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Great question, but I moved it to a forum where you are more likely to get replies. The veterans forum is for people a year out from sleeve surgery. I had the lapband, did not do well, but lost over 160 since revising to sleeve. I am currently in maintenance. Revision was the best thing I did.

I was 55 when I was banded in Mexico and lived through it. I have 3-D friends who were banded in the US, and France and Germany and friends who had RnY in the US and had the DS in the US...years ago...and still haven't had a sleep study done. While a sleep study is a good idea for any morbidly obese person, I'd vote for manometry as a pre-op test for someone considering adjustable gastric banding...especially an older person. While none of my over-50 friends died from being banded without a sleep study, a few are suffering from the late complication of dysmotility, which seems to be more common in older patients. They are, several years out, having to have revision surgeries and THAT is also more dangerous. The danger is not in the geography...

I'm having the lapband removed and revising to the gastric bypass. I should've done that surgery to begin with. Hoping to either get it done at the end of May of beginning of June. My insurance before sent me to Journey Clinic in Moore which is in Norman now. I'm sticking with them because my surgeon did really great the first time.

I'll be joining you this summer. I'll be a revise from the lapband. I live in Broken Arrow. Nice to see another Oklahoman on here.

My names Tina and I live in Tulsa too. Dr Varnell is my Dr. I'm having a band revision to RNY. In exactly TWO WEEKS!!! Freak out time. I'm having mine done at the Surgery Center Tho his other office.

Hello, I am trying to find a psychologist for my psych eval, and a nutritionist. My surgeon is Dr. Juarez in Phoenix, so they don't have a list of psychologists and nutritionists outside of Maricopa County. I'm getting a revision, and they won't do it in Tucson. I would be so grateful if anyone has the name of someone who does psych evals, and nutrition counseling in Tucson or Cochise County. The directory on my insurance company website is awful to use, and if I call the insurance company, they just offer to walk me through the web site. Thanks so much!!! Kristy

I'm having my gallbladder removed along with the revision from band to sleeve all in one too. My surgeon says it doesn't add any additional time so no need for me to worry.

Day one post op!! Revision RNY Surgery went great yesterday. I am in zero pain. I’ve only taken IV Tylenol. Team is a little freaked with my low BP and low HR but typically this is my baseline. Discharge today after upper GI and advancement of food.

Has anyone had surgery with Humana as their insurance? If so, is the approval process through them easy? Original insurance was Cigna with the lapband 5 years. Now, I'm trying to have revision surgery to the sleeve with my company's new insurer. Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Has anyone had a band to sleeve revision at OCC? I was wondering how your experience was different from Trixie's. Like how long before the drain was removed and did you stay for more than one night at the Center? Thanks!

I was wondering what people thought about having a section in LBT call "REVISIONS"? It appears that a lot of us who seem to have a real attachment to this forum are revising now or have revised a while ago and it might be time to have a major section in LBT. I know there is another WLS site that has one and I've found it helpful but still feel more attached to LBT. Would it just be redundent or is it a good idea, any thoughts? Thanks Nancy.:huh2:

Oh wow! Our stats are so similar! Good luck with your revision and Im sure your results will be fantastic!

Finally got my band to sleeve revision done. It was yesterday. First 3 hours was bad. Incision pain, general nausea, gas pains. After that I could walk and the pain subsided. Although nauseous, I tolerated Water well, and I never slimed (like I did with my lap band) and haven't thrown up yet. The first two walks, I got dizzy. That went away today. My surgery was done at 7 am, and I was released the same day at 4 pm. I was first in. I'm not hungry at all. Today, on my 2nd day I was able finished 32 oz with 1 scoop Bariclear, going to make a new one to try to get 64 oz but don't think I'll be able to get that down by the end of the day. So I see I have 7 incisions. I had like 4 for my lapband. How many did they put in you? Thanks!

Thank you That's what I thought too... And what I had experienced for my lap band. I thought perhaps it's cause its a revision they needed three more incisions. Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App

Also, I'm on a 3 day liquid diet...my surgeon tailors the length to your BMI. As long as you find protein you can tolerate it isn't too bad..I'm a revision from a sleeve so have been there done that (I had major complications and have been on liquids since 2012 so it's my normal) and if you guys need any suggestions or ideas on making it taste better let me know oh and I'm on August 1st so I'm right behind you!!

