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Hi. I had a lap band and then revised to sleeve. Lost over 100 lbs with band and then 40 something more with sleeve. I have to have a revision due to gerd and other complications from my sleeve. Luckily, I did not lose any of my hair on either procedures listed above... And I know losing weight is much slower after each revision so maybe I'll be lucky again this time around. I was wondering if any of you lost your hair after revising from sleeve to bypass. Thank you in advance.

Morning :) I’m booked in to have a conversion from sleeve to mini bypass. I’m wondering if anyone can tell me how their surgery went and recovery times. Also if they lost much weight? I think my original sleeve stretched out - I had it 8 years ago. I started regaining weight 2 years ago and have now put on 20kg. The surgeon isn’t doing a sleeve revision - just the mini bypass. I am aiming to lose the 20kg within a year. Is this realistic? I’m worried about complications and not losing any weight. Thanks for any replies!

I had the gastric sleeve and am disabled. I did not exercise and lost 131lbs the first year by sticking to the plan. I did however have to revise due to GERD last year.

My original surgery was 8/22/2006 and I had the RNY. Starting weight was 287 and I got down to 139 in about 14 months. I turned into a counting calorie and workout machine. I kept my weight off for the last 11 years and then BOOM my thyroid died. After a trip to the Mayo clinic in FL and seeing the top endo in the field I am now on an encapsulated pill but it just barely sustains the actual thyroid function. I started regaining weight about 4 years ago - mostly due to the thyroid issues but have to take personal responsibility for bad choices as well. I gained 87 pounds over the last 4 years even with counting calories and working out. When I say working out I was riding a bike 10-15 miles a night, hiking mountains (The Adirondacks in Upstate NY) running, weight lifting. I just couldn't get it under control anymore. I went back to my original surgeon who basically told me there was nothing he could do so I reached out to my primary and he sent a referral to another surgeon who did revisions. I started my new journey on July 17th 2020. I still had to jump through the 6 months of hoops, and lose 5% of my weight to qualify for an endoscopic revision (tightening of the pouch). My appointment was on January 8 2021 but on January 4 2021 our hospitals closed for the 2nd time due to Covid! I finally had my revision on March 8, 2021. Day of surgery weight was 214. I had to do the 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery and then follow all of the post op diets after surgery. Well today is June 16, 2021 ( 96 days post op) and I am down to 170 pounds. I was told that endoscopic revision surgery weight loss is usually between 20-25 pounds and the rest is up to me. Well I am at a loss of 44 pounds now. I still count all of my calories and walk everyday on my lunch break, take my dogs for a walk at night or get on the treadmill, hike mountains on the weekends and have just started weight training again. I am determined to reach my goal of 140 pounds. I take this 2nd chance very serious. So to all out there....there is hope - keeping pushing - keep moving forward. Life will get in the way but if this is what you want then you have to make the hard choices. For example: between the beginning of April 2021 and May 2021 (1 short month) we lost 1 of our dogs, my niece who was only 27 passed away and my best friend's son who was 24 passed away. I buried my niece on a Saturday and my friends son that Monday. I could have given into food and ate my emotions but I didn't because I cannot make excuses as to what I put in my mouth. I am in control of that. I hope you have enjoyed my story.

When you pick a doctor, definately ask about their experiences with patients having acid issues after sleeve. How often does it happen to their patients? What treatments do they pursue? How many of them need surgical revision? Some doctors will have a better handle on this than others. Also ask...how have you modified your technique to avoid acid issues with sleeve? Do you have fewer patients with post surgical acid issues now? Have you done any recent continuing education on patients who experience acid with sleeve? Go to someone who is part of the conversation for the newest ideas in surgery. It's not a guarantee you won't have problems, but it increases your odds for success.

