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I was originally banded in Richmond, VA in 2008. I've gained and lost the same 50 pounds 4 times in the last couple years. I was never truly successful with the band and have had a whole host of complications. After jumping through hoop after hoop for the last two years I have finally been approved and will have the devil band removed and the surgery revised to the gastric sleeve in February 2015. I am anxious, afraid that I will fail at yet another procedure, but cautiously optimistic at the same time.

Thanks, Leatha!! I'm blushing. Randi, I sought out my letter for the pertinent section: The long-term goal may be to reduce my excess body weight by 80-90%, but a loss of even 50% of my excess weight would drastically improve my health and nearly eliminate the long-term risks caused by morbid obesity. LAGB patients achieve their weight loss in a more gradual manner than RNY patients, with only a FRACTION of the risk. But achieve it they do, and the evidence is multiplying all the time. There are significant advantages to this procedure over bypass surgery for certain individuals, specifically those like myself who, although suffering from morbid obesity, are in otherwise good health. I have two small children and simply will not take the risks inherent in more drastic surgical procedures. The fact that the weight loss that will follow the LAGB procedure is more modulated than that following the RNY--but no less permanent--is precisely one of the major reasons I believe it is preferable for me. Indeed, I personally have previously experienced a 75-lb loss in a period of 12 weeks, and can attest to the physical, emotional, and psychological disruption that followed. LAGB will result in precisely the result necessary to greatly improve my health without endangering it--in other words, “effective.” Though the letter is a bit dated now, you may find it and the other posts in this thread helpful.

My story is similar...banded in 2011...going through revision process and nervous about all the same things you're all mentioning. Great to have the support.

I am so excited to revise in 13 days. I lost 100 lb with the band to bmi 21 but regained 50lb due to slippage And pregnancies. I feel that I lost the weight first time round in a really unhealthy way basically because it was so hard to eat protein and veggies! In the last two years I have really educated myself on fitness and nutrition but like all of us I just can't lose the weight (portion control is non existent!) I feel like the sleeve will give me the right appetite for the kind of life I want to live with the added benefit of no sliming, pb'ing restricted foods, fills and getting stuck.

My revision went great!! I have no pain, am up walking and feel some much better than after lap band. The hardest part was the IV. Eight sticks. Eight. Oye. I am glad to be on the other side !!!

I everyone! I had gastric bypass surgery on 6/24/14. That night at the hospital I was awake all night crying in horrible pain from the gas used during surgery. It felt like all of my insides were cramping in knots. This continued until today...now just smaller cramps. I have not had a bowel movement despite dulcolax (given in hospital), two days using miralax, and resorting to prune juice. Has anyone else experienced this pain & constipation. I've tried to walk but I'm so weak & in so much pain I can't make it outside the house. When I read the boards i'm really depressed because everyone reports feeling great on day 2 or 3. Is it just me? I'm feeling like I've made the worst mistake of my life. Will this ever get better?

I am an analytical type. I reasearched things alot before revising to sleeve from a failed band. I am glad I understood that I might not have as good of results, based on the statistics. That gave me a chance, both preop and in the early months post revision to ask alot of "why" questions. Surgeon, nutritionalist, other revisionistas - anybody I could glean this from. I learned that many people with the band have learned to "eat alot of sliders", graze and most importantly, ignore that "full feeling". It is crazy, that sometimes your body really adapts. So, since I was armed with knowledge, I was able to be very diligent about those underlying things and i believe it made a difference.

I think I've settled in on getting bypassed, so I'm trying to gather all the information I can. Dumping doesn't sound pleasant and I want to get as much information about that as I can. I have read sugar and fat is the biggest contributing factor to dumping. I get added sugar and fat, but what about items that have natural sugars, like fruit? Or natural fats like avocado or nuts? What about sautéed vegetables in olive oil? Or is Dumping more of a personal trigger? What are your go-to alternatives for sugar and fats (oils and butter for cooking) Thanks all! Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app Sent from my SM-S908U using BariatricPal mobile app

