Search the Community

Do a search for GERD here. We have plenty of folks that have been sleeved with it, too. Acid is an issue for many post op, but for the vast majority it fades before the first year post op. In my case, 4-6 months and I was off my PPI. I've been on it since for my pregnancy and two other short periods when I was under an incredible amount of stress. Other than that, the issue resolved and it's this way for many. Losing too much weight and being malnourished is hardly a concern here. You'll see the occasional voice chime in that they got smaller than they wanted, but it's rare. And you're only malnourished if you choose not to eat adequate nutrition and take your B12, multi and Iron, if needed. I did have an issue with B12 and iron, but I've always had iron/anemia deficiencies. Now I'm on supplements that help me feel better than ever before. Additionally, you'll see many people get revised to sleeve from the band - and many of those people do it in part due to stomach damage and acid problems! My opinion is that your doctor is just more comfortable with the band procedure. This happens and it's true that the sleeve still isn't done at the rate of the older band and bypass. Only you can make this decision, but I can tell you that I was dead set on a band and thought a sleeve was too drastic...until I did six months of research and lurked on the band talk site and saw how miserable people were with the band surgery. Best of luck and I hope that you find a solution that makes you comfortable. I chose to self pay because my insurance covers only band and bypass. ~Cheri

I am scheduled for Dec 9th. I'm so excited to finally get this started. I had Lapband Jan 2009. I lost almost 90 pounds then had a slip and revision surgery in May 2010. Then I started having problems again and had it removed in March 2012. I've since gained all the weight back that I previously lost (that has been pretty devastating!). I can't wait to get on the losing track again.

You can have a band put around the pouch or you can get Stomaphyx where they tighten up your pouch and stoma. These only help if the problem is that your stoma has stretched so you don't get that full feeling any more. If the problem is that you need more malabsorption than RnY gives you, there is the DS. If the problem is in your head and you won't do the work, eat a lot of slider foods, don't exercise, sabotage yourself, etc. ain't nothing you can revise to that you won't learn how to get around.

I'm a band to sleeve revision waiting for insurance approval but I've subscribed to both of your pages. Maybe I will make one as well

I lost 60 lbs with the lap band, have slowly regained approximately 20 - 25 lbs. I am 5'4", I went from 225 lbs down to 165 and I felt fantastic and very happy at that weight. With the regain I am now around 190. I am hoping gastric bypass will get me back down to 165-160. What is your weight loss after revision?

I'm sorry that you are having these problems. They mirror what I went through with the lapband. The first years were fine, lost 70 pounds but somewhere along the way, the fill was too tight, too loose, vomiting, slider foods just to eat. Finally decided to get an unfill, gained all the weight back. My doctor said that some people just can't handle a foreign object being inside their body. I recently revised to sleeve, so far -so good. Good luck on whatever decision you make.

@DeonneG I had my gastric bypass on 2/24. I too am a revision...kinda. I was one of the first people to undergo lap band surgery in 2003. My band slipped and I had to have it removed 13years later. I think I was slightly traumatized by my band slipping and all the medical issues and hospitalizations that ensued (but that’s a story for another day). I had met my weight loss goals and was falsely confident that I could keep the weight off without any wls tools. Flash forward 5 years and too many diets to count here I am at my highest weight ever. I’d love for us to share ideas, recipes and experiences! ❤️ So far I’ve been living off of Premier Protein shakes, Unjury protein broth and crystal light. I have had no restriction and no discomfort when I eat so I was just given the go ahead to advance to non clear liquids. My doc also told me to give a soft scrambled egg a try. Last night my friend dropped off a puréed lobster bisque. I strained it and drank 1/2 cup. It was divine!!! Still no restriction, never felt full. I felt like I could’ve had 2 bowls without my new stomach speaking up but I stopped on my own. I’m starting to worry that the lack of restriction and a very crappy metabolism are going to impact my weight loss. Patience has ever been a strength of mine 😏