Most practices have support group/information seminars - online these days but some may be going back to in person soon - where you can get some idea of how the practice works, their biases and philosophies, which are useful in helping to make a decision. Looking at their websites is OK< but that's a bit like choosing a car dealership based upon their website - they are heavily marketing oriented; they are designed to bring you in the door rather than provide much useful information. Many list all of the WLS procedures, including some of the obsolete ones that haven't been done in years, while in reality they only offer one or two of them. It helps to be familiar with the different current procedures that are offered in the industry (the ASMBS website has good coverage of all of the commonly approved procedures, as well as some of the newer, more investigative procedures.) Have some idea which one or ones may be most appropriate for your needs, and then go to the seminars or do some surgeon consults and see what their opinion is. They will want a lot of information before a doctor consult, as will any doctor, so that they can better see who you are and what your issues are. UCLA is good by reputation, though I haven't had any dealings with them. I have had some dealings with Cedars Sinai bariatrics and would be comfortable with them, though I never went through the whole program with them. Most programs offer the VSG and the RNY; some now offer the SIPS/SADI/Loop DS which is gaining acceptance (though doesn't seem to quite be there yet,) and a few rare ones offer the BPD/DS, which is more complex than the others (hence fewer practices offer it) but generally works better than the others, particularly for those in the higher BMI range or with more severe metabolic problems. For the VSG or BPD/DS, I would go to Dr. Ara Keshishian, who is in the Glendale/Pasadena area working through USC. Patients travel from all over the country to see him for the DS or complex revisions. When I had my VSG ten years ago, I went up to SF to have it done as no one in the LA area at the time had much experience with them yet (and Dr. K was still working out of the Central Valley at the time.) As a start, I would try to attend, online or in person, as many of the informational seminars as I could, and get a feel for the personality of the practice. Good luck,

They're likely concerned that since you already have issues with heartburn and thus stomach acid that the VSG would make it worse. Some 30% of people who have VSG end up having acid issue and many end up having to get revisions to a Gastric Bypass. But then the other 70% either have no difference or nothing significant changes. I have acid issues from my EoE so my gastroenterologist was pushing for the Bypass, but it was MY decision in the end and I went for the Loop Duodenal Switch which has a VSG stomach (just with the intestinal malabsorption bit added) and my acid issues hasn't got any worse. In fact, I believe it's slightly better than it was. So just weigh the pro's and con's and choose whatever makes YOU happy because it's your life and YOUR choice in the end because you are the one that will have to live with it. Not your doctor or anyone else.

I had a VSG in 2015 and had gained almost all of the weight back. On May 27th I had a revision to a gastric bypass. I'm about 3 weeks out and this stitch pain is no joke! I can barely bend or walk at times. Aside from that and unlike my VSG, I feel great. So much so that I feel as though this will not work for me. Nothing is making me sick, I feel like I can eat without issues. I lost 21 pounds the first 2 weeks, now this week I've gained. I'm starting to feel like this will fail like the last time.

We’re the same height & about the same weight. I struggled to find my maintenance point too & lost about another 12kgs. I’m only 2yrs out but it took me a year of increasing my calories to find the right balance & stop losing. As I couldn’t really increase my portion size for my meals (I physically couldn’t eat any more) I added snacks - what felt & still seems like lots of snacks. I was eating 5-6 nutritionally beneficial snacks a day. Now I eat 3-5 a day just depending. I’m pretty consistent in what I eat. My lowest weight was 48.2kg but for the last 6 months I usually sit at about 49kg (swing 48.5-49.5). I have dropped a bit lately (been 47.9 a couple of times) because I haven’t been overly hungry or interested in eating. I’m sure this will pass. If not I’ll have to work harder at getting in my 1200 calories which seems to be my golden number. Are you still tracking & weighing your food? Do you have a caloric goal or average number you consume in each day? I do random checks to ensure I haven’t misread caloric or nutritional information or am misjudging portion size - it’s easy to under or over estimate. I suggest going back to your dietician & revising your daily food intake for a few weeks with them. There may be something you’re missing & they should be able to recommend or advise on a plan forward. My medical team were concerned at first especially when I was still losing but they’re ok now cause I’m stable. I’m pretty small boned so I don’t mind being on the lower end of the BMI scale. (For years I was told I was big boned but it was just fat - lol!) Congratulations on losing your regain. Good luck.

