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I went to the surgeon who originally placed my lap band today to talk about the surgery I need to have to remove it due to erosion and subsequent revision surgery. I had my head completely reconciled with having vertical sleeve revision and then he threw in a new option. For the past year, he has been doing banded plication surgery. In my particular situation, due to the erosion, we would do the surgery to remove my band first, give my stomach time to heal, and then I would have a second surgery to revise to the banded plication. For those of you who are not familiar with this procedure, it involves folding the stomach in on itself and stitching it to achieve a sleeve like effect. This is a similar procedure to the old stomach stapling procedure but much more effective due to technique and the usage of sutures as opposed to staples. Then, he will place another band at the top of the sleeve thereby essential having two weight loss surgeries at one time. My understanding is that the plication is better for achieving immediate weight loss, the band is better for long term weight loss. Combining them is essentially the best of both worlds with a few added benefits. First, because you have restriction from the plication, you don't have to fill the band as fast or as much in order to achieve satisfactory restriction. Second, because of the more slender shape of the stomach, incidences of slippage are greatly reduced. Third, there is no need to dissect 90% of your stomach. Fourth, if you do have a problem with the band, it can be removed and you will still have restriction from the plication. As always, there can be complications. Sutures can come undone. There can be necrosis of the upper part of the stomach right below the band. My understanding is that so far, the complication rate is extremely minimal and weight loss results have been comparable to the sleeve. I have to admit that the thought of not having to cut my stomach is appealing to me. At the same time, the thought of putting in another band after my first one eroded is a little unnerving. My surgeon is not pressuring me to do either one. He wants me to do what I'm comfortable with but he is very excited about the results he has seen with this surgery. I am 52 and this is more than likely my last chance at getting to be where I want to be. This is still considered to be investigational and is not covered by insurance but I believe the majority of the costs will be covered by research study funds. I have complete confidence in my surgeon. He secondary specialties are liver transplants and pediatric surgery and he is always at the cutting edge (pardon the pun) of the latest and greatest bariatric surgeries. I just want to do the right thing for me. My instinct is to let him get in there and take out my band, take a look around and see what kind of damage my band did to my insides. Then, make a more educated decision about which surgery would be right for me. As an aside, he completely refuses to do gastric bypass. What would you do??

Jeez, Kindle -- what a depressing WLS story about your friend who's had a bypass. But it's useful as a negative model of self care. Of course, self care is about so much more than weight control. None of us does self care perfectly. And we all will die eventually. But self care is ultimately about showing respect for ourselves, including our bodies. Learning to care better for myself (in my senior years) has been at the core of my own WLS journey. It's truly embarrassing that it took me so long to get to the point where I am ready to do this work. I think that hitting bottom health-wise about three years ago helped me finally find and engage my power to do this work. BTW, my recent success has nothing to do with me being perfect. But it does have something to do with having more compassion for myself than I used to have.

I think I have an idea why some say 13 weeks to go and some say 12 weeks to go. As of yesterday(9/3), Thanksgiving is exactly 12 weeks away. The dates on the left hand side where it is saying 13 weeks to go are end of August dates. The dates where it is saying 12 weeks to go are beginning of September dates. I am excited to do this challenge to get me back on track. I got my band last summer and am having a hard time with these last pounds. Thanks, Colleen Lap band surgery: 5/6/08 Revision for kinked tubing: 7/17/08

just had my port revision yesterday...its a breeze..way less painful then the surgery! I agree I've been blessed as well, my port flipping was my own stupid doings (tried to carry 80pounds of topsoil on my shoulder...didnt end well! LOL) I'm down about 110 pounds and feel amazing... i hope all goes well for you on friday and keep up the great weight loss! ~Megs

My surgeon's office should be sending in my paperwork to insurance today or Monday. I'm scheduled for revision on 5/16 as long as everything goes through with Aetna. They don't see any reason for denial, but that's the funny thing about insurance - you just never know! I'm concerned because I had my original surgery with BCBS FL and trying to get my revision from Aetna (same employer, provider just changed), but they aren't concerned. Oh well, I'm crossing everything that can be crossed!

I had severe nausea the first two days after surgery. After that, none. In fact, I only take my nausea meds to help me sleep at night. I'm one week post op, so next Monday 12/9 I'll transition to puréed and see how I do! Katy W- Louisburg, NC Lapband revision to VSG with DS HW- 297 Weight at Surgery-279 CW- will update at two week appt

Before and After by Susan Maria Leach, the owner of Bariatric Eating (which operates another great website). It discusses her experience with gastric bypass---but is relevant to bandsters, too. The eating plan is very helpful, IMO, as are the recipes at the end. (The website has tons of great recipes, too--and many of the members who post on the boards are banded.)