Not finding anything specific unfortunately, at least nothing "new" or recent (or clearly outlined). Rebound rates aside, if you've got a slight reflux now, it will be amplified with the sleeve and reduced with the Bypass, based simply on what the surgery does. And in the off chance that you end up with a major problem... there is no going back after the sleeve, 90% of your stomach is rotting in medical waste somewhere (or been incinerated), with the bypass, everything (for the most part) is all still in there. The sleeve is ONLY a restrictive surgery, there isn't any reduction in caloric intake caused by the surgery itself outside of forcing you to reduce your intake, but then there are all the "slider" foods etc. I made the mistake of choosing the lapband back in 2011 because I was under-educated about the bypass, and well, I didn't want to make any permanent changes, which is ironic, because, I didn't get any permanent weight loss. So, second surgery to remove the band and revise to the bypass in March and I really couldn't be happier... I really do wish I went with the bypass from the get go. A personal (in real life) friend of mine had the sleeve, and he's getting it revised to the bypass because of the lack of progress. Just things to be aware of.

what is a sleeve revision ?

Scheduled for my revision from lap band to RNY June 26. Started my liquid diet June 5. 2 more days!

My RNY was a revision from a band too. Done on 6/11

Hi, This is my personal experience and I still have a band. Literally HATE IT! Looking into revision now. Nope nope nope! Don't do it. The average weight loss is 60#. I lost the 60# and it stopped totally; I've now gained around 20 back and I'm MISERABLE! No, it's not permanent but it is a SURGERY process...which means recovery, losing hair galore and eating A LOT of protein which causes you to be constipated. The majority of the time when you loose weight is the first year. When you go in for monthly or bi-monthly fills are are unable to eat for 3 days. First day is liquids, second day is mashed foods and third is back to soft foods. When you eat, you must chew chew CHEW 30 bites each; if you swallow too fast your screwed and stuck before you know it. YOU MUST drink at least a gallon of water a day. You must NOT drink carbonated beverages. Yes...you can have a few sips after you are totally healed. You MUST not drink out of a straw. This causes gas in the stomach and esophagus area. Many pills (antibiotics) must be cut in half as they will not go down. If you eat warmed up chicken and it get stuck you will slime - (Spit up) a LARGE red solo cup of slime, spit, your eyes water, and nose runs. I thought I was literally dying my first stick. The slime causes tooth decay. True, if the band is too tight it cause food too get stuck. However, if it's not tight enough your able to eat a little more & want loose weight. So find the SWEET SPOT they say... Okay today we find the sweet spot and it works well. Then you decide to travel 3 hours and the band then changes, so it's a viscous cycle. EVERYTHING effects the band... Weather, mood, stress, climate change, traveling, stress, sweating, flying, boating. When you eat it is VERY little and everything must be chopped tiny tiny. Your stomach continues to make HORRIBLY loud gurgling sounds screaming for food. You are FULL but it's not the the tummy full feeling...it's indigestion filling of being full. You will become SICK of protein drink after a couple of years because you live on them. In researching I was hard headed and thought I could get thru anything and would be different form the 5 people that kept screaming - - - NO No no...I sure wish I had listened. If your serious about the weight loss why not do something permanent and one time instead of like me...NOW looking to have a revision. Which means TWO surgery - one to remove the band then waiting 6 months before a sleeve or MGB. Think long and hard - the media doesn't tell you all the good and bad regarding the band.

I was looking at getting the lap band done but my surgeon warned against it, they stated that they remove more than they put in. They also stated that if they were researched more than they may not have been accepted under todays standards. I came home did my own research and made my choice for the VSG, I can not change your mind but I personally hate surgery. I only wanted to do this one time vs having the risk of going back and having a revision or removal done. Several of the staff in the Dr office had the band, and they actually warned against it as well, they were working to get the band removed and then have a VSG. I am not a chicken when it comes to pain but I personally would rather have one surgery vs several!

UGH!!!!!!! Bless you ... All of the above sounds so real and ditto for me as well. Just tired of being sick and tired! Please keep me posted and let me know how you do with the sleeve revision. Did your Dr. suggest sleeve over By-pass?

