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Well, I had the procedure on Tuesday. Woke up in the ICU so they could monitor bleeding issues. Pain was pretty intense when I woke up. They had me stay an extra night in the hospital, but eventually moved me to a regular room once i pooped and had a positive upper GI xray. I'm back on a clear liquid diet for the next couple weeks, then it's into full liquids. Christmas is gonna be a pain in the ass. Since I wasn't resleeved, and can't find many people who have had SIPS as a revision to VSG, so I'll try to post my experience here. Day 2 post op... 6 incisions, painful shoulder gas, hurts to stand, get a little nauseous and tired when walking... but I'm doing it . 6'2" 354lbs going into surgery. 356 today, but I think that's normal. The drop should start in a day or two. I'm currently coughing and hicupping a lot, which hurts like hell. Also, I wasn't given pain meds (for reasons listed above). I'll post more as it happens.

I really don't have advice on the surgery itself because I'm going through the pre-process. I will tell you how I came to my decision....I'm turning 40 this year. I've been struggling with my weight for 20+ years. I'd lose 40-60 pounds to gain it all back plus more. I had a son at age 37 and now that he is so active, I decided I needed to get this done. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to be around for my son, I don't want to be an embarrassment. I've stopped and started this process probably 3 or 4 times and was originally going to go with bypass but the whole idea of them cutting my stomach and reducting my insides, freaked me. Permanent freaked me out. The band is such a great tool, I think. Am I worried about complications, yes. BUT, what about the complications from our weight issues? Am I worried about death? Yes, but what about dying from a heart attack at age 45 (for me). I think the risks are worth it. I have really changed things about myself just preparing for this surgery. I know if I would stay on track with the changes I have made for myself, I could probably lose the weight alone but I know it would come back on quickly and the lap band will help me maintain control.. I am a frustrated dieter/life changer. I am able to diet and lose but I get so frustrated when I'm living off of raw vegetables and lean cuisine and not seeing that scale move. I get mad and quit....and the cycle continues. I'm hoping this band will help control the hunger so I'm not "starving" and getting frustrated. I've researched, and weighed my options. I can remain overweight and risk the chances of diabetes, heart disease and cancer to name few or I can gain control of this weight and gain control of my life. I want my son to be proud to call me his mom. I want to take pictures with my son so he has memories of me, but I wont' do it now because I'm humiliated with my appearance. I'm done living in the shadows and I want to be healthy. I'm not saying I want to be skinny...healthy. I've told my surgeon....If I could get to 165 and stay there, I would be thrilled. I want to be able to shop in the normal clothes section and not have to shop in the chubby chic section where they only sell clothes with big flowers and fish on them! In my opinon, you have quit smoking....great move to improve your health and kudos for your decision. Losing weight will only add strength to you and make you feel better, inside and out. I am excited about my decision and will eventually look and feel on the outside like I do on the inside. Do the research.. try www.lapband.com - I got a lot of information there. Go to the surgeon and ask tons of questions. I probably call the nurse at least once a week with a new list of questions and they gladly answer them for me. There is a lot of information here too, just don't listen to the horror stories, because they are with every situtation. Some people have horrible pregnancies, gall bladder removals, perms.....but it doesn't stop other people from have successful perms and births....

I also thank you for bring this subject up. I do believe God has a special place for people like us. Sometimes we go throw life careing, parenting and giveing support to others , that we tend to forget or not realize what is going on with our bodys....I sit and ask myself where did all this come from, I mean when I really looked at my body mass.I cried for hours and came to a point where I almost went the other way, as to "oh what the heck, I'm here already so what?"But my heart and mind told me that I am better than that...So one of the nurses in my doc. office had the Gastric Bypass, and she said to me Quote" this is not for you". Than when I looked at myself and ask ms why did I not look at me than, was she tring to tell me something? Anyway, after that day when I meant me, that is when I took control and agreed, its time to do this. You don't know how important these threads means to me "Very Supporting" I thank all and Bless all....we are doing something for us! elite53:biggrin0:

well hopefully its just the reflux and they can get it under control without doing a bypass..my friend is looking into vsg also but has heartburn and reflux..how bad was your prior to surgery? im wondering if bypass would be better for her but i know she wont want to do bypass..smmmhhh good luck!!!!

