Band to Sleeve surgery on Monday, advice appreciated

Thanks to all! I was told to post in the pre-op forum, so I will repost there. Sorry.

I am also in the US...and we are dumb Americans, so I don't know what a flip or "custard" in the sense you use it is or what 100lbs is in Kg. I am getting a lot of info though and I greatly appreciate it!

Good point, Apple - the hospital stays I was talking about were for ops done in Australia!
I had mine done laparoscopically...
Chris

if you did not have a open procedure the chances of any scar tissue being in the way is close to nil.

Leaks are VERY rare and only occur in the first week or so, usally a matter of days. I am yet to hear of anybody actually dying from one, tho it does make you very sick.

What they feed you in the USA is so different from here. hosptial here is usally clear fluids only with some letting you have nourising liquids towards the end of your stay. I have heard of people being offered poached eggs the day after surgery in some USA hospitals. The stay in hospital there also tends to be about 2 days here a bit longer. BUT the USA is a huge country so the info I have could be for one area only, so do check your area.

Now with the removal of part of your stomach goes a lot of the production of the hunger hormone. NOw for some this is instant and for others it can take days weeks or even a months for the hormone to work its way out of their body. Neither my husband or myself have experenced physical hunger since surgery, tho we can still get head hunger and an odd empty feeling. Like oooo better eat right now.


Having had a band you might find your weight loss slower than you would like. It is just how bodies react when they have previously been starved.

Liquid diets really are just nourising liquids, egg nogs or flips , soups smoothies etc. If it goes up a straw it is usally acceptable, tho start with a normal straw and move th a mcdonalds thick shake straw. If you feel hunger then optifast is a good thing to use, tho most people find it far to filling to start with.

6 months out eating out is a breeze an entre fits down fine. Or be very selective with your main course order, avoid the fries and pasta and eat the meat with green veg and you will find you plate looks mostely eaten. Okay not if the serves are huge hehehehe

applesauce

Hi Nycexbandster
Welcome, and what do you last minute? Are you soon scheduled for surgery? Glad you've done your operation research, so you'll know that the lack of grehlin as well as your tiny tummy will make you less hungry than you've ever been before.
You're right, of course - the answers to all of your questions are scattered throughout the forum, and it would be good if you could read up and get some different viewpoints.
Like you, a lot of people don't post, but those that do often have good information.
Let me see what I can help you with, and you might like to read my story, under Chris's Journey, in The Diary, where I researched the surgery and documented the things that have happened to me.
I'm not a former lapbander, so I can't help you with that from personal experience, but we have several former bandsters on the forum who seem very happy with the change.
Leaks do happen on the staple line, but only in the first weeks, and they're very rare. I have heard of someone knowing someone it happened to once, but that's all.
The average stay in hospital seems to be 3-5 days. Usually more like 3, but 5 if there are other medical issues, or a hiatus hernia repair at the same time, or if the person lives far from the hospital.
The post-op diet goes like this, and the times vary between surgeons, dieticians, and the way different people heal: Clear fluids only for 1-3 days; nourishing fluids (optifast, custards, milk, apple juice, etc) for 1-3 days; very liquidy purees moving on to thicker purees for 2-4 weeks; overcooked veggies and very soft mushy meats for 2-4 weeks; 'real' food, cut finely for 2-4 weeks; then normal food.
Don't worry - I promise that you won't be hungry at all. Your stomach has had major surgery and is swollen at first. As the swelling goes down, you realise that you do get hungry, but not usually starving (if you do get that hungry, it could be acid reflux, the most common side effect of the surgery). That's not to say you won't want real food - I will be very glad when I get up to real food again!
I started losing weight at the beginning of the year, on my own. I lost 18kg before surgery, including a 6 week stint on optifast. That was over a 6 month period. I had surgery 7 weeks ago, and have lost 16 kilos in that time. Others have experienced similar numbers, and when you look at posts, a lot of people have their stats at the bottom.
There are a couple of stickies on this forum under pre op and post op that deal with diet at different stages - I recommend you check them out.
Some of us have had some problems, but nothing insurmountable. I would not say that I've heard about 'a lot of people' getting nauseous.
After 6 months, I was told that I'll be able to eat pretty much anything that anyone else eats, but only an entree sized portion, or about 250ml. At the moment, I can eat about 125-175 ml, depending on the food - the more liquidy, the more I can have at one time.
I've been out to eat a few times. At first all I could have was pumpkin soup or KFC potato & gravy (not very nutritious, but it was all there was!). Now I can have the inside of a small meat pie (and about an inch of soggy pastry), a scrambled egg (yes, just one and then I'm full), or part of a slice of toast. Actually, for the first time today, I ate a whole crumpet, but I had lots of butter and golden syrup on it, to make sure it was going to go down okay.
Well, I hope that I've been of some help, and I'm sure that some others will pop by and give you their ideas too.
Best wishes, and keep us up to date with where you're at - we're pretty good at giving each other support around here.
Chris

Please forgive me if this is not the right area to post. Even after reading the newbie posts it is not clear.
Been meaning to post for weeks but I have been stuck. Long story short, have had 2 band surgeries and one port revision. Horrible band experience, reflux not solved by anything, including changing the band.
After gaining back 60-70lbs, decided on Sleeve with endo, as I have extreme problems with insulin resistance and other food related hormones, such as ghrelin.
I know it's last minute, but have some pity on me and help me through some concerns. I would so appreciate it!
-Former lapbanders, what have been major problems/concerns. I am worried about scar tissue, adhesions, infections.
-Has anyone had or heard of staple line problems that they can tell me about to help my fears?
-What was the average stay in the hospital? What was the diet like in hospital?
-I was starving after both band surgeries. How fast do people get hungry/want food other than liquids?
-What is the speed of the weight loss for most? I lost so slowly on the band.
-Can anyone point me to places for post op liquid diets and other ideas. I have read a lot about pp getting naseous. What causes this?
-What is the situation about stretching and capacity? What do you eat 6 months out? Can you go to restaurants easily?
-Anything else you think might be helpful.

*Please forgive me for not doing my diligent people research this time. I did it so many times with my bands that I was message-boarded out. I am sorry I waited so long to ask but I didn't want to worry for so many weeks in advance. I did my operation research so don't worry. Thanks :[img]http://sm