Search the Community

Hi All, I just had my 4th upper GI. This is my 3rd time having a hiatel hernia show up. My band was placed Dec. 2008, slipped and revision June 2010 with a hiatel hernia present. Now back again with another hernia. Should I just give up? I have had numerous fills and unfills. Lost 80lbs and now have gained back 20 lbs. My band has only 3 cc in it and I have heartburn. I am at my wits end????

Has anyone have the 2 step revision process: 1st surgery band removed & then had to wait 6 weeks to the RNY? How fast was your recovery from having the band removed? I am in the process of trying to be approved to have my band removed and revised to RNY. I had the band placed back in 2013 & thought I was going the conservative route ... Ugh!! If I could go back in time & tell have myself not to do it, I would. I hate this damn thing ... Long story short, it has slipped and it is unfilled. I switched surgeons due to insurance purposes (and well, I didn't feel like my last surgeon listened to my concerns) ... He does a 2 step revision. He wants to remove the band, see how bad the scar tissue is & let that heal. Then go back in 6 weeks and revise.

I couldn't get UnitedHealth care to cover my revision. I had 4 surgeons, including the Mayo clinic submit documentmentation saying if I don't have the revision, my risk of esophageal cancer and stomach cancer is at 80%, they still denied me. I'm paying out of pocket.

I have anthem and was approved for removal of the band and revision to RNY. My surgery is in a week. I had to go for a year for fills/unfills documenting that my esophagus was having severe spasms all the time and I developed severe acid reflux and achalasia (I had to have an endoscopy and motility study). You have to prove the band failed (in other words, it didn't work because something was either wrong with the band or it cause complications of some sort). After my year of documentation and my studies, all of the paperwork plus a letter of medical necessity was sent to anthem and I was approved almost right away. I think anthem is pretty good as long as you have enough proof that the band actually failed or caused something serious, and the surgery is medically necessary (everything has to be medically necessary). Oh, and I had to have another psych exam - I was just honest and luckily I was cleared.

Thanks so much, I'll make sure to advocate for myself I'm worried about them saying the revision isn't "medically necessary" bc my band hasn't slipped or anything. I've gained almost all my weight back and I'm always throwing up. What was your situation? Also, are they going to remove the band and perform bypass at the same time? Thanks so much for your help!

Hi Sara G....I have BC/BS Anthem. I just got approved for lapband removal and revision to rny bypass. It took a bit longer because they approved the removal and denied the rny bypass first time. After communication opened up between the dr office and insurance, it was approved this past week. You should have no problems. If you do have a partial denial, make sure YOU call and ask the insurance company what you need to do next. The doc office misunderstood in my case and had me spend 2-3 months extra doing things not needed. When I finally spoke to the insurance company (and asked for a supervisor) I found out what they wanted. So stay proactive on your case if need be. And...good luck on your journey!

I told just two people I was getting banded and then told those same two that I was revising to the sleeve. Nobody else knows and I like it that way. I'm losing weight for me and don't want to answer to anyone but me.

I will try to answer some of your questions. I was much farther along, over 2 years out from my original surgery when I got pregnant. So that part is different but the rest applies. Weight loss history. 376 when banded (1/08), down as low as 250 but then in 09 (8/09) my band broke, I regained about 40 and then had revision surgery in 10/09. (Band breakage was not my fault-just really bad luck). Got down to about 265 and then got pregnant (5/10). Now am hovering around 330. (Ugh) I had an "unfill" at about 4 weeks along. It was not total but had the effect of being total-I really did not have enough restriction to stop me from much. I gained about 100 lbs during my pregnancy (just like I did with my first son 9 years earlier). My doc actually wanted to remove a bit less than I asked him to but I had gotten so bloated at the beginning that I could not really even drink much for days so was literally starving when I got my unfill and thus not very rational. It does not have to be completely open, you will have to check with your doctor and OB and preferably have them in agreement with you. I did not slip and have not known anyone who did. I think that they way they put bands in now, by stitching the band to the stomach make is very unlikely for a slip to occur. I vomitted plenty. I did not have any medical complications due to my weight other than my being huge. I had my baby on Jan 31, 2011. The band cord is in a totally different part of your body so the baby does not even get near it let alone get tangled in it (I asked my doc the same question!) I have had a horrible time losing after having my son. I lost 40 lbs in the first 6 weeks and have plateaued since then (it's now been 6 mos). I am terrified of getting a fill because I am loving nursing and am really committed to it and do not want anything to mess that up. So still have not decided about when to get a fill. If I can help in any way-let me know! Good luck!

