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If you step over to the forums at VerticalSleeveTalk.com, the sister site to this one, you'll find a LOT of former lapband people who have since had it revised to the sleeve instead. They're a very friendly bunch who are full of very helpful information. Dave

I think my subject line says it all!!! Today marks my one month band to sleeve revision. I could not feel better. I was 177.4 on surgery day and today I'm 162.2. Yippee!!!!!!! I have about 20 more pounds to go. I know the hard part is ahead but boy, do I feel awesome. For some reason the surgery has given me an extreme burst of energy- I haven't felt this good in years. I've been working my bees and just found out they are doing so well I had to add a top box today. Yey!!! So my lovely girls are growing, I'm getting smaller, it's spring in the South and life could not be better. Just wanted to share and wish everyone a great day and best of luck with their journey. Oh!!! I should add that this weekend I'm going on a overnight kayaking trip down the Peace River to look for fossils with my 12 year old daughter. I haven't slept in a tent in over 15 years... I must be crazy. So if you don't hear from me after Monday... I have fallen prey to a gator or exhaustion. I'm telling you, this surgery has made me (crazy) superwoman. I hope it lasts!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The world of bariatric surgery is full of myths. Every time myths are repeated, they gain strength and credibility (deserved or not), so it’s important to look at them closely before accepting them as true. TIME TO THROW OUT SOME OLD MYTHS It’s time to throw out some old myths about the adjustable gastric band, but before we start flinging those myths around, let’s all agree on what a myth is. The traditional definition is that a myth is an ancient story of unverifiable, supposedly historical events. A myth expresses the world view of a people or explains a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. For example, the Greek god Zeus had powers over lightning and storms, and could make a storm to show his anger. If you think myths are dry stuff found only in schoolbooks, think again. They surround just about every aspect of our lives, and travel much faster now, in the age of technology, than they did in the dusty old days of ancient Greece and Rome. They’re a way for us to make sense of a chaotic world, both past, present and future. They affect thoughts, beliefs, emotions and assumptions in our everyday lives, coming alive in our minds as we, and the people around us, seem to act them out. Some myths are helpful because they give us a shared sense of security and express our fundamental values and beliefs, but some myths are just plain wrong and can be harmful to us and to others. A good example is the myth that having weight loss surgery is taking the easy way out. Every time I hear that one repeated, I want to laugh and scream at the same time. If you’re a post-op, you know why. Weight loss is hard no matter how you do it (surgery, diet pills, prayer, magic cleanses, and so on). On the other hand, WLS is supposed to be easy, compared to the dozens or hundreds of weight loss attempts in our past. Why on earth would I put myself through a major surgery if it wasn’t going to help me lose weight and keep it off? Now that we’ve shared a little laugh (or scream) over a WLS myth we can all agree upon, let’s test out some band myths whose validity may not be as clear. This kind of examination can be uncomfortable, but believing in a falsehood is almost guaranteed to make your WLS journey bumpier than it needs to be. Let’s start with the myths that are easiest to digest and end with the ones that can be tougher for a bandster to swallow. #1 – THE BAND IS THE LEAST INVASIVE WLS PROCEDURE I believed this one at first, mainly because I knew little about the other WLS procedures back in 2007. It’s still a widely-circulated myth, one that even my surgeon’s well-intentioned dietitian endorses. So, what’s the truth according to Jean? Face it: any surgery done on an anesthetized patient, during which a surgeon cuts into the belly in several places, does some dissection (more cutting) and suturing (stitching) of the internal anatomy, and implants a medical device (the dreaded “foreign object”), is invasive. It is true that band placement generally involves less internal dissection and suturing than other weight loss surgeries, but neither is it on the same level medically as having your teeth cleaned. So while the invasiveness of a surgery is worth considering, you do yourself a disservice if you let that override other considerations. A bariatric surgery might last 45-60 minutes, with recovery lasting a week or so, but its effect on your health and lifestyle last a