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Quote I had a consult with a surgeon and he's trying to talk me into the band. Given my bmi is only 36, He thinks I will loose a great amount of weight and become malnourished. I believe there are other reason for his push on the band. Like follow ups and the fills, means more . I over heard him through the wall, to the room next to mine, trying to push the band on another patient. Should I give the band a try first then have revision later if it fails?? So stressed over this! I have had the band for five years and for about the first 2 1/2 it worked great. I am finishing my final process to have a revision to the sleeve. Because my complications with the band are becoming so unbearable! I am actually on an all starch diet due to gastritis which I have NEVER had in my life. Now with these last few weeks constant diarrhea and dry heaves are horrible and make u feel dizzy! Honestly I would choose the sleeve first if I knew what I know now. Aftercare is set up for any and everything required. You don't even come in till you feel you need it. Why put yourself through two surgeries the sleeve was the newest option When I got my band five years ago Chat With me privately if you want to keep talking about it

i recommend the bypass........................

I am having revision surgery with Dr. Barkan at Winthrop University. Currently waiting on insurance approval.

I am confused - was this remark intended for me? I don't think the band is good and I in fact have revised to the sleeve. I frequently post on the revision board.

Mostly fell off- peeled almost all the way off. I helped the rest of the way [emoji51] HW 242, SW 236- (Bypass 12/20/17) GW#1- 199 [emoji736] (2/11/18) GW#2- 175 CW 184 5’6”

My clinic does 3 surgeries bypass, sleeve and band. I read somewhere that 40% of all band patients have their bands removed due to one issue or another. I asked at the WLS seminar if this has been the experience at my clinic and the Nurse practitioner who is program manager said it is the case in our Bariatric program. With that being said 60% of our patients are maintaing their bands. For me a 40% revision rate is way too high!

I also had the band. I was banded feb 10 2006 I had a slippage June of 2006 I lost 200lbs in 16 months. I followed the diet the doctor gave me to a T. I never wavered and I excercised the first year. I got bored after that. Finally got thin never had my band filled. But always miserable, always having periods of tightness always vomiting always in pain. Finally I moved from Florida to Ohio and the first 6 months I was back in Ohio my heartburn was out of control. Couldn't even take Zantac. Could barely eat was burping up a sewage smell, not to mention the complications from my gallbladder surgery because after losing all that weight that quick I had 48 stones and one was stuck in my bile duct. That surgery caused a dysfunction in my bile duct. Which causes severe pain and elevated liver enzymes yet I can't do anything about it. That's another story. So I finally found a bariatric doctor here in Ohio. They got me in ordered an upper gi just to see that I had slipped, bad! My band had to come out so after 5 yrs and 10 months my band was removed. I wanted a revision but the doctor refused during the process we found out I was 8 wks pregnant and he insisted I was thin and didn't need it. Well guess what after basically starving myself for 6 yrs and after the initial 15 months of my band eating like crap because that's the only way I could eat I packed on the lbs through out my pregnancy and once my band was removed. The band can be a great tool but you have to stay on it and be on the diet the doctor gives you always. To do it any other way will cause great pain and sickness. Plus when the doctor in Ohio went in he said my band was entirely to tight. So the original doc who put it on I guess he put it on to tight. I never had a fill in almost 6 yrs. now I'm trying to find a way to get the sleeve. Also my insurance didn't cover the band so I'm also out 14,000.

Because getting proper nutrition in is so hard after weight loss surgery, a lot of surgeons wont want you to get pregnant for 18 months following your sleeve or bypass. Its just not safe for you or the baby.

Curious you why didn't revise in the same surgery?

cross-posted on a couple of threads: I had my surgery in Plano and there are support groups in that area. However, my husband and I share a car and Plano is a little too far for frequent trips. I am interested in a local group in the Irving/Dallas side of DFW. I have a friend who is a therapist who had bypass done in 2002, and she would love to facilitate a support group. I just had lap-band this past November. If interested just let me know, either here or by message! Cheers.

Mr doctor said whole pills are okay i.e., I take a nexium everyday what should not be take whole are vitamns as they are not absorbed properly due to the bypass.

