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You'll probably find conversions over on the gastric bypass forums. Best of luck to you! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I realize this is a personal decision, I honestly do not know what route to go... I think BP better long term results, but it seems so drastic and I really worry about dumping syndrome and complications as well as my ability to really follow better eating habits.... I think having negative consequences of dumping might help with that, but wonder if I would decide to live with the pain just to satisfy my craving...... the sleeve seems like a more natural way to continue with life..... my doctor at first thought sleeve but the more we talk think the bypass offer me a little bit of extra help.... people use to die from this procedure and I realize that's not the case now but it scares the crap out of me... I know I want surgery I just don't know which 1 to choose... they're successes and failures with each I know it is my own choices.... socially I'd like to be able to drink a beer on occasion if I want to you know, I don't want to be on a date order something and take two bites eat like a bird either, but normal kids size person would be good I just don't know what to expect.... I have a friend who had bypass and she's great results but would have done sleeve but insurance would not pay for that, her mom had it also it is have the dumping effects but not as great results.... very stressful choice and it's a lot of money either way I go.....thx for thoughts between two surgeries

It is quite a bit, but I don't know how many weeks you are at or what surgery you had. I could kind of see that much if you are VSG (different sized sleeves variation) and if you ate the refried beans first. But not if you ate the eggs first. If gastric bypass, one egg was max for me at a sitting during that time. Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

Laying here in the hospital trying to sip my oz of Water. My surgery lasted like 4 1/2 hours. Turns out my prolapse had adhered itself to my liver, so they had to remove scar tissue from my liver Andy stomach. Just got my catheter out, o2 turned down to one, now if I could just stay awake b Pain is still pretty bad when I try to get out of bed. The pain is just on by side. The big incision they take everything out of that corresponds with the liver repair.

Dont get me wrong. I love my band. I was banded a little over 2 years ago. I lost most of the weight in the first year. I have lost about 130 Lbs total but i still have 20-30 left ot go. I am OK at this weight but i would like to reach the end. More importantly though I live a longg distance from and fill doctors or after care. I have had ot return to Mexico for all fills and adjustments. My duaghter, also banded, had a problem with slippage that resulted in the need for additional surgery. Even theough she had the best surgeon in the world, Dr Aceves :thumbup: its still something to think about. Seems like the Sleeve is gaining in populatiry and doesnt require the same maintenance. That would be a big plus for me. I have been researching on al the boards, including the newest one Weight Loss Surgery Forum and it looks like I am not the only one thinking about this. Anyone have any advice Thanks Craig

Greetings: I am now located in Cedartown, Georgia. My Gastric Bypass surgery was done in Indianapolis, Indiana in March, 2013..

I am also nervous on the risk for revision but like you feel the benefits outweigh them. I'm just praying my dr can do the surgery all in one and I dint require 2 depending in what he finds out from the band once he gets in there.

Hi there - I'm getting band to sleeve revision surgery on June 16th. No one can (or should) tell you not to worry about complications - there are risks for all sleevers, but unfortunately the risk is higher for us revisioners. We have scar tissue that has to be removed, along with the band, and generally the longer the surgery the higher risk of complications. I'm worried about this, but I think that the benefits clearly outweigh the risks (for me anyway). I know that I can't maintain a healthy weight on my own, and my risk for a range of serious health issues will just increase over the years. Statistically, my longterm outcome looks much better with surgery than without - but of course any of us could land on the wrong side of those statistics and be the one in hundreds/thousands that has a really bad outcome. Just like - I could have a heart attack next year if I don't do it. All we can do is look at the evidence and make the best choice we can. I wish you the best!

I am with @djmohr. It does get easier after surgery. (I had bypass so I cannot speak to whether the rule applies to VSG or not.) I struggled with the stopping before more than I did anything else. That one took time. I don't generally wait a whole 30 minutes though and I have seen this rule vary from 5 or 10 minutes to 30. I do the best I can on this one. I don't drink during eating. I have enough trouble getting in the right food that I can't waste the space. I have had a tiny rescue sip (as I have seen it called) when needed and then I just set an alarm on my phone for 30 minutes after I finish eating and don't drink until it goes off. Learning how to balance all this takes time. Try not to let it stress you out. These things all seem overwhelming in the beginning but some of it (most of it) just becomes habit eventually and you don't even realize you are doing it. Good luck with your surgery! Great job on the diet cokes! I promise you that is MUCH harder than the no drinking while eating thing! If you can quit diet cokes, you can DEFINITELY do the rest of this stuff!

