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How long has the process been for you? I have BlueCrossMN and they have no protocol for revision surgery, I was hoping to have done within 3 months. I also looked up Alina clinic and there is one less than two miles away from me. Lot better than driving to Rochester. thank you

Hi all, my wife had a gastric bypass a year and a half ago and she lost a lot of weight to begin with. Then slowly but surely her portion size has increased and she's eating lots and lots of surgery foods and she's snacking. I try and talk to her about it but it ends up in a row and she won't talk about it. Her bowel habits are awful and she has the most terrible wind which I account to her diet but she has excuses that's it's not the food. I was due to have my own gastric bypass in August but when the surgeon opened me up he found a huge mass which thankfully is not cancer but needs to be removed before I can have my bypass. I am waiting for both ops. I am seriously worried for my wife as she's done so well to begin with but now I think she's putting it back on, she won't go to her follow up appointments as they are telling her she should be losing weight and she's not telling them the truth. She eats more than me. I am at my wits end and I don't know what to do.

If you are near Chicago you should see suburban Surgical Associates part of Kane baristric center. I had the band in 2008 and did great until about 2014. Then weight came back. I had a revision last month. Gastric Sleeve. Dr. Paul Guske did both procedures. Go see him. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using BariatricPal mobile app

I was Kaiser So California San Diego. We had six months of classes. I had my bypass on 07/29/15.

I would imagine that is the vagus nerve.. That nerve is frequently cut durring Gastric Bypass surgery as well to help with hunger.. It is also cut in people with severe peptic ulcer disease to help with pain. Im not sure, but I believe the nerve can regenerate itself and it would only be a temporary fix.. Like i said im not sure about that part but i bet an internet search would tell you. Kathy

Well I'm officially a loser! I had my surgery April 8th and everything went great! I walked shortly after waking up, little to no pain but I did stay on top of the pain meds at first. Went home the next day, have been sleeping in my recliner and doing fine. I'm on three weeks of full liquids. I've been eating puréed and some soft foods though. I had been throwing up daily after eating, but for the past two days I've been really careful and luckily have not puked. I am happy to say that I am down 11 lbs as of this past Monday. You can already see a difference in my face and down two pant sizes!! I'm now back to work and feeling full of energy. My incisions still get sore but nothing intolerable. My mom started to freak me out right before surgery saying that this surgery was messed up and she didn't like it. Never mentioned that before though. She's my toughest critic also. I try not to share too much with her because I don't need the lectures. My husband on the other hand, has been terrific. He's been really supportive and excited for my loss. We've been able to talk about the surgery and weight loss very openly, which I really like. My friends haven't really been as supportive as I thought they would be. Especially my coworkers. They acted like nothing had happened when I came back to work. Oh well, that's ok. I know who my true friends are. I find it very supportive to be on these forums also. Next Monday I'm going to go to a weight loss surgical support meeting that I found nearby my home. I've also been doing weekly counseling with a lady that is a gastric bypass patient herself. She is four years out and is so amazing!! I suggest finding someone that has knowledge of the surgery or has done it themselves if you are considering counseling for food issues and what not. Well I am super happy and excited for this journey that I am on. I am down a total of 32 lbs since pre op. only going down from here. The hardest part was the first week home and not being able to eat, so I cheated and got really sick. Not worth it at all. This is all a learning process though and I learn from my mistakes. I regretted this the first week actually because I was mourning the loss of food so badly, but now that the inches are coming off and the scales moving and feeling better everyday I'm glad that I had it done. Everyday does get easier. Luckily I haven't had any complications or major side effects like some people do. Hopefully it'll stay that way too. Good luck to all that reads my blog.

I'm wondering how people felt the day you had your surgery, like right after you woke up. I've been put under, as an adult, twice and both times I was ready to get up and leave, or move. I hate being stuck in a hospital bed. Some of my bypass friends insist I'll be wiped out and not want to stay awake or move etc. I heard about the gas pains, but did anyone not experience that?

i email the Alberta health care and i got this. Alberta Health and Wellness does cover medically required bariatric surgery for weight loss for extremely obese patients with medical complications from the excessive weight. There are two procedures, stomach stapling and gastric banding. Alberta Health and Wellness does cover both surgeries if the physician performing the surgery feels the patient meets the program requirements. These procedures are now being done in Edmonton by 2 surgeons (Dr. Douglas Davey and Dr. Dan Birch), as part of the Capital Health Adult Bariatric Surgery, at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Patient selection includes: age 18 years and older; Body Mass Index greater than 35 with two co morbidities, or greater than 40 with or without co morbidities; and some other criteria. If you wish to calculate your body mass index, there is a web site: http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm where you can have the body mass calculated automatically. Patients have to be referred to the two surgeons performing this surgery. Once they have seen the surgeons, the patients go through the Bariatric Clinic to be further checked to determine their eligibility for surgery. Only after it is determined that surgery is the best option, will surgery be booked. After the surgery is actually booked the wait is usually less than six months for the surgery to be performed. If an Alberta resident goes outside of Canada for this surgery, the physician’s fees and hospital bill are usually paid by the patient and submitted to Alberta Health and Wellness for consideration of payment later. Alberta Health and Wellness does cover the surgery, at the same rate as it would be paid in Alberta. The hospital in-patient charges are only paid at $100.00 per day. The fees charged by physicians and hospitals outside of Canada will be significantly higher than the fees payable by Alberta Health and Wellness. The patient would still have to be medically eligible for this type of surgery for payment to be considered. I trust this is the information you require. well today i had to go and see my doctor for the mix up from last year when the apply for the bypass and they weigh me and messure me im short 5.4 my bmi is 45 thats bad. He told me he was going to talk to a surgent and see what they could do for me if the lab band would be better I need a new doctor he makes my blood presure go up and on the way out the nurse said to me so after all of this is this going to help your husband to lose wait and pete is not over wait he could lose 20lb but thats it and i cant believe she said that this nurse is 2 times my size. andree

