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Forget the hypothetical, here is my situation. I’m 43, and 5’5” and my highest weight was 190, which was my pre-op diet weight in June 2014. I was thin as a child, and my weight has gone up and down, and up and down, since my 20’s. I have ACA insurance, so coverage was not available no matter how much weight was involved or which procedure. I decided the weight was just getting higher and higher and my doctor said my cholesterol and triglycerides were too high. I have dieted every type of diet, some with great success for a while and other not. I went to a group that advertised Lap Band locally. I was told that if I had a hiatal hernia that insurance would pay for some, and I would have to pay out of pocket for the rest. I told them that I probably didn’t have a hernia, because I did not have reflux, pain, or anything like that. I left doing more research and I chose another doctor to go see for the Band. I met with the surgeon on the first visit and I told him I wanted the band. I started my process and began meeting with the nutritionist, having the psych exam, etc. I was told the same thing about the hernia and I was scheduled for the EDG one week before surgery. I was given two out of pocket costs depending on the outcome. In the meantime I went to my OB, PCP, and Psychiatrist. All three were 100% on board. My psychiatrist was concerned that with the band, the size of the stomach opening was altered to smaller than a pencil width. I take three medications daily for MDD and she wanted to make sure I could continue to take my meds. She asked why I did not consider sleeve because the opening was not changed, and I told her that I thought I was only a candidate for Band. She said she had another patient about my size that did sleeve very successfully. So, I went home and really did some research a comparing band to sleeve. I was also concerned about the band slip and erosion, and possible additional surgery for a revision. I called the surgeon’s office and asked them to talk with the doctor and see if I could have the sleeve instead of the band. I told them my concern about the medication and band failure. They called back and said I could switch to sleeve. I did the EDG and when I woke up they showed me images of the procedure and said: You do have a hernia and quite a few ulcers on your stomach. Many of those will be removed during the sleeve procedure, and the rest should heal with the PCP. I was shocked. I had no idea and no symptoms. One week later, and about 2 months into the entire process, I was sleeved. Was this my last resort, no. I could have tried dieting and failing again and again until I gained more and more weight. This was my decision, and I made it after doing enough research to make an informed, educated, and more importantly, right decision for myself and my body. Believe me, if you read my other posts, you will know that there were so many other reasons for my decision. I wanted to leave those out of here though. If blanket statements are going to be made, then go ahead, judge me. I’m the exact subject of this post, but I stand behind my decision, and my surgeon, and everything about the sleeve. I am willing to be anyone’s friend in this journey, no matter where either of us started. It’s the common goal we all should share.

Most revision operations are higher risk than the first time a weight loss surgery procedure is performed. Revision of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy to Duodenal Switch actually carries with it less risk than performing the Duodenal Switch in a single operation for the first time. This is possible due to the fact that Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy is one portion of the Duodenal Switch procedure. When converting to Duodenal Switch from Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Hi, congratulations on making a decision to have weight loss surgery. When you meet with your doctor, they will examine you and ask you what surgery you are thinking about and then give you their opinion of what surgery they believe is the best surgery for you. I am a revision patient from a lap band to the sleeve. I had my band in July '07. At that time the band was the only surgery I qualified for at a BMI of 35. By lap band standards I was a success because I lost 50% of my excess weight loss. I never found the "sweet spot". I wound up having my band overfilled to get restriction. In the beginning my doctor did not have the equipment to do fluoroscopy to see if it was too tight. This resulted in me throwing up a lot due to tightness. I also started to eat more slider foods, which don't fill you up, because I knew I could tolerate them. I then began to have major heartburn and was on prescription medicines for them for over three years. I was in graduate school and working full time so didn't have time to give this the attention it needed. When I saw my lapband doctor, he told me that my band was in the proper position etc. Earlier this year, I asked him about a different surgery, and he referred me to my sleeve surgeon. My sleeve surgeon performed an EGD and found my band had prolapsed. Additional tests revealed it was causing problems with how my esophagus was functioning. Since I have had my sleeve. I have had no heartburn. I am 7 weeks out from having my band removed and the sleeve performed. I feel so much better now. I have not thrown up since my surgery and have not encountered any food which I am allowed that has not agreed with me.

When I started thinking about wls I started wanting the lap band. I visited with 2 doctors and with the amount of weight I needed to loose they both said they would not do the lap band for me. I then started researching about the sleeve and thought my doctor knew what was best for me. I have to say there was a lot of issues with the lap band that I was starting to hear about. slippage and erosion. That kind of turned me off because I had heard a lot of people getting a revision years after lap band. So I went ahead with my surgeons direction and I could not be happier.

(post revised 1-28-08) I was banded 5-23-07 and am down about 61 pounds. I am 56.

