2008 Junies and Friends

oh and I will also say that you dont get your brain sleeved so yes there will still be those days when the cat shits in the bedroom and the car gets a flat tire and the kids shave the dog that you emotionally reach for food... but I find that when that happens or when I have a craving I dont eat that much.

You can graze all day and I see people (mostly virgin sleevers) complaining about the ability but as an exbandit I would say...that its not a huge problem...like snacking on almond or having a small packet of childrens snack chips to them is an issue.. to me after having a band and being able to slide foods down I know I could have done more damage with a band for snacking or grazing than I can with a sleeve.

Now I call a bad day a day where I might have 2 teaspoons of peanut butter and 3 jelly frogs. I know wicked isnt it

I do drink of a weekend but I have to say my tolerance for alcohol is severely reduced and this seems to be an across the board thing and 1 glass has me happy ...2 and Im on the floor.

Nothing no matter what surgery will save us from head hunger... but at least we are curbed somewhat and with the lack of hunger ( I still have a small manageable amount) its easy (for me) to side track it.

I dont want anyone to think that the sleeve is a mirical cure... you still have to do the protien first rule and eat healthy the advantage the sleeve gives is the reduced capasity and the lack of desire to eat so healthier choices are easy to make. Naturally if you are going to fill your small capasity with chocolate and fatty carby foods even in small amounts you will be pushing shite up hill to lose weight and will stall early out.

yes I can eat chocolate...3 squares now maximum.. chips.. 1 small kids pack.. steak.. 2 matchbox size peices worth. Booze comfortably 1 drink...2 if I sip it veeeeeeeery slowly (yeah like thats gonna happen). Of course I could take that chocolate and chips and if I paced myself could prob get more down but I dont feel the need cos Im tummy happy with that amount.

I have I will admit over a course of 2 hours got down half a large pack of cheese and bacon balls to which I was really sick and full after but also disgusted in myself till my husband got the other half of the pack crushed it up and added a teaspoon of water and poured it into a cup and voila...less than half a cup full of mush soooo it proved to me that the capasity worked but it was the choice of food that did me in.

Drinking and eating at the same time is a bitch.. you feel sick and full and horrid..so one avoids it at all costs. It also from what I have heard stretch your sleeve though I have conflicting stories on the ability of a well done sleeve stretching. My doc says it doesnt that it just relaxes once the swelling has gone down and the scar tissue has softened.

*sigh* I dont want to come off all rah rah about the sleeve. I find it great but I am comparing it to the band where it weighs up bloody fantastic...however I note that virgin sleevers tend to have a little grizzle about stuff which in comparison to the miseries of the band side effects are teeny tiny mozzy bites of negative crap.

I note that they also have the idea that they should be eating like a tablespoon of food forever where exbandits are over the moon with their comfortable satisfying 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Most virgin sleevers feel its too much and worry they are gutsing their selves.

I think you have a very caring doctor. You really should see how you go being able to eat normal food. I can see your point exactly about the dieting yo yo. I am 60 and almost 6 years ago after my initial banding appointment I thought I would never have to diet again. Just eat small portions and be satisfied. That is what they promised with the band. That appears to be what the sleeve delivers. The band doesn't stop the hunger and it is only if it is really tight and you can't eat normally that you lose weight. I just don't have the support at home yet to try it. I will probably start dukan again cos I am gaining and I bloody hate it.

Debs I wasnt going to say anything but I will cos I know exactly how you and Tara feel.

Nige will only take out a band that is not working... so if you have a lot of reflux nor it slips ooooor in your case you cant get the fill right and are gaining weight.

So... if I were you I would go back and complain that you can get a farking side of beef down in a sitting ... try gain some weight too if you can and look bloody miserable and say 'I want it out and I want to be sleeved because this thing is doing nothing and its a waste of time'. Saying 'I dont want to die of obesity with the lap band inside me' will help too.

Arrrrrg I am sooooo naughty!

Tara I did the turn around once I got the go ahead too...most of us do but oddly I didnt get the sads after the op like I did with the band in fact I was elated.

I think its a normal human reaction to wonder if we are doing the right thing. So put it down to being and intelligent woman who has the ability to prethink things out.

