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Getting my first fill on Friday after nearly three years banded. It can't come soon enough. I seem to be able to make good choices one day and then the next, I'm not. I went back for a handful of pretzels three...no...four times last night. I couldn't stop myself. So for punishment, I got on the scale this morning and saw that I was above 125. I swore I'd never put the weight back on but it's now more than 12 pounds from my lowest. I'm learning such a good lesson over this struggle to keep the weight off. I will always have the disease of obesity. I may have it under control at times, but I'll never be free of it. If my band isn't working, I'm going to put the weight back on. Simple as that. I've seen plenty of people post about running into trouble at some point but stupidly felt that I would somehow be immune as my head is/was so in the game. It's hard to admit I'm not Superwoman and I struggle like everyone else when my tool is not working the way it should. If I ever find myself having to remove the band, I won't hesitate to revise the surgery to another procedure. I won't fool myself into thinking I'm doing this on my own because I'm not. I told my sister on Sunday that I am gaining weight back because I need a fill. She is obese and I'm hoping she comes to the realization that WLS might help her as well. She has maintained that my success is about what's in my head, and not around my stomach and that I lost all that weight because I was in the right frame of mind. I'm hoping this shows her that it's not my will power alone that helped me but a combination of making good choices, along with a tool to tamp down the hunger so I could make those good choices. So...today is a new day and again I make the pledge to make the right choices. Here's hoping I can stick to it.

I got to that point about 4 years in or so. Nothing I did would get me to stay under the 300 mark. Ultimately, I was revised to the bypass. My surgeon advised me that the Lapband was over hyped and under performed, that 2 of the largest manufacturers have sold off or stopped making new or replacement parts for their versions of the bands. When they removed the band, even though I didn't have any major issues going to the revision, the band was 100% encapsulated in scar tissue and took my surgical team more than 3 times longer to remove it than it should have taken. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I left it in!

Hello, I am in the same situation. I have Highmark Blue Shield and they have a policy for new procedures and one for revisions (I will post the revision policy) so I'm wondering if I will be required to do the 6 month diet again. I did it back in 2010 with my lap band but that was through Capital Blue Cross. I can't wait to get the band out, every day is a struggle with it! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

hello, I have never done this forum thingy b4 !! but here it goes i had sleeve surgery in 2015 at Kaiser went very well .. So point is that i don't have Kaiser any more and i have to get a revision due to acid damage now!! i have IEHP insurance can anyone suggest a good bypass surgeon ???? PLEASE HELP!!

My Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC does cover it. I just had band to duodenal switch revision on 12/26 Katy W- Louisburg, NC Lapband revision to VSG with DS HW- 297 Weight at Surgery-279 CW- will update at two week appt

Anyone have advice/experience with changing from band to sleeve after band complications and no longer working? Wondering if insurance covers band removal and sleeve procedure if the band slipped and no longer works after revision surgery to repair.

I did the same thing in 2009 with the lapband. I'd read a few things on the internet, made an appt with a dr and within 2 weeks I had completed my nutritionist and psych appts and was in surgery. Had no idea what I was getting myself into. Not sure why my insurance didn't require at least a time of consideration, but they moved quickly. While I loved my band - until I didn't and I lost most of my excess weight with it, it finally ahd enuf of my destruction to it. I couldn't figure out how to eat slowly, making me vomit frequently. Causing a slip. When I was facing a revision, I did alot of research on the RNY and the sleeve. I had gained 30 lbs in the year my band was unfilled after the slip so all I had to lose was 40 lbs (bmi was 28 at 174 lbs). I felt the RNY was a bit drastic for my purposes. But I knew if I just had the band removed without a revision, I would be back up to 250 soon. So while I did virtually NO research on my first wls, I did tons of research for my sleeve. WHile I'm 13 months out I still have 15 lbs to goal. It's going very slowly now, very slowly. The first 100 lbs is easy peasy compared with the last 15. But do I regret surgery? Never. Not the lapband or the sleeve. Comparing the 2 would be another whole post so I won't bore anyone with those details. Do ur research tho. U can't back pedal afterwards... Good luck!

It is definitely possible to stretch the sleeve. I had my sleeve in Nov. 2011 and now I have an appointment next week to see about a revision to bypass. I'm only hoping my insurance approves it and doesn't make me do the 6 month diet and all that. I'm dying to see what insurance says. I initially lost 88 pounds and then gained 35, lost 10 and now I can't seem to lose at all, lots of acid reflux.

