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I am having revision and my Doc wrote a letter of exception. I didn’t have to go through six month nutrition classes. I am low bmi of 33, 5’1 at 183.6 pds. Bcbs called to tell me I was approved for 1 night stay and so excited to finally get this band removed and switched to the sleeve. My insurance was like, we approved it but what’s your weight and are you still diabetic? Which I am but you would think they can see my history since they are my insurance... I had so many complications with the band. My surgery date is 12/31, so crazy but so happy that I will start the new year on the right foot.

Did any of y’all have to go back through all the nutritional visits for 6 months prior or were you able to just get authorization for a revision? Thank you

After 14 years, I had my lap band removed. I feel good, no post op issues, concerned that I will gain weight. My goal is to eat as if I had my lap band in place. About 6-8 months ago, I began experiencing an increase in acid reflux and symptoms related to GERDs. Two endoscopic exams showed tissue damage due to acid reflux, indications of Barrett's Esophagus, and band slippage. After a daily dose of Prilosec, the second exam six weeks after the first, eliminated Barrett's Esophagus concerns, but confirmed band slippage. Post Op of the lap band in 2005, I lost 105 lbs. Within three years, I gained about 20 lbs and maintained +/- 5 lbs for approximately 9 years to 2014. Leading up to retirement and after, I began the yo-yo weight loss-gain cycle, mostly gain. I am still down 65 lbs post op from 2005, but it has been a struggle. I think the acid reflux and early stages of GERDs was a turning point. I had been considering revision to a Gastric Sleeve for sometime, the removal of the band brought the decision to a head. However, due to the restrictive elements of a sleeve and my recent acid reflux and GERDs symptoms, my surgeon is recommending gastric by-pass over gastric sleeve. After several discussions and a lot of research, we are working toward gastric by-pass surgery possibly in March 2020. I am working on checking all the boxes for Medicare approval. The psych evaluation is complete and passed, in month 3 of the physician monitored nutrition and weight loss program, meetings with surgeon and staff, physical evaluation and recommendation from pcp is in the works. Without the restriction of my lap band, I am concerned about overeating and gaining weight during the transition while my lap band sites heals and Medicare approval.

I’m currently getting a revision this upcoming Friday 12/20/19. I suffer severe chronic gerd. I had VSG 4/ 2013 and lost a lot of weight and gained a lot of it back as well.

I apologize to the original poster – I’m off topic. @AchieveGoals So, I just checked out ALL your activity on the site. Your comment on this post stuck me as odd. You said " until GERD kicks in" You posted ” So a little bit about me, I was lap banded when I was 17 years old, got it taken out when I was 22 because of pouch enlargement. Now I am thinking of getting sleeve done. But the GERD part scares me, it's like exchanging disease states for one to the other. It helps get rid of Diabetes, but you acquire GERD, so severe to the point that people need revisions to another sleeve or another bariatric procedure. I would be scared to get an RNY or a Bypass, I am happy getting a Sleeve (and this was a decision I thought a lot over to even get to it), so the thought of so many revisions due to GERD scares me to even get this done in the first place. It makes me wonder if I will be one of those who undergoes this too, I don't have current GERD right now, sometimes I do get heartburn maybe three times a month, but I'm not taking anything for it chronically. Anyone have any thoughts? Thank you so much! You are assuming everyone has Gerd on needs revision? Not everyone acquires GERD or needs revision after surgery. Know that many of us have no complications and are doing fine years out. (I’m five years out) Your surgeon would be the one to talk to about having heartburn three months at a time and considering sleeve.

So, I’ve read all your activity on the site. I understand your concerns. Not everyone acquires or automatically has Gerd or needs revision after surgery. Know that many of us have No complications and are doing fine years out. Your surgeon would be the one to talk to about having heartburn three months at a time and considering sleeve. There are risk and benefits with all types of surgery. Research ad do what’s right for you.

I’m sorry that you had a rough start. I hope your revision went well. Good things coming your way in 2020. Cheers!

I was sleeved 2016 went in for a check up found out that I have hernia consulted my surgeon and now awaiting for a date for my revision. For me I think it’s the best option will keep u posted if you would like

I had to start with a fix to my esophagus and repair a hernia. Now it's my turn to make this work. Before, the foods I was supposed to eat created acid. So I ate the food that didn't create pain. I gain 40 pounds. Now, moving forward with my new revised tool. Highest weight presleeve: 281 by the time I had courage to get on the scale. recorded weight before sleeve: 281 Weight before this procedure: 231 Goal weight: 159 to 161 New year and new plan. Goals set and this time I have help. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using BariatricPal mobile app

