I was just approved to have my lapband removed on 10/30/13, but I am freaking out a bit. I have had an unfilled band for 3 years now and weigh about 10 lbs less than I did when I got banded. My weight keeps rising, and would be higher, but I work out religiously. My BMI is about 35. I am terrified of gaining weight after the band is removed. My surgeon has a policy of waiting 3 months before scheduling a sleeve, so that's three months of potentional gain. Also, I don't yet have approval for the sleeve, so working hard to lose weight during the 3 month period will make approval even more unlikely, especially if my BMI drops a little bit. I know myself and while it would be wonderful to get my BMI down after removal, it wouldn't last and I would be exactly where I started before I got banded. I am 53 years old and losing weight gets harder and harder each year.

I guess my question is, do people who have gone thru the removal gained much between surgeries? Was the lapband removal surgury difficult to recover from? Days? Weeks?

Terrified of going backwards.

Thanks.

My doctor says he will do both surgeries at the same procedure.

Hello Everyone, I just joined this forum. My Doc has the same policy of waiting in between both surgeries. I think it makes a lot of sense. If you are going into someone's stomach and going to staple all this tissue into a shape of a banana , you would want it to be good tissue and not want it to come apart and have problems down the road. This is what we pay good doctors to do. So I don't mind waiting If the Job is done RIGHT. However, I do worry about the weight gain just like the rest of you. My Doctor, when dealing with the Ins company wrote them a letter and ask for approval for BOTH SURGERIES AT THE SAME TIME. So i got the approval for both surgeries already. He said he wanted me to have my band in while I was getting approval for these surgeries. Now I will have my Band removed on Oct 9th 2013 and Jan 1014 have the sleeve done. I will do my best not to gain, but I know it will be hard over Holiday time....But I want good tissue for him to work with.. and after having a band in for so long, it can only be wise to let good tissue grow... I do want to ask "what is "BCBS" THAT you speak of?? I don't think I have ever heard of that? Wishing you all well Jewel J

"BCBS" Is just the ins. company Blue Cross Blue Shield"

I had my band removed and am still tight 6 months later. Don't worry

I was banded 3/2007 and had the revision 9/2013. i had 1 procedure done, removal and sleeved. my recovery was great!!! actually, it was waaaaay better than when i got banded!! when i got banded i felt like i was hit by a truck in my stomach. it took a week to feel kind of normal again. when the revision was done, the 2nd day i was fine to up and around and hardly any pain. of course, everyone is different but i was pleasantly surprised. wishing you the best!!

I was banned in 2004 losing 82lbs and over the past few years gained all but the last 20lbs back. I have been miserable with food/liquids getting stuck, some days are worst then others where I VOMIT and have a series of gagging attacks almost daily! I was reluctant about the sleeve but when I went in for the initial consultation I just wanted this band "out". I'm scheduled to be sleeved on December 11th and hoping removal and sleeve will happen in one surgery, recovery and daily vomiting becomes a faint memory one day.

I hear ya, the band and the throwing up heartburn are not a good combo. Your surgery date is just around the corner please stay strong and be encourged.