JenniferD - I had the lapband put in Feb 2006, had it revised Dec 2008 then ultimately removed after a really bad prolasp Jan 2010. The first year was wonderful, I lost over 80 pounds and kept it off for about 6 months until the first slip happened. I had it revised and the doc put in a bigger band and after that it was a few years of heck for me. fills, unfills, fills and then unfill. Many, many nights of not being able to sleep because the reflux was so bad that I'd wake up feeling like I was drowning. Still, if it had stayed for me like the first year I would have kept going. Not everyone has slips but, unfortnately a high percentage do end up with issues such as reflux and weight gain again. The bad foods go through the band better than healthy so when you're suffering with all of I mentioned you eat those things to get something down. What I didn't know was that 90% of folks who have had a revision of the lapband to another band or to correct that band end up with it being removed. Had I known i wouldn't have bothered with the revision. Now...that's just my story and many many folks love their bands. One of my best friends still does well with hers, doesn't feel sick etc but, she'll be the first to admit she eats around it and hasn't lost weight in a while. I did the band because I was afraid of the re-routing of organs etc that bypass has to go through but, now for me.....rny is the what I need to do. Alot has changed since 2006 and it's become even safer so I'm more comfortable with it. I've had many friends do very very well with it. I"ve done lots of research and now am comfortable heading in that direction. I do wish you the best with your decision...definitely talk to all your docs about your situation. We're all different and just because some had issues with any of the bariatric choices doesn't mean you will

Breathe, breathe! I know it's freaky, but this drainage is not unusual. I didn't have it with my original surgery, but my port revision surgery drained horribly for about a week. There is an amazing amount of Fluid that can come out of there, so you may want to keep it covered with something absorbant to protect your clothing/sheets. My port site actually was sore, although not infected, and I found expressing the fluid out manually helped with that part. The fluid must have been building up inside a pocket. As long as it is clear (mostly clear, a clearish orange), there is no infection and not to worry. However, if the incision becomes hot, or the fluid starts to thicken-up and look more like pus, a visit to your doc is in order.

That's kind of how I feel with the band. 50 years from now (or hell, 10 even), they may say that the band causes.. stomach cancer (just a random example). I am not opposed to diet pills. I took Metabolife with Ephedra when I did Atkins.. the only time I successfully was able to diet. It kept me from being hungry, so when I did eat- I could stick to low-carb. Eventually my head overcame me and I fell off the low-carb wagon, which goes back to what WasaBubble said. My brain never was 'fixed', but the pills helped. I did gain it all back + some, so there's something to be said about fixing the root of the problem. Now with the band, before I had a fill my doctor gave me ONE Rx to Phen--The not deemed dangerous one--.. and it didn't do crap for me. Since Ephedra isn't banned anymore, but was, I can only get it online, so I normally don't have it.. but I ended up ordering it, and even though I didn't have good restriction for 6 months-after revision surgery on the port, I still lost weight till that time. I still forget to order it, so I pick up Stacker 2 at the gas station.. which is no longer sold with Ephedra in stores like I said, so now it's just a HUGE dose of caffein. I don't necessarily take it for weight loss at this point, it just gives me my get-up-and-go. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I get my caffein via a pill. I like it, and I don't see the harm. If I found out my BP was bad or something was happening now to affect me, I'd be more concerned. Just like the smoker who doesn't stop till they get lung cancer, we're invisible..right? :smile2:

I'm going to be totally frank with you... this whole journey with the band, from the day it broke, has been a nightmare. I don't want to sugar coat it. No, I didn't get it replaced, no ALLERGAN wasn't willing to help (they even told me I could just "leave it there, it won't hurt you"). A local doctor (not the one who did my original surgery) told me the same bullshiz - keep it in, no big deal. Well, it turned out to be a pretty big deal. I was self-pay, and my insurance wasn't going to kick down anything to help... the local doctor that my insurance recommended me to wanted 10k for REMOVAL (yes, this was just for removal, to replace they were going to charge a total of 18k). It was going to be impossible. The final outcome... I got a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy last week (Feb 1, 2010). However, that's not the whole story... In March of 2009, I had the band removed in Mexico with an excellent doctor... We had planned to revise to a sleeve at that time, however, when they go in there they found I was severely eroded in three places, and they had to literally cut the band out in pieces, five pieces to be exact. I was not able to get the sleeve at that time. This was a terrible experience, waking up with no band, no sleeve, and a bunch of scars on my stomach from the severe erosion. I was pretty unwell for a while after that, both mentally and physically. Took me a long time to heal, and it was just rough... So after that, I had to save up and wait ANOTHER year (until last week) to get my sleeve. I gained back 60 pounds during this ordeal. It has been one of the most mentally trying times of my life... I wish you the best, and am glad to hear that your doctor is at least going to try to go for a replacement, if that is what you want. Personally, before you jump right into getting it replaced, I might recommend that you do some research on the success of replaced bands and associated weightloss, problems, etc. I have read a few studies and bits of material here and there about this, and the stats aren't very good... Many have slips and other problems with a second band, many don't lose the weight they've regained, etc. Just do your research, and I'm sure you'll do what's best for you. I guess the best research in regards to this was my gut... At first I wanted another band, I was so freaked out, I had lost 78 of the 100 pounds I needed to lose, I was so happy... I didn't even consider something else. Then my gut told me (along with the associated research): This might not be a good idea. You might need to do something else. Do you really want another very expensive piece of plastic that can very likely just break again, BACK into your body? The ultimate answer for me was NO, so I moved on... I am not saying you should do this, I am just saying you might want to consider ALL of your options... I hope everything goes well for you. Hang in there, sister! :thumbup:

