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Surgery of this kind is always a bit scary. I had the band since 2010 and revised in 2015. I am pending RNY and working on getting mentally prepared for it. Andrew- so true about the clothing. Made many a run to the second hand stores around my surgeon's office as my size went up and down. Only kept 30 lbs off but I am down 3 sizes solid and 4 is a bit tight these days. With the band wide open, it is expected.

I hate the idea of any more surgery but saw the bariatric surgeon for my regular visit on Friday and showed her the 'golf ball'. She said it wasn't dangerous but I really needed to get it fixed. So...a lower profile port is what I will get along with her stitching it to the muscle so it gets buried deeper. She said it would hurt more to get fills but I don't get any now so I don't care about what might or might not happen. I tried on a dress last week that I couldn't buy because my port was so visible. Will be nice to not have to deal with that anymore. Then she mentioned that she didn't do this too often because most bandsters didn't become as thin as I have. She said there's no fat for the port to be hidden by. I must say, I liked how that sounded.

Can you go to another doctor without endangering your health? He should be willing to talk to you about what might have caused it (they don't always know) and discussed options with you, like a "revision" surgery to the sleeve, for example.

I'm getting revision on August 8 with Dr. Suh in Murrieta. Hopefully he can do it in one surgery. Sent from my iPad using VST

I saw some older info here and it doesn't look like they approve the sleeve, even for revision. Does anyone know if that's still the case? Trying to figure if it's even worth the effort to try or should I just go to Mexico. Thanks

I am miserable with this band....I want a revision to bypass.I have Horizon NJ Health.What is the process for approval..I have gained all the weight back,acid reflux,hiatal hernia,PCOS,post breast cancer,pre diabetes,high cholesterol...lithe list continues....I have Horizon NJ Health mercy. Sorry I meant band to RNY!!!!!

I was banded in July 2005. I was never successful with the band. I might have lost 20 lbs all together with the band. I did a lot of dieting, just as I had my entire life, but I would only lose while I was eating 500 calories a day and then gain it back. At one point I was even heavier than when I started. I weighed 309 the day of my lap band. Eating bad things was fine, but as soon as I tried to eat lean Protein or vegetables it was uncomfortable going down or would get stuck. I felt like a failure once again. How was it possible to be such a loser that I couldn't even be successful at weight loss even after wl surgery. After 10 years lost with the band I decided to go to Mexico to have a revision to gastric done. The insurance that I have will not cover anything to do with obesity. The great news is after the revision the weight has been coming off steadily. I weighed 288 the day of surgery and at a little over 4 1/2 months I'm down to 227! The gastric has been better than I could have imagined. Anyone who has had the band and not had success please don't waste any more time. I spent 10 years being disgusted with myself because I didn't lose the weight that everyone bragged about, I've since seen that there are many of us who weren't successful. I eat about the same as I did with the band, but now I actually lose weight! Sent from my VS880 using the BariatricPal App Wow you sounds like me, I am waiting for insurance approval for revision, sure hope i get approval and have surgery in May:) it's been waaay too long with this band

I revised from band to RNY in December....I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!

To be honest I am surprised that bands are still being fitted, despite the huge number of people requiring revision surgery. I think that more people are researching and going for sleeve and bypass but how long will it be until bands are phased out? The surgeon that, originally, dos my band doesn't do them anymore. That was in Chicago. We live in Orlando, now, and the surgeon that is doing my revision no longer does bands either. He, essentially, told me that they're crap. I would have to agree lol!

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I was approved for revision from band to rny about a month ago, still have about month til my surgery on May 6th. I'm very excited to get this band out, I have had nothing but problems with it. I never lost a good amount of weight with it and have been in discomfort for 5 yrs now. I do have a lot of worries that I will fail at this wls also and I'm very embarrassed that I haven't been successful at it. It does make me feel so much better reading everyone else's struggles with it and to know I'm not the only one out there. I would love to know if any of you are having your surgery around the time I am. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had revision from band to bypass at the very end of December 2015.It's been great.My weight loss is slow and steady.I was below 40 BMI and have PCOS and am 52 years old.I have 35 pounds so far and I feel great.No issues.I follow a mostly Paleo diet.