I am revision from band to sleeve and no it was not more.

thanks...I am currently a bandster waiting for appointments for revision

Can someone help me add my revision from lapband to bypass on my bio. Also need to know how to add the additional ticker. Things have changed here a lot since 2007! I also have not found any chat rooms - did they get rid of them? Thanks for your help for this tech-challenged member.

I am 3 weeks out from gastric bypass surgery and I am struggling with being able to sleep. Melatonin did nothing. Do hormonal shifts contribute to this? I’ve never had trouble sleeping lol. The only thing that works is taking .25 mg of Xanax but I don’t want to live on that.

At my last followup visit with my surgeon I had lost 103% of my excess body weight. He was so impressed. I have lost 53% of my highest recorded weight from 5 yrs ago. I did the diet roller coaster for yrs before having my RNY gastric bypass. WLS works if you do the work! It truly is a lifestyle change.

Hello All, I had the lap band put in five years ago, and it hasn't been the best journey. I've had two revisions due to the band being punctured at fills, one in which it snapped and was poking me all over inside. We've never been able to find the sweet spot...it's either no restriction or so tight I can't get good Protein down. So in the past 5 months or so I have had unexplained swelling in my feet, ankles and calves. My regular physcian says it's due to sitting at work. Long story short, I had my band released a little bit (like .5 cc) and it was so loose that I had no restriction. She put more in, no restriction filled it back to where it was too tight at one point and still no restriction. I am now scheduled for an endoscopy to see if I have band erosion. Honestly, I feel like my body is rejecting the band. I'm holding Fluid everywhere...my belly feels like I have a bowling ball in it, my shoulders ache and my chiropractor today confirmed that he can tell my body has changed..he said my body is much tighter indicating to him I am full of fluids. My body hurts, my feet, ankles and knees are the worst...I can hardly stand to walk. I can't get comfortable when I try to sleep So I am wondering, have any of you been through this, and if you have, what did you do to help yourself? I cut out as much sodium in my diet to see if that was an issue, but it hasn't made a difference. TIA!

I sent you a private message. Tomorrow is actually my revision surgery. From sleeve to bypass for Gerd.

OMG- Catherine, you look SO GOOD! I read your blog a bit and totally agree with you when you said you didn't exactly "feel" as fat as you looked in the pictures....(actually you don't even look bad in that pic either) because that is how I feel! When I look at myself in the mirror and make myself look nice, I look so much better than I do in a photo. I see the picture and I'm this huge round blob and can't even understand how that's me! Did you get any loose skin? My mom had gastric bypass and pretty much had the same success you did except I think she was a little bigger before, and she got a bit of loose skin that insurance won't cover, and she can't pay to get rid of, and it makes her self conscious. Its not terrible though...she looks a lot like you do in your after photos!

The first few weeks are difficult. Re the feeling cold and also hot - I have this too. I think it might be down to the hormone changes generated by the bypass surgery. As long as you don't have a fever maybe just see how it goes. I felt sick for some time after surgery and was taking anti-nausea medication. It went after a few weeks. Good luck with it, but if you're worried definitely check in with your doctor.

if you had GERD before. I am unsure why a surgeon would allow you to go thru sleeve and the sleeve can make that worse. getting a endoscope may be a good thing to get done that can see the acid and how your esophagus is. But those with GERD/heartburn tend to get better with bypass. That is why most that get the sleeve end up getting a revision to bypass because of GERD issues.

