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unless there's something mechanically wrong with your bypass, it's sort of pointless to revise it. Other than the DS, it's the strongest surgery out there at the moment. If the problem is behavioral, revising it to something else isn't going to help you long term - you have to tackle whatever the problem is, or you're eventually going to have the same issue with the next surgery. revising from RNY to DS is a complicated and supposedly risky surgery that only a handful of surgeons are qualified to do. There are no other surgeries I know of that you can revise to from RNY other than DS.

Well I figured it was time to start documenting everything, so here it goes. On March 10, my best friend was telling me about how we should get the lapband to lose weight. Now being a member of weight watchers for many years at first I was very against the idea (if you even mention it on the weight watchers boards you get yelled at!) Then I decided that maybe I should look into this and talk to my doctor. So I say my doctor on March 14 and she said that she thought it was a good idea. I called the surgeons office to sign up for his seminar on March 29 and the moment he started explaining everything I knew this was for me. He gave us a packet of everything we would need to do as far as clearances so I started making appointments. Here is my timeline: April 2 Psychologist April 3 Gastro (need endoscopy) April 4 Cardiologist (need echo) April 5 Chest xray April 11 Pulmonary April 16 Echo April 23 Endoscopy April 23 Nutritionist 1st appt May 8 Nutritionist 2nd appt June 12 Nutritionist 3rd appt June 10 Surgeon!!!!!!!!! June 16 Hospital bariatric coordinator So before I started this process I had called my insurance company HIP and asked what the requirements were and I was told it had to be medically necessary (yeah no six months) then on May 5 I just happened to be on HIPs website when I see that bariatric surgery was revised on April 15, 2008. I almost died when I saw that. According to their website you now needed six months diet. I called HIP and the girl had no idea what bariatric surgery was and I had to give her the link to the website and of course she had no clue and said whatever it says on the website is what it is. Well I was pissed. So I told the nutritionist this and she said ok then come to me for six months. Then I thought did I just open up a can of worms? Although I didn't want to not say anything and get everything else done and then have to start over with a six month diet. So I figured let me just tell her. Then I decided I should probably go talk to the surgeon, even though he doesn't want to see you until you have every clearance including the nutritionist. So I get the appointment and tell him everything about the insurance and he tells me that he probably won't be taking my insurance much longer! I almost cried. He then tells me that he was going to submit everything I had up until this point and for me to get the nutritionist to sign off on the three visits I went to. Well 2 days later I was approved. I could not believe it. Thank God. My surgery date is July 16 and I couldn't be happier.

Hi and welcome. I know it is scary to read the negative, but there are so many positives! I have knee issues, a torn meniscus to be exact. I have lost almost 100 pounds since I started this journey and now rarely have pain in my knee, to the point that I do not need the surgery. My numbers on my blood work are great, I have energy and over all just feel better. Are there times its a pain to eat a certain way, yes. Could I need a revision for an issue later, yes. Do I have to take fiber religiously, yes... But then I remember all the positives I mentioned above and its not an issue anymore. If you think there's no other choice, and this is needed, do it. It's been life changing in all the best ways possible. I would do it again in a heart beat.

I had a relatively low BMI I have a lapband because I didn't want to remove a body part. Now almost 10 months later I hate the lap band. (food getting stuck, not being able to eat chicken, meat....having to chew my food to a pulp) But I did lose weight! I am doing a revision to a sleeve. It is a hard choice. Best of luck on your decision! D.

Welcome to VST! I was considered "light weight," but my bmi was 39.6. I know I've read of people who had vsg at bmi's between 30-35, but cannot remember if they were revision surgeries or not. I believe most have gone to surgeons in Mexico though...wish I had specifics to give to you. Good luck on your journey! I also started looking at the band first and so glad I discovered the sleeve.

The first thing my doctor said was that my BMI was at 31 and that insurance would not approve me. Then she brought up another procedure called Lynx. Some kind of magnetic bead thing that would keep the opening of your stomach closed unless things passed through. I don’t want it. I had the lapband and it’s was the worst and I feel like anything they put in your body that can be removed, it’s not going to help me. My bariatric doctor thinks I have a small hiatal hernia. They took me into radiology and made me drink the dye, but everything looked normal. In a week they are going to look down my throat to see if there is in fact a hernia. I have new insurance this year, but it’s still the same company. If I don’t have a hernia, I’m going to push for the revision or any other options. I can’t keep taking anti acids multiple times a day on top of vitamins, medications, etc.

I have aetna and they covered my revision, i also had hiatal hernia. I am 6 days post opp from having the duodenal switch.

