All about me!

Hi Flightless


Anddddddddddd a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you :)

Hope you have (or had) a jolly good birthday :)

As I mentioned before I haven't been sleeved myself due for sleeve in January :) but if you ever need a friend to chat with PM me :)
Will be glad to chat :)



Yools

Hi flightless, welcome to the forum.

Happy Birthday for today, I hope you have a great day!!

Im a 25 year old mum of one (for now), and was sleeved just over 11 months ago - I can without a doubt say its the best thing I have ever done for my health, myself and my family. Sorry you have had such a bad experience with wls in the past, but hopefully the sleeve will change that for you, and you will soon be on the road to successful weightloss.

If you ever want to chat, feel free to pm me.

xx
Tamara

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Flightless..........

Welcome and a big happy birthday to you as well
Im sure you'll find what you're looking for in here and will succeed in your weight loss .

Linda :)

hey flightless...welcome to the forum..... there is such a great wealth of information and different experiences from people on here. I am getting sleeved next week and for 10 years a specialist has been after me to have the band... I always said NO WAY!!!! I am really looking forward to having the sleeve done next week so i can put an end to my weightloss problems!

Please let us know how you go with your specialist..... I am a medical secretary and if you would like info on any specialist send me a private message! All the best and take care.... I don't think you can go wrong with having a sleeve!

Hi there

I too am a newbie and while I have not had the band and currently starting the sleeve pre-op appointment process I have close friends experiencing both WLS. From their experiences the sleeve definately seems to be less stressful, time consuming and fits into everyday life a little easier. One lady has the band, her husband the sleeve and now she regrets not having the sleeve as well. It also seems easier to cheat - my cousin should be going back for a "refill" but as its close to Xmas has decided not to - seems odd to go through all that and then take the chance on regaining weight??

I for one need not to have the option which is why permanent makes more sense to me.

Keep the blogs going - we are around the same height, I am about 116kg so we may be able to swap hints and ideas as we go. Although there is so much info on here I doubt we will come up with anything new!!

all the best, stay strong.

TTC

Thanks everyone so much for being so very welcoming. It's such a relief to find other people who had a completely crap time with the band.
Even better is I've finally found people who know what it's like to be obese and to want to change it. I find it very hard living every day in a society where obesity is viewed as a personal failure, because that feeling of failure then invades every other aspect of my life.
I'll let everyone know what happens once I've seen the surgeon this afternoon, but as far as I'm concerned the sooner the better for a surgery date :) Hopefully having been through it all before will expedite the process.
Flightless

Hi and Welcome aboard! I'm an ex-bander and my story is not a pretty one...it's in my intro thread...basically, the band was too tight from the word go, I vomited everyday several times and ended up with a hiatus hernia and severe reflux. Couldn't eat anything remotely healthy and became aneamic with all sorts of vitamin deficiencies. Bye-bye band! I know what you mean when you say you are nervous about further WLS but the sleeve is so very different...I'm having mine done this tuesday! No prosthesis, your anatomy is left intact...just smaller. The amazing successes that the people here have had are a testament to its effectiveness and yes, it does cause problems sometimes, but everything in life involves taking risks...and you have to weigh up taking no action and remaining as you are or getting out there and possibly making the best decision of your life! Good luck and take care,

Welcome Flightlessbird,

I also failed with the band. My body didn't reject it my head did. I figured out how to cheat it. A lot of people find that there taste buds change after surgery and I can vouch for this. I have eaten chocolate on several occasions since my surgery but just don't like the taste of it any more and pre surgery I would devour as much as I could.

Everyone's experiences with the surgery are very different so read as many diarys on here as you can, they are all very interesting.

Goodluck and keep us informed on how you go.

hey flightless,
i was supposed to get the band but when i saw my surgeon i quickly changed my mind and have not ever looked back. i was afraid of the same thing u are, i have two small children myself i used to goto bed with the fear i would not wake up to them in the morning, i am 5 weeks post op now and have lost 22 kilos and loving it. i would recommend it to anyone, i am lucky i have such a huge support group. u need to do what is right for u and i agree with everyone else, read through the threads on here as there is such valuable information that will guide u through and ASK ASK ASK way, there is always someone here to help. Good luck with ur decision hun.

