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Good luck to you, I am Mommy to a 3 year old and also pretty scare. I have a lapband that is failing me and hurting me and looking for a way to revise or just have the darn thing out. Having surgery is scary but a little easier if you have only 1 to go through. I know being separated from the kids and feeling weak is scary but imagine all that you will gain for having gone through it and how much better you will be after you heal.

Meg, You are going to have so many wonderful things happen to you in this journey. Put Onederville out of your mind. It's just a number. Make a list of all the things you want to do along the way and tick them off as you can. Maybe you want to ride a jet ski, or go parasailing, or ride a rollercoaster, or fly to Europe, or sit on the inside seat of a bus, or walk 5 miles without stopping, or walk up 3 flights of stairs without being winded -- whatever your goals are. That said, before you know it, you WILL be in Onederland. The first year being banded flies by. Sitting here today, I can't believe this is my 4th year bandiversary. Four years! I checked off all the things on my list nearly 3 years ago! I had my tummy tuck more than 3 years ago. Wow, that's amazing to think about. I've been gone from LBT for a long time, so today is the first time I'm really thinking about these issues in a while. My advice to you is to cherish the experience. The 200s are full of great joys. You rediscover your physicality in the 200s (at least I did). Everything becomes easier. Then when you get to 249, you think to yourself "gee, I can't BELIEVE I'm closer to the Ones than to the Threes!" As for plastics, Sandi is absolutely right that most doctors recommend waiting 6 months at a stable weight before having them. I'm a perfect example of why. I had a tummy tuck at 195 lbs. I didn't think I'd lose much more weight, but I was wrong. I went on to lose 60 more lbs and I had some loose stomach skin that I had to have revised. That said, I don't regret the first TT when I had it! I always tell people anecdotally that I lost 200+ lbs in a little over a year, but I went from being a "fat" person to a "thin" person in a 6 hour surgery. It's AMAZING what a TT does for your body after 150+ lb weightloss. The need to wait for 6 months (for most people at least) is at least two-fold. First, MONEY. Plastics is expensive. Most people don't want to pay for it twice. I have the very fortunate circumstance of having a dad who's a plastic surgeon. That is rare, but obviates the financial concern in my case. Second, and more importantly, surgical risk. Two surgeries are riskier than one surgery. I did have a complication with my second surgery (I developed seromas in my legs and had to drain them MYSELF for about 6 weeks - it was awful). I wouldn't change the way I did it, but my circumstances were somewhat special (it being free and me being in "marathon" shape and in my 30s, thus, fairly low risk as far as surgery can ever be low risk). Waiting for goal does make sense 99/100 times. Hang in there. Time is going to fly, I promise.

My personal experince with a slip: Last year, I started having nightime reflux. I got RX Prilosec from my dr and took OTC Zantac also. Plue popping Tums like they were candy. Nothing helped. Had to sleep propped up on 3 pillows and still had acid coming up all night. Finally after about 3 mths, I went to my band dr. He said I had a small slip and took out 1/2 of my 10cc fill. No more reflux. 4 wks later, he put back 1cc. still no reflux but also no restriction. He put in another 1cc. Reflux that very nite. So he took out the previous 1cc he put in and said I can live with a small slip as long as I no longer have symtoms. No more reflux. Then, last Friday, I started having abdominal pain. Nothing really painful, just bothersome. Led my normal life for 3 days with stomach pain. Got really bad on monday nite and found myself in the ER at 3 am. After a CT, it showed a large slipped band - actually herniated. They emptied my entire band and now I have to have a revision done. Talked to my drs office today and they said it can wait (as long as my band was entirely empty) till after I get back from my cruise to Alaska in 3 weeks. Thank God. I really didn't want to be on liquids only during my cruise. Thats my personal experience with a slip. Hope you don't have one. It's a pain (literally!) Marci

Had revision from band to sleeve on June 15. With my band, I could hardly drink water for most of the day & it took FOREVER to get my tiny pills that I have to take daily down! I guess I got so used to that "stuck" feeling after every drink/bite, that I have that expectation still with my sleeve--but nope! Not stuck here!!!!! And it is WONDERFUL!! Plus I just started full liquids yesterday and I can definitely feel restriction already! I can't wait to see what solids are like! Plus I'm down 12 lbs woohoo!!!

