Lapband to Gastric Sleeve
On March 10, 2009 at 2:07 PM Pacific Time, DivaChrissy wrote:
Hello,I am having a revision soon and having my Realize Band removed. Is there anyone out there that has had the band removed and revised to the Gastric Sleeve?
If so, please give me any advice or experiences you may have went through. I am looking to hear the positive and negative. I have done my own research on the web, but want to hear from real people who have had real experiences with it.
Even if you have not had the lapband/realize band, but you have had the Gastric Sleeve. Please help me out. Did you have a lot of pain after the surgery? What foods can't you tolerate? Are you able to drink alcohol with the Sleeve (I'm talking one or two drinks)? Were successful with keeping the weight off?
Thanks so much,
Chrissy
I was revised from band to sleeve. Dumbest thing I ever did was to get a band. Smartest thing I ever did was to revise to a sleeve.
Nope, not a lot of pain from surgery, more sore and bloated than actual pain. I can eat anything, I have no specific food intolerances although a lot of greasy food makes me feel nauseated. You can drink alcohol but as I was losing weight alcohol stalled my weight loss every single time. Just one glass of wine and I didn't lose that week. Keeping weight off is easy, I don't battle it, it's just a non issue at this point BUT... I have overhauled my diet. If you are looking to eat the same load of garbage but less of it, you probably won't be very successful. You'll have to seriously keep the amount of alcohol you consume to a minimum and if you don't do these things... I wouldn't even bother with a revision.
On March 11, 2009 at 9:06 AM Pacific Time, DivaChrissy wrote:
Thank you for sharing your experience with the Sleeve with me. I know its going to take a lot of work on my part, which is the same as the band has been. If I had a choice I would get the Gastric Bypass since the success rate is a lot higher, but unfortunately that is not an option for me because I had stomach cancer. I am doing the sleeve not only to lose the rest of my weight but also to reduce the chance of my cancer returning. If its a surgery that could possibly save my life, then I am all for it. Thanks for answering my questions, and I will definitely keep my alcohol intake to a bare minimum. I was just curious if it would be safe to have a drink or two on a special occasion and not get sick from it.
Congrats on your weightloss!
-Chrissy
What happened with your band?
Chrissy,
Your post really interests me. Can you update me on what has happened with you? My father just died of gastric cancer, and I am worried about that for me. I am thinking of revising to the sleeve as well, but have read many people have worsening GERD symptoms. Did you or do you have it? My doc has ruled out RnY because of not being able to see part of the stomach, and he did mention the sleeve as a better option because there would be less stomach to get cancer. My thoughts are that if I got cancer, there wouldn't be much more of my stomach that they could remove, since I would only have 20 percent left! Any info you could share with me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and I wish you all the best!
SALLY - banded May 9, 2007 Check out my new fun fall photos!
Christina N. has deleted this message.
Hi Chrissy!
If your band "worked" and you had restriction, BUT could not lose weight, AND that is the reason why you are revising, You may want to reconsider your revision.
People who've done well with restrictive only procedures ****il they fail mechanically) SEEM to be the only ones who do well with restrictive only procedures again. I hate to say that I know quite a few people who've revised to a sleeve and had less than ideal/satisfying results BUT they also did not do well with the LB. So they go so far and no further THEN regress even more to gaining weight. BE CAREFUL and BE SURE. A malabsorbtive procedure will NOT kill us. We just need to be vigilant with our post-op care of self.
Restrictive only procedures require lots of adherence - diet and exercise, in simple terms and for life JUST like other thin people - just like naturally thin people - they do have to work on it every single day. We have to follow the rules for the rest of our lives!!! We can easily get into habits where we can learn to consume the same amount of calories as we did pre-op by grazing. 2,000 - 3,000 calories is an easy thing to keep up with a restrictive only procedure and 2,00 to 3,000 calories can keep you or get you in the 200 - 300lb range.
