heard sleeve only any good for few months??

**blackpoolb** · 08-21-2010 05:38 AM

hi, not sure quite how it goes on this forum as i am a newbie on here

i am thinking of the band or the sleeve, however i have heard that the sleeve stretches after a short while, bringing a person back to normal eating say within 18 months. can the people who have had it a long while please reply of their findings please,

**Scotty** · 08-21-2010 06:47 AM

I have had it for 2 years.
No mine has not stretched at all, weight loss went for about 12 months, then it stops, I lost 40Kgs (88 pounds) and have not put any weight back on.
I eat pretty much what I want.
I did have the band at first, (had it in for about 18 months) had it taken out and got the sleeve, band worked OK, but I feel so much better with the sleeve.

**Norm** · 08-21-2010 08:22 PM

This was sone of the questions I asked my surgeon. He said to expect the stomach to increase slightly until about 12 months post op. There should be no further stretching unless you try to pack in too much food on a regular basis. He has only had 2 patients whose stomachs have stretched and they were both found to have a collagen disease (which also caused their laparotomy scars to stretch).

**Matt** · 08-22-2010 05:41 PM

I have had my band removed only last week as it was just a pain in the buttski. The port was uncomfortable under my skin and was sitting right where I bent over so it dug in all the time. I did lose plenty of weight with it though.

My wife believes the band also caused a behavioural change in me which I had not noticed. We do know it changes your chemical make-up as it helps with diabetes and also changes your metabolism.

I could not handle any alcohol with the band. Well, I did, but I would go from dead set sober to being off my face in the space of 10 seconds. I don't think that happens with the sleeve.

I know other people who had this problem with the band as well.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I am being sleeved in November.

I am currently 115Kgs.

**Scotty** · 08-22-2010 06:16 PM

Hi Norm,
Sounds like what I was going through.
I had my band in 2007, went from 147KG to 115KG in about 12 months, but found it very hard to live with, If I had it really tight I would lose weight and maintain, then loosen a little (because all I could eat was basically soup), boom put weight back on, there was so much food I could not eat.
After a bit of research I found out that eventually the band has to be replaced or removed so I decided to go ahead in 2009 and get the sleeve.
I had to have my band out for 4 months to allow the stomach to return to “normal”, WOW I was eating like a crack whore in a pseudoephedrine factory! I said to myself that I would have self control, Yea for about 2 weeks! then, if it was not breathing, I would eat it!
Anyway I put about 10Kgs on in that 4 months, After the sleeve operation, I lost it in the first few months anyway.
This September it will be 2 years for me, I am, and have been 105Kgs for a long time, I am starting a weight lose program now as I am going overseas in November.
Good luck with your operation/s

Scotty

**MediaHound** · 08-22-2010 09:59 PM

Hi Bev, welcome to the site. Hope you find all the answers to your questions about the gastric sleeve here on our forums. As for the stretching, I have read a lot about people who feel its possible and people who say its totally avoidable. So I am eagerly subscribed to this thread to read about what everyone thinks about this. It's a great topic, thanks for the thread.

**mini_me_tobe** · 08-25-2010 05:22 AM

I have had my sleeve for 13 months be 14 months soon, sure it gets bigger than when its first done, because at first there is so much swelling i could only eat 1 table spoon of food or 1/2 scambled egg.. now i can eat prob 3-4 oz(85-100g) of meat with nothing else, or 2.5 oz (60g- 85g)of meat i.e chicken, steak or pork with 2oz (56g) of soft food like egg salad or the 2.5 oz meat and a small salad ie 1/2 cup

so i think a lot of what people to consider stretching is our stomachs maturing to the size they were meant to be when all healed... Also some days i can eat more than others

but i think if we were to contantly eat til stuffed then we could probably stretch it.

**simoneVSsimone** · 09-02-2010 02:38 AM

Yes this is the same question I've been asking for a while now!

**Scotty** · 09-02-2010 05:49 AM

I asked my Doctor, he said something like this:
“The bit that we cut out is the stretchy bit, the material left is less likely to stretch, it’s not as stretchy.
However it will stretch naturally over time, we account for this in the operation, the end result i.e. quantity of food that your new stomach can hold, is where we target, don’t forget Scott that this is actually the first part of a gastric bypass for extremely obese patients that we classify as hi risk.
If this does not work for you we can take the next step, of course you know the advantages and disadvantages of a full bypass, patients that need this type of operation cannot control their intake of food quality.
We also do sleeve revisions, (basically a sleeve do over)
Your sleeve will still be effective and assist you to keep your weight down on meal quantity. Of course if you eat the wrong thing (hi fat calorie carb food) then I would be worried if you did NOT put on weight.”