i was sleeved in 2012 and lost 110 lbs within 10 lbs of goal weight. Did plastics and was loving life. About 6-8 mo back though I noticed less and less reStriction ( I could easily eat a whole sub sandwich Before it was maybe equivalent if ¼. I rarely if ever eat breads Etc. sometimes if Out I'll have a little piece of baguette but anyway). I'm hungry and I could eat way way more. I've now gained back enough to where my bmi is getting up there again ( 20 ish lbs) and am considering revision. Resleeve? Other option? Has anyone done this? I'm active several times per week and with the exception of an occasional night out with friends am a salad and Protein girl. My work schedule will allow time off for a redo in August if needed. But I'm not sure what to do. Master all this hard work and all the plastics too I don't want to go backwards. I feel a little failure even though i do feel my diet is pretty solid

I did the revision of band to bypass on 1/18/19 & so far I’m down 30lbs.

Kat, how close to your goal weight were you when you tried for the revision?? My weight is what scares me right now. I'm afraid they may turn me down because I weigh like 165 now but surely they will take into account that I started out at 235 right?

I'm trying to get a revision. I got my band 3 years ago. I've lost all but 15 pounds so I'm barely overweight now. Do you think insurance will gripe about that?? My insurance has the easiest bariatric process ever so I'm hoping not. They do not require a six month diet or medical records: only a letter from the surgeon stating your current diagnoses and health problems. It only took them 4 days to approve my initial band.

Sorry.. i was posting on my ipad late last night which was harder than on my computer. I should have been more clear. I do dilligently log my food and stay around 1200 calories a day. I eat Protein first and then veggies etc.. I do on rare occassions go out with friends (maybe 1x week) and have a little more carbs than normal, but my normal meal is: Breakfast shake or eggs Lunch: Salad with chicken or other meat Dinner: Grilled meat (steak, salmon etc..) veggies, salad etc.. I do drink socailly maybe 3x month. I belong to a health club and go at least 3x a week for an hour, either with a class or cardio. I SHOULD up my weight training... My concern is that I could eat a lot. i could easily eat a large steak and still want more.. be hungry. that doesnt seem normal right? I'd never have surgery to fix 20 lbs... but I also dont want to start down a slippery slope if i SHOULD fix it now to avoid bigger issues in the future... Has anyone done a resleeve or other revision?

Very encouraging!! I'm a newbie here and am still on the fence about the surgery, as I am a bit of a scaredy kat when it comes to surgeries, especially one such as this. I lost weight successfully with the lap band, but it developed a leak and stopes working. My doc has suggested vsg revision, but I get anxious just thinking about it! I truly feel you and the other members of this community who have undergone wls are quite brave. I hope some of that bravery rubs off on me.

The people I know that have had a second or third band have never managed to achieve the same level of success they did when they first got banded. Potentially you may have lots of scar tissue and adhesions. At some point in your future this band is probably going to stop working or cause issues that require a revision. Why put yourself through that, especially because as Matt says bands are being phased out as they have been proven over time not to be the successful tool that they were initially thought to be. I would be considering my options and looking at something that hopefully won't need another revision 5 or 10 years down the line

Hi Squeaky, I'm new here too and in a very similar boat. Also had band in 2008, lost similar, gained back similar, and now just DONE with it (the band). So I'm, obviously, going in for revision. I'm on the fence now between having just the sleeve, and having the Duodenal Switch. I would like to think that I'll do well with the just the sleeve, but........I thought I'd do well with just the band too. I have found a surgeon, apparently the ONLY one in Melbourne who does the DS. He's agreed to do it, as the final stage of a 3 stage op. First stage being removal of the band, second stage getting the sleeve 10 weeks later (although I'm going to see if he won't agree to do it at 8 weeks), and then stage 3 a year out from the sleeve he'll do the DS, if it needs to be done. He doesn't think it will. I am not so confident myself. The more I read on here, the better I feel about having just the sleeve but.........I just remember how I started out really well with the band, and started having endless stuckage problems, sliming, vomiting, (the scale wasn't moving, at all)........ultimately I too figured out how to eat around it to avoid those painful and often embarrassing problems. I'm just afraid that the weight is not going to come off at a pace that I'm going to be happy with. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to lose 10 lbs a week or anything, and i am aware that there will be some weeks that I don't lose at all. But I know that I am unable to deal with that scale not budging for weeks at a time, especially if I AM busting my a**. that's where I'm worried........because when I'm putting in 300% effort and getting nothing in return (on the scale and shrinking I mean....I know there are health benefits that one doesn't see), I get angry and frustrated. I suppose that is classified as impatience? I think expecting to drop a couple of lbs a week, as an average, is fairly realistic. Note I say as an average, so I know that some weeks it will be more or less. But I've been on the 10 week stall, and by the end, I was so angry! It didn't help that my doctors were telling me it was ME, when I knew it wasn't, and my husband suddenly became the food police and I wasn't even eating naughty stuff yet........talk about throwing in the towel! Anyway, sorry to ramble. I just wanted you to know you're not alone, up there on the fence! Cheers. :-)

