Search the Community

I am so sorry to hear about your ongoing discomfort and discontent. You have been referred to another Surgeon? That is a priority so you can now address & reconcile the acid reflux and move on with your revision. Typically, a revision is not as complicated as the original surgery. It should alleviate your acid reflux and improve weightloss. Sometimes the stomach can expand...I realize you know all this. Your trepidation is reasonable & understandable, especially when the Dr. you developed a trusting relationship has moved. Have you met the new Surgeon? Do not allow fear to create anxiety. Evidentially, you are incredibly strong, in every way....emotionally & mentally your are formidable. Has your Dr recommended any medication for the reflux? I do not know anything about your history, I joined today. But I am here, happy to help & always listen...

Thank you for your replies and great ideas. I'm revising from band to sleeve in January and look forward to trying these ideas.

Just want to clear up a few things. 1. Having bypass does not mean you won't be able to eat regular food. I have been eating in restaurants since 4 weeks post op. I can eat whatever I want, that does not mean I should nor do I. 2. Both surgeries will ultimately achieve a high weight loss as long as you follow the plan 3. Both surgeries are invasive - with the sleeve they actually remove 85 percent of your stomach which means it cannot be reversed. With bypass they reroute your intestines so that you have malabsorption which is intended to help with weight loss 4. Both require you to take supplements and have labs checked on a regular basis do life. Adjustments to Vitamins are determined by how you are doing on those labs Most people choose bypass at the recommendation of their doctors because it cures both Reflux/Gerd and diabetes. Many times the sleeve and lap and actually make reflux/Gerd worse and in many cases those surgeries can bring it on. If reflux/Gerd gets bad enough it requires a revision to bypass anyway. Leverage your surgeon to help you decide what is best for your health history. They really are experts and can help guide you. It is definitely more than a personal decision in my opinion and requires a deep dive by experts in your health history. If you search this site for revisions to bypass you will see a lot of posts from people that have had to get s second and third surgery because they ended up with erosion and Gerd that had to be dealt with. My recommendation would be to research until you are comfortable with your choice. Good luck!

The pre and post op liquid diet and the variations prescribed by different surgeons are the most challenging of times. You are engaged in an immense amount of change, both with the how and why you eat, and confronting the "new normal " of understanding that the habit of just going to have something to eat whenever you want to has to change if you want to be successful with weight loss. I structured my shakes and the one cup of fresh salad veggies so that there were at equal intervals during the day and evening. I had a bottle of Water with me at all times, and sipped from it frequently. And I kept very occupied with errands and those projects around the house that I never seemed to have the time or motivation. We never had such clean and organized closets and drawers in our house. But it worked to keep me on the straight path of not cheating on my diet. Weight loss success requires "getting your head in the game", and understanding that there is much psychology involved with retooling out eating patterns. Many times what we interpret to be authentic hunger is really "head hunger". We need to be aware of the difference between the two. We also need to be aware when our thoughts create a "need" to eat if/when we are bored. We need to revise our thoughts to be "mindful" when we are eating. That encompasses small bites, timed meals, chewing, chewing, pausing between bites. That also includes being aware of everything you put in your mouth. Best wishes for a successful journey...

This is new to me, I've never seen anywhere that said that RNY increases the risk of vomiting, I know the sleeve sure does, so many posts about vomiting issues and they are all from those with sleeves. As far as dumping, I don't experience this either. It's one of those listed potentials but isn't a guarantee. And even still, it would only happen if you ate things you really shouldn't in the first place. I found this, it lists "Nausea and vomiting" as common, but the catch is, that's for food intolerance not "just because you had the RNY. https://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/gastric-bypass-side-effects.html It's important to note that the same site reports Nausea and Vomiting for the same reasons as the bypass, but with the added potential for that symptom to occur not only for food intolerance but GERD issues as well, in which, 1 out of 5 Sleeve patients will have GERD issues, some sites list this higher. Absolutly! The information I provide is simply for the sake of having the information. I'm not going to do anything other than provide what I can find for facts on the surgeries so that folks are better informed. Sadly not all doctors have their patients best interest in mind. All the "must do 2 surgery revisions when it's not medically necessary doctors, those that are being paid to do one surgery over the other (and yes they do exist), those that aren't comfortable doing one surgery of the other and try to sway the patient into their preferred surgery (that happens often as well) I love my surgeon and I trust what she says, but that doesn't mean I don't research it myself and confirm what she's said. It's always best to be as informed and educated on a topic as possible and not just take someone's word for it based on the fact that they are a doctor. I work at a hospital, I see this stuff all day, every day. At the end of the day, it's your call, I hope things work out well and that everything goes off without a hitch.