Start reading the VGS site...start a thread with the month you will be sleeved and begin convos with the boys and gals who will walk the road with you... it seriously helps

I'm the same as you Tara, was really gung-ho about it all. Nige kind of thew some water over that but i understand him being cautious. I don't want to over think things either...i'm really bad for that...but i do know i want this to happen. I'm like you...was so excited and now it could be a possiblity i feel butterflies...but i guess thats normal right :)
I think my doc will come round..and its only a week i have to wait before i talk to him again. I'm still excited though...i think this is the next step for us failed bandits...its this or back to the way we were and i definitely don't want that.
Really pleased your doc is so willing to swap you over...looks like we really will be going through this together :)
How do you feel about all this Losingit and Linda. Do you think we're nuts for wanting to try the sleeve?
debsx

Hiya Debs,

Ok so it seems we ARE on this trip together but looks like we'll be taking different approaches. In that my choice seems to be moving along quickly where as Nige seems to be gunna make you think long and hard about this.

I'm really kinda gung ho about stuff , like I've thought about it (I think) and I wanna go ahead with it (I think) and it seems my Surgeon is Sleeving A LOT of his bandits all about 4 years out.

BUT ... having said that as soon as I knew it was probably all going ahead - I got all butterflies in the stomach scared.

I REALLY don't like to over think thigs too much so for me it comes down to the band is no longer working, I gave it a good try - twice and it's time for the next stage and the Sleeve seems to be the thing.

So onward I go ...... eeeek

(Sorry girls very tired as I write this so I hope it all makes sense and is not offensive to anyone)
Tara

Thanks Zip, that does help me clarify things a lot. I like the way the sleeve seems to alter the way you FEEL about food...you don't desire it as much by the sounds of it. And i love the fact that when you do eat, you only need a smaller amount to get the same feeling as if you'd eaten much more. That's one thing the band doesn't do...it doesn't really change the way you feel about food...you still crave it, and generally don't feel 'satisfied'. Well i don't anyway.
I got the 2ml out today and i had a a roll (bread!) with bbq chicken and lettuce and mayo and i felt that satisfying fullness that i haven't felt in ages...with the band that feeling that says 'enough' is pain based and not pleasure based...'that was lovely and i feel content now.' Know what i mean?
I still find it amazing that you eat so little but feel just fine about it. Amaze balls! Must be such a nice feeling.
Like i said, i don't want to be on this roller coaster for another 40 years...i don't want food and dieting and weight to be the main focus of my thoughts. I really do think the sleeve is the closest thing i will find to some sort of long term peace where food is concerned. It may not be perfect and i'm sure there will be ups and downs, but its got to be a damn site better than the band.
Zip the way you talk about the feelings towards food when you have the sleeve reminds me of how i felt when i was on ritalin for a short time. I just 'lost interest' in food and just saw it more as a fuel source rather than a cure for all that ails you. It was so freeing and liberating when i was on it. I had to go off it though because of the side effects and as soon as i did that the passion and need for food came back. Its kind of how i imagine the sleeve to be. If its anything like that, then you're totally right, its a thousand times better than the band.
Thanks mate. And thanks for Pippas name. I will drop her an email. Big hugs.
debs

I have zero, zip, nada and no regrets except getting the band instead of a sleeve in the first place.

In all honesty the small amount we eat feels like a normal sized portion because it is normally satisfying. You walk away from your meal sated which I never did with the band and you stay sated for some time after like you would after any meal with a normal belly but yet you have only consumed a small amount.

My diet today was this.

Breakfast

a boiled egg

morning tea

a kingston biscuit

lunch

a small chicken wing

afternoon tea

a cheese stick and 5 almonds (spread out not all together)

dinner

1/4 cup of stir fry with beef strips and that no carb noodles.

I have just had a cup of tea and I feel lovely and full but not uncomfortable.

I dont want any more food and to be honest I only ate lunch cos everyone else was.. I was just not fussed if I ate or not.

I know its hard to get your head around but once your hunger is removed or significantly reduce ( I still feel mild hunger from time to time so I say significantly reduced) then the food isnt as appealing.. its kind of blah or boring.

I do get the fancies from time to time and I have the odd day where I am emotionally depressed and drift towards food but I am quickly done on a small taste.

I do and others have complained that there may be one or two days in a month when the sleeve seems more relaxed and you can consume more but I am talking half a cup as compared to a quarter... it just seems like a lot and you get all cuffuffled over it but it passes and the sleeve firms up.

You can always do liquids for 3 days or the 5 day pouch test to pull it back into gear.

I am not going to try to convince you darlin. It has to be your decision but I have no regrets. I am happy and now for the first time in years food is not my God.

Go on to the other site and pm a lady called pippa. She has been sleeved quite some time and also previously had a band. She can give you a long termers perspective.

