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Hi all! So I had the sleeve done in Nov 2015 and due to GERD and some weight regain, I am having my revision to Bypass in 2 weeks. I've started my pre-op diet and was wondering for anyone who was sleeved then revised to bypass..is there anything I should know before surgery? I want to hear any experiences, success stories, regrets, etc? Thanks! [emoji5] Sent from my moto e5 play using BariatricPal mobile app

I don't see how or why a band would ever be offered when the RNY is one of the best surgeries available...? A band is old technology with known complications.. I have heard that the bypass can be revised by overstitch to tighten the pouch up if needed... I don't know what the band will do to help if the bypass didn't do it already...

HI, Dr Aceves did my band to sleeve revision about 7 weeks ago. I was self pay for both the band (done in the US) and the revision. Never in a million years did I ever think I would go to Mexico but after researching revisions and how many the surgeons did I went with him. Obviously it was also 50% + or - of what most surgeons wanted in the US. There is also a Dr. that I wanted to use in San Francisco but ended up going with Dr Aceves after talking with several of his band to sleeve revisions. I don't know anything about any of the other doctors in Mexico and would suggest that you find out how many revisions the surgeon has actually done. I would also not shop for a doctor in Mexico based on price. Mexicali is much different that TJ or Juarez but have read that several who have had the sleeve are also happy their surgeons in those areas but don't know if they had revisions. There also is a lot of good doctors in the US I am sure. I read a post earlier from someone complaining about those who talk about how great the Mexico surgeon is/was and was actually questioning if the posts were actually "true". Sure wish she lived in my shoes maybe she wouldn't be so judgmental. We actually pay A LOT of money every month for our health insurance and WLS is not covered. In any case good luck and my advise would be to do it as soon as possible so that you don't continue to gain weight.

I was in a similar situation. Was banded in June 2013. Started at 289 and got down to probably 240. Had to have a revision surgery due to a leak in my port.went back to my old ways of eating. I weighed a few weeks ago at 266. I totally recharged. Went back and started following all my rules. Exercising every day. Logging all my food getting in my protein .I feel so much better and I already lost over10 pounds in two weeks. So my advice is to just go back to the beginning following all of your rules and do this before more time passes if I can do it anyone can.

Hey Jennifer... do you think smoking up till your surgery made for a tougher recovery? I am just worried that 2 weeks is not enough before my revision. On day 7 so actually it will be 15 days smoke free. Bonking myself on the head for not quitting sooner!

Had band since 11/08. Fluid in, fluid out, little loss. Had 2 ugi with little dialation 3 years ago. Decided to get it out this year. Saw a different physician due to insurance. Had another ugi. Didn't see anything wrong but lower abdominal erosions due to H. pylori. Scheduled for lap removal of band and revision to rny 10/22. Start preop diet monday. Preop testing 10/17.

First time posting here- Had my revision from lap band to RNY yesterday. It’s not as bad as I had built up in my head. Took a while for anesthesia to wear off. I had ice chips first, then water, and a sugar free popsicle last night. Everything is going down ok. The gas pain is the worst part but it’s tolerable. Walking helps. Hoping to go home today. The hospital bed is uncomfortable and people come in and out of my room constantly, so I’m looking forward to a good night sleep. The actual incision sites are not very painful. Feels like I did a bunch of sit ups. Peeing feels a little weird. Who knew we used so many abdominal muscles to pee. I also have cotton mouth, which I’m hoping gets better. Here’s to a new me for the new year.

I had the VSG 3/2015. I lost down to 148 was my lowest. After my body completely had a nervous breakdown itself including a stroke 8/2018 I gained back up to 212. I own this completely. I went from 12,000-20,000 a day to 3000 or less steps a day because of right side weakness and repetitive falls. Before I get all the way back to my SW of 276 I am taking action!!!! So here I am, licking my wounds, moving forward. Sent from my LM-V405 using BariatricPal mobile app

I got a band to sleeve revision on 8/11/15. I have only lost about 38 pounds. One day I will be down 2 pounds and the next I will be up 2 pounds! What is happening? I'm getting in all my protein and eating very little carbs. It's just hard to see so many others losing quickly and here I am like " nope, didn't lose this month"!

Wow, I think you are losing really quickly. I can tell you, you lost significantly more than I did in the first two months, and I am not a band to sleeve revision and I started at a much higher BMI than you did -- two factors that are supposed to mean that you lose slower than me! But I thought I did great and so did my surgeon and team. Being up and down 2 lbs and losing in an exaggerated stair step pattern is very normal, don't stress about that either. Overall, you are doing great except I will say maybe work on your expectations a little

You are losing very quickly. I had my revision on 6/30 and am down about 41. I do think revisit patients lose a bit slower but I am very pleased with my own progress and you should be too!