I had a band. Wish I never had. They are only temporary, have to be replaced in 10 years. Mine caused permanent stomach and liver damage. Ended up having to revise to RNY. Good luck.

I had a revision from sleeve to DS. I am 2 weeks out and have so much pain in my abdomen. They said give it a couple more weeks. Hope it changes because am miserable. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@@tattooedmum72, you definately need to talk with your surgeon. Here's the thing, the sleeve can make reflux even worse. Most patients that suffer from reflux or Gerd are moved over to RNY for that very reason. RNY gastric bypass can resolve all of those things you listed. I was dead set on going with the sleeve and after I was told by the bariatric team that the best surgery for me was bypass because of this issue I was initially devastated. I met with my gastroenterologist and he confirmed that I would be making a mistake and would possibly be looking at a revision to bypass down the road. I had my RNY completed on sept. 29. I left the hospital with no medication for diabetes. Within 30 days I was removed from nexium, cholesterol drugs and high blood pressure drugs. I have never regretted making the decision to bypass. I only wish I would have done it a lot sooner. There is a reason RNY is the gold standard. Please do all your research so you only have to go through this once. There is a ton of it on this site and of course leverage your bariatric center, if in the end the only option is sleeve because of your scar tissue issue, then make sure your surgeon has a solid plan to address the reflux issue before moving forward. Good luck to you, I hope all goes well. Regardless of what you choose it is absolutely positively worth it!

Lots of thoughts here.... It's normal to be tight in the AMs.. There are different opinions on how to resolve the "can only get soft foods down in the AMs, can eat anything in the PMs." Some doctors tell you to white knuckle it. Dr. Curry on OH suggests doing your fill at 5PM so you have good restriction in the evenings yet you cannot eat at all in the mornings. Getting full... this is the fat mentality rearing it's ugly head. Did you know that naturally thin people don't like the full feeling? They eat until they are no longer hungry. WE eat until we are stuffed full. A good guide would be this, while you are eating really think about your hunger level: If you are hungry eat two more bites, If you are satisfied stop eating, If you are full you ate too much. When your restriction is not great drink ice Water before eating. Cold usually tightens people up a bit. I am sleeved now (revision from band to sleeve) and even with a sleeve that's about the only thing that affects my restriction. If I drink something hot/warm I see no difference. But if I drink something ice cold before a meal I can only eat about half of what I usually do. My food quantity is already very limited so I don't drink anything cold before a meal. But if I was trying to lose I would.

The road to revision is littered with minor annoyances. My GP is a diet doctor that I made my GP so I could just pay my insurance co-pay for visits, but I gave up on prescription pills because nothing worked. My surgeon gave me a quick form for him to fill out, and first totally refused to fill out, then said he would take it and do it later. His office then mailed it to me instead of faxing it to the surgeon's office as directed, and he listed my BMI as 39.9. Did he just totally derail me for insurance coverage? I just input my info, and my BMI is coming out as 42. I'm so irritated right now!

Can you help me find the lady that had the mini bypass with the sleeve from the doctor in Kentucky that is doing it a little differently. My sleeve failed and i want to get a revision to this surgery. thanks jlweb55 judylwebster@aol.com

It is not allowed by my doctor (lap band) and won't be after I have revision surgery. I had to quit drinking soda for other medical reasons, and then had one after a year or so of not drinking any, and it tasted awful.