lifetime. Or I sure hope it does. Some people associate invasiveness with irreversibility. Although the band is meant to stay put once clamped to your stomach, it can indeed be removed if medically necessary. Gastric bypass (RNY) surgery can also be reversed, while the sleeve (VSG) cannot and only the “switch” (malabsorptive feature) of the duodenal switch (DS) can be reversed. Removal or reversal is not as easy as operating on a “virgin belly” (as my surgeon so colorfully puts it), so it’s important to weigh the benefits against the risks of reversal or revision surgery. #2 – BAND WEIGHT LOSS TAKES TOO MUCH WORK Aside from the desire for instant and effortless weight loss (which is a fairy tale if I ever heard one) that so many obese people share (me among them), this is a myth that often turns people away from the band and towards other WLS procedures. While this myth may be true in the first 12-18 months after surgery, eventually everyone ends up in the same boat, rowing hard against the powerful tide of obesity. Weight loss and weight maintenance is hard no matter how you achieve it. A dietitian who spoke at a band support group meeting I attended a few years ago said that while band patients must change their lifestyle immediately in order to succeed, every WLS patient must do that sooner or later. It’s a pay-me-now or pay-me-later deal. You can slice it, dice it, sauté it and serve it on your grandmother’s best china. However you serve it, weight loss and maintenance is a lifetime project because obesity is a chronic disease with no cure. No matter how successful we are as new post-ops, all of us must face the possibility of regain. That’s why I cringe when someone proudly crows, “XXX pounds gone forever!” #3 – THE BAND’S SLOWER WEIGHT LOSS PREVENTS SAGGING SKIN This is a fairy tale. According to several plastic surgeons I’ve heard speak on the subject. The effect of weight loss on skin depends mostly on your genetics and your age (because skin loses elasticity as we age). Other factors can be how obese you were, how long you were obese, how you carried your weight, and how much (and how) you exercise as you lose weight. I’ve heard women say that they’d rather be obese than have sagging or excess skin. To my mind, that’s a sad statement, because I’d rather have sagging or excess skin (as long as it didn’t interfere with my ambulation or activities) than excess weight. Don’t get me wrong: I loathe the excess flab on my midsection (whose nickname is “The Danish Pastry”) and I’m not thrilled about my batwings, throat wattles, or anything else that’s happened to my skin in the past few years (during which I’ve undergone the double-whammy of weight loss and the fast approach of my 60’s). On the other hand, I think I look pretty good for a woman my age, especially when I conceal my figure flaws in flattering clothing which, I might add, no longer needs to be purchased at Lane Giant. #4 – TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR SWEET SPOT I used to wonder how the Sweet Spot Myth could survive in the face of so much clinical evidence against it, but last year I heard the “you gotta find your sweet spot” claim uttered by a bariatric dietitian, so apparently this is a myth being validated by medical professionals who ought to know better. Instead of the sweet spot, Allergan (the first to introduce the band in the USA) uses a zone chart to illustrate band restriction, with not enough restriction in the yellow zone, good restriction in the green zone, and too much restriction in the red zone. In other words, restriction happens in a range of experience, not at a single static point. That experience changes over time as we lose weight, deal with ordinary processes such as hormonal fluctuations, hydration changes, stress, medications, time of day, and so on. It’s also affected by our food choices (solid vs soft/liquid food). In my banded days, I traveled through and around a sweet spot many times. It might last for 30 minutes, 3 days, 3 weeks, but it never stayed exactly the same, and yet I still lost weight! I don’t actually want to stay exactly the same for the rest of my life (throat wattles notwithstanding). As any Parkinson’s disease patient will tell you (if they’re able to speak), a body that gets stuck in time is a very big problem (and with my luck, I’d get stuck in the worst sinus infection or case of the flu of my life). Some people who are very sensitive to their band and its fills find sudden or unexpected changes in restriction to be very, very frustrating, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, either. To read more about the sweet spot, click here to go to an article, The Elusive Sweet Spot. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/page/index.html/_/support/post-op-support/the-elusive-sweet-spot-r59 #5 – NO SIDE EFFECTS MEAN MY BAND ISN’T WORKING Equating side effects with a properly working band is very common, and potentially very harmful. The two most significant signs of the band’s proper functioning are (1) early satiety and (2) prolonged satiety. Those signs are rarely expressed in large, bold, uppercase letters, such as STOP EATING NOW! Those signs won’t be accompanied by clanging bells or flashing lights, either. In fact, the less noise and distraction (such as “Why don’t I have stuck episodes?”), the more likely you are to be able to recognize early and prolonged satiety. Before I tell you why the no side effects = broken band worry is a sign of mythical thinking, let’s make sure we agree on the definition of a side effect, and how that relates to complications. A side effect is an unintentional or unwanted effect of a medical treatment, and it’s usually exceeded (or at least balanced) by the benefits (the intentional, wanted effects) of that treatment. For example, antibiotics can cause diarrhea. That’s an unpleasant side effect, but an untreated infection can have far worse consequences for the patient. Side effects can often be managed by tweaking or changing the treatment, and they are rarely worse than the original condition. A complication, on the other hand, is a more acute, serious consequence of a medical treatment, and usually needs a more aggressive approach, including surgery to fix the problem. Now let’s go back to the antibiotic example. An allergic, anaphylactic reaction to the antibiotic can be fatal without prompt medical treatment. That’s a complication, and it’s far worse than the original condition. So in the context of all that, it seems strange to me when bandsters long for side effects like regurgitation (PB’s), stuck episodes, and sliming. Instead of looking for more subtle clues from their bodies (like early and prolonged satiety), they go looking for problems, and worse than that, they tend to “test” their band with foolish eating and/or overeating, hoping to provoke a side effect that will signal to them that they really do have a band in there. One of the many problems with that approach is that it can also provoke a complication. And that brings us to the final myth in today’s article: #6 – THE MORE FILL, THE BETTER I’ve heard bariatric surgeons comment that some band patients seem to be addicted to fills. I can identify with that because I had a good relationship with my band surgeon who not only administered my fills but gave me a lot of encouragement as well as answers to my many questions. I left each fill appointment with a renewed sense of commitment and hope. How can you not get hooked on something good like that? The problem with equating fills with weight loss success is that more fill is not always better. In fact, too much fill (which varies from one patient to the next, and also varies in a single patient as time goes on and the patient’s body keeps changing) can be downright dangerous. An overfilled band, and the side effects it causes (see #5 above), can lead to a complication like a band slip, esophageal dilation, or stomach dilation. While complications can come out of nowhere, most bariatric surgeons agree that too much saline in the band puts too much pressure on the stomach. Eventually something’s got to give. That’s often hastened by the patient’s efforts to eat around the problem, and it is absolutely not a guarantee of weight loss. I gained weight several times because of what’s called Soft Calorie Syndrome. My band was too tight and I was dealing with it by consuming mostly soft and liquid calories that offered little or no satiety. The human body is an incredible organism, capable of amazing feats of growth and healing that we take mostly for granted, but it’s not endlessly forgiving. Too much fill in your band, too many eating problems, too much inflammation and irritation in the upper GI tract, can compromise your body’s ability to recover from a complication like a band slip. Sometimes a complication can be treated conservatively, with an unfill and rest period, but sometimes it requires a surgical fix, including removal of the band. And after all you’ve gone through to get that band wrapped around your stomach, shouldn’t you be doing your utmost to treat it (and your body) with respect? Finally, the fill myth can cause us to overlook a very important guest at your WLS party….you. If you are going to succeed with your band, lose weight and keep it off and keep that band safe and sound inside you, sooner or later you will have to take personal responsibility for your success. Expecting your band alone to carry you to your goal weight is like expecting your car to safely deliver your child to school without anybody in the driver’s seat. And I sure hope that you are a very important person in your life!

