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It is my understanding that sleeve will only make severe acid reflux (GERD) worse. That is the reason why most surgeons perform RNY gastric bypass surgery on individuals with this condition. I had severe acid reflux prior to my RNY surgery 31 months ago. This condition has never been a problem since. Stick to your guns and demand the surgery that you wanted, RNY gastric bypass. It is the best one for you condition.

I have highmark blue shield. They said I was denied because I have a BMI less than 50. Thats all I got. The denial letter is in the mail & apparently no one there has the power to fax me a copy. And, yes I was approved for Bypass or Band. Not the sleeve.

I had heartburn and could not sleep because of it. If I ate anything after 8pm I had sleep upright just to get even the smallest amount of sleep because it would wake me up. No pain at all. But immediately I could eat things like pasta and bread that I couldn't before and larger amounts of other things. There was still restriction but it wasn't the same. My slip was only diagnosed when I had an egd in order to be approved by insurance for removal of the band and revision to sleeve.

BCBS won't pay for my band removal even though I have a lot of port site pain. Of course the surgeon wants to do a revision, but they've denied it twice. I plan to appeal. Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

I have three options none if which are appealing. First they are going to try an endoscopy to try and widen the sleeve. If that isn't successful they will have to cut a hole in the sleeve and worst case they will have to cut out more of my stomach and intestines like a bypass patient. I'm starting to ask myself why me???

I'm being revised on May 18th! Would love to be your buddy!

@ Two of my formerly super-obese (400 to 450+) friends say it gets better. One of them had a bypass over four years ago and he insists that it not only mitigated the need for ED drugs, but also made his penis look bigger. Not going anywhere near that subject. WebMD's warning about these drugs is "If you have suffered from a heart attack, stroke, or life threatening arrhythmia (irregular heart rate) within the last 6 months you should discuss other options with your doctor. It is also advised to avoid these drugs if you have uncontrolled high or low blood pressure or if you experience chest pain with sex." So I wish you good luck with your weight loss journey 'cause it should bring about plenty of positive changes for you.

Hello Twism44--It is so nice to hear that we can relate. I have been post op from my Gastric Bypass since 2016 and I am now facing a stall. I decided to revisit my preop liquid diet and I am happy to say that I am doing my thing. It feels good to be disciplined. The pandemic led me to each due to boredom while working from home. But now that the gyms are open in NYC I have included my exercise now and am watching what I eat. Kudos to you with the inspiring words. Thank you! Remaining positive and keeping the faith alive is important. I hope to lose 50 lbs within the next few months. Be well and stay safe.

My doctor said 4 weeks for bypass

Hi I'm Yvette from Chicago I'm a single mom of a 9yr old and a 2 yr old. I had the Lapband in 2007 and had nothing but problems with it finally got it removed in 2013. My surgeon suggested I get gastric bypass, I couldn't agree more. I started the 6 month weight management program that I need to complete for insurance purposes Nov. 2013. I see my surgeon Feb. 25, 2014. So many emotions, thoughts and even things to do before the surgery!

I've heard that regret is normal especially immediately after surgery when there are more restrictions. I'll be 3 weeks from surgery tomorrow and I've had a few days that I've felt like this. Today happened to be one of them. I was glad to see your post, I really needed it today. The changes are difficult especially in social/public settings. I did a ton of research before surgery so that I was completely prepared, but that doesn't compare to knowing how I would feel while I'm recovering. I had all the information but emotions can really go out of control after such a major surgery. I have a co-worker who had bypass a few years ago who keeps reminding me to take it one day at a time. I find it easy to be hard on myself and when I find myself going there I need to stop. Today I stood in the mirror and honestly thought, why not just stay fat? Why did I do this? I had to remind myself that I wanted to cure my milk sleep apnea, improve my chronic ankle pain, get off blood pressure meds, fit comfortably in an airplane seat, play with my niece and nephew, and generally feel better. I try to think of at least one thing every day that I appreciate about the surgery. I'm going to start writing them down so I can read them when I have a tough day. Today I appreciate that I fit into a shirt that was snug the week before surgery, and it was big on me. I find that I can gauge my progress more based on which clothes I can fit into rather than looking in the mirror. I hope that you find some method to cope with your feelings of regret when they pop up. If you ever need to chat we're here for you! Best of luck!

I have the lap band and am getting gastric bypass. They said that the lap band removal was denied because of the insurance coding. Something about having 2 procedures at once. It's been almost a month since it was appealed. I'm hoping this week I get an approval.

That is just wonderful news. I am so happy for you and excited that you're having success with your revision. Personally, I'm tired of waiting. I refuse to pay for this myself since my insurance policy clearly covers revisions. They're just thinking that I won't pursue it the same as many others -- but they don't know who they're messing with. I WILL WIN THIS APPEAL! I WILL WIN THIS APPEAL! I WILL WIN THIS APPEAL!