Ok....I'm 3 weeks post op today and am just coming home from the ER because of bn dehydrated. Since being sleeved, I have been back in the ER 2wice for dehydration and after the first time in the ER, a day later I was readmitted into the hospital for 3 days. This acid reflux is really the pits for me!! I'm not able to get down a good 8oz of fluid and I'm feeling like crap! I'm not fully vomiting, but whatever I try drinking or eating, it comes right back up to the back of my mouth and its NASTY....NASTY....NASTY!!!! My meds have been increased but the sad thing is since I can't get much fluids in, the meds aren't dissolving really like it needs to. On top of that, (not to get tooo nasty), I'm not using the bathroom like I should be. So, my question is, is their anyone else having this problem? If so, how r u dealing with it?? I mean the only thing that seems to kinda stay down are SF popsicles. I know it takes a while to get things down, but like all day today b4 going to ER, I had maybe 4ozs of my soy milk and protein. I just finished the rest of it.....other than that, I had 2 bags of IV fluids. I pray this gets better, my doc said if not I may have to go back in for bypass. I just feel miserable and often a lil weak. Anyone else like this??

I don't think so. There is a doctor here in Beaufort that does it. I spoke to his nurse and she said he used to only do Gastric Bypass but he's starting to do Lap Bands also. He'll start in June. I'm hoping that I can get in with him because I wouldn't have to travel far from my home.

When I started my journey, I was going to have the band. But with my first visit with the surgeon, he suggested the sleeve and my insurance had just recently approved coverage for it. I came home and did my research. After weighing the risk and complications of both surgery and discussing with my husband-I chose the sleeve. I am so grateful for making that decision. I have no limitations on food except for what I chose. I am following my diet closely and have lost 56 pounds so far and I have only been sleeved for 3 months. I have never vomited, regurtitated, slimed my food. I don't have to make appointments for fills/worry about slippage/rejection/breakage. Some people are very succesful with the band-but I have only seen one-everyone else I know has had complications and had revisions to the sleeve. I know you will need to make your own decision and good luck but I do not regret having the sleeve instead of the band.

Hello fellow vets I am past eight rears with the lap band. I easily got under goal due the band being too tight I now realise. I even lost weight on a cruise! However, over the last few years my weight fluctuates a lot. I have now regained two thirds. It is due to eating the wrong things. I know the band is filled enough. I am never hungry, but cannot control my head hunger. I am depressed and feel a failure as I believe I have a marvellous tool. I am seriously considering having bypass surgery as I am fearful of erosion eventually. After reading extensively on these forums I get the feeling that bypass surgery might be the best to get to deal with my head hunger issues. Any thoughts, replies eagerly awaited

On 1/28 I had revision surgery going from VSG to a bypass due to feeling like I did not reach the goal that I wanted and was actually starting to regain. I am 13 days post op and feel no restriction. I mean none. When I first had the vsg surgery I felt restriction immediately even during the liquid phase but now it’s so different. I’ve even tried some solids maybe to see if I’m over reacting but still nothing. Anyone else has been through this ? I’m starting to worry.

Some of you may already know that I am 3.5 years post sleeve and have been pending a revision surgery for a while now. I have spent the past several months doing research and several tests to decide which surgery will be most appropriate for me and we have finally decided to go through with the SADI surgery and I have a date in early August. I am a bundle of emotions. I am a great deal more nervous this time around. I think it’s partially because this is a riskier procedure witb more serious side effects but I think it’s also because I am taking this a lot more seriously this time. I am really afraid of failure. I feel like I already failed once so what if I go through all of this only to not lose or lose and gain it all back again like last time. The surgeon said that the sleeve is a good fit for a lot of people but obesity is really complex and some just need a more aggressive surgery with greater metabolic change to be successful. He said his patients have had good results with the SADI-S and the sleeve to SADI revision. So i am also really hopeful and excited that it will be different for me this time. I don’t think I have totally wrapped my mind around it yet though because I am not counting down the days and wanting it to get here sooner like I was last time. I’m kinda glad to have a few weeks to get there mentally.

I'm scheduled for gastric bypass surgery on January 28th and I'm so excited!! I keep getting impatient about waiting but I know it will fly by! Any advice for a newbie?

Good question Fishy....and for me the answer is yes. We are very into wine collecting. Many friends own wineries and we spend a lot of time learning about their craft. We enjoy it a lot. It has nothing to do with getting drunk, nor do we drink it with Breakfast lunch and dinner (every day LOL) but it's an enjoyable part of our life that we share with friends. If I could never have a drink of wine again I would live. But I enjoy it and would just assume keep it as a part of my life. I do not enjoy drinking heavily at a party til I can't stand...that kind of thing belongs to youth I guess But responsible drinking isn't a bad thing in my mind...as long as you are at least three days past surgery (KIDDING!!!!) I should mention. I had this surgery verses the bypass because it allowed me to live a more normal life, and being able to drink was one of the factors. I wasn't willing to leave the whole cellar to my dh lol

