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@mswillis5 I have dabbled with the idea of seeing a therapist. Years ago I used to see a therapist for other things going on in my life and she helped me tremendously. I think it could be beneficial to have someone disconnected from my everyday that I can bounce things like that off of. @S@ssen@ch Thank you for sharing your experience! After reading your comment, I think I really need to practice eating without drinking so much. Since the band will no longer hold fluid, it sometimes feels like a moot point at times. However, it’s a habit I need to create again to better my chances of success if I’m able to get the revision. I appreciate everyone’s input!

I'm looking into getting a revision and no longer have insurance that will cover it. Has anyone gone through Dr.Elias Ortiz or Dr. Almanza in Tijuana for their revision? What was your experience?

Hello, I'm getting the SIPS procedure as a revision from my gastric sleeve. It’s a fairly new procedure compared to other weight loss surgeries. Has anyone gotten this procedure, if so, Pls share your progress and experience 😊

Hello, I’m brand new to this forum so forgive me if I post in the wrong place or anything. I got Lapband back in 2013, and due to some recent issues with the band and less-than-stellar results in general, I am looking into having a revision to the sleeve. Long story short, my band no longer holds fluid, so it’s essentially just a foreign object sitting in my body and providing no real use. However, I have some concerns when it comes to potentially switching to the sleeve... In all brutal honesty, I was/am guilty of “eating through” the band. At times, I would drink too much liquid during meals thus negating the point of the band (disclaimer: this is not what caused the band to no longer hold fluid). Even though the band and sleeve are very different surgeries, I worry my bad habit will cause me to fail with the sleeve. Anyone gone through this and have advice?

GERD after sleeve doesn't happen to everyone, or even to the majority, but there's a fairly significant minority who develop it after surgery - enough so that they usually recommend people go with RNY if they have GERD prior to surgery. Losing weight may help with that - but then again, it might not since it IS a known potential side effect. You could always try to lose the weight first and see if that does the trick - and if not, go for the revision (if that's what you want to do - you may be able to control it with meds, too...)

Hello everyone. I was wondering the same thing. I had my sleeve in 2016. I had issues with GERD from the beginning since I had heartburn from time to time before my surgery. I was 207 on day of and 147 at my lowest 11 months later, and I was skeletal! I did love being so lean yet I still had horrible acid. My surgeon had suggested I had the gastric bypass but I worried that as I aged I would waste away in my senior years. Then COVID hit. No gym, just hunkering down at home. I have gained 25 lbs during quarantine. I also had a baby in September. I’m 5’1 and hate the weight on me. And the GERD keeps me from sleeping. Would I be able to get a revision that Medicaid will cover? Also, my sleep apnea is back.

