Nicole Sikes

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!
I just wanted to let everyone here know that I went to see my doctor yesterday. Good thing I did.... I had to have an emergency operation done last night around 11:30pm. You were all right, I had a very severe slip! It slipped half way down my stomach and it was completely shut tight. Nothing was able to pass through my stomach in either direction. The reason for the urgency was that my doctor was afraid that the top part of my stomach might die due to no blood circulation. I sincerely want to thank each of you who replied to my post because it was you all telling me that it had to be a slip that pushed me to make the call! So thank you, thank you, thank you! I am already home and I am doing fantastic! I feel ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! In the future I'll try to give you updates on life after a band removal
Sincerely,
Lyse8432

GI scope showed no slip or erosion!!!! We're
Going to now test the gallbladder and check fro stones! So thrilled it's not my band!!!

I think my doc anchored my band with Iron chains.He knows I'm tough on appliances.

I learned from a very knowledgable woman-see Jean McMillan above-that you shouldn't waste much time searching for the VERY elusive "Green Zone". I think you should be proud of the weight you have lost so far.
That being said, are you honestly recording what you are eating? I was shocked when I started journaling EVERYTHING that I was eating. I use My Fitness Pal-a free app- to journal everything I eat. I had surgery in July of 2010 and my weight loss had stalled. I started honestly recording everything in August and have lost 13 lbs and am now at my lowest weight in over 12 years. My new motto is "if I eat it, I own it".

I would definitely talk to your Doctor and have then check to see where you are at with your fills. I suggest this for two reasons.
1. It will give you a peace of mind knowing your band is not leaking. They can do this by inserting an empty needle and draw back the Fluid and measure it and then put it back in. They can compare that amount with their records.
2. It will be informative for you to know exactly how many cc's of Fluid you got in there. record this information for your records so you always know where you are at.
Lastly, like the above folks have said getting to the green zone can take months. I know that is discouraging but it's part of the process.
For example, my history:
I had surgery on April 14 of this year and it took me 9cc's and 5 months to hit the green zone. Even longer if you factor in the 6 week healing time where I had no fills. April 14 to May 28 with no fill.
1st fill 5/29/12 5cc
2nd fill 6/12/12 1cc
3rd fill 7/02/12 1cc
4th fill 8/14/12 1cc
5th fill 9/4/12 1cc
Everyone is different and everyone's timeline is different so you just need to keep working at it. It is very important for you to know the status of your band. Always have a record of the fills for yourself. Me I keep a file on my computer plus I have it my signature in case someone is curious they don't have to ask.
Good luck and don't give up!!

I didn't have your exact same issues, so I just don't know. However, I agree with the sentiment that you don't have that tiny little restrictuion that blocks things. The sleeve is different and a lot better in my experience.

HAHA! This sounds exactly like what I would be thinking!

Nicole in my opinion I don't think that you will have the esophogus issues with the sleeve. There will be a smooth transition from esophogus to stomach, just your stomach will be smaller. There won't be anything restricting your food, as in the band, for the food to get stick, or go back up into the esophogus.
Getting the sleeve will be the best decision you can make. I am now 45 pounds under my lowest band weight, I can eat chicken, yogurt, meats now all things that I had trouble with the band. It is a blessing that this surgery is available, I am thrilled!

I too had the same issues as you. I am now two months post op from my revision and this IS all that the band promised to be but wasn't! I only wish I had done it sooner.

Im right there with you my friend....having my revison on the 19th. The way I look at it the band failed, no way id do the bypass so this is my only option. I guess I look at it this way, do nothing stay fat, do the revision and at least I have a better chance of losing the weight...have to at least give myself a chance. Whatever you do, good luck

Had a revision.Love it! do it! the sleeve is what we thought the band would be!

Are you asking what will happen if you do not follow the rules? (just clarifying) If that is the case... don't worry. you will not want to eat anyway. It is VERY unsafe to break the rules in the early stages. The rules are there for your safety. Follow them to the letter. PLEASE.
If you are asking something different, please say so.

Please be very careful with the antibiotics you have been given and taking Imodium. I was told not to take it (imodium) because it will cause the toxin in c-diff to stay in the bowel longer and that my cause some form of colitis? Please get on a good website and do some research. Give me a few minutes and I will see which ones have been very informative for me......

Has your band been emptied/unfilled? If not, I would be wondering because I think it is standard to do that in advance of revision (although maybe I am wrong here).
If it is unfilled and you are having these issues, you are describing symtoms of a slip. In some casees, a slip can eventually cut off your ability to even drink Water.
If it were me, I would be talking to the surgeon. I am not sure how long you have had the band, but this sounds like a significant change from your "normal" and with the band that pretty much always signals trouble... in my experience.

