Lap Band Removal Experience

First topic message reminder :

I posted the same post in the June Sleever (but I thought it would be of interest for people having to go through it)

I am alive !!! My first sentence when I woke up was...Did he do the Sleeve ! lol
After all he didn't do the sleeve :( because there was too much scar tissue where the band was but planned it for 3 more month (now my sweety is changing job/insurance next month which mean we will have to change hospital (which mean I will not be able to get the sleeve with theses guyz) so I need to figure out a way to stay with my current insurance for a couple of more month (which costs a lot of money)

Anyway, got my surgery around 4pm and woke up around 7pm and left by 8:15 pm. I have my lap band as a souvenir and pictures of my inside. He was extremely pleased with the look of my liver and even my stomach outside the scar tissue thing. He said often people have patches of fat on their liver and apparently I don't :)

The team was extremely efficient, they gave me right away some extremely non slip socks with bear paw on it :D and a matching giant paper robe which they can plug to a heater :D oh and also some things that slightly squeeze your calf to help blood circulate (when at first it was pleasant, when I woke up I felt like I went through 2 cramps during surgery, it was so painful ! lol)
I saw all the anesthesiologist in the place, they also gave me some anti nausea liquid which I guess really help because I felt no nausea at all. A little lightheaded on my first standing up but that's it.

The operating room was very high tech looking, pretty cool :D

The first night at home was interesting, I needed to pee every 30 min ! (no kidding) till like 2 am then every 45 min twice then more normally) and my hubby was all helpful helping me to sit down, stand out etc....

Overall I am pretty happy with the experience,
But I guess I will be a september sleever after all :S

Maybe it's the reason your band is coming out that accounts for how much time you have to wait... mine came out last week from erosion and they are making me wait at least 3 months before sleeving. I am so scared of gaining weight in the interim. I already gained so much weight before removal when the erosion happened.

It's good to see reports of people not gaining much weight between removal and sleeving.... i hope i am as lucky / conscientious with my hunger/eating the next few months.

Hi all

I was told to wait 3 months from unbanding to sleeving, but in the end I waited 5 months but that was through personal preference (and also had to accrue annual leave time as the unbanded put me into negative sick leave as it was an emergency and work kindly paid me for the 6 days I was off which was over my annual entitlement). But I was very fortunate in that I didn't put many kgs back on.

I can honestly say that I haven't looked back since my sleeve in February, have lost twice as much weight in 6 months than I did in 11 months with the band. My Dr said he wouldn't even consider rebanding after the first one slipped as I actually didn't form any adhesions around the band to help hold it in place around the stomach).

Good luck to everyone for their upcoming de-bandings and sleevings!!

Cheers
Gail

Hi Nbnsue
I am having my band out on the 18th Aug by my band Doctor, and am being sleeved on the 23rd Nov by my new Doctor.
I think most people on here have waited about 3 months between surgerys , some a bit longer and some a bit less it really depends on your Doctor.

Good Luck and let us know how you go
Lisab

Hi all,
Am avidly reading posts but am a little puzzled - my new surgeon took my band out three and a half weeks ago. He initially told me it was best to wait 6 weeks before sleeving, but after looking at his schedule then booked me in for it four weeks post band removal. I had such a difficult post-op recovery after the band coming out that I have put it back another week (will be done on Aug 10th), but am reading posts where you talk about waiting six months and scarring and higher risk - what the?! Am I a fool rushing in where angels should fear to tread? Can others please advise how long they had between band removal and sleeve and how that worked for you? Would like to minimise my stress if possible, but don't want to make a mistake!
Thanks,
Sue
PS Am very surprised by how well I'm feeling on the shake / vegi / fruit diet. I have not felt like it was a burden, I've walked every day this week for half an hour (which I Never do!), and made a great curried vegi soup last night. Hope it all goes this well!!

Hi Issi, Glad they have finally listened to you about your band. Shame it had to get to that stage first though. Welcome to our forum. I am sure you will be very happy with the gastric sleeve.

Hi Issi and welcome to the forum.

I've had a band too so you're in good company. I've had my sleeve for 8 weeks tomorrow and couldn't be happier. It is much easier to deal with than the band. You will so happy with your sleeve.

Hugs,

Hi Issi and welcome to the forum.
I am an exbandster and know what your going through but you will love the sleeve. So not long now - the 3 months will soon fly by for you.
You have joined a great forum with losts of helpful and friendly sleevers.
Keep us posted with your progress.
hugs
Jilly

I am new here and just started the pre-op diet to have my badly eroded band removed in just over a week. The docs made me feel the exact same way they sent me away over and over when i said something wasn't right and they wouldn't listen.... once i'd put 20kg back on from the weight i'd maintained for 4 years, then they started listening... but the first 5, 10kg they blamed me for and my food choices but i told them over and over how starving hungry i was and how i had no restriction but they wouldn't believe me until i was obese again... while my bmi was healthy or overweight i was turned away when saying there was a problem. I feel your pain Lisa over the way docs can be. I am seeing my original surgeon again now no assistants and i trust him to get this out of me and convert me to a sleeve in 3 months time.

I miss the body and energy i got with the help of my band. I had it for 4.5 years and now i am obese again. It breaks my heart to look in the mirror or have to wear my bf's track suit pants everywhere because none of my clothes fit... i've even outgrown the bigger clothes i bought. I just want to get this weight off and feel happy and healthy and full of energy again.