Hi I haven't been on one of these forums in a looong time. I had a sleeve done in 11/2010. It has gone well and MOST of the time I hovered between 185-210 (which was fine with me as I was nowhere near my high of 300). about 1.5 yrs ago I started having trouble keeping some foods down...I figured I was just eating too fast or too much. I was losing weight but not too fast. I had post-menopausal bleeding in 12/2019 so we did the whole cancer check thing (esp with the vomiting becoming more of an issue). Everything came out fine so I was referred to a GI who found a hernia. Had this repaired in 6/2020. Since then I have done well to keep anything but liquids down. I had an upper GI done and my stomach is the shape of a barbell. (1/3 normal sleeve, middle 1/3 severely narrowed, last 1/3 normal sleeve). Referred to another GI who did another EGD and colonoscopy and found I had almost a complete blockage in my stomach (11/2020) (he also got a good view of how I look like skin and bones without clothes which I think REALLY concerned him). He sent me straight to the ER to be admitted and I had surgery 2 days later which ended up being them taking the scar tissue that was wrapped around my stomach out. Still no improvement. My new GI had his nurse call me because he wanted to have an appointment (12/28) and see how I was doing post surgery (5 weeks out). He immediately ordered ANOTHER upper GI (12/30) which looked exactly like the one from October. We discussed going to a different surgeon and I picked a new bariatric surgeon (I tried a few but they wouldn't take me since they didn't do my original surgery in 2010 and the one who did is no longer in network). Once the surgeon saw my upper gi results he had his nurse move my appointment up a week. (1/5). My GI sent a message to the surgeon prior to my appointment so he had a heads up about me. First he wasn't happy I hadn't been referred earlier to him by my first GI. He said there is no fixing the middle part of my stomach and the only thing to do is revise to an RNY. He wants to do it as soon as ins approves. (Today I spoke with them and it is marked high priority and I should have an answer by tomorrow). I made sure they knew I could only keep liquids down and it had been thing way since June. I also mentioned I have gone from a size 14/16 in Dec 2019 to 4/6 now. (I just bought a size 4 straight skirt and it fits perfectly). I have a TON of loose skin but clothes hide it. In July I just bought a new bra 36 B now I am a 32A. The guy on the phone at Aetna took these notes to add to my file in addition to the ones my surgeon sent (the upper gi series, etc). Originally my file wasn't marked high priority until someone on the clinical team looked at it. SO, now you have my LOOONG backstory. I am kind of scared about the RNY. How is the recovery? This will be my 3rd surgery in 7 months. My body has not been getting the calories it needs for quite a while now (even protein shakes take a long time to get through). It's actually probably a miracle that I am still able to function as well as I have been at work. All of the covid changes have been kicking my rear but it has been a very productive year for me despite this whole mess. Thankfully I have an amazing admin assistant and colleagues who have been pitching in here and there to help when I absolutely needed it...but I am a workaholic so I have taken very little time off for recoveries. What can I expect of an RNY rather than the sleeve? Has anyone had any complications like this so far out from the original surgery? Obviously I am not doing this to lose weight...I am actually doing it to gain weight. This has really been crazy mentally after all those years worried about losing weight. sorry for the book. I would love input from anyone :)

Thats the great thing with Kaiser, they have everything under your MRN. I am in a similar situation, husband on unemployment due to covid and now we are on medicaid too, I have gotten the sleeve, but starting process for revision. When you select Kaiser as your MCO, call them or go online and select your primary that you already had, (you might have to get an updated referral) then schedule the appointments with a rep and it wouldnt even be any sort of issue, usually they dont see the part of your file with eligibility/insurance status, but either way, it shouldnt change anything. You will more then likely go to Holy Cross Hospital for your surgery since your in VA. I am in Baltimore and they sent me there.

I don't have a revision of the Bypass but this Information fell into my hands a while ago : Consider researching and asking about other methou such as sclerotherapy of the stoma and plication of the stoma or pouch using Endoscopic Operating System (EOS USGI) Good Luck ♥️

I don't know about this particular surgery, but I know I've read mixed reviews of revisions like TORe, overstitch, etc. Some people don't lose much weight - but some do, but it's almost always slower than it was with the original surgery.

Is your surgeon doing a standard ESG (reducing the size of the stomach) or a TORe - Transoral outlet reduction? The facebook group ESG failures has a high number of Australian users, it seems that there is a higher rate of failure for the standard ESG in Australia, perhaps because ESG hasn't been in Australia as long as it has been in USA and some other countries, so the doctors (majority are not surgeons) are not as skilled/experienced as those doing ESG in other countries. There have been some very successful Australian ESGers but for some reason the facebook groups have gone quiet, perhaps new members have been reduced because it is not covered by medicare so not so many questions on the groups (there has been an application pending for it to be covered, but it seems to be in limbo at the moment) http://www.msac.gov.au/internet/msac/publishing.nsf/Content/1555-public Standard ESG is not covered by medicare or private health insurance in Australia, you are probably looking at least being about $14k to $17k out of pocket. I looked at some of the outomes for TORe which is an ESG revision on bypass when the gastric outlet is reduced by endscopic stitching. There seems to be a better success rate for that (none of the studies I read were for Australia). It doesn't like like this is covered by medicare or private health insurance either. Some questions to be asked of your doctor - how many ESGs have then done? Or TORe if that is what is intended for you? Success and failure rate? If a standard ESG if they have done less than 50 I would consider finding someone who has done at least 150/200 ESGs or more. There are some out there who have done at least 250 or 300. In general, weight loss from an ESG is typically lower the surgical options. https://www.facebook.com/groups/238431870408750