Had my revision on 3/15/21 and I feel amazing. I had been fairly successful keeping the weight off with the LB (however, I still wanted to lose more weight but wasn’t anywhere near to being as heavy as I had been pre-LB). I also had a horrible hiatal hernia and GERD that was pretty severe. HH was repaired during surgery and have not experienced one episode of reflux since. I am down 30 pounds since surgery. Weight loss has been steady but slower this go-around (very common after revisions, just FYI), but I am 10000000% happy I did the revision!

Sending you lots of love today! I hope your revision goes well!

My revision is scheduled for 7/13

Me, too I will have my revision from sleeve to DS surgery on 7/6/21 due to gerd/heartburn issues. 👎🏾😫🤦🏾‍♀️

I had sleeve the RNY revision October 2020 due to severe GERD, Gastritis and Esophagitis. Insurance covered it after I completed the diagnostic test: barium swallow test, esophagus motility test and endoscopy with BRAVO. After submitting the results (all the testing was done in a couple weeks), I received approval from Aetna within 2 weeks. Even though I had gained back some of the weight lost from the sleeve, I was overweight but not obese, so my weight had no bearing on insurance approval. My 1st surgeon visit was in mid August and my surgery was October 29th.

I had my revision DS surgery last June 3 20201. Had a blockage from surgery on June 4th stayed in the hospital for 3 weeks. Just had another blockage 2 months ago and had surgery again. This time he removed the blockage and a ton of scar tissue. Well, my big problem is I have lost 215lbs. I started at 565lbs and am down to 350lbs. I am going nuts, I can't loose another pound to save my life. I tried the whole Krispy Kreme thing it was a no go. I am doing premier protein shakes. They told me to do 80mg of protein a day, but I cut back. I don't feel like I have lost a thing. I had plans by now. Skin removal, boob job, and neck fixed. Now I am a failure. I feel like my family looks at me as if I wasted my chance, like I did with the gastric bypass 10 years ago. I haven't. I take my vitamins and do everything right. Is there a diet pill or something someone recommends? The only weight I lost was a month ago when I got direaha for 4 days straight. 😪 thanks Jamie

Do I understand this correctly? So this would be your second revision? I’m 3 weeks out from revision bypass surgery 4/18/21 so far so good so much easier then sleeve

I’m 3 1/2 weeks out from my revision. I’m jealous that you cannot eat chicken for nine months. I hate chicken and that’s all I’ve been eating. 🙂

I had the revision surgery on May 19 and I have had no issues. With a sleeve I had issues swallowing and had to stay in the hospital another night. Basically I had no pain except a headache a couple days later. I’ve tolerated everything just fine. Frankly it was just much easier than the sleeve.

My wife was a twenty year diabetic, just short of being insulin dependent on about the strongest drug cocktail of the day when she had her DS, and it took her the better part of a year to be fully off of all meds for it, and 16 years later is still in solid remission. The doc told us that this is fairly typical, that the longer one has been diagnosed/under treatment, the longer it takes to fully go into remission. This is just a gross generalization, as we see many in these forums who walk out of the hospital free of meds and insulin with only a VSG or an RNY, so there can be a wide variety of responses. Your DS, particularly the "traditional" BPD/DS, is indeed the strongest tool against diabetes - our doc's experience is in the 98-99% remission rate area, which should not be too surprising as it started as a surgical treatment specifically for diabetes, to which the sleeve was added to make it a weight loss procedure. It also seems to be the most enduring procedure for it, as it seems to usually stay in remission even with a fair bit of regain, which happens sometimes, though less with the DS than with other WLS. A few years ago we had a gal come through our support group who had been a successful RNY patient for 20+ years, (the practice was not yet doing the DS at her time of surgery) but whose diabetes had come out of remission with only some moderate weight gain, so she was back to get her RNY revised to the DS to knock it out for good. So, it is an excellent first choice for a diabetic WLS patient. Good luck in your adventure!

So I know people can have reflux problems after a sleeve, but I apparently am one of the rare cases of having severe issues after bypass. I currently have 2 large ulcers. They are talking revision surgery. Has anyone had this issue? I am only 5.5 months post bypass.

