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You'll get your band removed and heal for atleast 3 months... Then get sleeved. This made me feel a lot better about a revision! I currently am in the same boat as you... Finding the perfect doctor and trying to let go of the "size of the bougie" fear though.

Thanks everyone for your support and help. I am just starting to figure out what to do. I have had my band almost 10 years and it is time to come out. I am scared of what damage they will find when they get there and I am trying to select a new Doctor. I looked locally at what my insurance company recommends as Centers of Excellence and I also see that there are some top hospitals outside of my region, such as The Cleveland Clinic. I am wondering if it will be worth it for peace of mind, to see if I can go to one of these more experienced hospitals for a revision? It would be a 1 hour plane ride and around $200 from Chicago or a $150 train ride for 5 hours each way. I would not want to drive it, that would be about 6 hours. Am I being unreasonable or am I just reading too deeply into horror stories and assuming that I will have problems? Any recommendations for an excellent surgeon in the Chicago area...when I say excellent, I mean world renowned. I care less about personality than I do skills.

I continue to read about bogies.. I'm a revision and my surgeon doesn't use them he uses the scope as measuring gauge I thought that was interesting

Hi Krispye, I had my gastric bypass on September 4, 2015. I live in Windsor Ontario but had my surgery in Mexico. Any questions you have feel free to PM me. I have previously had the lapband and sleeve so I am a wealth of knowledge! Good Luck!

I had lapband surgery 11 years ago. I had moderate success but not nearly what I thought I would have. I failed the band or it failed me. Maybe a little of both. I am considering revision surgery but I just don’t know. What if I “fail” again. Not sure I could mentally or physically handle it. I’ve seen people have greater success once having the revision surgery. I also am very unhappy with the surgeon that did my lapband and I am looking to find another surgeon that will work with me and actually help me succeed. I never had that from my previous doctor. I’ve got a million things to figure out. My insurance didn’t cover weight loss surgery back then and now it does but I don’t know how revision surgery plays into that. Making calls this week to possibly get the ball rolling. Any advice from someone that has had lapband to sleeve revision or any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry you had a rough recovery. I had a mini bypass March 16th and couldn't be happier. Have you discussed your concerns with your surgeon or dr? Weight loss surgery does change your internal body rhythm so you might need to adjust diet and speak with a dietician? Good luck xx

