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I have heard of some people using their tax money cashing out some 401K or you could get a medical loan. Cost depends on where you go? Where do you live (live near)? Are you wanting to stay in the US or are you willing to travel to Mexico? I do not know about revision costs but other sleevers on this site might have those answers for you.

I guess what I am asking for is some imaginative wordage to have on hand in case the insurance company wants to know why I think I need a sleeve instead of the bypass that they have already agreed to. I am looking at my own medical history to give them some medical necessity for the sleeve.

Well it seems to me that as a person with an extreme allergy to a commonly used food additive you are already very limited in your food choices for keeping good nutrition, so a surgery with a malabsorption factor like the bypass would be counterindicated for you. Would that be something you could use?

How long have you been going to your PCP? I completely bypassed the 6 month diet. I've had the same doctor for many years. I made an appt and told him I needed a letter from him stating I had dieted in the past. I had the letter the next day and surgery the next week.

Mewizza, lapband vs. gastric bypass have slightly different prep times and types. It also depends upon the surgeon's preferrences. Technically, 24 hours before surgery for lapband should be light breakfast and then liquids until 12 midnight and then nothing by mouth after that until surgery. Depending upon your surgeon....he/she may allow you to take blood pressure meds the morning of surgery with a sip of water. Gastric bypass is different as their bowels need to be cleaned out due to the relocation of the upper bowel segment. Good luck!

Right on!! I'm glad you are doing better now, not vomiting ... I revised to bypass. Are you planning on revising?

I have thrown up for TWO years!!!!! After I revised to bypass, I am not throwing up anymore and there are others that had revised from band to other wls have stopped throwing up as well. It is not a mental thing, it is band induced. I couldn't eat dense Protein without it coming back up. I did not have any damage.

I just found out today that my band has slipped and I soon will have to make a decision what to do. You say you revised to bypass, did your insurance cover this? Can you provide me some details? I honestly want this thing out of me. I never expected this journey to be easy, but I am tired of vomitting daily and my teeth and body aching. My son told me today he wants it out too because he is tired of seeing sick all the time. Ugh, decisions...

First of all, I support and answer questions, share my knowledge of complications and experience with complications of band. For the record, I did not go sleeve, I had the bypass. Lastly, you do not own the board, this is a public board.

I am African American and keloiding is more common. It happened to me with my lap band surgery five years ago and the scars have gotten better but are still quite noticeable. My surgeon tried to revise them a little when he did my sleeve but they are still quite noticeable. I am five months out.

On Sept 24th, I went into the hosptal to have the gastric bypass but got the sleeve instead. My Dr told me to do the Stage 1 Full Liquid Diet for 3 weeks. Drinking out of the 2 ounce cups every 15 minutes or until I get in my 40 oz of fluid in a day. Yesterday went in for my 2 week check up and was told I was doing great. I've lost 25 pounds since my surgery. I'm down to 408. This is the one thing I'm bound and determined to do. I can't wait to see myself down to 350 right now. Yes, I'm hungry also. I"m oh so ready for some real food. Well Good luck to you all.

Bypass is where they staple out a small 1-2oz pouch out of the fundus, the elastic portion of your stomach. Then they bypass 120cm of intestine and connect the new end of the intestine to the new pouch in the stomach. In the end you can only eat small quantities and you malabsorb about 1/3 of your calories and nutrition. You do not malabsorb forever, only during the honeymoon period of about 6-18 months. Sleeve they remove the elastic portion of your stomach (fundus) and maintain the muscular portion. End result is that you can only eat a small quantity of food and you absorb everything you do eat. Jacqui.... DSers don't really stretch out their stomach. Their stomachs are usually a 48F, sleeves are a 32/34F. They have a much bigger stomach to begin with. Over the next 4-6 months your stomach does stretch/relax and for sleeves it's about the size and shape of a banana. That's why they call it the banana stomach. DSers are going to end up with an even bigger stomach. So it's not because they stretch it out, it is because it's bigger than a sleeve to begin with. Bands... I had one and hated it. I knew I made a mistake 4 days after surgery. I really really tried to make it work but it wasn't meant to be. Considering the number of revisions being done and unhappy banded folks... I would never suggest a band to your average person. Not a chance. It's a great way for the average person to lose half their weight on a short term basis.

I'm learning that WLS has trends just like anything else. Yesterday it was bands and bypass. Today it's sleeves and DS. They have a new surgical technique with DS that makes the "stinky" side effect a whole lot less. It's not gone, it's just better. People don't have to build on a bathroom to the house now for the DSer. ;o) I feel about malabsorption like I do chemo. It's a necessary evil. Some people really need it. I am beyond lucky that I am one that is good to go with restriction alone. There are so many people that hard as they try, they cannot change their eating habits.

