Hi banders that have been revised to sleeve. Did you lose weight faster with the sleeve than initially with the band?

I kept pretty good records from when I had the band in 2009. From the date of surgery to 1st mos I lost 8 lbs. 2nd mos I lost 4 lbs and 3rd mos 3 lbs. See my signature below for comparison. Keep in mind, I'm a slow loser, I have hypo thyroid and I was was a higher BMI when I got the band. So, to answer your question yes I'm losing faster with sleeve but best of all I'm doing it without throwing up & sliming every day like I did with the band.

Carbgrl, you are doing great! That is very encouraging to me!

Carbgirl, I currently have a band (completely drained at this point) and when I was filled, I couldn't eat anything...it was a horrible life. I have to have an endoscopy on the 24th of this month to check for scarring in my esophagus. I couldn't eat healthy veggies or fibrous fruits like grapes or apples. I have put my deposit down for the sleeve on the 11th of August, but I'm not sure I will do it yet. Can you help me with some of my questions? Are you able to eat most foods, just a smaller amount? Who was your surgeon, and do you know what size bougie he/she used? Do you actually feel "full" or nauseous/pain? I greatly appreciate your help! I am 26/f 5'3"/240lbs.

Hey Beanie& Rosie's Mom. When I had the band, I couldnt eat salads, veggies, chicken or turkey & other foods except of course junk food. As many ppl who've had a revision say, the sleeve is everything the band was supposed to be. I never slime now. I've only vomited twice in over 3 mos. Both times I tried to eat re-heated meat and it was to dry. I know my sleeve cant tolerate it. So my fault. Lesson learned. I had a 36 bougie which I think it's slightly bigger than most but my doctor said its the size with least complications. I never had trouble drinking water or getting 4 oz of food in. I have no regrets. Ask me anything.

My doctor is Colleen Kennedy and she's wonderful. So much better than my band doctor.

First month - my weight loss was comparable. I lost 28-30 pounds month one after both procedures.

What was different is what has happened month 2 and beyond. With the band, I lost my initial approx 30# and then took about 11 months to lose another 40 - for a grand total of 70#

I have been sleeved 5 months and have lost over 80 pounds and so far it has been much easier.

I can handle veggies, i can handle meat. Spicy food is a bit of a problem, but other then that i really have no food restrictions. I eat very small quantities and actually feel satisfied afterwards. That was not my experience with the band.

Wow, thank you so much for your help! This site is awesome. I am so thankful for all you who have been responding to me! So kind of you, and extremely helpful. I was almost totally against the sleeve, and now I feel completely the opposite. I need a life change and I'm ready. I know how to eat slow from the band. It has become a part of me now I guess. I just hate that tight pain in the chest. You're never really "full" for real. It's like you're either in pain or sliming everything up. It is humiliating to be out to eat and feel everything you just ate come back into your mouth, and you're talking so you have to swallow-even though you know how badly it will hurt!! My dad doesn't know how he feels about the sleeve, but he says the best part would be getting that band out! (No more sore port from where my pants are digging into it!) much love & thanks again!! Erika

Hi Erika, I totally agree with what others have said.

I had the band for four years, and I initially lost about 25 pounds and then another 10 or so in the beginning, but then the 10 came back and stayed back despite my throwing up at every meal. I couldn't eat hardly anything healthy without it coming right back up. I learned to eat sliders so that I wouldn't throw up and could feel full. I couldn't eat bread, shrimp, eggs, chicken, or anything dry with the band and learned to smother everything with mayo.

It turns out that I had massive scar tissue and adhesions around my port, around my band, and around my stomach on the inside of the band. When the surgeon removed my band, my stomach was still held tightly together until he could release it by removing scar tissue. I know this because I got my operative report from the hospital.

I just had the band taken out and the sleeve put in almost 8 weeks ago, and I've lost 27 pounds so far. I have a 38 French bougie, and the only time that I had nausea and threw up was the day after surgery and not since then. Now I can eat healthy food with Fiber, which is something that I couldn't do with the band. Now I can eat anything I want and choose to eat healthy, and I get satiated quickly even with my small portions.

Hi all. I'm sorry but what's a bouguie?? Thanks!

Hi all. I'm sorry but what's a bouguie?? Thanks!

That is a device used during the surgery to determine the sleeve size.

Yes, here are some links which talk about bougie size, and the last link is an actual picture of one:

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/37822-bougie-to-big/page__hl__bougie__fromsearch__1

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/39587-bougie-sizes/page__hl__bougie__fromsearch__1

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/36606-what-size-french-bougie/page__hl__bougie__fromsearch__1

http://www.medovations.com/pdf/Esophageal_Dilatation.pdf

I kept pretty good records from when I had the band in 2009. From the date of surgery to 1st mos I lost 8 lbs. 2nd mos I lost 4 lbs and 3rd mos 3 lbs. See my signature below for comparison. Keep in mind, I'm a slow loser, I have hypo thyroid and I was was a higher BMI when I got the band. So, to answer your question yes I'm losing faster with sleeve but best of all I'm doing it without throwing up & sliming every day like I did with the band.

any advice or help you can give to those who are on the fence about trying another surgery? what did you do to find your answers? did you go right from a band to sleeve or did you have the band removed for a bit first?

Carbgirl, I currently have a band (completely drained at this point) and when I was filled, I couldn't eat anything...it was a horrible life. I have to have an endoscopy on the 24th of this month to check for scarring in my esophagus. I couldn't eat healthy veggies or fibrous fruits like grapes or apples. I have put my deposit down for the sleeve on the 11th of August, but I'm not sure I will do it yet. Can you help me with some of my questions? Are you able to eat most foods, just a smaller amount? Who was your surgeon, and do you know what size bougie he/she used? Do you actually feel "full" or nauseous/pain? I greatly appreciate your help! I am 26/f 5'3"/240lbs.

can i sk you what it is that scares you about going for the sleeve? is it one thing or many just curious>

Hey Beanie& Rosie's Mom. When I had the band, I couldnt eat salads, veggies, chicken or turkey & other foods except of course junk food. As many ppl who've had a revision say, the sleeve is everything the band was supposed to be. I never slime now. I've only vomited twice in over 3 mos. Both times I tried to eat re-heated meat and it was to dry. I know my sleeve cant tolerate it. So my fault. Lesson learned. I had a 36 bougie which I think it's slightly bigger than most but my doctor said its the size with least complications. I never had trouble drinking Water or getting 4 oz of food in. I have no regrets. Ask me anything.

do you get nauseous with the sleeve? do you drink with meals or is that a no-no? did you get the same dr who did your band also do your sleeve?

Wow, thank you so much for your help! This site is awesome. I am so thankful for all you who have been responding to me! So kind of you, and extremely helpful. I was almost totally against the sleeve, and now I feel completely the opposite. I need a life change and I'm ready. I know how to eat slow from the band. It has become a part of me now I guess. I just hate that tight pain in the chest. You're never really "full" for real. It's like you're either in pain or sliming everything up. It is humiliating to be out to eat and feel everything you just ate come back into your mouth, and you're talking so you have to swallow-even though you know how badly it will hurt!! My dad doesn't know how he feels about the sleeve, but he says the best part would be getting that band out! (No more sore port from where my pants are digging into it!) much love & thanks again!! Erika

has your band slipped or is it just that you can't eat regular foods? i had 2 band surgeries and 1 removal surgery, both my bands prolapsed (slipped) and then i opted to remove it. i have had a surgery every year and i was tired of it and i was afraid, as i had young kids and didn't want to keep risking myself. my dr thought id keep the weight off but now its 3 1/2 years later and the weight is back.