I was definitely nervous about my appointment, but I filled out all the paperwork and answered all the questions she asked and it turns out I'm perfectly sane (and mentally prepared for my revision) All that stressing for nothing! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My surgery is March 7th. Liquid diet first week not maintaining but am during better. This is not my first time . I am getting a revision. Doctor called me yesterday to say I need a colonoscopy before surgery. I did do the home one this summer hopefully that will do. No sure yet. Han an endoscopy in 22 so he didn’t discuss that. good luck

Bcbs denied my revision two days before my scheduled surgery (I had already been on the livershrink diet for two weeks). I fought them all summer, but finally it was a combination of hiring a Lindstrom Obesity Advocacy lawyer and my surgeon doing a peer-to-peer that got them to overturn the decision and pay for the surgery. I had jumped through all their hoops- six month doctor-supervised diet, etc. Don't give up hope! Denials can be overturned.

@@twittymilk are you a revision? Pomp did my first surgery and is doing my revision this summer. He is great!

This has been a long time coming, I've been in the bariatric program since September. My insurance coordinator assured me before that it would be almost impossible to get a revision and sleeve approved and today she called me that I was approved!!! My eyes filled with tears of joy!!! 5/23 is my date, it is less than the typical 14 days of pre-op liquid diet, will that make any difference? I am still waiting to hear from my surgeon's office for complete instructions. Please send me any and all of your tips/tricks/advice on pre-op diet and how to best prep for my big day. Also, how long did you stay in the hospital? Sooooo thankful and excited!!!! [emoji28][emoji1317] Thanks in advance!

Im having my surgery with Dr. Ganta probably on the 29th! I currently have a lapband that has slipped and Im having removed and revised to the sleeve at the same time!

I was lucky enough for my insurance company to allow them to do the revision at the same time as the band removal. I originally had surgery in August 2012 to have a lapband put in. I had complications beginning almost on the one-year anniversary once I had the “right” amount of Fluid in the band to make it actually do something. I had my lapband removed on May 27, 2016 and had a revision to gastric bypass at the same time. It was, quite frankly, miserable but now that I’m three months out, it’s the best thing I could have done. I couldn’t live with the pain, reflux and inability to eat anything with band in and because of the slipping, I had the fluid out more than I had it in. After MANY long talks with my doctor and his PA, we decided that a revision to bypass was the best bet. My recovery sucked. The surgery was longer and more complicated than they originally thought it would be because there was so much scar tissue from the band. But, they had already decided that they wanted to do the removal and revision in one surgery, so they did whatever they needed to get it done. I had two drains when I came out of it and the larger drain I had for 17 days. The smaller on, the “JP drain” came out before I went home. Generally speaking, that bigger drain isn’t part of a normal bypass but is more common when they do the removal/revision in one step. I was in pain, nauseous, and uncomfortable until it came out. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. Since it was a holiday weekend, I wasn’t in any big rush to get out in case I had any problems. I was nauseous on Sunday when they talked about letting me go home, so they had me stay. They then decided to order “home health care” to change my dressings for me since my insurance would cover a few visits, but no one was available until Wednesday, so they had me stay until Tuesday. I was pretty stir crazy by then but it was nice to have them there to take care of me but shaving my legs in the hospital was a pain! I had to fight with them on Monday to let me take a shower even though I wasn’t going home. I needed it. I came home and took the rest of the week off. My mom came by almost every day to help me make food—not that I was eating much—and to keep me company. I needed more help because of the drain. It was painful and hard to put on any clothing including a bra because of where it was. It’s called a “G tube” which basically was a drain from the part of my stomach that would no longer have food going to it and it needed to be “trained” that it wasn’t going to be used anymore. It was not pleasant but it was “capped” so not draining into anything before I left so at least I could tape it up to my stomach to keep it out of the way and from pulling or banging into things. Jonathan took me to my first follow up on the first Monday in June and then I was cleared to drive and go back to work. The following week, the drain finally came out. It was a long 17 days. The drain removal was no fun either! They just kind of yanked it out and it hurt for a good 24-hours! It took about 3 weeks for the hole to completely close, but I got pretty good at the gauze changes. They didn’t stitch it or anything, they said the skin would grow back together and it did. It was about the size of a dime at first. Now it is a small scar to match the others from the surgeries. The tape was awful. I found that if I used the sensitive skin kind, which was about $8 a roll at Walgreens, it was better. I was so happy when the hole was finally closed so I could stop taping up my stomach and start wearing a regular bra! So, I’d had a lot of tape on me because of the tube and because of the drain hole. It took a few days to get the residue off! I had to travel on June 24 for our annual meeting. It was exactly four weeks from my surgery. I was going to be gone a week and I was a little nervous about getting through it. I still wasn’t cleared to lift anything and I was still getting tired pretty easily. But, by then I was already 20+ pounds lighter since the surgery so I felt good and actually built up my stamina as I was there. I managed to get food poisoning on my last day in Philadelphia, so that was no fun. But, after a few days, felt better. Three months out now and I’m down over 50 pounds from surgery day and almost 80 from when I started the lapband journey. I will tell you, even though I was miserable immediately afterwards and asked myself everyday what the heck I did to myself, three months out, I’m so glad I did it. I’m basically eating normal foods, albeit nothing too high in fat or sugar, and I’ve not really done too much salad yet but have added back most vegetables. I’m careful with fruit because a lot is high in sugar. The first few weeks after the surgery with the various stages of liquid diet was really hard and I probably started to add things like cottage cheese in too fast, but I needed to chew! I have a few friends who have done the surgery and we’ve created our own little support group so it’s nice. We come to the same events as well so it’s nice to know other people in the room understand how we eat!