My NUT told me that early on you have some nerve damage and you may not actually feel the restriction. She had me carefully weighing and measuring - eating more by the scale and the clock then relying on stomach sensation. That did change, i am only talking about the first approx 6 weeks.
One of the key differences with the sleeve is you don't have that pain signal, at least in my case, I didn't vomit everytime something was slightly too much. the band is like the punisher, whereas the sleeve is more like the help you control yourself. Trust me, over the long run the sleeve works a lot better.
The NUT told me that at this stage one of the top priorities is to protect the baby sleeve and keep it feeling that tightness (or if you haven't felt that yet, keep it so when the sensations return it will be tight)
I think you should be in the general ballpark of 1/4 cup to half cup MAXIMUM total food at a meal. For dense food, 1/2 cup volume is probably too much.
If you are really hungry all the time, check that you are not dehydrated. Even now, alot of times when I say "I am hungry" what I really am is thirsty but my messed up system doesn't seem to register it correctly. Also, you should be on something for the stomach acid - a PPI or something. If you are not, get started. If you are, consider asking for a different type. Again, early on the acid felt alot like hunger.
so, my words of encouragement are that I actually found it really hard to deal with food/hunger etc until about 6-8 weeks out. And then, it got so much easier and the weight just kept coming off.... This will get better.

O my band to sleeve revision was done on monday the 27th. It has been an awesome experience. I can honestly say that for 2 days i had absolutely no pain. When i was switched to oral pain meds my pain has been holding at around a 1-2 out of 10. I am still in the hospital because i have not tolerated advancing to full liquids as my dr would have liked, but thats ok, i dont want to go home and have to come back and the accomodations are amazing. I should be going ho,e inn
The a.m. If i stay like this. Overall thisentire experience has been much less traumatic than i expected and i am really excited to get moving. Dr came in today and said i thinkyou will be surprised at how much weight you lose. That was soooo exciting for me to hear! Willcontinue to updqte asi progress

I was told by a bariatric doctor (not surgeon) who is herself banded to expect the sleeve to be much worse - especially the dehydration. She was right about that, but overall, I am not sure which was harder, they were just so different from each other!
Lapband in 2001, German hospital, well known surgeon. My first surgery and I have no idea how I kept the courage to do it, I was so terrified - pretty heavy at 272 but very healthy - no comorbidities at that time. I woke up feeling like I was dying - nasuea. They gave me something and I was fine. They kept me in the hospital for what seemed like forever but hubby says it was 4 days, on an IV so kept hydrated. I think I was pretty heavily drugged at first. I complained to the doctor about headaches and not feeling well in a vague sort of way and that is when he decided I needed to go home! Was sent home with basic instructions and minimal ongoing support - just fills and unfills.
Sleeve in 2011, Surgery Center near Seattle. Also terrified, but a much stronger sense of "life or death" due to the extreme obesity (308#, 52 BMI). Anxiety tried to get a grip on me, but I had support from some key people and made it through. I stayed one night in the surgical center. The first few minutes after waking up were awful, but they got the naseua under control and had me walking immediately. 3 of us stayed the night and it was actually pretty social. We chatted, rested, met each others familys, rested, did little walks, treks to the potty, all that stuff. I had little pain pills but no morphine. I was surprised that I felt pretty human, yes I was sore so I needed the pain meds and it was hard to drink but I didn't feel that fear or sadness about having the surgery that I remember with the band. My head was pretty clear and some of the negatives about my German lapband experience was the heavier pain drugs making me feel weird/blue). After the sleeve, was sent home with very detailed instructions (combination of surgeon and NUT) and a clear follow up plan.
I think I have made the sleeve sound easier, but it really wasn't after the first few days. I felt ... not myself... for around 6-8 weeks post sleeve. I went back to work after 3 weeks and immediately got sick with a cold or something. I had to take a few more days.... I was exhausted and not good. Band, none of that. I was not depressed and I did not regret it but "run over by a truck" feeling is not overstating the situation.
So, I think the big difference is that you just have a hard time staying hydrated with the sleeve. The fact that I only stayed one night with an IV bag post sleeve, plus the swelling so you can only take small drinks. I knew what to expect and was well educated by this forum as well as the surgeon and team. I had a sip sip sip plan and never got really bad or had to go to get help, but those early weeks were hard.
I didn't lose nearly as much with the band so some of the emotional aspects of it have been more intense with the sleeve - both the joy/success and the adjustments too.
Life with the sleeve is 1000 times better though!
I know I answered alot more then you asked!

I was banded in 2003 and sleeved in Dec. 2011 I lost about 70 pounds with the band in 2-3 years but had all kinds of problems with the band. I had the tube replaced, the port replaced then the whole system replaced only to have an erosion. Ive had the sleeve less than a year and have lost almost 90 pounds, Im less than 5 pounds from my goal weight. The sleeve to me was worth every dime!! You wont be disappointed.

