Search the Community

I am an analytical type. I reasearched things alot before revising to sleeve from a failed band. I am glad I understood that I might not have as good of results, based on the statistics. That gave me a chance, both preop and in the early months post revision to ask alot of "why" questions. Surgeon, nutritionalist, other revisionistas - anybody I could glean this from. I learned that many people with the band have learned to "eat alot of sliders", graze and most importantly, ignore that "full feeling". It is crazy, that sometimes your body really adapts. So, since I was armed with knowledge, I was able to be very diligent about those underlying things and i believe it made a difference.

Hi everyone isn't crazy how its the hardest decision to make. Which surgery would be the best for us. I struggled with that decision up to a few months ago. Orginially I was set to do the sleeve, thinking it would be less invasive, sounds like a simpler operation, easier for surgeon to perform but for me I had done soooo much research and after having my endoscopy, I'm convinced the bypass would ultimately be my better choice. I had some low grade inflammation in my stomach which I feel could eventually cause bad acid reflux disease. I had BAD acid reflux before don't want to live with it. Again there is so many people who have done the sleeve and not experience any issues with reflux and have had a lot of success and maintain healthier weight. Its my opinion I've read some really bad horror stories about lap band and lots of revisions which are harder to achieve weight loss and complications after 2nd surgery. I'm just saying really research before considering lap band. As for insurance and out of pocket expense, some hospitals have programs that will adjust depending on your income. Hopefully you'll have some kinda help. so my surgery is 11/15 bypass yep its happening crazy time flys

For a "classic" BPD/DS, I'm not aware of any surgeons in the Boston area that do them - the closest would be in the NY/NJ/PA area where there are several good ones to choose from (Roslin, Greenbaum, Pomp, Herron, Bonnani that I can think of). The SIPS is a newer and simpler procedure so more surgeons are capable of doing it, but experience and technique with it is a big variable with those who have started to offer it, so you need to take a good look at how their post-ops are doing. Unfortunately, being a fairly new procedure, there aren't the number of people around who have had it for a few years as there are with the BPD/DS which has been around for some thirty years or so. Good luck in your revision!

just had my port revision yesterday...its a breeze..way less painful then the surgery! I agree I've been blessed as well, my port flipping was my own stupid doings (tried to carry 80pounds of topsoil on my shoulder...didnt end well! LOL) I'm down about 110 pounds and feel amazing... i hope all goes well for you on friday and keep up the great weight loss! ~Megs

I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 nights...but I had a band to sleeve revision. The nausea was my worst part, but thanks to a great nurse/docs, it was kept under control. I then had to ride him 4 1/2 hours, so I was a bit sore from the ride. I spent the next two days sleeping off and on, but on the 3rd day I made myself get up and out and had no problems. I would give yourself a good 7 days from the time you leave the hospital to get used to your new stomach. Don't rush it!!! Debra Band to Sleeve Revision 9/27/10 Dr. David Kim

Sounds like GERD. One of the big components of it too is having the feeling like you're going to burp but it winds up being regurgitated food/drink. Definitely get the assessment from your doctor though, they might order other tests too. I have moderate GERD/reflux going into a sleeve next month and crossing my fingers it doesn't make this any worse or I could be facing a revision too.

no complications just sore I just had the revision done June 13 so far 11 pounds gone more than likely water weight buy I'll take it. I went back under in hopes of becoming a mother next year

Thank you so much for responding! I feel better already. If you don't mind me asking, were your complications similar to mine, throwing up all the time? What was it that finally changed their mind? Although I'm not doing this purely for the purpose of losing weight (symptom alleviation is first for me), did you find it was easy to lose weight once you had it revised? Are the side effects of the RNY better to deal with? It sounds like the VBG was a disaster for lots of people, and I'll bet many of them just suffer in silence. I'm glad to find someone who can relate. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Hello All, 16 years ago at the tender age of 19, I had the, now disgraced, Vertical Banded Gastroplasty procedure. Although I lost weight, I started throwing up 3-5 days a week for hours on end within two months of the surgery and have been that way ever since. 16 years later, I have all fake teeth (natural teeth can't stand that level of acid), am on huge doses of Nexium, and have serious esophageal problems, which could lead to cancer in the future. Also, it is REALLY terrible to throw up that often, and it really effects my quality of life. I also didn't maintain the weight loss, although I have been on Weight Watchers for a few months now, and have lost 45 pounds the old fashioned way. I got to the point where this started to make me mad! They say that often change doesn't happen until to actually get MAD! My parents and I started doing research and found out that the VBG can be revised into the gastric bypass. Does anyone have experience with this, especially with the insurance end? It took me 16 years to stop blaming myself and be willing to take action. Any help, hope, or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Chelsea

Greetings Mae7365, I certainly don’t feel like a “virgin” RYGB individual. As you said in your post, “We’ve been there, done that”. We’ve gone from our VSG into a RYGB revision to tackle difficult health issues. Ever since the RYGB and hiatal hernia surgeries, I haven’t had any amount of GERD. My lower belly abdominal pains are gone. My erosive esophagitis is now healing. This amazing RYGB surgery has done wonders for tackling any medical conditions I had going into the RYGB revision surgery. I just figured out that I will be on full liquid diet for another 10 days. I bought on Amazon a good book on getting the most from the full liquid diet BEGINNERS GUIDE TO FULL LIQUID DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS: BEGINNERS FRIENDLY GUIDE TO FULL LIQUID DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS & HEALTHY LIFESTYLE . It’s a very good guide.

