What a Waste - Mexico

I had my lapband put in by Dr. Ariel Ortiz with the Obesity Control Center in 2009. At the time, they didn't offer sleeve or bypass, stating that it wasn't "what god intended" for the body. I was too heavy to even qualify, weighing 346 pounds, so I had to lose weight and got down to 324 the day of surgery. After surgery I had to find a clinic to do my fill, which was an hour and a half away so I didn't ever go frequently enough to find my happy point I guess. I didn't vomit a lot but my restriction seemed to always lessen over time and I didn't have any leaks. I got down to 242 at my lowest with my band and it took me well over a year just to do that. I stayed around and under 250 until I got pregnant with my daughter in 2012. I was told to leave my fill in so that I didn't gain a lot of weight but I still gained up to 298 during my pregnancy. After that, it was almost impossible to lose weight and my band just seemed to stop working. I started to read up on the sleeve and had wanted revision after I realized the band wasn't going to help me any more. I also read a lot of horror stories about bands slipping, erosion of the stomach because of the band, leaks, bands causing scar tissue. I finally revised to sleeve in January of this year (2015) with A Lighter Me in Tijuana with Dr. Elias Ortiz and had a great experience. I was 312 before pre-op and 303 day of surgery and am seven months out and down to 222. My sleeve is awesome and I encourage any one who is looking into weight loss surgery to skip the band entirely and go for the sleeve instead. I wish I had done it in the first place!