It seems to be not recommended. The surgeon I went to no longer places them as stated above. We do have people here that have had no issues and you can look in the surgery specific boards, but there are tons of posts about people that had to revise due to complications. Of course, you can have complications from any surgery. So is this cold feet or do you need to postpone and do some research before you decide to have this surgery Saturday? Good luck!

My surgery is Monday too.. I'm a revision from sleeve to bypass due to some complications I had from my vsg I in July. I'm scheduled for 7:30 Monday morning. Good luck to you! I hear the recoveries are similar so I can tell you that the first couple of days are kind of hard because you can't drink, and you're in pain from the gas pain in your chest so just take a hot pad and make sure you relax and use your pain medicine Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

hang in there. take all the time you need to decide about a revision. just focus on trying to take care of yourself as best you can.

Naomi, I know you mean well, but I think you've missed a few important pieces of data here. 1. The chief finding of the study you mentioned was that successful bandsters in Australia do drink (but not guzzle) while eating. Those findings did not explain why that's so. The "why" part is conjecture on the part of the study's authors. Also, I question their claim that "There is no pouch or small stomach above the band. There should never be food sitting there waiting." I agree with the last part of that ("There should never be food sitting there waiting") but I disagree with the first part and have no idea where they came up with the idea that there's no pouch or small stomach above the band. Yes, the band has been used in Australia a lot longer in the USA, but that statement completely contradicts everything I've read in Allergan and J&J literature and surgeon resource sites. And I have watched my own upper GI tract during several upper GI studies, and there was indeed a small stomach pouch above my band every single time, no matter what else was going on in there (or not) at the same time. The radiologist pointed it out to me on every occasion, so I wasn't misreading the images. And by the way, that pouch was a normal finding, not an anomaly. 2. According to American bariatric surgeons I've talked to or whose seminars I've attended or whose articles I've read, NO bariatric surgery patient should drink while eating. In fact, at a bariatric conference 2 years ago, I heard that stated by 3 different surgeons who were giving 3 speeches. All of them stated that failure to separate consumption of solids and liquids is the most common cause of WLS "failure" (that is, no or disappointing weight loss, or weight regain). Since many LBT/Bariatric Pal members live in the USA and have surgeons in the USA, I think it behooves us to follow the instructions of our American doctors. Or, go to Australia for surgery and every fill and unfill and all aftercare. Hey, if I had the money to do that, it might even be fun to travel there, but it would sure disrupt the rest of my life. But hey, a mere $8,000 per trip (not counting hotels, meals, taxis, surgeon's fees, etc.) would be nothing for us rich Americans, right? 3. Every bariatric surgeon I've encountered (in person, on the telephone, online) has stated that the band does not and should not control the movement of food and liquids from the esophagus into the stomach. If the band is far enough up to do that, it has slipped or the surgeon who placed it was incompetent. What controls the movement of food and liquid from the esophagus into the upper stomach (the fundus) is a sphincter at the base of the esophagus where it joins to the stomach. Continually eating in a way that causes food to be stored in the esophagus is asking for trouble. It can cause serious and permanent damage to the esophagus and the esophageal sphincter. 3. No bandster should ever, ever eat in a way, with or without liquids, that allows food to sit in the esophagus for more than maybe 30 seconds. The esophagus is not meant to store food for any period of time. It's designed to move food up or down (preferably down) only. If food is sitting in the esophagus, any liquid consumed after that is probably going to come back up rather than flushing through the stoma, because at that point the upper stomach pouch and the stoma created by the band are probably already jammed up with food. PB's (or regurgitation of food) usually come from the esophagus, not from the upper stomach pouch, for the very reason I mentioned above. The stomach is designed to stretch to accommodate food, while the esophagus will resist stretching until the food has to come back up or (over time) the esophagus becomes dilated - something we all want to avoid, because even if the band is unfilled and the upper GI tract given a good long rest, there's no guarantee that the esophagus will ever go back to its normal state. And no one should have to live the rest of their life with a malfunctioning esophagus or sphincter. Esophageal dysmotility problems caused by careless eating can become a serious health issue, with the patient eventually having to live on liquids, live with a a feeding tube, and/or hope that an attempt at surgical repair will help. Surgery in that part of the upper GI tract is not something to take lightly, because the scar tissue that develops after surgery can also interfere with esophageal function. I speak from personal experience here. I had an esophageal stricture (from reflux damage). I lived on liquids for months, was unable to revise to the sleeve at the first try because my surgeon couldn't get the small (about the size and shape of a Sharpie marker) bougie calibration instrument through the stricture, and eventually had to have the stricture dilated enough to make eating possible, but not enough to make the stricture disappear forever (it was still there when I had an EGD 6 months later). I think esophageal dysmotility has also been a problem for an LBT member known as MsMaui, and last I heard, even an unfill, months of upper GI rest, and band removal have not resolved her problem. 4. So in my opinion, the best way to avoid these unhappy events and their consequences is not to drink while you eat but to avoid keeping too much fill in the band; to practice good band eating skills: take tiny bites, chew very well, eat slowly, don't drink while you eat, avoid problem foods, learn and heed your unique satiety or "stop eating" signals, and give your body the respect it deserves. But what do I know? Jean

Congrats on your December 5th sugery date. Absolutely do this for yourself and your health. I hope your sleeve will be a better experience than the band. We are all here to help along the way. You will also find others here that are a revision from band to sleeve. Question... Would your husband consider surgery if he is also struggling?