Lisab you have got it exactly right. I honestly thought I was the only person out there who had troubles with my lapband and I am so glad I have found this site and other people out there who have also struggled with the band. I hope that people who are still deciding on whether to go band or sleeve read every post on this forum before making their decision. Maybe the doctors are a bit more upfront about the cons of lapband surgery nowadays (I too had my lapband surgery 6 years ago and was told nothing). Infact my doctor made me feel a little like I was the only person that hadn't succeeded.
I can't wait for my sleeve surgery so I can get on with my skinnier, healthier life.

Libby

Thanks Lisab. I've a long way to go yet but I'm pleased that the weight loss is evident in my face. Glad to say bye bye to those chubby cheeks. LOL.

Hugs,

OMG Janey you look amazing!!! Good on you for your fantastic weight loss..

Lisab

Rant away Lisab...I totally understand.

Thank God for the sleeve is all I can say.

Take care,

The Doctors tell you very little about the negative side of being banded especially 6 yrs ago when I was done. I was not told about scarring , I was not told about blockages or limited food choices, I was not told about erosion by both the band and the port, also I was not told that your body could simply reject the band completely. I was told that it could slip but that this was rare, which it is not it is actually rare for it not to slip, I was also not told that I would be having to go to the surgeons every 2 to 4 weeks to try and get my fill levels right, I did this for 6 yrs! They also neglected to tell me that if you have a blockage, and I had many, that you could end up in an emergency ward on a drip for a few days and that all the fill is removed, in my case usually for a couple of months, where I would put any weight I had struggled to loose back on so that when I had fill put back in it was like starting all over again. Most of all they didnt tell me that vomiting would become part of my daily routine and that I still wouldnt loose any weight!!!
Sorry about the rant but I needed to get it out as you can see I am very angry with the surgeon who did my band especially as he blames me for everything and refuses to accept that the band just doesnt work for me.
By the way I am not exaggerating any of this as my husband can verify as I made him come to every Drs appointment with me, he now wants to sue the Dr but this Dr is considered the Lap band Guru here in Melbourne and is paid by the Govt to research obesity and the lap band so trying to get another Dr to say anything against him is impossible!
Once again sorry about the rant.....

Lisab

No they don't Kylie but then I wouldn't have cared anyway. I wanted to lose weight and was happy to put up with any negatives.

There is scarring too from sleeving and if you keloid scar on the outside I would imagine you wouldn't look too pretty inside either. Doesn't worry me one jot though. What I can't see never has.

Hugs,

When the doctors who do lapbanding do their preop speil do they mention the scarring part?
I am still flabbergasted that bandits choose banding. I would be horrified about the scarring.

Hello girls,

I was pretty peeved that my surgeon wouldn't take my lapband out and sleeve me at the same time as well. I had it removed in Feb this year and he told me I had to wait 6 months for the scaring to settle. I was sooooo upset coz I knew I would put on heaps of weight in that six months. And 4 months on i've put on about 10 kilos :( im so annoyed with myself.

My date is the 15th of September and it can't come quick enough.

10 weeks and counting.....

Hey Skinny.

Glad you made it through the op OK. Sorry you didn't get your sleeve but your Doctor has done the best thing for you. Mine wouldn't even consider doing both removal and sleeving in the one op due to the scarring that would be there. I had my band out in January and was sleeved late May. By far the best option for the ultimate outcome. As the stomach is folded and scrunched up with the band the scarring can be huge. It is much better to let it settle down and flatten out before trying to cut and staple it. Much safer for you too.

Just rest easy and September will be here before you know it. Once you're sleeved you won't know yourself. It is so much better than the band. Take it from me you will be delighted. Well worth a couple of months wait.

Hugs,

I have a cousin who has a lap band. I often wonder about if she'll have to have it removed. I'll be watching your posts to learn more about the lap band experience. I think my cousin will have to have the sleeve sooner or later.

I posted the same post in the June Sleever (but I thought it would be of interest for people having to go through it)

I am alive !!! My first sentence when I woke up was...Did he do the Sleeve ! lol
After all he didn't do the sleeve :( because there was too much scar tissue where the band was but planned it for 3 more month (now my sweety is changing job/insurance next month which mean we will have to change hospital (which mean I will not be able to get the sleeve with theses guyz) so I need to figure out a way to stay with my current insurance for a couple of more month (which costs a lot of money)

Anyway, got my surgery around 4pm and woke up around 7pm and left by 8:15 pm. I have my lap band as a souvenir and pictures of my inside. He was extremely pleased with the look of my liver and even my stomach outside the scar tissue thing. He said often people have patches of fat on their liver and apparently I don't :)

The team was extremely efficient, they gave me right away some extremely non slip socks with bear paw on it :D and a matching giant paper robe which they can plug to a heater :D oh and also some things that slightly squeeze your calf to help blood circulate (when at first it was pleasant, when I woke up I felt like I went through 2 cramps during surgery, it was so painful ! lol)
I saw all the anesthesiologist in the place, they also gave me some anti nausea liquid which I guess really help because I felt no nausea at all. A little lightheaded on my first standing up but that's it.

The operating room was very high tech looking, pretty cool :D

The first night at home was interesting, I needed to pee every 30 min ! (no kidding) till like 2 am then every 45 min twice then more normally) and my hubby was all helpful helping me to sit down, stand out etc....

Overall I am pretty happy with the experience,
But I guess I will be a september sleever after all :S