@@heart_RN like you I have had the same issues since having the surgery. I've been reading up on the revision to bypass. Like the sleeve, you will be on liquids for a short period of time and gradually work back to solids. Your stomach will still be smaller limiting your amount of food intake but with the bypass they are re-routing so this will stop the acid from getting in the stomach area. If you've regained any weight or still have weight to lose you can expect to lose more. Like any surgery you take a risk. You have to hope and pray for the best. I told my doctor I just want to feel better and if I lose a couple more lbs I'm ok with that. I liked the fact that the sleeve weight loss looked natural not sure if the bypass weight loss does or not.

I had an EGD last week and expect to revise a VSG to the bypass due to reflux issues. I am wondering what to expect. Differences in eating and is addition weight loss possible? I am very nervous about having another surgery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello, so I am 1 day post op, surgeon said everything went well, I didn't speak to him, he spoke to my husband and said he took a lot of stomach out, I dunno what that means since this was a revision, have to wait till I see him feb 3, I feel fine except am really bloated, like really a lot of gas, and very sore, don't remember all this from the sleeve on 2012.

@@bikerchick519, Please keep us posted on what your doctor says next month. Like you I am still after 4 years still vomiting and have the worst heartburn. My doctor wants me to work with a dietitian before we consider revision to bypass. I just want relief and I want to start back losing the weight. At least the weight I've gained.

SLEEVE TO BYPASS REVISION. I apologize in advance if this is not where I post this at. I have been sleeved for 21 days now....and now I may have to have the bypass within 2 weeks. I never had actual GERD before but have had GERD ever since the surgery. I don't have any vomiting at night like others have mentioned...but it restricts me from now getting any food but cottage cheese in and only about 20 ounces of water. I'm not talking like the tiny acid I used to get with eating a whole pizza and then laying down ...I'm talking like punch you in the stomach pain & sizzling noises all day long in my throat. I boil acid all day long. It's not excruciating...Its just not good on a sleeve and I'm scared It will eat through my staples or hurt my small pouch even more. I was 270 day of surgery and weighed this morning at 238. I'm losing weight like a champ but it's because my intake is super low. I saw my surgeon on Friday and he raised my Nexium but said that if in 2 weeks I was still having the Gerd that he was going to do a sleeve to bypass revision. Has anyone had a sleeve to bypass revision? If so I would love to hear about your experience. Good or bad. I've googled many posts but can't get straight forward answers. How was the pain? Did you have complications? And how is your quality of life now? Tia

Sarabeth3569 - I had sleeve on Dec 21, 2012. I am probably going to be going through revision to bypass. Can you tell me how your process has been, struggles, non struggles, good days, bad days, etc... I was about 289 lbs when I had Sleeve done. I got down to 189. Then I got pregnant and Jumped up to 233. Now I'm back to 210, and I can't get my sleeve into gear. I'm eating way more than I should be able to, and I would like to get back into gear with all of this. It would be awesome to have an email friend.

I'm the opposite. It feels like I have hit the ground running and it is coming so stinking fast. I suspect the week of surgery will go really slow, but then again I have a ton of appointments that week, so it may go just as fast. @april042019 I'm afraid to ask about the catheter!! It completely freaks me out too. I'm a revision, so my surgery is going to be a bit longer than standard, so I'm just so sure they will say yes and I just don't think I want to know! 🤣 I haven't even met my surgeon because my original surgeon was booked out way into November and my insurance won't cover surgery starting November 1, so I had to switch to the other doctor in the practice. So naturally, most of my questions are about him or things about my pre-op testing. My x-ray showed I have a kidney stone just hanging around and no one told me, so I'd like to ask about that. My new doctor does robotic surgeries, so I want to know if mine is going to be robotic. And of course the important questions like, "Can I wear toenail polish?" I also want to know if I'll have an incision in my bellybutton, I can't stand the thought of that, it weirds me out so much. Whenever anything pops in my mind, I just write it down to take with me. Just do that and you'll surely have a good list of things to ask!

I had the band in 2011, revision in 2013, and converted to sleeve in 2015. I lost 85 pounds with the band, but gained back 35 of that (started close to 300) I have lost much more with the sleeve than I ever did with the band. Good luck with your journey.

I'm having a revision from the band to bypass. Focus on the two week pre-op diet. You will be amazed some of the weight and other changes during this period.

