Hello fellow weight loss pals,

well im in a bit of a dilemma.. to start off I had a gastric banding done in the year 2008. Since then I have lost about 66 pounds. I was happy with the band until last year when I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia. Now to fix the hiatus the docs here suggest that I have to take out the band else the hiatus can always reoccur. My fear obviously is the weight gain once the band is out, to which the doctors have suggested to do a gastric sleeve. Now my apprehensions for this are:

1) Gastric banding is a reversible procedure however a sleeve is permanent. How does it affect the life in future

2) I don't have any children yet, but would a sleeve be a hindrance if and when I do get pregnant in terms of the diet I need to follow, the nutrition required for the fetus and the quantities????

3) Is the sleeve same as having a band in terms of eating habits. the reflux?? or is there a difference???

4) I have read that even with the sleeve there are chances of putting on the weight again?? is that true???

I would really appreciate if someone could throw some light on these issues

Hello fellow weight loss pals,

well im in a bit of a dilemma.. to start off I had a gastric banding done in the year 2008. Since then I have lost about 66 pounds. I was happy with the band until last year when I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia. Now to fix the hiatus the docs here suggest that I have to take out the band is out, to which the doctors have suggested to do a gastric sleeve. Now my apprehensions for this are:

1) Gastric banding is a reversible procedure however a sleeve is permanent. How does it affect the life in future

2) I don't have any children yet, but would a sleeve be a hindrance if and when I do get pregnant in terms of the diet I need to follow, the nutrition required for the fetus and the quantities????

3) Is the sleeve same as having a band in terms of eating habits. the reflux?? or is there a difference???

4) I have read that even with the sleeve there are chances of putting on the weight again?? is that true???

I would really appreciate if someone could throw some light on these issues

It's the best thing you could ever do . It works great. The weight will come back if you eat junk food.same with all of them. You get everything you need and so will your future baby just like you would if you never had it done, you just eat very small portions now. You should do it its awesome.... When they say don't drink they are not joking.. I was a big drinker and still am but now I can't remember the night before .. Stay clear if you have a problem, you could get in lots of trouble.

1) Gastric banding is a reversible procedure however a sleeve is permanent. How does it affect the life in future
Why would you want a non-permanent solution to a permanent problem in your life? The fact that the sleeve is a tool that can never be taken away from me was a huge selling point for me! How does it affect life in the future? It makes my life much more likely to be awesome! I am so happy with my life now. I'd have the sleeve operation done over again every year if I had to . . . but fortunately for me, it's permanent so I don't have to! Am I going to be able to pig out again and eat huge portions? Nope, and I don't miss it. I can eat whatever I want to eat in small portions though.

2) I don't have any children yet, but would a sleeve be a hindrance if and when I do get pregnant in terms of the diet I need to follow, the nutrition required for the fetus and the quantities????

You will need to be careful to make sure you are getting in the right nutrients, but every pregnant woman should do that. Pregnant women need about 300 extra calories per day. Add in a snack of one container of full fat Greek yogurt with a half a banana sliced up and stirred in and you are good to go. (just one example)

3) Is the sleeve same as having a band in terms of eating habits. the reflux?? or is there a difference???

I have not had a band, but the revisioners I have seen here say that eating is less likely to cause food getting "stuck," "productive burping," reflux, and other problems.

4) I have read that even with the sleeve there are chances of putting on the weight again?? is that true???

This is absolutely true for any weight loss surgery. You have to be committed to watching what you eat and making healthy choices for the rest of your life.

Good luck to you!

@ TJK: True that.. even with the band since the quantity was restricted I ensured that I put the right food in my mouth. Need to do that with the sleeve too.

@Bufflehead: Thank you so much for your reply. I am so glad that I joined this forum. I have been reading extensively (more like been addicted to it) and the posts for you all also helps in reassuring myself in going ahead with this.

I was never scared while getting the band put in. dint give it a second thought either. However, feeling a little scared this time around before planning my sleeve surgery.

Its probably cos the band has been such a integral part of my life. It helped me find a new me altogether. new life, new confidence, new challenges... it was like living a different life altogether post losing the all the extra wt.

Maybe it is just the fear that it might not come back. don't know... just thinking out loud...

@ TJK: True that.. even with the band since the quantity was restricted I ensured that I put the right food in my mouth. Need to do that with the sleeve too.

@Bufflehead: Thank you so much for your reply. I am so glad that I joined this forum. I have been reading extensively (more like been addicted to it) and the posts for you all also helps in reassuring myself in going ahead with this.

I was never scared while getting the band put in. dint give it a second thought either. However, feeling a little scared this time around before planning my sleeve surgery.

