I just wanted to let you know that it is DEFINATELY worth it to convert the band to the sleeve. There is no more worrying about slipping, or leaking. The surgery was even easier then the lap band surgury. I had the lapband for 4 months and realized it was going to be a lifetime of problems. With the sleeve, most of the stretchy part of the stomach is removed so you don't have to worry about stretching it much and also you have a natural feeling of full. There is no heart attack feeling when you eat too much. I've also lost double the weight in 4 months then I lost with the band. I am so happy I made this decision.

How long after lap lb were u BBC sleeved?

I have Anthem Blue Cross. It covered my conversion from the band to the sleeve after 14 months.

I sure wish I would have listened to my Dr and got the sleeve in the first place. I love that when I eat I feel full like Thanksgiving dinner full, it doesn't feel like food is stuck in my throat. I also love that I can eat all kinds of Proteins, meat, chicken, etc without issue whereas the band had me sticking with Protein shakes, and food that wasn't very good for me.

It really just came down to me and my health.

I wish everyone the best.

How long after lap lb were u BBC sleeved?

I had the lapband put in August and removed in Feb. I was then sleeved in March. SO the whole process took about 6 months.

I have Anthem Blue Cross. It covered my conversion from the band to the sleeve after 14 months.

I sure wish I would have listened to my Dr and got the sleeve in the first place. I love that when I eat I feel full like Thanksgiving dinner full, it doesn't feel like food is stuck in my throat. I also love that I can eat all kinds of Proteins, meat, chicken, etc without issue whereas the band had me sticking with Protein shakes, and food that wasn't very good for me.

It really just came down to me and my health.

I wish everyone the best.

I feel totally the same as you. I always want that full feeling and that's what got me overweight in the first place. Not only does the sleeve restrict your food it seems to metabolically change your body. You can't help but to lose weight. With the band I was making poor decisions to eat junk because it was the only thing that I could comfortably eat without feeling like the food was in my throat.

I have a friend who thought she was going from Band to Sleeve. The surgeon took out her Band and then she was suppose to wait 5 months. When she went in and he opened her he said her liver had attached itself to her stomach and she was no longer able to have any type of WLS. So I would suggest if you do convert do it in one process. I am not sure how many people this happens to but it is common after any surgery. You can research it.

My other friends who converted to Sleeve and one to By-Pass did Band removal and conversion at the same time and they were fine.

cheri

I'm glad the sleeve is working for you but the lapband, from my understanding isn't designed to provide rapid weight loss. It's supposed to be a slow process 3-5lbs per week.

Actually slow weight loss is more like 1-2 pounds per week. 3-5 pounds would be considered fast.

I am happy for those who have converted and are happy. That is the aim, to have the WLS that suits you.

However I am wondering if you would have been so happy if you had been one of the people that had a leak. Reading the stories from those who have had leaks they sound awful. So the bottom line is how much risk is someone prepared to take. Some of you were lucky and had minor complications with the band - far better that than being unlucky and having complications with the sleeve surgery.

I have a friend who thought she was going from Band to Sleeve. The surgeon took out her Band and then she was suppose to wait 5 months. When she went in and he opened her he said her liver had attached itself to her stomach and she was no longer able to have any type of WLS. So I would suggest if you do convert do it in one process. I am not sure how many people this happens to but it is common after any surgery. You can research it.

My other friends who converted to Sleeve and one to By-Pass did Band removal and conversion at the same time and they were fine.

cheri

Studies show that patients who had a 'healing period' between band and sleeve were less likely to have complications such as leaks...I would not recommend pushing your surgeon for 1 surgery if they are recommending 2. Also I have 2 close friends who had the sleeve about a year ago, neither has had complications but neither has lost much weight either.

Do your research! I'm thrilled the sleeve is working for you but recommend everyone look at all the options and not make a judgement based on 1 persons experience. There is a vertical sleeve talk and RNY talk website you can learn a lot from as well! Good luck to all of you!!!!

I am new to this forum and I have a question for those of you having a revision. My doctor wants to do a revision on my from my lap band to a possible sleeve, although we haven't decided which procedure we will do. I have had the band in since 3-2010 and the best weight loss I had is 30 lbs. I am almost the same weight I was when I had to band put on, and I throw up at almost every meal. they have taken liquid out of my band but I still vomit or food gets stuck. I have tricare prime, and I was wondering if anyone else has tricare. for the band they approved it within 24 hrs. I still have type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol,take meds for all those as well as anxiety and to sleep. any suggestions on how to get tricare to approve the revision since it hasn't been at least 2 years since the band placement? Oh and we are suppose to move at the 2 year mark making this even more difficult. I also do not see military doctors. any suggestions or guidance is appreciated

Lisa.