Dear Presurg: This surgery will not limit what you eat in any way. Within a couple of months, you can stuff yourself to oblivion and gain weight as fast as you ever did. I'm three months out...and if I wanted to? I could eat 3000+ calories per day easily. Lot of people do this. They start eating crap every couple of hours and manage to gain back every ounce they've lost before they've even gotten to month six. Reeses peanut butter cups go down very easily after surgery, so do potato chips and ice cream and french fries and nuts.... and it doesn't take many of these indulgences for them to add up and turn into a disaster. While you might notice a little nausea after a gut load of sugary things, sleeve patients don't generally dump like bypass patients. It won't be hard for you to overindulge in sweets. Also, lots of people continue to experience lots of hunger. Ask me:) I know:) I had no nausea, never vomited, and was ready to chew my leg off two weeks after surgery I was so hungry. If you do not correct your eating habits and apply a metric feck tonne of self discipline, and work....this surgery isn't going to do squat for you. Some people are looking for a magic cure. If this is you....don't bother. You're still going to have to diet. And count calories. And write down every single thing you eat every day of your life for months and months. You will still have to pay attention to measuring everything you eat. Looking up calories. You will have to exercise...and then exercise harder to break the stall you've been stuck on for weeks. The average experience with sleeve....is to lose about 60-70% of your excess weight in 18 months and then gain about 12% back. If you have 100 pounds to lose, you can expect to lose about 65 in 18 months if you have a typical experience with gastric sleeve...and then gain back about 12 within two years. (and these are people who mostly follow instructions, eat 1000-1200 calories a day and exercise 30 minutes a day) If you want an exceptional experience...where you get to your goal weight....you'll have to work really really hard to get there. And pay attention to what the people who have actually done it have to say about it. I'm a little older than Blizair09...and we have different diet philosophies....but he's one of the hardest working posters I've seen on these boards and I admire the hell out of him and have learned a LOT from his experience. You could do a lot worse than to listen to him. One final word of (unsolicited) advice.... If you smoke again after surgery, you will swallow nicotine. Your saliva will be infused with it and it will wash right down to your stomach. Nicotine impedes healing and is strongly correlated with leaks post surgically. Both in the first few weeks AND in the first few years. Best wishes on your surgery. Here's hoping the peanut butter eggs haven't deterred your liver from shrinking.....many surgeons will just close you back up if your liver hasn't sufficiently shrunk. To get your liver to shrink you have to stop eating carbs nearly completely. You're defeating the point of the diet...by eating that candy.

Think twice about getting the Lap Band Surgery......Look under CBS News Lap Band.....Study done by the physician that started this surgery. Results are not good. 20 yr study Another physician stated that he used to do 50% Lab Band now he only does 5% or less. Please read everything. They only tell you the good stuff. And if you want support you can forget that also. A once a month support group......what a joke. I went to a few of the support groups but it was a waste of time. I have done well with the Lap Band, but very few do. If I had a choice and knew what I do now I would have the gastic bypass. Lap Band is very hard to do.....you have to accept that everything will change or not. I was in a room with about 50 other patients for a band fill not to long ago and only two of us had lost weight. Myself and a male patient. Lap Band done June 2009

Good luck! I hope everything goes through your insurance without a glitch. I just had my revision on 4/17 from lap band to RNY luckily without any real glitches. Your on your way now... Yay!

I was sleeved in 2012. At my highest weight I was 330. When I started the sleeve journey I was 299. I went down to 168 pounds. Prior to surgery I had severe reflux and took two omeprazoles a day. I was able to quit them. Eventually I needed to go back on them. The reflux came back pretty severely. I went to the hospital in January 2015 thinking I was having a heart attack. All my tests came back negative. I saw a pulmonologist, I then had an endoscope done, I had many other tests done too, including barium swallows and other tests that tested my swallowing function etc. The acid reflux came when I drank Water, I was constantly choking on my food. I ended up with severe esophageal spasms. I stopped eating most meat and eat mashed potatoes, oatmeal, I eat a lot of Soups. I went from 168-205 pounds due to not being able to follow the high Protein diet. I am having revision to bypass on March 21st. This is not something that happens to everyone, but I do highly suggest that if you suffer from severe GERD prior to surgery that you explore the other option. Having surgery twice is not easy. It's also a horrible feeling having the spasms, and it's extremely depressing to feel like you have failed, when you felt like you were on top of the world at one time. Had I known that the acid reflux would start wearing away my esophagus and I would constantly feel like crap I would have gone straight to the bypass the first time. I spent a year researching everything I could on revision surgery and there is a huge amount of people that are being revised from sleeve to bypass due to this issue, moreso than people needing to have a second surgery to lose more weight. I have a feeling that Insurance Companies are going to eventually request more testing on GERD prior to sleeve surgeries in the future due to not wanting to pay out for an eventual revision surgery. Everyone needs to make their own personal choice, but as someone that went through this, if you have serious issues with GERD, talk to your doctor about your choices of sleeve vs. bypass. I wish I did. Best of luck.

