Search the Community

Yes, the SADI-S and SADI are the same procedure! When you are converting from a gastric sleeve you can either convert to bypass, convert to SADI, or convert to a Duodenal Switch. All 3 impact the small intestines, they vary by degrees of malabsorption. SADI is in the middle of the 3 in terms of malabsorption and doesn't require changing the stomach like the bypass would. They'd just be going in to do the small intestine component. It's a great option for a revision.

I'll be getting a band to sleeve revision on Sept 11 in Tijuana with Dr. Altamirano. I'm so excited!

With my sleeve, I took 2 weeks off and needed every bit of it. With my revision to bypass, I was up and doing things after 4 days. Only took a week off, but honestly didn't need it. Still took it, though lol

I also have RA (was diagnosed post-VSG) and am headed toward a revision for GERD in the next few months. My rheumatologist automatically put me on injectable methotrexate so i didn't have to deal with any GI side effects. It's really easy and cheap - I still have to draw it up myself from the vial with an insulin needle. But I have no side effects from it. My bigger problem will probably be figuring out what i can take for as-needed pain relief...

Sorry I can’t offer any help in regards to a revision to bypass & rheumatoid arthritis. I did find the article below about managing methotrexate side effects. (I was interested because I have a non bariatric friend who takes it for RA too.) May be worth another conversation with the bariatric surgeon in regards to the suggestion that taking folic acid can reduce side effects. Repairing your hernia may alleviate some of your reflux issues too. It’s unfortunate that while it’s helpful managing arthritic pain, methotrexate can also cause weight gain. ☹️ https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/treatment-plan/disease-management/methotrexate-managing-side-effects

Jules ~ Great minds think alike, Wendy's Chili was my meal for yesterday, I still have half of the cup in the fridge as of today lol. I am only able to eat about one fourth of it so I had a bit for lunch and a bit for dinner yesterday. Remember, men lose faster them women! Although I did lose a little faster then even the men tend to lol. I treat myself to stuff I shouldn't have, if I didn't I would be totally screwed. Just today I was dying for a Greek Salad, so of course I needed my fix and I ordered the Greek Salad from Panera off of the kids menu. Boy were those few bites totally delicious! I knew when I are it that it wasn't protein sufficient but I needed my 'fix'. Heck, I have even taken a few sips of diet Pepsi for a fix here and there..shhhh don't tell anyone lol. I stay %110 committed with my water and sugar intake, and 98% with my protein. You sound like you are doing great. Your still fresh so give it time. For some they are still swollen and what not inside at 8 weeks out. My friend who is a revised patient always goes by the number on the scale and finally I said, damn it Tammy we are taking measurements and I got out my measurement and measured away, a week later did it again and she was amazed. The scale is an enemy if you ask me, I personally trashed my scale and committed to only weighing myself at the doctors. You are doing great! Keep it going!!!

Sorry to hear your story. I just revised from band to sleeve on 8/12. I had my band for 9 years and I also had a hiatal hernia. What was slated as a 90 minute surgery took 3.5 hours. Recovery with my band was simple, I got the surgery on a Thursday, was at an Easter egg hunt on Sunday and started a new job that following Tuesday. I expected similar pain...boy was I wrong! I am 6 days out and I have been up walking...not strenuous, but about a mile at moderate speed. I have been getting about 40-60 grams of Protein in via shakes, hi-protein chicken broth, hi-protein Jello, and Isopure--by far the jello goes down the easiest and thinner liquids hurt. My problem is sudden, shooting pains in my sides and my groin. It feels like a cramp, but doesn't tense and then ease it is just tense....heating pad helps some and I have been popping Gas x and prescription heartburn meds. What are theses sharp pains and when will they subside? Sometimes the belly binder helps and sometimes hurts. My stomach looks like I am 6 mos prenant and was even asked such when in the grocery store! I do not regret my decision, I just want to get moving...please advise. P.S. My post-op follow-up is Thursday and I still have a drain in place.

