Stella84

hello! I converted from lapband to bypass on May 1 (single stage). Spent two nights in hospital. First day was rough due to nausea. But have had very little pain except when I stand up or sit down the larger insision where the port was removed hurts momentarily.
I didn’t use any of the narcotic in the pain pump and haven’t even had a Tylenol!
I am able to drink my liquids and walk. Although I do get tired pretty quickly!
But I hope all your surgeries go as smoothly!
S

hello! I converted from lapband to bypass on May 1 (single stage). Spent two nights in hospital. First day was rough due to nausea. But have had very little pain except when I stand up or sit down the larger insision where the port was removed hurts momentarily.
I didn’t use any of the narcotic in the pain pump and haven’t even had a Tylenol!
I am able to drink my liquids and walk. Although I do get tired pretty quickly!
But I hope all your surgeries go as smoothly!
S

hello! I converted from lapband to bypass on May 1 (single stage). Spent two nights in hospital. First day was rough due to nausea. But have had very little pain except when I stand up or sit down the larger insision where the port was removed hurts momentarily.
I didn’t use any of the narcotic in the pain pump and haven’t even had a Tylenol!
I am able to drink my liquids and walk. Although I do get tired pretty quickly!
But I hope all your surgeries go as smoothly!
S

I am now 6 weeks post RNY and loving it. To me the RNY is doing what we were told that the band would do that it didn't.
I can eat smaller portions of healthy food and be satisfied.
I remember being told that with the band if we ate too much we would get sick. Well I never got sick from eating too much but I had more episodes than I can count where 1 bite of something healthy would get stuck and then I would be in pain for hours and still hungry!
On Friday I ate steak for the first time in years. A small portion of eye fillet with salad and it was great.

I had a band in 2010 it slipped in 2016 and I had horrible acid reflux and was slowly gaining weight. I had different insurance than I did when I first got the band and they wouldn't cover my original surgeon. I didn't love the bedside manner of the new surgeon they gave me. I went in for a repositioning but he said it was too twisted and decided to remove it instead. He told me that insurance wouldn't cover a revision surgery that day because my BMI was too low at the time and that I would probably gain weight and he could do another surgery at that time. I did gain weight but didn't want that surgeon operating on me again. Instead, I found a practice and surgeon I really like that my insurance covered. I had some damage to my esophagus from the acid reflux when the band had slipped so I was on medication for a few months before surgery. An endoscopy showed that the medicine had worked on clearing things up and I was able to get the sleeve a couple of months later. I am only a few weeks out but I'm feeling really great. I'm annoyed that I had to go through gaining weight again but couldn't afford to do this without insurance.

I'm sorry this happened to you and I wish you the best of luck. I've found a few other former banders in the sleeve forum and that has helped me feel less alone on this journey.

Seldom,
I am in a similar situation.
However I thought all was well with my band, but after 12 years I have developed esophageal dysmotility. So in my opinion I would say get the esophagram ASAP. My problem could have gotten worse without me knowing. At this point it appears it may be reversible with band removal (although I cannot find much research/results). So your “ticking time bomb” hyposthesis applies to me.
But good luck!
Stella

Hello,
I am seeking advice from anyone who converted from lapband to sleeve and especially if with a lower BMI. I scoured the forum but didn’t see any similar stories):
Also looking for anyone who had band removed because of esophageal dysmotility.
Here is my history, briefly(:
I had lapband 12 years ago (self pay in Mexico) and was successful. I had reached my goal weight and 24 BMI! (with some ups and downs along the way).
That was until three months ago when I had a severe food poisoning and the associated vomiting. I was very sick and violently vomited at least 20 times. This left my band very irritated and I was barely able to drink two weeks later. I thought the band was slipped. When I had a fluoroscopy/esophagram there was no slip, but it did reveal esophageal dysmotility. Apparently this is a common complication with long term use of lapband. Although I have no symptoms (typically reflux and/or difficulty swallowing) my doctor suggests removing the band. He also will not refill the band which I do agree with considering the risks.
So, three months ago I had a total unfill. Yesterday I had another esophagram and I still have the esophageal dysmotility. Sadly, I have already gained from 137 to 165.
I feel like a total failure and really wished I could maintain on my own. But now I am considering the sleeve. Twelve years ago I would have never considered a surgery to remove part of my stomach. But the descriptions of the way the sleeve works sounds like the way the band worked (when perfectly filled:)
I have not checked into it but likely insurance will only pay for removal of band and I will have to self pay for sleeve. This seems extreme considering my current weight but I don’t want to wait until I weigh 232lbs again. But I did restart weight watchers today.
So my questions are as follows:
1) has anyone converted from LB to Sleeve with lower BMI. What were you experiences?
2) Anyone with esophageal dysmotility? Did it improve after band removal?
Thank you and apologies for the super long post!
Stella