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There are a lot of us revisioners / conversions here! Welcome! My band was removed due to "band intolerance". I had mine for five years and lost a whole 28 pounds! I have had my sleeve for five months and I have lost an additional 62 pounds! I was throwing up multiple times a day and could not eat normal healthy foods. I had to survive on sliders. This went on for five years because my band doctor wouldn't do anything about it. I went to a new program and a new surgeon. Right away they said "You have to get this band out quickly". I had vitamin deficiency, and gastritis and esophagitis (identified through a scope). There was nothing wrong with my band per se but it and my body just did not get along. Docs tried unfilling the band as well as meds for acid and calming/healing the stomach. Nothing worked. I was swollen inside because my body didn't like the band so having it unfilled made no difference. The doc also said that the constant vomiting would eventually lead to barrett's esophogous ( a pre-cancerous condition) and that I could eventually be dealing with repeated pneumonia. Once we had this info my insurance approved me almost immediately as a medically necessary procedure. Hopefully some others will chime in here that had removal due to band failure or mechanical failure vs intolerance. Do a search here on the boards. There is a section specifically dedicated to band to sleeve revisions. Good luck with your appointment!

45 years old and doing this again. My 1st surgery had developed a fistula "whole" they need to repair/redo surgery . Anyone having problems with drain tube? It has been a week and I am still draing 3oz a day.

@Tracyringo Eating seems to be a bit more problematic atm. The MGB seems to be "more forgiving", so to say. But then again maybe I can't remember some issues I had during the first months after MGB. When I eat too fast or too much or too heavy foods I get a stomach ache. Can be from mild to wanting-to-crawling-up-the-walls. I never had that with MGB. However, my stomach is quite a primadonna since years so please take this answer with a grain of salt. The worst are dense high-protein/fat combinations. It's almost a guarantee for at least mild issues and a brick like feeling in the stomach. These things are very individual though. It makes me remember what one of the dietitians said to a fellow patient: "I can't tell you what to eat or not to eat. You have to find out what foods you tolerate or not. I can recommend eating dairy and chicken but when dairy makes you feel queasy and chicken makes you vomit the advice is worth nothing in the end." Regarding restriction: for me it's stronger than with the MGB right now but I guess in some months it will be about equal. Mind you, the revision was less than 3 months ago. Hunger signals are the same, they're very mild. I was supposed to start on solids three weeks after surgery in stead of four weeks. I was quite glad I could progress to solids a week earlier but have to say progression was less easy this time. While I struggled through the liquid/puree phase this time I also don't think it would have been possible to start solids earlier than this. I had awful cravings this time for "normal" foods like tofu with rice, cucumbers, whatever... Some people suggested this was because I was already at a normal weight when I got revision so maybe you're going to experience something similar, no idea. How much I can eat varies from meal to meal and that feels kind of frustrating. What's too much and causing issues one meal might be the right amount or even not enough the next time. In general foods with a high water content (e. g. fruit, raw vegetables) I tolerate best and usually don't cause issues so cherry tomatoes berries and grapes are favorite snack foods right now. I don't eat meat so I can't answer only part of your question. Strength and the like I'm hesitant to reply because I had not only the revision but also another little surgery regarding trocar hernia. The upper abdominal wall still feels strange when I exercise but in the end it was the fifth laparoscopy plus trocar hernia surgery, so I guess I simply have to be patient. I also feel quite stressed and exhausted these days because of work, lots of rather sh*tty 24 h shifts and on-call duties. I'm glad I'm going on vacation on Saturday for two weeks. After that I'm going to re-evaluate what might be surgery related and what might be stress related.

How badly do you want to lose weight and keep it off forever??? I am going to schedule a revision from band to sleeve and that is scary!! What if there are complications with the removal? What will happen? I can't think of that because I will have to get it out eventually. I know that I want to be slimmer for good!! If you have the support of your husband and you really want this for yourself JUST DO IT!! You have nothing to lose but weight!! Come with me to Mexico I am going to Dr Garcia........