The VSG may be the right WLS for you - it is an awesome WLS. I am not trying to discourage you at all. What I am saying is consider a procedure like the VSG w. DS if:
Your band worked and you just didn't do well with restriction only
If you get too sloppy, too often with following "the rules" of watching what you eat and exercising
If you have a BMI over 50 - I wish some people would stop kidding themselves
Good Luck to you. Sorry if I preached too much. I just been seeing too many people getting restrictive only procedures because they are afraid of "rearranging" or "cutting" their insides. They take a Band Aid when what they need is a surgery and stitches - the Band Aid falls off and the wound never heals - then it's back to the drawing board, back to a new WLS.
Best,
Leila
If your band "worked" and you had restriction, BUT could not lose weight, AND that is the reason why you are revising, You may want to reconsider your revision.
People who've done well with restrictive only procedures ****il they fail mechanically) SEEM to be the only ones who do well with restrictive only procedures again. I hate to say that I know quite a few people who've revised to a sleeve and had less than ideal/satisfying results BUT they also did not do well with the LB. So they go so far and no further THEN regress even more to gaining weight. BE CAREFUL and BE SURE. A malabsorbtive procedure will NOT kill us. We just need to be vigilant with our post-op care of self.
Restrictive only procedures require lots of adherence - diet and exercise, in simple terms and for life JUST like other thin people - just like naturally thin people - they do have to work on it every single day. We have to follow the rules for the rest of our lives!!! We can easily get into habits where we can learn to consume the same amount of calories as we did pre-op by grazing. 2,000 - 3,000 calories is an easy thing to keep up with a restrictive only procedure and 2,00 to 3,000 calories can keep you or get you in the 200 - 300lb range.
The VSG may be the right WLS for you - it is an awesome WLS. I am not trying to discourage you at all. What I am saying is consider a procedure like the VSG w. DS if:
Your band worked and you just didn't do well with restriction only
If you get too sloppy, too often with following "the rules" of watching what you eat and exercising
If you have a BMI over 50 - I wish some people would stop kidding themselves
Good Luck to you. Sorry if I preached too much. I just been seeing too many people getting restrictive only procedures because they are afraid of "rearranging" or "cutting" their insides. They take a Band Aid when what they need is a surgery and stitches - the Band Aid falls off and the wound never heals - then it's back to the drawing board, back to a new WLS.
Best,
Leila
3/30/2005 Lap Band installed 12/20/2010 Lap Band REMOVED
6/6/2011 Vertical SLEEVE Gastrectomy
On March 11, 2009 at 8:56 AM Pacific Time, DivaChrissy wrote:
Thanks for your input. I appreciate your advice, and understand what you are trying to say. Unfortunatetly, I only had two choices with weightloss surgery: Lapband (AKA: Realize Band) OR Gastric Sleeve. The reason being, when I first started my weightloss surgery pre-op tests for the Gastric Bypass the doctor discovered I had stomach cancer and I had to get treated for it. At the time of my Realize band procedure, I was told it was soon too soon after my cancer treatment to have the Gastric Sleeve. I had gained 30 lbs after my chemo/radiation, so I took whatever surgery I could get at the time.
The band has helped me to lose 55 lbs, so it has worked in the sense that it did get me jump started on my weightloss. BUT...I still have 120 more lbs to lose. I have been "stuck" at the same weight for the past 3 months. I even paid a lot of money to hire a Personal Trainer and have been going for 5 weeks now. The scale has not budged. Its very discouraging working so hard in the gym and not seeing the results that I would like to see.
There are more than enough reasons why I want the sleeve....reduce my chance of cancer returning, acid reflux issues, vomiting issues from the band, pain from the port area, still have a BMI of 41.5, I have 120 more pounds to go, and I am planning on getting married next year.
The reason for my post is that I want to hear about other people's experience with the Gastric Sleeve. I have not found very many people that have had it. So, the majority of my information has come from research on the web. I want to know the good, the bad, the ugly.
Thanks again,
Chrissy
What about DS? If you want a sleeve AND malabsorption, DS might be your ticket.
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