I had gastric sleeve revision to RNY on Monday (today is Wednesday). This was due to uncontrollable GERD which caused Barrett's Esophagus and a a hiatal hernia . The total procedure was ~ 3 hours. I have had my left hip replaced (twice, due to a recall) and VSG. The RNY was for sure the most painful of all. I believe it was mostly due to the surgical gas and it is dissipating (Gas-X did seem to help). Swallowing is already better without the hernia and I haven't had a lick of acid reflux which is amazing after a 7 year battle post-VSG. I had kept most of my weight off (5'11" / 205#) and so they didn't bypass as much of my intestines as normal and they made the pouch bigger. While I didn't have to do a pre-op supervised diet, because insurance treated it as a GERD-related procedure, I still had to do the group sessions at the hospital which was a repeat of all I know. For me the battle was accepting that I needed revision, I viewed it as a failure of the original WLS which was not the case -- I had kept 100#+ off for 7 years. But there is just that perception.

I came across probably the only picture I have of me at my highest weight (the day after my VSG surgery in 2013). I'm pretty sure I deleted all the others. I avoided the camera for many years. So I put them side by side with my revision surgery (9/2019) and me at my current weight. It really opened my eyes though. And while I still might not be "skinny" I'm finally happy. It took awhile to get here. I didn't ever get down to my goal weight with VSG. I was more concerned with getting the weight off and keeping it off without regaining. And I would always either lose weight or maintain. Now that I know I can keep the weight off, I can finally focus on my goal weight. I'd be perfectly happy only losing another 20ish lbs. My goal was never to be super skinny but to be healthy and able to keep up with my son. To take him camping, hiking and fishing every summer like I did as a kid. Every time I see this picture at my largest I'm still shocked I was ever that size. HW: 326lbs CW: 192lbs

K, just got a chance to take some before pics of my arms (see below). And here are some background details: 5'2" female, 14 months post op, weight stable +/- 5 lbs for about 7 months. Today's weight 115.7 lbs, 21.2 BMI, 13.7% body fat Procedures, as listed on procedure form: BRACHIOPLASTY (aka Arm Lift) + BILATERAL BREAST REDUCTION REVISION (aka Breast Lift). I am getting the Breast Reduction Revision mostly for the fact that it addresses my excess side boob skin. The actual boob lift aspect of it is just an added bonus. In June 2019, when I booked the procedures, the cost of these two is/was $10,000 CAD (plus 13% taxes), and it includes all costs associated with the procedures, including 2 overnights in a private room.

Do you have any omneprazole? I just got revised from sleeve to bypass because of hiatal hernia and gerd. The omneprazole kept the acid under control quite well. Sadly they are finding out more and more that the ppis are not safe to take long term. You really should call your surgeon before you get too much damage from the acid.

I was sleeved in Match 2018. I started losing hair at 6 months out and am still losing it. It is so bad that my scalp would sunburn over this past summer. My dietician said that hair loss is due to the very low calorie diet we are on i the beginning. I had to revise to a bypass 3 weeks ago and am nervous about having even more hair loss. Protein is very important but I have hit protein goals since first surgery. I have been taking a good biotin supplement from the start. This time I am using a shampoo that is said to stop the production of dht. I have my fingers crossed that it will at least help. I also get cold easier than I did pre op. I have heard the same from many bariatric surgery patients.

Progress since my revision for reflux and a hiatal hernia repair. Surgery day: 230lbs Weight today: 192lbs

I could be you , I had a band in 2009 lost all my excess weight, kept it off for ages and then it stopped working. I had a band to bypass revision in Jan and haven’t looked back. All my excess weight has come off - I now sit around 49kg and my diet is so much healthier. I can eat steak and chops and salads and there are no stuck episodes. I no longer waste nights out in restaurant loos because my first bite of food got stuck. To me my RNY does what the band was marketed to do. I know when i’ve had enough, I don’t get stuck, full is in my stomach not my throat and I can eat small amounts of healthy food and be satisfied. Sugar causes me issues if I’m not careful but that is a good thing. Good luck with whatever you decide to do but when deciding don’t write off the RNY, it is so much better than the band.

I don't think they called it a lift in anyway, on the procedure listing is was just plain old "breast reduction". It was covered by provincial insurance so I didn't really have a choice. Though looking back I probably should have asked for a different technique. They used the lollipop incision which results in a higher nipple placement yes, but has a bulbous look at the lower part of the boob. Now that I lost a lot of weight, that bulbous look is gone (they just look deflated) but my nipples are still nice and high. So they don't look like regular droopy boobs, but still not the greatest. Next week I am getting my arm lift and what is listed on the procedure listing as a "breast reduction revision", basically its to remove the excess skin on my side boob, but will also address the under nipple boob sag in the process.

