Sick of being bulemic

Hi black kitty... I had a band for four years and had it removed before Christmas and was sleeved in March.

Best thing I ever did. Weightloss is very slow but I am a low BMI. The good part is I can eat anything ... I am yet to come across anything that causes me discomfort including steak, beef jerky and salads. I listen to my 'had enough" signals which are normal full signals for me...no pain or sliming or sneezing but honest to goodness 'I have had enough I dont need anymore" signals.

I do suffer hunger but it is mostly head hunger, a glass of water or a small amount of food like 3 or 4 almonds kills it.

I found the sleeve op easier to recoup from than the band and felt normal with in 2 days as if I never had an op.

I have no reflux but do take nexium "just in case" the best peice of advice I have been given is to under eat my sleeve. So I either measure or sight measure a 1/4 cup of what ever meal I am having and stop there. This has taught me how and when I have had enough. I has helped me re learn what enough feels like because after 4 years with the band I had lost touch with how to read my stomach.

I am a huge advocate of waiting the minimum of 3 months between band removal and sleeve.

Hope you find what your looking for

Trish

Hi Black Kitty,

Well I'm an Ex-bandit now (had it removed early April 2012) and am in the process of waiting 3-4mths to let everything settle down before I get a sleeve done.

Your story is very very familiar to me, I too liked eating good healthy food but generally it was impossible to eat salads, meat was a dead set no no, every time I would try those types of foods the same result as you - vomiting to get the blockage cleared, boy do I know how that feels, not nice having to dart of to the toilet or sink to get rid of what ever it was I ate.

I too noticed I could eat crap only which really pissed me off as to me this was defeating the purpose, I lost around 50-60kg and was doing fine, then I started having issues with it not staying adjusted properly, eventually it was discovered it was leaking, so I had it repaired and yet again in a short time the same thing was happening so the decision was made to have it removed.

Yours and my story are very common unfortunately when it comes to the band, with a large majority end up having it removed and getting sleeved or bypassed in the end.

That's life I guess? but the sleeve seems to be a lot easier to live with which is what we need, it restricts our ability to overeat without restricting too much what we can eat.

Definitely go to one of the Sleevers Get together's as there will no doubt be Ex-bandits there who can relate to your story and give you some insight into what the sleeve is like.

Good luck with your journey - I think you will be very happy if you do go the Sleeve route, I can't wait to get mine done!

P.S. Welcome to the forum, lots of great people here, only too happy to help when needed.

Cheers
Scott

Hi Black Kitty

Sorry for your troubles with the band, it certainly doesn't sound nice. There are quite a number of people on here who are ex-banders now with the sleeve, I'm sure a lot can offer advice.

There was a post just yesterday about a catch up in/around Orange http://www.gastricsleevesupport.com/t9904-central-west-nsw-sleeveers-get-together Maybe you could get some support from local sleevers? I love catching up and getting the support from local sleevers here.

Good luck hon and let us know how you go :)

Hi Black Kitty,

Firstly congrats on your 40kg weight loss that is great!!! 2ndly i have not had the band so cant speak from personal experience but from what others on here have said the sleeve is much easier. I am now 12 weeks post sleeve and can eat anything. From what i have read this is pretty normal. So hang in there, hopefully your surgeon will have some good news and i know a lot of experienced people on here will offer you their advice from going through exactly what you are going through now.

From what i have read although annoying in the short term it seems much safer to have the band out in one op and a few months later the sleeve done. Just promise me you will do your research on this one.

All the best

xoxo

Hi All,



I have had a gastric band since December 2010. It was wonderful to start off with as I have lost 40kg in that time. However, I NEVER seem to be able to eat a healthy meal. I am quite fond of salads, steak and vegies. I am not a picky eater(which is where some of my weight problems have originated). Now it seems even healthy food is off the menu as it gets stuck constantly. I have to resort to things that are easy, and chips chocolate and sugary milk drinks are at the top of my list. It worries me when I cook a beautiful stirfry and two bites in am hanging my head over a porcelein bowl to dislodge something. Yet I can turn aorund and eat chocolate bicuits half an hour later. Worse still is the discovery that I can eat a whole thin crust pizza no worries too (unless I am having a really bad day where only liquids go down).

I have been told "it will settle down" and "it takes time to learn how to eat". Its been 18 months. I chew and chew and chew and still stuff gets stuck. I am over it and am now seriously considering having it removed in favour of the sleeve. In fact I reccommended the sleeve over the band the other day to someone as I didn't want them to go thru all the antisocial things I have had to do.

I am wondering whether anyone has had Dr Andrew Gilmore do the swap from Band to Sleeve in Orange NSW? I am seeing him on the 13th of June to discuss this with him. If I had known it would be this bad i would have had the sleeve straight away.