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I honestly believe the pain was less after the bypass than what I remember with the band. I was under for WAY longer than I was expecting. I went into pre-op at 0630 and it was almost 4 when I was wheeled into Recovery. I didn't know until my wife told me. Your confidence in your surgeon is paramount! If you are questioning his decisions, NEVER feel that you can't challenge or question your surgeon, You shouldn't feel like you can't ask for more information or pose the "why" questions. If he won't be open with you about what he's going to be doing, what the risks are, etc... then, personally, I would look for another surgeon. But give him the opportunity to answer, it could have been a long or hard day. I've got a pretty solid rep with my surgeon, she did my band back in 2011 and we've been back and forth over stuff enough that I really wouldn't want anyone else doing the revision. Plus, she put it in, she got to take it out, so there couldn't be any "well your last surgeon..." comments. (not that she would ever, but, you know how that goes). Hope you find the answers you need!

Band to Bypass revision on March 21st. Loving my choice! Not as fast at dropping the weight as some folks due to having had the band already, but I'm so happy I did it. I haven't been this light in over 15 years.

Hey loosinit, I'm a band to bypass revision myself. So I can 100% relate! Lemme see if I can tackle these questions for you. - Most times, barring any major complications the band can be removed and you can be revised to either in 1 surgery. Having been through this with the band already, recovering from the revision to bypass was a breeze. To be honest, pain was minimum overall. Being familiar with the pain and restrictions in movement from the band, were pretty much the same as with the bypass. Your healing time will vary of course, but, it wasn't any worse than the band for me. -My surgeon refuses to do Band to Sleeve, because putting a high pressure staple line across the scar tissue caused by the Band, increases the risk of staple line leakage or failure. Plus, you aren't going to get the malabsorption with the sleeve that you get with the bypass, so going from the band to the sleeve, might not get you the results you want or expect. (My surgeon told me if I really wanted the sleeve that I could go to another surgeon on her team, but she wouldn't do it, I appreciated her honesty) -Hair loss is a personal thing. My primary walked me through the reasons for hair loss, and it's due some form of shock to the system from the surgery, she advised that as long as I kept my protein intake high and kept up on my required nutrients that I might not see any hair loss at all. I'm 2 months out and haven't noticed anything yet, but we'll see in the next month or 2. But yes, the hair loss typically isn't a permanent thing. -Yes, with the bypass you will be unable to absorb certain B vitamins from food as you normally do. So yes, you will more than likely be on some sort of supplementation for the rest of your life. However, the only real risk is a vitamin deficiency, which takes several months to even occur let alone become deadly. Unless you just never take any vitamins and never get your blood checked or never bother to pay attention to your health... then it's not really that big of a risk overall. Side effects, the Bypass has dumping syndrome if you eat things that are too high in fat or sugar. Most don't see this as a negative side effect as cutting high fat, high sugar foods is actually good for your health. So dumping can be a great "coach" or "punishment" for not eating what you should be. The Sleeve and the Band aren't drastically different in terms of how your body handles the process, there is no adjustment to your intestines so outside of the restriction there isn't much else going on. Overall, I'm VERY glad I decided to go for the Bypass over the Sleeve Something else to think about, because I didn't. Your surgeon won't know the condition of the band until they get inside you. For me, I had no real issues with the band itself, outside of typical pain with certain leafy greens or harder foods getting stuck, but when the doctor got in there, my band was 100% encapsulated with scar tissue and took like 3 hours to get out, 3 times longer than it should have, I wouldn't have been able to have the sleeve even if that's what we were doing. If I was going in for the sleeve, they would have had to do 2 different surgery's, one to remove the band, then after I healed up from that, one to create the sleeve. No matter which way you go, good luck!

I am a Band to Bypass revision. My Surgeon advised against Band to Sleeve due to the increased potential for staple line issues due to the scaring caused by the band. There were others surgeons in her office that would do it, but she won't do them. I trusted her inputs and went with the bypass. And yes, logically you will lose weight at a slower pace, simply because you are already used to the restriction. Now, that's not to say it's not going to be amazing or "slow" by any means. But you have the potential to not lose as quickly. Going from no restriction and no malabsorption to both is clearly going to be more of an impact than going from some restriction and just adding malabsorption. But, either way, it's still worth it. My band was not causing issues, but it took them WAY longer to get it out than it should have because it was totally encapsulated in scar tissue. Now, revision to sleeve, you are not going to get any of the malabsorption, just a different type of restriction. From what I read when I was researching Band to Sleeve, it can be rather slow. Whatever you chose, Good Luck!