1. My insurance covers either procedure as long as I'm approved for wls. 2. At only 27 I am concerned that lapband is not permanent enough since I would have to rely on a foreign body lasting inside me for hopefully 60+ years. - Even the manufacturers and FDA knows that the band will not last a lifetime. It's only listed for 10 years, I'll try to find the specific links for you. 3. The sleeve is totally permanent (scary). In my humble opinion, the band is not reversible. It can be removed, or unfilled, but once that thing is suture around your stomach, your anatomy is forever changed. 4. One of my biggest factors is that I plan on having more kids and I'm worried that the sleeve will not be compatible with pregnancy. There are successful pregnancy patients on Obesityhelp that have had the VSG, and have delivered healthy babies. Once you hit goal, your surgeon will help you determine when you can TTC. 5. I am a huge puke-a-phobe (this is a concern with both surgeries). Puking with the band is horrific and so uncomfortable. Puking with the sleeve isn't the same, it's like this creeper piece of food coming my esophagus, and I spit it out. That hasn't happened in months because I've learned how to eat with my sleeve. With the band, things get stuck and you never know when or what is going to cause you to puke. It's especially an unpleasant experience when eating in public and you have to rush to the bathroom because on that particular day, mashed potatoes didn't go down, and then you can't eat anything else because the stomach tissue swells. 6. I am totally ok with eating tiny portions, but the lapband seems way more restrictive on the kinds of food you can eat. With the band, some days I could stuff, and the next Water wouldn't go down right. meat always had to be slathered in a condiment or gravy of some sorts because my band didn't like meat, and it didn't matter how it was cooked or prepared. I could not eat any bread products with the band that was total trainwreck with my band. With my sleeve, I can have about 1/2 of a fajita size tortilla with cheese on it, or the inside of a super light yeast roll. I'm not a sandwich person so I don't eat sandwich bread. I do enjoy pita bread, but it's about 1/4 of a pita pocket with cream cheese and deli meat sometimes. Some other information about the band vs. sleeve. With my band once I lost restriction (the initial swelling with the band surgery), I never felt full, I was always hungry, but couldn't eat things some days so I ate slider foods which is completely counterproductive, but I had to eat. I had a flipped port, and could only get 2 fills post op, and then in February, my surgeon could not access my port. I was miserable, and in constant pain with band because the flipped port caused the tubing to actually tug on my stomach which in turn damaged my stomach. You won't get restriction with band until you get enough fills, and that could take months. Not to mention the unfills you may have to endure to find the "sweet spot". It's a lot of maintenance. With the sleeve, it's instant restriction, plus with ghrelin hormone out of the equation, the ravenous hunger is gone. I'm 8 months out and still have zero hunger. I still have to remind myself to eat. The risks with the sleeve are more common immediately following surgery such as leaks. But, with the band, the list of complications is long and can occur fairly early out, or a couple of years post-op flipped ports, esophageal dialation, stretched pouches, erosion, slippage, and those are the most common. Some have asked me why did I have the band. It was approved by my insurance, my mom has a band since Nov 2007 (and now she pukes 2-4 times weekly), I really thought I would be one of the lucky ones (so not the case), I needed surgical intervention, and I was so against RNY. I knew all the complications, but honestly thought I could be successful. Luckily, when I decided to revise, I found out that a military base close to us did indeed perform the VSG. I left my civilian band surgeon and transferred all my stuff to a military surgeon. My insurance (Tricare Prime) approved my revision immediately. I am not the type of person to really regret anything I've done in my life. I don't regret my decision to get the band. It taught me a lot about myself, and I did pick up some good habits with it. I do wish that I would not had of complications, and I wish I would of known that the VSG was approved at our neighboring base. But, I see a civilian PCM, so I get kicked to civilians for all of my referrals. Just my ramble. I hope that helps.

Don't really care about the rest of the rant, but this needed to be addressed (yet again). Depending on the surgery, the stretchy part of of the stomach (the fundus) is removed (sleeve) or bypassed (bypass). Therefore it is not possible to stretch the stomach again. However! Once the scar tissue has fully healed, the stomach that remains does regain some pliability. I would liken it to a garden hose in the winter versus the same hose in the summer. On a properly performed surgery, when people say that their stomach has stretched, most likely what has happened is that the pylorus (for sleeves) or the created opening to the intestine (bypass) has been weakened and/or stretched and food can move from the stomach or pouch into the intestine quicker allowing for more food to be consumed. To make the myth worse is the fact that doctors/surgeons will put the above into "laymans terms" for their patients. Thus perpetuating the belief that you can stretch your sleeve by eating poorly or too much or drinking carbonated beverages.

Sleeves don't stretch though, they aren't really that elastic, I know because I can still eat/drink too fast and feel the pain. So many doctors will tell you that. Sleeves are really not that flexible, I know I live with one. I don't even know how to drill it home more than that. It won't stretch if it is done right, that is basically the cornerstone of the surgery. A stretched sleeve is a complication or a failure. It defeats the purpose. The sleeve has 2 major parts that help with weight loss, removing the stretchy part of the stomach reducing portions and creating restriction and also removing the stretchy part of the stomach removes ghrelin the hunger hormone. The part we are left with is more muscular than pouchy or stretchy. The last link you posted is about a full regular stomach (did you even read it, or look at the picture? It is written by an English major for a BroScience website). A full regular stomach will stretch because the whole stomach is stretchy. The stretch part of the stomach is removed with the sleeve. It is not with RNY or the Band. Most WLS information lumps all these surgeries together. It really does not seem like you understand how the sleeve works or what the surgery involves. It looks like you are still pre-op, if you are going to have the sleeve, you should do more research so you can understand how it works. If you have a sleeve you won't stretch it, you risk other complication like ruining your esophagus creating a pouch at the top of it that food is getting stuck in. This happens because a sleeve doesn't stretch. Like @BigViffer said, you can damage the valve at the bottom of your stomach and make it open fast but a sleeve does not stretch. Many sleevers confuse healing with stretching. The restriction you have at the beginning is not the restriction you will have forever. That is because it is not true restriction it is swelling. It takes a long time for internal swelling to go down and to be fully healed, 6 months at least, and this even applies to other things like a lot of plastic surgery. My restriction at 21 months is the same as 12 months. If I don't eat for a day or two my sleeve can get tight as a drum, or it can just randomly be tight. Most people complaining about stretched sleeves are eating sliders not dense protein. If they ever listen to advice and eat dense protein, of they discover they have restriction again. Finally the sleeve wasn't covered by insurance just a few years ago in the US and a lot of people with complications now went out of the country to have their surgery done. They have complications from bad sleeves and are having revisions in the US now because WLS is covered by insurance more than it used to be and also everyone is currently is required to have insurance in the US. A correctly formed sleeve will not stretch. A RNY pouch will stretch, the pouch created by the band will stretch and bands can slip. A properly made sleeve will not stretch. Healing is not stretching. Eating sliders is not stretching.