I had lapband in 2005. Had it removed in 2009. Sleeved 4/10/18. My immediate post-op experience after being sleeved was rough. Surgeon said I had a lot of scar tissue from the lapband, which took him almost twice as long as a normal sleeve to take care of. That means I was under anesthesia longer than usual, so I was REALLY groggy for about 12 hours after surgery. I had no energy to get up and walk like the others on my hospital unit. I had no desire to sip-sip-sip and I think I looked a bit like I'd been hit by a truck. I certainly felt that way. Once I got through the immediate post op part, I returned to normal pretty quickly. Other than some fatigue, I was feeling back to normal after about 6 days. I went through the normal progression from clear liquids to full liquids to mushies to soft, etc. When comparing the two, I'd say that the sleeve has a lot more restriction. After a certain amount, I simply cannot eat. If I do, I suffer with discomfort and a lot of foam/saliva/slime. I was never able to tolerate fills in my band, so this was something relatively new to me. If you have any sort of GERD, I caution. The sleeve tends to make GERD worse. I'd say it's a little hit or miss in that department, but it's certainly something to discuss with your surgeon. I started getting heartburn about 3 weeks out and I've had some times where I was really worried about nighttime reflux, but I seem to have it under control right now. As a revision surgery, it is likely you will lose slower this time around. I read it on here and I read other information on the internet, but was still disappointed at the slow weight loss. I'm certainly happy it's coming off, but it is much slower than first timers.

Hello, I am in DFW Tx and have surgery date in April with Dr Alibhai and Matin, I am still trying to decide which surgery I should do! I will be a revision from the sleeve, I have type 2 diabetes that are out of control ( 4 insulin shots a day) can you please tell me if you regret whatever surgery you did or any issues?

I saw this thread title and I thought - Hmmmm, definitely a PreOp poster. Not just this thread, but the rather-naive posted response on the other "what size do you want to be" page that you quote in your own thread. And I was right. I don't mean that in a harsh way, but this is one of the things that absolutely consumed me before I had surgery, and now it doesn't really vex quite as much. I'd love to do it, but I have more bottom-line concerns now - like getting to the right fill level, not PB'ing, making good food choices - the basics of being Banded that we all deal with daily. Just an observation. Once you get "into the thick of it" after surgery, you sometimes find yourself concentrating more on the day-to-day process of losing weight and sometimes focusing a bit less on what the ultimate "fairytale ending" goal will be. Great - Count me in. Make me a Size 8. (Not after being sick, or just temporarily, but for the next say, 10 years of my adult life.) What do you want? Money? OK, sure, I'll get it somehow. Just tell me where to mail it. I don't know what I'd have to do to get it, but if you could guarantee me I'd be a size 8 - I promise you I would get it to you someway, somewhere, some how. Trust me! I'm willing to work, willing to work hard, willing to pay - and it hasn't happened yet. I am so willing, that I'd have a revision to a bypass tomorrow if I thought it'd get me there. Of course the insurance company won't pay (a BMI of 30 is acceptable to them, those dirty pennypinchers) as they don't think I'm obese enough, and my own original LapBand surgeon has resigned himself that I'll never get any thinner. Pfffft, I don't lack motivation but as someone who's been banded 5 years, trust me when I say not every single person will come out of this process in "bikini condition" no matter how hard they work, or how dedicated they are. It's a fact. After a lifetime of obesity if there is a Size 8 inside me, she is WELCOME to emancipate herself and take center stage. She has my permission, I promise. I care. I don't want to be chubby, a little bit chubby, and certainly not fat anymore. I don't know what normal standards are, and I reject normalcy as a desirable option. I would love to be at any weight/size that would allow me to wear upscale fashion brands, overpriced designer jeans and of course, adorable little swimsuits. Me too. But 1 and a half LapBand surgeries, and an Abdominoplasty later, I don't see me getting into anyone's bikini in public, unless there is some sort of cool prize being offered in return for sure public humiliation. No but seriously, no one wants to see me in a bikini - I'm just not there yet. At this weight, I could wear a one-piece swimsuit without the authorities being called or without raising eyebrows. But nobody wants to see a size 14/16 shoehorn into a bikini. Now, Check me out later on - after I get some real band restriction and some weight loss, a Boob Lift and some Lipo later - and we'll see. But right now, it ain't gonna happen. Do you guys ever go back and forth on this too? I'm never back and forth. I seriously want to be a Junior Size 9/10 or a Misses Size 8 or 10. If you know another way to go about it other than diet, exercise, surgery, prayer, and more - let me know. I was hoping I wouldn't have to trade my mortal soul for a single digit size but after some dark days I've had after surgery, even that thought hasn't been such an appalling thought. :eek: But take it from a post op Bandster: Don't think people who aim for larger goal sizes aren't lacking in dedication or hard work. And they aren't necessarily selling themselves short - some of us just don't know how to do it, and have begun to think it might not be possible. Thanks and Happy Band Journeys To All ...

