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I got to that point about 4 years in or so. Nothing I did would get me to stay under the 300 mark. Ultimately, I was revised to the bypass. My surgeon advised me that the Lapband was over hyped and under performed, that 2 of the largest manufacturers have sold off or stopped making new or replacement parts for their versions of the bands. When they removed the band, even though I didn't have any major issues going to the revision, the band was 100% encapsulated in scar tissue and took my surgical team more than 3 times longer to remove it than it should have taken. I'd hate to think what would have happened if I left it in!

The band is placed on the outside of the stomach so what goes on inside your tummy stays there and doesnt touch the band The band is meant to last a lifetime nowadays .. but as with all things .. maybe it will maybe it wont, .. how long is a peice of string ... Whatever weight loss surgery u choose theres complications that can occur with all of them, to me the laband had the least invasive surgery and the complications were more of a minor nature. At least if something happens the band can be removed .. to me the surgery was no worse than having a wisdom tooth out .. I would be more scared of having my intestines rerouted in a bypass op

Wow!!! Just recently I had changed my mind from band to gastric bypass. I am scheduled for March 9th so I know I am ok. I could never have afforded to pay for fills. I am glad I changed my mind now... Helena

Hello! I am currently choosing between the band and the sleeve. My main concern with the band is with the long-term effects of having an implant. I have heard that about 50% of people have their bands either removed or revised after the 5 year mark. Is there anyone who knows any more about this or who has had their band for a long time? I will be asking the surgeon about this of course, but in the meantime I would love to hear from you Thanks!

Hi everyone. I'm recently new to this site. I came here because I was determined to get the sleeve done and remove my band. Today I scheduled my surgery but decided on the RNY over the Sleeve. My surgeon really feels that I would do better with the RNY over the sleeve - Because I love sweets, and I know how easy it is to eat around my lap band I've decided to go with the RNY as my revision. I feel that I've made a good decision and Hopefully with determination I will be a success story. I owe each of you who post a big Thank you-- I've learned alot about the sleeve and was originally my choice for Revision. Thank you for posting your experiences and your success stories. This is a great forum- I hope it's okay if I continue to come back and visit and post even though I'm not a sleeved person. Your all so inspirational! My surgery date is Aug 3rd!!!

How things can change in a week! A week ago on Friday I learned that my chosen doctor was not a participating provider with my insurance company, even though my first phone calls told me he was. I felt that I was back at square one, and all the poking and prodding that I went through for the pre testing would be wasted. I called the surgeon's office, and they told me they would "look into it" and get back to me. I never heard from them. I decided to call the case management department of my insurance company. The nurse they put me in touch with was wonderful. She listened to me and researched who exactly was covered and participating. She gave me phone numbers and contact names. I was put in touch with Orange Regional Hospital in MIddletown, NY. They have been nothing short of amazing and wonderful. The care coordinators have worked closely with me to get all of the information transferred, and to set up the remainder of the appointments. I actually have a tentative surgery date set for July 18! I can't believe it! Right now I am going back and forth trying to decide between the sleeve or the bypass. I thought I was ok with my decision to do the sleeve, but the new surgeon made some good points, and I have started doing more research. My support group feels that the sleeve is the best, but I'm not sure anymore. I'm hearing people are hungry all the time after surgery. I'm thinking that this may be more psychological....my body is so used to eating (and in my case eating too much!), is it just craving what it can't have? I know the sleeve removes the part of the stomach that produces ghrelin, does that really make a huge difference? One of my most favorite things to do is to go out to dinner, especially at the end of the week. I guess this can still happen, the shrimp cocktail will become the meal, not the appetizer. I can't stand the way I look, and I don't believe I'm making a hasty decision. I have researched and soul searched. This is the right thing to do. I worry I'm not emotionally strong enough to stick to all the life changes I need to make. I want to be healthy. I want to look better. I want to have energy. I want to be able to shop at Victoria's Secret, instead of being told "we don't carry larger sizes here". I want to find outfits I love, not just things that "will do". I want to develop a positive body image and a healthy relationship with food. It sounds easy enough. I guess it's like smoking though. I used that as a crutch for years. The cigarettes were there for me during stressful times. I will have to learn a new way of thinking, and new ways of socializing and relaxing.