I dont feel cheated with the little food I had however I did feel cheated when I had the band.

Thanks Zip. Your post made me feel better. I do appreciate that he is so cautious and wants us to make the right decision for us. He didn't tell me about the leak patient but its good he told you, shows he's honest and that he's willing to share the good and bad things.
I probably would have been shocked had he said today 'yep lets do it'. lol I think because i've been thinking about it for months, i forget that he's only heard of my angst today...he hasn't had months to think about it like i have.
I will use this week to think about things and pay attention to my eating etc...maybe i can do it on my own? Hmmmm...you know what? Even if i could lose the weight and get down to a healthy bmi...without the band or sleeve or whatever....i don't think i could maintain it. I think i'd be one of those yoyo dieters that gets weight off but a year or two later it would be back on and then some...i can see this pattern happening for life. Considering i'm not quite 40 yet thats a lot of years on the dieting merry-go-round. I don't think the sleeve will be easy, in fact, eating such tiny amounts kind of scares me (just can't imagine my brain not WANTING to eat more) but it seems that for long term weightloss success the sleeve might be my best option.
I know i don't want to keep struggling with the band...too loose and it doesn't work, too tight and you get all the health problems. I can't see me doing that for another 40 years...and i can't see me sticking to diet for 40 years either. It seems like the sleeve is the only thing thats left.
Do you have any regrets with the sleeve Zip? I'm 99% sure i want this. Is 99% enough?
How do you feel Tara. Do you feel its the way to go?
debs

yes he was Debs... he wont let you jump in and be sorry, he wants you to be sure because this is permenant.. I like that he is so careful, it makes me trust him.

He did the same thing to me even after he took the band out and wanted me to go away for three months and see if I could do it on my own and made a 3 month return appointment. When I came back and had gained...dah... he said no prob and booked the sleeve for a fortnight...then he was all smiles about it.

He has had one leak. And that was with a lady who did not divulge that she had had stomach surgery many years ago so she had serious scar tissue. But he told me that it was a miniscule leak and it was rectified in two weeks. He has had none others.

I respected him for his honesty about the one leak patient and he told me not to stress about leaks because they are extremely rare as long as you follow the rules.

Keep your chin up, he has not said no... he has said he wants you to be sure and I would think that the fact that he has made an appointment so soon after your fill out he has already opened the door for you.

Just think long and hard this week and be sure this is what you want and if it turns out that you are still keen on the idea go back and tell him it is too hard and you want it out and to be sleeved.

Hi guys, well i went to see my doc....kind of feel a bit deflated but i think that's more me than him. I was so excited to go in and just 'get it sorted' but he wants to take a softly softly approach.

So i told him about my issues with the band, my concerns etc...and pretty much said i wasn't happy with it and would like to talk about other options etc... but all he wanted to do was take some fill out (2mil) so i think i've got 5ml in now, and then see how that goes.

He just kept saying 'we'll see how it goes' and i said i was thinking about the sleeve and he told me all the bad things with that (the only thing he said though was you can leak and be in hospital for months) which would be terrible but he said it rarely happens. That was only bad thing he said about the sleeve. And he did say that he does more sleeves now than bands so that bodes well i think. Basically, in the end, he took 2ml out and said i might be happy with that and we need not talk sleeve again but i was pretty adament that i didn't like the band and i wanted to discuss the sleeve or other options at some point. He said to come back and see him next friday and see how i'm finding the looser band first and then if we have to we can discuss other alternatives.

I guess thats a good thing, that he's willing to see me so soon. He said if we did happen to go down that road the band would have to come out and then wait about 3 months for the sleeve. I guess we will discuss it in a week or so.... so its kind of good news. I was hoping he'd say 'ok you hate it, lets talk options' but he didn't. I got the feeling he wants me to keep the band, but Zippy said he might be like that until we make a firm decision and then he'll come round more...who knows.

I know that i was able to eat one and a half chicken and lettuce rolls tonight though! Haven't done that in ages. I think now that some fluid is out i'm going to be able to eat again and will probably put on weight :( Maybe that'll help him see i might be a good candidate for the sleeve. He weighed me...94ks! I've only lost about 15kg in two years...jebus...pretty crappy going hey, but he said that was good for the band. Would hate to think what bad is! lol

So that's it girls....no real news, just waiting another week and then try and convince him again. Was this how he was with you Zip?

debsx

Debs,

UPDATE !!!!! PLEASE !!!!!!

can't wait for an update

I just wrote a long post the webpage closed and i lost it all. Arrghhh i hate that!
Anyway, the gist of what i said was getting the band out probably won't be much of a problem as you think. There was a couple of girls on the sleeve board whose stomach and liver had grown up and around the band and then surgeon had to cut it away. The op took a bit longer but the band still came out fine and she got sleeved months later. It can't hurt to look into it i guess? Better than being stuck with a useless bit of rubber.
Ok, better get ready for my appointment. Update you girls tonight as to how it goes....fingers crossed. :)

Don't know of anyone else. I saw this sort of thing on the old forum as well, although it had more members and there was usually someone posting.