I had a band to sleeve revision done on Tuesday. All I wanted to do was sleep after that. Which I think helped tremendously with healing. Got up and walked that night. Pain was mostly soreness and chest pressure from the anesthesia. Walking helped with that using that ball thingie to exercise the lungs. Slept off and on the next day, walked some more. Leak test done yesterday afternoon and no leak found. Started feeling a lot better last night, enjoying the heck out crystal light, 1 oz every 15 minutes. No hunger at all. Now just waiting to find out what time I'm being discharged today. Feel really really good about doing this and looking forward to a better future. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

Holy smokes!!! The leak test, for me, was done while I was still in the OR. By the time I woke up in my room, I was allowed water. And I was definitely allowed to get up as soon as I felt able. The catheter and keeping you in bed part really threw me. It's required that you get up and walk around, so them forcing you to stay in bed was super weird to me. With my sleeve, I was kept on the IV the entire time because I hard a hard time drinking more than 2oz of water at any given time. With my revision to bypass, they took me off the IV the same day as the surgery because I was able to drink an entire 20 oz of water in an hour. I did that twice and they said "yep, you're good, the IV can come out". And I was able to go to the bathroom in the toilet from the jump because they wanted to be able to measure how much urine output there was.

March 26th. Revision from lapband. I'm nervous and excited. Hope to get back to running and fitting into my old clothes again.

Naomi, I know you mean well, but I think you've missed a few important pieces of data here. 1. The chief finding of the study you mentioned was that successful bandsters in Australia do drink (but not guzzle) while eating. Those findings did not explain why that's so. The "why" part is conjecture on the part of the study's authors. Also, I question their claim that "There is no pouch or small stomach above the band. There should never be food sitting there waiting." I agree with the last part of that ("There should never be food sitting there waiting") but I disagree with the first part and have no idea where they came up with the idea that there's no pouch or small stomach above the band. Yes, the band has been used in Australia a lot longer in the USA, but that statement completely contradicts everything I've read in Allergan and J&J literature and surgeon resource sites. And I have watched my own upper GI tract during several upper GI studies, and there was indeed a small stomach pouch above my band every single time, no matter what else was going on in there (or not) at the same time. The radiologist pointed it out to me on every occasion, so I wasn't misreading the images. And by the way, that pouch was a normal finding, not an anomaly. 2. According to American bariatric surgeons I've talked to or whose seminars I've attended or whose articles I've read, NO bariatric surgery patient should drink while eating. In fact, at a bariatric conference 2 years ago, I heard that stated by 3 different surgeons who were giving 3 speeches. All of them stated that failure to separate consumption of solids and liquids is the most common cause of WLS "failure" (that is, no or disappointing weight loss, or weight regain). Since many LBT/Bariatric Pal members live in the USA and have surgeons in the USA, I think it behooves us to follow the instructions of our American doctors. Or, go to Australia for surgery and every fill and unfill and all aftercare. Hey, if I had the money to do that, it might even be fun to travel there, but it would sure disrupt the rest of my life. But hey, a mere $8,000 per trip (not counting hotels, meals, taxis, surgeon's fees, etc.) would be nothing for us rich Americans, right? 3. Every bariatric surgeon I've encountered (in person, on the telephone, online) has stated that the band does not and should not control the movement of food and liquids from the esophagus into the stomach. If the band is far enough up to do that, it has slipped or the surgeon who placed it was incompetent. What controls the movement of food and liquid from the esophagus into the upper stomach (the fundus) is a sphincter at the base of the esophagus where it joins to the stomach. Continually eating in a way that causes food to be stored in the esophagus is asking for trouble. It can cause serious and permanent damage to the esophagus and the esophageal sphincter. 3. No bandster should ever, ever eat in a way, with or without liquids, that allows food to sit in the esophagus for more than maybe 30 seconds. The esophagus is not meant to store food for any period of time. It's designed to move food up or down (preferably down) only. If food is sitting in the esophagus, any liquid consumed after that is probably going to come back up rather than flushing through the stoma, because at that point the upper stomach pouch and the stoma created by the band are probably already jammed up with food. PB's (or regurgitation of food) usually come from the esophagus, not from the upper stomach pouch, for the very reason I mentioned above. The stomach is designed to stretch to accommodate food, while the esophagus will resist stretching until the food has to come back up or (over time) the esophagus becomes dilated - something we all want to avoid, because even if the band is unfilled and the upper GI tract given a good long rest, there's no guarantee that the esophagus will ever go back to its normal state. And no one should have to live the rest of their life with a malfunctioning esophagus or sphincter. Esophageal dysmotility problems caused by careless eating can become a serious health issue, with the patient eventually having to live on liquids, live with a a feeding tube, and/or hope that an attempt at surgical repair will help. Surgery in that part of the upper GI tract is not something to take lightly, because the scar tissue that develops after surgery can also interfere with esophageal function. I speak from personal experience here. I had an esophageal stricture (from reflux damage). I lived on liquids for months, was unable to revise to the sleeve at the first try because my surgeon couldn't get the small (about the size and shape of a Sharpie marker) bougie calibration instrument through the stricture, and eventually had to have the stricture dilated enough to make eating possible, but not enough to make the stricture disappear forever (it was still there when I had an EGD 6 months later). I think esophageal dysmotility has also been a problem for an LBT member known as MsMaui, and last I heard, even an unfill, months of upper GI rest, and band removal have not resolved her problem. 4. So in my opinion, the best way to avoid these unhappy events and their consequences is not to drink while you eat but to avoid keeping too much fill in the band; to practice good band eating skills: take tiny bites, chew very well, eat slowly, don't drink while you eat, avoid problem foods, learn and heed your unique satiety or "stop eating" signals, and give your body the respect it deserves. But what do I know? Jean