I also had the lap band 10 years ago and loved it. I lost over 100 pounds and life was good until the gastric reflux started. It got so bad I was aspirating stomach acid into my lungs and I had to sleep in a chair. They removed all of the fluid from the band and the reflux went away and then I started on the track to get a revision to a sleeve. It seemed to me that I shouldn't have had to gone through the whole program for approval again but I did. I'm now waiting to get my surgery date finally after 6 months, which was probably a little longer because of Covid. Unfortunately having the band deflated and my gym closing (I was working out like crazy and now I've just stopped) I've gained a ton back. I'm so frustrated. Hoping to get the sleeve in 4-6 weeks, fingers crossed.

I don't think that I could consider a surgery that many doctors are not willing to do anymore.. Hi, Jo Ann. I just wanted to clear that up real quick. It's not that the Dr's are not willing to do the DS, they are just not trained to do it. It is a more complicated surgery, and required more learning, which most surgeons are quite happy with the status Quo if they are making money with the RNY. For some people (myself included) the DS has many, many advantages over the RNY. I'm not trying to sell you my surgery, I just wanted to say before you decide please do some research on the pros and cons of both, RNY and the DS. The DS still has the highest rate of EWL and the lowest rate of regain. I don't regret revising from the band to the DS, not for a minute. Good luck, and I'm very sorry about your band. I know how it feels, I've been there. Rachele

I have no problem with disagreement, I can speak for what I know. I never said anything about noxious gas or discharge etc from any other surgery. I wouldn't try and scare people from another surgery. I just know what worked for me, I know what I have seen with the people I know, personally. All our experiences in this world are shaped by what we know. My knowledge is enhanced by my surgeon knowledge and discussions I have had with him. In his experience he has found patients who revise to RNY from the band do not do well. (He doesn't do DS he finds it too risky a surgery) And he does do the sleeve so far those patients he revises from a band to a sleeve seem to be doing well from what he told me, . I actually just reccomended a sleeve to a patient whose body is reacting badly to the band. My comment was specifically to revised RNY patients, nothing else. The ones I know are still morbidly obese, are are still no where near any of their goals and are struggling with a variety of areas. I actually believe that anyone can lose weight, hell just about everyone on this board has lost weight and gained it back over time hence we resorted to WLS. The band is nice for weight loss but it is amazing for long term maintenance. It helps you maintain, if you have a good fill level letting you eat reasonable healthy amounts, if something changes you can de-fill or go tighter. I do honestly believe that with all the complications I had with my band if that had been another other surgery I would be dead right about 3 years ago. At least with the band a slip is fixable, with other surgeries a complication may result in complications that are not as easily fixable. And no the band won't magically change your brain, neither will any other surgery. Dealing with why you eat, how you eat, what you eat, when you eat and where you eat is tough work no matter what surgery you get. No matter what choice you make it is hard work that can take a lifetime to master for some.

