tohealth

Hi,
Thank you in advance for any help on here. I know that every person has his/her own journey but would really appreciate any insight.
I am seven years into a failed lapband, weighing a mere 10 lbs. less now than I did when I had surgery. I take almost full accountability for the failure, as I really did not understand that I would be unable to drink while eating, and I also thought that hunger would disappear. (I do believe I might have been under-educated by my dr., as the lapband was all the rage at the time, but it was my responsibility, ultimately.)
After I got the band, months of tightening resulted in little to no change in my ability to eat, so I gave up and learned to eat with and around the band on the occasion that it seemed restrictive. Obviously, no success was had.
Anyway, I am now 40 with a BMI of 39, and I am miserable. My dr. tightened me last month, after I finally returned to him, and now I can barely eat at all, especially in the morning or after even one drink the previous day. Every meal presents me with a challenge. However, I am still hungry, so I am eating around the band. Again, no success is really being had. I continue to feel like a failure, and I am starting to worry about having this thing inside me forever.
My dr. thinks the sleeve is the right option for me, but I am terrified of making another mistake. I have read that after the honeymoon period, all the hunger returns. I have read that people who did not lose with the band should really do the duodenal switch, but that seems a little risky for me (I have a family history of all sorts of cancers of the digestive system, and I do not think I want to mess with so much of it now, in case I ever need surgery for cancer).
My dr. recommends a band removal followed by 3-4 months of recovery before anything else. I will probably get approval for the removal but will then have to wait for approval for the next procedure, and I will actually need to probably gain a few pounds, oh irony of ironies.
Ugh. Any info or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hi. I had a lap band for five years and had it removed in May. My sleeve is scheduled for August 24, and I'm very excited. Unfortunately the timing is not ideal as I need to return to work soon after surgery. I'm a teacher. I have two in-service days the following week with no students, and then almost another week of rest. All said and done I will have to work for two days within the 14 after my surgery. My question is how people would compare or contrast the lap band surgeries to the sleeve surgery ? My own experiences with those surgeries were quite good. I did not feel a tremendous amount of pain and was up and moving relatively quickly. My biggest problem was gas, which I alleviated by walking and walking and walking. I'm starting to get very nervous about not having enough recovery time and need some reassurance if possible. Thank you.

Still take sips.. Some won't feel the restriction till you're on the purée phase and others don't feel it till they're on the soft food stage. But drinking too much liquid can cause pain and discomfort.
I never even wondered about the bougie size..

drink small sips as whatever is comfortable.
it probably has a lot more to do with the swelling going down than what size they used.

Hi. I had a lap band for five years and had it removed in May. My sleeve is scheduled for August 24, and I'm very excited. Unfortunately the timing is not ideal as I need to return to work soon after surgery. I'm a teacher. I have two in-service days the following week with no students, and then almost another week of rest. All said and done I will have to work for two days within the 14 after my surgery. My question is how people would compare or contrast the lap band surgeries to the sleeve surgery ? My own experiences with those surgeries were quite good. I did not feel a tremendous amount of pain and was up and moving relatively quickly. My biggest problem was gas, which I alleviated by walking and walking and walking. I'm starting to get very nervous about not having enough recovery time and need some reassurance if possible. Thank you.

Thank u for the support. I hope today, ur first day back, goes well!

I just had revision surgery all in one last tuesday and im going to work Monday. I feel like i could have gone to work friday. I have a desk job. I feel soreness obviously and weak from lack of nutrition but capable of working. You got this.
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I'm sure I missed it somewhere, but what is the Facebook page? And is it private? I'm not sharing much info w people.

Ive been taking pics of pksts that have been helpful to me in preoaration for my revision to sleeve surgery on July 26 so i thought I wouldnshare with all.
Pack for Hospital:
Pillows
Heating pad
Charger
Earbuds
Houseshoes
Book
Chapstick/lip balm
Face wipes
Book
Lotion
**biotine (for dry mouth). Heard this is a life saver
Helpful suggestions im considering for after surgery:
Premiere Protein Shakes
Ice tray to freeze broth etc since portions so small
sugar free popsicles
Fill prescriptions
Clean sheets on bed
Miralax
Milk of magnesia
Stool softeners
calcium citrate chewables
Alive liquid Vitamin
Balanced essentials liquid vitamins- tropical and berry flavor- heard very tasty. Heaven sent naturals can find at vitamin world
Via tiv chewable Calcium
Centrum flavor bursts - tropical flavor
Nutriwise- can purchase at Amazon
To help woth acid pain put 3-4 drops of organic lemon juice in Water per 8 oz
Protein20- type of water at grocery store tasty- tropical coconut flavor is yummy
Centrum vitamints
Cup- My hydrate
Hope this is helpful. Im soooooo excited!!!!! July 26 cant get here soon enough.
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Hi,
I'm a revision patient, having had the band removed in May. At this point, I'm 5 months into my supervised diet and will request insurance approval next month.
As I look toward planning the sleeve surgery, I have two questions:
- is a liquid diet required for a particular amount of time before surgery?
- how long should I expect to be out of work? I'm a high school school teacher and I'm trying to work around holidays in October or November.
Thanks in advance for any and all information.

There are some with more office/desk jobs that have gone back to work a couple days after getting released. I, personally, since I'm a librarian and have to lift heavy bins of books, took a full two weeks off. It was right at the point that I started introducing in semi-solid foods and is essential I feel like for energy purposes.

Sorry for late response. The CT came back all clear, and I really have felt rather well. On the last day that I had awful pain, I massaged an area right under my rib, and I feel like I must have manipulated the muscle back into place. I am taking it easy and feeling better.
Thank you very much for ur concern and help.

I had my lapband removed in December and I am being sleeved August 16th. Every surgical team is different. I have to do a 15 day pre-op liquid diet and then 2 weeks post op. I am taking 3 weeks off but I heard 2 weeks is pretty common.

Sorry for late response. The CT came back all clear, and I really have felt rather well. On the last day that I had awful pain, I massaged an area right under my rib, and I feel like I must have manipulated the muscle back into place. I am taking it easy and feeling better.
Thank you very much for ur concern and help.

Oh dear lord....

(That was not aimed at YOU @@GSleeve822 , but at the discussion I can feel coming on.)

If your surgeon does your sleeve properly, he/she should leave behind very little fundus or the stretchy part of your stomach. The muscle part of your stomach does not stretch, so really "stretching" is minimal.
This is MY opinion and the opinion of several surgeons I spoke with when I researched my sleeve 4 years ago.

Now, you will get plenty of people who will tell you that carbonation, fluids, and frog swallowing will stretch a sleeve and they know it because they heard it happened to their friend's mother's sister's cousin's neighbor's dog's Great Aunt Suzi. AND, they know it's true because they read about it on the Facebook.

Regain is caused by eating the wrong foods in the wrong amounts on a very regular basis. It can also be regained by drinking your calories. Grazing is a culprit for some and for others, it's simply not changing their old habits.

Regain is real, stretching is not.