Hi everyone,my name is Helen Bauzon and I work as a Bariatric Dietitian and I am a magazine contributor within this forum. I have received the permission by Alex Brecher to ask your assistance in completing a survey. I am presenting in 3 weeks at a conference detailing "how to keep the bariatric patient well nourished while losing weight". I am looking to ideally obtain 100 replies from individuals who have had bypass surgery. If you would like to contribute your feedback, you can do so by clicking on the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6G76QLV Thank you very much in advance Helen Bauzon

The first two weeks are the hardest!! I was able to appreciate my surgery when I started feeling better and losing weight. Know that the pain will go away! Give yourself a good month to heal. Don't be discouraged! We've all been there, thinking the same thing! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Thanks so much. I really need to see the light at the end of the tunnel Summer Gonzalez bypass: 7/26/16

How are you doing today? Lap band 2009 Sw 200/lw 161/cw 214 Sleeve revision booked 17 May

How To: Get Back on Track and Stay There Are you finding yourself at over a year out and now you find yourself struggling? Do you miss the excitement that you first had when you had post op surgery while the weight seemed to melt away? If this is describing you, then I want you to listen up… you are not alone. In fact, I’d say that probably all of us post-operative surgeries have felt this way at one time or another. The difference between all of us is how we respond and how quickly we can hit the ground running again after a setback. So then, what are those who are successful doing differently compared to those who are struggling more? I have been doing extensive research in the last 6 months and I’m going to share with you what I have discovered. I’m hopeful that it will help everyone out there, because none of us are failures. If we have a setback, we MUST forgive ourselves and fight to get back up. The only time one can be determined as a failure is if they simply give up. As long as you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Weighing In: I’ll be the first to tell you that your self-worth has nothing to do with the number on the scale. That said, the scale never lies, but you just have to determine what it is telling you. It will let you know when you have not been on track, that’s for sure. During my weight loss phase post op, I never went more than 10 days on a stall. I’d sometimes fluctuate up a Lb. or two due to hormones and water retention but it was the scale telling me I needed to do two things, drink more water which is a natural diuretic and second reduce my sodium intake. I tend to crave saltier foods at that time and no, the scale did not lie one time. Sodium is a major culprit in water retention, not only that if you have high blood pressure you will always want to be mindful of how much you are getting in. Someone with HBP should keep their daily total to 1,800mg or less per day. A normal person should be around 2,400mg per day or less. Back to weighing in however, doing so at the same time of day daily, weekly or monthly (whichever you personally prefer) is really the best way to measure the difference between your last weigh in. Again, do not allow the scale to crash your mood. It is a measure of success or changes that might need to be made. But it won’t lie to you! If you are up 5 Lbs. then likely you need to put on the brakes somewhere and get back to basics. Put a limit on how much you will allow yourself to weigh on your scale. You decide what that number is, as long as it’s a healthy number for you. The WORST thing you can do regarding staying on track is ignoring your scale altogether. It has to be a part of your regimen because take it from me, it is much easier to lose a 5 Lb. gain than to realize you have gained 40 and desperately need to stop the gaining in its tracks. If you have been ignoring the scale then it’s far beyond time to stop lying to yourself and check the damage. In the smaller sizes it only takes 7-10 Lbs to go up a size. Do not wait until your clothes feel too tight, because by then you probably have already gained that much. Diet: Diet: di·et1 noun noun: diet; plural noun: diets 1. the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. (Google Definition) What does your Surgeon and/or Medical staffs say about this? Did they leave you with any kind of eating plan before you left from your hospital stay? The majorities of all of the journals I’ve ever read regarding post op diet plans are extremely similar to one another, give or take a few variations on when to move to the next step in foods. I’m talking about long term eating however, not the liquids or soft foods phases, but more what and how to eat as a Weight Loss Surgery patient once your stomach has healed. Back in 2011 when I was being asked by numerous members on the website how I was able to maintain my weight so well I decided to create a thread called the Basics Bootcamp. It was a regimen I held close to me if I felt I was falling off track and it helped me to stay at goal for nearly 3 years. I recently have made a bit of a revision to it knowing what I know now regarding nutrition and health sciences. I’ve been studying Nutrition and Health for a while now as well as speaking to many Bariatric Registered Dieticians and Nutritionists. But it still has the basic concepts which are: We do not need to eat so much sugar, we do not need to eat so much salt, we need to focus on protein first and we need to eat our fruits and vegetables. We especially need to be sure we are getting