I have to admit, I’m a little bummed and somewhat discouraged after my initial consult with the surgeon. I knew going in that they were going to give it to me straight and prepare me for the risks, but I also expected them to pump the surgery up a little – tell me I’m a great candidate; that so many people are happy after the surgery; if I exercise and eat right, I’ll have a better chance for success, and so on. Maybe I was being naïve. The nurse who first met with me was generally positive, but definitely harped upon the complications. The Doctor, however, kept hinting at the fact that he thought Gastric Bypass would be a better option for me (especially for being in my 20s and concerned about social situations). Further, he said that people with lower BMIs do better with Gastric. He did insist he wasn’t anti-band, but it sure seemed that way to me. He spoke at length about how most people only lose half of their excess body weight and that despite all of my efforts, I might not have success. I know these things are all true, but he almost made me feel as if I should expect this to happen (even though statistically it’s not very common). So – I’m wondering if this is normal. Did anyone else experience this? Do they have to cover their behinds for post-ops who don’t have the results they had hoped for? I was SO excited for this surgery and now I can’t get it out of my mind that there’s a good chance I’ll have to sacrifice a lot for a little. Maybe, without any support from home, I was just hoping for someone to tell me this was a good idea. I don’t know – maybe since the band varies so much from person-to-person (what you can eat, how many fills you need, how much you lose), they have to really try to prepare you for the worst. Any similar (or different) initial consult stories would be great appreciated!

I also has a similar situation happen to me. I felt the nurse practioner was pushing gastric bypass on me instead of the lap band that I wanted. I changed surgeons (after jumping through MANY hoops with insurance). I figured that this is such an emotional process to go through that I needed a team that would be behind me 100% and support me. I didn't want to second guess my decision through this process. Remember - your gut feeling is always the best aspect to trust. If you are not comfortable - go somewhere else! :thumbup:

Most surgeons take out the band and do the revision to the sleeve at the same time. I have heard of a few doing it in two different surgeries but it's not the norm.

Hi my name is JAMES I ad a revision from sleeve to bypass nearly two weeks ago. Would like to talk with others who have had it done, as I have some concerns that I wish to talk about. I don't feel any different after the revision like I did after the sleeve. Eg feel no restriction and never had any real pain after the op. looking forward to hearing fom you. Sorry about missing spelling in heading should have been people. Edit won't let me get back to and change it. Lol

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have a few questions. I have spent the past few months, almost a year on lapbandtalk.com forum because that was the surgery I wanted, and at the time the only one my Surgeon would perform on me. My surgeon was admit that because I have Crohns Disease the only true safe WLS surgery would be the band, or maybe an outside chance at the sleeve, but he felt best about band. Obviously at that appointment he gave me a list of stuff to get done before he would see me again, lose 18 lbs, see the food shrink, see the nutritionist, see the Diabeties dr, and all the normal WLS stuff. The Dr had told me it normally takes 6 moths to a year to complete the list, and get the ok from all the different doctors, Nutritionist and so on. I lost the 18 lbs in 10 days, and had all the doctors signed off on this within 3 weeks. When I went back to see my surgeon nobody at his office could believe I completed the check list that fast, and they put in my approval request for Band surgery. My insurance, which is good insurance, and the dr office says approves damn near everyone denied me, stating they needed more information. I gathered up all the info my surgeon told me to, it was resubmitted, and denied stating not medically necessary at this time. The surgeon then resubmitted the request, and it came back denied, Due to Crohns disease, and requested my surgeon call the med director at Blue Choice. Turns out the insurance company is worried about corrosion from the band, and with Crohns this could be really bad. My surgeons stance was that the band is really the safest way to go because if the crohns flares up they can drain the band, or even remove it if really needed. Long story longer, I got denied again, I called Blue choice Insurance myself, and asked to speak to the med director and was told they only talk to doctors, not policy holders. I have called Blue choice three and four times a week for months now, they still wont give in and let me speak to a med director. I would think as a paying policy holder I should be able to speak to the person who is making med decisions regarding my health, right? My surgeon keeps pushing too, without much luck. Last week my surgeon calls me and says come in tomorrow I need to talk to you. I go in to the office, and the girl behind the desk tells me, no charge for today, doctors orders, ok great, a free bee. Instead of taking me to a exam room they walk me to the surgeons office, and he says have a seat, at this point I'm thinking oh crap, he is gonna tell its all over and no surgery at all for me. I was amazed at what did actually say, and confused by it at the same time. The surgeon proceeds to tell me that if I agree to switch procedures he has been lead to believe that the insurance company will cover me for the sleeve. This really blows my mind! I have crohns, which is a mouth to anus disease, meaning it can show up anywhere between those two places. While my Crohns has been restricted to my Intestine, and has not been active, it is always a concern, which is why I can't have the full bypass. My Surgeon says we can most likely move forward very quickly avoiding the 6 moth wait for the sleeve due to the fact that I have been in a holding pattern for almost a year now. I want to get this done ASAP, but I also want to know what I'm walking into, so I'm going to continue to read every damn thread on this board that I can right up until surgery. I have spent the past six days reading online about the sleeve, and trying to research the sleeve with Crohns patients, but I can not find any info regarding the two of them together. Does anyone on this forum have crohns? If so how is the sleeve working for you? Has anyone heard of someone with crohns having the sleeve? Has anyone here had the band and switched to the sleeve? Would you get sleeved again if given the choice? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I'm new to this forum. I have had a band since 2009 and just got approved for revision to sleeve. My surgeon can schedule it as soon as December 22nd but I am traveling 12 days later to be a bridesmaid in a wedding. In your opinion, will that be too soon for travel? I've waited so long for this and now I'm so disappointed to have to postpone it. Thank you in advance for your input.

