I'm brand new to sleeve talk, and I just found out within the past month that my band is slipped beyond use. It's a long story, but not atypical, as I have come to realize after reading and reading and reading. Some day I'll explain, but I have what seems like a more pressing issue.

I did well with my band, lost 90 of the 100 lbs that I wanted to lose. Over the last three months, with my band slipping, unfills, trying to refill, another slip, another unfill...now totally empty, I've gained back about 20 lbs. So, as I type this, I weigh about 172 lbs.

I'm terrified of committing to what seems like such a drastic surgery, but I'm equally terrified of gaining back up to the 240 lbs I was banded at. Like many of you, I have a lifetime history of losing and gaining, over and over and over and over again.

So it is completely ridiculous of me to go in for major weight loss surgery when, in reality, I am only about 30 lbs overweight? For those of you that were sleeved after being banded, did you tell yourself that you could keep the weight off, fail at it, and then go for a sleeve? Or, did you do the sleeve when you were relatively small? Or, is it that everyone that went from band to sleeve seems to belong to that group that never really lost with the band, THEN went to sleeve? Are the people out there that did great with the band weight-loss-wise, but had to go to the sleeve for some mechanical problem, like the slip that I keep having?

Thanks in advance. I'll have lots more questions.

I had my sleeve just qualifying at a bmi of 30. I am so gald I did it. My psyche couldn't handle one more yo-yo dieting experience! When I first thought about getting sleeved, I thought alot of people would judge me for my "low" bmi, and yes, I have faced some opposition. I asked alot of people on here who had a similar bmi, and the universal response was "I wish I would have done it sooner".

Thanks Ateam, I'm glad to hear from someone. Currently, my BMI is about a 29, but I'm steadily climbing, so I'm positive I'll be above 30 shortly. What was your band story? Were you a higher BMI at banding? Did you lose with the band?

No problem Kimmr! I never had a band, the VSG has been my first procedure,but I have been a sevee yo-yo dieter my entire life!

I was a self-pay for the Band back in December of '06, because, at the time, my *** didn't do the Band. The surgeon maxed out my Band (11 cc) in 2 - 3 visits, lied to me about it, and I couldn't eat solid food for years. Thanks to a soft and greasy diet, I gained back everything that I had lost. Enough was enough. I ended up with my ***'s expert on Band to sleeve revisions, I'm 11 days post-op, and I am thrilled. For breakfast, I ate one poached egg with my baby spoon and bowl. With the Band, I couldn't eat cooked egg at all. Many people complain about what they can't eat. They need to live with a strangling, partially slipped Band for a few years. I have come to the conclusion that there's not a foodstuff out there that I want more than to be at a healthy weight.

There are lots of band to sleeve folks on here. Your post name did not say you wanted this, or I think more people would have responded. Try Lil'missdiva, She is a revision, and could refer you to others also.

She posted in the band to sleeve revision forum, gets a little less traffic but I am guessing after Christmas you will get more people piping up.

Okay, for me, I don't consider the sleeve to be more drastic then the band. I can understand why you do, as I used to think that way - but after having a band for 10 years, I do NOT consider it to be a simple, reversible, benign procedure. It does alot of damage to your stomach tissue - scar tissue, adhesions. It also did other damage, although in my case it was fairly minor, luckily. I think if you are having problems with the band you should get that thing OUT. I think you are also at very high risk of regaining everything.

I regained all my lost weight and then some before I had the band removed. After I had the band removed, even though it had been "empty" for years I started gaining more weight. I was very very hungry 24/7.

I am still a new sleever, so I guess I can't really do a fair comparison yet. Even less then 2 weeks out I don't have any of the negatives that I remember from the band. I don't feel restricted (hey, I am still on liquids and not consuming much so may be early to compare) but I don't feel hungry either! (I did have a few days of some hunger about a week out but I figured out why and was able to solve it) Wow, what a difference as with the band I often felt restricted but still hungry.

What I will say is that recovering from the revision has been harder then original band implant surgery.

Thanks for all your replies, ladies (I think, guess I don't know). I figured I wouldn't see much until after Christmas, as I wasn't looking here much myself.

I'm absolutely terrified of gaining it all back. Truly scared to death of it all.

But, I feel like as I'm considering the sleeve now, I need to make end-of-life decissions. I feel like I'm making a permanent decision, so I need to think...gee, in 30 years when my stomach is shot to hell cause so much stuff has been cut off and rearranged and whatnot, am I going to be happy that I made this decision now at age 31? Does that make sense?

And the, along the lines of Cowgirl, I'm sort of pissed to find out that the band does cause permanent changes. I thought I picked an option that WAS totally benign, and then I come to find out that it's not.

I just feel like I made a mistake with the band, and now I'm uber senstitive to making another mistake by going with the sleeve.

Thanks for all your replies, ladies (I think, guess I don't know). I figured I wouldn't see much until after Christmas, as I wasn't looking here much myself.