There seems to be a high rate of failure for ESG in Australia vs USA (perhaps because its a newer technique here and doctors have yet to fully develop the skills/experience), note though that most of the people in the facebook group below had an ESG as a first weight loss procedure so the outcome for a revision ESG following a bypass may well be different for those in Australia. https://www.facebook.com/groups/238431870408750 (ESG failure group). Seems your surgeon is considering a standard ESG rather than the bypass revision called a TORe (Transoral Outlet Revision). TORe seems to be a successful revision for bypasses. ESG in Australia is not covered by medicare (hence private health insurance too) and can be a costly exercise for a day procedure. If you go ahead with the ESG ask the doctor how many they have done and the success rate of their patients. If the doctor has done less than 100 I'd go elsewhere - there are some who have done over 250 so the more experienced the better.

If you're looking at revision options, my surgeon is discussing a non-surgical option with me of an ESG (Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty) which is where they go in via your esophagus and stitch the pouch to be smaller again from the inside. There are no incisions and it's done quite quickly. I have a consultation with my surgeon next week to get more information but it looks like a good option with some success. Edited for spelling

Hi all, I had the RNY (revised from gastric band) 7 years ago and had amazing success. I got to my goal weight in 5 months and kept the weight off for over 5 years. In the last 18 months, I've had some medical issues that have resulted in me regaining almost all of the weight. Now that I have resolved those issues, I am maintaining my weight, but finding it impossible to lose again like I did before. There has definitely been some stretching of my pouch, which my surgeon has confirmed. So I guess my question is, has anyone out there had the Edoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty done? I have an appointment with my surgeon next week to discuss non-surgical options and I think this will be one of them. All of the research I've done shows it's a great option for regain after bariatric surgery but I'd love to hear from someone who has had it done. If you have had it, how did you recover? Did you lose as much weight as you did with your initial surgery? Did you keep it off? What was the post op diet like? Any and all feedback and comments welcome! P.S: I'm in Melbourne, Australia

Hi Lynn and happy new year! You certainly have to be comfortable with the surgery. You need to weigh out the pros and cons. It is generally for people that are obese or morbidly obese and have been for a while. Those that cant get off the weight or yo-yo. Those that have health issues. As we know, there are major health issues of being severely overweight. With the surgery, you will lose weight, but if you push overeating and you continue to eat high fat and high sugar foods, you will eventually gain the weight back. It will take a while but you will. That is in your control. As for pain, the sleeve will be less painful than the full gastric bypass. I had the mini gastric bypass and I had no real pain. Some gas pain that was uncomfortable but no pain. I didn't have to take pain medication. I had it done on a Thursday and was working on Tuesday (desk job at home). I was doing laundry and walking around the house on the Saturday and Sunday - also trying to keep moving (it relieves the gas) and it was no problem. The only thing I would not do is lift anything heavy. Or bend with my stomach (I would bend with a squat) as not to put any pressure on the surgery site. I had the mini gastric bypass done in November 2020 and was also wondering if I should get it done. I did not qualify for insurance as my BMI was too low and I do not have any other health issues, so I had to pay for mine personally. I had a lap band that I needed removed so I had to make the call if I do a revision to mini gastric bypass or try weight loss on my own. At that time, I had already gained almost 30 pounds from my lowest with the band (I had the band in 2009 so it was 10 years). I tried and tried to loose weight on my own. I would loose 10 then gain it back. I never came close to losing 30. So, I did the surgery and I am happy. I am down 23 pounds in just a little over 6 weeks and I could never do that on my own. I want to lose a total of 60 pounds so I am 1/3 of the way there in 6 weeks. It may slow down but I am ok with it. Now, am I eating wings, nachos, pizza, burgers, fries, cake, cookies? Nope. Will I try these at some point? Yes. Just like any diet, as you see the results, its somewhat easy to be "good". I have had crackers, flavored rice cakes, bananas, salted almonds, carrots, turnip, butternut squash soup, etc and lost weight. When I hit a plateau ( recently) I went low cal and low carb and pushed through. So, you control your weight loss. The surgery just makes it easier to do that!

