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Jachut is right! Don't risk having problems with the band. I've had to have revision surgery and believe me, you don't want to risk it. Losing a little slower than you'd like is better than losing the band altogether! Good luck!:smile:

Frustrated by a weight loss plateau? You need a combination of patience and a plan to push through it. It happens to everyone sooner or later. Your bandwagon stalls. You’ve been going great guns, fired up with enthusiasm, working that tool, doing all the right things, and losing weight. Then one day the weight loss stops. One day, two days, twenty days go by…you’re still stuck, and you’re wondering what happened. And because you’ve spent so many years failing at dieting, and being told that obesity is always the fault of the patient, you start to wonder what you are doing wrong. You even think, “Is my band broken?” Chances are, you’re not doing anything wrong, and neither is your band. What’s happening is that your body is adjusting itself to the many changes that have happened during your weight loss. The human body doesn’t know what you’re going to do next, be it climb a mountain or relax on the couch, so it has to continually adjust and readjust your metabolism to make the best use of the calories you take in. It looks at the history of what you’ve been eating and how much you’ve been burning off through physical activity and comes up with a forecast of what you’ll need to stay alive for the next week or so. THIS MONTH’S WEIGHT LOSS FORECAST IS… At work I’ve had to prepare sales forecasts for various jobs through the years. How many widgets will we sell in the month of April? How many defective widgets will be returned by unhappy customers who want a refund? Will all this income and outgo generate enough cash (in our case, energy) to cover the payroll and the equipment maintenance and the CEO’s country club membership? I once had a boss who joked that we might as well toss a deck of cards down a flight of stairs to come up with a prediction of which new product (represented, say, by the joker card) was going to be the best-seller. That suggestion didn’t go over big with the finance guys. Like us, they were trying to follow the rules, keep everything identified, counted and categorized. And like the bean-counters, we count our calories, carbs, fats, proteins, liquids, solids, income, outgo, with faith that this accounting system will help us win the weight game. Meanwhile, our bodies have a different agenda: survival. When we decrease our food intake and increase our physical activity, the body watches to see what will happen next. As our purposeful “starvation” continues, the body struggles to accommodate the changes we’re making. It makes some withdrawals of funds from our fat cells and fiddles with our metabolism to prevent an energy (calorie) shortage. Gradually it becomes acclimated to the new routine so that it’s making the best possible use of the few calories we’re consuming. It’s keeping us alive, but it’s also putting the brakes on weight loss. Eventually we find ourselves stalled on what seems like an endless weight loss plateau. And unless we change our routine and keep our bodies working hard to burn up the excess fat, we’re going to grow to hate the scenery on that plateau. AND ON THE FLIP SIDE I’ve suffered through countless weight loss plateaus but by varying my exercise, my total caloric intake, my liquid intake, my sleep, and so on, did manage to finally arrive at my goal weight. For the past few years, I’ve felt mighty smug that I finally got promoted to the Senior VP of Weight Management here at Chez Jean. Maintaining my goal weight +/- 5 pounds seemed effortless. But it didn’t last. Turns out it was time for me to learn another lesson about my body’s fuel economy. When I had all the fill removed from my band to deal with some bad reflux, my eating didn’t go berserk. I didn’t pig out at Burger King, didn’t drown my sorrows in a nightly gallon of ice cream. I was definitely eating more because I was so much hungrier than before – perhaps 500 extra calories a day, which would amount to a weight gain of one pound a week. Imagine my dismay when I gained seven pounds in 2 weeks – the equivalent of an extra 1750 calories a day! There was a time when I could have overeaten that much without any effort at all, but as a WLS post-op, I’d have to work hard at eating that much extra food. I was flabbergasted. And frightened. Obesity was a mountain on my horizon again – far in the distance across my weight maintenance plateau - when I thought I’d left it far behind. So at the end of a visit with my gastro-enterologist during that scary time, I asked him if my sudden and substantial weight gain was the equivalent of my body shouting, “Yahoo! We’re not starving anymore! Let’s get ready for the next starvation period by hanging on to every single calorie she takes in! Let’s store those calories in those fat cells that have been hanging around here with nothing to do! C’mon, troops, get to work!” I’m pretty sure that’s not the way Dr. Nuako would have explained it, but he smiled, nodded, and said, “Oh, yes.” I felt like I was facing the flip side of a weight loss plateau: I might be in a weight gain plateau. All I could do is keep on keeping on with exercise and healthy eating, enjoying some of the foods, like raw fruits and veggies, that had been harder for me to eat with a well-adjusted band. PUZZLING OUT THE WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU So the good news was that my wonky metabolism following that complete unfill wasn’t my fault, but the bad news was that my metabolism wasn’t in a cooperative mood. I was going to have to start playing much closer attention to the details of weight loss and maintenance again. What a pain! But hey! I’d already had a lot of practice at that. I had the tools – a little rusty maybe, but still in usable condition. I ended up regaining 30 pounds between that unfill and my revision to VSG, but I have a suspicion that without those weight tools, it could have been 60 pounds. And that’s one of the reasons that even today, bandless for 14 months now, I don’t regret my band surgery. The band helped me lose 90 pounds and learn a host of useful (if uncomfortable) things about myself, my behavior, my body, my lifestyle. What about you? How can you get your weight loss going again and avoid regain? So many factors can affect your weight that sorting out the reason(s) for your weight loss plateau can make you dizzy even if you’re not a natural blonde like me. To help you assess what’s going on and what might need to be changed, I created a Weight Loss Plateau Checklist. To access the checklist in Google Docs, click here: https://docs.google....emtSYjJLRnVGTFE The checklist includes a long list of questions about you and your behavior, with answers and suggestions for each question. I can’t claim that it will give you the key to escaping that plateau, but it should give you some food for thought and perhaps some ideas to try. Use that to come up with a plan to deal with the plateau, and work that plan for at least a month to give your body a chance to get with the new program.

