Hello:

I had my band removed last summer after finding out it had fully eroded into my stomach. I am gaining and gaining and gaining weight. I have no control over my appetite. Never did without a working tool.

I'm considering (very seriously - have appt with surgeon in December) getting sleeved early next year. Can you tell me what amazed you most about the sleeve compared to the band?

Looking for honest feedback to help me in making my decision.

Thanks for your responses.

Sue

id love to hear too. im researching the sleeve and considering it very much too.

It amazes me at how it fails to make me vomit daily. With the band, I became a very proficient vomiter. I've done it on the side of the fwy (with my head hanging out the car door), in bushes at a poker party (didn't want anyone to hear me in the bathroom), at various restaurants (I've heard "r u ok?" so many times), and of course in a hot tub. Cuz who hasn't barfed in a hot tub? In the last 4 mths, I've vomited once. My fault for eating too much.

1 bad thing that amazes me is the amount of food I can now eat, 4 mths out. When I started eating actual food 3 mths ago, I was stuffed at about 4-6 bites. Now it takes many more bites. Still tremendously lower than pre wls, but I'm starting to wonder if there's actually 85% of my stomach actually missing or did they just reposition it? I've been tossing the same 2 lbs back for the last 6 weeks. I know I could lose faster by counting every single calorie that goes into my mouth but thats too much like dieting and thats why I had wls in the 1st place - to stop dieting. I can eat about as much now as when my band was at it's premium (months 4-18) but I'm not losing like I did in the beginning. I'm within 23 lbs of my goal of 130 so thats probly the reason. The less u weigh, the slower u lose.

But until Jan 2nd, I will try not to gain. After the holidays, I will take my weightloss more seriously. I'm a realist. I know trying to lose during the holidays is crazy. Unless ur good at dieting. If u were good at counting every morsel of food that goes past ur lips and stop at any given amt (like 1,000), then u had no business having wls to begin with.

Good luck with ur decision. The sleeve is a tool, just like the band. It will work if u work it (sounds like an AA meeting, huh?) but if u fail it, it will fail u. Just like the lapband. I feel it's a much better tool, if for nothing more than the fact that I'm no longer bulemic...

Most amazing thing was losing over 150# and now maintaining at a healthy weight. 10 years of the lapband and I never got under 200#; never moved out of obese catagory.

I agree completely with Marfar, and I'm also amazed by how much I can eat, especially when I read of others eating so little. I'm 9 weeks out and 10 lbs from my goal weight. Honestly I feel much hungrier with the sleeve than I ever felt with the band and while I miss that I do not miss feeling stuck one bit.