I am new here...looking to share experiences with people who have been sleeved as a revision surgery following failed LapBand. My surgeon told me (post op) that those who have been previously banded lose weight at a slower pace, although they don't know exactly what the mechanism is. Any experiences?

There are quite a few reasons to chose the bypass over the sleeve. Besides any reflux issues. Your co-morbidities will play a factor as well. I've seen a few folks (and a friend of mine) that went VSG only to revise to the bypass. I myself originally went with the band back in 2011... and revised to bypass Mar 21st. I honestly wish I went with the bypass from the get go. Both the Band and the Sleeve only provide restriction and both can be "eaten around" with ease. You typically don't get any negative feedback from eating badly with the Band of Sleeve. Did you ask your surgeon why he felt the bypass was better in your situation than the sleeve? They could have a very good, medically driven reason. Personally, having done just restriction and transitioning over to the bypass.... I'd lean towards the Bypass.

Yes, and no. The sleeve has been an absolutely wonderful tool in that it dropped my weight significantly enough to be able to have a much needed hernia repair. The hernia had me in pain all the time, and my surgeon told me "you need to lose weight", but he couldn't perform the repair until I did. After losing the first 80-100 lbs, I had my hernia repair.... yay! Also, knee pain went away after dropping the weight.... and even though I wasn't outwardly manifesting other health problems, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., I know the sleeve helped me keep those things away. Also, the sleeve helped me become more committed in my endeavor to be healthy, lose weight and keep it off, change my eating habits, etc. For all of those reasons, I am thankful for the sleeve! Now, after multiple problems (GERD related), I wish I had been more informed about choosing which type of surgery best suited me. I had moderate heartburn/acid reflux issues before the sleeve surgery, but I was afraid to get "rerouted" and have the bypass. I chose the sleeve. In hindsight, the bypass would have been the best surgery for me. Revision to bypass date is fast approaching! May 29th!

I'm a band to bypass revision as well. There are a few things at play here. Your Basal Metabolic Tate (the rate at which you burn calories just by being alive) is based on Sex, Weight, Height and Age. So as those factors change, so does your Basal. Lower weight means lower baseline burn. Higher age also means lower baseline burn. So you may need to adjust your intake, or up your output. Walking alone isn't going to drastically move that needle. You should look into some muscle building, more muscle burns more fat. Also, and this can be a touchy subject for guys, at 62, your testosterone levels are dropping, which hinders fat burn and muscle growth. Might be something to check into with your Doc, have your levels tested to make sure they aren't too low. How's your water intake? Your body needs water to assist in fat break down. It's amazing what just increasing your water intake to over 64oz a day can do to your body.

HI everyone. I've had a revision from Lapband (had it for 8 years with 110 pounds (50 kg) total loss. In 2016 the band slipped and needed to be removed. Because of the slipage it had to be opened and I gained 40 pounds. Last July 2017 I had the revision to a Mini Bypass. now 10 months later, I am still struggling with the stalls. I've lost the 40 pounds plus a bit and nothing more!! I must confess that I am happy that I am off all medicines (no more diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure). I also lost measurements and of course clothes sizes. But I was told I could lose up to 70 pounds, so when and in how long do the other 30 pounds come down?? I walk alot in my work, around 5-7 miles a day.. Eat between 60-80 gr protein a day. Avoid carbohydrates to a minimum. Does it hv to do with the age (I am 62) or is it the combination of age and 2nd op? My surgeon is not truly responsive unfortunately so I get most of my support from my nutritionist and forums. Don't get me wrong, I am happy about the changes in my body and health, but would very much like to lose these last 30-35 pounds and reach my goal of 150-155 pounds. Would really appreciate any helpful comments preferably from those who had Lapband to bypass revision. Thanks and blessings to everyone. Sent from my D6603 using BariatricPal mobile app

Awesome, congrats! Welcome to the revision crew

I reached my surgeon's goal weight already, but have continued to drop weight... and lately very quickly, because I cannot eat solids without severe pain. So yes, for me, GERD is the reason for converting to the bypass. Good luck with your revision as well

This is unacceptable and I truly feel for you. Glad you are pursuing a revision

Congrats!!! I am also going for the revision sleeve to bypass. Is there a reason why like GERD, or insufficient weight loss? I am hearing more and more of these cases, and glad to know I am not the only one.