Sorry this is happening, but I do have some good news about Allergan.. My doc said he couldn't get them to help out, my doc was unsure what happened with my band-- I was self pay-- and I had to pay an extra 2k to have revision surgery.. Ends up it was a flipped port, but.. Before we found all this out, I went to Allergan's website, and wrote a haughty e-mail. I was fuming that their product messed up and they wouldn't get back to my doctor, while I'm out about 20k. So anyway, within the week, I got a phone call from a guy (I wish I kept this info so I could pass it on!!) who works there, very nice, he went through my complication with me, how the band is or isn't working, and said he would send out a kit that day priority overnight to my doctor, so they could send in the 'broken' piece and they would examine it and issue a refund on the 2nd band I'd have to buy. Ends up during my surgery, it was a flipped port, no defect, but the Allergan guy gave me his personal office contact, e-mail, etc.. and he followed up with me afterward to find out how it went,etc. I was EXTREMELY Impressed, I had so many bad ideas in my head about how they probably don't care, I'm just a paycheck, but pleasantly I was very mistaken. Try calling their # if it's on the website, otherwise write them an e-mail from the website and make sure to leave your info. Edit to add, their website may be under Inamed. I remember when I looked for it, all I found was a generic medical website that sold a lot of products, and I don't think I even saw the band on there, or it was an afterthought. I just went to their contact info.

Sorry clever, I never saw your response.. and sorry you're still not getting anywhere :thumbup: I will go through my old emails at work tomorrow and see if I still have the email from the guy I was talking to at Allergan. I am selfpay so I had to pay for my revision surgery, it was approx. $2,000... but this included a replacement band, which I did not end up needing, so they refunded $1,200..the rest went to the hospital/anesthesia.. since my doctor felt bad of my self paying, he actually did not charge for his service. Call around and see if you can get quotes from other reputable doctors in the area.. since you may have to pay for yourself. That way if insurance stands firm (let your current doctor keep trying to fight it), you have a back up plan. And it's reading posts like this, that make me all the more happy with my doctor.. heh.

This this this. It has been over a year since my revision and my quality of life has improved so much. I sometimes wonder how many years I have stripped off my life expectancy from the pain and lack of sleep I experienced for years because I tried to rely on PPIs, H2 blockers and more instead of just getting a revision right away.

Oh I was hoping for the same. It really depends on what your insurance requirements are and what your surgeon or clinic requires. My insurance only required six visits with my clinic and I've been a patient there for 4 years, so technically I had already met the insurance requirements... BUT the clinic required a pre op info session, psych eval, and various lab tests. Time passed quickly tho. I think it took me about five months from first appointment for revision until surgery day. Best wishes!

Well, I’m pretty disheartened. My surgery was pushed from 8/8 to 8/29 to give my doctor’s office time to resubmit paperwork for an authorization for a hiatal hernia repair. My insurance didn’t approve the bypass revision so I may have to pay that portion of the surgery myself. I had already started my pre-op liquid diet so now that’s on hold for a few more weeks. I was so ready to have my surgery next Monday and now I just feel disappointed and frustrated. If I could afford to pay for the entire surgery, I would just to avoid the hoops I’m having to jump through to get this approved. I could use some words of encouragement right about now. 😢

Hi! I’m so sorry about your obstruction!! Holy moly! My surgeon said my sleeve failed me, as well, so I’m having the revision 8/8. Im not on clear liquids but I did start my liquid diet today! Im looking forward to moving on with my weight loss and getting rid of this horrible acid reflux!