Bndtoslv

So I am scheduled for surgery this summer and about 4 weeks after surgery I am scheduled to have an informal reunion weekend with 4 of my closest college buddies. 2 of them are doctors and 2 of them are good friends of mine still and will know about surgery. What will I be able to do? I assume there will be alcohol involved and food and I am fine sitting there with a class of Water and a cup of Soup. Just hoping that the weekend isn't a disaster…. In terms of food I will have progressed past the pureed/soft stage at that point and be on to adding soft Proteins like diced chicken. My surgeon's office does things a little differently I think. Will I be comfortable sitting for a long time? Will I be up for a day of sightseeing? They are coming to my home town. Thoughts?

8 days is not really very long. With my lap band surgery it hurt for about a month or maybe even 6 weeks.

I can't imagine 2 weeks clear liquids. I have it for only 2 days and that was really hard. Don't know what to say. Can't advise going against doctor's orders but I am sympathetic.

Congratulations! You have exactly the same stats as me except I am not sure of your age! When did you have surgery. I am particularly excited to start running again. What was your BMI when you started running after surgery? I feel like I should get down to 210 or so or I might hurt myself.

Yes, I had a band put in in 2008. I lost 140 lbs, and then the band slipped very badly. It was removed in 2010 and couldn't be repositioned because of scar tissue. It worked well for me because when I'm not hungry, I don't eat. I'm 19 days post-op with a sleeve. That is great news. I was also very successful. I was just approved for the surgery and am hoping I will be as successful with the sleeve without all the complications! I am also having a hiatal hernia fixed which I think was caused by pressure from the band. Did you have a hernia fixed? I am on Nexium for it so my only symptom is a feeling in my throat that I sometimes burp up food a bit. Gross! Looking forward to getting that fixed as well!

I was just approved by Aetna a 5/15 letter for vsg. I guess the office submitted very quickly since my final nutritionist appt was 5/11! I was very worried about the net gain issue since I gained about 3-4lbs all of which was after my Lapland was removed on 4/15.

I had no swelling or redness or drainage at port site. It is my largest scar and the only one with steri strips instead of glue.

This, despite net gain. Hugely relieved. June 30th is my date! Only downside is new interns start on 7/1 at teaching hospitals!

I just wanted to update that I was approved even though I had a small gain during 4 mos. supervised diet during which I had band removed.

I am scheduled for my surgery the day after you! June 30th

I was fortunate in that I was only required to do 3 months with Aetna but my sister is in your shoes. However I wasn't sure how Aetna will deal with net gain. I've really struggled since removal and gained 3-4 lbs since removal which was in the time of supervised diet. My nutritionist and insurance person don't seem worried and said gain is expected with band removal but I can't relax until I hear I am approved.

What happens if you eat until stuffed? You don't lose weight, and you risk stretching your new stomach out. The removal of the grehlin hormone production site helps. I'm finding I don't go from normal to hungry to famished - I go from normal to normal to famished. There doesn't seem to be much tummy rumbling either (of course now that I'm thinking about it, my stomach just let off a grumble, so it must be psychological). About every 4 hours, I need food. For example: breakfast-an egg, lunch a slice of ham and a slice of cheese (a non- bread sandwich), mid-afternoon a yogurt, dinner 3 Swedish meatballs, evening pudding. But, I'm still home, so when I get more active next week, this may change. Still, I'm only eating about 500-800 calories a day right now. Thanks for your response. Did you have a band? Also my surgeon showed me research. The sleeve he says doesn't really stretch if done correctly. People learn to eat around it as they do with the band. I'm trying to understand from former bandsters the difference in how the sleeve works.

The band was very good for me until I had the adjustment issues. I lost 100% of weight I needed in less than an year. This is why I think sleeve should work. Also the malabsorption is only for a year or two right? Then you are basically in the same place as the sleeve.

Ok thanks!! Good luck to you. I'm waiting on my approval but I had band removed already. Did you in fact have 6 months? My sister has the same problem. She has a slip but is afraid if she waits 6 months she will 1) gain weight because band is being removed and 2) still have too low a bmi!

I am scheduled for 6/30. How was your insurance approval process? I've already had band out and awaiting vsg.

Why weren't you approved for the rny?

I had one friend from college who lost a lot of weight at about 24 because she found out she had a thyroid problem. I don't think this counts so much but she has kept the weight off for 15 years. She is diligent about exercise and diet. Other than that nobody.

What was your BMI when you started running again? Last time (with band) I waited until I was about 1/2 way to goal to start running. I feel like now I would hurt my knees. Loved my couch to 5k back then though!

@@Bndtoslv I forgot to address your other question - the fear about not as good of results as a "revisionista" i asked my NUT about this and we talked at some depth about the "bad habits" I learned with the band. This is personal to me, I do not intend this as band bashing but this is what I learned from having a band and had to "guard against" post revision. 1. Sliders. Lets be honest, when I had a decent fill - all I could really eat were sliders. I couldn't eat dense Protein without pain so I learned quickly to like crackers, popcorn, chips, etc etc. 2. Sweets - pre band, I was more of a volume eater not so much into sweets. That changed overtime and I definately developed a sweet tooth. I suspect because sweets are basically sliders. 3. Snacking/grazing - seriously bad news for sleevers. enuf said. So my conclusion is that band to sleeve revisions have to be very diligent because you might have gotten used to that feeling... pouch packing, esophogus stuffing .. whatever you call it. Bottom line, you CANNOT eat until "full" (stuffed or whatever your former criteria was) - the goal is to eat until absence of hunger. Say what? A whole new concept for me but it works! I am 3.5 years post revision and i openly admit I am struggling WAY more than I have previously. Go figure... but it is never easy. @@CowgirlJane Thanks so much! This was a very helpful reply. What happens if I do eat until "full" or "stuffed" by my band criteria? I feel like what if (totally unscientific) my tolerance for that full/stuffed feeling I HAVE gotten used to (or did when I have the band) what is to make me stop if I am used to the feeling and what will happen. This is exactly, exactly my fear - that I won't be successful for this reason.

My point of view is from a patient who lost all the way down to 23 BMI and then regained EVERYTHING with the band partially due to the failure of the band and partially due to my own fault. I think that we all get complacent and forget that obesity is a life long battle which will never ever be over. Our body will always want to go up to the pre-op weight (I am an example of this) Have you tried Nexium for the acid?

My story is similar to yours. My surgeon is very conservative too. I lost 100% ewl before complications after kids. Had my band out and asked my surgeon which would be better for me after band and he said I should do sleeve. Hope he is right bc doing surgery in June! Maybe get another option? I had heard the same things as you about sleeve being less successful but there are plenty of successful revisions on this board. What complications did you have?

@@CowgirlJane what was your success with the band? I was very successful 100% EWL until kids and complications. I struggle with a fear that as a band revision patient I will not be as successful…. I see these older posts about "slow losing" and I worry that I have damaged my esophagus and I will not feel the restriction. This, despite my surgeon and GI doctor performing testing and assuring me that "there is no reason not to get the sleeve"! I had a nightmare about it last night - surgery is at end of June!

Is it usually for band to sleeve in one shot? I had band out no problems. In fact, scars were minimal. Don't have sleeve yet….

My surgeon never mentioned anything about drains… I never had them for my band surgery and never had them for my band removal. Does anyone know under what circumstnaces drains are used? Thank you!

Thanks for sharing! I have young kids and similar stats. Wondering how recovery/child care will be!