I think that both surgeries are reasonable options. Posting here, you are obviously going to get a pro sleeve bias. I am very happy with my choice, but I can understand why another person would chose the rny. I think that 3 critical things need to go into the decision: 1. Relative risk of complications (revisions are always higher risk, but ask about the difference between sleeve and rny) 2. Outcomes based on the data available. Factor in some risk for lack of long term weight loss/maintanence data for the sleeve. 3. Lifestyle/eating/long term living with either procedure. This in the end was probably the deciding factor for me. I am scared of GERD with the sleeve (so far doing great!) but I had a pouch with the band and ultimately decided I never want THAT AGAIN. I am not trying to sell anybody on the sleeve, but you can read mine and other revision patient posts. After the initial few months, I feel like I eat very normally just small quantities. IT is a huge leap better then the band and I honestly felt like it was being sentenced to h*ll to have to spend the rest of my life with a pouch that restricted food in that way and that caused vomiting.

Dear Cait I just want to say don't give up, don't lose heart, and don't let it get you down. It must be so frustrating, give yourself time to make progress and be kind and patient with yourself in the way. I wish I was postop. I am stressed about being stuck preop! I'm waiting for a date for revision surgery and feeling frustrated and demoralised. I so want to get a chance to turn things around with a sleeve. I want to wish you good luck and good health and that you get your good weightloss over time. kind regards Betty

Hi there! THere are a lot of us band to sleeve revision folks here on the board, of al different ages. You might want to check out the Band To Sleeve Revision topic on the main page, scroll down about halfway. THere are specific band revision stories and experiences there. Welcome to the board and feel free to ask any questions - this is a very supportive place. Happily revised! Lara

Anyone else having their Surgery in Feb? I am getting a revision from VSG to RNY due to severe acid reflux. Anyone else in the same boat?

Since I was originally banded, I had lost quite a bit of weight before needing a revision due to a partially slipped band. I can wear a size 12 pants comfortably around my waist, but they're big everywhere else. Mind you, I have that lovely flab that hangs over my 3 c-section scars & that won't go away unless I have cosmetic surgery (which I won't do). It's quite unattractive & that alone prevents me from going down a size. I digress. While I've noticed that my stomach isn't "as" bloated as it originally was, I can still still it's swollen. I was just wondering when this swelling might go down? Also, if you had surgical glue, how long before that fell off on its own?

@@Hammer_Down I love this analogy! There is no way a 47 gain in 3 months would be considered slow. Similarly, I don't understand how anyone could consider a 47 lb loss in 3 months slow. If surgeons are placing unrealistic expectations on their patients, they need to stop. If patients have unrealistic expectations and somehow think they're going to wake up from surgery thin, that needs to stop too. As far as the stall, you've lost almost 50 lbs. Your body needs time to adjust to the loss and settle in. Taking photos is a great idea. So is taking measurements since it's likely that you're losing inches even if you're not losing lbs. For example, I'm 4 months post revision to RNY and 2 lbs from goal. I keep gaining and losing the same 2 lbs, yet my clothes are once again falling off me. I may not be losing any weight, but I must be losing inches/my body must be adapting, otherwise everything would be the same. To the OP, I hope you listen to the smart vets on this site and ratchet down your expectations a bit. You're likely to go through many more slow loss periods or actual stalls and if you don't make peace with that, you'll likely be unhappy with the process.