I had a bit of pain, but nothing that wasn't tolerable. I remember the days in the bathroom. Stuck is the worst feeling! I am feeling so free with my sleeve. I know I said this before, but it just feels so natural. No fear of going out with people and rushing to the bathroom hoping and praying that someone wasn't in there already. My husband always referred to that as the deer in the headlights look. Good luck with your revision. I was very fortunate as insurance covered my revision. They had a medical policy specifically for revisions to get people to get rid of the band.

@@Embrace Hi! Thank you so much for checking in on me. Your note before my surgery gave me great peace and comfort. I have told NO ONE but my husband, so having you and others checking on me in INVALUABLE! I have had a tough 1st week of recovery, but am beginning to feel better. My 1 week check up is tomorrow. Because I was converting a "plication" to a sleeve, my procedure lasted 5.5 hours. I think this may be the reason the Anesthesia was particularly difficult to rid from my system. Not sure if this is the cause of my blurry vision for the last 6 days, but reading online, I have found that this can be a result of anesthesia and will improve in 9-10 days. (I have been unable to read the newspaper, emails, or any of the 3 new books I bought to enjoy during my recovery phase.) Additionally, I have had severe headaches that I cannot treat with my regular migraine meds, due to the complicated revision-----my doc's fear that the strong meds (even crushed) would cause damage to my new sleeve. ENOUGH COMPLAINING THOUGH!!! I'm grateful for my supportive husband who paid the 17,500. fee to have this done and my steady improvement. I actually feel myself getting stronger each day. Remembering what you said about walking the anesthesia off, I made sure to walk a little each day but honestly I only made it to my mailbox and back, walked from one end of my house to the other.....etc. (I was quite wimpy this week) I tried to balance what you said about walking and resting my body. I have a goal of walking 30 minutes (all at one time) by Saturday of this week. I hope I am able. Your 3rd piece of invaluable advice was very helpful and something I HAD NOT considered. As soon as I can get out, I'm going to purchase tiny bowls and small plates. Thank you so much for this tip!! Something I had not expected was the weight gain in the hospital from fluids. ( I probably should have done better research and made myself aware of this bc it SHOCKED me!) I gained 11 lbs and after 6 days that was finally gone. I hope I begin steady "losing" from this point on. I practiced "going out to dinner" last night with my husband. This is a little scary at first! We went to a Tai restaurant where I was able to order a bowl of simple broth. It was divine. (After eating broth from a box all week.) Since today is 1 week out, I'm going to weigh, take measurements, etc. I'm hoping I'm on the right path and will continue to improve. Enough about me! Are you doing o.k.? Still losing? Adding new foods to your diet? Feeling good? I think your surgery was this summer so we are just a few months apart. Your wisdom and compassion came through so clearly in your message to me and I want you to know how very much I appreciate the time it took to send it. Please continue to send your valuable tips and please let me know how you are progressing.

@@bearhugs1975 I had a band placed in 2006, slipped within 24 hours, have had constant problems. gained all weight back and then some. Now considering revision to sleeve. with the sleeve do you feel full or in pain like with the band? Did they have any trouble getting the band out? I'm concerned that I will have a lot of scare tissue over my band because of the slip and 2 surgeries to repair it. Having had so many problems with the band and my age 63, I'm scared. But have to do something.

I am speaking from my personal experience and would recommend the bypass. I got my sleeve 8 years ago and have had GERD since (was not an issue prior). It has progressively gotten worse and I now have a hiatal hernia as well. My doctor is considering a revision to bypass to address the issue. I also have issues with vitamin and protein deficiencies. I have been on Prevacid for the entire 8 years since my surgery. I realize everyone is different but research some of the risks of GERD after sleeve. It is not fun.

@CammyC: I had my revision 26th February and I am convinced I am eating way more calories than you. I still don't feel that good, walks and grocery shopping are exhausting and I'm honestly not really expecting being able to jump around. We all should keep in mind that we had abdominal surgery and general anesthesia. It takes time, at least for most people. Tbh, I can't relate at all to the patients talking about "brimming with energy" shortly after surgery.

@Firebolt. Will do! I'm supposed to go to education class this week on revision process and still waiting on endoscopy to be scheduled Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

They are doing a revision because of problems im having so maybe that will jump start the weight loss!