I think you are confused about a few issues. Let me explain so you will understand. First of all, going to Mexico isn't anymore dangerous than going to a surgeon in the US. Regardless of country it is critical to research your surgeon. My insurance would have covered my band and my revision to sleeve in the US. I didn't like those surgeons. Now, when I had my band I didn't want to jump through insurance hoops and wait a year to get my band so I did my research and I went to Mexico. I hated the band, hated it with a passion. I had band intolerance. I got to a point where I couldn't wait any longer. I needed a revision. There are no revision surgeons in AZ that I was comfortable with. I am a nurse and it was my choice not to go to them. I wanted the best surgeon possible and for me that was Dr. Aceves. Yeah, he's in Mexico. I have news for you, just because someone is in the US does not make them good and just because a doctor is in MX does not make him bad. Open a book, do some research, you will see that there are fantastic surgeons in every country just as their are crappy surgeons in every country. I'll bet you a dollar my surgeon has better stats than your surgeon and I don't even know who your surgeon is. As far as angry... Ok. Let me rephrase my comments about banding. I have very fond memories of acid shooting out my nose in my sleep, it was an enjoyable experience puking acid in the middle of the night. I should have known better than to lay flat in bed. Lord knows, I should have slept standing up. My fault completely. I was especially thrilled each morning when I would wake up so I could look forward to finding out if I could eat food that day or not. Or... if I could drink water. It was nothing short of trippy discovering I couldn't drink water that day. Yet, on other days I could eat a steak in one sitting. Social events were exciting! I'd go out with friends shopping, then we'd go to lunch and if I dared to eat anything solid I stayed in the bathroom puking and stoma spewing while my friends waited for me. I could go on but no doubt you can see how much fun it all was. I have very fond memories of banding and ohhhh, I wish I could do it again! Just for the heck of it! Do you know what Inamed's stats are? At the end of 5 years you can expect to have kept off 55-60% of your excess weight. Those are horrible stats. 30-50% of people have to bank on having a 2nd surgery before 5 years is up. Anything from a flipped port to repairing a slip (which is still on the rise, btw), to removing a band due to band intolerance, erosion, or a host of other reasons. Banding is the hardest procedure to lose weight, it offers the slowest weight loss and the lowest weight loss of all procedures. It has more long term risks and complications than the sleeve - hands down. So before you start talking about how we are, those with problems, you keep that band and when you are at five years we'll see you here too, probably sooner. Please don't assume you have the slightest clue what the people here have been through. Unless you have experienced what those posting here have, you have no room to talk as though you have any idea of what they have lived through.

Everyone's body is different and your mileage may certainly vary. But personal experience is the herald of all sorts of pseudoscience. I think the data is worth considering, because my personal experience may be wildly misinterpreted, as is so often the case when I've been shown my body is working differently than I always thought it was. In any case, the people in these studies are having all sorts of success (with less complication revision surgeries) and still eating and drinking fine. And their scans show the food exiting the stomach no slower than the control group.

I use to have a lap band and had to have it removed because it slipped. My doctor revised it to a sleeve. But the sleeve just hasn’t been nearly affective and I so desperately want my band back!! But I’m finding that no doctors will do a band over sleeve in Houston. Has anyone had a band over your sleeve? I want my band back!! 😩

I am having a revision from Lap-Band to Bypass on Sept 14th. I'm sooo ready to have the band gone but I'm nervous as heck to have the bypass, excited as well. I'm all over the place! 😀

Hi All!! I was a revision from Lapband to sleeve to Rny for severe GERD and I knew going in I would lose slower since I was a third timer. I’m satisfied with my loss. Started at 251 at pre-op and now am 208. My way of losing is so odd. I drop to an all new low and then within 1-2 days I’m up 4-5 lbs and then jump up and down in those 4-5 lbs and then stall and then after another time drop to a new low. Anyone go through this as well? Diet stays same, I think it must be hormones...?

Do I understand this correctly? So this would be your second revision? I’m 3 weeks out from revision bypass surgery 4/18/21 so far so good so much easier then sleeve

Sleeved in my mid 50s, revised to RNY in my 60s.

Hi there! You all have such great advice and insight as to who to tell and when. I had lap band several years ago and mine did not work at all. The only people who knew were my husband, my mom, and two friends. I didn't want many people to know because I didn't want them constantly "monitoring" my weight as time went on, and didn't want their assumed judgement if I should fail. Well, I did fail with the band. Or, the band failed me, depending on what research you look at. Now that I am about a month away from my revision to bypass, I feel like I'm in the same boat. My husband and mom are supportive, and I need to tell my children next. I worry about how to present this to my 16 year old daughter, who has a precarious view of her own weight right now, even though she is very thin and healthy. I think she worries that she will turn out like me. I know what that feels like, as I have spent a lot of my life worrying that I would end up like my sweet mom. She is close to 300 pounds now, and I just don't want that for my life. I need to find a positive way to present things to my daughter and focus on the HEALTH aspect instead of the outward appearance part. As for my other friends and family, I think I might wait until people start to notice my weight loss, then begin to tell people. I just don't think I could handle my (well meaning) friends always checking on me and wondering how much I have lost from the very beginning. I need to get a handle on it myself first.