I am a Lap Band to RNY revision. I never did great with my band (lost about 45 lbs or so) but then about 8 months out my band was ruptured during a fill. I was bounced around from doc to doc until I was finally told that because of my Diabetes and PCOS that the band would not even be an option for me anymore. So I'm having the broken device removed and the RNY done! I cant wait!! I wanted the RNY 4 years ago but went with Band bc my husband and mom was terrified and talked me out of it. I wish I had stuck to my guns. Research as much as possible, take into account any other metabolic or physical issues you have, then make the choice thats best for you and STICK TO IT! Don't let anyone talk you out of it! Best of luck!

I was revised 4/30/13. I had the lap band done 10/24/10 and on 4/30/13 I had the band removed and the sleeve done. I'm still going through fears but this site and my nut has helped me so much. You will always have fears but make sure you have a support system in place. The pain is so much less than the band. You will be up much quicker. Just follow the rules in your discharge plans and you will be fine. I will keep you in my prayers. We are all here for you. You are doing this for a better life. Good luck!

@ hi Kate, welcome! I've actually been on this site since 2007 but only active since December 2014. I really enjoy it, have gotten a lot of great ideas and counsel, some laughs and I feel a lot of affect tion for a goodly number of the folks who participate. The exchanges bring home to me how human we all are, with our struggles and joys,our sames and differents. I rarely go a day without checking in. I'm 50, married forever with a 28 yo and a 16 yo. From the Midwest cornfields but live near wash DC now. Had a band, revised to sleeve in January and LOVE it. I love to camp and travel. Have been to 16 countries and 48 states (missing Mississippi and new Hampshire oddly). That's about the size of it. :-D

Hi I just wanted to reply to your post because you have just given me the same assurance I needed. I met with my surgeon yesterday. Before I saw him, I was sure that I wanted the sleeve. He advised that I have the Gastric Bypass to get the best results addressing my Diabetes, High BP, Cholesteral and sleep Apnea. Now reading your post that you are off all of your meds... WOW, that is awesome and I am so happy that I ran across your post. HAPPY DANCE!!

The dilated poach happens when you have the band for a long time & over eating along the years & vomiting. It's happens a lot with the band after years of having it . I had my band for almost 14 years & I helped me in the past lose & maintain my weight but I always had to put effort & diet when I gained a few pounds . It was the only available procedure at that time . I am revising to sleeve in two days , I hop the sleeve works for me .