so i asked my dr where he learned to do the sleeve. he said he taught himself after watching his partner do them and by also watching videos of other dr's who had done them. i guess he really learned while being in the operating room with his partner (who is the head of the bariatrics unit). my dr has done over 300 rny's, 100's of lapbands and 6 sleeves. he says he only had 1 leak ever, and that was in an rny patient. i also asked him if there were any deaths and he said 1, but that was a person who was getting a revision of a revision. he seems very honest and straightforward in all his answers. his 6 sleeve patients are all doing well. my dr works on one of the best bariatric teams in new york, which is the st lukes hospital bariatric unit, which is also a bariatrics center of excellence and a leading research center for bariatric surgery. their team is headed by dr julio teixeira, who has done thousands of wls and teaches other dr's. dr teixeira is also well known to do surgeries that many other dr's wont touch because theyre being done on patients at high risk and/or with complications. apparently hes that good. i dont know how many sleeves he has done. my dr is the no. 2 on his team and his name is dr james mcginty. my insurance has dr mcginty on my plan, but no other dr from that hospital is on my insurance as different dr's there take different insurance companies. im confident in my dr and he was the best and most experienced from all the dr's that were accepted by my insurance. what do you think about him saying he was self taught? im not really worried about him only having done 6 sleeves (this was discussed in a prior thread), im just concerned about what is considered the normal way for a dr to learn how to do the sleeve? any replies would be appreciated. ps - i did ask my dr a ton of questions about the sleeve and his procedure, including bougie size, how far from the pyloric valve does he start, leak testing and so on, and he answered them all to my satisfaction. and ive researched the sleeve so throughly that i knew what answers i should of gotten. he really seems to know what he is doing and i am very confident in using him, but i guess him saying he was self taught is making me think. ps - i edited this ps in later. i just found out my dr operated on james gandolfini (tony soprano) back in 2008 (see link below). so if hes good enough for tony soprano, hes good enough for me http://showhype.com/story/news_james_gandolfini_hospitalized /

I just love this website So I have a lapband now that is not working. I will go and have my lapband to sleeve revision on May 3. I have read so many good things and everyone seems to be so happy with this surgery. Is there anyone out there who wish they would have never gotten this surgery? and why?? JUST CURIOUS

Hoping someone may have some insight or a similar experience. I was revised Band to Sleeve on May 11th. Overall everything has gone really well. But, I am still having quite a bit of tenderness/pain at one incision site. No redness or infection, just some pain. It's the area where my (very high placed) port was and it is also my longest incision so I'm guessing that's where my stomach and band were pulled out. Plus it's an incision that was used in two previous surgeries, so I'm assuming that's just normal recovery for an incision with that much "trauma." But my real problem is fluids! I don't have any difficulty swallowing so I don't think it could be a stricture... But I am struggling to get in any fluids at all, let alone any Protein I am supposed to be getting by now. I was on clears for 3 days, and now on full liquids. Can tolerate water/crystal light/diluted Gatorade, but not any Protein shakes or Soups other than plain chicken broth without feeling very nauseous afterwards, even on 1-3 oz servings. I've tried Premiere shakes (my favorite pre-op), some Syntrax nectar and a strawberry powder from Walmart that I mixed with Water and with milk to no success. I am going to try to stay on clears a few more days and see if I just need to wait for some more swelling to go down, but just wondering if any revisions (or anyone for that matter) also had similar experiences in recovery! Any experience or advice is appreciated!! Oh and I have already contacted my surgeon and post op care doc, of course!! Just waiting for a reply!

I love my DS. The recovery wasn't bad at all. I was able to run errands and take care of my family about two weeks after surgery. I've been losing weight consistently. Couldn't do it on my own. I didn't do a pre-op diet. I keep my carbs to 70 gr a day and make protein my top priority when making food choices (90 gr a day). I also sip on water all day long. It's very important you stay on top of your daily vitamins, due to the malabsorption component of the DS. For me, I wanted a surgery that had the best long-term results statistically. I revised from a band originally because the band just didn't do it for me and I didn't want to fail again. I had the traditional DS with two anastomoses, but my common channel is one and a half times longer than the typical DS, due to my lower starting BMI. As a result, I do not have bathroom or gas issues like other DS patients.

I used Dr. Illan for my sleeve surgery. I had prior band surgery that went all wrong. (See my story). So when I had my sleeve my band was already gone. The doctor is amazing and I know has done many band to sleeve revisions. None have woken from anesthesia without a sleeve. I had a ton of scar tissue from my previous surgery and he cleaned it all up and did a wonderful job! I would surely call the patient care coordinator (Omar) and talk with him about it. He can answer every question and you can even speak with Dr. Illan.