No, this is not a board to push one doctor over another. It does happen to be that many here were operated on by Dr. Aceves but he has nothing to do with this website. I know I never suggested you go to Aceves. I never suggested ANY doctor to you. I just told you a bit of what I know about Joya, that's all. So unless you can show me where I pushed him on you I'm not really sure how you can suggest that this board pushes any given doctor. I have never ever claimed that Aceves was the only good surgeon. I have always pushed research, LOTS of research. Rumbaut is excellent as well. There used to be another one but his location is so bad and dangerous that I do not suggest him and he's been having a lot of problems lately. People coming home and having to have emergency surgery to fix something that went wrong. The person that had the liver issue with Dr. Joya posts here. She's been posting this morning. It's in her OH profile, or it used to be. She does not blame Dr. Joya for the liver issue... it happens. It's a risk with this surgery. Her issue was that nobody told her she would have to pay the additional $1200 until the day of her discharge and they were not open to her leaving the hospital until it was paid. They were very limited in forms of payment they would take. Had she known this up front when the complication first happened she would have had more time to prepare and take care of the additional bill. He had no complication fund before that. And speaking of the "complication fund," most of the good surgeons in Mexico cover complications themselves. Consider this, he claims complications happen in less than 1% of his cases. $500 x 100 is $50,000. The liver complication was $1200. That would mean he's making a pretty good profit on his complication fund. Complications are very unlikely to cost $50K in Mexico. Again, in my mind it goes back to ethics. You are okay with this and that's fine. I am not, I see it as an issue of ethics. It is not a matter of my doctor is better than your doctor, it is a matter of I require different things from my surgeon than you do and again, that's okay. That's why there is no surgeon that is a one size fits all kinda person. We all require different things from our surgeons. Leaks... they happen. So be it, all surgeons have them eventually. Nobody is downing Joya for having a leak. That wasn't the issue. It was his telling someone that leaks are basically easier and safer with bypass than sleeves. That person also posts here. She had her consult the day before surgery with Dr. Joya and he encouraged her to get a bypass instead of a sleeve. She was in a mad dash the night before surgery to research bypass. She ended up with a sleeve. She is also the one that explained about the person that had a leak and was still battling it 4 months later. The person was there while she was. I have to say, I stand behind my original post. I've been reading WLS boards for a long time and after time you can see trends with doctors. Some doctors have more issues than others. Some are flat out liars. Over time you see trends on various doctors. Dr. Aceves is probably the one in Mexico that does the most sleeves so you are going to see a lot of his patients posting. It's the way it is, it will be the same on any board where a lot of Mexican sleeved patients post. That doesn't mean he has anything to do with this board, he simply does more sleeves than other doctors so I'm not sure it is fair to jump to the assumption that he has something to do with this board. Really, it's kind of unfair to the man IMHO.

This brings up a good point, the cost for 4 weeks in the hospital was $10,500 yet that complication fund pays him (according to his own stats) $50K per each complication. That's a big profit. Is he a doctor or an insurance company? I agree completely, I never blamed him for the leaks or liver laceration. I made it really clear that all doctors are going to have leaks and complications eventually. It's not the leak, it's the costs involved. That wasn't my issue. My issue is when she originally wrote THIS: Since when is bypass safer than a sleeve? Since when is a bypass leak safer than a sleeve leak? That's just untrue information. This is where we will have to agree to disagree. It is as I wrote earlier, what matters to me is different from what matters to you. That's how life works, we all HAVE to find a doctor that meets our individual requirements. We did that and that is all that matters.

I got mine from laurens hope, I put gastric bypass, no blind ng tube and no NSAIDs

After reading all of these posts, I am wondering if getting the sleeve will be worth it! I lost about 50 with the band, and kept off 40. Will the sleeve make a difference? I have a 14cc band that has slipped. It's been filled almost to max capacity. No one ever told me that my band could cause difficulties with my sleeve! The entire point of the sleeve is to have restriction, correct? I'm paying cash for my revision surgery, and it's a lot of money to shell out if the sleeve will make no difference! I'm really bummed out, and I'm wondering if I should just get my band removed, and no sleeve on Wednesday. I only had band restriction for one year after band surgery in 2009. Please let there be more band to sleeve success stories out there!! Thank you, Lisa ????

I also had horrible scarring and adhesions. My surgeon was going to do a revision but once he got in there he felt it would be better to let my stomach heal and return to a semi-normal shape. I had to weight four months for the Sleeve surgery. I had the band for 9 years though, and apparently the damage was extensive. I am also surprised they still do the Lap-Bands, and surprised anyone would want it.