Did your surgeon think the hernia was a priblem to do the revision? I have one too and he us worried about what scaring he will find when he has a look inside. Sent from my GT-I9505 using the BariatricPal App

How much have you lost with the bypass if you don't mind me asking? And how long did it take?I am on process of fulfilling insurance requirements in order to get revision to RNY and I am nervous I won't lose will even with bypass. I have extremely slow metabolism, I hit a plateau 2nd week after lap band surgery, hearing that the weight loss is slower after revision makes me very nervous. I have about 120 lbs I want to lose to be at goal. Guess I need some emotional pick me up here I have lost 60 lbs since November 2015 with the revision. Best decision I have ever made! Sent from my VS880 using the BariatricPal App

I am currently waiting for my revision from band to bypass in 4 weeks time. What really shocked me was finding out that way back in 2010 a Swiss study on gastric bands found that 80% would be removed within 10 years of initial insertion! So the manufacturers of these bands have been pushing a medical product that they know is dodgy for 6 years. Almost as bad as the tobacco industry! Having said that I'm still terrified of the bypass because it is so permanent. Any tips or advice on the bypass? How has it impacted on your life...especially when going out with friends? Sent from my GT-I9505 using the BariatricPal App

Hi--I had my initial surgery done 1/15/08. After the first couple of fille, it became more difficult to access my port. X-rays were done, looked ok. Then in April, the port was totally inaccessible. I was going away for 2 weeks, plus insurance had to approve the port revision, so surgery was scheduled for a month away. On 4/20, the port was reattached. The surgeon said he had never seen anything like it, the suture material broke at all four attachment points---seemed like defective suture material. Anyway, I went home three hours later, and except for minor soreness, felt fine. The hardest part was going on a vacation with no restriction!! I ended up gaining a pound. Best of luck. Carol

go to this webpage, she has some great revised recipes. theworldaccordingtoeggface.com

I'm in the process of booking my sleeve to bypass revision with Dr Garcia. He did my sleeve in April 2, 2013. I hit my lowest weight at 157 and then gained back and now at 190 again. My only regret is that I didn't go with the RNY bypass the first time around. I have horrible gerd (common with the sleeve for some) and little restriction. Starting weight was 240 before sleeve surgery. Booking around Jan of Feb 2017. Reach out if anyone going to be there then!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Welcome to VST and hope you find a lot of great support here. Suggest you scroll down a little and look for the "Band to Gastric Sleeve Revisions" thread. Wishing you the best of luck!

