Gracey

Hey Gloucester!! I'm very glad to hear you're feeling better today!! Congratulations on your new sleeved stomach and for having your band removed. Those will be the first 3 Lbs of many more quickly to pass.

Hugs!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone! I had my surgery on the 13th to have the band removed and the sleeve put in place. I was doing well the first night and then I came home on Saturday I had a lot of issues with the scar tissue from the lapband (one last "screw you" from the band, I guess) and I couldn't get anything down and I was throwing up blood once I got home. It was because the scar tissue swelled shut and I ended up back at the hospital in the ER and now I'm much better. I feel great now!
This surgery, so far, seems much easier than the lapband, disregarding the initial swelling issues. The pain is less, the gas and bloating is less, and so far I have high hopes.
I did weigh myself, of course, when I got home - down 3 pounds, but that's to be expected on a tight liquid diet.< /p>
I am so happy it's done!

As many here I am also a LB failure. I'm having revision soon and I'm nervous that I'll just end up in the same spot I was a few years ago. I'm really hoping this works for me.
One thing I'm really anxious and excited about it eating fruits and veggies! chips and crackers and Cookies go down so easy with the band, but strawberries, celery? Ain't no way.

My hunger is 100% resolved. I do not feel hunger, my stomach does not gurgle, growl, make any noise. I have gone up to about 14-16 hours without eating before realizing "holy sh*t, I need to eat !" And, even then I wasn't hungry, I was simply out running around, and realized I hadn't eaten anything all day.

1) How long have you been sleeved? Almost 14 months
2) Who was your surgeon? Dr. Michael Michel (Major Michel USAF)
3) What were your experiences with your surgeon? He is fabulous. He is compassionate, caring, positive, and extremely supportive. I don't think I've ever been treated with more professionalism, more genuine care, and his knowledge and experience is vast with general surgery, combat surgery, and bariatric surgery.
4) Would you recommend your surgeon? I already have to 4 of my friends. 3 have had surgery, one will have surgery in August.
5) How much weight have you lost since your sleeve date? 143lbs (I lost that in less than 11 months, and have been maintaining for over 3 months at this point)
6) What type of sleeve do you have? I have a standard sleeve gastrectomy. My surgeon uses a 32fr bougie as his guide for the stapler. There is nothing special about my sleeve, it's the standard just like all the other sleeve out there between 32-40fr sized sleeves.
7) Would you recommend the type of sleeve you have? Yes
8) Do you find you still have the necessary level of energy to sustain a good workout? I have 100 times the amount of energy I had pre-op. With the first 40-50lbs loss, my energy level soared even though I was only consuming 600-800 calories.
9) Do you find it difficult to keep the weight off once you have lost it? Not at all. Maintaining is easier now that I have found a balance. For me, losing my hunger has made eating less, and making the best choice on what I put in my mouth much easier therefore I don't put a lot of craptastic, empty-calorie foods into my body. I do eat treats, Snacks, Cookies, 1/2 cupcake, chips, pretzels, but I'm not on a diet. I've made a lifestyle change and a lifetime commitment to make better choices, and feed my body "right". I actually had a more difficult time getting my weight loss to stop, but I figured it out, and apparently my body is happy at 120-123lbs.
10) Do you have trouble eating, such as getting “stuck”? Nope
11) What is the one things about getting the surgery that you regret? Not one single thing
12) Would you do this surgery again, or would you have made another choice? This is the only surgery I would have when I decided I was going to have to revise. If I could not had VSG, the band would have come out, and I would of stayed fat. NO way I'd get DS or RNY or another band. It was VSG or nothing. I fought for it, and I got it. Best decision I ever made.

thanks everyone for your replies! I hope this thread helps many :mad0:

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Your post helped me a great deal! You are a perfect candidate to answer, and only because you have made it to goal. I really wanted to know how difficult is has been for some to maintain the weight loss. I'm finding it is REALLY difficult with the lap-band, no less even GETTING to goal. :,(
I also love the fact so many are coming back mentioning that most or all of their hunger has been extinguished. This is my #1 enemy. I actually do feel REAL hunger. NOT head hunger, I do know the difference. My stomach growls and I just feel tired and need to eat! I don't want to feel this anymore or very minimal. I truly beleive if that gets resolved I will easily get to my finish line.
I also like the fact you have so much energy even on a small amount of calories. I do love to workout so as long as I can sustain them on such little amount of food I will do them! Not only that I do like to eat healthy. I know a great amount of meals that taste great and are made with healthy ingredients.
With that and the more I'm hearing I do believe this may be the way to go. However, the more feedback the better! :001_smile:

Well, I've been saying I've lost "about" 100 lbs for a while now, because at ~95 lbs, that's true. But today, I tipped the scale at 229.8, which means that I've lost just OVER 100 lbs since my surgery last May. Huzzah! Plus, it's nice to be in another weight bracket -- the 220's -- again.
And I'm really enjoying clothes that fit (and some attention from the ladies!) All good things. It's going to be a FUN summer!