I had a lapband 10/04 weighing in at 320 pre op. On 6/05, I had my first slip as well as had developed a hiatal hernia and severe acid reflux. The hernia was repaired and the lap band revised. The acid relux has increased to the point I can't stand it! After more teesting it was determined that I had yet another slip and needed to convert or ditch the band. I am now at 232 and lost all my weight within the first 6 months of my initial surgury. I have experienced no food tolerance issues, nor a feeling of being restricted despite 4 cc in the band. I realize I let this go too long but travel for a living and just dealt with it until I aspirated acid into my lungs...OUCH!! Trip to the doctors told me to get this fixed so I took a few months off work and returned to MA to review my options with a gasto doc. The first doc suggested a RNY as he does not do the VSG. (The nutritionist however feels that I am uncommitted and have failed the band.) A second opinion lead to my being told that my surgeon could convert to a VSG on a case by case basis with my insurance but felt I had failed the band twice and wasn't sure if I was committed to WLS. This Mexico for the procedure. I have been told by both docs above that one can not fly for 4-6 weeks after surgery due to risk of blood clots. Is this not the case? Where you uncomfotable during the flight? How long was your recovery? (I was driving 3 days after lap band surgery and back to work 5 days later. No pain meds and only mild discomfort after 3 days.) Should the surgen in MA not agree to perform the VSG, what is the time line with once contact is made with a Mexican Doc? Has anyone had any luck with their insurance covering the surgery in Mexico? (Few VSG have been done in MA to date I would definately prefer a doc with more surgeries under their belt without incurring the out of pocket cost.) What is the weight loss like for VSG versus RNY? (My mom had RNY and lost 88 lbs within 3 months.) Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

The key is never giving up. I failed with lapband and after 10 years revised to sleeve.in 2011. I am maintaining 150 pounds loss! The key is keep on doing your best to follow good health /bariatric rules.

My gerd is awful im revising to bypass i was a band to a sleeve but the reflux is so bad vomiting everyday hard to Excercise down to 187 im scared but the acid is awful

https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/425456-gastric-sleeve-revision/?tab=comments#comment-4777993 Repost?

Hello everyone this is probably going to be long but really could use the input. Nov 2019 I had the gastric sleeve done. Since this I have had nothing but troubles. 10 days after surgery I was admitted due to blood in my belly and a hematoma on my spleen. They fixed that and discharged 3 days later. I have not been able to eat much more then let's say a chicken nugget(less then an ounce of anything including liquids) I got dehydrated was admitted again 29 days post op. Stayed for 12 days got a picc line with tpn since I can not eat or drink much. During this stay had endoscopy and they stretched a stricture lower part of stomach to intestines from 15mm to 25ish mm. Went home no change still not able to eat. Had another endoscopy and stretch this time my stomach was twisted and she tried stretching to 30mm but was only able to get to about 28mm. Went home still no change to eating and drinking. On the 16th of January I had another endoscopy stretch. Stomach was twisted again and was barely able to stretch it at all. I aspirated during the procedure. I woke up to them telling me to keep coughing to get it up. They observed me for 3hrs was on 4liters of oxygen at first then 2. I got up to pee with help my oxygen corrected itself. They said there was no need to keep me I only aspirated a tiny amount. They let me go home (2 hr drive home) I was freezing hole way hubby cranked up heat. Took temp when I got home and found I had a fever of 102.6 went to local er where they did xray and ct found I had developed pneumonia and I also had a pulmonary embolism. They felt I should go back to hospital where this happened and I stayed there for 6 days. 5 days of iv antibiotics and heparin for embolism then discharged on lovonox to continue for 6 months to a yr. I still have no change so now its crunch time it has been 3 months since and cant eat or drink much at all. They want to do another stretch which I would need to come off the lovanox which is putting my life at risk. Not to mention I have had it done 3 times and it has not helped. Also if it doesnt work i would need to have the bypass revision which means 2 procedures putting me at risk 2 times) Surgeon says only other option is revision to bypass(unless he sees scar tissue and can fix. But i have to agree to bypass incase there is no scar tissue or it cant be fixed) My family is up in arms it's hard either way. I dont want anymore procedures but I need to get stomach fixed and I need to get back to work. 3 months no pay we cant take this financially anymore. So for me I feel like they need to do the bypass and I hope for the best and have minimal complications. However the rest of family is worried I will have more complications than I have currently. Plus my sister had bypass and has had to have 15 different repairs(this makes them more worried) I could really use some insight on this what would you do? What do you think I should do?