Hi your story sounds very similar to mine. I had my band for 5 years and lost about 60% of my weight. I was able to maintain this loss give or take 10 pounds but as you know was not able to eat many healthy foods so I ate crap most of the time. So I had my revision September 10th and I must say that it is the best decision that I could have made. I am 8 weeks today, with a loss of 41 pounds; 9 of those pre-op. I am so happy, can swallow Vitamins, eat chicken, yogurt and scrambled eggs. None of which I could do with the band. My goal weight is 180 pounds and I am 5'10". Don't worry you too have made the right decision, thinking of you on surgery day!!

I had my band in December 2010. It was fine for almost a year, then i started having issues and had to have a barium swallow, only to discover the band had slipped. Had a complete unfill, let it get settled back where it was supposed to be. After six weeks, had another swallow, everything looked okay, started fills again. And it slipped, again. Unfilled once more, still having issues. Woke up in extreme pain, had to go to the ER, band had slipped to the middle of my stomach and had to come out.
There were days when i could eat anything, and days where i could eat nothing. Vomiting was a regular part of my life, and i wasn't losing weight like i thought i would. I was so happy when the band was out - but i started slowly gaining weight, and that was unacceptable.
Today i am one month post-op with the sleeve. I am 1 pound lighter than i was at my lowest post-band. I've not thrown up, i can eat "normally", albeit much much smaller portions, and i feel fantastic.
No comparison between the two, i wish i'd had the sleeve first.

Hi Nicole, at this time last year, I was having the exact same fears. Your band journey sounds just like mine -- except I put up with it for 5 years because I was so ashamed to be unsuccessful with weight loss even though I had weight loss surgery.
Due to my reflux problems and esophogeal spasms, my doctor suggested the bypass. That surgery has never been an option that I wanted for myself. I went with the sleeve the day before Thanksgiving last year and I'm so happy I did! I wasted so much time feeling physically ill, losing sleep because of the reflux episodes and ashamed and now I couldn't be happier with my progress. Good luck with your decision!

Reshiapooh96
The thought about it being permanent and not being able to unfill if you get symptoms...I reasoned like that for 5 years while not know what else to do and regaining 100 pounds.
Now,anyone can have complications with any surgery,sure.But statistically complications are quite low.And long term comps as I can see it is mostly heartburn or reflux but not too many have it out of control either.
The thing is I waisted another 5 years of my life wondering,worrying about this.And 8 months out I can tell you I now go through phases where I mourne the loss of those 5 years and the regain of those 100 pounds as after the band and the weight loss I didnt need any plastics (maybe boobs but no one sees them and I can hitch them up quite high..lol)
Now,I am going to need to do arms,legs tummy and boobs.I am still so mad at myself for this as I hate surgery but I look terrible and will definitely have to do it.
If you can lose it without the sleeve en get rid of the band and change your life by yourself.
But the bottom line is we have to lose the weight as it will kill us sooner rather than later.The qualitly of a very obese persons life is so much lower and life is just so much harder wit so many aches and pains.And it gets worse as we age!
Good luck to both of you and dont let the fear that made us do the band,because it isnt permanent,stop you from have a great long healthy life!

Nicole, I'm undecided too! my band is already half emptied due to severe acid re/flux and a dilated esophagus. my Dr says the same thing. But as someone here said, We can either stay fat, or give the sleeve a go at it. It's so easy to say, but as you said, It's permanent and we wouldn't be able to untighten it if we get the same band symptoms. I completely understand. I hear so many positive responses from our friends here who have converted to the sleeve, that I totally believe that it's a good thing.

Hi, I know what you mean, I experienced the same issues as you did. My doctor kept sending me to get an UPI (upper GI) before I saw him each time. I was having issues and was having extremely bad heart burn. I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with a hernia in my esophagus. My doctor gave me two options: fix the hernia or take out the bad and replace with the sleeve.
I opted to take out the band and replace with the sleeve. My surgery is set for 11/20/12 I am excited and ready to lose this weight. Because my doctor had to open up my band I have gained weight.
I know that this is scary and you don't know what to do. The best option for me is to have the sleeve surgery and a healthy and happy life.
Be strong, in your heart you already know what you need to do.

My heart goes out to you, for your pain, suffering, and the emotional turmoil all of this has brought on. I'm a nurse too, and I'm glad you had a patient advocate in anyone who would listen, and grateful that your PCP took your concerns seriously. I know I've been guilty sometimes, thinking that a patient is over reacting, and not in need. Thank you for reminding us healthcare givers to never discount someone's suffering and to simply listen first, before making judgement. God bless you in your recovery.