Ive had a band since 2009 and you never really stop feeling hungry. Its just that ur new stomach is small so it feels full. But the hunger is created by hormones in the lining of your stomach and theyre still there and active all the time unlike with sleeve or bypass. I lijed the vand at first but am having a revision to bypass next week because i cant stand the hunger feeling any more. Sent from my GT-I9505 using the BariatricPal App

I chose the bypass because I had a significant amount to lose, I wanted the extra accountability, and I knew my insurance would only cover one surgery. If I failed with the sleeve, I would never have an option to revise, I would just fail. It's possible to fail with the bypass, as with any gastric surgery, but I felt that the bypass would be giving me the biggest chance for success possible. Yes, the sleeve is (by a very small percentage) safer/faster but honestly, that tiny extra bit of risk was completely worth it to me. I'll be 11 months post op in six days. I've had no complications, not even dumping, and I've lost 166 pounds since surgery and 221 pounds overall. You've gotta be really willing to follow your plan to the letter, as there is less room for error than the sleeve from what I've seen because of the higher risk of dumping and so on, but that habit change and hard work has been so worth it for me and many, many others. Hope this helps! Good luck on whatever you choose. It's entirely possible to be successful with either surgery.

I'm so glad that you could vent and that it's making you feel better. I suspect that what I've put below is already "in your radar", but I'm certainly trying to offer support and perhaps a way out of this place of frustration. It is human nature to want maximum gains for minimum output. I get it. And I know you're not alone because there are lots of people who have said the same words "if I wanted to count calories and exercise, I wouldn't have gotten surgery!" or "If I had any willpower, I wouldn't have gotten surgery!" This is not uncommon and probably has a lot to do with a lack of real education on what it is actually like to be banded. Even when you ask questions and try to educate yourself, if you don't know what questions TO ask, you're probably going to miss out on a lot of important information. I'll bet you can be a real voice of education for pre-op bandsters-- let them know your misconceptions so that they can be better informed. You're in a position now where what's done is done, and you have three real choices that I can see: you could decide that you're going to revise your expectations of the band and start working with what you've got, even though it means diet and calorie counting; you could decide that you're going to pay to have it revised to something that's more in line with meeting your expectations; or you could do neither and instead stay stuck where you are feeling disappointed and betrayed and frustrated. You've done really well so far with a 40-lb loss-- that's right on track with where you could expect to be and it's a good sign that you'll continue to lose at the expected rate if you don't give up hope and maybe take a look at doing some of the things you stubbornly don't want to try now (and I know all about stubbornly not wanting to do stuff too-- I pretty regularly refuse to exercise myself). You can do it! You just need to have a little adjustment in your outlook. But of course, you may decide it's more comfortable to stay where you are right now, and that's an option too. The only options that are NOT available to you are to change the past and never have the surgery, or to wave a magic wand that makes the weight melt away with no effort in 6 months. Believe me, I want that freaking magic wand sister

Revision 10/25/18 Revision 10/25/18 Kattrax421B.Com Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with catchup!

OK so I'm 9 weeks out from my revision and I've been hovering between 28 to 32 pounds lost for the past 3 weeks! Grrrr!!! Wth?! Sorry, just had to vent.

I have not vomited since my sleeve revision either, however, those (2) times that I ate too much I felt VERY nauseous. I have only ate things that are not on my diet (1) time and that was yesterday while me and my wife were out of town shopping. I had a bowl of Lobster bisque for dinner and a half piece of gourmet white chocolate as a snack for lunch. (I didn't eat any lunch because we had dinner reservations at 5pm). I did not beat myself up over eating it because I have been on a liquid/puree diet for over a month now. What seems weird to me is that even if I don't feel full after I eat my 4oz of Protein, as soon as I have Water (30 minutes after eating) its like I feel overly full (nauseous). Very different from the band. I personally do not have any scales at my house so I don't weigh myself very often. However, all my clothes are getting looser so I pray that I am indeed losing weight. I know I should be keeping a food diary but have not started one yet. I may have to after that lobster bisque and chocolate yesterday lol . I DO KNOW that I can not eat the same things as I did with my band or I will definitely start gaining weight. With the band, I could only eat horrible food choices because healthy food simply would not to through my band. Many times even water or any other liquid would not go through the band. When I had my band I always bragged like I was on a Jenny Craig commercial. "I lost 194 pounds eating Reese Cups" lol I hope this all works out for both of us.

I was like you no comorbities. I was a great sleeve candidate. I was a terribly slow loser which I learned to live with. I have since had some complications post pregnancy and will be revised to bypass soon. I have developed terrible GERD with my sleeve. Also, some sleeve drs still do not advise taking NSAIDS. I took them after my c-section and thought I was gonna have a heart attack. Since then my surgeon had told me to stop using them. I think this is an area that is still conflicting amongst the sleeve community. People have success with both and there can be complications with both.

I revised only three weeks ago due to severe acid reflux. Unfortunately it has not helped my reflux at all. I'm in pain 24/7. Literally. However this is NOT the norm apparently and I would encourage anyone to revise who has GERD.