I am six weeks out of revision surgery (January 29th) and down 55 pounds at this point (way more weight than I ever lost with lap band). I saw my surgeon for a one month follow up last week and am amazed at the amount of damage that was done to my stomach by the band. He told me that the band had adhered to my stomach and was eroding through. He said there were small holes throughout my stomach where the band had attached itself. He was able to fix everything in one surgery (thank god...no way I could have done two surgeries) and I have been on the mend for a month and a half. What is amazing is that I had no symptoms of anything that could be wrong. No fever, reflux, etc. The only time I suspected anything is when I would go for fills and the band would be unfilled and I could actually feel it pulling my stomach (worst feeling ever).

there are statistically more complications with bypass, but complications with either surgery are really pretty low. The rule of thumb lately seems to be if you have GERD issues, go with bypass, otherwise, it comes down to personal preference. They're both good surgeries, and you'll find people on this site who've been very successful with both. you will have to take vitamins for life with both surgeries, but there are more consequences if you slack off on vitamin-taking with bypass because of the malabsorption. But if you're diligent about taking your vitamins, then vitamin deficiency is rare. about 30% of sleeve patients develop GERD (or if they have it prior to surgery, it can get worse), and about the same percentage of bypass patients (about 30%) experience dumping syndrome, and in both cases that's kind of a crap shoot. You can't really predict ahead of time if you'll get those or not (although if you already have GERD, it's very likely not to improve and there's a decent chance it'll get worse with the sleeve. On the other hand, bypass usually improves if not outright cures GERD). If you have bypass and are one of the 30% who dump, it can be controlled by not eating a lot of sugar (or fat - some people dump on fat) at one sitting. hair loss is very common with both surgeries. Actually, it's a potential side effect of any major surgery (and childbirth, too), due to stress on the body. I think we see it more after bariatric surgeries than other surgeries, though, because in addition to the trauma from the surgery, we're also taking in very few calories the first few weeks/months. The good news is, it's temporary - the hair will grow back - and in most cases, you're the only one who'll notice it. A few people don't lose any hair at all, a few lose noticeable clumps of it, but most of us are somewhere in the middle. It's more like "shedding", and it's not enough for others to notice. I didn't lose much at all. It lasted maybe three months and then started growing back. But anyway, don't make your decision based on hair loss, because that's very common regardless of surgery. I don't think you can really make a wrong decision either way. I'd take into account what your doctors say, and also consider your personal preference. Some people are more comfortable with one or the other. As I mentioned, they're both good surgeries and you can get good results with either one.

I was on the fence choosing between the two also. My doctor was ready to do either. I chose the bypass because I was a diabetic. 2 months after surgery I was no longer. I also chose it because I knew so many people that got the sleeve and then regretted it and ended up getting the bypass anyway. I just wanted to get it over with.

I've been planning to have the sleeve, and have done all the pre-op requirements. If all goes well, I want to do WLS over the summer. I've been planning on the sleeve, as it's what my surgeon recommended for me, but now I'm wondering if I should go for the bypass. I'm in my late 40s (done having kids, so fertility/pregnancy is not a factor in my decision), have a BMI of just over 35, with PCOS, diabetes, hypertension, and recently diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy (we're not sure of the cause, though I've read a study showing WLS improves symptoms). When I asked my surgeon why she recommended the sleeve, she said it's because I have relatively less weight to lose, and, although it will require work and being vigilant with diet, she thinks it will be successful for me, and is less invasive and risky, though she also said she would be willing to do the bypass if it's what I want. My endocrinologist said that the bypass has additional mechanisms by which it can resolve metabolic issues, but she'd suggest asking my surgeon about her rate of complications with bypass. She also said she'd be less inclined to push bypass for me, though, because my diabetes is well-controlled on one medication (A1c is usually between 5.7 to 6.0). My cardiologist strongly advised me to go with the sleeve, because she has a number of patients who were a "hot mess," medically, after bypass. I want to resolve my cardio-metabolic issues, but the risks of bypass also really concern me. I've never been anemic, but I've been deficient in other vitamins and have experienced hair loss and other issues as a result, so I'm concerned I may be at greater risk for deficiencies and other unwanted consequences with the bypass. I'm not sure how to decide this...help?