Thanks Leann. That is what I keep on hearing about Dr. Kim. I am wondering if I should go with another doctor but he is great with revisions.

I will second topgun's advice on really understanding the your problem - is it physical failure of the band (slippage, erosion, etc.) or incompatibility of the band procedure with your physiology/psychology? The different procedures have different characters which make them compatible with some patients and imcompatible with others. If it's a physical failure of the band, then the sleeve is a sensible revision; however if it's a problem of compatiblity with the restrictive nature of the band, then another restrictive procedure may not be the best fit for you. Look carefully (as you are doing here) to understand how the two procedures differ, and how they are similar, in how people use them to lose weight. It may be that a more malabsorptive procedure like the DS may be a better fit; few people like the idea of the intestinal rerouting, but sometimes that's what is needed to get the weight off and keep it off. The bands are often sold and chosen based upon them being a simple and quick procedure, and this is also an attraction for the VSG, but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily the best choice for an individual in the long run. In our support group meeting last night we were discussing a patient that they had on the table yesterday who had previously revised a band to an RNY, and when that didn't work was getting the RNY revised to a DS - three WLS over about five years. This is something that you would like to avoid, so do all the research that you can and do a lot of soul searching on understanding yourself to make the best decision that you can.

Unless they are bought in by the original surgeon to consult surgeons seldom touch another surgeons work, the liability it too high. They would lose their malpractice insurance. When you see a surgeon for a second opinion you have to sign all sorts of agreements A few years ago our contractor was arrested ( ended up getting 30 years in prison for child abuse, his wife got 24 years) a theory for another time and another thread. He was a good carpenter who did excellent work but the day the police came for him the central chimney was halfway knocked out, all the siding was off one side of out house and five of the seven Windows where completely out and the only the studs and framing where done on the 2nd floor dormer. We had paid $35,000 of the $50,000 total and they probably spent close to $35,000 on salaries and building supplies. We had to hire other contractors to finish and everyone of then insisted on partially deconstructing the house to inspect it before they would work on it. We ended up suspending $85,000 for $40,000 in improvements. Doctors have a lot more invested in their careers they don't take risks. As for the OP, I am hoping that Runaround Sue will research her options and realize she has the tool and doesn't need a revision.

It's interesting that someone said I am "new". I was on this board back in 2003 before it was purchased and moderated by who ever does it now. I am anything but new, folks. I'm glad the band is working for some of you. Just be ready when the time comes when you vomit in your sleep and wake up choking; the band stops working and all of a sudden you can eat like a horse; it slips or erodes; or worse, it causes long-term damage. When I went to in to see my surgeon a year ago, he told me that I was the last person that he banded (I was a part of the clinical trial for the SAGB) that still had my band in. Everyone else had revised. I feel great compassion for those of you that are fighting this information. I know it is scary and you might think that I am not being honest. I replied to a post from someone considering the surgery with my opinion and my experience.

Hello Everyone,I had the sleeve in January 2013 and did great until March 2014 when I got sick with a bug. Since then it's been hell. In and out of hospitals, total of 25 days,gallbladder removed.I throw up everything I eat and drink and now have developed severe pain and blacking out. The other day I was rushed to the hospital,told it was constipation and sent home. So I just recently met with my GI doc who has schedule a emergency endoscope so determine what's wrong.she has told me its either a few things but she is leading toward my sleeve being bad and may need a revision and or g tube. I really wish would have known all complications because right now I'm barely surviving.

I wish I had more restriction. I'm almost 7 mos post op and I've only vomited twice. Both times the meat was to dry. I haven't slimed. I'm thankful for that. I used to do that plenty when I had the lapband. I don't know if it's because I'm a revision, bougie size or what. I'm scared I'm stretching my sleeve. I definitely need to work on better eating habits and behaviors.

I have my sugery tommorow and I was told I would be put bck on liquids for a few weeks. At this point, I just want it fixed and over with. Am glad your getting another opinion, strecting it won't help, you need a revision surgery ASAP!