So I'm not at goal yet but I'm having the extra skin on my stomach removed because it's giving me so much trouble. The surgeon said mine will be one of the largest he's done. My surgery is June 5th. I'm so nervous because it will be a 5 hour surgery and they had trouble waking me up from my sleeve surgery which was shorter. I woke up with the breathing tube in. Also he told me I have a higher chance of infection and wound complication because of my past history and some meds I'm on. It will be a 70 cm incision. I have to stop 2 of my psoriasis meds which also scares me. My psoriasis is pretty severe when not medicated. Even when medicated I can have our breaks. 3 times in my life, and each time worse than the last, I've ended up in the hospital with a really bad out break where basically all my skin comes off. Even with all these things I feel like I NEED this surgery to improve my quality of life. I'm almost down 260 pounds from my highest of 540 and my extra skin is pretty bad already. I can't do any of the other surgeries until I reach goal but this is one I can do part way. He's explained that I may need a revision tummy tuck when I reach goal since I'm still a little less than 100 pounds away from goal. Insurance approved coverage first try though which gives you an idea of how bad it is. I'm just nervous and excited at the same time. Has anyone had this surgery? What was your recovery like? What were your results? I don't do well with surgery generally. After the sleeve surgery I was kept 5 days instead of 2 and was in pain for 3 weeks. After my gallbladder removal I was readmitted to the hospital due to pain. They told me I wouldn't be able to save my belly button. So now I get to tell people I am an alien or was created in a lab..which I'm kind of looking forward to. Lol I'm so nervous but also so hopeful this will help...

Did you have a lap band? I had a revision in January and I can eat pretty much anything. Pasta, bread, and rice make me feel very full and nauseous so i dont eat them. Potatoes in any form (mashed, baked, french fried) do not go down well. feel like it sits in my chest so i avoid potatoes also. I eat all meats okay (haven't tried steak but summer is coming) but the portion size is very small. Tonight I baked chicken nuggets and was able to eat 1 1/2 nuggets and a spoon full of peas....that's it!! Some people say they do not get hungry but I am hungry a lot.

most surgeons will recommend bypass if you've had issues with GERD. It will get worse with the sleeve about 30% of the time - so whether or not it will for you is kind of a crap shoot. I had GERD and was warned - so I went with bypass. I did not want to risk it getting any worse. your surgeon will advise you on which way he/she thinks you should go based on your specific health conditions, but I don't think most would refuse to do surgery A or surgery B if you were insisting on it. But I would be careful with the GERD factor. I've been on this and other bariatric forums for several years and have seen a lot of people have to revise due to GERD. It may not happen to you - but there's no way to know that ahead of time. also, malabsorption typically isn't a problem if you stay on top of your supplements. You'll have to take supplements with the sleeve as well.

It's definetly a risk that is not talked about much. If you still have alot of weight to lose, I would consider revision to a gastric sleeve. You should also consider a different doctor, if he/she is not going to listen to you. They should have tested you sooner!

I am at day 15, aching soreness and deep pain in the abs on left side. The MD yesterday said this is normal and should subside by 6 weeks. I am free to return to work between 3 and 4 weeks and he suggested I wait until closer to the 4 week time frame. Since mine was a revision from lapband, I have a bit more to heal inside

I've taken Levothryroxine for about 10 yrs now. Had lapband in 2009 and lost 104 lbs. Revision to the sleeve 10 mths ago. 10 lbs from goal of 140. Not one change in dosage. I get it tested about once a yr (more often since I've been sleeved, however - but thats only cuz I switched dr's) and it never changes. Thought once I lost weight, I'd be able to lower the dose. But what do I care about the dose? It's already a small pill. It's not like they come smaller when u lower the dose... Good luck!

Hello every one! It all stated back in 2005 with my wife getting her band placed. Seeing the results it was good on the beginning. So then I had mine placed a year later. Lost close to 30 lbs. the body fat has slowly dropped to 33% diabetes and hypertension and high cholesteral never ever went a way. Constant nausea vomiting getting stuck and not being able to eat some day. My wife had here revision done in April 2013 losing 95 pounds so proud of her. Now it's my turn. Im 5'6" 206 pounds 33.9% bf . Diabetes, severe sleep apnea, hypertension, and high cholesterol. I was approved the first attempt. I was taken off guard. It has became real. My biggest fear is passing away on the table. Scared. Good luck to every one on their Journey.