I haven't had surgery yet, but I had the same choice to make so figured I'd share my experience. Keep in mind everyone is different and my choice is just mine. I'm not suggesting that you should make the same decision or anything. So I have had issues with heartburn and I went into my surgery consult set on Gastric Bypass because of that. However, the surgeon recommended, due to my weight, Sleeve because it's less risk of complications. At my weight, the amount of actual loss would be about the same. My nurse then stepped in on my behalf and got an endoscopy to check out my heartburn issues. This was because I am self pay, and I can't really afford to do a sleeve, only to have to get a revision later, so she wanted to see if we could find a root cause of the heartburn/GERD. Endoscopy revealed I had a medium sized Type III hiatal hernia. While the hernia could be repaired during surgery, it also meant I had a good chance of needing a revision in the future if I went with Sleeve. Not guaranteed, but still a high probability. Since I'm self-pay and I definitely don't want to find myself in a position where my heartburn/GERD have gotten worse and I can't pay for a revision, we decided it would be best for me to go with Gastric Bypass. Gastic Bypass is a mal-absorption procedure in addition to just restrictive, so I will have to be extra sure my vitamins are okay, and it is more at risk of complications during surgery/recovery due to multiple incision sites. That being said, overall risk is still really low, it's just higher when compared to sleeve. Definitely weigh out the options, talk honestly and openly with your medical team about risks and complications. Hopefully you can come to a decision that works for you Best of luck!

I’m having Bypass March 22. Started a two week liquid diet yesterday and it’s HARD!

Yes, I did. Before my revision to RNY for gerd, I was suffering from severe gerd and as it progressed it gave me a constant hunger-like pain. I ate more and more small meals but the food in my stomach only helped the burning symptoms temporarily. I gained 1/4 of my total weight loss back after developing gerd, so my surgeon put me on Lomaira while I was waiting for my revision. The Lomaira helped a lot for appetite control. I only took it as needed, not daily, often in the afternoon or evening. Of course, it doesn't help with the gerd but it did take away that particular symptom.

I had band revision because my band slipped. I really never vomited much, so my surgeon thinks it may just be because I lost 100 pounds in a little over a year, that maybe the fat layer between my stomach and the band became thinner and caused a slip. But also in January I did come down with a stomach virus for 2 days so I am sure that had something to do with it as well. Anyway, back on track, just hoping things are normal now. tlhamilton - how long does the gurgling take? like if you take a drink how many seconds before you hear it? mine is like 3-4 and i'm not sure if that's too long

I think the most appalling thing to me was the last bit about surgery being the easy way out. It certainly makes weight loss easier, but it's definitely not the easy way out. Best example I have is that my sort-of Sister also had the Gastric Sleeve a year ago, and she ate around her sleeve and maintained roughly the same weight she'd been at pre-op, and is now having a revision done. Meanwhile, I'm sticking with it and my weight loss is still dropping. She'd veered off her path as early as one week post-op, and kept at it. So you can definitely eat around the surgery if that's your goal. Meaning it can't be the 'easy' way out, because it takes so many lifestyle and diet changes to maintain proper weight loss and really take advantage of the surgery. That's a really bad message to give to post and pre-op people who want to have/have had this done. If they underestimate the changes necessary for these types of things to be really effective, they're going to go to their doctors thinking it's a quick fix, and it isn't. It really isn't. That said, there are a lot of valid points in the article about eating, and types of foods, but it feels like, especially two of the points up there really undermines the achievements and hard work that post-oppers put into losing weight and keeping it off, and all of the work we go through before and after the surgery. Especially the emotional/mental stuff that factors into our weight loss. I just can't agree with those bits.

Please don't take this the wrong way. Doctors say you can loose 1-2 pounds per week with lap band. You have lost 2 pounds per week; so you are loosing on the high side. This is not bypass surgery. I have been a slow loser. I think this is because I had already lost 100 pounds per surgery. The hard facts are you lost the Water weight presurgery and now this is allllll real fat. It takes either burning off and or not eating 3500 calories before you can loose ONE pound. So in the last two weeks you have burned 14,000 calories. That's a lot. One bandster wrote "Rome wasn't built in day and neither was your butt."

I love her site and recipes! You have to remember that she is a bypass patient, so sometimes you may need to adjust (carbs wise) for the sleeve. I had ricotta pancakes last night...love them!

I had a roux-en-Y gastric bypass done in 2012 and am currently in hospital suffering from acute nerve pain, in my groin and legs and also tingling in my feet. I have had a CT scan, ultrasound and MRI and so far they cannot find a cause. My research has brought me to peripheral neuropathy or polyneuropathy, apparently in the USA this is common after weight loss surgery, particularly RNY. Has anyone has anything like this happen to them? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@James Marusek Sleeve patients have the part of our stomach that produces Ghrelin removed from our body (that 85% stretchy part is the part that produces ghrelin, which is part of the reason that the Sleeve is so effective) so we definitely experience reduced hunger, probably more than Bypass patients.