Hi! My name is Joanne, this is my story: I decided back in March of this year(2014) to have the roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery after struggling all my life with weight issues. I am 66 years of age and am finally going to try and be healthy. Life has not treated me so kind child abuse and a strict upbringing. As soon as I could I got married and got out of the house but of course that marriage ended in disaster and divorce after 2 1/2 years. Then the 2nd marriage and 2 kids and another divorce. Then yep, the 3rd marriage by this time life has taken it's toll and I am now in my 50's this marriage was a total disaster! It ended leaving me a widow. I was born and raised in Pa. and by now was ready to leave that state so I moved to Tampa, Fl. My whole life changed! I am now in a relationship with Jim and we are planning to get married next year. I now have a fairly stable life and can devote the time and attention to ME for a change so I can get healthy. When I started this journey I could barely walk a half block with a cane (hip problems), standing at the kitchen sink for more than 10 mins was torture (back problems), I had trouble doing everyday household chores. My Doctor is Jason Radecke at the Sebastian weight Loss and surgery in Sebastian, Fl and I can't say enough good things about him. Every Dr. in the world should be like him, he really truly cares about his patients. I wasn't too happy back in March when I was told because I had Wellcare *** medicare I would have to have 6 months of visits under my belt before I could have my surgery, not to mention because of heart disease in my family I had to see an cardiologist which led me to a heart catherization and beta blocker meds. Then came the psychiatrist that had to approve me, then the pulmonary because of sleep aphnea of course now they require an endoscopy so that was done just before surgery. Ok, now lets get to the surgery itself. My surgery was done just this past November 20 at 9:30 am at the Sebastian River Medical Center. Everyone there was super nice! I was supposed to be there for 3 days but came home after 2 because I was doing so well. I couldn't sleep in the bed it was very uncomfortable for me so I slept in the chair. I was out of bed within hours after surgery and walked the hall. My Dr. was surprised to see me sitting in the chair using my laptop when he came in to see me in the morning. Painful, yes! Luckily I can tolerate pain very well (after all most of my life was some kind of pain). I did not have the gas pains other people told me they had or any nausea (to this day). I am still on a full liquid diet but hope that changes soon when I see the Dr. it will be 4 weeks since I had any food. It's all been liquids. Luckily my daughter made us our Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 8th just before I started the pre- surgery liquids. I was so happy, I lost 15 lbs in the 10 days before surgery. Now I am not so happy, because they pushed iv's etc when I can home I had put it all back on. Now I am struggling to get that 15 lbs off and anxious to start losing some real weight. I was kind of discouraged by this but I guess I have to be realistic and it's only been 10 days since surgery. I didn't expect to lose 50 lbs already but putting the 15 lbs. back on was not encouraging. So as you see I'm just starting my journey. Soon I will be on pureed and I am looking forward to it, finally FOOD! I do not have an appetite but unfortunately my taste buds haven't died. This is a big change for me Food was always there to comfort me now I don't have it. Did I tell you I am an emotional eater? Food has played an important part in life since childhood now I have to find a way to eat to live and not live to eat, big challenge for me! If anybody reads this blog please write back and let me now about you and your journey. Joanne

WOW! What awesome inspiration!! I have seriously been debating between lapband or gastric bypass due to my BMI of 55, and I am finding that a number of people on this site have had banding at 300 plus pounds - awesome encouragement!!

There are lots of people here that are having or had a band to bypass revision. There is actually a forum on here just for those patients.

I'll be 64 on October 1 & just had my sleeve four days ago. I wish I could have had this done many, many years ago, but I had to wait for medicine to get to where I needed it to be. As a nurse I was just never comfortable with the malabsorption aspects of gastric bypass & I was excited to find out about the VSG & that my insurance covers it. I researched the surgeons covered by my insurance & made the call. My doctor is particularly strict & I have followed his instructions from my first consult on April 25. From the time I left his office that day I was on a high protein/low carb diet until 2 weeks prior to surgery when I went on a modified clear liquid diet of 4 Protein shakes & all the Clear liquids I wanted a day. I had also done a 1-week "trial" of the clear liquids back in June to see how I tolerated it. I took that 3+ months to wean myself off of caffeine & carbonated drinks by having a little less each day until I was off & can honestly say I haven't missed them. My starting weight at that first consult was 303 pounds & the day before surgery I was 259! A loss of 44 pounds in just under 4 months! I do weigh myself daily on my Withings WS-30 digital wireless scale but I don't obsess about the numbers. As expected, I did gain "Water weight" in the hospital & went up to 264.9 pounds. But, today, on post-op day 4, I'm down to 263.6. I never expected to be able to lose the 10% of my weight pre-op as I've always been one who not only gains back what I lose but have a very difficult time losing in the first place. I am continuing to follow my surgeon's instructions to the letter because it sure has worked so far.