I'm sure after the surgery you should be up and walking as much as possible, but about how long until you can do something like jogging again? With my tummy tuck it was 6 weeks but I'm not sure whether a tummy tuck is a better or worse surgery than a revision...

I need some advice and to vent a little. I am scheduled with Dr. Aceves for sleeve revision on May 10th. I have researched the hell out of him and have found nothing bad at all. Part of the prerequisite was for me to get my band unfilled. This past weekend I had my appointment with my American bariatric surgeon (who did not place my lap-band) and he unfilled me. He asked why I was getting unfilled and I told him I was having revision in Mexico with Dr. Aceves. He then proceeded to scare the **** out of me by telling me stories of patients he has known of who have had leaks months afterward from getting surgery in Mexico and/or dying on the OR table. He said getting a virgin sleeve or lap-band is fine in Mexico but begged and pleaded with me not to get a revision. He said that it is incredibly risky and dangerous and that I will be screwed if something happens to me once I get home. I talked to him about it more and he said that since the doc is not looking at my lap band beforehand that ought to give me a clue that I am not in good hands. He said they will just work around any complications and that could make it worse. He also said he could do my revision (here in the US) for the same price as Dr. Aceves is charging me. I completely agreed to all of this and have been talking to his office and scheduler. It has been three days and I am still waiting to hear from them on what hospital he will perform the surgery at and exactly how much. It will be one of three hospitals in the LA area. Anyhow, I am not sure what to do. I am pretty sure Dr. Aceves has more experience with revisions than my doc does but the thought of staying in the US for the same price is tempting as well. I know Dr. Aceves is a truly capable and fantastic doctor. I have read a lot of reviews on my US doc and he is very good as well. I don't think he has the experience that Aceves does though but on the flip side I could stay in the US. HELP!!! ADVICE PLEASE!!! So scared and confused now.

If you can get it for the same price, and your doctor has a good reputation for the surgery, I don't see the issue in staying there if that's what you decide. This struck me as odd, though: I don't really agree with that. My surgeon has said point-blank several times that until they get inside the abdominal cavity, they will not know what they are dealing with as far as the band and scar tissue goes. I asked because I asked if they were going to do any pre-op band testing or anything. He said several times that even if they do tests and everything looks great, until they have an eye on the stomach, they're not going to know what they're dealing with. That's why my surgeon won't guarantee a revision will happen in one procedure. He'll take out the band and then evaluate whether there is too much scar tissue to do the sleeve.

My surgeon's office should be sending in my paperwork to insurance today or Monday. I'm scheduled for revision on 5/16 as long as everything goes through with Aetna. They don't see any reason for denial, but that's the funny thing about insurance - you just never know! I'm concerned because I had my original surgery with BCBS FL and trying to get my revision from Aetna (same employer, provider just changed), but they aren't concerned. Oh well, I'm crossing everything that can be crossed!

I had the band in 2007, and my revision was done 3/22 -- all in one surgery. I understand where you're coming from! I experienced getting stuck on an almost daily basis, and could never find the "sweet spot" on the band. My surgeon said that there was a "massive" amount of scar tissue, but he (along with another surgeon) were able to get it all. I am feeling great and haven't had a problem with getting stuck since! Best thing I've ever done!!

Today is my first post surgery appointment. It has been 11 days. Minimal pain. Not a lick of nausea. I have been so lucky! Can't wait to see if I am doing as well as I feel. I has lap band to sleeve revision. Best thing I have ever done! Hope you are all doing well!!

@Sherrie ScharbroughI don't have a lot of weight in my upper stomach. Insurance is paying for mine as well. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience! They are doing a mons lift as well. This is kind of an in between surgery as I am not at goal yet but need this skin taken off now. As long as I don't have a terrible experience I will most likely need a revision tummy tuck that will focus more on shaping. Thank you! @Julie nortonThanks! I'm hopibng it only takes me 10 days to feel better! I don't usually do well after surgery @Suaniya Thank you!!