I don't absorb iron so I had no desire to have a procedure that used malabsorption for weight loss. That excluded DS and bypass. I got the band and suffered with it for a little over 3 years. It gave me more problems than I bargained for and did not allow healthy eating (I am speaking for myself only). I got the band out and revised to a sleeve and am VERY happy I did so. You feel restriction the minute you begin drinking fluids and you just can't eat a lot at one meal. With both the band and the sleeve (restrictive weight loss) you CAN gain weight. Low fiber, high calorie foods will slide right down so it's not a be all/end all situation. The sleeve requires no follow-up, no fills, and you don't have a foreign device in your body. Investigate all your options but don't let one surgeon tell you what surgery you should have. Often, surgeonss suggest procedures they can do easily and are expert at over the more difficult surgeries that they lack the skill to perform.

When I was banded and having so many problems I was still an advocate of the band. I thought I was unique and most were not like me. I didn't want someone to get bypass because *I* had band problems. Also, long term US stats were not out on the band or the sleeve. Now that the stats are out and I know I am not the only one with problems I do tell people about everything and I'm an advocate of the sleeve. Very few people (in my mind) are good people for banding.

My life has been completely changed since my mini gastric bypass! I can do so much more. I'm an active person and for the last four or five years, I haven't been able to even work out. But since surgery, I have transformed back into the person I am. I work out at least 5 days a week now, including weight training twice a week. I'm still losing weight this summer, so one of the ways I can honor myself is to keep on going and not let anything get in the way of that. I will continue to make right choices, log my food and exercise, and enjoy the changes to my body, mind, soul, and spirit. I'm hoping that maybe I'll be able to get to my goal weight and be really toned by the end of summer but we'll see. Oh, and I definitely see a few more clothes in my near future!! (I can already wear a few of my daughter's tops-she's a size 7...shhhhh...don't tell her that-I want to do more work on my arms though before I actually wear them out [emoji6])

Each person has their own "negatives". I personally had an extensive, exhausting and mentally/physically draining recovery because I was a revision patient with major complications. The negatives for me were: 1) Trying to sip enough early out seemed impossible 2) Taste buds changing 3) Developing a whey protein intolerance and mild lactose intolerance post-op 4) Lack of energy early out, but it was temporary Of course, the positives far outweigh the negatives especially since everything I experienced was over within a few weeks to couple of months, and I have a very normal, active, fun social life. There are plenty of us out here that "get WLS" there's others that don't. Unfortunately, the sleeve only does so much. I still have to be mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can still suck down a 3000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to so the point is making a permanent, and lifelong commitment to better food choices, and to honestly change your relationship with food. The sleeve makes this process much easier. Every WLS has failures even the heavily touted Platinum standard Duodenal Switch. I've read several stories of regain, or DS'ers not getting to goal, and their surgery is far more drastic than even RNY. I take 4 vitamins a day. That's it, nothing major, 2 multis, 2 calcium citrate. Make it a habit, it's really not that big of a deal. To address some of your concerns: 1. Death - huge I know. Ask your surgeon their mortality stats. If it's more than 1% get a new surgeon, and find out the details. 2. A Leak - also very risky. Same as above 3. My head hunger issues will be brought out huge. Start working on it now, get a new coping mechanism in place before surgery, therapy is a great tool especially if you can find someone that works with bariatric patients, along with support group meetings and using online support groups, find a buddy that has surgery around the same time to share ups and downs, get a mentor that you trust, and can talk you off the ledge when you're wanting to take a dive in the pool of caramely goodness of Girl Scout Samoa cookies. 4. My "food to cope" tool will be gone! Same as above 5. possible acid reflux... what's worse being fat or popping a Prilosec or Nexium to prevent reflux? 6. Gaining the weight back Establishing better habits, measuring portions, staying within your caloric intake guidelines is the best options to avoid gain. It's easy to gain weight, I won't lie, but for me, it's still super easy to lose it by following the rules. 7. not really losing anything that's pretty rare, I've read plenty of slow losers, but you have control of how you lose weight. Some do it differently than I did and that's okay, some do not want to give up carbs, I did because I knew I'd lose fast and hard. That's the path I chose, and I couldn't be happier with how I did it. Some have metabolic issues that slow weight loss down, and that has to be taken into consideration as well as activity level, and each individuals needs. One thing you have to remember is that the VSG is not some miracle that is going to cure it all. They operate on our stomachs, not our brains. So, getting ahead of the curve by establishing some good habits NOW will go a long way post-op. Eating slower, chewing your food more, sit your utensil down in between bites, do not drink with your meal, eat protein first, stretch your meal out to at least 20 minutes. Don't sit in front of the TV to eat, focus on what you are putting in your mouth/body and see how your body responds. Best wishes! ! !

