I had band surgery January 16, 2006 and lost 84 lbs to date. The last year & a half has been VERY difficult to say the least!!!

It started with very bad pain in my upper back. After test after test & going to a pain management Doctor for a year I

decided I was tired of taking all these pain pills for a problem they could not pinpoint! I changed pain management

doctors & that was when with all my test spread out before him he said he didn't think the pain was coming from my back!!!!

On other fronts I was not being able to eat very well... Throwing up almost every meal!!! So when he said I want

your heart, lungs, & kidneys checked out. I went home & asked my husband do you think this could be my band????

Well long story short my band has slipped & is tightly sitting between my stomach and my esophagus!! My esophagus

is 4 times the size it is supposed to be!! So I have 2 choices: Remove band & hope for the best, or remove the band

and get the sleeve. My choice was the sleeve. I don't want to take the chance I will start to gain weight & be unhappy

for the rest of my life!!! I know nothing about the sleeve except what the doctor drew for me!

Are there any Bander's out there who can tell me their experience?? What is the difference between band & sleeve??

I am very used to not eating a lot & not drinking a lot at once. So what will happen....

The doctor says he can take another 20-40 lbs of me no problem. That is a huge plus as far as I am concern! But I have

been really happy with my weight these last couple of years, so like I said it is a huge plus!

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

I had a band for 18 months and lost about 90 pounds with it, unfortunately it slipped so I was had major reflux issues, could hardly eat or in the end drink a thing and had to sleep sitting up etc for several months, it was removed by another surgeon as an emergency in Dec 2012. My oesophogus has also distended.

My new surgeon suggested a sleeve as a better option but would not do this at the same time as removing the band and wanted at least a 3 month gap for my stomach, any scaring & my oesophogus to recover. I wasn't happy about this at the time but now think it was definately the most sensible thing for me at the time.

As soon as the band was removed I felt back to normal, I did a few weeks on liquids and then ate normally, it was quite a relief really.

In April 2013 I got sleeved and have not looked back since! No reflux at all and no throwing up either just good steady weight loss!

I find it so much easier with a sleeve, but the same rules apply, eat slowly and of course small portions, don't drink too much while you eat and nothing fizzy, but I can now eat all foods in moderation, I used to struggle with some types of food when I had my band but not with the sleeve.

Yes I gained some weight in the 3 months after band removal and before my sleeve but I soon lost it again.

I am now at my target and just got a TT

Wish I had been offered a sleeve in the first place, it would have saved me a lot of pain, stress and money!

I was banded in 2008 lost 121 lbs, had a baby in 2011 then all my problems started. In the ended emptied my band is the only thing that would allow me to keep food down and no acid reflux but between the pregnancy and open band I out back on 100lbs. So on 6/18 I got revision to sleeve and boy these last 2 weeks have been awesome. I'm able to eat and drink with no issues and keep it down. No acid reflux issues either. I wish I did this back in Oct when my Dr first suggested it but I put it off till now. My biggest worry was if the band caused to much scar tissue my Dr wouldn't. It have been able to do the sleeve but thank god there was little and he was able to clean it all out. Eating and drinking is the same small bites, chew well, no drinking while eating. My dr has no soda ( no issue here since I've been off them since 2008 )no straws. Since I'm still on soft foods I can't say if food that caused issues with the band are good now but I sure hope so and can't wait to find out.

Edited July 6, 201412 yr by stacielynntate