Search the Community

Good luck! I'm also having a revision from band to bypass! Surgery for me is 11/6.

Can anyone tell me their experience if they had a revision done because of slippage? My surgery is on Friday and I'm really worried.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Thanks.<o:p></o:p>

Saying prayers. It sucks. Now what everyone doesn't want...duh duh dunnnhhhhhh--yes, that's right! It's time for the "Advice from a Pre-Surgery Newbie" Show, starring? FluffyChix! Ok, so now for some practical advice. You are a medical professional--so you must be aware of this stuff--if not, get to know it! 1. Take baby steps. Begin again. Today. Right now. Only focus on the next bite. Today your one job is to dump the carbonated diet drinks. Dump em baby. Use LaCroix as a sub if you must. 2. Tomorrow or when you feel you can, work on the next step...make your snacks healthy and filling: 2oz of protein, or PB3s, or 2oz of GS apple + 2tbsp peanut butter (I'm presurg and this snack right here fills me for 3 hours). 3. Next step, STOP drinking while eating. You can do this. It's actually the easiest step. Make it the first step if you want!!! 4. Next step, go back to eating protein first with every meal. Follow the baby step meal order: protein, non-starchy veg, high carb bs, dessert. 5. Next step, get rid of all the sugar and carby nonsense. Lose the desserts and high carb nonsense. Dump all the sugar from your diet. Tighten up your daily food intake. REALLY this is the fish or cut bait time. It may take several days...get rid of the CRAP. 6. Go back to planning your meals for 1 day. Weigh and measure everything. All. The. Things. Each day, recommit to weighing and tracking (and planning--don't forget the planning) for that day and that day only. Each day. Every day. Recommit. 7. Start walking every day--just around your house, inside your house if necessary...just 5 minutes if that's all you can do. Work up every day to more. And that's as simple as it gets. Don't eat within 3-4 hours of bedtime. Sleep elevated. Make low acid choices. Chew the crap outta stuff and makes notes on what makes the GERD and your esophagus feel worse. Take your PPIs. Treat yourself kindly and with respect. Congratulate yourself on getting through some serious ****. Congratulate yourself on graduating and improving your life. Go back to basics. Each day plan and log your food. Only focus on taking the very next BEST bite. Don't forget to surrender to your higher power. Read about CBT and food addiction. It's an awesome tool for overeating or eating with abandon. And lastly, don't put off a revision if it's called for with the GERD. Just jump in and get it done. Don't waste any more of your life on this. But you do need to get the overeating/eating off plan stuff together cuz as you know, you can eff any surgery if you're determined to do so. Do OA or Greysheeters. Go to therapy. Just concentrate on changing one thing at a time. Take baby steps and you can turn your life around. This is exactly how I backed into starting my new life on the pre-surgery plan. Before I could even do my plan, I had to slowly and gradually back into it until I had strung together so many successful days that I'd built momentum and resolve. Resolve and commitment grow exponentially with success. The more you see the scale move (or whatever your marker of success may be), the stronger the resolve to stay on plan. Good luck. If I can do this, you can do this. I'm the queen of recidivism. I practically wrote the book on it.

I used Dr. Fernando Garcia in Oct. Had great results no issues. I did not get the single incision though. FYI, I searched Dr. Garcia's name on this website (in all forums) and did not find anything negative on him. I think I saw one person had a complication but that was due to her surgery was a revision which is more complicated. That helped me to use him. Definitely search his name and see what you think. I also searched his name on other sites as well as google. I did the same for some other doctors and did not like the mixed reviews on some so I steered clear of those doctors. Good Luck

I am post op from revision and can’t tolerate the shakes either. I am using bone broth, unjury chicken broth and fat free fairlife milk instead. I also drink the clear protein 2o drinks.

I am not a surgeon but that seems like a lot to me. I have a 32F and at 5 weeks I can hold 2 - 3 oz. 2 oz for me is the rule but some real soft foods I can hold 3 oz (like pudding or yogurt). Maybe you should talk to him about a smaller size? Ask what size he is using and why. It is your body, you have a right to ask. I seem to remember that it is difficult to revise again once you have been sleeved because the staples can't be found after healing has taken place. Seriously, this might be your only chance. Be cautious even if it means a delay in surgery. Just my humble opinion.