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

bigbeauty78 this must be a difficult time for you - wanting the sleeve - doc pushing for the lapband doc sounds pretty adament that he prefers the lapband even if he DOES say ok to the sleeve - i can't help but think his heart isn't into it i wouldn't want "that" doc to have my life in his hands repeating what others have said - many docs don't want to do the lapband anymore there must be a good reason years ago, it was either gastric bypass or the lapband - they were both supposed to be terrific we know of the malabsorption problems with the gastric bypass and the lapband has so many problems, erosion et al (to be fair, i never had the lapband - but i hear all these awful things concerning the procedure) conversion from lapband to sleeve??? hmmmm, why do you think so many OP have this done if there were no problem with the lapband??? we're the sleeve board, so we're all biased towards the sleeve, but................ we all made the wise decision to have the sleeve, cuz its the best (and so are we ) just that your doc is trying to pull you towards the lapband i would run/not walk away from his offic there are many surgeons in the sea find one who likes the sleeve - (that shouldn't be hard to to do) good luck with your sleeve procedure!!!! you will love it take care kathy

Has anyone had the band revised to a sleeve in one surgery? I am considering this but am worried about recovery from 2 surgeries with young kids at home.

I went in wanting sleeve but have since changed my mind and will be having bypass, primarily, but not entirely, due to the possible GERD issues.

Alright, so... It seems that I rather suck at eating. I was fortunate enough to have my appetite and hunger return a mere 6 weeks after surgery, so getting appropriate nourishment hadn't been much of a struggle from that time until recently. Somewhere around 4-6 weeks ago, my appetite and most of my physical hunger (barring perhaps the middle of the night or first thing in the morning) seem to have just switched off. Since then, hitting my goals has become quite the battle. This morning I poured over my MFP entries to average out my calories and Protein for the past month, and it came out to 687 calories (current goal range is 900-1100) and 68g protein (surgeon's goal range is 75-113g, my personal minimum is 90g). And if I'm being entirely honest with myself, several of those days were 'padded' a little. Not deliberately - just things like recording a Protein Bar but only finishing half, recording a snack I intend to eat at work but forgetting, things like that. I know that I shouldn't be consuming so few calories at this stage, and that getting my protein in should be my top priority. I know that I need to suck it up and eat whether I like it or not. I know that eating when you don't want to is no walk in the park for anyone. But I feel that I am having a particularly difficult time with it. I've no problem with the timing - its not that I'm just getting busy and forgetting that its time to eat (okay maybe a few times, but its not the main issue), so setting an alarm won't help much. The problem is that if I don't feel like eating, then not only do I flat out not WANT to, but I am physically averse to doing so. The thought of it turns my stomach. Having food in my mouth can trigger my gag reflex. Swallowing becomes very difficult. I instantly feel 'full' and like I'm stuffing every bite. Now there is nothing physically wrong with me, as I can eat just fine when I actually want to. I really don't know what the problem is. Full disclosure: I do have a notable history with eating disorders (nothing threat-of-hospital-worthy since my late teens, however I've had more minor relapses as recently as 2010), but I truly don't believe that's what's going here. An eating disorder involves a certain mentality that simply isn't present right now...not to mention that I've grown too old for that sh*t. I don't know if its the summer heat, the upset of my recent move, working for the first time in a decade, having to share a house...whatever. I don't want to make excuses. I've been considering returning to a liquid diet for a week or so to see if the absence of solid food will re-trigger my hunger/desire for it. Does anyone think that might work? I'm quite certain I'm not the only one in the history of WLS who has struggled with this. If you are one of them, what has worked for you? How have you been able to get passed this? Does anyone have any suggestions? Harsh words are as welcome as supportive ones here - I know that I'm totally f*cking myself over right now. I'm going to end with a few stats and tidbits so no one is forced to dig around in my profile or past posts for relevant information if they don't want to: Gastric bypass on 25 Jan 2016 (5.5 months post-op) Pre-op loss = 86 lbs, Post-op loss = 64 lbs (month 1: 26 lbs, month 2: 13 lbs, month 3: 9.5 lbs, month 4: 10 lbs, month 5: 3.5 lbs, month 6: 2 lbs so far) Age 35, 5'7", 205 lbs, goal 170 lbs I currently have NO medical team due to my recent move to Canada, so consulting my surgeon/nut/psych is not an option. I must fulfill a 3 month residency requirement to qualify for insurance here, then I can get a referral to a new team for further care (paying out of pocket is not possible for me at this time). The vast majority of days still include adequte Fluid intake and Vitamin supplementation Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to read my novelette and reply to it.