After the leak repair, my lungs would not recover. That landed me in ICU for 5 days, on a ventilator. I had the revision, then 2 days later the leak repair. Myself and my surgeon knew that I was higher risk because of my surgery being a revision, and my complications. However, I had zero other health risks, zero co-morbidities, nothing else was wrong with me. I had 3 leak tests. 1 in the OR, one the following day, and then the final one that was performed when the leak was found on my 2nd day post-op. I was in the hospital 10 days total. During the final leak test is when the leak was found, 2 hours before my discharge. I was up talking, walking, laughing, feeling good, no fever, no pain until I drank the contrast Fluid. I swallowed the gastrographin solution and had immediate pain radiate across my abdomen, they performed the ct scan and confirmed the leak. My surgeon does not oversew as there is a great debate on whether it stresses the staple line or not. Some of the most noted surgeons oversew, some don't. The reason for the cost is because of the ICU stay, the additional testing, and medications used, the additional doctors that came in on my case, the central line, the additional diagnostics performed. The reasons for my 2cent comments is because you stated that you were scared, that you didn't want to ruin the rest of your life because of this surgery, your concerns with complications especially since you are self-pay, you asked for advice and what our concerns were so I answered honestly and openly. If I were in your situation, I stated what my concerns would be. I wasn't trying to be negative, I was telling you my honest opinion. It isn't always the thing people want to hear, but it's what I thought I could offer. If you are at peace with your decision, and trust your surgeon, then I promise I have nothing but best wishes for you, for your surgery and journey.

Praying everything goes well.. I'm 5 days post op revision. No problems, just soreness which improves daily,,,

Congratulations! Lots of us revisions here! See you on the sleeved side :-).

I had pretty bad GERD before my surgery but it had only come with my weight so surgeon and I hoped it would disappear with weight loss. Straight after surgery I was so much better that I was able to drop from 40 to 20mg Nexium. Around 4 months out and 22kg lighter (2/3 of my total excess weight) it started getting worse. I am currently taking 80mg Nexium with poor control of symptoms - very painful and affecting my oesophagus, throat and Eustachian tubes (ears!). Seeing the surgeon tomorrow and hoping he has some "magic" suggestions. I also wanted the simplest possible procedure and am not at all keen on bypass, but I know there can be serious health consequences if my dr and I can't get these symptoms under control. Knowing that a bypass revision is always possible, is it worth talking to your dr to see about doing the sleeve in the hope that you are amongst the lucky ones whose GERD is not made worse by the sleeve? It would be nice to keep it simple if you could - ongoing need for vitamin/mineral supplementation is something I'm keen to avoid.

Hey hey family. I had a really good day today. My 3 month check up with my surgeon and nutritionist was today. Eavann my nut asked me do i remember what i said during my first consultation on what weight I'd like to achieve with my surgery. At the time I was 156kg 345lb (ish) and said 100kg or about 220lbs. I then proceeded to completely and utterly forget about this. Fast forward to today and i had my weigh in and I was 101kg. She said that congrats were in order as i had essentially achieved my target weight. I was floored.... For two reasons. Firstly the obvious one. I had attained a target! like whoah! Then I had a rush of sympathy for the old me. At one point I genuinely felt that getting to this weight was a stratospheric target.... high high in the sky and possibly unattainable. I thought that 220lb was a realistic expectation for me. Even when asked a lofty pie in the sky question I was unable to even imagine that I plus surgery could achieve normal healthy BMI. My response was a genuine and true..... "but, but, I feel like I've only just started??" She then said that they get that a lot. My revised (official) target is now 76kg or 167lbs and in line with what I've had here on bariatric pal since September/October. She said that I'm 2/3 of the way now, so still a little bit to go. My response to that was a jovial yet deadly serious "Sure, no bother to me". On a more serious note I am so delighted with the changes in my head. Much more so than the body changes. The body is great don't get me wrong, but it's upstairs where the real change lives. My identity crisis is throwing up the most lovely of artefacts. The old me would not in a month of sundays let alone in an instant like that be so sure of himself and while I had genuine sympathy for the Des who sat in that far off consultant's office and murmured that he wanted to be 100kg, I couldn't help but smile at how distant I felt from him than at that point. It was literally like Eavann was describing the actions of another person. In other news Oliver my surgeon is delighted with my every progress. He's asked me to get a Vitamin B12 test done but the rest of my blood panel has caused him to wax lyrical about me! Bad cholesterol down, good cholesterol up etc. etc. the list goes on.... Blood pressure is good and still very much in control. All told things are pretty much in fine working order under my proverbial bonnet. So that was my day. Walking on sunshine right now to be honest. Chat to ye again soon. Des x Man on the veritable cusp of non obeseness.