That's a bummer, Penni. Geez.. maybe there should be a Band Surgery 102? Seems like there is a rash of revisions, re-positioning, re-everything...

well I have to go through the 7 month visit with my family dr. and all the other steps that I did with the first surgery before I can have my revision. I guess if I want insurance to pay I will just have to go with the plan. I had planned on having the surgery before I put on too much weight but I guess I will have to work harder to keep it off. - which is going to be even harder because I am going to have surgery on my foot most likely in May - and there will be no weight allowed on that foot for a month and then very little for the next. By the time I am getting over that surgery I will be nearing my time to have my sleeve surgery. I just hope I can balance my diet to not gain a lot of weight before I have that surgery. because there wont be to much exercising. I am so happy you are so close to your surgery. I will be praying for you. Just remember the goal you will be reaching for when you are struggling through the bad days. Just grasp that picture of the smaller jeans and not squeezing into those tinny chairs.

Wow, so many have to wait a while between procedures. My band is coming out tomorrow - 3/10/14 and revision to sleeve on April 17th - only a 4 week wait.

I have read and heard that band to sleeve patients have had slow weight loss and that the sleeve doesn't work as well.... I am considering the sleeve and this news scares and worries me.... Please share your weight loss and any struggles you may have had... Thank you!

Well SH*T, I have been worrying that this same thing may be happening to me also. I think I can eat wayyy to much for my 6 week post op status. Compared to what most of the "successful" sleevers report being able to eat, my appettite is huge. Don't get me wrong I get full on a lot less then I used to but I can still eat a fairly large amount. The other day I ate a half a small sub sandwhich from Port of Subs. I was pretty full but I figure most people at my stage couldn't eat that. I worry I am going to stretch it. I wondered also if it did happen if for some reason my surgeons pouch was not small enough if it could be revised. That is looking like it is not the case huh? Your avatar pic looks great. Hopefully you have not had a regain.

I am at goal; I was a band to sleeve revionista! During the process, the NUT told me that I lost at a good rate/as expected even for a "virgin sleever". she told me that indeed many revision patients do lose slower. The main theory is that the lapband teaches you how to eat sliders, and that you develop a tolerance for a "packed esophogus". Basically, to survive the lapband you learn things that can cause you to have less then stellar results. my view though is that we can use our minds to overcome this "disadvantage" and there are advantages to previous experience - so it can be a forumula for amazing success!

Getting my lap-band revised to RNY was one of the best decisions that I have ever made! There have been ups and downs since my surgery in May but it has all been worth it. I have lost more weight in these last 3 months than I ever did with the band. I am just 3 lbs away from this fabled place I hear of called "one-derland", I can't wait to see 199 on that scale!! I wish you luck on your new journey, you truly deserve some things to go your way after such a long struggle.

Mooki, Thank you for the thoughtful support and positive feedback. I appreciate you and everyone else on BP. As a private sleever myself, this site allows me to share discreetly with my peers while obtaining valuable information. This site along with a sleeved now revised to rny friend, my son (Resting in Heaven) helped me to make this life changing decision. We are all right on track with questioning our vsg surgeries and wondering if it worked, hydration and or stage consumptions, feeling lethargic and etc. I'm also dealing with insomnia, hate it so much. I think the full liquids have ran its course and I need pureed food before Tuesday. I'm going to see how I feel after a few errands tomorrow. Question for all of us, who else in oit group didi tell others or limited pp about their wls?

I am wondering the same thing myself... excellent question. I just wanted to say that I am in the EXACT SAME boat. I had a sleeve in 2016, lost just shy of 100lbs and my lowest recorded weight was 199. I then went through a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment including many surgeries, and this past summer I was back up to the exact weight as you - 267. I have been working closely with my doctor and am now down to 243. I am scheduled for a revision this December mainly for GERD, but hoping that it will help me with losing some extra weight, too. I just wanted to remind you that you are not alone!