What is it that makes us view our bodies in such a distortion. Everytime I have lost significant weight I have always considered myself still fat. And when I was at my highest weight I didn't realize I looked so bloated and large. I mean, it is stupid things. Like before I lost I would only look at myself from the chest up, like my huge butt and stomache wasn't really there. I actually thought those long loose tops hid the bulk of my body. Swollen legs and ankles, only look at your feet in the mornings and then they didn't exist. Health concerns, no problem, they have a pill for that. High blood pressure, they have a pill for that. Except for me it was three pills. Diabetis, they have a pill for that too. Except the pills were not working and my sugar kept creaping up. Cholestrol, no big deal, I am still young and THEY HAVE A PILL FOR THAT. Heart Attack, they do bypass for that. Fatty Liver - okay now that made me stop and think. Liver transplants. Maybe I need to rethink. No one tells you or maybe they did and I didn't listen, okay I know they did and I didn't listen, about what is going to happen a few years down the road if you continue at that weight. I thought I was young and I still had plently of time. Plenty of time to loose weight, plenty of time to start walking. Plenty of time left to get healthy. Bad things only happened to other people, I was fine. Now what was it that ex husband said, repulsed, disgusting. New Hubby, accepted me fat, kind of like it was okay to be me. Okay to be fat, okay to be thin, okay to eat, okay to over eat or under eat. Never belittled me, sneak eating was a thing of the past. If I wanted it, I could finally sit in front of someone and enjoy it. Sneak eating lost it's hold. So maybe it would be okay, okay to change, okay to discover a new way. And now, here I am. I have worked my butt off to loose what I have and I still have more to loose. How did it get this far? How heavy was heavy enough? How much time did I loose? I try to look at myself different now. Try to acknowledge my progress and accept my body as it is. I know I can't go back in time, tell that stupid person that they would end up with saggy hanging skin. But this time I can be different. I can look, really look at me and see progress. Any progress is better than before. Now, if I sit just right and look down at my thighs I see slimness. I cannot believe how much thinner they look. But then if I look at them from another angle I see all the hanging skin and they look quite large. I can look in the mirror and see the difference in my waist, in my arms, are there less dimples in my elbows? Where I end up I don't know, but I'm in it for the long run. I know I will have hanging skin. But, at least there is less. Less stomach, less face, less neck and arms and don't forget the tush. But also, most important, I mean the MOST IMPORTANT, my health is better. When I think that I could have died from a heart attack or complications of diabetis. The band gave me time. And since I will be around longer I think I will accept my body this time, for the first time in my entire life. I may have a hanging stomach and varicose veins, but I now have a strong heart and liver. I think I will dance at my Grandson's wedding in twenty years.

Exactly what "effects" wear away? For bypass, your intestines are still rerouted and your stomach is still a small pouch. Sure, you can stretch the pouch if you aren't eating correctly, but there is still malabsorption. As for a sleeve, you don't grow back your fundus so your stomach will still be much smaller than an unaltered stomach 5, 10, or 20 years later. Your restriction will be less than immediately postop, but you will never ever have the same capacity as preop.

I suspect he was trying to scare her. I have friends 5+ years out from bypass some have done well some not but if they did not do well they are eating around it. For the others they use their tool and it still works Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

So i'll give my 2 cents .... We're all here basically for the same reason ... We all have been overweight and we all had surgery to help us correct it ... be it lap band, sleeve or bypass ... HERE is the ONE place we ALL can feel GOOD and like we BELONG ... There is NO judgement ... there is NO finger pointing ... there shouldn't be any rude or snide comments ... HERE we are ALL on the same team ... right? That is why I came here ... to listen to others who need advice or have a question I might be able to answer ... and vice-versa ... Shame we can't all get along and see past others short comings ...

https://unjury.com/vitamins/opurity-bypass-sleeve-optimized-chewable-new-formulation/

Looking for a friend that’s had Gastric bypass in the area. I never knew how hard this was going to be. It would be great to have someone my age that can relate and wants to talk and exchange info! I’m 34, single, no kids, never married. HW: 243 CW: 223 Height: 5’2”

It has a high failure rate. If you check out the revision board on OH, you can find tons of information on Stomaphyx. They go in and reduce the existing pouch and stoma size after patients stretch it out, but it's no where near close to a VSG procedure.

you cant revise from bypass to sleeve. you can go from sleeve to bypass, but not the other way around. you can have your pouch made smaller. it is stretchy and so can get bigger over time if you eat too much. a surgeon who does weight loss surgery doesnt do plastic surgery (at least not in the US or CA ). a plastic surgeon would remove excess skin. thats a whole other thing. first you need to be at your goal weight.

Hello! I have been on this app since September 2016 and I have loved reading everyone's success stories! It has been sssooo encouraging and helpful! Now, I finally get to start telling my story! [emoji4] I had my Gastric Bypass Surgery on March 15th, 2017! I lost 20 lbs on the pre-op liquid diet (my surgeon required a 2 week liquid diet) When my surgeon went in, he found that I had lots of scar tissue. He took THREE hours just to get rid of scar tissue! He was still able to perform the Bypass and for that I am so thankful! Because of the extra work he did, I had a little bit longer of a hospital stay and a little bit longer of a recovery process. But, I am still excited to be on this journey! I have not taken any after pics yet but, here are my current stats: HIGH WEIGHT- 272 SURGERY WEIGHT- 250 CURRENT WEIGHT- 235 GOAL WEIGHT- 140

Not sure about food but, I used vitamin e oil after my sleeve with good results. This is what I plan to do since my recent revision once incisions are healed enough as well. The oil is pricey. I just get the bit e vitamins and cut one end of the gel capsule to apply. Much less expensive this way.