Hello sister,I had the band for 2 years and just had it removed in September.I know that you are scared to have surgery again as the band sucked,but I can assure you that the sleeve is nothing like thre band.I'm getting the sleeve done in Febuary,and believe me I would not be doing it ,if there was a chance I would have the same dramas as the band.I have asked heaps of questions and got all good replys,dont be afraid to ask.This site is the best, and so are all the users,everyone is so happy to tell you about there journey.If only this site was around when I was looking a getting WLS I know what I would have done,NOT GOTTEN THE BAND.Have a look around, read peoples threads,look at the gallery(before and after photos,amazing)And last but not least Ask all the questions you like.I hope this helps,best wishes and sorry I forgot to say welcome.

Sharon

Hi Flightless and welcome to the forum. I can understand your fears of WLS after your first experience with the band! I have never had a band, was referred for one by my GP, but couldn't get my head around it, and fell in love with the sleeve at the seminar I went to. Being sleeved next Monday.

Good luck with your appointments and I am sure you will make to right decision about the sleeve. My health issues are why I am having it done, arthritis in my feet, knees and back, so know exactly what you are talking about there.

Hi Flightlessbird,

I have never been banded, and I am due to have my surgery next year 18th January 2010.
However I can tell you one thing, read through some of the threads in this forum and it will give you massive information!!
Don't be afraid to ask questions! and I mean you can ask about EVERYTHING and the lovely supporters here will surely give you the answer you're looking for.
I've joined this forum in 2008 and LOVING it!!
I am going to need help from people living in Melbourne too as I am moving there 6 weeks after my surgery next year :)

XOX Hugs

Yools

Hi, welcome to this fantastic site,
There are threads on here about failed lap bands and converting to a sleeve so read through them and they should answer some of your questions.
I had a lap band for six years (had it replaced due to slippage and had to have the port replaced) The most I lost with the band was 20kgs and that was only because I vomited 2-3 times daily and then I put all the weight back on plus more so I finally had the band out in August and I was sleeved 10 days ago (and I've already lost 13kgs).
I am still getting used to my tiny tummy and I have had other health issues but I am already loving the sleeve. The operation is not easy as it is major surgery and it takes time to recover but I am finding it easier than after the band and I have not vomited once or even felt sick some people arent so lucky so do your research and read through peoples diaries especially ex-banders
and then make sure you find a really good Dr (I am sure some one on here can recommend one near you).
Good luck with whatever decision you make,
Lisab

Hi All
I'm new to this forum. My surgery journey has been a bit unhappy. I initially had a first attempt at a lap band in Feb 2008. The surgeon accidentally nicked my liver and so sewed me back up and tried again in March 08, and it went in fine. However I had a huge amount of discomfort with the band which my body just seemd to reject. Finally, after spending 2 months vomiting blood I had it removed in November 2008. I swore I'd never have surgery again.

But here I am, on the cusp of my 24th birthday with arthritis is my feet so bad if I wake up during the night needing the loo I have to crawl, and sleep apnoea so severe I'm afraid to sleep without my CPAP. At 129kg and 176cm tall, it seems the time has come for me to take action again.I'm off to see a different surgeon tomorrow (Dr Gordon Padovan) to find out if perhaps a sleeve is right for me.

I have to admit, I am terrified. My first expereince with obesity surgery was a bit of a debacle. Is there anyone else out there who had complete failure with a band and reverted to a sleeve I can talk to? I'm afraid of the complications of surgery, but I'm more terrified of failing my 6yo son by losing the ability to walk or dying in my sleep.

On other matters, I'm a 23 (24 on Sunday!) yo environmental scientist and single mum to a beautiful 6yo who has many unique and special needs of hid own. I have been overweight or obese my entire life, and have suffered PCOS, depression.. all the usual.

I'd love to talk to other mums, other lab -band 'failures' or anyone at all really. I

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from people soon!