Elisabethsew

I did walk out of the hospital but not too far. It was gorgeous weather and I wanted to be in it so I ventured outside everyday and only got caught once. LOL. As for work, I waited a week to go back but I definitely WAS tired after the first 2 thirteen shifts back.

The reflux began about 10 months after I was banded and I was started in Nexium 20 mg once a day. That got increased to 2 times a day after I landed in the ER with what I thought was chest pain. It turned out to be GI related and the CT scan showed increased scarring at the band site. The last year of being banded (I had it for 3 years and 1 day) I had nothing but increasing problems. I work nights and would bring my AM pills and vitamins to work with me and take them at 3 AM. After that, I took no food or drink and went to bed at noon or 1 PM. An hour into sleep (if I was lucky to get the hour) I woke up gagging and in pain with the horrible burning in my esophagus. I then bought one of those wedge pillows and added OTC tagamet and tums to the nexium twice a day. That failed. I added pillows to the wedge and that sometimes worked but often did not. I retreated and ended up sleeping in a chair. For me, the acid reflux and inability to sleep was really having a negative effect on my life. The band was like a parasite in my body and I'm very happy that I am revised to a sleeve. Prior to the band, I ate healthy... just too much. I ate out of boredom and ate too much because I could. Now, I crave healthy foods, sleep in bed on my back with one pillow, have no reflux, and can eat anything on the soft diet menu in small quantities. It seems like the sleeve IS doing what the band was SUPPOSED to do but never did.

The day of surgery was mostly a blur and all I wanted to do was sleep. At 6 AM the following morning, I was showered and walking the halls feeling much better than I did after getting the band.

I am 4 weeks post-op and never experienced restriction with the band. With VSG, I experienced restriction from day one. I literally get full on a small amount of food and stay full. With the hunger hormone gone, I honestly have never felt hungry once. This evening, I had one small meatball (2' diameter) and 4 individual penne pasta. That's it. I was stuffed and could not eat anything else. For me, this is all new with a lot of firsts. I was a fat kid and a fat adult and it always took a LOT of food to fill me up. I never stayed full long. Now that I get full with a little food and stay full, the emotional aspects of eating have not been an issue. I hope this never goes away.

Mac is correct. I did not have a slip or an erosion so I had to start a paper trail of MD visits, failed medications, band related acid reflux leading to inabilty to sleep in bed, etc.

I am the opposite of you here. I'm allergic to milk and have to get soy based shakes. However, we have several experienced VSG members on this forum who I'm sure will weigh in and help.

Congratulations on your success! I'm enjoying the fact that I am never hungry.

Check with your insurance people to find out if they will revise to VSG with a BMI < 40. Many consider it the first step in DS surgery which usually requires a BMI of 50 or >. I consulted 2 surgeons. One wanted to try a new band or reposition the one I had. The second wanted to do RNY gastric bypass despite me telling him from the start that I did not want a malabsorptive procedure. When both told me I would need to start an insurance "paper trail" for 6-9 months to get the surgery paid for, I decided I could not live the way I had been for another 9 months and opted for self pay with Dr. Aceves... no regrets!

Call your insurance company and ask to speak with your case worker. If you don't ask for this person, you get one of those know nothing people who give scripted responses. You need to kill them with paperwork. Get all the lab resultss, test reports, notes from the MD, etc. to support your position and keep checking with the case worker (who is usually an RN) to find out "what else" you need.

Your day has arrived! Good Luck on your sleeve birthday.

Congratulations! You're in good hands and the time will be here before you know it!

Dr. Aceves charges $9,000 for a virgin sleeve and $12,500 for a revision to a sleeve. This includes the hotel stay the night before surgery, pre-op testing, surgery, hospitalization (3 nights), and medications. My surgeon in the U.S. quoted @ $25,000 for same day surgery.

You forgot to add... no more sleeping in a chair! With the heart burn and acid reflux ALL GONE, I sleep flat on my back on one thin pillow... ahhhhhhhhhhhh, heaven! Yes, Dr. Aceves is the best and I have no regrets. Well, actually I do have a regret and that's that I didn't get rid of the band and do the VSG sooner.

I hear you! After coffee and pills/vitamins in the AM, I'm too full to eat breakfast. Yesterday, I took a small sweet potato, slit an "x" in the top, and tossed it in the oven (convection at 450 degrees for 45 min). The skin came right off and I mashed up the super soft filling, added a little salt, and had that for lunch... took me 30 min to eat it and tasted great. I worked through dinner and "forgot" that I only had the potato. I had some soup at 3 AM. LOL. Like you, I have not experienced hunger since having surgery and I want it to stay that way forever.

Have a safe trip. I'm sure all will go well and we look forward to following your progress. Good luck!

I think it speaks volumes that Dr. C. elected to have the VSG surgery and that, on the same day, so did their driver.

Now that 5 year studies of being with the band are coming out, we're learning that the band is NOT living up to all the hype. Does it work for some people? Of course, we have many people on this board to testify to that. However, for MANY people, it doesn't work. Out of that population, there are a lot for whom the band is what I describe as toxic. It cause more problems and decreases the quality of life. It's hard to relate to this unless you've lived it.

You'll get general and spinal anesthesia. They have to give you general because of the pressure the CO2 exerts on the diaphragm. The spinal limits the amount of general you get. Best of luck to you.

Susan, Are you feeling any better?

In this section of lapbandtalk, there are a lot of us you had the band, followed the rules, and had to revise to another weight loss surgery; VSG. We KNOW how that woman feels. Wasa read that post and then mentioned here because we can relate to what the lady is going through as well as relate to the insensitive comments that follow her post.

I would add misinformed and naive in describing the poster in question. The person who started the thread clearly explained that she was doing all the right things and had a successful weight loss. To get a response that it was all her fault for not following the rules was rude and insensitive.

I'm sure everything will be fine and your surgery will go off as planned. Best of luck to you!

For me, the band was evil. With the VSG, I think I found my friend!

Congratulations and best of luck on your surgery.

Welcome! I can totally relate to the esophagitis and the night time choking. I was on double doses of Nexium and sucked down tagamet and tums like it was candy. I hope your insurance will pay for a revision and look forward to hearing more from you.