I too second guess my decision to get the revision. My GERD is gone however I have such a hard time eating. My pouch is super small and everything I eat upsets it. I was finally at a place with my sleeve where I could comfortably eat and now I'm back to the beginning only this time I can't keep anything down. I feel like I'm slowly starving because my nutrition is so bad right now. My energy levels have crashed. I go in next week for my blood work and then see the doctor. On the brighter side I'm almost at goal which is very good. Now if I can only get everything else to line up.

I revised to RNY from VSG because of severe reflux. I'm 4 months post op. I eat berries every now and then, but I really can't eat any fruit. All fruit makes my heart beat like it's pounding out of my chest and I feel very sick. My surgeon said that that reaction should mellow with time, but at this point, I'd rather avoid the fruit than suffer the consequences.

A bypass is usually revised to a sleeve if the bypass fails: weight gain, unmanageable vitamin malabsorption issues, excessive dumping complications,... Much like a sleeve can be revised to bypass because of weight gain, GERD, etc, As others have said, any weight loss surgery can fail if you don't make permanent changes to how, what & why you eat. Post surgical benefits like loss of appetite & your restriction don’t last. They should help you to kick start your weight loss & give you time to assess your eating & establish new eating habits. Sounds like you relied on the side effects of your bypass to influence what you ate. I’d expect your bypass would have failed sooner if you didn’t experience dumping (50-60% don’t with bypass). You mentioned your tummy has stretched. It does because it is a muscle & stretches & contracts. Can’t believe any doctor would say it can’t. Consistently eating larger portions will cause it to stretch more & contract less. But is your tummy as large as it was before you had either surgery or about the size of someone who never had a weight issue? The success you have with either surgery is dependent upon you, with consideration of any complications you may have of course. We all have our reasons for choosing the surgery we did & the effort we put in to make changes are reflected in the success we have or didn’t have. Excluding the life changes that can sometimes sabotage our intentions. I chose sleeve because of the lower risk of malabsorption & dumping. I lost all my weight & more. I don’t eat like friends & family who carry weight. I don’t eat exactly like friends & family who never carried weight either. I have to work a little harder & listen more carefully to my body (what it needs, how it reacts, etc.) because it’s easier for me to gain weight. I’m sorry you are unhappy with your revision.

It's unusual to go that direction, but sometimes necessary if the RNY needs to be reversed - something needs to be done to help keep the weight off, though what I have seen done more (though much more complex) is going beyond a sleeve to the DS. Both the sleeve and RNY are similar metabolically, so one doesn't usually work much better than the other if weight regain was the problem. What the OP seems to be referring to in her dissatisfaction is the matter that dumping is rare with the sleeve based procedures but more common with the pouch type procedures such as the RNY, and some surgeons use that as a marketing point for the RNY - a form of aversion therapy. Unfortunately, dumping is not universal with the RNY (maybe 30% or so) so it's nothing to depend on as a weight maintenance tool - those who need it most will likely not dump; it sounds like the OP was one of the "lucky" ones who did. Perhaps the OP should look into a DS, as that is fairly straightforward to do once the sleeve is done, and most any good DS surgeon should be able to put her sleeve right - it doesn't sound like it was done right in the first place. While a straightforward procedure, the sleeve does take practice to get consistently right, particularly if the surgeon is having to reconstruct the stomach first as with such a revision.