:sad:HELLO ALL, I AM SORRY IF THERE IS A THREAD ON THIS ALREADY, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ONE. SO HERE'S MY STORY. I AM 2 MONTHS POST-OP, HAVE HAD TWO FILLS. LAST FILL WAS ON THURSDAY THE 9TH OF APRIL, WAS TOLD MY PORT SEEMS TO HAVE FLIPPED ON IT'S SIDE. SHE THEN SAYS I MIGHT NEED A REVISION. I AM DREADING ANOTHER SURGERY. CAN ANYONE SHARE THEIR STORY ON THIS WITH ME? THANKS A BUNCH!

My band was removed June 2011 and my revision is 6-27. I was 213 and down to 134. Now I am 170. I hate it. Can't lose despite following a very strict 1200 cal diet. Can't wait to be on the losing team. Congrats to all revision people!!

Congrats on your revision! Not "running hot" all the time is a real change for me too! I'm going to have to crochet myself some shawls pretty soon just to stay warm!

My band slipped in June 2009, when I was about 21 mos post-op. The blog post whose link I posted on this thread has nothing to do with that. The damage from decades of reflux was diagnosed in January/February 2012, when I was 4-1/2 yrs post-op. My surgeon and gastro doc agreed that my band was aggravating the situation. My band was removed in April 2012 and I revised to VSG in August 2012. The blog post whose link I posted on this thread describes my 2012 experience. The OH post you quoted sounds familiar but I don't remember when I posted it. Probably in the spring of 2012, at which I point I may not have had all the test results and gastro consults done and was therefore not in possession of all the facts. I'm flattered because you must have done quite a bit of digging to find it. Or you've been saving it all this time, waiting for the opportunity to quiz me about it. Anyway, I'm sorry if I confused you. Yes, my band slipped, and yes, I had damage from 20+ years of reflux, and yes, I had general band problems related to reflux.

I had my surgery on 12/17 and my doc wants me to return on 1/15 I had a revision from the band to rny maybe that's why.

