were brutal - hoping today continues well, when do you start?

I too had reflux and Dr. Paragi found a hernia. Since surgery I havent had any problems with reflux. Its been great since. I hope yours will improve also. For now I am sure you can take tums or something but call and ask to be sure.

I had a call from my doc asking me if I wanted to change my mind and switch to an RNY because she discovered a hiatus hernia after a barium swallow test. Although I've never really had any GERD problems to date, I had to give it some serious consideration. Ultimately I decided the sleeve was still the best option for me (I have anemia and arthritis) and am hoping I am one of the lucky ones that doesn't encounter this problem.

@@Chrystee Just got rescheduled to March 12th! I'm so excited!!! Good luck these next few weeks

My surgery is March 18th! Finally!

String cheese definitely helped me. I was allowed one a day in between Breakfast and lunch. I ate that string cheese like it owed me money!!!!! I'm getting sleeved at 5:45 AM on Tuesday. And today I could not eat or drink because I'm so nervous I actually cannot eat. Like I'm getting terrified actually. Even when I drink some Water I think about the surgery and it doesn't go down easy. ...anyone else nervous?

On day 3 now and my days have gradually gotten better.... still fiending for something solid by the end of the day, but it DOES get better.... I just feel like I'm getting far from enough nutrients and calories... only so much Clear Liquids, Protein drinks and yogurt you can stomach in a day....

My problem for the past few days is that everything is either so bland, or I'm just getting sick of the foods/textures that I can ingest. I just read up on a few things online for changing the flavors of broth and yogurt and Decaf coffee....
vanilla Extract, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, or Ginger: add to yogurt, coffee, or chocolate/vanilla Protein shakes to change up the flavor
Garlic powder, pepper, salt substitute (for low or no sodium broths), chili powder, cumin, thyme, rosemary, basil, paprika, hot sauce, lemon juice, or soy sauce: add to your broth to make it less bland. Don't worry about putting too much - it normally takes at least a tablespoon of any of those (except the salt) to help 14oz fat free/low sodium broths have taste.
Hope it helps - I know I can't wait to try them.

Today is day 4! After day 2 it really isn't too horrible! The shakes make me pretty full. Problem is lack of variety of food!
And good news is I'm down 10lbs in 4 days!! That's a good motivation to keep going!

Day 2 of pre-op diet of full liquids. I can say this is the Hardest thing I've ever done! I'm hungry but it's more that I want something to actually chew and not just swallow. It is what it is! I'm going to keep pushing through. one bonus is I thought it would be really hard because of my addiction to Pepsi... But surprisingly I haven't even craved one. Just a big headache but my oils take care of that!
What type of oils are you taking? I'm really concerned about my Diet Coke addiction. Normally if I attempt to "detox" from it I feel really bad.

Wow 3 weeks is a long time for strictly liquids. Mine is 2 weeks so I have 3 more days til I'm sleeved. Seriously last week I thought I wouldn't make it. I went a little crazy and had some emotional outbursts. I realized how in love with food I was. Like I couldn't go one single minute without thinking food food food. I'm glad I kept going and you will be too. I've found that stopping at gas stations to get different Protein Shakes helped me (almost like how I used to stop at fast food places) ...anywho...just keep pushing yourself and go to bed early...it will be worth it this summer

Pre-op has been way more difficult than I'd imagined it would be
I'm usually pretty disciplined, but I've been having a really hard time with this.
My surgeon requires 3 weeks of full liquids (no salads or anything). Only 1 more week!

To be honest i woke up drank shake..had one for lunch the for dinner after work...then took some tylon pm and went to bed everyday...just slept throuhh it all lol..i lost 30lbs in that 2 weeks

I have a two week Protein shake plan. I can have 3-4 shakes a day plus the usual things like sugar free pops and Jello. Its only day two for me and its very hard, especially every two minutes there is a food commercial on the tv.

Day 2 of pre-op diet of full liquids. I can say this is the Hardest thing I've ever done! I'm hungry but it's more that I want something to actually chew and not just swallow. It is what it is! I'm going to keep pushing through. one bonus is I thought it would be really hard because of my addiction to Pepsi... But surprisingly I haven't even craved one. Just a big headache but my oils take care of that!

Day 1 of 14. Surgery is on 3/12. Nervous but hopeful!

I'm glad I am not the only one! I am on day two and have been hungry all day. The shakes just don't give me that satisfied feeling. So I am drinking more and more water! :-) We can do it!

I'm on day 3 of 10. This morning I stepped on the scale (with reluctance) and showed a 5lb loss and that has helped today. The first 2 days were rough, but it seems to be getting a little easier. Having trouble getting all the shakes in though! UFTA!!! Good luck my friend!

After abouy 2 or 3 days you will feel better...your body will get into ketosis and you feel pretty normal...at least that is what happend to me