I was banded almost 5 years ago. I lost 55lbs over a very long period of time and from what I honestly think was just hard work and not much help from the band. I hate my band. It hurts. I feel like it's violent when I get stuck (often) and I can feel my port all the time for FIVE years. Sigh. Eating is stressful and to top it off I've gained every ounce back. I sometimes eat 2 bites can't eat another bite longingly look at my healthy or even healthy-ish food and an hour later eat Cookies because I am starving. I feel like my eating habits have become worse because of the band and at this point I'm totally out of control. I'm excited about revising and petrified too. I would like the sleeve but I'm so afraid I will eat thru it like I did with the band. I hear "it's so different" but I wonder if that applies to people like me that ate around the band. Waited for food to pass then slid junk down. I suppose I could fail at the bypass as well. I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience with the band and been successful with the sleeve or failed to lose with the sleeve as well. Any and all advise would be so appreciated!!!

I had the DS a month and one week ago. I’m still new to all of this but I don’t regret my decision. Like a previous poster said the sleeve part is what controls hunger and it’s the malabsorption part that helps you lose more weight. If you do get the revision you do have to make sure you are taking all your vitamins everyday. With the DS you only absorb 40% of the calories you eat from complex carbs and protein, 20% from fat and 100% of the calories from simple carbs and sugar. So you will have to learn to control your cravings for the sugary simple carbs. Before surgery my surgeon did say that there is the possibility of the surgery working too well and you lose too much weight. He did tell me there are ways to revise the surgery so the part where the food and digestive juices mix is longer and the key is to keep your surgery team aware you are having problems when you begin to have them. I have learned a lot about the surgery from shrinking violetds on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfDprJMbSy-J3MILnRPT8Yw She is currently maintaining and had the DS.

You can look up BPD/DS..Right now, I have a gastric stricture. Not one dr has concluded this yet, but extensive research I have done for last week has led me to this conclusion. Newbies in the honeymoon stage hate me. Think I'm being negative...no, being realistic. Do you think my bariatric surgeon told me all of the possible complications - of course not, this is what he does for a living. Luckily, he is a good surgeon so I hope he didn't make my opening too small. Praying for last hour, as it took me, not the three doctors I've seen, to diagnose myself. Even an experienced nurse in a Bariatric Surgeon's office said I was anorexic and needed a good dietician. I am not anorexic! How did I get so fat? And struggle to keep the weight off for 7 years, and suddenly develop anorexia...total nonsense. I am literally getting unable to eat, it nauseates me and I can hardly swallow. My bowels are shutting down.. But I know hospitals can screw up. God, this is overwhelming. So, I'm praying and claiming, I'm right, I'm getting to the right Bariatric Surgeon or right ER doctor, etc. Praying I have no complications from the correction, dilation of the stricture. I may have to have multiple dilations. I may develop a bleed during dilation. Hope you get the drift how complicated this is. Please don't take this the wrong way, but if I asked, May I ask what a DS is, you are not a good candidate for DS. You can fight serious health complications, requiring many hospitalizations, or even death. May not happen, but may. And you cannot be revised from DS, If surgery is available, any responsible surgeon wouldn't do it If you can't lose the weight at this point, get intensive therapy before making such a lifetime commitment. From your pic you don't look that old. This is for the rest of your life!!! Bariatric practices are going to tell you about all of the successes, not the failures. I would be considered a huge success, maintained my weight for 7 years, and now losing....how exciting....wrong...I may be dying. Praying for Divine Intervention. I'm not ready to check out yet.

I wonder how much he's lost vs how much he needs to lose? My mom only lost about 60 lbs with her band - which is why she revised to the sleeve.

Hi, I had the sleeve in 2016. I lost about 30 or so pounds, which I have since regained. The sleeve was not very successful for me. On Monday (8/21/23), I had the SADI-S DS surgery. The doctor said that weigh loss will be slow. I am just worried of failing again. If anyone else had had the SADI-S revision, I would like to hear positive stories to inspire me and know that it is really possible this time. Thanks! Melody

I'm going through the process now @NYP-Weill Cornell. Both Drs Pomp and Dakin have excellent reps when it comes to the band revisions. One girl I meet in a support group meeting said Dr. Pomp pretty much saved her life, that's how bad her lap band was.

I need to revise this: according to my Drs. Visit today, the don't allow Tramadol in the first six weeks, so if you are in that timeframe you may want to stick with Tylenol. I was sent home from surgery with tramadol, works great for me. I also use Tylenol once in a great while for sinus pain.

After being overweight my entire life I decided to get the lap band in dec. 2012. I really wanted gastric sleeve surgery at the time, but my insurance didn't cover it and I felt bypass was "too extreme". My band never could get in the "green zone" and because I traveled for work, often times would be in horrible pain because due to cabin pressure the saline in my band would get tighter. I was miserable! After continually vomiting, uncontrollable acid reflux and weight gain I decided to switch surgical programs and seek new advice. My new doctor advised me on having a revision done and now my insurance approves the sleeve surgery. I thought about it a few months as I was hesitant with feeling like such a failure with the band. In fact I was quite open with my first surgery but people would say later "I thought you were supposed to lose lots of weight?". It just added to my feelings of failure and this round I'm being much more protective of who I talk to about it. I've not gotten a lot of support for my choice but hope by joining this group others will be able to understand my journey and share their own. I'm now going through the approval process and hope to get my sleeve at the end of June.