I do have to chew very well, and slowly. I don't get nauseas too often, but as soon as I have not chewed/ or eat too fast....it's like my throat fills with mucus and it feels like I am full to the top of my throat....and you guessed it! I have to go throw up until I get the un-chewed portion out. But I do not have any more nausea like in the beginning. Thank Goodness! I had a band revision to rny bypass in the same surgery, and I believe the extraction of the band, port and scar tissue really made my stomach extra sensitive in the first month or so. Definitely keep drinking your fluids, and keep trying your different protein choices...you never know what day your tastes will change and you will be able to tolerate the new foods. Hang in there.

I've had the band for five years - revising next month. Very similar experience. I lost about 20 lbs in the first 6 months then another 30 over another 2 - 3 year period. It took quite a bit of fill/unfill to get somewhat decent restriction but I never had great restriction. I found I had to really have more self control than anything else - which annoyed me as I thought that band would help more with that! The biggest things that helped me avoid being stuck were taking TINY bites. Chewing more than you ever think you need to, and taking more time between bites. I also had horrible time with chicken and scrambled eggs were always a no-go. I could eat an omelet though and would make 1 egg omelets. Dark meat chicken would be better, but white meat was just too dry.

I am still in the beginning phase. My consultation is on Feb 24 but I have done lots of researching. More so on the gastric bypass and some sleeve research. I suffer from gastritis and have been scoped many times. My ENT tells me that in my case gastric bypass will be better for me because I currently suffer from gastritis and heartburn . I also run low in Iron but my primary doctor says it wasnt alarming enough for her to say when I do have surgery that I had to choose the sleeve or that the sleeve was the best choice. I also have a problem with maintaining my electrolytes. With the bypass I would have be on top of this along with the common deficiencies that may occur. So, far two of my doctors believe I will stay on top of it. Its very important to get your blood monitored. I have been on you tube viewing videos of people who decided on doing the bypass instead of the sleeve because they already were dealing with gastritis. I have viewed videos of those who have gastritis before the sleeve and had no problems after the surgery and or mediciation helped it so much that it wasnt a problem . So it seems like a wait and see. I read that some doctors have done revision on some sleeve patients when the gastritis got too bad that medication didnt help and it was so bad they could not eat so it had to be revised. It just depends. You may not have a problem and that could be the case. No one can predict if gastritis will be a big or small problem after a sleeve. I would just continue to do more research to prepare yourself and be informed of all of the possibilities. I am still researching on the bypass and when I come across information on the sleeve I read that too. I want the bypass but I still keep research open to what the sleeve offers too. So every surgery has its pro and cons. Either way get all the information you can get so you can feel confident in your choice. The research continues for me.

Morning! I see my surgeon today for my week follow up. Doubt the staples will come out, but maybe less restrictions? Post-op 18 day Laparoscopic / 15 days post-op revision...... Wt loss: 23#. when I saw my PCP tho their day she congratulated me for doing the surgery, and for the wt loss right now. I'm only 5'0" and have not been under 200 # since 2008. That day I was (totally honest!) 199.9! Dawn

What was the first step? I'm so lost and confused regarding this revision....

I had mine for 10+ years and I lost about 80 pounds and mainly kept it all off but THE REFLUX after maybe 6.5 years of having it. Ugh. Crazy-bad. And it slipped once, which was just God awful. And I am pretty sure it was the cause of my hiatal hernia, which needed a MAJOR repair. I also know of several people who had enough of a food addiction that they were easily able to 'out-smart' the band. That being said, I thing until the addiction is addressed for these people, ANY WLS will ultimately end up as a failure... But, back in 2009, I was unwilling to get a bypass and VSG didn't really seem to be a 'thing' as far as I knew. At least that option was not offered to me. My surgeon tells me there are a several patients in his practice who absolutely love their band, even when it is giving them the same kind of problems I had with it and will not even consider removing/revision. So...go figure! Whatever works I guess