Band to Sleeve - Date set but have questions...

Joanna B
on 1/30/15 11:37 pm - MI
VSG on 03/12/15

Hi There! 

I have not been to the boards in a while but am grateful to back =]

I had the Lap Band May 2007. Did wonderful and lost 70-80 pounds then within the last year I have been experiencing reflux, had to have an unfill and I gained back all the weight I lost, and then some. Right now I am at the highest weight I have ever been. I saw my surgeon Tuesday and made an appointment for a revision to the Sleeve. My date is set at March 12!! I was worried about the reflux with the sleeve but my surgeon believes 100% of the reflux is coming from the Band and after I have this removed the reflux would not be so bad (with medication of course). We are doing a scope Friday to confirm there are no other issues. I am so excited to start feeling better again but am nervous that this Sleeve will also fail. So I have a few questions =]

Can anyone provide me with their experience with the Sleeve? How is your diet? Can you drink alcohol? Do you still take acid reflux medication? How was the first few weeks post op, pain, etc? How long did you take off work with the surgery? (My surgeon said I need 4-6 weeks off work. I work from home so I was hoping that I can take a week off and then work from home the next two weeks.)  Any other suggestions? Sorry so many questions =]

I did also post this on the Revision board, I am sorry if this is a repeat =]

 

I really appreciate all of you!


        
Amy M.
on 1/30/15 11:49 pm - Grand Island, NY
VSG on 07/30/14

I can't compare the sleeve to the band but I can tell you how amazing the sleeve has been for me.  As far as the diet goes I just follow my plan.  I eat no more than 4 ounces at a meal but when I was early out my meals were only a max of 2 ounces.  I drink my water, get in at least 60-80 grams of protein per day, and keep my carbs below 40.  When you're early out you can't drink any alcohol because it'll slow down your healing process.  My plan says no alcohol until I hit goal because it'll slow down your weight loss.  That being said, I have had a ****tail here or there with the "Skinny Girl" vodka and Crystal Light or SF juice.  But I try to stay away from it because I get paranoid about gaining weight because of it.  

I do still take Prilosec every morning for acid.  My surgeon wants me to start taking it every other day and then a couple times per week and then none at all.  Every time I try to stop though the heartburn gets bad and the acid starts to mimic hunger.  So I'm fine with staying on it.  I don't want to get any hunger signals.  

I took 4 weeks off from work but if you work from home you can probably get clearance from your surgeon to return to work after a week or 2.  Some people go back to work sooner than that but I don't know how they do it.  My focus in recovery was all about healing, resting, walking, and drinking my fluids.  If I had to focus on work on top of that I would've been miserable.  

I think you'll see that the sleeve is way better than the band.  You don't have to go for fills and you won't get that feeling of food being "stuck" which is something I heard that band patients have had to deal with.  The restriction is great and you won't feel hungry at all. 

Good luck!

        

Age: 26, Height: 5'8" HW: 328, SW: 322, CW: 239  

mickeymantle
on 1/31/15 1:55 am - Eugene/Springfield, OR
VSG on 07/22/13

if you did good on the band you will do great with the sleeve

 you can drink alcohol with the sleeve but it is a bad idea , first it is a lot of wasted calories  second you may become an alcoholic , addictio transfer is common 

 

I eat eags for breakfast most days , ether Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or ham for lunch 

and a salad with eather fish chicken or other meat for diner

 a shake or Greek yogurt for snacks , or string cheese (low fat )also fruit

 coffee helps me keep thing moving and of course 65+ oz liquid

    

   175 lb  lost,412 hw 336sw,241 cw surgery July 22 2013,surgeon Dr Colin MacColl,

 

  

                                                                                                             

 

 

 

Sarah V.
on 2/2/15 12:00 am

Hello. I got my band in September 2007 so not long after you and also had great results. I lost 117 pounds. I got mostly unfilled when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2009 and things were never the same after that. I struggled with reflux, restriction that came and went, etc.  I mostly ignored it until I had gained back most of my weight early last year and finally went to a new doctor (mine moved away) and found that my band had slipped. I had a revision on April 29,2014 from band to sleeve.

Be SUPER careful with the reflux thing right after surgery. Removing the band and doing the sleeve at the same time causes a lot of inflammation and I had terrible reflux. I also had a LOT more pain than I had with my band so I was taking the full dose of Percoset to get relief and be able to sleep. At some point I had reflux, probably while sleeping, and aspirated on acid. A couple days later I was being rushed to the ER because I had aspiration pneumonia and my lungs were failing. With the post surgical fog and pain meds, I had no idea I was so sick. So, a week post op, I was back in the hospital for several days.

Anyway, even with that experience, I'm glad to have my sleeve now. I had learned all the ways around my band and had learned to hate it. I'm glad it's gone. My surgeon warned me as I'm sure yours also has that weight loss would be slower than if I were "freshly" sleeved. I believe it has indeed been slower, however, I'm down over 86 lbs since surgery and weigh less than my lowest after my band.  

It's been HARD, though. I struggled so much with nausea after eating almost anything and ended up having my gallbladder removed in October which was supposed to fix that...it's hasn't. I still struggle with nausea quite a bit but I suppose the silver lining is that it's helped with my weight loss. My hair loss has been worse with this surgery than it was with the band but it probably has to do with having multiple surgeries AND a very serious illness that took 8 weeks to recover from.

Yes, I can drink alcohol but I try to avoid it because of empty calories. I've stopped taking reflux meds completely aside from the occasional flare up. I probably stayed on them longer than I needed to just because I was terrified of another aspiration experience. My Type II diabetes is gone again.

So, yes, I think you will be glad you did it but it may really suck for a while and it's COMPLETELY different from having a band. 

Lap Band September 2007 / Slip discovered March 2014 after significant regain / Revised to VSG April 29, 2014


 

Sarah V.
on 2/2/15 12:02 am

Missed one of your questions...if you have no complications, I think you can probably do a week off if you work from home although, I would plan on two if you can.

Lap Band September 2007 / Slip discovered March 2014 after significant regain / Revised to VSG April 29, 2014


 

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