I am 2 weeks out from my band to sleeve revision. I had a lot of problems like you. However, it was a much easier decision for me because my insurance paid for it. I am 15# from goal at the time of my revision. I couldn't live with the band any longer and I certainly didn't want to gain all my weight back. I did a lot of research and found that band to sleeve revisioners are over all quite happy with there decision. From my experience in just 2 weeks, it is like night and day. No more puking, no more acid reflux, no more being very tight in the morning, no more pain while eating! I wish you the best in your decision. I'm glad I did it. Shelli

Hi I jsut got my band to sleeve revision on May 29th. Recovery is good so far and I'm looking foward to going on this journey with other band to sleevers. I only lost 25 lbs with the band so I'm worried the sleeve won't work either but I'm following the plan well so far so hopefully i'll get to goal. I didn't have any problems with the band, it jus didn't control my apetite. My doctor said they sleeve would help with hunger so I'm hoping he's right. So far I've had no hunger bit its only been a few days since surgery. I also noticed the side effect that i'm not "hot" all the time anymore. I saw that someone else posted about this and its true! I love this side effect, especially since its summer in Texas for me! I look foward to getting to meet ya'll :-)

The closer you get to a weight that you think might be a goal one, keep in mind how far you have come. You want to be at a weight that you can easily maintain and love the way you look at this weight. Don't get all wrapped around BMI and the like. If you get to 175 and love yourself there and can maintain it then go with it. We are not like regular people who just need to lose 20 pounds. 100+ pounds will be a major accomplishment. Now all that being said my original goal was 180 pounds but when I got their I revised to 170 which according to BMI is in the normal range for my height. I wish you the best, you will do it!!

Unbeknownst to me (since I hadn't had a fill or any eating or other band problems for over a year), my old 4cc band was too tight. That put so much pressure on my esophagus that it dilated and lost its ability to transport food into my stomach. Now I'm afraid that even a bigger, newer band could create the same problem, so I'm revising to the sleeve. Not thrilled about it, but making the best of the circumstances. I'm extremely lucky that I have another surgical option for weight management and even more that my insurance is willing to pay for it. I'll always be a bandster at heart, though!

Hi there. . . Yes, you can switch to Prime when he deploys. You will not be covered for the sleeve with Standard unless you find an MTF to take you with Standard which is a rare, rare, almost never happens find. Here's the catch, since VSG is NOT a covered procedure, anything you have done upon his return and you go back to Standard MIGHT not be covered by Tricare. Now a way around this is to have your PCM pull annual labs for you, but NOT mention it is follow up care for VSG on the coding. There is minimum follow up after the first few weeks. For example, many patients go abroad for surgery, come home after 48-72 hours, and only have labs performed annually by their PCM, and they are doing fine. My MTF requires follow ups every 6 months for the first 3 years. But, we do have free access to psychs and nutritionists if needed. I recommend that your PCM communicate with whichever surgeon you get to perform your surgery. I'm up in the NW Florida Panhandle by Pensacola. Eglin AFB is where I had my band to sleeve revision performed. MTF Locator. http://www.tricare.mil/mtf/ Tricare won't cover the sleeve outside of MTF or VA hospitals. So don't waste your time trying to jump hoops for that surgeon. It won't work. I've fought for myself ( and with friends) in every Tricare area, Tricare South, West and North. One friend went congressional and still got denied through a civilian after getting pre-approval and everything. You'll have to put in some footwork to find an MTF that will take you on as a patient for the sleeve. But, I will say that you should not settle for just any surgery. The band really does suck especially if you can't get fills/unfills easily. I've been there done that, and had all the lovely band issues that come with it. Certain plans with Medicare are starting to cover the sleeve, Tricare might be following suit, but I've been hearing that trash since January 2009. But, Medicare wasn't covering the sleeve at all, now they are on some of the plans. So, fingers, toes, every part crossed Tricare pulls their head out, and will start covering it. If you need help, please feel free to contact me. I've been through the trenches with Tricare on this issue. I know how the process works as most MTFs follow a similar program. I'm more than happy to help.

I would check the forums for the many people who say they have gone for a revision from the band, my cousin had the band for ten years and then had to be revised, she had lost 100+ lbs but the band broke. I think you will find many different stories here about problem with the band and needing revisions. .. I don't have a problem with the band, and it is a good choice for a lot of people. I didn't like the idea of a mechanism in my body, constant upkeep for fills, etc. The sleeve feels right to me after all of my research. ..