Whilst its great that you're happy, some of those stats are a bit dodgy. The sleeve hasnt been around for ten years - oh, there might be some early experimental patients but it is almost impossible to state that the sleeve keeps weight off for longer than the lapband - even the band hasnt really been in common use long enough to make that comparison.

That said, lapbands often work and work well but they ARE a pain in the butt. Mine is acting up after seven years, I have no doubt some kind of revision surgery is on the cards for me. I definitely do not feel this thing will be in me for another twenty. I would not change a thing about my journey and I always understood that lapbands didnt last forever. I think I would be brave enough to convert to a sleeve - my initial reaction of reluctance towards that surgery is kind of overshadowed now by the major surgeries I've had since. i live perfectly well without half my bowel so I wouldnt mind saying goodbye to part of my stomach in the name of health and normal weight for the rest of my life.

The only thing about the sleeve is that it IS permanent and it ISNT really known what the long term outcomes are. It probably wouldnt stop me and it shouldnt necessarily mean that you dont do it, I mean so what if something better comes along if its working well for you? But its a bit early to go out shouting how much better than the band it is.

Also, if you only had your band for four months, again, your right to convert and your gut instincts may well have been right for you. But you hadnt even had it long enough to gain proper restriction yet! It may well have kicked in better for you down the track.

I'd just like to clear a couple things up from this thread.

1. All WLS have an amount of risk. Anybody that believes that the risks involved in the sleeve are greater than that of the Lap Band I invite you to visit the forum Vertical Sleeve Talk, sub forum band to sleeve revisions. I assure there is no lack of horror stories & near death experiences involving the LB. I'm very glad that the LB has worked for most people on this forum, & I truly hope it continues to work for you

2. The sleeve has actualy been around since the 1950's. It was originally performed on patients twhos BMI was too high to safely perform RNY on, with the intent of converting it to RNY once the patient reached a safe weight. There are recorded events as far back as the 1970's of RNY patients receiving the first step of the procedure(the sleeve) and then opting to not follow through with the intestinal rerouting, making them a defacto sleever. Furthermore the sleeve has been performed as a stand alone procedure since the mid 90's, the reason most people weren't familiar with it is because it wasn't approved as a stand alone procedure in the United States till about 5-6 years ago.

Whilst its great that you're happy, some of those stats are a bit dodgy. The sleeve hasnt been around for ten years - oh, there might be some early experimental patients but it is almost impossible to state that the sleeve keeps weight off for longer than the lapband - even the band hasnt really been in common use long enough to make that comparison.

That said, lapbands often work and work well but they ARE a pain in the butt. Mine is acting up after seven years, I have no doubt some kind of revision surgery is on the cards for me. I definitely do not feel this thing will be in me for another twenty. I would not change a thing about my journey and I always understood that lapbands didnt last forever. I think I would be brave enough to convert to a sleeve - my initial reaction of reluctance towards that surgery is kind of overshadowed now by the major surgeries I've had since. i live perfectly well without half my bowel so I wouldnt mind saying goodbye to part of my stomach in the name of health and normal weight for the rest of my life.

The only thing about the sleeve is that it IS permanent and it ISNT really known what the long term outcomes are. It probably wouldnt stop me and it shouldnt necessarily mean that you dont do it, I mean so what if something better comes along if its working well for you? But its a bit early to go out shouting how much better than the band it is.

Also, if you only had your band for four months, again, your right to convert and your gut instincts may well have been right for you. But you hadnt even had it long enough to gain proper restriction yet! It may well have kicked in better for you down the track.

The title of this topic was "for anyone debating to convert to the sleeve" I'm not on here to bash everyone with the band. I'm just here to help others who are thinking about converting. There are hundreds of us on the vertical sleeve talk forum who have converted and love it. If you don't like what I have to say then you don't have to read it. As stated by OTR sleever above...it has been around longer then 10 years so there is enough data to prove that it keeps the weight off longer then the band.

If you are so happy with the sleeve why are you not on that website sharing your joy with them? Why come here and talk bad about the Band. Many people are happy with their Band.

cheri

obviously im talking to people who are having issues if thats not you why comment and move on to the next doesnt my post say for people thinking about converting? i go on the other forum as well why tell me i cantc come here? ive had lots of people message me with questions who are thinking of convrting

I am glad you are sharing your experiences, and please do not stop coming to this forum and keep sharing with us. I am not even banded yet, just trying to get all the information about all the WLS available to make the best possible decision I can, and comments like yours are a big help. It makes me think and check out what is really the sleeve is about. I really like the band as it is not permanent, but I like the sleeve as -if everything goes well- there is not hassle with it in the future....So thanks again! And best luck to everybody on this journey!