What's your advice to sleeve newbies?

I was just writing an email to someone and it dawned on me that this might be the start of a good thread.

My advice is to take FULL advantage of the first six months. That is the easiest time to lose weight. Your stomach is the size of a cigar, finger, it's small and round. It won't stretch out to a banana size/shape for a few months and this time frame it is easy to lose weight. Since it is easy to lose weight a lot of people just sit around watching pounds melt. If you put forth effort during this time frame you lose faster and get to goal sooner.

If you are a band to sleeve and your port site hurts the first two weeks... yeah, I got nothing. It hurts. Consider it initiation to the revision club? HA! :thumbup:

Anyone else?

The stomach ends and the intestines begin. What is between the two?

The pylorus valve.

I checked it out on the web and I've found that for my bmi level the sleeve is only a first step and I'd probably have to do a 2nd step to finish my weightloss.

I don't necessarily agree with that. If the choice is between a band and a sleeve, you are going to get much better weight loss with the sleeve.

Plus, they started doing the sleeves as a stand-alone procedure because those high BMI people who got it as the first part of a two-parter did so well with just the sleeve that they never came back for the switch. Some of those people had BMIs in the 70s!

I'm considering getting a lap band, my appt with the Doctor is 4/09. I'm at 57 bmi and only have heard of the sleeve on this board. I checked it out on the web and I've found that for my bmi level the sleeve is only a first step and I'd probably have to do a 2nd step to finish my weightloss. (for lower bmi it is good for an only step) Have you heard anything about this? I'd appreciate any info.

Thanks

I got this from www.obesityhelp.com

The sleeve would probably do double the job that the band will for a BMI of 57. The higher the BMI the less success you are likely to have with a band. Per Inamed 5 year stats are showing about a 55 - 60% weight loss at five years. It has a 25% failure rate according to Dr. Husted who was quoting Dr. Ren's studies (I have not taken the time to find that study yet). Many doctors are not banding anymore because of the low success rate. Many hospitals and the country of Chile are not banding anymore due to the low success and high complication #s.

If I was in your shoes... and I'm not and I realize that... but if I was - I'd get a sleeve. If you are not able to completely and totally change your diet and cut out all flour and sugar, I'd get a DS. DS kinda teaches you to do away with flour and sugar. ;o) RNY has a very high failure rate as well, about 20%. Revisions after failed bypass are not pretty.

I am considering the sleeve and want people to let me know the negatives to this procedure, if any, as well as the positives when compared to the lap band? Sarah

I find little value in the lap band. The failure rate is quite high, higher than bypass. Re operations for repairs (everything from flipped ports to fixing slips) is 30-50%. People do not seem to be keeping bands long. Band Grad boards are all about who is slipping, who is revising, and who isn't losing weight. There was a thread on one of the two boards I go to asking if everyone would do it again. Four of about 20 people (all at least 1 year out, most 2-3 years) were at goal or near goal.

I see these sigs showing someone has been banded for 3 years, they've lost 70 of their 150# to lose and in their sig it says, "I LOVE MY BAND!" I have to ask why they love it? they aren't even halfway to goal. What's so great about slips, erosion, stoma spasms, pouch dilation, esophageal dilation, infections, flipped ports, esophageal damage, esophageal motility issues, slow weight loss, no weight loss, reflux, getting stuck, sliming, foaming, all the assorted ways of puking and stoma spewing, band intolerance, embarrassing social situations when you get stuck, etc.

Then there is restriction, fills and unfills for life. Aftercare forever. And speaking of restriction there is the matter of how everything in the world affects restriction. TOM, time of day, weather, exercise, hydration, mood, stress, food temp, drink temp, etc.

Then you have liquids. Hope you like them because with a band you'll be on them a lot. Post op diet (same with all procedure types), after each fill you'll be on liquids for a day or two. Each stuck episide causes swelling so you'll finish the day with liquids. If you slip, dilate your pouch or esophagus you'll be on liquids with an unfilled band for weeks at a time. On the days that something in this world affects your restriction (see above) you may only be able to get liquids down.

A sleeve is your stomach, but smaller with no Ghrelin to tell you that you are hungry all the time. The long term complications are small and they happen less than 1% of the time. Faster and better weight loss than banding, and most of all.. it's easier.

It has been three weeks after surgery and I lost 20 lbs the first two weeks but did not lose anything on the third week. I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

It has been three weeks after surgery and I lost 20 lbs the first two weeks but did not lose anything on the third week. I have no idea what I am doing wrong.

Twenty pounds is a LOT to lose in 2 weeks so maybe your body is on a plateau. It is unrealistic to expect to lose 10 pounds a week. You don't say how much you have to loose or what your current diet is... soft? As long as you follow the guidelines, the weight loss will happen.

