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I'm not clear on which surgery you had. Sounds like band revised to sleeve? But you mention bypass as well.... Anyway, when you say 2-3 cups of food at a meal, what kind of food and how long does it take for you to eat it?

With my lapband the anaesthetist screwed up and I woke up on the operating table as they were finishing up. So painful! and I keep having dreams about it with my revision surgery in 3 weeks! So did you with Lopez wake up in a normal bed a few hours later? haha x

If you don't mind me asking, how much is the revision going to cost out of pocket?

I'm extremely happy with my band to sleeve revision. I had my sleeve done on 11-9-09 and have already lost 23 lbs. I never lost anything with the band.....the sleeve is the way to go. Just be prepared for the 1st day out of surgery....I felt terrible, but you feel better and better with each passing day. Good luck.

I do not understand why, unless there are complications, a surgeon would put a patient through two procedures. Especially at your low weight! I had the Band to Sleeve revision on May 17th. All in one day. My band was a nightmare from the very first week in 2005. I vomited for 12+ years nearly ever time I ate. Never kept a fill. Rotated port. Scar tissue. Terrible pain. You name it, I went through it...and accepted it because I was too busy to do something about it. This sleeve has changed everything. Immediately. No return of reflux. My giant port scar tissue tumor is gone. And recovery was a breeze. The nightmare is OVER!

I am 3 weeks out revision band to sleeve I hit a stall but I am so confused if I am not hungry should I still eat or should I just drink my Protein shakes ???

My Sleeve to RNY revision is in T - 2 hours and 20 minuets. Arriving at hospital. Please say a prayer for me

I'm post-op but my best piece of advice is to keep busy. Idle mind and hands seek snacks. Best of luck!! Band to VSG revision:5/23/17 HW: 315 Pre-op: 294 SW: 283 CW: 254 GW: 175

I read it and appreciate it. You might save someone's life, too. I am doing so well, as you, so how easy could it happen to anyone of us, this year or five years from now. The lesson=Growing pain in stomach=see surgeon immediately! Gratz on being your own advocate and getting them to fix you! I hope the revision works.

Welcome Barbara! Congrats on your revision surgery and thanks for sharing your story!

re: placement of the band. was his discovered during the revision to by-pass. could they have seen this on x-rays? Did the complications start right away,after you had lost some weight or when you started to re-gain. thanks

I’m so sorry. I went through this too but I didn’t have the lap band. but your surgeon should have told you the sleeve only makes the reflux worse. My surgeon did and suggested a revision to bypass instead because of my severe GERD.

I had the band installed in 2011. I did ok with it, had lots of little problems, and in the long run I lost 70ish and that was it. I had the band removed and revised to the bypass on the 21st of March of this year. Down 69.1 lbs since starting my pre-op diet. I'm the lowest weight I've been in like 18 years. I honestly wish I went with the bypass instead of the band back in 2011. Very happy with the bypass thus far.

Dr Enochs is also my doctor I am having SIPS or SADI-S Monday 3/16/2015 I had RNY 7/11/2014 So this will be a revision for me. I am currently down almost 97lbs so far with the RNY, but I am having complications with ulcers and hernias. How are you doing Mojo56?