I had gastric bypass surgery 10 years a ago. I had the revision in June and have only lost 10 pounds. I feel like it was a waste of time. There isn’t a restriction on how much I can eat. It is very discouraging.

Well, your weight loss is really great. I lost like that when I had the sleeve in 2009. Ended up losing 149 lbs in the first 18 months. I've read and was told that revisions lose a lot slower because our bodies have adapted to a small amount of calories, so they hold on to them for dear life. I'll eat like 1 scrambled egg and 1 oz of turkey for breakfast, 1/2 cup of albacore tuna with 2 tbsp light mayo for lunch, 2 oz of chicken breast and a laughing cow Swiss cheese wedge for dinner. I am only up to 15 minutes on the treadmill though. I'm upping the time little by little. I was cleared just this past Monday for the treadmill. Maybe my carbs are too high or my protein is too low? I wasn't told to count calories, but I've read that at this point it should be between 300-600 cal/day. I use the Baritastic app to document my daily nutrition and H2O. It's pretty neat.

And so do I. Tell me where I have been nonsupportive of the band? My band did it's job-my body didn't want it in me. I explained why *I* revised to a DS. I don't think I've ever been called aggressive...and I still recommend the band. Like you said~my choice isn't a personal statement about me or anyone else. So don't take it personal, OK? Why shouldn't I tell my story? Should I not be here because I no longer have a band? You don't have to answer. I can probably guess what your answers are. At any rate, I wish you the best with your surgery.

I am having revision surgery on the 31st, as far as my understanding goes once it flips (completely around) the stitches have broken and it needs to be repaired otherwise it isn't really tethered to anything. I would ask if it is completely flipped or only turned. hope it helps good luck

I had type 2 diabetes when I was banded and I don't know if that was a factor in my failure or not but it may have been. After banding I found that my eating went from "normal" food choices to softer foods and I still really craved sweets, be it yogurt with fruit which I could eat endless amounts of or ice cream which I could eat endless amounts of or even Cereal. Mainly I chose the softer foods because I could eat them without throwing up and could eat any amount I wanted. So after losing weight preop I gained it all back afterward and then some. Plus my diabetes worsened and I also had high blood pressure and high cholesteral. I can still eat some sweets now that I've had my bypass over a year but only certains ones. Everyone is different and I have dumping syndrome still which for me makes ice cream intollerable, I get nauseous, which I see as a good thing as it was my main weakness prior. It can be very difficult to see these issues prior to surgery, at least for me it was as I wasn't even aware that I could eat large amounts of certain slider foods after being banded. People are more aware of the pitfalls now so that's a plus. I made the lapband choice first but had to revise eventually to RNY in order to lose, it wasn't easy and I can't take back what I orignially did but was a bit too scared to have RNY in the first place but I feel pretty normal and take my supplements and have bloodwork done and have survived. I also have a daughter who had RNY and two nieces and so far we've all done fairly well. So I'm just giving you some insight into a different point of view but it's your decision in the end and I just hope you pick the right one the first time, good luck to you, Nancy.

well my dr called and I'm having the revision on the 31st, thanks for writing back Kelly I'm feeling less apprehension unfortunately I never got any fill because we discovered this first time out. I never felt anything or have any pain at all and it's been flipped since May. Hope the new medicine your dr gave you works if it does tell me what it was so I can get it too.... take care Tara

I had my revision yesterday! They removed the old port and replaced it with a new one. I am in more pain now than I was with the first initial surgery. I hope this thing doesn't flip again. If it does, I'm done with this lapband experience.

I had my revision surgery last week and I'm doing much better.The first couple of days were really painful but the more you move the better it feels. I went to the doctor yesterday and I've lost 4 lbs since he took out about 1/2 of my little 1cc fill during surgery. So funny-I quit losing weight when I couldn't keep anything down. Now I can eat again-yea-and the scale is moving down again. I still have some restriction and have to keep the portions small but everything is much better. Good luck to ya'll.

one more thing, why did you have to have a port revision?

Wow! My PCP put in the referral today and I have a connection in Health Ed to get an idea if I'll have to go through the classes. It depends on what my PCP entered for the referral and how they feel about why I'm making the decision for the revision. I'll take whatever path they lay out. I want it done so that I can have a do-over and finally have some success. One more question... Did you have you have your procedure at West LA (Cadillac)?