1. Dr. Michael Michel, he is a Major in the USAF, and stationed at and operates out of Eglin AFB. I've sent 2 of my close friends to him within the last month (he just returned from 7.5 month long deployment) and an "ex" friend of mine had her surgery performed by Dr. M last September. My secondary surgeon Dr. Riley, out of the same military facility, is amazing as well. Dr. R took over my care when Dr. M deployed. He's performed surgery on 2 of my friends within the last 4 months. 2. Insurance company first, PCP next, supporting letter from PCP and any other specialty physicians you may see. 3. I would imagine natural childbirth would be worse. I had a c-section (was awake for it), and the VSG was nowhere near as painful. I had a completely different recovery, and I'm not the norm therefore I can't comment on this one. I was a revision patient. Had the band first, then VSG. 4. Same as above 5. I've dropped 155lbs as of today in around a year. I started at 270 today I'm weighing in around 118lbs. My skin is wrinkly, but not sagging or flapping over. It's recovering nicely. Saw my surgeon last week, he looked at my skin, and said " considering how much you've lost, your age, and how fast you've dropped it, your skin looks amazing, I've had patients lose less, that are younger that have to have plastics. Don't do any other surgery for a minimum of 12-18 months". I moisturize like crazy. I exfoliate with a homemade sugar/salt scrub, I massage my skin. I do not wear shapers, girdles, or anything of the sort. I live in Florida, it's 99% humidity, and wearing spandex under clothes is self-induced torture. 6. Take Biotin or another hair/nail/skin supplement now, and continue taking it once you're released for meds/supplements post-op. It'll help with the regrowth. Nothing stops the shedding. I'm vain, I lost half of my hair, I chopped it off, and it's grown 4 inches in length since January. We measured the other day to find out how much growth I was actually seeing. I have new growth that is about 7" long that started coming in before the shedding stopped. For me, it last 3.5 months. It's temporary, it'll grow back. I used Folicure shampoo every other day when I started losing, and never took Biotin or other supplements on a regular basis. Interesting article: Telogen Effluvium: eMedicine Dermatology 7. I was released for alcohol at 3.5 months out. Was told to avoid wine. My surgeon doesn't forbid soda. He doesn't believe it causes sleeve stretching. It is empty calories/carbs, and if it's caffeinated, it doesn't count as a clear Fluid. I drink soda. No harm, no foul, no regain,no sleeve stretching. I'm not a beer drinker, but I drink rum/cokes and various shots on a fairly social basis. 8. Perfectly normal. Today, my 12 yr old son and I shared an order of beef fajitas with black Beans and rice at Chili's. Sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, 8-10 tortilla chips, 3oz of fajita skirt steak cooked medium, and a huge amount of sauteed onions. I ate about 6 small bites of the rice, I skipped the beans, they put stupid pico de gallo in them, no flour tortillas. I ate about 2ounces of shredded cheese mixed with the beef, sour cream and salsa. I drank strawberry lemonade before my meal. We were in and out of the restaurant within 1 hour. We talked, laughed, and just hung out. I waited about 15 minutes after eating to take a few swigs of my lemonade because Mexican food tends to be salty. I needed to wet my whistle. I felt normal, and have for months. 9. Only puked a couple times and that was super early out. Nauseated only happened when on heavy antibiotics. Slightly dehydrated only once, but didn't require hospitalization/iv fluids. 10. Stick to your surgeon/nutritionist's post-op diet, don't reinvent the wheel, don't cheat, it's just not worth it regardless of other people's experiences, if you absolutely need to progress your diet call the medical professional that you trusted to staple off and excise 80% of your stomach and ask if there is a safe option that may get you through a horrible day, don't be negative nelly, your body needs you to be positive and encouraging it will have just took a major blow for you, be nice to it. Realize that some days might suck, you might be sore, you might not feel like doing much of anything, but the good ends up outweighing the bad 100 fold. Remember they operate on our stomachs not our heads. Our minds will beat us up if we allow it. Emotions will run high, you might be mad, angry, or feel like you're on a permanent PMS trip from hell, prepare your husband/family for this, it does get better, but it doesn't make it suck any less. Other than that, know that you are embarking on an amazing journey. You'll experience so much that it's hard to really wrap your head around all of it. Look for support when you need it, and know that whatever hurdle you may find in your path, there is probably someone else out here that's gone through or going through the same thing, don't be afraid to ask questions, have faith in yourself, your surgeon. Sorry for the ramble, run on and fragment sentences. Best wishes and keep us updated.