Hi! I was banded on the 26th and had the exact same thing as you. My doctor assured me it was a stitch used to hold the port pulling on a muscle. It's like when you put your hair in a ponytail, sometimes a stray hair is sitting at an awkward angle and it pulls and hurts, but eventuallu things settle down and find a place. He said it would get better on its own, and it has. So don't get too worried about port revisions and such (I was freaking myself out worrying). It sounds normal. Just take it easy and don't strain the area any more, and it will heal up soon.

I would call your doctor and let them know what is going on..how you are feeling..and what they suggest you do.....If it doesnt get better INSIST on being seen..... As I sit here and type this my port is detached and I am awaiting a revision surgery if my insurance appeal goes through.....it was denied and is now in review... I had lots of pulling feelings when moving certain ways...and a burning sensation as well.. VERY early on.....

I just noticed that someone has posted if there is interest in an upcoming bandster luncheon in Mississauga on Saturday, July 28th, at Kelsey's. If anyone is interested please go to the Canadian Lapbander's site and view the message and then vote for it in the poll. Donna VBG/87 Revised To Lapband/06 251/148/125 goal

Hi, all.. I've had several inquiries and got lazy about answering them, so I hope you don't mind my making a lengthy Sue-Post. (Okay, not lazy, loaded, Vicodin...just let me say that you NEVER want to hear the phrases "urethral stenosis" and "urethral dilation" coming out of your urologist's mouth.) For the innocent...My band surgery was October 15th, 2002, in Monterrey, Mexico, with Roberto Rumbaut Diaz, a band pioneer surgeon and a band patient and a really nice, down-to-earth guy. Prior to banding, I went from my all time high of a BMI 52+ to about a BMI of 48 on the day of surgery. For the first several months, I did okay. I recall that for my mom's 80th birthday, I finally hit a BMI of under 40...I was not morbidly obese! But shortly thereafter, I started dealing with reflux. I had to sleep sitting up. I took various drugs, but they merely lessened the problem. One day, I was having Breakfast with my cousin (an RN) and her husband (an MD) and was able to eat only about two tablespoons of oatmeal at 10:30 a.m. and realized that THEY were looking at someone with a bizarre eating program...maybe an eating disorder. I hopped on a train (I just happened to get to the station seven minutes before departure) and went to Tijuana and had Dr. Kuri unfill me. My reflux immediately resolved. And my weight loss began to resolve. So I eventually went in for mini-adjustments. I had unfills for my panniculectomy surgery and for my breast reduction surgery. In between, I had small re-fills. In two or so years, I had a dozen adjustments. But then I started to feel like my food was bouncing around in my esophagus. It would happen once in a while, and then more often. Not every time, and not just after I had eaten too much. Sometimes, I'd be having a cup of coffee before dinner and the coffee would bounce around. Other times, it would be Water. One day, I could eat a considerable amount of foods. The next day, one stupid bite of oven baked fish, and that was all I could eat. Well...after you do that for a while, you tend to get a little nuts. Especially when well-meaning people start telling you you just have to "work your tool." And when a doctor who doesn't have a band wants you to go to a support group meeting so that you can hear other successful banded people telling you they ALL go through that, with every meal. (Yeah, right.) I finally got to the point that most of what I was eating was Soup and ice cream. Because it would usually go down. I decided that, since I was within ten pounds of my pre-op weight, I wanted to consider the DS. I had an upper GI done. My esophagus is widened. In doctor talk, it's "esophageal dilatation." I went to Dr. Ara Keshshian in Delano, California and told him my story. He said, "Are you expecting me to look surprised? This is NOT the first time I've heard this story." He told me that I needed to have my band emptied...but that he didn't have the needles because he didn't DO bands. So I went to Tijuana and saw dr. verboonen, as he was available right away. He, his partner, the lab tech and my husband watched as I drank the barium and it just sat there in my esophagus. Didn't move. When stuff that isn't blocked just sits, the additional diagnosis is "esophageal dysmotility," in other words, the esophagus is NOT moving the food toward the stomach. (Ignore doctors who tell you that EVERYONE does this.) So, I'm scheduled for an endoscopy, to make sure that I'm not dealing with erosion as well. If that checks out, I'll be having the band removed and DS surgery within the next month or two. So...wisdom? I learned when checking with European surgeons that band removal is a booming business there. One surgeon said that 20% of his practice is revising bands to Rny or DS. (Remember, bands have been there longer, so more people have had more time to encounter problems.) That doesn't mean I think they are a bad thing. I just think that the band is good for whomever it's good for...but that certainly is not everyone. In fact, my insurance began covering the band after I self-paid, but is no longer covering it for people with BMI's in excess of 49...because they lose the same percentage of excess weight which leaves them still MO. And older people have more problems. I was 55. Esophageal dysmotility or "dysperistalsis" is more frequent in older people. Adding the band may just make the problem appear sooner and with more vigor. Not here, but at another site where it is mostly newer people, the band-enthusiasm is not tempered by experience or reason. Here, there are old timers who have been through problems. For many, the band is the answer. For many others, it is not. I am one of the latter. Thanks for your time, Sue

