Banded in 2009, now considering plication or sleeve

[FRANCIE]

Hi All, It's been a long time since Ive been on this forum but I remember it being a wonderful source of help and support. I was banded in August of 2009 and lost 60 lbs. I am 6 foot tall and my best weight was 165. After about 3 yrs I was tired of the "stuck" feeling so I had some liquid removed from my band. Big mistake. Now its 2014 and I have never had the "sweet spot" feeling since. I've had many fills, unfills, etc. excessive heartburn, choking, spitting up etc. I wish I would have just left it alone. I now have to eat standing up, just to get anything to go down and of course, I can eat anything I want. DAMN I still have to run to the bathroom sometimes to "choke up" whatever is stuck and now I am beginning to excessively vomit (sorry) once I begin I can't stop.

Now its 2014, Ive gained back to 200 lbs. I stepped on the scale today and almost died. I admit I have eaten around the band, ignored the scale etc. I want my old self back. I do have trouble with the band, for instance when I bend over, I feel as if the port gets stuck and I have to move around carefully and get it back in place. So basically, there is not exercising for me. Even bending over to put on my socks, the port will move into a wrong place.

So, now I am considering having the band removed and having a sleeve or plication. I am wondering what you would suggest. How successful is the plication? Is it really in its experimental stages. I need to hear from both sleeve patients and plication patients to make my decision. Of course, I would not go anywhere except OCC because I had such a wonderful experience and I am secretly in love w Dr Ortiz and his wonderful staff.

Sorry this is so long, just really need help deciding what to do. THANK YOU!!!

[Dolittle]

I just had the revision done a year ago. I was banded back in 2007 and saw many of the old timers having some sort of issue with the band. I thought about it for awhile and said to myself, do I want to being going through all that crap? It was a hard decision, I loved my band, but I opted to go with the sleeve. It's a different feeling when you get "full". No more food stuck, no more fills and so on and so on.

[Karena]

I had my sleeve done on Nov. 7th and I love it. I have lost 20 lbs. I was considering the plication but something about folding the stomach into itself didnt really settle with me. The only thing I had to get use to is sipping water through out the day. I find myself wanting to gulp it but cant. The other thing I like is that I dont get hungry, but your stomach lets you know when its empty and needs food. Getting on a schedule helps a lot, eating every two to three hours is what I do.

[LisaWA]

I have had my band since 2004 and I am considering having it removed and getting the  sleeve. How is it different?