It's likely that your sister is talking about gastric banding rather than sleeve. Most people who aren't doctors cannot tell the difference between different types of weight-loss surgeries. I've heard quite a few stories of people who got a gastric band, lost some weight but regained it after draining the band from all its fluids (which means it no longer has any effect on stomach-size and restriction). Gastric bands do seem to require more self-discipline and regular maintenance (for instance, if you eat too much you need to go to the doctor and tighten it a little). Being a person with little self-discipline, I decided to get the sleeve. I haven't heard any stories so far of sleeved/bypassed people who regained all their weight back. All these stories come from banded people. Is there anyone here on this forum who got sleeved and gained his/her original weight back?

Hi there, I know 2 very good doctors named Dr. Cantu and Dr. Mansur, and their clinic is located in Reynosa, Mexico. Both doctors are bariatric surgeons. They´re being doing more than 5,000 lap-band procedures, since their training years, until now that both are doctors. I would recommend you best, Dr. Cantu and Dr. Mansur, from Reynosa, Mexico. His toll free number is 1 888 520 0924, or you can visit their web page www.advancedmedicine.com for more information. He offers the lap-band for $8,300 dlls, Mini Gastric Bypass for $12, 000 dlls. and the Gastric Bypass for $13,000 dlls, he might even give you a discount. And he also offers financing service, either you pay half the cost, and the rest you can get it financed, or may pay cash, or check.

I'm six week post op (bypass) and had the same concern about losing weight too fast. I went from a 1-2# daily loss to 2-3# weekly loss currently. I've gone from daily weigh ins to weekly weigh ins. I'm no medical professional but I was told that if my urine was light colored I was probably getting enough fluids. To reach my Protein goal of 70 grams daily, I still have 2-3 shakes before I have any other real food.

Keep in mind that even when you move to solid foods, you're going to be eating almost exclusively Protein for a long time. As your sleeve expands slowly you can start incorporating a few veggies and then starches, but still not much to go off of. VSG is not malaborption, but you're not going to have much nutritional variety to absorb in general. My nutritionist recommended VSG follow the Bypass Vitamin regimine, especially for B vitamins, calcium and Iron. She said the sleeve will expand as much as it ever will after 2 years and by then you should be able to get in enough variety to probably not need as MUCH nutritional support, but a quality chewable multi-vitamin is still recommended. Hope everything goes well for you!

Since the gastric sleeve is the first part of the Gastic Bypass, most insurance companies will cover the procedure as it is less expensive that the Bypass. I too, did not want my colon re-routed and not have to deal with the malabsorbtion or high Vitamin regime required after the Bypass. It is your decision - research, research and ask lots of questions from your surgeon and your insurance company. You will make the right decision for you. Best of luck!!!!!

Hi, my insurance would also only cover the bypass (VSG was considered experimental) I knew from knowing people who have had bypass surgery- it just was not the wls choice for me. So I am a self pay (bummer, I think insurance should cover it ) and looked around for a surgeon I felt comfortable with and by the end of next month I will be sleeved. I know it will be the best money spent! Best wishes to you on your journey!

I felt the same way you did! I thought it and re-thought it a thousand times. I had gained and lost the same 100lbs ten times in 15 years. I could lose it, but could not keep it off. I had to do something to ensure that I would not regain and lose, regain and lose!! Gastric bypass was never appealing to me, but this surgery was. I researched it for over a year and decided I would chat with my dr. He sent me to see my AWESOME surgeon and we decided it was a good fit for me! I can not say enough good things about my sleeve. I would recommend this surgery to anyone that wants and needs restriction with food. This is the best gift I have ever been given in my entire 36 years!! I can have anything I want, I just have a smaller amount of it. If I want a cookie, I could have one, but I would eat one and not 10! I can have A piece of pizza and not 5. You will not get fat eating like that. The insane thing about it is, it is almost like they operate on your stomach and it fixes your brain!! Weird, but true for me. I don't want to eat **** anymore. I eat on plan and I am good. I haven't had a fast-food, cookie, pie, cake, pizza, bread, rice....nothing since before my surgery and I really don't want to! I am sure I will, but at this time, I have not! All you have to do is look at everyone's stats. This surgery works if you do what you are supposed to do! Now, you can't sit and eat bon-bon's all day and expect the weight to fall off. I have to work very hard for every pound I lose, but it is worth it and a lot easier now that I can only eat 2-3oz of Protein at a time!! Good luck to you! Kelly

You can take ANY medication with the sleeve. There aren't restrictions of ANY type. That is the bypass that you can not take them. My dr. asked that I not take Ibuprofen for 3 months post-op just to give my stomach time to heal, but I can take them now. Kelly