I'm going to be completely honest. I had a band and I also had it removed because it was not working the doctor converted me.to a gastric sleeve. I never felt full I was always hungry and eat normally no restrictions. 2 years later never lost a pound. I didnt give up After frequent visits with my surgeon I told him I wanted to see what the problem was, I've had two weight loss surgeries and I'm still FAT. So he did a revision of my sleeve. I'm finally feeling what every one else is 2 Oz of food and I feel full. A Protein shake would NEVER fill me up. NOW I'm full. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using the BariatricPal App

Hi Everyone, I had a vsg back in 2016, I’ve had regain and want to have a revision. Of course insurance won’t cover unless I have gerd or other issues. I did my surgery with GHI/Emblem Health. If I switched insurance to Aetna or another insurance would I get approved because I didn’t do the 1st surgery with them? I’m hoping someone can help me with this question 😞

I just received verbal ins. co. approval on 9/23. My doctor's office will not schedule with the written approval even though they also received the verbal approval. I hope the letter arrives on 9/25 since that is one week since it was mailed. When I spoke to the doctor's office today, they told me they are scheduling surgeries for the second week of October. I am hoping for a 10/8 surgery. If that date is not available, then I will have to wait until 10/25 due to work obligations. I am a band to sleeve revision surgery. My ins. co. waived the six month diet criteria due to lap band complications. I am very excited and a little nervous even though I know I am making the right decision for me.

I had implants pre-sleeve. The nice thing is that my boobs haven't shrunk visibly at all. In fact they look bigger now in relation to the rest of my body. The bad news is, my left implant has now become malpositioned due to the loss of real breast tissue above it and I will likely want a revision. Though I'm going to wait until I'm done losing for that. It's not really that noticeable. I notice it, but even my husband didn't notice it until I pointed it out to him. I was thin when I got my boobs. I pray they still look good when I drop these lbs. I was "thin" too when I got my boobs. I had lift with implants done at the same time as my tummy tuck after having lost 90 pounds "on my own". But then I regained 80 pounds before I was sleeved. Now, post-sleeve, I re-lost those 80 pounds, plus 7 more. My tummy tuck held up GREAT through the re-gain and loss. My only issue is that I now have this malpositioning of my left implant. I don't know if re-gaining breast tissue pushed it around a bit and then it because obvious when I lost that new breast tissue again or what. All I know is that I will probably end up getting a revision. Not in a rush though. It's really only noticeable to me. My husband doesn't care and you can't possibly notice it if I'm wearing clothes or a bra.

I am sorry you are having problems. And sorry abut the possiblity of removal. Have you spoken to the doc or considered having a revision done to a sleeve if you have to have it removed ? That could be a possibility ? GOod luck ! Mindy

For me it’s forever 😑 I had a RNY to correct a failed (12 years old) surgery to fix my hiatal hernia. Before RNY my esophagus was L-shaped and half of Diaphragm was above where it. Lately I have also been having to take Pepcid to control the reflux. I need to find a new bariatric Doctor Who can monitor me. Because of the reason that I had the bypass my surgeon was not a bariatric doctor he actually told me to get all of my information about the surgery and what needs to be done after in my lifestyle changes from the Internet I also need to find a Gastrologist because pills are getting hot when I swallow them just like they did before the bypass. I think my esophagus needs to be stretched again. I’m very sad about all of this because I was told that by having the bypass it would fix all of my problems permanently. Losing 70 pounds was a big plus out of it!

My revision is May 21st..... happy to have a buddy! Lisa

Hi, Yes I am having gastric bypass on the 24th here in the UK Michael. Sent from my SM-G920F using the BariatricPal App

You bet from my mom. I took her out to lunch and told her what i was doing and all was fine. She was excited for me. Then she had her physical therapist tell her that i was doing what i perseive she thought was a gastric bypass and all went down hill. We have not talked since as she just said to many wrong things and got really ugly. Ignorance is not bliss, i tell ya. And as for your husband! Mine supported me 100% and boy is he happy! I have lost 30#s and have 30# to go! I now am in a size 10 from a 14 and can wear sexy things that he dreamed about me wearing. My confidence is on the roof and my spirit is healing from my insecurities from the past. You are young it sounds like to make this decision. If you have tried faithfully other avenues and failed and you are a volume eater then this will probably be sucessful. But realize and be sure that if you are consuming your calories from liquids (includes chocolate, liquor) then to be careful in choosing the lapband. In closing! Do what is right for you. I am turning 50 next year and thankful that i found this before i loose all my elatisity. If i had known about this back 6 to 8 years ago i would have done it in a heart beat. :clap2:

Yes, it's the BariatricPal Store. I bought the pack of 4 Patches for Gastric Bypass patients. My doctor's office has seen success with them though others on here say not to buy them. I'm giving them a chance. I'll use them until my first set of labs that measure for them & see how it goes. Not having to chew & swallow Vitamins is awesome! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

During my sleeve (when I didn't prepare lol), it lasted for like 4 or 5 days. Sharp shoulder pain, if I bent over to pick something up... Etc. But honestly, it wasn't that bad then either. When I did my revision, and I knew better lol, I began chewing them when I got home, and I was fine right away. This mentions walking, simethicone (e.g. mylanta) and other tips on dealing with post-surgical gas. https://healthproadvice.com/procedures/Getting-Gas-Pain-Relief-after-Surgery

There’s no doubt weight loss surgery helps you eat less. Whichever type you get replaces your regular stomach with a smaller pouch (or stoma or sleeve). But your struggle with food isn’t automatically over the minute you get out of surgery. The sooner you accept and confront this, the more weight you can lose, and the easier your weight loss journey is likely to be. Whether you get the adjustable gastric band, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, or another type of Weight Loss Surgery, your Weight Loss Surgery is a restrictive procedure. It helps you fill up sooner, stay full longer, or be unable to tolerate certain foods. (And yes, some procedures such as the gastric bypass are malabsorptive – they reduce nutrient absorption – but all of them restrict food intake). The Struggle Often Continues For some patients, Weight Loss Surgery can lower your interest in food, so you are not constantly thinking about it. There’s no question Weight Loss Surgery can help you gain control of your eating, but it’s unlikely to eliminate your struggles with food disappear. A few lucky Weight Loss Surgery patients really do stop being tempted by food. The rest, who make up the vast majority of Weight Loss Surgery patients, continue to struggle. You still may be hungry, enjoy salt, fat, starch, or sugar, or be tempted to use food as an emotional crutch. Your family members may continue to insist on keeping high-calorie foods in the house, or pressure you to eat things you shouldn’t. Your friends may still be going out to eat and inviting you to join them in ordering high-fat, high-sugar items. “Why Me?” Isn’t Appropriate It’s easy, even natural, to think of yourself as unlucky. Why should you have to struggle with food? Why should you have to monitor every bite you take, while some people don’t? The fact is, almost everyone does. Ask almost any skinny person how they stay skinny, and you’ll get some variation of the same answer: “I work hard for it.” Just like you, they are aware of what goes into their bodies. They sometimes may be hungry; they sometimes may want to eat more than they should. But they, like you now, take responsibility for their decisions. They may: Skimp on portions if they over ate at the previous meal. Choose healthy foods first. Have a strategy for dealing with emotions and boredom that doesn’t involve eating. Have a support system that promotes healthy behaviors. Accept It and Manage It If you find you still have a rocky relationship with food after weight loss surgery, don’t conclude that WLS didn’t work for you. Instead, accept that you will need to fight the cravings and urges for months, years, or life, and start making a plan. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in developing strategies – whether you ask other BariatricPal members or an always-thin person you admire! Persist in Order to Get the Answers You Need We all want to be able to trust our doctors. You want to believe your surgeon takes care of all aspects of your Weight Loss Surgery, including your post-op, long-term nutrition. But it doesn’t always happen like that. Nutritional counseling may not be part of your surgery package, or you may only get a limited amount of generic information. Or, your surgeon may simply not know how to help you nutritionally. Remember that many doctors have no more than an hour of nutrition education in medical school. To become a weight loss surgeon, doctors need to learn surgery. There is no dietary education requirement. If you need help finding strategies to satisfy hunger – physical or head hunger – and your surgeon and primary care doctor are not able to help, keep looking. A session with a nutritionist may be more affordable than you think, and worth every penny. Your Emotional Support System and Your Relationship with Food The support system you built so carefully can come in handy right about now. Take advantage of your ability to talk to a therapist or psychologist if you have one to bring up your concerns. Discussing your ongoing struggles with portion sizes, food choices, and over-frequent nibbling with a mental health professional can help you come up with some strategies that work for you. Group sessions are also appropriate forums to talk about food struggles and strategies. Though it may feel embarrassing at first to admit you’re still thinking about food a lot, you will find nearly everyone in that room did or does have that same experience. Most Weight Loss Surgery patients do not find their surgery instantly eliminates their food struggles. You can take months or years to come to terms with a food addiction, and it may be something you need to learn to live with for life, but in a healthier manner than before Weight Loss Surgery. Be honest with yourself and those around you, and be open to suggestions, and you can figure out strategies that work for you. Do not assume WLS did not work for you!