Twenty pounds is a LOT to lose in 2 weeks so maybe your body is on a plateau. It is unrealistic to expect to lose 10 pounds a week. You don't say how much you have to loose or what your current diet is... soft? As long as you follow the guidelines, the weight loss will happen.

I am 5' 1" tall and weigh 216 lbs. I lost 5 lbs just before the operation which made me 211 lbs. two weeks later I was 190 lbs. The operation was march 18 and today is April 8. I am on soft foods and baby food I am also starting on chicken breast. as of April 8 I am still 190 lbs.

I don't mind if it is a plateau but I eat every two or three hours. of course I eat very little but I don't know if that is a problem. you only eat about four or five ounces of food at a time.:glare:

I am 5' 1" tall and weigh 216 lbs. I lost 5 lbs just before the operation which made me 211 lbs. two weeks later I was 190 lbs. The operation was march 18 and today is April 8. I am on soft foods and baby food I am also starting on chicken breast. as of April 8 I am still 190 lbs.

I don't mind if it is a plateau but I eat every two or three hours. of course I eat very little but I don't know if that is a problem. you only eat about four or five ounces of food at a time.:glare:

Eating every 2-3 hours and taking in 4-5 ounces seems a lot to me. Have you tracked your caloric intake on The Daily Plate. com or another site? From reading the experiences of others, it's normal to actually gain a little during the soft diet phase so maintaining your weight is actually a good thing.

I was told to limit meals to 3 per day once I get to the regular foods again (day 31 post-op). It seems you're now allowed to transition to a regular diet. THAT is when people notice the restriction and start losing again. Can you eat 4-5 oz of a chicken breast in one sitting?

My friend who got the sleeve plateaued all the time, and then all of sudden she will drop 10 lbs and plateau again for 2-3 weeks. She made her goal in 6 months though.

Eating every 2-3 hours and taking in 4-5 ounces seems a lot to me. Have you tracked your caloric intake on The Daily Plate. com or another site? From reading the experiences of others, it's normal to actually gain a little during the soft diet phase so maintaining your weight is actually a good thing.

I was told to limit meals to 3 per day once I get to the regular foods again (day 31 post-op). It seems you're now allowed to transition to a regular diet. THAT is when people notice the restriction and start losing again. Can you eat 4-5 oz of a chicken breast in one sitting?

I would shread about 2 ounces of cooked chicken breast and put it in 2 or 3 ounces of chicken stock and that would be my dinner.

My friend who got the sleeve plateaued all the time, and then all of sudden she will drop 10 lbs and plateau again for 2-3 weeks. She made her goal in 6 months though.

This is good news!!:glare: I hope that this is what's going on with me. I wish I could blink my eye and have two months fly by!

I would shread about 2 ounces of cooked chicken breast and put it in 2 or 3 ounces of chicken stock and that would be my dinner.

I would bet that you're going to see another loss on the scale soon. Keep us posted.

Wow.. it has been forever since I posted here. I am 9 months post op and have lost 114 lbs with my sleeve. I am 21 lbs from goal. I actually lost 100 lbs in the first 6 months of having surgery. What I love about the sleeve? No Maintanence! Absolutely NONE!! :-)

Wow.. it has been forever since I posted here. I am 9 months post op and have lost 114 lbs with my sleeve. I am 21 lbs from goal. I actually lost 100 lbs in the first 6 months of having surgery. What I love about the sleeve? No Maintanence! Absolutely NONE!! :-)

Congratulations on your phenomenol success! Were you a revision from a band to a sleeve? I look forward to hearing more. Many of us are newly sleeved and the verterans who have been successful (several here) keep us going.

I was thinking over my decision to band vs sleeve and after reading more on this forum, I have decided the band is for me. I don't have those complications and I only needed 2 fills. I know my weight loss is slower but hey, it took a long time to put it on. What's the hurry now?

So I was wondering, with the sleeve, since your stomach is smaller, I would assume your body works less to digest food--it shouldn't take as long either. So for those of us with eating disorders, what keeps you from grazing every couple of hours? What changes your eating behavior other than the portion size?

For me, the utter physical misery of PB slime hack gag vomit spit foam for at least 2 hours after a "bad band episode" definately reinforces change. I have to change my eating behavior in order to avoid that! I either have to chew more, slow down, and be more conscious about eating to avoid negative, physical pain. I'm kinda like Pavlov's dog I guess. Isn't that a distorted wierd way of justifying it?!

Wow.. it has been forever since I posted here. I am 9 months post op and have lost 114 lbs with my sleeve. I am 21 lbs from goal. I actually lost 100 lbs in the first 6 months of having surgery. What I love about the sleeve? No Maintanence! Absolutely NONE!! :-)

Wow, that is absolutely wonderful and amazing. I would love to see results similar to yours!