I posted this in the band to sleeve thread but thought some long time exbandits might hang out in here as most of the contributers over there are new or not sleeved yet so.

Ok saw my doc yesterday to get a date and asked him bougie size he said he uses a 34 but wraps loose on exbandits so its more like a 38. He said it is to avoid leaks in the area where scar tissue is present after band removal

This really concerns me that the weightloss will be shitty. He said when I asked that his sleeve patients lose a bit then might go back up a bit where others lose and yet others maintain. I am confused with this, he says I need to maintain however I have gained over 20 kilos on my lowest band weight and hate it and would like to at minimum lose at least 10 of the excess gained. ( 20 was way too low)... so with a bougie this size on an exbandit is it possible.

Can anyone comment on weight loss as an exbandit with a bougie of this size

I had my band removed and had the sleeve done on Dec 11, 2011. I have so far lost 36 pounds and continue to lose. I may not be losing as fast as some but them I am not complaining as I am not getting a lot of hanging skin losing slowly. I think that this can be a plus. I know that I eat less with the sleeve than I was eating with my band if that helps you any.

I can't comment on being an exbander, but I will say this. I was animate when choose my surgeon that they would do a smaller bougie because although there isn't a ton of data out there, there was enough that I found that told me that the regain was slightly higher/ more likely the larger the sleeve because over time it will stretch a little. So, if you start with a larger sleeve it will expand in accordance with the size you are starting with and I didn't want that. My surgeon used a size 30 bougie and although I didn't care for their office or his bedside manner, I think he did a good job in the surgery. I have very little hunger issues and am 8 months out.

The other thing to keep in mind is that often surgeons use the bougie as a guide and will sew bigger than the bougie, so like your surgeon told you on how he sews bigger than the bougie he uses, you may have to be concerned with him not getting all the ghrelin or enough of it out to help control your appetite. Some will disagree with this, but I am just stating this how I approached my surgery and I am happy with my decision/ approach. I wish you luck.

One last thought, you might ask him that if you did the surgery in a 2 step process to allow the scarring to heal up if he would then go back and use a smaller bougie. I know that isn't ideal, but if you have limited options that might be one way to go.

Kaiser Fremont, where I had my surgery, uses a 40 bougie. As you can see from my stats, I have had good weight loss. Not sure where the sleeve will top out for food consumption. Right now, I eat a max of 3 oz. of firm Protein with about 1/2 cup of veggies and a bite or two of a starch. At Breakfast, I eat 1 cup of greek yogurt, a slice of toast, and a little fruit.

I am hungrier lately, but I think it's due to some bad snack choices I've made in the last few weeks. I find eating empty carbs makes me hungrier.

Lynda