It's nervous to have second thoughts with any type of weight loss surgery, it's a life changing event and comes with it so much responsibility. And the lap band has MANY responsibilities in order for you to accomplish your weight loss goals and minimize any complication risk. Here are some things to ponder: 1. Have you thoroughly researched your surgeon? Being self pay you REALLY need to make sure you are in good hands, have you asked about his complication rate, how many revisions has he/she has done from Band to Bypass or Sleeve? If his rate is very low, you are OK, if he/she revises a lot of his lap band patients to Sleeves or Bypass BEWARE. 2. Have you asked about his aftercare? Does he fill the band and follow your progress? Does he perform dynamic fills this is a good method where you drink liquids while the fill adjustment is being perform and it helps you detect the sweet spot more quickly. Can you get fills when YOU need them, or when they be on some sort of schedule. Or will he outsource this to another fill giver, or does he have a qualified PA that assists in surgery to do fills, VERY IMPORTANT, you don't want any unskilled nurse or fill giver performing your fills. Aftercare also includes checking or identifying any lap band problems, Upper Gi's and ordering EGD, when and if necessary to check the health of your band if you have issues. 3. How many lap bands has he/she has done? If over 500 you are ok, if not I would seek another lap band surgeon (especially if you are self pay). 4. If you are financing the lap band will you have money for future upkeep? You have to be realistic here, if your insurance will not pay for the band, fills can get really expensive depending on where you live, they range from $10 with co-pay up to over $1,500 per fill, so you need to ask your surgeon UPFRONT what the fills will cost for you as a self pay at least for a year. Some surgeons will include free fills for 6 months to a year in their package for self pay patients, because it can take up to 3-5 fills or more before you get to the green zone and be prepared if it takes A good YEAR before you get to a restriction level where you don't need any more fills. But many people reach a good fill level fairly quickly. 5. Just because you are self pay NOW, does not mean if you have a complication your insurance will not pay for it, usually MOST insurances that don't cover bariatric surgery WILL cover a complication if it is deemed medically necessary, but again, you should check your insurance policy, and if does not, you need to be prepared for any unforeseen complications, whether if you need a Upper Gi, or EGD or have to have a port replaced, or tubing or worse band replaced, these are things you need to think about because they CAN and DO happen with the band. I will give you an example, I got my band replaced last year, my first band was paid for 100 percent, 7 years later I had a new insurance plan, and it did not cover any bariatric surgery, BUT -- it paid 100 percent to fix a hiatal hernia which was required to remove the old band and place a new one, because I had a complication, it as deemed medically necessary because of the hernia to remove my old band and replace a new AP band because it was medically necessary. Honestly whether you get the Band, Bypass, or Sleeve you can run into unforeseen medical costs from unexpected complications, but again, many people do not have any issues, and sail along fine, but again you need to be prepared especially if you are going to be self pay. The risk is worth it for many people because you end up with a healthier life and better self esteem. Good luck

My story is so like yours, I am scheduled for a revision next wednesday. My band will be removed at the same time. (I am having some other non related issues that may put my surgery off but i am still certain I will have it eventually.) My Doc is very experienced so the revision is not a concern of his. I too have diabetes (very uncontrolled) losing 30 to 40 pounds and gaining it back and forth with the band never had any effect on the diabetes, That is my biggest reason for doing the RNY now. I should have done it in the first place, seven years ago, but I thought it was so drastic and that I didn't have that much to lose. But I had the co morbidities and should have went that route. So as I sit here waiting to here if an ovary acting up will delay my surgery and still on the pre op diet, I just wait. I was scheduled for revision on Nov 7, Doc came in right before I was to be wheeled back and said my blood sugars were too high. I was devastated. So rescheduled for Dec 5 and now this stomach pain that has had me in pain and doing scans and ultrasounds and having to find a GYN doc (haven't seen one of those in 20+ years) to either be cleared for surgery or possibly need the ovary removed. Something tells me I may have an operation just not the one I was hoping for just yet. I too am 57. And really want to have a life.

