Hi there my name is Lisa and i am from Australia ..I am getting sleeved this tuesday very nervous and excited.. I have been on opti for 6 days.. I am new to this forum and feel like I can relate to alot of people.. I have had the band put in and removed. . And ready to start a new life with the sleeve but I am worried that I will never be able to eat again just only liquid im ready to only eat entree size meals 100% but worried I wont be able to eat anythin..does it really feel like the same stomach but ALOT smaller. .

I had alot of problems with the band and somedays I couldnt even keep down water.. does the sleeve feel alot different to the band ?? And also I play alot if sport like volleball and netball does anyone no when usually you can start playin sport again. .. thanks so much for all your time looking forward to hearing from you all thanks lisa ????

Edited April 4, 201511 yr by lisahands_01

I had a very easy surgical experience. Other than getting full on much less food, Solid foods I get full on ¼ - ½ cup and Soup maybe 1 cup. I cannot feel a difference in my tummy.

As for sports, I was back in the gym at 3 weeks post op and currently workout 5 - 6 days a week. Once you are healed there is no reason you cannot resume playing sport.

Thanks so so much really appreciate it..fingers crossed I will be fine ????

And also how long have you had your sleeve done thanks

I had the VSG in October of last year and was eating within 6 weeks. It feels like a "normal stomach" just get full very quickly. Make sure you chew till it is paste and eat SLOWLY (my biggest problem) I can no longer tolerate sweet, or grease foods. But if you follow your program to a T you should have minimal problems.

Thanks so much really appreciate your time I will take your advice thanks. . I bet your looking fabulous have you lost alot in your 6 months

And also how long have you had your sleeve done thanks

I hit the 6 mth mark on 3/18. I intentionally avoid breads, pastas, white rice, etc... but otherwise I pretty much eat everything I ate before surgery only in smaller portions.

I am only about 5 1/2 weeks out and my tummy already feels pretty "normal" just TINY. You will be able to eat again, just not anything like the amounts we were once used to (but you will NOT want to). I am down almost 35lb already, HUGE reward, no regrets.

Best of luck to you!!

I remember going through those emotions. mostly excited..I luv the fact it doesn't hardly take much at all to feel satisfied. I worried myself so much the 2 wks before and to the day yet at the same time I could NOT wait for my life to start! now I'm 10 months PO even though my first month was rough not physically but mentally and a few emotional dips but I fought thru it and I swear I would do it again in a heartbeat! follow your plan! stick to it.trust the plan. eat your protein first. you will be eating "good" healthy foods again...it will take some time be patient. everyone tolerates different foods at different stages. best wishes and keep us posted

I'm 18 months out and can eat any kind of food I want - it's been like that since about month 9. I can't eat large quantities, but that's OK, I can still have a little bit of everything I want. There are foods that no longer hold appeal - bread, pastas - I used eat those daily! I'm content with my diet.

As far as activity - I was able to walk a mile about 5 days post-op and I haven't stopped walking since. I run, I hike, I work out at the gym, I do hot yoga. I do anything I want with regard to activity.

Lisa,

I know you didn't ask for these kind of details, but since I've been through a similar experience, I hope you find it helpful.

I also had a band that failed (May 2012) after 7 years. It had to be removed (emergency) and towards the end it was not fun. Now, that being said, the band worked and got me into a normal weight range (100 lbs. lost and I was able to keep it off). After the band was removed I felt hungry all the time (same problem I had before the band), gained back about half of what I had lost and decided to pursue sleeve surgery (Nov. 2014). The sleeve surgery was a piece of cake compared to the way I felt after the initial band surgery. We have no idea why, since the surgeon had to clear out some scar tissue from the band failure and fix a hiatial hernia, it was a much more involved surgery. I never took any post-surgery pain killers, never vomited (and still haven't to this day), was doing laps on the hospital floor within an hour of the time they brought me down from surgery and was released to go home in less than 48 hours. I was stiff and sore, but that was about it - and that was gone within 24 hours of being back in my own bed. Oh, and I'm almost 60 years old.