Greetings Coexister, i does seem that I am not a dumper either because I’ve tested this several times. I did get a bad reaction from drinking whole milk kefir. I got a stomachache. I wonder is this a form of dumping syndrome? When I drank low fat or non fat kefir, I absolutely had no problems with the kefir. However, when I had a frozen yogurt, I didn’t experience any sickness in my physical body. In terms of losing weight, for the last three weeks, I have stayed the same weight. I haven’t gained or loss weight. I guess that’s a good thing. You know something, Coexister? I have often wondered if my Bariatric Surgeon actually did the RYGB on me. My recovery is very similar to when I got the VGS in 2016. I control my snacking by putting everything I eat in my dietary journal. My dietitian gave me a calorie target and I rarely go above my calorie target. If there’s a particular snack I want to have, I budget for it within my calorie budget. I also read these forums for insight and inspiration as everyone that uses these forums have pearls of wisdom to offer each other. I have no regrets that I proceeded to revision to the RYGB because I my weight is coming down again and I have no more GERD & heartburn anymore. I also can’t risk get throat cancer from the hideous GERD I suffered from before I had my RYGB. 😃 I am six weeks post op and today was my first day back on solid food. I’m going back on solid food slowly - introducing each new food slowly back into my diet.

Greetings to everyone, On May 2, 2016, I received my VSG from my Bariatric Surgeon. Fast forward to February 2019, I start getting experiencing abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting that my general GI specialist couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. Diagnostic testing revealed a raw sore in my esophagus, a hiatal hernia, and the medical professionals couldn’t diagnose why I was experiencing abdominal pain in my gut. As time moved on, my aforementioned symptoms got worse and worse where I couldn’t keep down my food and medications. Now jump to March 10, 2021, I have my first surgical consultation with the Bariatric Surgeon that had put in my VSG in 2016. My Bariatric Surgeon recommended a revision from the VSG to RYGB to fix my hiatal hernia and the rest of my digestive symptoms. Dr. Chen has fast tracked my RYGB surgery to Monday, March 22, 2021. I have to admit to everyone that in 2016 when I the VSG, I was fine with it. However, now with the RYGB surgery within 48 hours of this posting in the BariatricPal forum, I’m getting nervous to having this surgery. One of the main reasons why I’m nervous is about having the RYGB surgery is the possibility of complications and after having surgery, and the dumping syndrome that seems to be common with a lot of individuals who get the RYGB surgery. Fortunately for me, while I was recovering from the VSG, I was not subjected to dumping syndrome. Can anybody share with me about your own experiences with getting the RYGB surgery? How was your recovery period? How was it going from a clear liquid diet to a full liquid diet to purée foods, etc. Share your thoughts and feedback. I would greatly appreciate that very much.

I am having a revision from Lap-Band to Bypass on Sept 14th. I'm sooo ready to have the band gone but I'm nervous as heck to have the bypass, excited as well. I'm all over the place! 😀

To say that one should choose different operations for different BMI ranges is an often propagated myth by surgeons. The truth is that all weight loss operations are tools for weight loss and regardless of the operation, patients that take full advantage of the tool do great but some patients don't lose that much weight with any operation. Interestingly, if you look at band vs bypass, the bypass looks better the first year, but 5-10 years later the band looks better because bypass weight loss is somewhat "false" in the beginning because it is a disease weight loss with muscle wasting (NOT the way to lose weight in a healthy manner even though it makes the scale look better, temporarily). The problem with bypass is that patients regain weight later requiring revisions. We do a lot of band-over-bypass surgery to create an adjustable bypass so patients can lose weight again. The plication success rate should be no different from other weight loss operations. I anticipate most patients will do very well with the tool but some patients will lose very little weight just like we see with other weight loss operations. I've got a couple of GPS patients (Gastric Plication Surgery is what we call it) who have already lost over 40 pounds in a couple of months - amazing. Obviously, it is early in the game but it is so simple I do not anticipate any massive surprises with the operation. In Europe, plication patients' average weight loss looks better than the band. A common theme of patients not losing weight as fast is eating too much ice cream and/or too many "concentrated sweets" (cake, Cookies, etc). The good news is that when the appetite is turned down after surgery, patients find it much easier to avoid these foods because they are not hungry. I've had a lot of patients -before surgery- tell me, "Well, Doctor, if I could make good food choices I wouldn't need surgery," but then they are pleasantly surprised after surgery at how much easier it is with the appetite turned down and getting full on small meals. Also, sometimes complex emotional eating issues are thrown in there which sometimes requires experts in that area if it is interfering with weight loss but it is rare that patients need that level of help after surgery in my experience. At any rate, we have done band surgery on patients through all BMI ranges and they all lose weight very well when they use the tool effectively. I feel no different about the GPS (plication). I like the plication because there is no malabsorption, no cutting, no rearranging, no foreign body, no port, etc. Plication has a lot going for it. Brad Watkins MD