Thanks Kristy. I was thinking to find a surgeon thats been in bariatric surgery longer than my new surgeon. No disrespect to him, but he is fairly new and has yet to do a revision.

I was a pure volume eater before surgery. Meaning, I would eat 3 large pieces of pizza, and would be full but I would go back for more. The sleeve has changed my outlook and relationship with food. I no longer need or want to eat huge amounts of food. I still love food, I love to eat, I just make better choices. To answer your specific questions: How does your body/stomach react? Early on, you can only take small sips of Fluid because the stomach is swollen, and irritated. As the weeks progress, you can consume more fluid in shorter amount of time. In the beginning, the fluid going in, kind of feels weird, I burped a lot after each sip and that lasted a couple of weeks. But, it dissipated as time moved forward. How do you feel? When you overeat, you know it. There is discomfort, you may overprodcue saliva, and that's pretty gross. Vomitting as I knew it before surgery is not the same anymore, and hasn't happened to me in months. But, I have had one bite too many, it kind of creeps back up the esophagus, and I spit it out. There is no wretching, gagging, or trying to get something up. Is it painful if you eat too much? I would have to say it can be painful depending on your pain tolerance. It does cause discomfort which can be relieved by walking around, or burping sometimes. Do you feel like throwing up? It's not the same as needing to vomit. But, it can happen if you are not aware of what you are putting in your mouth. What is it that stops you from bringing that fork up to your mouth? The feeling of being satisfied when I eat small portions. There isn't any room in my stomach for any additional food. Overeating constantly can cause issues such as esophageal dilation, and excessive vomiting which can lead to other health problems. I had already had figured out the learning curve with eating because I had the band first then revised to the sleeve. Eating slow, chewing well, enjoying your food, and measuring your portions early out until you can "eyeball" stuff is a great way to keep yourself in check with portion size. I used the little 1 ounce measurement cups that comes with children's OTC medication.

My BMI has been 40 for 1 year and my insurance (cigna) requires that it be 40 for 24 months or 35-39 and other complications. I have (documented) "high" blood pressure. I put it in quotes as it was actually in normal range (Diastolic of 90) but then the cut off was revised several years ago and 90 is now high. It has been on and off 90-100. Do you think this counts? I will be working with Fielding and Ren in NYC so I would imagine they are pretty good at working with insurance. TIA!

I just saw a doc last week to start the revision process. He said he will remove the band and then 3-6 months later due to bypass. Guess its just doctors preferrence and scar tissue etc. I have alot of my appointments scheduled in april

Well, and I can revise my statement a bit, too. This past summer, at just shy of 2 years post op, my daughter's in laws were visiting from England. Being the ever so cordial hostess, we were having dinner and some wine out on my back patio and having a gay old time chatting it up getting to know each other. Keep in mind I literally can count on two hands how many times I've drank post op. A couple hours later, I had managed to polish off a whole bottle of red wine by myself and completely blacked out. I would say I that's the definition of a 'bad' thing You know what they say on the internet. "Pics, or it didn't happen!"

@@Dream4tc insurance companies sometimes make things difficult when one would think our health would be the priority. I am another revisionist (lol). Even though I was in the usual pain post-op I had a relief from having that band removed that I can't describe. It was like a weight removed from my intestines even though the band was empty for a while. I ended up staying in revision surgery longer because of multiple adhesions. Regardless of what I have been through with the RNY, it is worth it no regrets. I had the lap band in 2012 lost about 30 pounds and suffered with vomiting and pain up until my revision late last year. Congrats on your upcoming revision.

One individual in our Bariatric Support Group meetings had a lap band to RNY revision. His band was wearing into his stomach and had to be removed. When they did the RNY because of the scaring he had to have a smaller pouch. It meant that he had to eat smaller meals than most but he was fine with that. He was very pleased with the revision.

I have been miserable with this band since day one .I had it in 2004...lost 35 pounds and now right back to where I started.....Up until this week I have been trying to talk myself into the sleeve but after My upper GI today...the radiologist showed me my reflux on real time and that it!! I want a revision to the RNY...no more hesitating....I want the "Gold Standard".No more quick fixes...I can't afford ulcreration or sleeve leakage and I need to lose about 125 pounds...Bypass please.