in our minimum of water every day. Sound simple enough? It should be but we have to deal with head hunger too. Indulging in sugar can become a slippery slope. Some people can do much better at moderation of these types of foods than others. I am not one of them. I find that if I abstain from junk food all together I do not think about eating it as much. But once I eat that first bite it feels almost uncontrollable to stop when I should. I continue to crave it for a week or more but then as time goes on the cravings do diminish once again. It all comes down to knowing how YOU react to them and recognizing these behaviors. Getting in tune with your personal triggers and avoiding them is one of the best ways to both get back on track and to stay there. When you hear that sound in your head that says “It’s okay, other people do it and they are okay. Go ahead, you’ve been good, you deserve it.” Realize this voice is a liar and if you listen you will likely find yourself back in square one. Anyhow, here is the thread if you’re looking to kick start getting back on track: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/306411-basics-bootcamp-v2-getting-back-on-track/#entry3459464 Exercise: Working out... Does everyone really need to do this? Even if you’ve lost weight really great in the beginning? The answer is definitely YES. Everyone should have some kind of exercise regimen tailored to them, but no matter what everyone should be doing something. Maybe all you can do is sit on the couch and do leg lifts. Then do that. Maybe you’re very advanced and you can run marathons… good for you! But do it and don’t stop. It takes a long time to become conditioned enough to be advanced but only a matter of weeks to fall all the way back to level 1. According to the Mayo Clinic standard adults should get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise weekly. Break that up into 21 minutes per day if you have to, but just be sure to do it. This is a general guide and a good one to follow, especially if you are just starting up or starting again. The secret is figuring out how to stay there is to find something you like to do. You don’t have to train to run a marathon if you hate running. All that will do is burn you out and likely you will want to give up because it does not meet your fancy. Keep searching and doing new activities. Even brisk outside walking is considered moderate aerobic activity. I personally love it; I can treat it as my getaway at work. I put on my head phones to my favorite tracks and just let my mind wander to another place and relax. Yes, I love it so much I find it more relaxing than tiring. I breathe the fresh air and let the sun soak in. Believe me there are so many choices out there, you only need to find your favorites to keep you coming back. If you are doing this for reasons such as health, you will want to add in your workout. That’s not the only thing working out is good for however, it can help tighten your loose skin, toning can help fill it out. Also, being able to withstand longer periods of workout can help with simply being in a good mood. It’s a great stress reliever. It’s all mental: Yes, it really is. Your attitude will always be the driving force to whether you become a success and especially if you stay a success. How do you perceive yourself? Do you see yourself as worthy of being healthy, active, and happy and at a reasonable weight? Celebrate every pound you are down, no one pound deserves more praise than another. Lose the word “only” or “but” when describing how well you’re doing. It is okay to feel good about yourself and shout it out to the world! Take periodic progress photos so on days you’re feeling down, look at them and see how far you have come. Take as many photos as you like! It is not a bad thing. Another rule to hold dear is to ALWAYS forgive yourself, get back up and keep fighting. A baby never learned to walk after his first step. It took many try’s, stumbles and falls – but the baby keeps getting back up and builds those leg muscles until it can walk without effort. One last thing, NEVER compare yourself and your journey to anyone else!! You should only compete with who you were yesterday. Struggling has quite a bit to do with how you feel about yourself, and how you feel about yourself will have everything to do with how often you’re struggling. Stay positive, always. Every time! “If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don't. If you'd like to win, but think you can't It's almost a cinch you won't. If you think you'll lose, you've lost, For out in the world we find Success being with a fellow's will; It's all in the state of mind. If you think you're outclassed, you are: You've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize. Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man, But soon or late the man who wins Is the one who thinks he can.” ― Walter D. Wintle

Has anyone had this done? What's the pros and cons of it over lapriscopic? My surgeon decided to leave the practice and now ill be seeing the other surgeon (which things happen for a reason) and he does both lap and open but prefers to do open. He's pretty honest and reather do open so, that's what I'm thinking of going with, partly because he sutures and they disolve with open instead of staples being in my body forever with lap. I just wanna hear if anyone has any thoughts on this. I know its one long cut (which I'm ok with) instead of 4-6 different little cuts. Anyways just curious because surgery is going to be in april and wanna decide before this on what may be better. I am definitely leaning towards the open though, also what's the down time for both?