I'm not having surgery till the 24th of June but I have pre op with my Nut., my surgeon, and the hospital all on the 16th I'm going to have Gastric Bypass.... Can anyone think of any good questions to ask? I have a list already just wondering what I may should ask. Thank you all!

I've had the crap band for 9 years. Long story short, it sucked because it discouraged eating healthy foods but allowed me to eat sliders (chips, ice cream, rice, Pasta, and anything greasy or saucy). I just woke up from revision surgery yesterday and was told I would need to wait 3-6 months for my stomach to heal before i can get the sleeve because the band had so badly eroded my stomach. It is not just a piece of crap, it is a dangerous medical device which should be taken off the market. I know...admittedly, I'm feeling a little bitter right now so forgive the rant.

Hang in there! I can relate. I just had an upper GI today and found that I have a dilated esophagus too. Mine is quite severe. The only choice is removal of the band. I am scared too about gaining back the weight, but my overall health is more important. I considered revision to the sleeve, but decided against it. My prayers are with you.

I had my first group meeting to introduce us to both the lap band and bypass surgery. Forgetaboutit on the the bypass. I prefer the lap band for sure. The doctor was very cool, funny without being judgmental and his assistant was great answering questions. There is a step by step program. First this intro meeting then an all day consult where they test you for everything including the shrink visit. They then evaluate you to make sure your a candidate for the surgery. If you pass and your insurance OK's it you continue with the next steps. Next you go to the group meeting for lap band patients so you can understand what they are doing and go through They then have you meet with a dietitian to play your pre op diet. They are doing a study on a "sleeve" procedure at no cost so I may do that. They schedule you for more tests including one for sleep disorders. After you lose the appropriate amount they schedule the surgery. So it's a long process I don't mind if I have a goal and I want to do it.

Hi everyone! Ive been reading through this forum because Ive seen a lot of people in other areas comment about having revisions from band to sleeve. I was sleeved in April, but had seriously thought about the band before. I decided against it just because I was leery of something that had to be adjusted all the time. Im wondering WHY theres so many revisions though? Did it not work? Or are there a lot of problems with it? Just curious to know

Idk. I really haven't talked talked anyone that had the bypass so I'm not sure the difference in losing the weight. Lol Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app

5.5 months for me. I lost only 17lbs and really don't feel much restriction (didn't after one month). I'm now kicking the exercise into high gear and am hoping that'll help. I'm pondering band over plication too, I know that band has a lot off drawbacks, but I don't really know what else is available for revision -supposedly everything I know - but I'm not prepared to be the first GPS to VSG person!!

I have had the band for 9 months with only losing 40lbs. I started this journey at 340. Now I bounce around 300. I have followed the diet, exercised and consumed more than my share of Water. I am a loss.I have counted every morsel that enters my body but still minimal success. The only thing that may be an issue is that I take anti-psychotics for Bipolar disorder. I can not stop these to see if this would make a positive change. I am going to give it another 3 months, but at that point if I havent had success I am seriously considering getting the Bypass. Am I crazy?