Hey! I'm new to the sight but not new to lapband, I was banded in 2004. Dr. Robert Powell was my surgeon and Dr. fred maese did my fills. My 1st year I was pretty happy with my procedure. I had pain in my port site but was continually told that was normal. In 2008 I went to get a fill and port had flipped, no ins.. could not find surgeon to help me. Finally last wednesday my port was revised and even though I had surgery the pain is nothing compared to what I had been having. Dr. wade Barker took me as a patient and I'm very optimistic. This past year while trying to find a surgeon I have put back half of my weight. But now know I'm in good hands and will be back on my way to getting my weight off again.

Thank you for the reply, I'm sorry to hear that your insurance company wouldn't cover your surgery. My insurance company's issue is that since I was self pay, they have no way of knowing if my band was medically necessary. I was 277 lbs at the time with a 40 BMI and sleep apnea. I would have qualified if I had gone through insurance but I didn't have to because I had the funds to pay cash due to an inheritance. The insurance company says if the surgery wasn't medically necessary that they would consider it to be cosmetic and they do not cover complications from cosmetic surgery even if those complications are life-threatening. So as it turns out, I may have to prove medical necessity for a surgery that I had five years ago in order to get it reversed and then quite possibly, have to reprove medical necessity to get the revision to the sleeve. They're making me crazy!!!!!!

I was able to eat popcorn before I had my fill. I have not tried since I got my first fill last week. My doc doesn't advise it because the kernals could get stuck he said. I will listen to him. I already had to do a port revision, and I do not want another surgery.

My surgery is Tuesday so I can't add my own two cents but I was wondering, Myturn12, since you are self-pay (as am I), did you have to pay for the revision surgery and will you have to pay again for the next lapband surgery? I hope you don't mind me asking, I'm just curious about selfpayer's experiences. Thanks, and I hope everything works out for you!

Good for you! Are you planning on revising to the sleeve? I am 2 weeks out from my band to sleeve revision. My doctor did it in one surgery. So far, so good! I wish you a speedy recovery. Shelli

I think the sleeve is a great option for anyone who for one reason or another (erosion etc) has to have their band removed, I also know some people who have had a revision to a sleeve because they never could find the right fill and restriction with the band. They were constantly having to go in for a fill and then and unfill. __________________ Originally posted at www.lapbandtalk.com

Hey, sorry about your good/bad experience. You seem strong and together, and you know what your next step should be, which is great. Keep your head up and continue holding yourself together and I hope that your revision goes well. Sorry about your mom.

So I had my band unfilled in August because I was getting so sick. They took as much as they could out. I've had very little issues for the last 2 months. This week I started having resistance with eating or drinking again and the last 2 days I've gotten sick after trying to eat. Literally eating 2 small bites and it comes up. And now liquid is getting stuck with an unfilled band. Anyone else have this problem? I'm self pay and already know what revision surgery costs :/

Did anyone start with a low BMI? If so, I am curious how your weight loss is going.

It's sad that you are in such an environment! My doc is really pretty balanced and at my 400+ start weight never batted an eye when I chose the band over RNY. I'm so sorry you don't have that kind of support! But 3 years down the road, we bandsters have figures that compete with RNY and other bypass patients, and it is becoming more frequent for RNY patients, several years post op, to get "revision" surgery and get the band. Why? It is adjustable, that's why! It's always good to question yourself, but don't DOUBT yourself! The band has a much much higher rate of success than "dieting", I guess because it isn't dieting. You'll do great at it! :biggrin:

Hi! I am new to this forum. I got my lapband in 2013. My starting weight was 280lbs and I am about 5'3". In the first year I lost 95 pounds and was down to 185lbs. I never had a fill as my doctor never recommended one. In the last 4 years I have shot back up to 225lb as menopause had set in and I started to lag going to the doctor which was no help. I am now 56 years old and can't seem to budge even a couple of pounds off. I have moved out of the state where I had the procedure years ago and had a consult with the local general/bariatric surgeon about 10 months ago. He agreed to remove the lapband and do a revision to bypass. I met remotely with the bariatric nurse and participated in the orientation zoom meeting. I went for my first weigh in as I was told I would have to start from scratch and in the program and work with a doctor or dietitian for 6 months before they would get approval for the surgery which Iwas more than willing to do. I was turned off by the nurses attitude as she never answered my calls to guide me in the right direction to get started so I gave up on the idea. I feel stuck, depressed and frustrated and I don't know where to turn. My insurance has changed and I can't seem to find a doctor to help me. Thanks for listening. Sent from my SM-A505U using BariatricPal mobile app