Yikes what's that pain like ? The blood clot pain ? I heard that's very common in the bypass

Marie, I am going to be banded tomorrow as well...so I totally understand the nerves! Yesterday was worse than today in that regard. I felt teary and just an emotional wreck. However, I have no doubt that I have made the right choice. I am sure there are cases where gastric bypass might be a better option but not for most of us. It's been the surgery of choice in Australia and England for years! We won't be malnourished for the rest of our life and our body parts are all intact. That's enough reason for me! I am at peace that it will take time and hard work. I think we will be just great after we get past the surgery tomorrow. Just remember you are not alone. Lots of of will be in the same "place" tomorrow and we are all here to help support one another. Take care and check back in when you can. Hugs and good thoughts...

Hello Everyone. I have my revision from lapband to sleeve scheduled for the 25th of this month. I am currently 220lbs, 5.5" and plan on being around 215 lbs the day of surgery. My question is, will the sleeve help me reach my goal of 150 lbs. I have seen a lot of posts of lower 200's not loosing very much with the sleeve (when it is a revision). Looking for personal experiences and insight! Thanks

Congratulations teshadb! So glad you are finally able to get your revision. I'm hoping to have my surgery in June. I have scheduled the majority of my preop testing for the next few weeks including the nutritionist so I can get on a preop diet. I also spoke to my HR department today and let them know that I will be having surgery. Everything is moving very fast, but I'm excited and ready to get going.

my friend had bypass surgery close to 3 months ago....she claims to have lost 60 pounds...i saw her on saturday and was taken back...i saw absolutely no difference!!!!!!!!! none at all!!!!!!! in fact she looks as though she has put on weight in her chin and neck. she kept asking me if i noticed a difference...i stayed quiet and changed the subject...she kept telling me how much smaller her thighs and waist have gotten...i honestly didn't see any change...i wanted to...i tried to...but i don't see it...when i started my journey i weighed 10 more pounds then she did...after losing 60 pounds it was quite noticable...should i lie and tell her i see it??????? or just keep changing the subject...

Huge difference between the sleeve and the band is that they cut out the part of the stomach that generates the homone ghrelin which stimulates hunger. Between the restriction of having only 15% of your stomach and not having that hormone, you will probably not feel much hunger. With the band, you still have your full stomach and full production of ghrelin, so it's no wonder that you were never really satisfied with food. I think it is a lot easier to make good choices for food when you are not hungry. You also will not be able to eat around your sleeve, unless you intentionally are choosing sliders like milkshakes etc. Again, when you are not feeling hungry, it's a lot easier to resist stuff like that. If you look at the success rates and percent of body fat loss between the band and the sleeve, you will see that you are much more likely to reach goal and in a much shorter period of time. My surgeon told me the band is more like hiring a personal trainer and was honest that he has seen a much higher success rate among his sleeve and bypass patients than his lap band patients. In my opinion, you should not judge the potential of your future success with the sleeve based on your past experience with the band since you are comparing apples to oranges with long and short term success rates. Good luck with your decision. I hope you get some answers from people who have been there. I think I saw a thread where someone posted a link of band to sleeve revision stories. I will see if I can find it and post it here.

Sounds like a bad idea to me. Many on here have needed revisions due to reflux. If you already have GERD I would strongly reconsider just starting with the RNY. Why go through two surgeries? What are your reservations?