I'm absolutely terrified of gaining it all back. Truly scared to death of it all.

But, I feel like as I'm considering the sleeve now, I need to make end-of-life decissions. I feel like I'm making a permanent decision, so I need to think...gee, in 30 years when my stomach is shot to hell cause so much stuff has been cut off and rearranged and whatnot, am I going to be happy that I made this decision now at age 31? Does that make sense?

And the, along the lines of Cowgirl, I'm sort of pissed to find out that the band does cause permanent changes. I thought I picked an option that WAS totally benign, and then I come to find out that it's not.

I just feel like I made a mistake with the band, and now I'm uber senstitive to making another mistake by going with the sleeve.

If you don't get the sleeve, then what will your life be in 30 years? I just know that at 58 I was starting to fall apart, and the excess weight was not helping at all.

My BMI pre op was over 60 6 weeks later it's in the 50's..

There is a member here named Jax who was a band to sleeve revision who only had about 15lbs or so to lose. I know she lost the 15 plus a few more so I'm sure she had a relatively low BMI when she was sleeved. And she has been easily maintaining.

Thanks everyone, good to know. I'll see if I can track down any more people who fit this criteria.

Did you do well with the band before it failed, and then has VSG at a relatively low BMI to either lose the last few or just maintain?

I revised at a BMI of 31. I was 195 and I am now maintaining around 131. I was worried about losing too much because of my relatively lower weight - I drank regular sugar drinks (occasionally)because sugar free tastes terrible and have always eaten full fat foods when I have a choice (nothing is grosser than low fat cheese). This has really nailed the portion control for me. The first several months were hard because certain foods wouldn't sit well with me. At nearly 10 months out, I can say that I can eat almost anything, but I am limited to about 7 bites and then I have to stop. It's awesome.

I would not have opted for a sleeve if I wasn't already going in for the band. I had them done at the same time. I thought of the sleeve as more of an insurance policy - I would have been desperately depressed if I had gained weight after getting the band out.

I'm very happy with my sleeve :-)

Rev me up! That's awesome! I'm glad to hear from someone who fits this criteria! I guess I'm trying to convince myself that it's not crazy to do a sleeve at a BMI of 30. I'm struggling with the two thoughts of "I can keep off the 70 lbs that I lost" vs "there's no way I'll be able to keep this off, I never have before...."

I assume, like everyone else, you wish you had done the sleeve first?

Well, hindsight is always 20/20. I think, when I was making the decision, I was much more tortured about it. It is a unique dilemma to have already committed and paid for a weight loss surgery and it doesn't work. I did not lose much weight with the band and it didn't slip, but it was uncomfortable and was doing me no favors.

I was self pay both times, so it isn't just the failure of the band, but paying for both surgeries. It's a major fail either way you look at it and I am not the type of person who takes failure lightly.

I think it is good that I had the sleeve in this time because I think the procedure has evolved and it much better now than it used to be. Of course, I wish I had never had to deal with a failed lap band. The sleeve is everything the band promised, without the BS. I never had much success witht he band. You did have success, though, and I can see where you may feel odd about losing it. I couldn't wait to get that piece of crap out of my body. When I went in for surgery, I was totally at peace with the idea that, even if I didn't lose any weight, I would be OK. I was getting the band out and I was doing the VSG as insurance. I just didn;t want to get any heavier.

When I woke up in the afternoon after surgery, I touched my port site and almost cried - I was so happy there was no more hardware in my belly.

Another revision patient that was a very low weight (she had good success with the band until there were complications) is Loouuu (not sure how to spell it).

It's not crazy to do VSG with a BMI of 30. Just think, You are almost all the way home!! After VSG you will have a new surge of success. Some people do VSG on a virgin stomach at that BMI. Just make sure to find a good surgeon who has lots of experience with revisions - we are a little more risky.

I had my band removed in Sept and then was sleeved in December. I didn't realize that the band and port bothered me mentally - but I can't even express how much I LOVE not having that dang port anymore. I somehow feel more normal.

I have heard that some people are very successful with the band, and I did lose 70# years ago. I went from 272 to about 202 over a year. I lost 30 of those pounds during my first month post op liquid diet - and dieted and exercised to get the rest off! It was such a struggle. It was embarrasing to be at a business meal and make a mistake like getting a piece of lettuce stuck and not be able to eat the meal. It was so unpredictable -other times it seemed I could eat anything. I really hated the band over time, but once the Fluid had to be removed, i regained everything. I think that some people, who really had the right education and support and for some unknown reason found it to work - do okay. I think most people get poor to fair results over the long haul. When I feel pissed about it, I remind myself that in 2001, there were only the band and gastric bypass to choose from. I guess I took my chances and lost the lottery. I CANNOT understand why so many people are still being banded knowing that the long term results are SO poor and there are so many complications at the 5-10 year out mark.

Anyway, I went through a real emotional rollercoaster about getting a revision. So far, 3 weeks out, I am very happy with my decision.