My take is that if the band is fine and working well, people pretty much just get on with their lives when they don't really have questions or need ongoing support. If the band isn't working, people are often too embarrassed to come on here and say so, feeling as though they have failed.

Hope all goes well today with the doc, Debs. Keep us informed. My interest is whetted slightly, but I think my path through to a sleeve would be a lot more difficult than some, given that I've probably regained everything I lost, and I can't see the band being taken out if it's totally enclosed by my other organs.

not that I know of

maybe everyone is just pissed off with their bands

Just out of interest, does anyone know of anyone else form this board who has gone for the sleeve (other than Zip and Westy?) This board/forum used to be so active and now its like a ghost town.....

I do Tara. I'll mention it and see if it helps. Need all the help i can get! Feel like a bit of a dick though that i'm even doing this....wish i could have made a success of the band :( I was so full of hope that it would work, that i could work IT. Would love that Paul O'Brian to get a band just to see what its REALLY like!

Here here Losing it! I'm feeling so tainted I could not even watch the videos.

As for bull by the horns - yep. I been thinking about this for a while and gained 12 kilos in the meantime. And like the rest of us here it's not like I didn't give the band/s a damn good try.

Good Luck tomorrow Debs.
I hope you get a positive response. (You got a Pension Card ?? - It seemed to help with costs for me.)

Tara

Losingit, i wouldn't be surprised if in the future health insurance companies stop paying for lap band and only pay for sleeve. Some reasearch i read the other day said 50% end up coming out after about 4 years or so. Insurance wise, that's a big loss of dosh for a procedure that only lasts a few years...or if you're one of the ones that the band works for, they still have all the post op maintanence and fills etc...that they pay for.
I was watching some youtube surgeons talking about bariatric surgery and mostly they go for the sleeve everytime. They say people want lapband because it is reversable, and reckon thats it main selling point. But say that when people realise the trouble you can have they all go for the sleeve and realise they don't want reversible anyway...if reversible means being fat again.

Still very exciting Tara. I hope Apra comes through for you. Keep us posted.
Talk tomorrow girls and let you know what happens with the doc.
debsx

On another note, I just HAVE to mention . . . . . . I watched a couple of the videos of Dr Paul O'Brien posted recently on the surgery thread. For someone with the amount of experience that he has with patients seeking weight loss solutions, it amazes me that he STILL doesn't realise that a lot of the time it's not about the hunger.

Talking about the band, and having experience with surgery, is a lot different to LIVING with one of those inside you. Blah blah blah, Paul O'Brien.

I could be just a little tainted in my opinions. I saw a surgeon at his practice years ago, and they flatly refused to band me if I didn't have private insurance, despite the fact I had the funds to pay for the surgery myself. All their propaganda they sent out mentioned the option of paying for it without private insurance, but when it came to the crunch there was no deal. I challenged them on it and never got a response.

Linda maybe we need to challenge those northern girls! You and I, bands out - sleeved 3 months later.

Great - the Junies thread could be solely for defectors!

hahaha

Go for it, girls. Zippy seems happy with her decision, and I think we have enough experience band-wise between us to know that it suits only a few long-term.

Feeling a bit jealous down here

Seriously go for it girls!

Holy shite Tara!!!! talk about taking the bull by the horns... congrats on the decision its a huge one and not with out much thinking and sweating over but if your like me it will the best one you make.

It's all tentative at this stage.
Like it all looks GREAT on paper but .... gotta get $$$ (find, borrow, steal beg) and APRA aproval, & (final) approval from Surgeon but it will be band OUT (woo hoo) in Jan or Feb and Sleeve done on April 17th.
Yay ,,, maybe

That is awesome news Tara! How exciting! Did you just ring him up and ask him over the phone? lol Lucky you. I shall update you tomorrow night...hopefully i will have good news also after i see my doc. You never know, we might end up going through this together!

Did they give you a band out date or are they going to do it on one go? Happy days :)

debs