Great article though a bit scary to confirm we we already know ~ that our stomachs will expand to hold a slightly larger capacity, "but" that WLS was always a "tool." A tool that we alone have complete control over. Treat it well & it will treat us well in return. I'm thankful every day for my tool. I'm almost 8 months post revision to sleeve, and this thought scares me. I hope it's enough to always keep me focused!!!

I am sorry that you are going through this what is your surgeon saying, is there nothing that they can do to correct this issue besides a revision, can they recheck to see id perhaps something is preventing you to hold down food, or perhaps your pouch needs to be open? I do hope that you get relief soon. Best of luck.

I just completed a mini bypass revision: had the sleeve done in 2011. I’m 12 days post-op. Feeling fantastic. Way better than when I had the sleeve. I believe weight loss is a bit slower after revision? Time will tell . Best of luck with your surgery.

I had mine on a Wednesday and went back to work on the following Monday. My surgery was 7 hours due to revision but I do have a desk job. Was just feeling tired and still feeling effects of anesthesia. Take as much time off as you can. A week is pretty good.

I am 6 days out from sleeve to rny revision & still have not 💩. I am finally passing gas, but I do not feel any urge to have a bowel movement. I have been taking Dulcolax stool softener a couple times a day, but still nothing. Was wondering if MOM or Mirilax is the way to go? I am also having a sharp pain under by left breast/rib cage. Hurts to take a deep breath. Anyone else experience this?

I was not a revision but had a BMI at 45 and am currently at 25.3. I have lost 133lbs so far and have 11 to go. I am very very strict about getting my Protein, Water and Vitamins in every day. I have been restricted from exercise since June due to 2 spine surgeries and that is not going to end anytime soon. My weight loss slowed way down but I am still losing around 8lbs per month. I track every single thing I put in my mouth and have had many many stalls the longest lasting 28 days. I have had several people tell me I was likely done losing and I tell them they are full of crap. I may lose more slowly but it is up to me to follow the plan, if I do I will continue to lose. I get between 900 and 1200 calories a day with 70 grams of protein. I try to keep my carb intake under 90grams and I get a minimum of 48 oz, of straight water and usually more like 60oz. It can be done but you must push yourself hard and really look at your activity. Even though I cannot exercise in a gym, I keep my arms moving even when I am sitting and I try to walk as much as I can.

Do not blame your food cravings on emotional issues, Bostonmama. A good non-surgeon bariatric specialist can evaluate to see if medications or surgery revision is needed. Please do not beat yourself up for the cravings. Your struggles may be as much physiological as psychological and can be addressed by the right medical specialist. Yes, see a nutritionist and psychologist but there are a lot of experienced, talented obesity specialist medical doctors in the Boston area.

Also how have you been feeling since revision? Rny scares me. But I think cancer scares me more [emoji20] Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

I am so glad to hear you are doing well [emoji171] A revision scares me but when I talk to others it makes me feel like if I need one I will be ok. 🥰 How often did you get heartburn, or reflux? I seem to have it everyday. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

I made a HUGE mistake telling co-workers about my surgery. I kind of had to because my doctor requires three weeks off for a revision in most cases. I am just a little sick of thin people telling me that I can just lose weight with exercise and diet. Ummm....no. I was working out at one point EVERY DAY taking spinning class, yoga, etc. and hit a plateau. I have had weight problems since I was young, too. I just tell them now that I am having my lapband taken out and that is it. I don't mention the sleeve and refuse to talk about it. It's just not worth the frustration!

I just had my band revised to a sleeve. I am day 3 post op and soooooo nauseous 🤢 I can barely eat and my belly is so upset. I threw up yesterday, that was awful. Today I managed a few sips of the protein drink and a few sips of water. I feel like I am never going to feel better. Please tell me it gets better Ughhhhh