To add to this I think that because I had a lapband revision to sleeve I had learned how small portions keep you full and the difference between real hunger and not. Please understand that I speak as a former fat person too. It is very hard to go from a large quantity eater to eating only two ounces, knowing that you are full and then having to understand that you DON"T need more food in two hours. I think the work "starving" is a little strong here, are you really starving? People living in third world countries are starving. I think we are so focused in the beginning on food that yes it is very difficult for some to differentiate between the two. It's not hunger. If anyone would care to answer: what is your hunger queue? My stomach makes noises, but it is not hunger just gurgling noises, not hunger.

Had all my fluid removed from my band last week and had an upper GI done today. Although its not official, the tech did show me I had reflux which is why food seems to be stuck. It was rough trying to swallow the barium. I'll have to wait for the doctor's official report. I'm hoping & praying that will now be enough proof for approval for the revision.

Didn’t see the poll, but I’ll just add that my reflux is better after VSG - I guess for me weight loss made more of a positive difference than the revised anatomy did a negative one.

I highly doubt that stat is based on VSG alone, and it's probably not directed to the actual sleeve. Anethesia, and general surgical complications are more of a concern for morbidly obese and super morbidly obese patients because of co-morbidities, and other health conditions that contribute to increased risks of general surgery. The risk of a leak is pretty standard at 1%, and if it's any higher for your surgeon then I'd find a new surgeon. I almost died with my revision, but it was anesthesia complications and could have happened with another surgery not just because it was during a bariatric procedure.

I had my revision on 12/9 of last year and have lost 75 pounds, down to 135. I am 62 years old so was concerned it would not work for me, but I am extremely happy. Down side is baggy skin, and I considered a facelift and many other "lifts" but decided against them. I am very happy with my decision and grateful to my surgeon... he was very supportive and did a great job. Lots more energy. I do get weighed 2x a week because I do not intend to regain and will modify my days accordingly, but I can tolerate just about anything. Advice is to keep up with the vitamins and water.

I wanted to update my post. I had revision surgery on August 19. My surgeon submitting papers to my insurance, Unicare, in July and they approved in just a couple days. My doctor stated band intolerance as the reason. He did seem a bit surprised though that they approved so quickly. Surgery as much harder than I expected. I am 8 days post-op now and starting to feel better. I was told that the band was encapsulated in the stomach and that they had to do a lot of heavy stitching in my upper stomach area. That is why I was having so much pain in that area post-op. I am sipping constantly and walking better. I still have to sleep on my back and don't see that changing anytime soon. I can't bend over yet and still need help around the house. I'm taking one day at a time, and looking forward to a full recovery. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck to everyone on a band to sleeve journey.

Thank God my dr does the majority of revisions at once. In fact I asked him the day before my surgery what my chances were that Id wake up in the recovery room with no sleeve. His answer: "NIL". And my dr is in a Center of Excellence so I trust his opinion. It took an extra 30 mins for him to dig my band outa my stomach so the recovery was more painful than I had imagined. If I had to go thru that while still waiting for my sleeve, I mightve chickened out. I had buyers remorse for a couple wks afterwards but the truth was I NEEDED to have my band out so why not get sleeved at the same time? Not sure why some drs prefer to do them separately and some do them at once. If they CAN physically be done by 1 dr, why can't others do the same thing?