I think stress makes you gain weight. My job is very stressful and I gained a lot of weight over a very short period of time. My eating habits did not change so I can only think it was the stress. I was converted from band to bypass 4/3. My surgeon was able to do it in one surgery which was the only thing I was stressing about prior to surgery. She warned me ahead do time that often there is so much scar tissue that she cannot safely do the bypass. You have to heal and they do it at a later time. My insurance has a dollar cap on bariatric procedures so if I did not get it converted in one surgery I was not going to be able to have a second due to costs. After all the worry she was able to do it but the surgery was very long. It took better than 4 hours. Do not worry about the weight gain and try to desires as you are able. I go for a walk or listen to music or read to help with the stress. Good luck to you!! Jennie

Happy1957, thanks so much for posting this. I was coming in this morning and planning on asking the same thing! I hit week 3 yesterday and I haven't lost any weight in 5 days. As a matter of fact, I had gained a pound at the end of last week and when I weighed this morning that one pound was back off. I was soooo discouraged. I am a band revision and had no idea that even a slight gain would be possible after getting sleeved. I too, have been reading about all these people that have already lost 20 to 25 pounds by week 3 and thought that this meant I wasn't gonna have good success. Now to hear that everyone seems to stall like this or have a little gain when transitioning into "real" foods, I feel much better. I guess some of us are just slower losers. I go to the doctor today and hope he tells me I can start exercising. I know this will help me to lose faster and kick my body back into gear!! Thanks everyone! P.S. can someone tell me how to post your weights, goals, and that weight loss ticker tracker so I can post. I just joined and can't fiqure out how to do it!LOL!

Hi all, I am new here. I enjoy reading all your posts. I have become discouraged. I was banded 4 months ago. I have only lost 25 lbs. and 20 of that was the first 6 weeks. I have gone back to my old eating habbits. I eat fattening food, desserts, and regular soda. I feel like a complete failure. I waited so long for this band and now I can't quit eating. I've had 2 fills, and I only have restriction on some foods. But I can eat alot of the foods that I shoudnt. I feel that maybe I should have had the bypass, so it would stop me from this. I am really upset with myself. Whats it going to take for me to stop eating? HELP!

Oh my dear, it's so variable! I'm 4 months post and down 45, I seem to be losing slow compared to most on here but I have no problems with any food and I feel great so I'll take it! I'm 5'6, started at 255, shooting for 150, currently 210. I am a revision from a lap band and was warned revisions tend to lose slower... I highly recommend not comparing our journey to others though,it'll drive you crazy!!!!! Good luck!!!!! HW 312, pre-op (RNY) 255, current weight 210

If you google mirena and gastric bypass u will see a lot of people saying the same thing. Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

Good question Fishy....and for me the answer is yes. We are very into wine collecting. Many friends own wineries and we spend a lot of time learning about their craft. We enjoy it a lot. It has nothing to do with getting drunk, nor do we drink it with Breakfast lunch and dinner (every day LOL) but it's an enjoyable part of our life that we share with friends. If I could never have a drink of wine again I would live. But I enjoy it and would just assume keep it as a part of my life. I do not enjoy drinking heavily at a party til I can't stand...that kind of thing belongs to youth I guess But responsible drinking isn't a bad thing in my mind...as long as you are at least three days past surgery (KIDDING!!!!) I should mention. I had this surgery verses the bypass because it allowed me to live a more normal life, and being able to drink was one of the factors. I wasn't willing to leave the whole cellar to my dh lol

hi janie & everyone. i just signed up yesterday. this is my first time to get on anything like this although i've been banded over two years. i lost 95 lbs in 15 months & my life has definitely changed. size 20 - size 8.....i now have 3.1 cc's in my band but don't believe i would ever have another one. food gets pretty limited when you have this much in your band. i'm still fighting my way through all the emotional eating habits that i have owned for 49 years, so that in itself has been a struggle for me. i had my band done in canon city. dr's wagner/brown were the first surgeon's in colorado to do the band, & i thought this is my last chance at being thin. i never did any research or even considered the gastric bypass. i just did it we started a support grp here & i have made a lot of good friends. we cheer each other and struggle together but we are all bonded together. we know and understand all the stuff. its so great to get into this group though. thanks for asking about me.....