Hi all! I've been perusing the boards trying to gather info. My name is Sabrina and I have 4 small children. I had been thin my entire life. All of a sudden at 33 I had a newborn and a 1 year old and about 100 extra lbs of flub. My sister and I went to Tiajuana and had lap band surgery with Dr. Ortiz on 4/1/04. I lost 80 lbs in 6 months and looked and felt great!

Then in 2006 I kept having issues with a "bubbly tummy." I was miserable and in pain almost all of the time. I was also pregnant with #3 and attributed it to being knocked up. 13 months after he was born I had our youngest child. Four babies in 5 years wreaked havoc on my once thin body. Even though I still had the band, I gained a large amount of weight with the last two pregnancies. I went to the doctor and was checked many times for the stomach pains I was having. From March 2006 until July 2009 I was in pain nearly all the time.

in July 2009 my doctor decided to go in and remove my band. It wasn't working and I was miserable with it. He was going to take it out, take a look, then do the sleeve at that time. Well when he went in he found my band all eroded and a huge hole in my stomach. That was repaired. I was in the ICU for two days and not allowed to have any Water - not even ice chips - for fear I may have a leak. On day 3 they had me swallow barium under fluoroscopy and I was fine. I got some ice chips and I swear that was the absolute best thing I have ever put in my mouth LOL

Due to the repair my doc made to my stomach, he wanted to wait until I was at least 6 months post op to do the sleeve. I have gained 50 lbs and 4 jean sizes since having that stupid band removed. My sister's eroded too and she had it removed in the summer of 2008. Hers nearly killed her. Infection just ravaged her body, it was very dire. She pulled through fine though. I know people who are getting the band and are so happy. I was happy with mine too for two years. I don't want to be a downer and tell them my horror stories LOL I've noticed a lot of you have had your bands removed. May I ask why?

I'm still perusing the site. There is so much information here and so many stories. If you will indulge me in a coupe of questions, please? We cruise 6 weeks after my surgery. My doctor, even though he has warned me I am at a higher risk for leaks due to my previous hole and could possibly be in the hospital for a month, is confident I'll be ok to sail the high seas 6 weeks post op. I've been salivating over the menus on board, so I am regretting having the surgery before the cruise LOL

I like to drink. I have four kids; I need to drink. Honestly, if it wasn't for fattening Sam Adams, I would likely be 110 lbs :wink1: I'll stick with martinis afterward, low carbs and less fattening than wine. I will have a cocktail a night on the cruise. This is vacation and vacations are made for fun and some drinking. How do y'all do with a cocktail? I cannot imagine it would be any different than pre-op, but I have read about stomach burning?

I adore having a diet dr pepper every morning. How do y'all do with carbonated beverages? I can give that up if I have to, but I really do enjoy having one in the morning. I can go back to coffee. Much like quitting smoking, the hardest part will be while driving. I like to hit up sonic for a route 44 diet dr p if I'm going to be in the car for a while. I can switch to water though if I have to do it. Can you still toss back a soda, or is it hard on your tummy now?

I am happy to report that as soon as I got that stupid band out, no more tummy pain. I don't want to do anything to screw up and start tummy pain again. That was just miserable. I look forward to getting to know everyone

Welcome Sabrina! I'm sorry to read about your horrible experience with the band. I can't really speak personally to your questions. I know with my recovery, as a new wls patient, I would have been just fine going on a cruise 6 weeks post-op, but wouldn't plan on eating normally at that point or drinking alcohol. As for drinking, I don't do it personally, but I've read about others who do further out and have no problems. My nutritionist/surgeon said carbonated drinks were out after surgery. According to them there is a slight possibility that carbonation can stretch the pouch, but no research has been done to agree or disagree with this.

Hopefully some people will chime in soon that has more personal experience with your questions. Good luck!

Thanks for the response! I guess I'll slowly ween myself off my soda now so it isn't such a shock in a couple of weeks.

Hey Sabrina, and welcome to VST. You've had a heck of a journey thus far.

As for my band complications, I had a flipped port from early on, and it caused a lot of pain and discomfort. The tubing was actually tugging on my stomach in addition to all the other wonderful "band" issues. So, I was able to revise to the sleeve.

As for your concerns, I was not released to drink alcohol until my 3.5-4 month post-op mark. I have a glass of wine a couple times a week. It doesn't get me drunk faster unless I drink it quickly, then the drunk wears off, and I maintain a nice relaxed feeling.

I'm 7 months out, and I indulge in a soda once a week, once every other week. It takes me 2-3 days to drink a soda because I don't drink it all the time. Some doctors are absolutely against them. Mine happens to believe that they are just wasted calories and that it will not stretch out the remaining. We do not have a pouch like RNY or band patients so it's a little different.

My post-op diet for the sleeve revision was

2 weeks clears

2 weeks full liquids (I did a week doc progressed me to mushies)

I did mushies for awhile with some soft Proteins for 2-3 weeks then onto regular food.

You'll need to stick to the post-op diet because healing of the staple line is completely different than with your band surgery. Food particles, seeds, and chunks of stuff can get in your staple line causing infection, irritation and lead to a leak.

I had a leak 2 days post-op revision, and it wasn't fun at all. I was in ICU for 5 days, on a ventilator, and had a slim chance of survival. The leak was successfully repaired, but I was on a pic lin in my arm being force fed 1800 calories a day through a TPN bag for over 2 weeks. I didn't have anything to eat or drink for 22 days. NOTHING no ice chips, no Water, nothing at all.

Just my opinion, I think 6 weeks out is way too early to consume alcohol. Your stomach has been traumatized, and will still technically be healing. I've heard people talk about stomach burning, but wine (Riesling) hasn't bothered me at all.

Keep us posted on your journey, and I'll be looking for updates.

Vacation just won't be the same without a martini, but I'd hate to rip my stomach open at sea LOL The diet makes sense now tat you've explained it. Thanks for the info. I'm just looking forward to getting this done and over with. I was in the hospital for two weeks (was released one day, then back the next for an abscess) after my band removal. I was planning on that long for this surgery simply based upon my previous experience. My surgeon is very concerned about a leak.

Vacation just won't be the same without a martini, but I'd hate to rip my stomach open at sea LOL The diet makes sense now tat you've explained it. Thanks for the info. I'm just looking forward to getting this done and over with. I was in the hospital for two weeks (was released one day, then back the next for an abscess) after my band removal. I was planning on that long for this surgery simply based upon my previous experience. My surgeon is very concerned about a leak.

Yeah, vacation may be a little bland without the martini, but I bet you'll not even be in the mood for drinking by that time.

I had 3 abscesses develop 6 weeks after my revision that landed me in the hospital again for 7 days. I had drains, and antibiotics and all that fun stuff all over again. They think little microscopic bacteria was stuck in my abdomen from the leak, and they formed pockets. It was a pain in the butt, and very exhausting.

I was my surgeon's first leak. Not really proud of it, but he did an amazing job saving my life. I know in my heart of hearts (after reviewing pics/xrays/video from surgery) that my stomach was damaged by the band. It really wasn't my surgeon's lack of experience or "fault".