If there is one thing I already knew from the lapband surgery, it is that practically everyone has their own unique experience, and I don't think this is any different. My most profound experience with the sleeve is that I'm no longer hungry (except sometimes in my head). From my point of view, it was worth having the surgery just for that result.

I'm about 6 months post surgery and I'm currently able to eat a small portion of just about anything I want. I'm able to eat the same foods as everyone else when we go out, or when I'm stuck in a lunch meeting at work. I am naturally a very slow eater - I know that helps - the feeling of fullness sometimes sneaks up on me, so I imagine someone who eats rapidly might see a different result. I seem to be more sensitive to fatty and spicy foods (I love Thai - as hot as they can get it ), but I haven't encountered anything that makes me violently ill. I haven't had a single case of the "slimies". My sleeve feels different than the band - it doesn't have a "hard" barrier to stop anything (it's not like it was with the band, when I'd eat a piece of bread and know that nothing else was going to go through that sucker for hours ). I sometimes get a little bit of the same sensation of food moving through, but that seems to be lessening as I get further out from surgery. BTW - it's also easier to get fluids down. I don't feel the "drag" with the sleeve that I did with the band.

Best of luck!

Hi there thank you so much this had really helped and make me feel more at ease such a great story and thanks all for all the comments you are all lovely

You are right Cydney... Everyone has a different experience. Your story gives us hope... I m pre-op. Scheduled for April16th. I was scheduled for March 24th, but I chickened out. I thought that I can do this by myself. I stayed on a very low calorie diet with no problem... I consume around 800 calories a day... Still did not loose weight.. I then get discouraged and start upping my calorie consumption. I guess the sleeve helps you to not get discouraged and continue the diet for a long time... I guess that's the difference. I am very worried about the complications though... I know what can happen with regards to complications, but I have decided to read only success stories to get me through this ????

I am 2 months out from the sleeve. My co-worker is 6 years out from the band. She has lost the weight and kept it off. However she still has problems where food gets stuck or she vomits. She has days where she can eat a chicken thigh and the next day she cannot. This is the same chicken from the same big batch she made over the weekend.

In contrast I have thrown up once. I was newly eating solid food, was out with friends and had a little too much plus a couple of sips of Water with dinner. Once I got rid of the last two pieces of broccoli I had it was good.

I have less eating issues than the friend with the band. She could not do things like crunches or heavy core exercise for 2 years after surgery since it would pull at the port. I don't have any issues like that.

I have had a really really easy recovery. Minimal pain meds, never had gas pains, the sleeve is fine with everything I have tried. Really soft, very thin sliced deli turkey made me crampy the first time I tried it. I think it could "pack" in the sleeve. If I have it with a little veggies or crackers it is good. I have eaten ground beef but have not tried something like a steak yet.

I was walking quickly after surgery. I started riding my horse about 7 weeks after surgery. I delayed an 10 days since I lost an argument with an immersion blender and had 5 stitches in my L index finger.

My friend would never recommend the band to anybody even though she was successful from a weight loss and maintenance perspective. At this point I would recommend the sleeve.

ETA: Oops. I forgot I had a hiatal hernia repair at the same time.

Edited April 6, 201511 yr by NikkiDoc

The only things that affect me food wise is pasta and ground beef. I have not thrown up once (felt like it a couple times)but if I feel "icky" after eating I take a walk and that seems to help. As far as the ground beef thing, I changed to ground turkey and no problems. Eating fast is the hardest part for me. I have always been a fast eater so learning to eat slow is a every meal learning curve.

I have been able to eat anything since going from band to sleeve. ( actually, I haven't tried pizza or rice or un-toasted bread or cake yet) but everything that I eat, my portions are so much smaller because I get full. When I had the band, once the food passed I would continue eating. I do agree with a previous post, at work I only get 30 minutes for lunch so I can't eat much but when I'm home, I take longer, therefore can eat more