I've been banded for almost 4 years. I have experienced being too tight. It is not a great feeling. I had my last fill in Jan 2013 and since then, I had 3 unfills. I still could not eat or drink anything. X-rays on July 31st 2013 showed that my band had slipped 3 inches. My doctor said it was from being too tight for too long. I had to have emergency revision surgery. I don't wish this on anyone. Please take it easy and go for small fills.

My surgeon told me that it makes no difference, on weight loss, if it's a revision or first time surgery. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I currently weigh 405 lbs. I was banded in 2008 and lost 90 lbs the first year, but anytime I would get a fill my reflux would land me in the hospital with aspiration pneumonia due to reflux in my sleep. So I have been unfilled since 2009 after I decided I was done being hospitalized from band fills. All the weight came back and I am back to where I started at 405. I am currently working towards a revision to gastric bypass. I have so much to lose. I see all kinds of stories of people losing over 200 lbs with the bypass, but I have yet to run across a story of someone losing that much that was a revision from lapband. I have googled and googled but can't find a story of anyone losing several hundred as a revision. So please, if you or anyone you know has been a lapband revision that lost 200+ lbs, I would greatly appreciate the encouragement. I just need to hear that it can be done.

I was revised 4/30/13. I had the lap band done 10/24/10 and on 4/30/13 I had the band removed and the sleeve done. I'm still going through fears but this site and my nut has helped me so much. You will always have fears but make sure you have a support system in place. The pain is so much less than the band. You will be up much quicker. Just follow the rules in your discharge plans and you will be fine. I will keep you in my prayers. We are all here for you. You are doing this for a better life. Good luck!

I think by "user error" my surgeon meant compliance, that in his experience band people were less likely to follow the rules. But with any procedure we have to follow the rules to be successful. We all know that. @@laceemouse Yeah, I agree with that. I just see a lot of people who are forced to have revisions due to band complications through no fault of their own, and others insisting it didn't work because of their "user error". Product liability type of issue. Hehe Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App

Actually slippage isn't mentioned in the 2013 study...these were the complications and rates..... "A high number of revision procedures were performed-proximal pouch enlargement (26%), erosion (3.4%), and port and tubing problems (21%)." Happy you are happy and I hope you stay in the 50% with no issues. I never had a slip. I had irritation, reflux and then eventually device broke. I lost as well and I felt great as well for the first 3 years. The point of my post is for people to know that if it does go bad...don't put your head in the sand. Do something...

I can so relate to you. The first thing I would do is see a gastroenterologist (GI doctor) and have an EGD. You're just NPO (no food/drink) after midnight and then get intravenous (IV) sedation to put you to sleep. The MD will pass a flexible tube (scope) down your throat to look at the first part of the digestive tract (you need a barium swallow to see the mid-portion and a colonoscopy to see the last portion) and determine if you have damage to your esophagus. Depending on your insurance, you may not need a referral. Call your insurance company and find out the "next step" once you have the results of the EGD. A year will little to no weight loss with the band is considered weight loss surgery failure by many insurance companies and some pay for revisions. When you call the insurance company, ask for a case worker and get his/her name. If you can afford it, you could always do the self-pay and that puts you in control. The surgeon who banded me does not do the sleeve. I could no longer live the way I am and decided to look into Mexican surgeons. I want THIS surgery to be the LAST surgery so it was very important that I find the BEST surgeon. There are a few to choose from and I will be placing my trust in Dr. Aceves. I did not want to jump through insurance hoops and wait up to a year to build a "paper trail" for the insurance company. The acid regurgitation and daily vomiting is dangerous and damaging. Please take measures to prevent complications (I'm a nurse) and do whatever you need to. Keep us posted on your progress.