@Maddysgram Do you have something other than LB? My revision is for the LB port. @SolracSpree the death is still under investigation, here is one article if you want to read what happened. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20130719-texas-giant-to-remain-closed-as-six-flags-investigates-woman-s-fall.ece

Surgery twins now that I have a New Surgery Date!! 🙏🏼😀 Well I went to my follow 2 week Post Op today..it was suppose to be a revision but could only remove the Lapband due to scar tissue... I walked in the office today and the Surgeon says he was “so sorry he couldn’t do both surgeries at same time.” “How does April 7th sound for your gastric bypass?” YES! Hell YES! Let’s get this done already😂

I had the band first because the sleeve was not an option. I personally would not/will not recommend the band to anyone. Not only because of my own personal horror story, but because the stats honestly just suck. You can check out my blog as I have an entire post with information from the band manufacturer in my blog with their most recent findings that 1 in 4 band patients will need another surgery to either repair, replace, or remove and revise to another surgery within the first 5 years. I chose the band because I refused to have RNY. As for pregnancy, I can't imagine being pregnant with the band. The food intolerances along would make me miserable, and I'm so grateful that I was able to revise to VSG when it was time to say adios to my band. I can now eat a very nutrient dense, balanced diet with my sleeve without any puking, sliming, productive burping, or food getting stuck and then having to wretch it up for a good 20 minutes. My blog also has tons of links for VSG research, and articles along with dietary guidelines, and other bits and pieces I've compiled over the 20 something months I've been researching and living with the sleeve. The post in my blog titled "Just to bookmark this stuff" is the band post, and the one that is more recent is all the research links that I found invaluable during my research stage. We are currently trying to conceive, and I"m only 17 months out and have actually been not preventing for almost 9 months now. We know that my body went through hell during my surgeries and rapid weight loss so we are trying to be patient. BUT, we're still hoping for a big fat positive test in the near future. Best wishes in your research.

I'm trying to find the right place to post this. I hope I'm right on this one. I am in the process of getting a revision from lap band to sleeve. I am currently breastfeeding my 5 month old. I was wondering if anyone has done this before? I am wanting to still breastfeed until he is 1-2 years old. Do you think I can have the surgery and still breastfeed?

How are you doing after the revision?

Its for revision patients only so he can check out the band and see what he has to deal with during surgery. We will not have to have anything extra like that done.

I agree with what GreenTealael said. For really severe cases that can't be managed otherwise, they'll sometimes suggest a revision to bypass (which often improves - if not outright cures - GERD)

I was banded in Oct 2010 by Dr Ortiz and I did it alone. I'm now getting a revision to sleeve and I'm doing it alone. I only live 2 hrs away, so it's probably easier than dealing with flights. My Hubby is the only one who knows about this too so there really wasn't an option for me to bring anyone. Plus, if you bring someone they are just going to stare at you and get bored in the hospital anyways

Hi all. I was on this site down 7 years ago before/after I had my VSG & here I am again for my revision to RNY. i have been very unsuccessful with my VSG: I really felt no restriction with Foods, my GERD increased x1000 and no dose of PPI’s helped. I never sought help because my surgeon went out of practice and I never saw anyone else because I was embarrassed. I am currently at 263, the weight I was at when I had my sleeve. After I had my sleeve I got down to 220 but I was so scared of eating anything really and was working out twice a day just to lose that 40 lbs. I am approved for my revision to RNY for beginning of May & I am nervous. Not nervous for the surgery (I have had multiple surgeries), but nervous for after the surgery. I plan on sticking to this lifestyle change to the fullest but I am afraid I won’t have restriction. I know my surgeon stated my tummy will be the size of a small plum but I a still scared about not feeling restriction. Everyone on the medical staff said I will and that I just need to eat slow and pay attention to what I put in my body. I guess this is just my anxiety getting the best of me, lol. but a bit more about me: I am 32 years of age, have PCOS (which I had multiple surgeries for) and i Do not have kids but my husband and I would like 1 in the future, so that’s another reason why I feel I need to lose this weight. Just want to thank everyone for being supportive and this time I intend on staying on this site for life! Because I do need it and fell off the wagon when I had the sleeve. Thanks again, Bryn