I literally just posted this somewhere else, but I am also going from a sleeve revision to bypass next week! 5/30. The surgeon didn't take out enough of my stomach. I had the sleeve on March 28th, 2016. I went from 250 to 180, back up to 265, now 245 hoping to get to my goal of 150. The new surgeon said, after looking at my upper GI series that my stomach didn't even look like it had been sleeved. I was furious, and he also said it wasn't from stretching, simply enough was not taken out. I also suffer from acid reflux. Best of luck to you! If you want to message me and keep in touch, please do! I am on day 8 of the liquid diet.

I had revision lapband to bypass 12/17. I had horrible gerd before my bypass, but since the surgery I have not had one single episode. The bypass completely solved the problem!!

Hello friends, My surgeon's assistant called today with the wonderful news....my bypass revision plus hernia surgery is scheduled for Tues morning on May 29th. Can hardly wait to put an end to my health woes! Just a little concerned because I was forewarned that it might be another open surgery, due to all of my prior surgeries/complications. Meeting with my NUT on Friday to refresh my memory on the beginner basics of eating, etc.

I can understand this 100%. When I was banded, the same hype surrounded it, no hunger blah blah blah. I was hungry constantly. And I ate like crap... food addiction is a real thing. After many years I went back and revised to the bypass. I took the recovery time from that to not ignore or shy away from the foods I wanted, I confronted them. I would look at something, and my head would tell me I wanted it badly. But I would just go over the reasons I chose WLS, the effects that food would have on my stomach, my weight and my life. I started taking back my life from foods. It's not easy by any means, but then again, if anyone told you WLS was easy... they lied to you. When you want something, and you aren't shaking from lack of nutrients... it's more than likely not real hunger. When you are facing food issues. Ask yourself why you decided to go through with the surgery. Who did you do it for? Who's in control of who? How important is that food over your happiness? How important is that food to your goals? It **WILL** get better. It just takes time and effort. But the struggle is 100% worth it! You got this!

Just keep doing what you are supposed to. Your body will stall or pause while it re-calibrates itself. As long as you are hitting your metrics, getting your exercise and doing what you are supposed to be doing at 3 weeks... you'll be fine. Does your scale also do body fat? If not, it's entirely possible you are losing body fat but not weight, happened to me a few times already since my revision. The length varies from person to person, but just rest assured knowing it does pass! Just keep staying on target! You got this!

My surgeon would not do the sleeve for me because he said my GERD would get much worse. I had the gastric bypass revision from Lapband last July and the GERD is completely gone!

I think mine was a failed surgery also but my doctor refuses to do a revision

Happy Healing, i have heard revisions are becoming more common ( from the sleeve). im excited and nervous i have the sleeve and i barely eat as is.

Hi! I am 12 days post op my sleeve to bypass. I feel great now and the recovery was good. I was a lucky one whom experienced no gas pains. i can’t tell you about eating though because my doc has me on a 3 week liquid diet lost op. I had my revision due to weight gain, no restriction & GERD. It seems like these revisions are becoming more frequent

Hi Annie, I am on the other side of this. I had the lap band in 2011 and honestly never did well. Slipped it at 3 months, than again a month later after unfill and than refill. Kind of gave up got used to vomiting all the time. I was a vomit pro. When I slipped the band last summer and went to the er the NP that was there was from a different practice than I started at and she really convinced me to revise. I think the band was a epic failure for a lot of us. I was humiliated and constantly felt like a failure. I am 3 months out of the Gastric Sleeve revision and I am so happy I persevered. the Sleeve works like we all were told the band would. I am loosing at a wonderful pace with little to no complications at all. I wish you well and any questions please feel free to ask. Sincere and warmest wishes Dawn Marie

First, stop with the daily stress. If your scale doesn't have body fat or other metrics as well, going off 1 and only 1 metric is going to be madding and not at all the full picture!! How's the exercising going? How's your water intake? The math is simple, if calories burned is higher than calories eaten, you **WILL** lose weight. You will stall. Your body will need time to pause and re-calibrate itself. Just make sure you are getting your required amounts of protein and water and that you are burning more than you are consuming. Just stick with it and the scale WILL move again. I've had a few stalls already in the 2 months since my revision. I made sure to pay attention to my body fat percentage as well. So even if I gained a pound or 2, if my body fat decreased... I knew I was still doing things the right way. Stick with it and DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED!!! You are not alone! Good Luck!

So Sorry to hear, Hopefully going forward your journey will be much better. Im also going for a revision sleeve to by pass. keep me posted. Best Wishes !!