I recently had gastric sleeve surgery two weeks ago. I was also undecided until about a month before the surgery. One of the things that helped me decide was attending support groups and meeting different people who had the sleeve and the bypass. I learned that in both surgeries it the weight loss success varied from person to person regardless of what surgery they chose. Some sleevers lost 100+ pounds and some had slower progress. I also met folks who had bypass and lost 60 pounds or 125. It really depended on how each person was following the diet and exercise plan. I also plan to have a baby as soon as I can and I felt more comfortable with a restrictive procedure rather than a restrictive and mal-absorptive one. My goal is overall health. I would also ask write down questions to ask my doctor before my appointment which helped me make my decision. In the end it is your body and you have to feel it is the right decision for you. Best of luck in your decision! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I just read that Star Jones had bypass, but then again just like T.V. I don't believe everything I hear or see. I am not bothered by celebs not being honest-I mean I don't think it's right but,..Advertisments are there to sell a product, these people are actors, It is up to us to make educated decisions on what we buy or believe. just my 2 cents

Sharon Osbourne has said "I had a band put on my stomach," but she has also called it something different every time she mentions it (even "gastric bypass"), so it's very confusing. I've certainly NEVER heard her refer to it as a "lap band" or the fact that it's "adjustable." Someone posted on another message board that Sharon got a lap-band during the FDA trials w/a surgeon named Phillips at Cedars-Sinai. I get the impression she's been deliberately evasive about it. It could be that she doesn't want to endorse it, particularly since she seems to be struggling w/bulemia as well. Well, hmmm...actually I just found a USA Today article that openly states that Sharon's colon cancer surgeon (Edward Phillips) was also her lap-band surgeon! BTW it's Ann Wilson of the band Heart who got the lap-band and was featured on Spotlighthealth. She lost about 60 lbs and seems to have gained most of it back now. I believe she struggled w/reflux, because she refers to getting an unfill at some point in her Spotlighthealth jourmal.

I had revision surgery on Wednesday and cooked for my family on Sunday. I didn't need any help at all. Actually would have preferred to be alone. Lol

Do it. If both your doc and the plastic surgeon agree that you're ready, I wouldn't hesitate. I didn't wait the full recommended period post-bypass either, because I had lost all of my excess weight and was in good shape. I haven't regretted it for even a second.

I did a revision from band to sleeve back in 5/19/15..i was 226 pounds. Band had slipped out of place and had to come out. Insurance approved it no questions asked. At first i was hesitant because of the fear of getting denial. Weight started dropping slowly since my target goal weight was not much to drop considering my height of 6"1 bmi should be at around 25. Currently going almost 7 months post op and weighing 179 pounds. I truly thought the weight loss would be much slower but i guess is all about how body anatomy truly is different from men/women.. Weight will drop for sure just need to keep on and be patient. There are days were it may feel like is not gonna work but it truly does.. Hang in there and this forum is hear to help you in times of need..

I've known a couple people who had the gastric bypass. One of them had the gastric TWICE because she gained the weight back. I'm not sure how they were able to do it twice, but she had it twice. Another person I know lost a significant amount of weight - got down to approximately 165 from 280 - but she is now at 198 and struggling to get back. After eating, she seems miserable and vomits a lot. A gastric bypass does not provide restriction, only malabsorption. You can fool yourself into eating a lot of food, but it seems like the more food you eat, the more calories you're still going to take in. The band provides restriction so you get the satiety feeling and won't continue to eat. I like the fact that I will still be able to enjoy foods, but in limited quantities which is how it should be. Sooooo, I decided to get banded so I wouldn't experience the vomiting syndrome and plus, rerouting my intestines is scary to me. Once your insides are changed, it's done and that's it - NO REVERSAL. If something happens to the band, it can always come out!!

Before250 6 months after bypass- 165

I originally had planned on doing the bypass, but my Doc pointed out a lot of good things about the sleeve. I ended up with the sleeve and am very happy so far. I'm 5 months post op and have lost 83 pounds since this journey began. I must admit that one of my key decision makers was the thought of never having a piece of cake or other sweets again. I was afraid of the dumping. My Doc also told me that at the 2 year mark the results were about the same for sleeve and bypass, so I thought why risk it. I also have pernicious anemia and he thought that might cause a problem with the bypass because I couldn't get any B-12 from the oral vitamins. So far I haven't found any foods that I can't eat, but I don't think that is true for everyone. Good luck!