Its probably cos the band has been such a integral part of my life. It helped me find a new me altogether. new life, new confidence, new challenges... it was like living a different life altogether post losing the all the extra wt.

Maybe it is just the fear that it might not come back. don't know... just thinking out loud...

How do I post on here?

Bufflehead, just gave you some great information. The only thing that I can add is about the reflux. I am a band to sleeve revision. I have to take an acid inhibitor everyday for other reasons than this surgery, so I don't get acid reflux at all. I would still have the revision surgery anyway. Taking a 40mg purple nexium pill everyday for the rest of my life is so much easier and better than the alternative of being morbidly obese and having all of the complications that come with that. At one time I thought that the band was perfect but after mine failed and reading about all of the other band problems I would not recommend the band to anyone but I would recommend the sleeve surgery.

Bufflehead, just gave you some great information. The only thing that I can add is about the reflux. I am a band to sleeve revision. I have to take an acid inhibitor everyday for other reasons than this surgery, so I don't get acid reflux at all. I would still have the revision surgery anyway. Taking a 40mg purple nexium pill everyday for the rest of my life is so much easier and better than the alternative of being morbidly obese and having all of the complications that come with that. At one time I thought that the band was perfect but after mine failed and reading about all of the other band problems I would not recommend the band to anyone but I would recommend the sleeve surgery.

Well I'm a band to sleeve conversion. Now heading to a bypass not because of weight but reflux. I have had 4 dial actions to try to fix it no help. I take nexium twice a day and still have symptoms. I never had reflux before. However beside the awful reflux the sleeve is way better than the band. I don't see how anyone would do the band

ok now I am a little concerned again. The reason y I am getting rid of the band is because of the hiatus hernia which in turn causes major GERD/acid reflux problem.

Since the hernia will be repaired while doing the sleeve, I am hoping that would help resolve that issue....

I feel bad for you Pinklove. Acid reflux is horrible and causes serious problems. You can have stomach acid burning your esophagus and not even feel it. This can lead to a condition called Barrett's Esophagus. It is a precancerous condition. We all have to decide what is best for us and our situation. I had terrible acid reflux but I don't feel it anymore. I have an upper GI every 3 years, with a biopsy, to monitor the Barrett's, and hope that it doesn't progress to a more serious stage. This was not caused by the surgery. The surgery actually stopped the symptoms. The lap-band that I had 10 years ago stopped the acid reflux also, for 8 years, because I had to eat a certain diet that helped people with acid reflux. When the band failed, 2 years ago, I reverted back to my old bad eating habits and gained weight and started damaging my esophagus with stomach acid again. I had 8 years of practice on what to eat and I still disregarded all of the information that I had, and starting eating everything until I felt full. I have absolutely no will power when it comes to eating and drinking and socializing. Since the sleeve conversion 12 weeks ago, I have no acid reflux symptoms and no stomach pain anymore. I feel great and I can eat whatever I feel like eating. My stomach being so small now fills up fast and that makes me stop eating. I am down 40 lbs now. I hope everything works out good for. Take care.

Edited June 7, 201412 yr by 1959JimmyJames

I'm about to get converted from band to sleeve because of nighttime choking issues with the band when it's tight. I've read a lot of posts about it and some people like you feel less restriction with the sleeve than they did with the band. I think you can make it work but you may need to readjust to a new way of understanding what full feels like. Most like the sleeve much better, but some miss the super tight restriction. The good thing is that once you're all healed my understanding is that you can eat pretty much anything with the sleeve, in small amounts of course. So veggies and healthy choices are easier to make.

Thank you all for your responses. It does help in reinstating my faith on being well again as I was really confused. And seeing the wt go up has been a major source of depression for me. reached a stage where I hate looking at myself in the mirror.

Wanted suggestions from fellow banders/sleevers before taking the plunge.

Thanks once again

Thanks I'm trying and believing it will work out for the best

ok now I am a little concerned again. The reason y I am getting rid of the band is because of the hiatus hernia which in turn causes major GERD/acid reflux problem. Since the hernia will be repaired while doing the sleeve, I am hoping that would help resolve that issue....

I am going from band to sleeve on 6/18. I got banded in 2008 and lost 121 lbs. but after having my son in 2011 it's been a struggle. I ended up with horrible acid reflux and nothing worked. I went on my Dr. preop diet plan so any times and empty and filled the band with no luck. Only time the acid reflux went away is when the band is empty as it is now. Bad part is I have out weight back in. So I finally said enough is enough and time to switch. Maybe talk to your dr about the difference and do some research to help you out.