I need some inspiration...I've had this love/hate relationship with food for the past 25 years! I've always been a stress/emotional/bored eater. In 2013 I had the Lapband...day of surgery weight 319. After 2 years, and for the first time in my adult life I saw 199 on scale. That was absolutely the most amazing feeling I'd had (weight related) in my adult life! A couple of months after that, things changed drastically, I began having complications with the band and ended up in the hospital for a week...discharged with all the Fluid removed from the band. Frustration and anger set in and the weight began to pile back on. Today I am 1 week and 1 day post op from band to sleeve revision. The original plan was band to bypass...during surgery, due to extensive scar tissue from the band and complications with my intestines, my surgeon went with the sleeve...which he had discussed with me prior to surgery, saying that could potentially happen. I kept my hopes up for a successful band to bypass...#1 reason being that I felt like I "needed" that restriction! I don't remember feeling hungry after the Lapband! I'm only a week post op and I'm hungry! I don't know what to do! I don't remember feeling this emotional after the Lapband! I read and I read and I read...I know that everything says follow your Drs post op diet to the "T" or you could damage your "new" stomach. Last night I made the mistake of getting on the scale. Morning of revision surgery I was 302...last night my scale read 297...I was devastated! Per dr recommendations, full liquids are to start today...in my hungry, desperation, feelings of failure...you name it...pity party, party of 1 ????...I ate about 4 teaspoons full of low fat cottage cheese. Now I'm beating myself up and I'm terrified that I'm not going to get this right! Can anyone offer me some advise on how to deal with this emotional roller coaster I feel like I'm on and how to deal with wanting to EAT, not drink?! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I chose the band because bypass and the sleeve scared me too much. Yes, you are adding something to your body, but with the other two surgeries, you are permanently altering your body. I like that if for some reason I have complications with the band, it can be taken out and I am back to how I was before. Of course, I do plan on keeping it in there forever, but I like to keep my options open. I also liked that the death rates with the band were much lower than the bypass, and also lower than the sleeve. Another thing I didn't like about bypass and the sleeve was that you must take Vitamins for the rest of your life. Of course, as a bandster I should take my vitamins, and I will. But with bypass, you must. One of the reasons for getting the band for me was because I wanted to get off my diabetes meds, and I didn't want to just have to start taking different meds. Of course, gummy vitamins are much more fun to take than pills anyways, I look forward to it, lol. I hope that helps, it's a hard decision and I wish you luck.

Hello, my name is Julie. I am a wife and the proud mother of 3 wonderful children. I am also a Lucky patient of Dr. Thomas Byrne at MUSC’s Bariatric Surgery Program. My journey truly began in 2010; I weighed in at 226 pounds. I had spoken with my general physician on several occasions about my weight and the attempts that I had made (weight watchers, Jenny Craig, etc). My doctor suggested that I call MUSC’s bariatric surgery program for a consultation. I went home that day and researched weight loss surgery. I called that same afternoon for a consult appointment. My first sign that I was doing the right thing should have been the caring voice of Lisa Jackson. She helped get my consult set up and all of my questions answered. My consult went awesome. Dr. Byrne made me feel so welcome and most of all I felt that he cared about me, I was not just another fat chick in his office telling him "I am fat, please fix it". We went over the three different surgery options available, along with the risks and benefits to each. We discussed my goals and expectations as well as spending a great deal of time going over my health history. I also got to meet with one of the Registered Dieticians on staff. After consulting with Dr. Byrne, we decided that the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy was my best option for me. I felt so prepared after this appointment; all I needed to do was to set the date. After several months of research and red tape with my insurance I had the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery in August of 2011. I had a slight bump in the road during recovery but nothing that Dr. Byrne and his amazing staff could not handle! I had developed a small blood clot in my abdominal cavity. Dr. Byrne and his physician’s assistant Diana quickly had me on the mend with the utmost care and compassion! Every day was better and better! I am now 7 months post VSG; I must say that I have never felt better! I wake up every day thankful for Dr. Byrne giving me this amazing "tool" to help me to become a healthy ME. This "tool" has worked so well for me with the help of Dr. Byrne’s team of registered dietician’s as well, Debbie and Nina. I have learned how to make healthier choices at home as well as at the supermarket (thanks to the supermarket tours and monthly support group meetings). I can’t say thank you enough! Thank You!!!! I am so happy to say that I have lost 70% of my excess body weight! I have lost 75 pounds and feel amazing. I am riding my bike at least 3 times per week, I go to an awesome Zumba class (Zumba with Alma) two to three times per week, and I am doing the 10 minute trainer videos at home. I try to stay current with support group meetings and other activities when I can. They are so informative, even for non surgical folks. I will tell anyone that asks me; Dr. Byrne and his staff (Diana, Debbie, Nina, Lisa, and the amazing nurses) are the best!!! I have seen other surgeons talk about weight loss surgery so I can truly tell you that I would send anyone to see Dr. Byrne! I actually did send my mother and my sister in law. My mother had Gastric Bypass in July 2011 and my sister in law is planning to have VSG in the next couple of months.

So i just called and my insurance said that my revision has been approved!!!!!!!! PTL! I'm still in shock and waiting for the official call from my doctor.! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

PPO doesn't go through a medical group, so Blue Shield will look at your request directly. As long as you meed revision criteria, you should be good!

What type of B12 Vitamin do you take and how often? Did you have a RNY gastric bypass surgery?

I had my bypass Tuesday and experiencing the same thing....it's awful Sent from my SM-S975L using the BariatricPal App