I am almost 5 weeks post op. The scale hasn't moved for me since my 2nd week out. Luckily with pre-diet and a week post op I lost 30 lbs. This week I wore a pair of jeans and all day I was tugging and pulling them up! I came home and wiggled my hips and they fell to the floor. I couldn't believe it. Today I wore a pair of khaki capri pants. Once again I was pulling them up ALL DAY! I came home again and wiggled my hips and to the floor they fell!! I showed my husband my new trick both times. It is pretty funny. Not ready to buy new clothes yet, so I guess it is time to invest in a belt! My family likes to tease me with the song, "Pants on the ground, pants on the ground. Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!"
Tracy

wow, for those of us that choose the band and have switched or are switching to the sleeve, this should come as no surprise... It's amazing to me how we are brain-washed into thinking that this is the best WLS choice... I just hate that I spent two and a half miserable years TRYING to lose weight with this piece of crap.

It's a piece of cake. Living with the sleeve is effortless. I can eat anything I want. ANYTHING! Nothing gets stuck and life is good

I seriously LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dr. Michel and Dr. Riley ! ! ! At my last appointment, Dr. M said he was moving away from doing the band, and it put a huge smile on my face because when I went for my revision consult, he initially only wanted to do a port revision. Of course, I refused, and got VSG.
Stay in touch, and let me know if you need anything, I'm literally here for ya ! ! !

Great job, Irene!!! Love watching your progress!

I heard this a lot, got negative comments from my family (mom and brothers), and I just told them, funny thing is you never said anything when I was packing on the pounds. I did lose super quickly, and people that were genuinely concerned addressed it privately and in a non-threatening manner. Those that were just being douchebags were mean, and uncaring about how their words affected me. I never let it change how I chose to lose nor did I ever let their words really get to me. I'm pretty blunt and outspoken so when craptastic comments came spewing from their mouth, I was always quick-witted towards them and shut them up fairly fast.

It makes perfect sense that depression might be related to having surgery. Surgery is causing some changes with how you cope with issues in your life that you might not have had to deal with at all by being obese--for example, being seen by the opposite sex, being in competition with friends, being out in public, and not being able to fill your emotional needs with eating, just to name a few.
Finding a therapist equipt to deal with this--first, you can pm me if you want and i will be happy to help you find a therapist in your area. If you have insurance, look on the back of your card for a mental health number. Call and ask for someone who specializes or has experience with weight loss or bariatrics and with depression, self image, and food addictions. Most therapist will do a phone screening in which you can ask questions about cost, time frames and scheduling and get a feel for the therapist. If they don't do phone screening, their first appointment should be a free consult. If you don't have insurance, see if your employer has an Employee assistance program-that usually qualifies you for 6 free sessions with your EAP therapist group. I would recommend EMDR, a type of therapy which takes the emotional overtones and disconnects them from events/memories of situations that you have experienced and allows you to look at situations more factually to resolve current issues. For example, if your family insulted you over eating choices and that happened on the same day that a boyfriend stood you up on Prom night, your brain might have wired a connection between rejection and food and shame. EMDR can separate that connection in a really short time which will keep you from having to engage in years of therapy.

Steph, you are so right about the depression thing. I think its really like a diabetic situation except for me it's seratonin, so I do need SSRIs from time to time.

Well, depression after WLS looks like it might be a common, expected phase for us, during our weight journey.
But clinical depression, I feel, needs treatment just like high blood pressure. For some, it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. There is still a stigma society has about depression, and treatment. But, no one should feel bad about having it and seeking help. We wouldn't hold it against someone if they took high blood pressure medication, we would think they were very, very smart.
The other depression after WLS, may need treatment if it doesn't subside.
I feel better now, accepting of how much (little) my tummy can hold. It's really hard to use food like I did before, which is a good thing..

This is a really great thread. Thanks to all who have provided some great studies and information this far. I'm going to pin this at the top - I think it will represent a lot on what to expect for ourselves, rather than what others expect of us.

Aim high! (Or should I say low... lol)

Great thread!!

@Tiffy - again, you have great information for us!! I enjoyed watching the presentation (though he does say "um" alot lol). I currently have a LB that I hate. I am hoping to get a sleeve 1Q of next year. If my insurance doesn't pay, that will definitely put off my surgery date! Recently, I met with my LB surgeon who took out all of my saline. Wow, I haven't had a PB since! Yippee! I've had 2-3 friends tell me that they were very concerned for me with my PB's. Aww.

Anyway, I feel like the surgeon was trying to steer me to GB saying that it has higher risk but greater results than the VS. I personally know of 2 people that died during their GB surgeries (albeit 10ish years ago) but still. My one gf that GB has gained at least every pound back. (I haven't had the nerve to ask if she's back at her surgery weight!)