Hi all. I have Kaiser Permanente in California, which refuses to pay for lap-band surgery, only the invasive gastric bypass (and even then you have to spend months and months going through a pre-op program, which I cannot miss that much work for). I am going to have lap-band done in Mexico, either through my own research or through a medical travel firm. Any recommendations? I've seen varying prices from $5,500 from a doc in Tijuana who has gotten some pretty bad reviews, to $8,000 by a doctor Ortiz, who has gotten good reviews. Any other advice? Money is an issue, since I'm paying for this myself, but I also don't want to go with the lowest possible price if the doc is dangerous. Help! Thanks.

Hey Luluc, I kinda feel the same way as you.I'm 9 months out so maybe I'm jumping the gun but a good friend of mine did gastric bypass the same time as me.And when I compare our experiences & weightloss results she has had it so much easier than me.I too feel like I am working so hard to get half the result that she isn't even having to work for!! I really wish I would have looked into the sleeve more because it was an option for me I just got a little scared of them removing a good part of your stomach.But this back & forth fill game can be a nightmare!! Oh well I guess you just make the best of it!!

Oh my, where to begin. If there is a problem with the sleeve, (IOW, if restrictive alone does not work JUST like the band) then one can revise to RNY or DS. Education, it's a good thing. It's not on Google Cache. Funny how that works with drug companies that have unlimted pockets.

I totally like and respect Wasabubblebutt! she knows that and I want you to know it too. I think she does good research. Having said that, I want to see the studies that back up her statistics. What I found, like the link below , lists MUCH lower repairs/revisions/replacement. The only other person I know besides me who has the lap band has had it since 2003 and loves it still, no issues. That is an admittedly SMALL sample, of 1. LAP-BAND: Statistics subframe and another, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/63973.php Again I say ask your surgeon for stats and get the sources of those stats, review, decide. Wasa may be right and I know she thinks she is or she wouldn't post that but until I can see those figures and consider the source myself, I have to kindly say ... well, maybe, or maybe not.

I am not sure your friend picked the right surgery type for her. In time she will stop malabsorbing to the same degree she is now and she will begin to regain. ( This is the position I would have been in if I had bypass the first time around. I would have been your friend. I would have eaten crap and let my surgery type do the work for me and at this stage in the game I'd be regaining. I feel for your friend, if the band did anything for me it taught me that I can live without white carbs such as flour and sugar. Good job on your weight loss!

I don't think it's fair to present an all or none picture of this thread. I have had the band and revised to a sleeve after 3 years of band intolerance. I know several people who have the band and continue to do well with it. You stated you might have had the sleeve if more were known at the time that you had your band placed. I agree with you as I would have also. Knowing how much better the VSG surgery is for ME and having had the band and some of it's associated complications, my desire is to let those considering the band that it's NOT the only WLS option. Bottom line? Figure out what type of eater you are, talk to surgeons who perform various types of WLS, do independent research, and make an informed decision for YOURSELF.

Found out I would have to go through a 6 week program and pay out around $300+ and then MAYBE my insurance would cover the revision surgery from band to sleeve. So I'm still on the fence about what I will do. I'm trying to buy a house and save money and then I'll have to move in October, so spending that kind of money right now isn't really ideal for me so I thought I might wait until next year as long as the gallbladder doesn't give me any more fits. I did get another fill in my band. I have more trouble with more foods now, but I'm losing weight, so I'm reluctant to say anything. I go back in a couple weeks anyway. I can eat solid foods, but not a lot and if I'm not careful it's painful I think when it's hitting the band and trying to pass through, but it is only a short burst of sharp pain. I just have to remember to be careful. This is the best I've done - as far as losing weight - with the band since the first week post op.

I had to get 2.2 cc out of my band :-/ I'm still getting some stomach pain with solids but it's hit and miss it seems. I called the nurse yesterday and he said go on liquids for 24 hours to see if that helps. So that's what I'm doing now. I guess I must still be irritated? I am starting to think my best option really will be to try for the revision from band to sleeve. I did gain about 3 pounds since I had to get Fluid out of the band, but now I'm back down to where I was the day I went in to get UNfilled. So I guess that's good. My biggest fear besides a band slip is gaining weight back.