Did anyone have to do Optifast before band removal?

Great to hear it all went ok for you Mandi.

Best of luck whatever path you decide to take

Well, I have had my band removed and am now eating properly for the first time in I don't know how long. The recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and am feeling really good. Not sure yet if I'll go for the sleeve as I'm enjoying being able to eat without having to think if it'll get stuck etc. Perhaps when the weight starts piling on I'll change my mind!! still early days so I'm not saying yea or nay yet I'm just going to enjoy this time and be re-united with food, I have missed just being able to eat!! Also I don't want to have to have another shake for a long time!
Good luck to everyone who chooses to have a sleeve

Mandi,
I absolutely know where you are coming from. I had my band for 15 months - the last 5 months were a nightmare. I was so worried that I failed the band so what if I failed with the sleeve. In 4 weeks of having my sleeve done, I am lower in weight than what I was at my lowest, starving point with the band.

I still have my doubts but I am slowly seeing the light!

Best of luck for the 19th, let us know how you go!

Hi Cath, thank you for your kind words. I am so happy everything went well for you. You will be sleeved in no time and we can get healthy & skinny together !

Don't stress about gaining weight with your band out, I think if you stress at all - you eat more. Enjoy this time without your band - you have earned it after what you have been through.

How great is it to eat a sandwich!!

I'm so glad it all went well for you Cath, I'm having my band removed on Thursday (19/5/11) so to read your story has filled me with confidence. I am still considering having the sleeve done but to be honest I am a little apprehensive as I've had such a rough journey with this band that I worry the sleeve will be exactly the same, I first had the band Jan 09 then had to have it repositioned June last year and in all that time I've only lost 8 kilos!! I'm so looking forward to being able to eat food again without the pain or the vomitting and really don't want to go back there once the band has been removed, I'm also worried that the weight will just pile on. So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place!!
Amanda

Hi Guys im back :-)))))
Ahhhh one fear conquered & boy do i feel better having that evil band out!
Big Softie, i read your message before surgery and you nearly made me cry!! Isnt that funny, a complete stranger, and
you can provide me with so much comfort & support. I really appreciated it, as i was scared shitless.
The pain wasnt as bad as i anticipated it to be. I think thats because last year i had a c-section and that a lot worse. So it kinda prepped me.
At the moment i feel like a bloated fat cow LOL. Man i put on 3 kgs, shows you how much fluid im holding because i ate
stuff all during my stay. Depressing :(
Oh...tonight for dinner i had a sandwich...WOW. I cannot believe what us banded people put ourselves through. To not have that pressure on my chest was such a relief!!
Now, on a bad note, the surgeon said that my stomach wasnt looking very happy at all. I had no hernias, ulcers or anything like that. But was one very out of shape stomach. My oesophagus (sp?) was inflammed and slightly stretched, but nothing too serious. It is nothing that cant be fixed when i get my sleeve (YES MY SLEEVE) done. I was so worried that the damage would be too far gone to allow me to even have a sleeve. So i was relieved when i heard him say that a stitch can be placed in my gullet when having the sleeve op.
Yay...cant wait. So at the moment, im just trying to stay positive! And not stress out about anything.
I know that sleeve ops are more difficult on lap-band (revisional surgey) people, rather than primary sleevers...but thats when you have to have faith in your surgeon. And i certainly do, Dr Alan Thomas is fantastic! Im glad i did some research and found a reputable surgeon!!
Thanks everyone for your support. And thanks again Big Softie :)
Now...let the recovery begin! Fun and games with a 1 year old NOT! Lucky my hubby has time off - thank god! :))
Cath xo

Hey Cath, just a big hug before tomorrow, everything will be fine and when u have that first sip of water after the band removal, it will all be worth it! goodbye stuck anything!
Best of luck Babe Xx

OMG my band removal is tomorrow 14.5.11....I dont know why im scared for when my band is a right pain in the arse!! I just HATE hospitals and operations they scare me!! But i usually find that when i get there im fine :)

Sherilou - my surgeon is Dr Alan Thomas :) Sounds like you and i have had very similar experiences, except i was just silly enough to put up with the band for longer than you hehe. I bet you are so excited for you sleeve, not long to go now. You will have to let me know how you go? :) A date hasnt been set for my sleeve yet. Im guessing we will do that once my band has been removed etc.

Huggiebear - you have done so well! 22kgs is A LOT of weight!!! And im liking how you said it was EASY!! Better than vomitting to lose weight as per the band! I admire the headspace that you are in now - that being, finally winning the weight battle! I cant imagine getting to that stage - but im determined to. I cant wait for the next 3 months to go by. And in the meantime, i have to try be disciplined so i dont stack on weight :( Thanks heaps for your encouragement, and i will let you know how i go. I think the hardest part will be staying away from my 1 yr old daughter for a night LOL, but i should enjoy the break!!

Kaz - Glad it seemed like a pretty cruisey procedure (lapband removal). I hope i recover as well as you.

Next time i post on here - i will be band free and one step closer to my sleeve

Chat soon!!

Hello
I don't know who your surgeon is but I had to do Opti for a week before my band removal (Dr Armstrong)...heaps heavier than you...at 136kg.