I am SO sick of being heavy and am so incredibly tired of this LB that I could scream! My surgeon's done numerous, numerous WLS but has only done one LB to VS conversion but says that the sleeve is a much easier surgery for a surgeon. I think that he said that he's done ten LB to GB surgeries wherein his patients have done well. (But how difficult is it to do better than a LB? Sorry, sarcasm there!) I am in the Atlanta area but can't find any information about our surgeons on here or on OH. Anyone have any info re: Atlanta surgeons? If so, thanks!

Clearly it's late (almost midnight) and I'm rambling. I apologize!

Good luck to everyone on their WLS journeys. May we all end up as slender as Tiffy!!!

It seems a lot of people lose all their excess weight, and then some (my hope for myself). The stats are for five years out from surgery and probably include bounce-back weight, the 10-30% that people regain, which seems to be a factor at about the three-year mark. I think a lot of the bounce-back occurs in the RNY community, but is reported among sleevers too. Some people have even said they want to get under goal so that when/if the bounce-back occurs they'll still be at goal. It worries me a lot, but there are many, many long-timers on this board and OH who have NOT experienced bounce-back. I think we have to be vigilant, aware of what we're eating, avoid allowing old eating habits (refined carbs, anyone?) from creeping back in, and remember where we came from and why we did this in the first place.

In a nutshell: I had been throwing up between 5 - 15 times a day for 4.5 years. It was so inconsistent as there were a few "good" moments in a day where I could keep food down, but I never knew when they would be.
I could never eat healthy food, therefore could never be compliant and eventually by only eating what would stay down (which was smooth high caloric foods like cheese cake and lemon meringue or 12 prawns or boiling hot sweet drinks), I gained back 35 Kgs. Lost it again with an even tighter fill, gained back again, then lost and gained some more. How ultra depressing to gain back so much weight - and know that the only way you can get it off again is to suffer and throw up
Only now at nearly 5 weeks out, do I realise just how depressed I was from that band and being so sick day in and day out. It nearly destroyed my wonderful relationship that is now starting to heal since I've been sleeved. Actually suprised myself the other day when I burst out laughing at something funny and realised I'd not laughed like that in a very long time. Must've been really hard to live with me during my time of "band". My dearheart deserves a medal.
So very glad it's over. So at 4 weeks was down 10kgs/22pounds, am having a bit of a stall at week 4-5, but so what? I did not have to starve or vomit to lose any of this weight so if I have a stall every now and then, so be it. I am just so grateful to have my life back. And this is why I chose to revise to sleeve...

The band made me constantly sick. It was an easy decision as soon as I found out about the sleeve that I wanted that thing out of me as soon as possible and to have revision surgery to the sleeve. The sleeve is everything the band was supposed to be-small portions and no hunger. The band can completely ruin your stomach and esohagus so I wanted it out before it did so much damage that it could not be repaired.

Becca, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by being judged - but you can't let anyone tell you what you know is right for you. That would include being banded at first, and it means that right now for having it removed and getting the sleeve.

I too experienced a great deal of pain from my band the entire time since surgery. I was chronically in pain in the port area for goodness knows the reason. My band surgeon never took the time to find out. My band and I got off on the wrong foot since day 1. We were never meant to be, and for that I'm glad to be rid of it.

So, if anyone else thinks it's MY fault that happened and I lost all complete confidence in the band to produce any help to me then so be it. Especially someone who is currently banded... I really don't care. What does matter now is I've found the perfect WLS companion for me and it's working a miracle I had ORIGINALLY thought the band was supposed to give me.

That is taking the awful feeling of hunger away and making me full super fast. Well it's done all those things so far and then some. I couldn't be happier!!!! To be perfectly honest I was NEVER this happy on day 10 Post Op with my band. Nope, not at all.

I was just curious at how people reached their decision to switch. I am feeling a little bummed (and judged) because of the failure of my lapband. I am freaking out about another surgery, but I can't live with the pain of my band anymore. I always feel lifted when I hear others journeys.

Lil - girl you just HAD to go with a baseball metaphor, didn't you?!? (wait, if you used 'like' then it's a simile, right?). Nerd alert! Congrats again to your Giants, sugah!

I was always under the impression that a revision was going to result in more pain then the original band surgery. NOT at all true for me. This has been a lot easier and everything at 5 is going great.....I'm having such little trouble at this point, I'm beginning to worry that something terrible willl happen to me, just to punish me.
I'm on Clear liquids for another 10 days......this is the worst part. Dr. Aceves wanted me on on clears until day 15 after my surgery, due to a lot of scar tissue from the band.
I have my band and I'm planning my special tribute video farewell for it next week. I will post it on youtube. I'm thinking a small ceremony with a creamation at the end!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure the lapband people will be horrified.