I’m so sorry you are going through this. I would talk to the doctor. This week I will be at three weeks post op. I stopped the omperazole less than a week after because I found I didn’t need it. I only had two bouts vomiting and I think one was because I hated what I was eating and the other one was because I wasn’t paying attention and probably did not chew well enough. My biggest issue is that I am picky and don’t like ground chicken or ground turkey and I miss vegetables more than I could ever imagine. My experience could be a bit different because I had a revision for my sleeve because I screwed it up and gained on my weight back. Good luck and I hope things get better for you soon

by revision, I bet she met gastric bypass (RNY). About 30% of sleevers develop GERD, and a minority of those get it bad enough that they revise to bypass (bypass often improves if not cures GERD). Although if it's mostly due to the hiatal hernia, she may be able to fix that when she gets in there.

My 5 year surgery date is September 2021. I had an unremarkable recovery from my sleeve surgery. I lost 110 pounds but have put about 15 back on (or had... I have lost 9 of those). The biggest "issue" I had post-surgery was either hiccuping or sneezing when I was full. About a year ago, I started having acid issues. They've progressed to the point of significant GERD. I had been taking a PPI but it stopped working at all... seriously, I wake up at night coughing and gagging because there is stomach acid pretty much in my back teeth! Anyhow, for the last year I've been taking the PPI until it stops working, go off of it for about a month, take it again and it helps a bit but then stops working... wash, rinse, repeat. Four or five months ago I started having horrible pain with eating on occasion and would sometimes throw up. The vomiting has become almost a daily occurrence although not with every meal, and with no predictability. SO I called my surgeon, she listened to my complaints, and sent me for an upper GI swallow. The films show that I have a hiatal hernia and a narrowing of my esophagus. They could tell this because the 12mm barium coated sizing-pill that they had me swallow, to track it through my system, wouldn't go through the esophageal opening into my stomach. There is also narrowing of the pylorus, at the bottom of my pouch, but they can't tell how narrow because the stupid sizing pill was stuck in my esophagus! When I talked to my surgeon after she saw the films, she had me scheduled for an endoscopy (on 6/18) and surgery (on 6/22) to put my pouch back where it belongs, close the enlarged opening in my diaphragm, and to open up my esophagus. She also said- rather offhand- that depending on what she sees in the endoscopy/surgery that I might need a revision. I believe this was in referral to the pyloric narrowing, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure I really know what a revision is. My surgeon is a leader in robotic bariatric surgery, but she's not much for communication and "bedside manner." Anyhow... I don't know what to expect from all of this, what post-op requirements would be, etc. Surgeon scheduled the surgery as she said it clearly needs to be done, just wants the endoscopy done so there are "no surprises" once she gets in there. She also said to expect to be in the hospital for a couple of nights. I really don't know what to expect and have called her office for clarification but so far, no response. I guess I am sharing here to see if anyone has had anything like this happen this far out from surgery, has any advice or guesses, experience with this to share, etc.

Right before my revision surgery, I questioned why I had to adhere so strictly to the preop diet (especially since I was at my goal weight) I was told that not only does the pre-op diet reduce the fat in the abdominal cavity making it easier to navigate during surgery, but it also reduces any fat remaining inside the liver. They took preventative measure for better surgical outcomes. The liver is one of the organs that must be lifted in order to reach the digestive track. If it has too much fat, it is not pliable and becomes prone to injuries like tears, scaring and even breaking. My surgeon asked me to imagine a marbled steak as opposed to a leaner steak. The fat filled areas of the steak will tear easier that the purely muscular areas. After that conversation I (begrudgingly) complied with the pre-op diet.

I am having a revision from sleeve to bypass June 14th. I started my pre-op diet Sunday and it's not too bad. I'm starting to get nervous though. Not looking forward to having to do this all over AGAIN.. I had my sleeve done in Oct 2017, and it hasn't been a fun ride since. I hope this time it turns out better. I am ready to get it over with 🤨😬.. . Wish everyone luck and a speedy recovery..