Hello Everyone! This is my very first time posting on this forum although I have been reading it for 5 years. I first got my lap band surgery done on 7/13/07 by Dr. Roslin at Lenox Hill Hospital. I will try to make this as short as possible despite it being a very long story. When I got my surgery I was 229 lbs, 27 yrs old with diabetes, PCOS, in pain, fat, unhealthy and dying. I did tried other forms of weight loss on my own and with medical help and when I didn't have any success I decided it was time to have WLS. I researched the band and Dr. Roslin's name came up & I went back to my PCP to discuss it- she said he was the man she wanted to refer me to and I saw this as a sign... this was my destiny.... (dramatic, huh? lol). Well I went thru all the necessary appts and the surgery date was set for June 26 I believe... but a few days before that I had a terrible kidney infection so it was pushed back- to 7/13- Friday the 13th- my luckiest day. :-) I got the surgery and everything went well, until I got home. Learning to live with the band proved extremely hard for me. Eating less, slower, and NOT being able to tolerate foods I loved (even healthy ones) was horrible. For the first 6-8 months I hated it. I wanted it out immediately after I got it- but I as learned to live with it, change my lifestyle and adhere to the rules, the weight started to fall off and I was successful. Fast forward to Nov 2010. I was laid off from yet another job and I became depressed.... I did little eating and when I tried I found it hard. I had no insurance and I had seen Dr. Roslin in almost 2 years. I went to DR in Jan 2011 and my parents freaked- they'd never seen me so "sick". I was 108 lbs and rail thin. I needed a miracle or an unfill! I found a Doctor in DR who unfilled me. I started to eat better again and gained some healthy weight back. In a few months I was up to 125lbs then 135lbs; I maintained that weight for a year. I ate healthy but never deprived myself of treats. NO real exercise.... at least not in a gym. Now March 2012- I started to get severe heartburn- worst than my usual heartburn which I thought was just part of living with the band. I'd wake up sick, but I had only been working at my new job 2.5 months & had no insurance. I got the insurance and life and work got in the way of me getting to the doctor until I finally did- Aug 1st 2012. As soon as I saw Dr. Roslin he said: You haven't been here in over 3 years- that means you are here cuz your band slipped. I freaked... No, I think I just need an unfill. He checked it, I told him about DR. He said: that doctor unfilled completely- you have been unfilled for a year- you need to go up to Northern Westchester Hospital tomorrow and get an Upper GI Series- tell them it's urgent. Went on 8/2 got the UGI and surely enough- slipped band. I had to get surgery to either revise or remove. Dr. Roslin immediately suggested a revision- he said most of his patients gain the weight back if they get the band removed. SO reluctantly I agreed to revise and start again. He scheduled my surgery for 8/9/12. I was unhappy. Sad. Even though here I was after losing a total of 121 lbs I felt like a failure... I mean the band is not supposed to be removed- ever! ;-( I spoke to my mom, my friends and then my PCP. I was lucky she remembered me after not seeing her in years and that she was able to see me the next day. She canceled my surgery- it was too soon, I needed time to think. She talked me out of the revision and suggested removal. She talked about how she was NO longer suggesting the Lap Band due to too many people having it removed & that she knew of surgeons who weren't doing the surgery anymore. I saw she had faith in me- the faith my surgeon didn't have. She said: I don't think you will regain the weight- it's time to try it on your own. You are a different person now. You lead a different lifestyle. I agreed. My mom and friends wanted it out- they didn't want to see me suffer. I opted for removal. Surgery was set for 9/6/12. I had the surgery at Northern Westchester Hospital.... could not have made a better choice! Everyone took such great care of me. I had complications with the anesthesia taking more time to wear off my bladder and I had to be tubed with a catheter twice- (I know- ouch) and stay in the hospital an extra day. It was painful and the incisions are still sore but I have been home since Saturday and I am recovering. It hurts when I laugh or cough- so trying to avoid that. I am eating sensibly & thus far my ravenous hunger has not return (knock on wood!).Only weird thing I have noticed is the incision directly over my belly button is kinda swollen and that area is popped out and hard- I find this strange and will talk more about it at my follow up appt which I will call to set up tomorrow. My plan? Exercise, Eat well, and Maintain a healthy weight. I have made the choice to live withOUT the lap band because at least for me (at this moment in my life) the cons far outweigh the pros to have another one put in or to have any other kind of WLS. Don't get me wrong- I STILL tell everyone what I believe to be true: The BAND saved my life..... but I helped it help me too! If you have any questions please ask.

Doubts are healthy. I think you should discuss at length with surgeon as there are pros and cons. There are many successful band patients on this site,but I was banded in 2001, revised to sleeve in 2011, revision being the fate of many people that were banded that long ago. You can fail or succeed with ANY WLS, but it seems some of us had a much harder time finding the "sweet spot" with the band. It is a little trickier, a little higher maintenance but with education, support and willingness to adjust fills, people make it work!

