My Revision - it's complicated :)

[shark23 11]

My story is a complicated one, but I thought for those of you deciding about this surgery or who were nervous, I would share it here. Please forgive the long post.

I was banded in 2008. My band gave me complications about 2 years in. I lost 40 pounds with my band (wanted to lose about 80) but over the years it became a struggle sometimes to eat at all. Other times, I could eat as much as I wanted with no issues and I gained 20 of that back. Even with a couple of Upper GIs and being told I was okay - I still had issues. A couple of friends had sleeves and seemed to be doing well. So, I decided to have a revision. I went to my original surgeon and we planned it for May 13 2015. Same day band removal and sleeve.

I was totally up for this and went in feeling great. However, when my band was removed, I was told my band had eroded into my stomach and caused some major damage. Thankfully, my doctor did not do the sleeve at the same time. He wanted to give me a chance to heal. At the time I was frustrated, but in hindsight I'm glad. So we reset the date to 3 months out. But I began to have misgivings and sought a second opinion. I found another surgeon who I absolutely love and trust, and reset the date again. This time we set it to September 23. I did a 2 week pre-diet like I did before. However, my Mother, who had been sick a long time, was declining and I was worried she might pass so I rescheduled to October 28. My Mom died on 9/23 (so glad I moved the date). That was hard and because of that I think I began to be so anxious about everything and was feeling really worried about the surgery. My doctor was so helpful and kind and his staff were patient and very helpful, and I decided to go through with it anyway. I just made myself do it.

I went through another 2 week pre op diet, yes, that means I did three of those in 6 months....

My surgery was on 10/28. When I got out of surgery, I was told that due to scar tissue, my surgeon had to change normal procedure a bit and use a different template for my sleeve. He said my sleeve was a little bit bigger than he would normally use, but still small enough to get good restriction. That first day home, I felt so bad - I was nauseated a little bit and had some trouble drinking. I wondered if I had made a mistake. But every day I improved. I was on full liquids and drank 1-2 ounces every 30 minutes. Each day I was able to get a little more in. I'm now on the 3rd week and just stared the liquid pureed kind of foods, like beans/oatmeal, etc. I can probably get 4 oz. down without restriction, but as soon as I get a little bit more, I feel full. I'm having to watch out for head hunger, and reflux - which mimics real hunger. But overall, I'm learning what it feels like to be full. That didn't happen with my band, I was always hungry.

I'm so glad my 2nd surgeon made sure he put the sleeve staples in healthy tissue so that the risk of leaks was minimized. Even if I lose weight more slowly, I did not want a leak. He even knew that if there wasn't a safe place to put the staples, he would stop and just close me up.

I have lost 25 pounds since the start of my preop diets in September, and I feel amazing.

So far I have had no real complications <knock wood> and I'm following the post diet pretty easily. I go back to work next week and will have to manage working and taking food, getting my Vitamins in. But I'm looking forward to that.

My advice is, find a surgeon who listens to you and who has a staff that listens. Don't spend hours on the internet reading about complications. Understand that band complications may complicate your sleeve, but it's still possible to get a sleeve and have good results. I'm sure I'll hit stalls and plateaus and even though the sleeve helps enormously, it's really only a tool. If I fill that 4-6 ozs with ice cream and Cookies I will not lose weight. SO be honest with yourselves about stuff like that.

I'm very glad I did this. Your mileage may vary. But so far so good.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Sharing this. Just read another post that this may help.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,443]

@@BLERDgirl -- if you'd intended to put a link in there, you did what I do too often. Please get the link. Thank you.

@@shark23 -- You have my condolences on the loss of your mother. I also appreciate your posting your experience, as it's useful to others facing band removal, as I may be.

A piece of info that you omitted may be significant to others. You sought a seconf opinion when you had misgivings after discussing sleeve with the first surgeon. Do you mean that you didn't have enough faith in him/her or that you wanted a second opinion as part of your decision-making, that is, to see if a second surgeon had the same opinion as the first?

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

Interesting read, thanks for posting!

[shark23 11]

@WLSRe

My first surgeon who did my original band is excellent and highly recommended. He advertises and has a huge amount of patients. After my band removal - which went very well - I wanted to talk to him about my band complication and about what he found when he did my surgery. I kept getting put with PAs and when I finally met with him, he was kind of flippant, and I figured that he didn't remember me. I was also unsuccessful in getting the surgery report - my new surgeon was unable to get this as well. All in all, when I met my new surgeon, Dr. Henke - Dallas Medical City, he took time to talk to me, he was kind, his staff was amazing, and I just felt right about having him to the sleeve. I think I would have had a successful sleeve with my original surgeon, but I'm afraid I would not have felt the same security and compassion. That is the only reason I switched. I hesitate to name my original surgeon because he did nothing wrong, really - it's more of a preference.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,443]

@@shark23 -- Thanks for filling in the blanks. I agree, I need someone who will talk to me and answer questions regardless of the field of medicine. Wishing you great happiness, comfort and success from here on.

[Fatty McFatster 888]

Thanks for sharing your story. I have my band to sleeve revision next Friday and have been worried about that. You helped ease some of my anxiety, so thank you!

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

@@BLERDgirl -- if you'd intended to put a link in there, you did what I do too often. Please get the link. Thank you.

@@shark23 -- You have my condolences on the loss of your mother. I also appreciate your posting your experience, as it's useful to others facing band removal, as I may be.

A piece of info that you omitted may be significant to others. You sought a seconf opinion when you had misgivings after discussing sleeve with the first surgeon. Do you mean that you didn't have enough faith in him/her or that you wanted a second opinion as part of your decision-making, that is, to see if a second surgeon had the same opinion as the first?

The post is how I intended. There a link back to this post on another thread for a reader giving difficulties. I was just letting the OP know I linked back to this post.

[titan05 174]

Revision June 23rd and have lost 60 pounds so far. It has changed my life!

[Fatty McFatster 888]

Revision June 23rd and have lost 60 pounds so far. It has changed my life!

That is great news!!! I hope I do as well as you have. Congrats!!