Hi, congratulations on making a decision to have weight loss surgery. When you meet with your doctor, they will examine you and ask you what surgery you are thinking about and then give you their opinion of what surgery they believe is the best surgery for you. I am a revision patient from a lap band to the sleeve. I had my band in July '07. At that time the band was the only surgery I qualified for at a BMI of 35. By lap band standards I was a success because I lost 50% of my excess weight loss. I never found the "sweet spot". I wound up having my band overfilled to get restriction. In the beginning my doctor did not have the equipment to do fluoroscopy to see if it was too tight. This resulted in me throwing up a lot due to tightness. I also started to eat more slider foods, which don't fill you up, because I knew I could tolerate them. I then began to have major heartburn and was on prescription medicines for them for over three years. I was in graduate school and working full time so didn't have time to give this the attention it needed. When I saw my lapband doctor, he told me that my band was in the proper position etc. Earlier this year, I asked him about a different surgery, and he referred me to my sleeve surgeon. My sleeve surgeon performed an EGD and found my band had prolapsed. Additional tests revealed it was causing problems with how my esophagus was functioning. Since I have had my sleeve. I have had no heartburn. I am 7 weeks out from having my band removed and the sleeve performed. I feel so much better now. I have not thrown up since my surgery and have not encountered any food which I am allowed that has not agreed with me.

When I started thinking about wls I started wanting the lap band. I visited with 2 doctors and with the amount of weight I needed to loose they both said they would not do the lap band for me. I then started researching about the sleeve and thought my doctor knew what was best for me. I have to say there was a lot of issues with the lap band that I was starting to hear about. slippage and erosion. That kind of turned me off because I had heard a lot of people getting a revision years after lap band. So I went ahead with my surgeons direction and I could not be happier.

Yikes! I am having my Nissen Fundoplication with metal banding revised to an RnY on Wednesday. I had severe GERD and a large Hiatal Hernia. The Fundoplication worked for about 2.5 years but now the GERD is back and I have another hernia that developed above the fundoplication. This sounds like it's going to be...not fun.😰

I don't know if there's as much data out there to show that sleeve helps cure diabetes like RNY, but there is no reason why it shouldn't, and I think eventually it will be shown to be just as effective, especially if your post-surgical diet is low in carbohydrate. I'm a BIG proponent of low carb, sufficient Protein as a way of managing blood sugar, and I've kicked my pre-diabetes several times in the past that way, but I couldn't stick with it without the surgery. I was on metformin for my pre-diabetes before my surgery, was taken off it the day of, and haven't been on it since. The sleeve was originally developed as a pre-RNY surgery for those too heavy to get a safe bypass, and doctors found that the patients didn't need the bypass to lose the weight they needed, unless they had a metabolic imbalance that really warranted the malabsorptive effects of the RNY. And it's slowly gained ground as a primary surgery, and for lower BMIs. It's also a safer / less drastic surgery, which can always be revised to an RNY later if necessary. Maybe you can discuss that with your doctors? They seem to be very conservative regarding proven surgeries, but I think they should consider the risk side of the equation as well. Would you be willing to have a second surgery if the sleeve isn't successful? I truly think it's the best option.

I had lapband in 2008 was 305 went down to 170 in 9 months. Kept it off for 6 years then my band eroded in oct of 2013. I was revised to bypass in May 2014 but had to gain weight to meet the criteria to have the bypass. Day of surgery I was 245 on May 21, 2014. I am at 189 now still have 19 left to get back to my optimal weight but it's coming off ????

Hey there. Good luck with your surgery. Im so nervous also buy anxious as heck! Anyway, i have a lapband currently and want to revise to gastric just waiting on insurance approval. And im also hoping that it can be done all at once. I would hate to wait so long to have the revison. Anyway, why did you have to wait so long? Was it a stipulation of insurance or just doctors orders? Anyway, good luck hun. This site has been really helpful to me so far. Hope you are finding to useful also.

i had lapband done in 09, had my son in 2011, lost a total of 120 pds. I had a breast Aug. done, as I went from a ddd to a b cup. I also had my tummy done last summer. I can say that it was the best thing I did. My insurance covered the tummy part. I found out last month that my lapband caused my Hiatal hernia and I was able to get the revision to bypass. I can say that I should have done this before hand. I feel that the only thing that I will have to have done is my arms. I gained back 50 pds and I have lost about 25 of it before my surgery on the 30th.