UPDATE: Just fillin' you guys in.. From everything I'm hearing, it seems like I probably won't lose the 200 lbs. I want to lose. I guess I'll be lucky if I lose 100 lb. I keep going round and round in my mind what to do. Truthfully, now with a more complete picture, I think the sleeve would be my best bet. Chances are good that I'd lose a substantial amount with the sleeve, and if I needed a revision, I could easily convert into the bypass. That said, Medicare, does not cover the sleeve yet. It's anyone's guess as to when they will -- anywhere from 18 months to 5 years. I don't have the time to wait. I am too scared to have the bypass, because of my age, prior history of a heart attack and co-morbidities. I'm sure I will pass all of the pre-op tests with flying colors. But I'm afraid to be on the table for the length of time it takes to do a bypass and the fact that it's 5x more dangerous than any other procedure. Since I had extensive abdominal surgery to remove my ovarian cancer, they don't know if scarring will be an issue that will force an open surgery vs. laparoscopic. And while I'm not having any heart problems, who knows what will happen during surgery. My doc tells me I'm already at a higher risk for pretty much everything, including a pulmonary embolism. Now all I have to do is find the right doc. My doc is probably the best and most experienced surgeon around, but I do not like his support staff (particularly the P.A. who will be doing the fills). Right now I'm on the medically supervised diet and doing quite well, to my surprise I've already lost 12 of the 20 pounds I need to drop without much effort. I'm not actually following the "diet" just being practical about what and how much I eat. Best wishes and healing thoughts for all you newbies. I'm not sure where I'm gonna hang out on this board -- but I will be popping into the 60s for sure. Kate

If you haven't seen it, there's an entire forum here dedicated to band -> sleeve revisions. Lots and lots of us have been down that path. My best answers below in blue.

Hello all, I was banded the first time in 2006. I had a slip in 2009 and had a realize band implemented. I had complications with the band again and on May 25th was revised from band to RNY. I have to admit, the pain was intense. I am 10 days post op and am back at work and still have pain (though not very severe). I work in an office, so I am sedentary and am not concerned about the pain. I have lost almost 15 pounds being on the liquid diet (now able to eat pudding / yogurt / etc). I am not really sure how to measure my weight loss as I was really not morbidly obese when being revised. I can tell you I was 311 in 2006 when banded. I had dropped to 175 and then after the slip moved up to 240 in 2009 when I had the realize band put in. I was at 214 when I had the revision and am now, basically 200. I would like to be at a fit 175-190, so once the healing is done I plan on hitting the gym again. I am rambling, I know, and am not really being organized with my thoughts. I am just writing as I think about it. I just wanted to document my story and am willing to answer any questions or try to help anyone I can.

