happybandit5678

If you are notrestricted enough, wouldn't now adding a band be better than continually cutting away your remaining stomach?

I have not had the revision. I have had some of the issues you mention, but a lot of mine were caused by me not following the rules of the band. I might suggest that before you make the big step of having surgery that removes part of your stomach that you have your band emptied to allow yourself to heal completely. I did this and healed. Now that I have filled again, I have vowed to use the band exactly as recommended, no cheating that only hurts me. I recently read to only eat bites the size of a nickel, chew for 20, wait for 20 and everything is working perfectly. My surgeon advised this, saying that a sleeve can stretch anyway so why not just comply to the rules of the band?

Cowgirl Jane, I'm sorry, you are correct and I shouldn't have made a declarative statement like that. It just seems frustrating to see people who may be using the band incorrectly to make statements against the band and move to the next cure in line. Also sad to discourage folks who might be considering the band because it is less drastic procedure from taking that path.

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope that you have been able to get back down after the refill. I too gained weight after an unfill that I had when diagnosed with cancer. I was soooo happy that I was able to eliminate my restriction during that time, as I didn't need any assistance in keeping weight stable. I left myself restriction free for four years following muy cancer treatments because my tongue cancer surgery left me limited in what I could eat. Unfortunately, my diet consisted mostly of ice cream for quite some time, and I gained 50 pounds. I've now returned to restriction and am losing weight quickly. I'm also taking a low dose of phentermine to cope with the hunger, which is still very strong. Have you considered that?

I personally believe that in many cases people will move from band to sleeve just like in the old days when we'd move from Weight Watchers to low fat to Adkins. It is never ending, this illness we have. I would say that before you do this that you make sure you follow all the band rules and be very honest with yourself. Don't look for the next easy way out by blaming the band because the sleeve is irreversible.

I personally believe that in many cases people will move from band to sleeve just like in the old days when we'd move from Weight Watchers to low fat to Adkins. It is never ending, this illness we have. I would say that before you do this that you make sure you follow all the band rules and be very honest with yourself. Don't look for the next easy way out by blaming the band because the sleeve is irreversible.

If the band didn't work, neither will the sleeve. The band has worked for me tremendously and I didn't have to get half of my stomach removed!! Also, I was able to have my restriction removed when I was diagnosed with cancer and needed to eat. I recovered from cancer and gained some weight back so went back for a fill and lost the weight again.