Hi there I had my thyroid gland remove in 2008 and I was 16 stone before had it removed and then I put on 8 stone in 10 months then got referred for surgery and then as soon as got a date found out I have type 1 diabetes, so had to weight till it was under control so then went back in to see doctor and I was going to have bypass but would not do it so they said band would be better had band fitted dec 2012, had 3 fills I'm up to 7 1/2 mls in 14 ml band and still not restriction, and really upsets me cause I don't think it going to work. Day of surgery I was 20.7 and now 17.10.

your story is similar to mine in that I have a lapband and was very active at LBT UNTIL I decided to have a revision to the sleeve; my surgery is in three days. The sleeve is permanent and the lapband is not. I am now glad to be getting a permanent surgery for my weight loss journey. Best of luck to you and keep posting!!

RestlessMonkey~ There are soooo many stats out there nowadays, it's hard to keep up, lol. I had to do some digging into my paperwork to find out the mortality percentage my doctor quoted. Maybe you were thinking of the death rate for gastric bypass??? Anyway, take care and best of luck to you.

I was banded on October 4th, 2013. I was on an all liquid diet for 10 days prior to surgery. The reason behind that is to get the liver to shrink down so they can move it out of the way to be able to get to the area easier. As far as a drain port, I did not have one. Maybe other doctors use it. I believe for the sleeve and the bypass they use a drain port. Best of luck to you on this journey!!

Yay for you!!! I had my band out August 1. The original plan was to convert to bypass at that time but I had so much inflammation and scarring from my band prolapse that he felt it safer to send me home to heal for 6 months (would have had to have made my pouch larger...who wants that,?!?!??). Six months was up February 1, my surgery is Monday!!!!! Yay!!!! Healing from the band removal was a piece if cake except EXTREMELY sore where the port was removed for about 6 weeks (my surgeon said the actually scrape it off the abdominal wall, ouch). I've attempted to attach a copy of my diet progression for you. I have 6 days full liquids, 1 month gastric bypass soft diet (meat must be spreadable plus soft squishy stuff) then 2 weeks of the same except meat should be ground and I can add toasted whole wheat bread. Then 2 weeks with shaved deli meats then normal foods with caution. 2 months and 3 days post op I will be back on essentially a normal but healthy diet. My doc does not forbid anything but recommends a healthy low fat low carb diet. I am allowed (as tolerated) bread, rice, potatoes, popcorn, etcetera just in moderation and prepared in a healthy way. A lot of folks on here are totally anti-carb so every doc is different. I like my docs approach of anything in moderation though, it does seem practical to me to never eat bread or potatoes again! Good luck!!! Keep us updated! HW 312, pre-op (lap-band) 294, pre-op (RNY) 255, surgery date 2/11/13, goal weight 154, current weight 241.6

There was entirely too much damage from the band and the Dr couldn't dothe revision. My bad was 80% eroded and there was a hole that had to be repaired. So now I am left wondering what is next. I'm so disappointed.

Hi everyone :) I was wondering if I could ask for some help please? A quick introduction to my weight history. SO from a young age I was always overweight. Primary school I was the chubby girl, in high school I was the fat girl and in university the weight piled on even more until I got to around 16 and a half stone where the weight maintained itself. Then in the year of 2016/17 I went on an extreme diet and exercise regime where I lost ALOT of weight by myself, in the beginning it was great I felt in control and very motivated but then by the end of 2017 I had lost too much weight, I was severely depressed, lacking in nutrients, I had no friends and my weight plummeted to 6 and a half stone :(. Then in February of 2018 something just snapped in me I was tired of being constantly anxious and avoiding food so I just started eating EVERYTHING I had banned and BOOM by the end of 2018 I was back up to 17 stone again!! I understand that my body needed the food but my anorexia phase went straight into binge eating and I have been struggling ever since :( all that hard work for nothing but I was so miserable I just wish I hadn't taken it so far! Now I want to have WLS (I am going to therapy) and have been in contact with a surgeon here in the UK who is lovely, I want to take my time, heal my mind and body but I am just so down with my relationship with myself and food at the moment :( Can anyone offer any advice please? The surgeon believes the mini gastric bypass would be the best route but I would need to select the package with the 12 phycologist sessions. How has everyone's experience been after surgery? I just am afraid of going back the way I was, I never want to be like that again but I am feeling horrible at the moment :( Thank you! :) Char