These responses give me some hope too, lol. I have a friend in Texas whom I met in Mexico getting banded 10 years ago. She had the revision to sleeve and loves it. She says that bread is really hard for her to eat, which is just like a band. She says the bread swells up and it is too uncomfortable to eat. I have been really asking her a lot of questions since my husband is getting sleeved on May 2 and hopefully I will follow if I am approved. Initially she had lost a lot of weight post sleeve but regained 40 pounds because of the sweet tea she loves so much. She says she just can't give it up.

Hi painter88, Thanks for your kind words. They say that the bypass helps to relieve hiatus hernia's and GERD. You can also read my response below to another member. Hope you have a wonderful day

Well, the insurance says 200 calories a day is not a sufficient amount to do the tasks to required. I get tired after my morning routine of getting my young 4 year old off to school then taking a shower I need to rest after I do all of that. The surgeon said that often with Hiatus Hernia they will perform a bypass on individuals without obesity concerns to correct the issue. They are not doing the surgery so that I can loose more weight they are doing the surgery to try and correct the problem. The major issue with it though and the reason why they went with the sleeve surgery is that I have tremendous amounts of scar tissue which did not allow them to do the Roux-n-y to begin with so they are saying they will try but are not confident they will succeed. I really don't know what the outcome is going to be. I know I want my life back though I'm tired of waiting and putting my life on hold. Thanks for your kind words and support. On a positive note though one of the main reasons I went for this surgery was because of the sever back pain I lived with and I don't have any pain in my back now WOOHOOO. That makes me super happy

I'm a revision from the band as well.. My date is 9/15, super excited and a little nervous!

Totally disagree my mom had gastric bypass and craves sweet tea because her body craves sugar . And she's lost 120 pounds and only gained 5-10 pounds in the last 10 years and still continues to drink sweet tea . "Some people deserve to be fat" hmm I wonder how much you used to weight . Just like there are skinny people that enjoy food and crave certain things but no one says anything to them about how they eat and what they like . Your line was totally uncalled for . I'm pretty sure you probably were obese and I don't think you would like it if someone sat there and said damn they deserve to be fat. Your definitely one of those people on here that should be flagged for the comment you made .

I'm almost 3 weeks post-op and have only lost 6 pounds. I'm down a clothing size and halved my blood pressure medicine dose, cut my insulin by 2/3, and have been taken off one diabetes medication. I'm thrilled with that progress but admittedly a little bummed with the scale number not going down much. My surgeon looked at my tracking and said I'm doing everything right and to be patient and not worry about it. I know this is true but it's still disappointing comparatively when I read of significant losses by other bypass patients. I am happy for them though. Anyone else have this experience? Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Sounds like GERD. One of the big components of it too is having the feeling like you're going to burp but it winds up being regurgitated food/drink. Definitely get the assessment from your doctor though, they might order other tests too. I have moderate GERD/reflux going into a sleeve next month and crossing my fingers it doesn't make this any worse or I could be facing a revision too.

I didn't feel like a bra right after surgery but the next day when I was released I did put on my cozy bra from Walmart. I think it was around $7 or $8 bucks. I also have an incision under my left breast it's nothing like a sports bra super super soft and for me just enough to not feel like my breast are just everywhere. I had gastric bypass on June 27th. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi Ellen, I decided on the bypass with the help and guidance of my bariatric team. I have barrett's esophageus and didn't want to take the chance of continuing the side effects which include heartburn. Yes i am at the lower end of the scale but I have multiple weight related issues and have always battled with my weight. I've researched the bypass and the sleeve for over a year and have participated in group settings for 8+ months. I am ready for this life changing tool!!! I'm so new to website and am hoping that I'm replying correctly. Take care, Rachel