Hi! My Name is Irene and I am a Lap-Band patient. I've been here nearly since this website started up and have always kept an gleamful eye on this surgery. In fact I am a very frequent poster over at LBT and I'm even a Moderator over there. :-D I am a firm believer in the shared support of talk forums, for who else is going to give it to you straight other than someone who has BTDT? :biggrin2:

I've struggled with my weight my whole life and I have dieted so many times it's not even funny. All through my teenage years I did some questionable things just to remain thin. I think I messed up my metabolism doing that too because once I started eating again I gained over 100 Lbs in no time flat.

On Feb. 11th 2008 I under-went the Lap-Band surgery. I have a 10cc band and at first I did fantastic! Then life got in the way and I started having problems finding a good sweet spot for my band. I'm either too tight or not tight enough, I've never found that happy medium. I get night coughs and bad reflux along with severe painful eating and it's almost gotten me to really hate my band. I've tried to come to love it, but I think I've finally realized it just wasn't for me.

I'm not bashing it in any way shape or form, I'm only sharing my one personal experience with it. It's taken me almost 2 years to think about trying out something else, something permanent. I've heard such wonderful things about the sleeve and I think it really should have been my first choice, but how would I have known that?

My insurance BCBS doesn't cover the sleeve, so I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands and pay OOP. Above it all I've lost half my excess weight so I only have about 80-90 Lbs left to lose. I'm truly hopeful the sleeve will get me there and help with keeping the weight off too.

Thank you for letting me share my story! I will be posting alot more now that I've made a final decision and I look forward to making more new friends.

I do join in the chatroom too, so you may see me there as well.

All the best!!

Diva, thanks for sharing your story. There are several others on here who had the band and converted to the sleeve. Best wishes to you and I look forward to hearing more from you.

Hi and welcome, as a band to sleeve revision patient I can tell you that life with the sleeve and zero maintenance is fabulous. I'll curse the band with my last breath because I seriously hated life that much with my band.

I don't regret my band, it taught me a lot of about food and myself, but I'm grateful to have it out of my body.

Congrats on deciding on the sleeve. It really is a wonderful tool, and I'll be following your progress.

Thank you Barb and Tiffy! :biggrin2: I am planning to do the surgery around October or November. I'm currently buying a house and after a few months of getting settled in I'll start concentrating 100% on selecting my surgeon and getting the ball rolling.

Barbara, what has your experience with Dr. Aceves been like?

Welcome LilMissDiva! Good luck with your surgeon search and congratulations on making a decision that is best for you!

Diva! I am so happy to see you and I was so hoping you'd be able to get a revision some day. I am glad you are a chatter. You know I love the chat room!

You can ask me anything about Dr. Aceves... I loved him and everyone there at the hospital. I had the most wonderful experience there and I wish I could go back just to visit everyone. Dr. Aceves is a fabulous surgeon.

Welcome to sleevetalk! We need you here!

Hi Daisy and thank you so much dee!

Daisy, thanks for the request and the warm welcome I'd been thinking about this for awhile but just kept being convinced to "keep trying". Well, to be perfectly honest it started to feel like I had to do it all on my own. I was never able to get proper restriction because my body rejected any kind of tightness from the band. Kinda unfair really, if I could do i all on my own I wouldn't need the band or anything else. I was so discouraged I was even going to try to get my surgeon and insurance revise me to RNY. That didn't work so I'm just going to get it done on my own.

I have only heard wonderful things about Dr. Aceves & his staff, and that he is world class. I looked at his website and his hospital looks amazing though I could stand to take more time to read it thoroughly. I have some time though and I do plan to do that.

I remember reading your story as you went through your revision and you actually sparked my interest for Dr. Aceves. :thumbup: LOL As time gets nearer I'm sure I'll have a zillion questions!

I'm glad to finally make that decision and realize sometimes if you want/need something bad enough you just have to go out on your own and do it. I'm just so blessed to know the best friends to have on the net that have gone through all the same things I have and will go through!!

Welcome and glad to see you here. . . I was self pay too and have never regreted a minute of it. . .I'm very happy to be paying back and at 3.7% interest rate, hey you can't go wrong! Good luck!

thinoneday Welcome and glad to see you here. . . I was self pay too and have never regreted a minute of it. . .I'm very happy to be paying back and at 3.7% interest rate, hey you can't go wrong! Good luck

Thinoneday may I ask what company you used for financing 3.7%sounds like a pretty good deal. Also were you done here or in Mexico. Hope your feeling better soon.

Thanks

Thank you Barb and Tiffy! I am planning to do the surgery around October or November. I'm currently buying a house and after a few months of getting settled in I'll start concentrating 100% on selecting my surgeon and getting the ball rolling.

Barbara, what has your experience with Dr. Aceves been like?

Diva,

I really can't speak highly ENOUGH about Dr. Aceves. I did lots of research before deciding to go out of the country. I couldn't find anything negative about him or his staff. The hospital was awesome, extremely clean, and well run. They don't mess around.

All his staff spoke very good english. Everything was explained in great detail, and they made sure that you understood everything in advance. I never once felt compromised during my whole stay there.

The hospital was full of Americans and a few Canadians. So I made several good friends while there.

My husband traveled there with me, and he too felt very safe and was really rather amazed at how great the Docs and hospital staff were.

On top of all that, Dr. Aceves has done hundreds of sleeves without a single leak. He explained to me prior to surgery, that the method he uses has been extremely safe and effective and for that reason, he refuses to change it or take any shortcuts.

Barbara, thanks for your input. :001_tongue: I too am having a problem finding even one person with something negative to say about the Dr. and his staff. It's almost like a Quest now.. LOL not really - but all the good things are making me look in his direction.

I'm still a ways out and have some time to research him, thanks again!

I was at my local support group last night and so many people were there who were all excited about getting the band surgery. I so wanted to tell them they were making a mistake.

I am glad you'll be getting a revision! You'll lose all the weight you want to lose and the sleeve makes it quite easy!