Sorry think I was writing while still stressing so cams out jumbled. I changed doctors when I kept being told that I wasn't losing because I apparently don't know how to count calories & was told to join weight watchers, which I did for support & still wasn't losing. By the time I stopped using that doc I was gaining still even on no breads/pastas, lean Proteins and veggies. When I saw the new doctor they found that the band was so restricted liquids couldnt pass and he advised that I was at the weight I should be at for Lapband surgery, that based on y start weight and my weight at the time I was at the % that most patients lose to. That had I wanted more of a weight loss I should have had gastric. They adjusted my band so it wasn't so tight and at that point being told that I spent $13,000 for thus surgery & those were the results I would only be able to obtain using the band I started seeing the nutritionist for more support and taking phentramine and was able to get my weight down 20lbs. Since July started having health issues we chalked up to stress until November when the GI problems really got bad nearly landing my in the hospital but testing had to wait for my insurance with the new company to kick in in Jan. at that time they started checking my gallbladder and intestines to see what was making me do sick. Plus blood panels for thyroid again (waiting on those results done last week) Those issues started neausa and vomiting which caused my band to slip and the irritation cause swelling and I wasn't able to swallow Water at that point so last week when they found that they unfilled my band and stated that the doctor who initially did my surgey has a history of not implanting the ban a the correct angle and they end up doing a lot of his revisions. I go back in Thursday for a barium swallow to see of the band corrected its self. Luckly the new insurance will cover if I need a revision due to medical needs which I qualify for so if needed they can remove his work and inplant a new band, remove this one all together and no band or gastric is another option. Because I've had such rotten luck with having complications since the surgery I was debating having it removed all together, but then all my hard work and money is gone and I may start gaining back even more weight, go for gastric or attempt the band again and see if I take to it better this time. It's not so much a matter of junk foods, pastas breads. I've always tried to avoid those as much as possible because we have weight issues in my family. It's not being able to eat almost any vegetable or I bp, have to drink them, most meats can't eat. So I end up sick from throwing up or not getting enough nutrients ect. We laugh at tw irony of a woman who can't keep down almost anything half the time stays the same weight or gains ha! Wasn't so bad till I tore a ligament in my toe at Christmas so working out has been more of a challenge but am able to more around better now.

Welcome Leslie! congratulations on getting yourself and your children out of a bad situation! I'm kinda new here too but I have a band and its coming out on Friday! I am having revision surgery at the same time and I.Cannot.Wait. I had my band put in last year in March in Mexico. The hardest part was finding a doctor to take care of my after-care. I found the best doctor on the east coast of FL and he will be doing my surgery! I've lost most of the weight I need to lose with the band, 53 lbs, and have maybe another 15 to go. The problem is I've had so many fill/unfill issues. My body does not respond to a tight band. I have to take 90 % of credit for losing the weight. I am so determined and I've exercised and dieted my way down the scale but I've had enough and I know I need the help of the sleeve to get off the rest and mainly to keep it off! I hope your insurance covers your surgery and I hope you choose to revise to the sleeve. I am so excited to being part II of my journey.

I had my band placed by Dr. Stevenson and a revision/ hernia repair with Dr. Monash two weeks ago. I liked Dr. Stevenson but what I disliked was the fact that a nurse practioner was handling my after care. I ended up having a slip and had to take several trips to Scottsdale for follow up care (barium swallow). After being told I had a minor slip and it would heal on its own I went for a second opinion with Dr. Monash and a third with Dr. Galvani at UMC. Both Dr. Galvani and Dr. Monash said I needed a revision (reband placement) while TrueResults said everything was normal. I absolutely love Dr. Monash. He is honest and straight forward with you. I can ask him any band related question. Such as the left shoulder pain many people experience. I asked Dr. Stevenson and was told it wasn't related to the band. While Dr. Monash gave an explanation and reasoning behind his answer. I wish I would have paid the $2,000 more from the beginning and went with Dr. Monash. Don't waste your time with TrueResults.

Okay, I feel kind of like the elephant in the room and it's making me nervous. I'm only 5 days out and have so much energy that I'm nearly bursting at the seams. I had a sleeve and was in constant pain for two years and now after revising to the bypass my whole world spun around in one day. I now have zero pain with eating, nothing gets stuck, no nausea at all, nothing. I'm starting to wonder if my recovery is going to drop off and be more like what you are describing here. I literately got in my car today and had the engine on before I realized that I can't drive because I just had surgery..my family said it might be because I felt so bad before that now that I'm pain free it feels like I'm flying. I mean, I still have some soreness from surgery but seriously, I feel amazing. I'm getting enough Protein and Fluid down and let me just mention one more time that I am completely pain FREE! I never ever thought I would say that sentence this far out, I honestly think the hardest thing to do for me is to take it easy and not push myself so hard that I go backwards. Has anyone else experienced this? Am I going crazy?

people who do it as a revision don't always lose weight - esp if they're a normal - or close to it - BMI, so she may be OK. A surgeon can tell her for sure. It's probably the best option for someone with reflux.

Yes only a surgeon will be able to advise. Revisions are based on other factors besides weight.