Got my answer...in my soil slinging fury LOL I flipped my port... Somehow the way I twisted I managed to pull a few of the stiches right out of the fascia/muscle... however on the bright side...my dr is amazing, he had me in the O.R. within an hour and I was home with a port revision completed by 6pm! And I got to upgrade ports...my doc just got in the new lower profile ports, about half the size of the old ones...so he put that in with some surgical mesh...so I can't flip it again playing super hero gardening girl! :thumbup:

Guess what guys..I FINALLY BROKE through my 5 week long stall and reached 205 this morning! That's 65 lbs in total (if you include the 20 I lost with my LapBand before revision!) im still going to go for liquids for a few days as a cleanse but just thought I'd let everyone know! Yay!! And PS you are all doing great!!!!!

Idid have one stone in my gallbladder but we realized that it wasn't the problem the day after surgery when I had my first solids and spent the next 8 hours in agony. After about $40,000 in medical bills I found out that muscle spasms in your stomach and esophagus from band tightness is the same pain you can get from gallstones. The problem now is that I am able to eat just about anything now at 6cc but when I had good restriction at 8 and 9 cc's I would have these attacks every couple of days. I asked my doc about revision and he said he won't even consider it until I am 2 years post-op. Hopefully I can make the band work still with less restriction. Luckily, I didn't have a slipped band or any dilitation. Just beware letting your band stay too tight. Danielle

I am having a really hard time with my band. In the last month I had my gallbladder out unneccesarily (my band was too tight), an $8000 ER visit, 2 unfills and an upper GI with a refill. I keep getting spasms of my stomach and esophagus that cause vomiting and abdominal, chest and back pain. The only way to keep it from happening is to get an unfill but then I don't have good restriction and I gain weight. I'm just really frustrated. Danielle

There is some debate about this, but most surgeons say no carbonation after being banded. Soda passes right through the band because it's a liquid, but the carbonation expands below the band and pushes upward against it. This can cause slips. When I had my Lap Band surgery, the woman who shared the room with me was in for a revision of her band. She had been drinking soda and it not only resulted in a slip but her stomach actually prolapsed up through her band. She also gained back 40 pounds. I can't speak for anyone else, but you couldn't pay me all the money in the world to ever drink carbonation again. It's just not worth the risk.

I'm so happy for you, I have surgery on Friday and I hope my recovery goes that well! I'm a revision from a sleeve after complications and my sleeve recovery was great (beyond the major complications) so I'm hoping I'll get lucky again and have another easy recovery. Keep us updated, I'm hoping you stay feeling this good but we are here for you if you hit a speed bump

I was revised from sleeve to RNY yesterday. Today I can do way more than sip water, Propel, and crystal light. Am I correct in assuming that liquids are going straight through like a slider and that I have nothing to worry about other than liquid, protein, and vitamins?

Thank you! Revision requirements are different from initial requirements. I had all them tests done to figure out what was going on initially. My upper Gi showed stenosis in sleeve as well

Hey. I'm having my sleeve to bypass revision next Wednesday, July 29. I was sleeved in February 2013. I lost about 40 pounds and kept it off for a year when I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and was started on a beta blocker. I gained 20 pounds the first month and it has just gone up since then. My insurance said only one bariatric surgery per lifetime however I decided to try to have it approved and they approved it within two days. The insurance company considered my failed sleeve a complication as well as my new heart condition and borderline sleep apnea. I thought for sure I would have to appeal the denial but was happily surprised. So if your insurance states one bariatric surgery in a lifetime, try to get it approved anyhow. You may be pleasantly surprised. I have completed all my preop requirements and I started my diet today. Has anybody gone through this and are you glad that you did this? My biggest fear is not the surgery itself but being a failure again. It's so embarrassing. I am telling very few people I'm having RNY. They all think I'm having a hiatal hernia repair. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.

I'm sure I'll be an anxiety-ridden mess once this settles in and hits me, but right now I am so excited. I finally have my surgery date (revision) set for May 22nd! I start my pre-op diet this weekend (basically, as soon as I get to the grocery store). I was actually hoping to be doing all liquids (I find it easier than having to navigate the weird world of food), but I'm doing two shakes, one Protein bar, and one "sensible meal" a day. Should be do-able. My schedule has suddenly become jam packed with support group meetings, pre-op testing at the hospital, a surgery education appointment, an appointment with my surgeon to discuss pre-op testing results, an IVC filter placement date and all the rest. I have the feeling I am going to be a very busy girl until surgery...ha!

I was sleeved in 2011 and after losing 88 pounds I gained about 30. An egd revealed my sleeve was stretched and I had a lot of acid reflux. I just had the revision to mini bypass in March. I wish I had done this from the beginning and not the sleeve. For some people the sleeve works great but for me it was not enough and if I had it to do over again I would do the mini or full bypass from the beginning. Good luck with your decision.