This is from Tiffykins........she has the best research. Hope this helps. The first links are other VSG patients that are further out. Long-term Sleeve Experiences - 2 Years on January 15, 2010 9:11 pm Diligence-is-always-required Stalls-Happen Update-from-a-2-Year-Post-Op-VSGer 2-year-surgiversary-and-feeling Two-and-one-half-years-post-op TWO-YEARS-YALL Just-Passed-My-2-Year-Surgiversary questions-for-post-ops-2-years-out-or-more 2-years-out-food-amount-info anyone-2-years-out Happy-2-year-anniversary-to-me 2-years-post-op-TODAY 2-5-Years-After-a-VSG Everday-life-at-2-5-years-out 2-1-2-year-update Has-it-really-been-2-years 2-1-2-year-update Two-Year-Surgiversary 2-year-update-portrait-of-a-heavyweight-a-bit-late Two-year-surgiversary 2-and-1-2-years-later 2-years-since-my-surgery-any-advice-on-face-lift 2-year-post-op-pics Two-Years-Before-amp-After-Pic 2-year-update-portrait-of-a-heavyweight-a-bit-late Thought-you-might-enjoy-an-update-with-a-few-pics Busybusymom-is-back-2-years-post-op TWO-YEARS-BABY Any-old-timers-still-lurking-the-boards Long-term Sleeve Experiences - 3 Years on June 8, 2009 10:43 pm Three years out Three and a half years after Vertical Gastrectomy My Story A quick 2 year and 3 year VSG update Third Year Surgiversay Not always easy but always worth it Very Discouraged 3 years out Links for researching the VSG on March 15, 2009 11:18 pm Here are some links I've collected when I was researching the sleevehttp://www.asmbs.org/Newsite07/resources/Updated_Position_Statement_on_Sleeve_Gastrectomy.p df. - includes reports of early studies LapSF Educational presentation to FACS - includes some 2 year results LapSF Two Year Study LapSF Five Year Study - abstract only LapSF Five Year Study - presentation (requires Windows to play) Literature review on the sleeve - requires $$ to get the full text unfortunately (Totally worth the money) Sleeve best for over 50 crowd Video of a sleeve with lots of education discussion Video of a sleeve that is more about the operation Ghrelin levels after RnY and sleeve Ghrelin levels after band and sleeve Diabetes resolution in RnY vs. Sleeve Comparison of band to sleeve - literature review I used this website a lot. I paid for some of the full articles that grabbed my attention based on the abstracts. There are several articles that you can comb through that interest you. Once you read an abstract, on the right hand side of the page, there are other related articles listed that you may find interesting. SpringerLink - All Content Items SSAT - SSAT 2008 Annual Meeting Abstracts - Laparoscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity: a Report of a Five-Year Experience with 750 Patients</b> Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) In Morbid Obesity: Review https://www.highbeam.com/reg/reg1.as....html&full=yes This was recommended to me for post-op options for meals, and just a guide. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061242853?ie=UTF8&tag=mybiglife-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061242853]Amazon.com: Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery (9780061242854): Susan Maria Leach: Books[/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061242853/][/ame] [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061242853/]Amazon.com: Before & After, Revised Edition: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery (9780061242854): Susan Maria Leach: Books[/ame] This one is cool because it shows a significant decrease in ghrelin with VSG patients vs. RNY patients. Weight loss, appetite suppression, and changes in ... [Ann Surg. 2008] - PubMed result Abstract on diabetes/glucose/insulin regulation with VSG vs. RNY stating that at 3 months out with the patients studied, RNY and VSG had no marked difference in improved lab results with their glucose showing that rerouting is not always necessary for resolution of this particula co-morbidity. Improvement in glucose metabolism after bariatric ... [Ann Surg. 2009] - PubMed result Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: an innovative new tool in the battle against the obesity epidemic in Canada Edit to add: If my insurance would not have come through with my revision, I would have traveled to Mexico, and my choice in surgeon was also Dr. Aceves as a revision surgeon. There are a lot of really great surgeons in Mexico and the U.S. it really all depends on your comfort level, and what you want and need from a program.