You dont ask for "special" cover. Policies differ in what they offer and I believe at one stage when we were young and newlywed we did have a health insurance policy that excluded certain things like cardiac surgery, stuff we felt really positive we wouldnt need at that age. But your stock standard health insurance policy will cover almost everything apart from cosmetic surgery and other really unceccessary (from a medical viewpoint) surgery. Where they differ is in the extras. You can elect to have (or not have) optical, dental, physio, chiro, naturopathy, stuff like that and the amount of hospital cover they provide - blue ribbon cover will mean you get your total hospital costs paid without any excess paid by you for instance. What happens is that our public health system, Medicare, pays for most things for everybody. Medicare will pay 85% of the scheduled fee for all conceivable services (but doesnt cover optical, dental or physio and the like). Most physicians will charge more than the scheduled fee for their services, so you have a "gap" by which you are out of pocket. Some health insurance policies have gap cover and will refund a portion of this gap, but you will almost always be out of pocket slightly, but not by an awful lot. In this way, anyone with or without insurance can seek out a surgeon, you dont have to wait months on a public list to get in to see him for "free" unless you cant even afford the gap. If you dont have private insurance though and you need an operation through the public system, you dont have the freedom to choose your specialists, you get who you're given. So Medicare will pick up much of the cost of surgery, anaesthetist etc and your health insurance will pay for your hospital bed basically. Then what most lap band surgeons seem to do is charge you a once off fee that is not covered by your health insurance or medicare (since its above and beyond the scheduled fee), mine was $3000, and all your aftercare is covered after that since the surgeon only bills the scheduled fee direct to Medicare so you dont pay for fills or anything. If you went self pay, it would cost you around $20,000 or more probably and of course, Medicare would cover a fair bit (85%) of that, so you wouldnt be out of pocket by that much. But you'd have to pay it and then go to Medicare for the refund. The trouble is, many surgeons wont accept self pay becuase of the difficulty with aftercare - people tend to be slack on their review and fills because they cant continue to find the money, a fill may cost you $250 or so each time, and if they need revision surgery they're stuffed - again Medicare will pick up a lot of the cost but not for the hospital and you could be paying $1500 per night for a bed etc. You can go self pay on most things though if you so desire, such as having a baby or getting your child's adenoids removed etc. You really do feel thankful for your private health insurance though when you're 32 weeks pregnant with a broken hand that has been unsuccessfully set in plaster, and hasnt healed and you go back to your surgeon and demand that he fix it surgically becuase you're about to have a baby and you need your hands dammit and he looks at his watch and says "can you meet me at the hospital in half an hour?". I'd still be on public waiting list for that one, and my hand would be ruined. There are a few anomolies in our system though, to have a baby through the public system cost you pretty much nothing, but having the "priviledge" of private health insurance means it cost me about $3,000 per baby, lol. Still private hospital, five day stay for a normal birth, decent food, Doug staying the night, private obstetrician who attended me for all 3 births, it's worth it to me rather than going into a public hospital, giving birth assisted by whomever happens to be on duty that night and having to go home the next day.

Hi Giselle; At my clinic TLBC it costs $16,000 incl Gst. for the Lapband and any proceedures for life. At SWLC in Mississauga its $17,000 plus Gst. don't know how long you are covered for subsequent fills and revisions(if necessary) DrWatkins Gastric Band Surgeon Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 98 We adjust all bands (including the new Ethicon REALIZE band) at our Chicago clinic in Oak Brook, IL. You can get their contact info from our website, Synchrony Health :: Home. The surgeon, Dr. Duane Tull, is banded himself. He'd be happy to see you. Hope that helps brad __________________ Gastric Band Surgeon since 2002 Synchrony Health :: Home I've 'pasted' the link to the Chicago Ill. site, sorry I tried to google the Detroit one but wasn't lucky. In Ypsilanti Michigan there is the BARIX Clinic, they do lapbands on Canadians plus my BF had her Gastric Bypass done there and the team was fantastic.... excellent aftercare too. Dr. Kam was the surgeon that she had.

The band did not work well for me at all. I have posted about this lots and my intentioin is not to bash it, but to truthfully share my story which was less than stellar weight loss which was regained when I could no longer tolerate fill in my band due to reflux. It was a nightmare physically, and beat me down even further emotionally as I felt like such a failure. I felt alot of shame and embarrassment. I too had a terrible fear of lifelong reflux post sleeve. I spent months thinking about it. My health and quality of life at over 300# was going down hilll fast though so at some point I had to accept the "risk" of untreatable reflux versus 100% chance of early death with a side trip through disability which was the path I was on. Anyway, I will be 3 years out from revision come December, I don't take a PPI (I did first several months post op) and so far, no reflux. Keeping fingers crossed. What about revising directly to the bypass if you have a family history of reflux type disease?

Hi all! For those of you who are revision-ers who have gone from the band to the sleeve, could you please give those of us who have not yet been sleeved (or are on the fence about being sleeved) some information about your journey. I've had the band since 2005 (no fill since 2009) and have had probably with it. My current wls wants me to be revised to a sleeve, but due to my experience with the band, I am now absolutely afraid of getting any other type of wls.

I'm 42. Had RNY revision on 6/28. Lost 22 lbs. its slow but it's moving. I'm afraid to fail so I have to keep up my routine. I try to avoid sitting at the dinner table when the family is eating. It's just hard on me. But it's getting easier daily! We will be successful at this!

Bcbs Pennsylvania, for a revision, RNY to DS