I was banded 7 years ago and yes put up with spewing frothing and eating very little only to get down to 112kg....it slowly but surely all came back on and alittle more!!

I had the band removed in early Feb...and now I want to eat everything in site...I got down to 128kg when recovering from surgery...which was pretty easy going....then went as high as 137kg!! munch munch munch...now I am on Opti and down to 132 with a bit over 2 weeks until I am sleeved. Hopefully I will lose another 7kg before 1st of June which is my surgery date.

Good luck with the band removal....how long do you have to wait to be sleeved??

Hi Cath,

I am down to 83kg (must change my ticker again!!!) so I've lost 22kg in the last 11 months. It certainly hasn't been fast but it certainly has been EASY!!!

The band (I believe) truly buggered me up - I spent 6 months either spewing or starving and I can't imagine what it might have done to my metabolic rate. I was 'only' 105kg when sleeved (after my 6 horrific months with the band and losing 12kg) and am 177cm tall so I was only aiming to lose 26kg to hit my goal weight of 79kg. I really hoped to lose that by my 1 year anniversary - I may fall short by a few weeks. My weight continues to fall slowly but I am in no way, dieting at all.

I eat whatever I want, in small portions. I exercise but only for my mental health rather than the size of my butt!

The greatest thing I think the sleeve will give me? Not regaining these kilos I've lost. For the first time in my life I truly believe I will be able to maintain my weight. To me, that is the ultimate prize.

Good luck, keep us update, hugs to you,

xxHuggyBear

Hey Cath

Im trying opti at the moment and its not going that great. Im fine with breakfast and dinner but during 10 - 4 I eat which is making me feel bad. But Im trying.

As to the pain Im sure it will be less then the first time as they generally go through the same holes so the nerves are all really been cut. I was worried as I had a 6 week old baby at the time they removed my second band and it was all good.

Best of luck.

Big Softie - yes our stories do sound very alike haha!! Fricken band!!!

You are doing so well having lost 9 kgs in 3 weeks!!

Im having my band removed this Saturday 14th May and i am freakin sh**ing myself hahaha!! Imagine what ill be like come sleeve time!!

Oh the nerves!!

Though i have heard that it isnt THAT bad!!!

**scared**

Hi Cath,
Our stories sound so familiar - I lived off ice-cream & spring rolls for the last 4 months of my band!
I was 125kg when I started opti 2 weeks before operation. On the day of my op I was 120kg. On Monday coming (9th) I will have had my sleeve for 3 weeks and I am now 111kg (weighed this morning)

Bit of a OMG moment today as at my lowest with the band for 15 months, I only got to 112kg and I was starving myself at that.

Haven't felt hungry as such since being sleeved. I think when I feel hungry, it's more thirst. I really have to be careful with fluid intake as I have been dehydrated since leaving hospital - water ice blocks are wonderful so make sure you get some!

Don't stress with everything, it's going to be fine and one day you will look back on it all & help someone on here who was exactly where you are now!

Thanks Big Softie and Huggy Bear!

You guys put a smile on my face :))

I havent told anyone (except my hubby of course) about having the sleeve operation, as most people (some of my family & friends) i think viewed me as a bit of a 'cop out' in regards to the weight loss battle (when i told them i was having lap-band surgery). So yeh, after gaining all my weight after a chronic slip, im feeling pretty down and out about it all now. It means so much to read such supportive messages :))

I really want to combat my weight problem (125kgs), its making me very depressed & i just want to feel normal. Unfortunately, i cant do it alone, and im really hoping that the sleeve helps me a lot more than what the band did.

Im trying my hardest to stick to optifast, but its hard. I feel very weak, but im trying to push through it and stay positive. Its hard when your at home most of the time with a 1 year old though haha. And also, my iron levels are extremely low...thanks to the band and the lack of good food it prevents me from eating!! But i can eat all the crap in the world. Go figure!

Hearing the stories and encouragement from people like yourselves, makes me realise that there is a light at the end of the loooooong tunnel!!

How much weight have the both of you lost?

Hey Cath,
I had to be on opti for 2 weeks before having my band out but I believe it was only because I had a sleeve done at the time of removal.

It won't hurt to go on opti but maybe for the week before?
You will breeze through it!

Hi Cath,

Don't stress, my band removal was no big deal at all. And compared to a c-section it is NOTHING!!!

My surgeon didn't ask me to do opti but I tried not to pig out either, I was basically on fluids and liquid sugary crap and chips/biscuits leading up to my band removal.

The sleeve is so fantastic, I really hope it will be everything you are hoping, it certainly has been for me!

xxxHuggyBear

Hello lovelys,

Just wondering if anyone was asked to do optifast before they had their band removed?

Is the point of Optifast to shrink the liver to benefit surgery?

I was told i dont have to do optifast, but was told not to have to many last suppers either LOL

But i think i might give it a crack if its going to benefit my surgery in anyway.

10 days until band removal and im crapping myself!!! Im such a wuss!!

What experiences have you lovely people had with the removal of your blasted band!!??

I have a 1 year old so im hoping the pain isnt too over-bearing (i had a c-section so dont know why im stressing LOL)

Cheers,
Cath xo