Hello all,

I've had my Lap-band since 6/12 and the honeymoon was over a long time ago. I can't get to the green zone anymore and am struggling. Due to a change in insurance, I have a different doctor and clinic. He suggests I allow him to remove the band and get VSG. Having essentially failed at the Lap-band (lost 56, gained back 22) I am unsure if I can succeed with a sleeve. I get no satiation from the band and restriction is minimal even with a high fill amount.

Will the sleeve help me lose the hunger?

I know the cravings are in my head, but I am still hungry after a reasonable meal. Is the surgeon looking for my best interest or another big insurance payday? Does anyone know of any data or studies of band to sleeve conversions? Having another surgery does not scare me, another failure does. I meet with the nutritionist tomorrow and the psychologist next week. I ask to hear from some of you who have changed band to sleeve of your experience.

thanks

The Laughing Cat

Hi

I has my band removed in November after having it for 7 years. I had the sleeve 5 weeks ago.

I have very minimal if any hunger. I am down 11kgs (23lbs)

Best decision I made x

You may want to review all the posts in this section; lots of information. I had my revision, now reached my goal weight absolutely the best thing that I could have done for myself.

i was banded a few years back too and had it slip and needed it removed. to make a long story short, I regained the 75 lbs i lost plus about 10 more over the past 5 years without the band. I have been on the fence about getting sleeved too only because I hear its still the same amount of work to lose the weight as before being sleeved. if thats the case then why risk myself and have another surgery? If there is no benefit on having the sleeve done then why do it? i hear so many people say they work just as hard after being sleeved as they did before the sleeve. This all confuses me and just makes me think Ill keep trying at it on my own. Im feeling so hopeless...

I haven't read the responses yet, but I wanted to tell you that I failed with the band too and was worried about the same thing. For 3 years I tried to make it work. At one point I was down 48 pounds because I was doing insanity videos daily and keeping a strict food log. Well, it took me 2 years. I went up and down and up and down. I have PCOS which gives me an insulin resistance. After extreme stress, I ended up gaining it all back. By the time of my surgery, I was almost the same weight as when I went in for the band in 2010. So I understand that fear, totally.

That being said, yes, your hunger will go away. But not the head hunger. The feeling of being hungry doesn't go away on its own. I didn't realize this when I had the sleeve. So, there's lots of reasons for that. It could be gas, that makes you feel hungry and your stomach growls a LOT the first month, but digestive enzymes and a good probiotic help that. Then there's also the Protein shakes and Water consumption that can affect that. Finally, if you are still hungry, it's probably just head hunger. There's nothing you can do about that but distract yourself from the thought of food.

I had a hard time with head hunger for a little while. For 3 weeks or so (not right away), after my surgery, I would think I was starving to death of hunger around 7 or 8 PM. Then I stopped thinking about it, distracted myself any way that I could, and did not let anything go into my body but water or a shake if I HAD to. Then it went away and now food doesn't even really enter my mind anymore.

So, my best advice based on my struggles and failures is to really, really consider what might be causing your head hunger. For me, it was because I would begin to unwind around that time and my mind would relax and I'd want to just mindlessly nibble. So I found other ways to relax. If you can find the reason that you eat, if it's emotional or not, and think you can control it, you WILL find great success with the sleeve.

I weigh in today for the first time in about 3 weeks at the doc. But so far I'm at 2 months and lost over 40 pounds.

Hopefully I was helpful... ?

I just realized I might not have really answered your question. About the doctor, I say that you should see if he has groups you can attend and get more information on him and find out how reputable he is. I would do that regardless, because it's a major surgery. If he doesn't offer support after the surgery in the form of support groups, regular post-operative visits, classes, etc. I would also think hard about the doctor. But the real thing it boils down to is whether or not you are ready for this and I would strongly advise you to not let him pressure you. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk more or anything, I'm happy to just lend an ear any time.

i was sleeved a few years back too and had it slip and needed it removed. to make a long story short, I regained the 75 lbs i lost plus about 10 more over the past 5 years without the sleeve. I have been on the fence about getting sleeved too only because I hear its still the same amount of work to lose the weight as before being sleeved. if thats the case then why risk myself and have another surgery? If there is no befeift on having the sleeve done then why do it? i hear so many people say they work just as hard after being sleeved as they did before the sleeve. This all confuses me and just makes me think Ill keep trying at it on my own. Im feeling so hopeless...

I wanted to just say something really quick, because I hope this is helpful to others, but it's an amazing tool. Yes, it's very hard to do, if not harder than the band. But you've already worked so hard with the band and if it is not helpful for you, why press on through the struggles and constant frustration? Losing weight is hard regardless and the band is a lot of work. But the sleeve is too, just in different ways. It's much more restricting and traumatizing to the body, but at the same time, it's worth it (IMHO), to be working really hard at it and succeeding than putting yourself through the pain of fighting against your band. It's a massive benefit, but also only a tool, just like the band is.

I went into this surgery knowing and completely comprehending that this was the final thing I could do for weightloss. I didn't give myself the option of failing. I couldn't. I honestly.. truly believe that if you enter into something with options you give yourself excuses. You can do it it.. good luck

Oh my goodness does this all sound like my life during the band. I was banded in 09 and Just had my band removal and vsg done 5 weeks ago. It was the best decesion I ever made. Last night I looked at my plate I had a little version of a healthy meal and I remembered saying to my self how nice it is not to worry about eatting certain foods that would make me throw up. I eat and I enjoy my food more then ever because I know this food will nurish my body and stay in my body too! I am very happy I did the revision.

I had 5 years of working my lapband too I tried everything and I was lead to belive it was my fault it didnt work. I latter found out it had a leak and the failure of my band had nothing to do with me.

Good luck in making your life healthy and happy for you!

Hey there! I too am considering the VSG. I had the lap band back in 2006 and had it removed in approx. 2009 due to all of the complications. So, I'm glad you asked this question because i'm trying to read up on peoples thoughts/input.

I have a REALLLLY dumb question (since I'm new to this site)...I posted a question last night and people have responded to it (I got the alerts via email)...but i'm wondering how to get back to the post I posted so I can respond to the people who chimed in. I know...I should be able to figure this out but I cant. Is there a place that I can go to see 'my posts'?

Thank you!!!

Nevermind! I'm smarter than I thought! I found it.

Thanks for all the feedback. The nutritionist visit last week answered a lot of questions I had. Tomorrow is the psych eval and later the pre-op/post-op diet class. I want to be fully educated before taking this step. From a lot of reading in this site, I know I want the Lap-Band out. I have experienced the side effects, more or less, that the rest of you have.

Thanks again,

The Laughing Cat