U_go_gurl68

Thank Mary for your kind words. I am doing some heavy soul searching and praying! I know I cant do it by myself and I just keep telling myself that there is nothing wrong with me "getting help", its okay for me to give up the control. I need to just move forward a step at a time and hopefully Ill get there!!!!!

Girly girl I got my band in November of 2005. I had the same experience as you. At first I did very well. Lost about 90 pounds but band was very tight lived on Protein Shakes. In pain just drinking. Then I got stuck once on broccoli and thought I was having a heart attack Never got to that sweet spot. Miserable. I decided to get the band removed and sleeved in one procedure scheduled for April 1. It is a hard decision to make but the years go by so fast. I was also angry with myself. But I know that I can't do it without the sleeve. Do some soul searching. We have all been through the endless diets, pills . I don't want to let any more of my life slip away. I know it us a huge decision. You know what you need to do. Good luck in your decision making. We are here for you.

Thanks to all for chiming in!! For those who have surgery scheduled this month all the best and please please keep us posted.. For those whom have had success with revision thank you for sharing it is encouraging to hear about your journeys. And for those whom are skeptical of people who use WLS a a crutch.. I see your point but I can only speak for myself and say am I fully in control of my efforts, no..I'm always the first to admit it but the effort I need to put towards any kind of weight loss is 3x more the norm due to my PCOS and after battling this for so long and having that delay things like building a family my BIGGEST demon is to not feel sorry for myself day to day, to not feel like a failure and all I can do is try try try to focus on what I DO have and what I HAVE achieved and hope that in time my body will cooperate..

I too am a band to sleeve revision patient. I'm scheduled to have my surgery Monday, 4/7. While I haven't had the surgery yet, I've been researching it for well over 2 years. There are many on this board that I believe confirm the following:
1. Yes, many who have a band to sleeve conversion lose all their excess weight and more. It requires working with the band and following the eating guidelines your doctor has set out for you, but it is totally possible.
2. The rate of weight loss seems to be slower (for some), my doctor told me this would happen and said it was because your body already understands what you are trying to do (drastic calorie reduction) and will work to hold on to weight longer. There are several on this board that I've read who did not have this issue, and several who do seem to lose slower, but they lose and that, to me, is the most important part.
3. Your doctor was telling you the truth about the hormone that causes the hunger sensation. It is called the ghrelin hormone and it is produced (for the most part) in a part of your stomach that is removed. Many people on these boards report no sense of hunger (or minimal sense of hunger) for several months (6-9 months appx.) after surgery. Beyond that point, your body increases the production of this hormone, and you do feel a stronger sense of hunger, but, I've read, not like it was prior to surgery, however, you still have to manage it. In addition things like acid reflux, GERD, and head hunger can make you think you are hungry when in fact it is something else. We have to train ourselves to recognize the difference.
I hope this helps, there are many, many posts on these boards about these exact topics from those who have had the surgery. It has helped me in planning to read what others have experienced and to understand that this isn't a magic bullet, but a powerful tool that we can use to help us in our weight loss goals.