I couldn't wait until goal. I know I will probably need a revision tummy tuck but this was medically necessary for me to get it now unfortunately. I would have loved to wait but it was too much to wait.

Can someone tell me a sucess story? I am two years out from the Band... I get stuck.. I have a difficult time eating.. but I have only lost 25 pounds. I am very discouraged to the point of not trying anymore. I was watching so carefully and when it stopped coming off... for months and months... I just started to eat ... I gained about 7 pounds.... I don't think I am a "band Person" Has anyone had a similar experience and had a revision that was succesful in weight loss? Or am I just doomed!.... So sad,,, so upset with myself... and so discouraged... I have never felt the "stop hunger" feeling they told me I would have.... its is hell.

I am going this Thursday to see if I qualify for a revision. I lost about 47lbs total and have been filled and unfilled twice once for dehydration and the other for reflux. I have now gained back almost all the weight but I have been unfilled this time since November 08.

I am newly surgically approved for a revision from band to RNY. I have had my band for close to two years. Will go directly from band to bypass. The "plan" at this point is september will be my surgery. teri

XRay Chic - how are you doing? Who did you end up going to for your revision? DId they do it all in one day?

hi i just had my lapband removed and a revision done 10/25/11. there is a forum

Good afternoon love! Just wanted to reply to your comment and share a bit of my journey with u. I had a revision in December from a VBG(first weight loss surgery approved) in 2004 to a gastric bypass do to esophogus issues, heartburn and major weight gain. I lost 46lbs after revision. The vitamins I see you posted are great but expensive. I have blood check up every 3 months have been amazing and i take a Bariatric vitamin from amazon. 16.77 month. My health is fabulous. Look into amzon for vitamins love. It will really save you money and they work just as well. Please take your daily calcuim after revision and you will be just fine. Good luck and God Bless you

In my opinion, I'd wait a while longer. I had my band placed in march of 07, and we have had a love/hate relationship until recently. I can't put my finger on exactly what changed, my mental attitude towards the band, different attitude, body adjusting to banding? if that's even possible, etc... Whatever the case, I've lost over 40lbs since February. I lost 40lbs from 2007 - 2010 and felt like a complete band failure. I still check this thread out all the time, because I thought for such a long time I would have to have a revision. A few relatives of mine had RNY and did so great with it, but I think I'm actually catching up. You also have to wonder why you think your band is not working for you... Or are you not working with your band. I think all of us getting any kind of weight loss surgery knows that we will have some kind of issue with eating, drinking, etc after surgery, but I also think we just get sick of it. Like, stop... I am so sick of PB'ing... But not wondering why you are PB'ing in the first place. Sometimes it's just an out of the blue thing for me, othertimes, it's my own fault... Also, not to punish yourself, but keep a food diary. Just to see your intake actually is. If its more than 1600 calories, you're eating to much. Under 800, way to few. Maybe its the food you are eating. Too much of a good thing is still too much... I learned that the hard way. Maybe not enough exercise? Maybe you've given up so there is only ice cream and no exercise. Its ok, I've been there. But just be honest with yourself. You can take some time off from the band. The best thing I ever did was join weight watchers for 1 month. That was all I needed. Learning to eat proper foods, with the proper portions. Also, getting back to my original BAND rules helped. Slow down while eating, no drinking, limiting liquid cals, Protein first, veggies second, etc... and keep posting on here. There are so many people in you situation... Just remember, the science of losing weight is sooooo simple. Calories in versus calories out, but it is one long, painful, emotional roller coaster! We're all on the ride together!

I'm looking at the vitamins online and I was wondering if those of you that either originally had the bypass, or those who revised to it, can tell me which of these looks better? I know vitamin needs for bypass are different than the sleeve. Thanks!! https://www.bariatricadvantage.com/item/ultra-multivitamin https://www.barilife.com/product/just-one-chewable-once-daily-bariatric-multivitamin-iron/ PS - I will be adding additional biotin to whatever vitamins I end up with. like I do now. Just throwing that out there because neither of these provide the amount my surgeon recommends.