The Lap Band was a great tool, until it wasn't. About 50% of the people that have had them for over 10 years are now having problems with them and getting them removed. Many WLS docs wont even do them now. I also was one of those statistics--it worked great for about 6 years and then the problems started...slow weight gain, constant vomiting, reflux, etc. I just got it out three weeks ago--it had slipped--and got a RNY revision and I have already lost 20 pounds. The band should be working for you, not you working for it. Whatever what you decide to do, good luck! We are here for you!

I always see posts without an update, so I wanted to be sure to come back & five one! we were all correct. The daily regurgitation was not normal. I went to a new surgeon in October. He was skeptical & wanted to blame it on too big of bites or overeating. I kept insisting I would have a feeling of being overly full eating less than one chicken finger, and I would still regurgitate it even an hour later. He decided to run some tests while giving me some food counseling. He was not a fan of the fact that I had little to no aftercare post surgery with my old surgeon. I went back on purées. Basically every time you vomit, it causes swelling & takes about 3 days for the swelling to go down. We needed to get the swelling down for many reasons. Getting it under control helped me move back onto solid foods with small bites & portions. We did the barium swallow test which showed liquids were going through fine, but I have a twist in my esophagus. Going in for my EGD scope, my surgeon was still claiming it was all bite size. He walked in after my scope & said, “yeah. So your anatomy is screwed up!” Along with the twist in my esophagus (which basically means if I need to be tubed, it could be “more difficult”), I have a major kink in my stomach from scar tissue on the outside of it. Instead of being sleeve shaped, as it should be, it is like a capital N or S. In the middle there is a kink that he had a hard time even finding the opening of. Basically if it’s not liquid, it has to sit to digest to go down. This explains why I resorted to drinking my calories & eating easy carbs. He said it could have happened when I threw up right after surgery (a staple could have caught on something) or anytime in the initial healing. So where does that leave me? I’m going in for a laparoscopic surgery to remove scar tissue January 13th. He can see the shape of my stomach from the scope, but he can’t know what the scar tissue is attached to or how bad it is til he gets in there. It could be attached to my liver. Yikes. So surgery could be half an hour, it could be 3. He may have to revise my sleeve to a bypass. I don’t want that because I have ulcerative colitis, so that’s very much so not recommended. However, I want to have the ability to eat without losing it. I’ll be on a 2 week pre-surgery liquid diet, and then after surgery, it will be the post sleeve progression. I have about 30 lbs of regain. He expects I’ll lose that fairly easily by the time I’m on solid foods again. That’s good news. Knowing I actually have something wrong with me, and I’m not crazy has been HUGE for me. I knew something was wrong, but I kept being told “bite size bite size bite size.” I have multiple friends with sleeves, and what I was experiencing was nothing like them. The eye opener was looking online & finding no one like me. So if you’re here because you’re searching, go for answers! :)

I just had to do this exact same revision for exact same reason 3 weeks ago. The first week was rough but I think that it was not as painful as my sleeve was. At 3 weeks out things are getting much better. My restriction is much tighter since revision than it was with sleeve. My surgery was scheduled for 4 hours but ended up taking 5.5 hours. Once my surgeon took a look from the inside my hernia ended up being huge. He did a repair with mesh. I had robotic surgery. I do hope that helped and good luck!

Yours was revision so maybe requirements are different than initial surgery. I would hate to end up with $10k bill if I have to pay if not preapproved. So I still need Medicare required screening (3-month medically supervised diet with FAILURE to lose weight, psych eval, nutrition visits, etc.

I just got a revision from a failed lap band to a RNY bypass with Medicare insurance and a supplement like you. The doctor's office assured me that I had met the criteria (BMI of 35 with co-morbidity and a three month diet). However, Medicare doesn't do a pre-approval process--you just get the surgery and the office submits the bill and you hope they are going to pay for it! I just got it three weeks ago and the office said no one had been denied as long as they met the criteria, but I'm sweating bullets here..,

I've posted this before but am hoping to hear back from some others. I am having a sleeve to bypass revision due to severe GERD. I am currently at my goal weight. I weigh 180 and am 5'11". Has anyone else had a revision due to GERD while at goal weight? I can only imagine I'm going to lose significant weight during my liquid and puree phases of the past-op diet. How much more weight did you lose? Thanks in advance for your answers. J

I definitely know the pain. I was banded in 2009 and was at my goal weight for over 9 years and feeling great. My band slipped and the Dr. removed all of the fill. I had gained over 40 pounds in about 4 months...just like you. Same thing, I could NOT get the weight off. I ended up getting approved for a lap band to gastric sleeve revision. I had that done last week. Have you spoken to your surgeon/insurance about getting the sleeve or something else? Its so horrible to not have to worry about your weight for almost a decade and then feel like, in a matter of months, you're getting back to the person you thought was gone forever. I sure hope you can find some answers. Please keep me posted.

I had my band to sleeve revision on 12/5....a week ago today. Did you have yours done?