I’m in a similar situation as the op. 8 years post op and almost back to starting weight. Looking at a revision possibly

Could someone who has had the DS Loop tell me about this? I had a gastric bypass in 1980, due to regain I want to get a revision. I'm not sure what kind of surgery is possible after so long. I know I have a lot of scar tissue built up. I don't know if anything can be done. If anyone else has had this please let me know thank you in advance. Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm not a revision patient, but I just wanted to say with the exception of iron (some people don't absorb oral iron well and have to have iron infusions - although the vast majority of us absorb oral iron just fine), malabsorption is pretty uncommon as long as you keep on top of your supplements.

Welcome! Here's a thread from the revision forum about people who have transitioned from the lap band after having complications. I'm sure one of the lap banders will come along with first hand information but here's a place to start.

Had my VSG in 2018, had GERD before surgery and have been on Lansoprazole since surgery. Recently, started having severe nausea with just a teaspoon of food. Went to see my doctor, he sent me to have an endoscopy. Had endoscopy and then balloon dilation with no relief. I lost almost all of my weight from the sleeve, now that I cannot eat I have lost more. I have researched and saw that people who have had my issues and had the revision were able to come off the medication for GERD completely. The worst part and scariest part to me is the difficulty swallowing. This is a latent symptom, but I am glad it has not shown up earlier because I am not sure how I would have that managed. I never wanted a by-pass but here I am. I worry about malabsorption but my doc said that I should not have too much of an issue, since it's not a full bypass. I was told that I will lose more weight but as I did with the sleeve over time can gain some of it back again. I did not have a rough recovery from the VSG and don't anticipate that I will have any with this procedure. Since I have been through it before so to speak. If you have had this situation and had to have a revision can you share your story with me to help me? What was your recovery like? How do you feel now? Thank you for your story in advance.

I was told to expect at least 20 lbs and I lost 25lbs. I have a friend who revised after not losing all of her weight with VSG and she went on to lose 70lbs I think. As long as you follow the plan after surgery you will lose the weight. Good luck to you !!

if any approve it for weight regain, I'd think they're few and far between. I haven't heard of that, but you may be right. I know some will approve it for medical reasons, though - like GERD or other complications that can't be "fixed" through more conventional means. And many won't cover revisions AT ALL (like mine...luckily, I haven't needed one). I have a friend who's suffered horribly for the last couple of years from a 10-year-old lapband. It worked fine for a few years, but not anymore. Her insurance company won't budge. I feel horrible for her.

This is so encouraging to hear! I'm in almost the exact same place. I'd lost the weight and kept it off for years after my sleeve, then new relationship, Covid, blah, blah. The GERD was already out of control and now the gain has got me thinking about revision. I'm researching Bypass vs Switch debating what's best. Just had to cancel my appt with my surgeon when I got Covid, now going to get this going in the next few months. I'm glad to hear it's going well for you. But the pain makes me nervous. I had considerable after my sleeve!

I just had my revision on 12/14 because of acid reflux. Good for you for fighting to have your revision done. Best of luck.

I get it. Went for band revision on 10/21/19 to do the sleeve. So until 11/30/20. I still found rare occasions for food sticking. Sleeve wasn't done last year due to scar tissue so that is why I had issues. Sent from my SM-J337V using BariatricPal mobile app