swoman2

@@rln52 - I finally heard back. Scope on July 17, surgery on August 17. Woo!!
How about you...have you heard??

Not sure you can tell from these pics but pre-op weight was 230 (227 after three day liquid diet pre-op). Now 187. Went from size 20 to a size 12 although I am apple shaped so I have lost EVERY pound in my ass and legs it seems like! Can't wait to see what the next three months brings!

I am only 2 months out so I would not say I'm a success story yet (I intend to be). But I can tell you the difference between the band and sleeve is like night and day. I lost 85lbs with the band and then started having reflux issues. I yo yo dieted for eight years before deciding on the sleeve. I wish I did it years ago! With the band you get a stuck feeling but are still hungry. With the sleeve I am very rarely hungry and when I eat I feel full not stuck. I have no interest to keep eating. I also find it so much easier to choose healthy foods. food is not calling my name like it did with the band. It feels so good to have that thing out! It was also very scary to hear about the damage it was doing to my stomach. Doc said my stomach was close to closing off. And that was with no Fluid in it. Good luck with your decision.

After reading all of these posts, I am wondering if getting the sleeve will be worth it! I lost about 50 with the band, and kept off 40.
Will the sleeve make a difference? I have a 14cc band that has slipped. It's been filled almost to max capacity. No one ever told me that my band could cause difficulties with my sleeve!
The entire point of the sleeve is to have restriction, correct?
I'm paying cash for my revision surgery, and it's a lot of money to shell out if the sleeve will make no difference! I'm really bummed out, and I'm wondering if I should just get my band removed, and no sleeve on Wednesday.
I only had band restriction for one year after band surgery in 2009.
Please let there be more band to sleeve success stories out there!!
Thank you,
Lisa ????

On this particular board there are people who are having a harder time with revision but on this site on while there are a ton of success stories. I think some surgeons can't make a properly shaped sleeve with a revision and some can. This is a question I would ask. I'm also worried about this and my surgeon only does 2 part surgeries specifically because of the issue with scar tissue after the removal. I had to wait several months and am going Tuesday for the sleeve. Will let you know!

My area where my port was removed was the worst. It burned and was extremely sore. I'm a little over a week out and feeling much better. Went back to work today.

My surgery is on Wednesday, I am having my gallbladder out and my band to a sleeve.Very nervous,wish me luck and lots of prayers please.Did I mention I hate needles!!! Any advice?How was it for you?I am from Syracuse NY and so nervous!!!!!! Thank you

My surgeon told me he only removed 70% of my stomach instead of the typical 80%. He didn't want to wrap the stomach too tight because of the scar tissue at the spot where the esophagus goes into the stomach. He wanted that to line up better to avoid the chance of leaks.
I still have good restriction but no throwing up and pain when I eat. So far, everything stays down. I was never able to eat chicken with my band and now I can. I like the feeling of eating small portions without getting sick.
And I do not miss having that port at all!

I don't know if mine is larger than someone who never had a band but I know it is WAYYY better for restriction than my band. You feel comfortably full with no interest to continue eating. No stuck, no throwing up, no slime. The biggest advantage to me is the lack of hunger.

This is the Bariatric Surgery Numbers Estimation from ASMBS for the US:

I find it interesting that when the sleeve increased to 51% in 2014 that revisions also increased to 11%.

Lost 30 lbs on 2 week preop liquid diet. My Doc uses only Bariatric Advantage (nasty, I refer to as Franken-Shakes). I could only do 3 a day.
But great way to jump start weight loss.
-RC-

I lost 20 pounds in two week and am scheduled for procedure tomorrow.

I was concerned about something similar and what my doctor told me is that they send the BMI measurement from your FIRST visit, when it's at its highest, to the insurance company. I would double check with your surgeon to know for sure.

I was required to lose 5% which was 12 pounds. I lost 22 pounds instead. 16 days of 3 Protein shakes/day plus unlimited leafy green veggies. I lost more on my preop than I did the first 3 months postop!

I'm 2 days away from my surgery and I've lost 16 pounds on my 2 week liver shrinkage diet. The nurse did say I should lose 21 pounds so I'm not far off, hopefully I can lose it before the big day!
I think I would have lost more If I had used the weight watchers Soup, but I couldn't cope with no flavour so I made my own Soups.
Being on this diet has prepared me for the journey I am about to take cause I think It would have been a big shock to the system otherwise. Getting nervous now though????????

I lost about 10 lbs during my 2 week preop diet doing shakes and clear liquids.< /p>

I lost about 30 pounds leading up to my pre-op diet (I had a 6 month insurance mandated weight loss program) Pre-op was 3-4 Protein Shakes a day and 2-3 servings of non-starchy veggies. I lost 12 pounds in two weeks.

I lost 20 lbs in two weeks. I had nothing but 5 diabetic boost/day.

Yes! I lost about 10 lbs. And my liquid diet was for 3 days!

I got my surgery date on friday... I'm very excited and nervous. I have several appointments between now and then...and the "liver shrinking diet" that I hadn't ever heard of...and then surgery. Any other early August patients? Anyone been on the liver shrinking diet?

After one denial my primary care doctor sent in an appeal! I was approved today. Surgery will hopefully be scheduled for the beginning of August. Any tips would be very helpful

This is tough and I'm sorry you are going through it.
Having had my own (earlier in life) gallbladder problems, I wouldn't recommend waiting to have something done about it - the pain can go from nothing to 200 for seemingly no reason.
Though I had my own removed in college (like 20 years ago), my understanding is that many people who have WLS surgery develop gallbladder issues. If you're having WLS surgery and know about it now, why opt for two recoveries by having something done later? I would have it all taken care of at once.
That's my opinion with the following caveats - a. I don't know your financial situation and b. you should talk to the surgeon (if you haven't already) as he or she might have some helpful advice.

From what I see you will be in good hands. Bring Chapstick for the recovery room. That was a tip I was told today. Your lips get very dry in recovery and you only get that 1oz cup of liquid 1 an hour for 4 hours. I realy likeed the office manager Lynne. She was a hoot.

I drink coffee every morning, 2 cups to be exact. I also have Decaf when and if I want it. I drink alcohol about twice a week, I have never had a problem. Like it has been said, everything in moderation.