In a way I liked the restriction with band scared the sleeve wont work, advise anyone??

Hi there

I was banded in 2009 and for the first 6 months was absolutely loving it, then it turned on me and made life untolerable. I became Bulimic and vomited all the time. So last November made an appointment with Surgeon and had my Band removed and Sleeved 20th March 2012 Weight loss with the band 23 kgs.

Sleeved for just on 2 1/2 months total lose todate is 31 kgs.

Weight loss is a bit on the slow side, but dont have a lot of kgs left to go.........

Food intake is so much better than the band, as you can eat a variety of food and feel so full and I never get hungry. Only able to eat very small amounts of food, and eat about 6 small meals a day. Would I do it again YES, I love my sleeve.

Good luck - any question just ask.

Val

Thank you so much ladies I sure will reach out when i need advise or help its great to hear other peoples story, if i had my time again I probably would have been sleeved straight up and would have a healthier relationship with food i.e I could only eat crap with band!! What is the 2012 sleevers group get together?

Thanks again ladies :)

I lost 70 kilos with my band before it turned on me... yarda yarda all the usual stuff and here I am after regaining 20 odd kilos and having been sleeved in March.

I worried about all the same things you have stated but I have to tell you that although like Ozzie, my weightloss is slow... it is a much better option than the band.. you feel more normal and slot into mainstream more easily.

I can only eat small amounts of food...and I mean small.. and there is no discomfort just enjoyment from eating and when I am finished I am full ...not in pain. This might sound crass but to me when I ate with the band it was like sex with out an orgasm...this is eating with the happy ending...of feeling happy and full.

Now I can eat a matchbox size peice of steak and some salad.. I can have a sample of everything on the plate and the weight is going down... if I had eaten like this with the band it would not have.

My hunger levels are next to nil though I do still suffer from head hunger but I did with band as well. You wont be able to over eat yoursleeve. You will get sick, much as you would if you ate a whole turkey and veg at Christmas...same feeling of over fullness and feeling like you will vomit.

Perhaps I am just lucky but what I hear from others is the same. I thought when reading the diets of sleevers that I would not lose weight on their intake compared to what I ate with the band but I think being able to eat more protein and a better more healthy type of calorie switches the body into fat burning mode.

I feel better all round, healthier more normal with more energy than I did with the band.

Anything that you want to know we are more than happy to help you with... exbanders have a slightly different journey than a virgin sleeve so dont be afraid to reach out.

I am very glad I took this path. It is everything the band was promised. I can eat a 1/2 cup of food but am happy with a 1/4 cup and will stick to that so I am as you said undereating my sleeve.

Not only pop into your own months thread but also pop into the threads ahead of your to check out the future. There are plenty of ex bandits in all of them so just throw yourself in and ask away.

sorry to hear about the probs Bindi78. Come to the June 2012 sleeves group there is alot of people getting sleeved next month. You will find alot of encouragement :)

Hi Bindi78

sorry to hear of your difficulties but can totally sympathise - I had a band for 10 years, did't lose anywhere near that weight, but endured all sorts of issues in that 10 years. I became malnourished, have permanent reflux and heartburn, so will be medicated for the rest of my life for that, and when finally deciding to remove the band and try to lose the weight I had regained the hard way, by exercise and dieting, my surgeon finally told me about the sleeve.

He removed the band, then made me take three months to think about it, research it and then decide. I also had to see a dietitian again, which I thought was superflous - but am so glad that I did, and I still see her fortnightly.

It is over 18 months since my sleeve, which I love, and which I consider saved my life - I have lost 23kgs, slowly unfortunately, but have not had any setbacks, and my food issues are still there.

I need to keep working on understanding the value of food, and when and why I eat what I eat and then how it impacts my body - and my mind. Hence, my message to you would be to look for assistance with the emotional and physcological issues, as well as a bariatric dietitian, and keep working with them until you feel confident as your weight decreases and you begin to feel more confident with life again. It is wonderful to feel healthy, happy, slim, and confident. I still have 10kgs or so to lose, and I am working on the exercise issues now, as I am in a sedentary job and have lots of home stresses, which are decreasing now too, and I feel great! I love my sleeve!

Hi

I had the band for three years and lost 90kilos 160kg down to 68kg at my lowest, but badly malnourished and unwell discovered the band had slipped removed nearly a year ago even with being careful with what I eat and exercise i have gained back 40kilos (doesnt seem to matter what I do) the weight keeps coming back on, the saddest thing is I eat so much better now and healthier than I ever did with the band basically I had medically induced bulimia!! I also had a baby at the start of 2011 so that took its toll as well.

This might sound silly but I liked the restriction of the band before it went really bad, i couldnt eat bread or carbs or much meat I find it easy not too eat if I dont get hungry, so the band worked well. I am being sleeved next month obviously I love food and I am scared the sleeve won't work alot of this stems from the fact that even when I have tried to loose weight since having the band out I continue to gain I worry that I will still be able to eat too much what is the restriction like compared to the band?? Do you feel full? how much can you eat? I would rather under eat so I never stretch the belly?? Like I said if I am not hungry I find it easy, any advise would be great thanks :)