Alas.... I had the VBG almost exactly 13 years ago. I was 305# at the start before that surgery and got down to 167. I didn't reach my goal weight, but I was feeling so much better about myself, was wearing size 9 jeans, receiving lots of compliments from friends, getting attention from men (something I was not used to), was able to enjoy all the outdoor activities I so love to do. I would have even been happy if I hadn't lost anymore but the problem was it didn't stay off. In the early years, I did pretty well sticking to low fat, low sugar for the most part. Then, I had some low points personally and I got off track- but while I gained some, I would bounce up and down doing the yo-yo thing. This past year has been the worst in terms of my gain, am up to 251# and HATE it. It affects how people view me at work, my personal life, family, the list goes on.... Not to mention how limiting this weight is for all the activities I love to do! There wasn't NEAR the amount of information out there about WLS then, like there is now. There was no such thing as the 5 day pouch test, no liquid diets before surgery, very little post-op support once you got off liquids. I don't think surgeons can be blamed, there just wasn't enough information to know what or how to educate their patients. I actually maintained for several years, had learned to "deal" with the dumping issues when eating dense food (regardless of how well it was chewed). To be honest, I never thought there would ever be a "second chance" because I remember vividly to this day when I had my original consult that he said this was a "ONE SHOT DEAL". It was only because I happen to accidentally run across an article last November of someone who had had a revision WLS that it made me sit up and pay attention. I immediately made a request to get a copy of my medical records from that surgery. It turned out I was lucky to get them because in that state they are only required to keep them for 10 years. I became obsessed with researching all the changes in the realm of WL surgeries, the pros, the cons. Then, learning surgeons have come up with these stupid program fees which seems to me like that at the very least unethical because if they had contracted with various ins. companies, they were agreeing to the amount they would be paid and this was their way to circumvent the process. Given that the sleeve has no maintenance like the lap band and the surgeons were still demanding it for out of state patients that likely would never set foot in their office seemed like quite the racket. So, then it was onto why some people chose one surgery over another, complications. And, then all the DRAMA around the various Dr.'s and all these accusations of fake posters to bolster reputations or attack/ report on those bad mouthing other Dr.'s was just unreal to me. This quickly turned into what felt like a cloak and dagger mission to figure out where the truth was in all this information. I found myself staying up into the wee hours of the night wanting more and more information. Then, realizing given my original surgery that having a revision surgery would be a bit more complicated than I originally thought. Very few surgeons even have any experience with VBG's, and as a result if they would do a revision on me they tried to steer me to the RNY. After all, it would be easier to do a revision to that, than take on something that required greater technical finesse and expertise. I never thought I would have to leave my local area living in a large metropolitan area- but I did. I went to a few seminars and personally they are a joke. For the person who doesn't do their homework beforehand it can appear to be informational- but as someone who already had studied all the pros and cons of all the procedures out there (more than just the mainstream), it was comical in some regards because you can tell based on how they talk about the different procedures where their surgical skills are at based on which procedure they push the hardest, ESPECIALLY if they couldn't really answer the hard questions on the other procedures or gave you non-answers. What really annoys me though is these Dr.'s are claiming success when their patients loose 50% or more of the excess body weight. So, if someone starts at 450# and assume her excess body weight would be 250#- so as long as she looses 200#, that procedure would be a success? Give me a break! Have they changed it so that if they get at least 50% of their tests right to get their medical license that they would be a success? Sorry, that just doesn't fly with me. So, back to the journey.... I remember calling Aetna to see if my policy would cover WLS, what types, revisions, etc. Even though I had coverage, I became concerned whether I would meet their criteria for having a revision because the policy bulletin was a bit generic and their customer service could offer no specific advice except to refer me to their policy bulletin. So, I went ahead and did the psych eval, the nutritionist visit, PCP records, and I also had an endoscopy done which was good because I learned I have a Grade C esophogitus (sp?) which the only worse level is D. That explains the increasing issues I have had with dense foods of almost any consistency causing them to get lodged and make my body want to repel it back out like a rocket. Talk about embarrassing in public situations. So, the slider foods became the path of least resistance. I didn't put two and two together until I started reading about others who experienced these same problems and realized what was happening. Sorry for the long story here, but I don't see too many post who have had revisions- much less from a VBG and wanted to share. I will be calling to start figuring out a surgery date, and making preparations to be out of state. I am single and w/out family or friends that can travel with me- so that does add some anxiety to this. Getting care lined up for the horses, a handicapped dog, and a few others will be a challenge- but I'll get it figured out. Then, letting my boss know I will be out for a few weeks. He will only be told I am having surgery to correct a surgery from years back and requires a specialist out of state. I'm sure he will want me to share more, but he will not prod if I don't offer. I could probably go back to work sooner, but it will be easier to go back sooner than to extend it. So, that's my story. I expect I will have my surgery the first part of May. Now I will get to go and get my post-op supplies in order. I am so thankful the insurance approval went so easy!

I pretty much just teared up a little on this post. I'm so flippin' elated for you, and your revision being approved. Just elated ! ! ! Please keep me posted, and of course, if you need anything, I'm here for ya ! ! !

I can really hear the frustration in your post. I am also a lap-band revision and I only had 60 pounds to lose when I started. I really got the sleeve as an insurance policy - I knew without the band that my weight would sky-rocket and I needed something to prevent it. It must suck to hear about people eating a couple bites and that's it. Eating 6 oz is still not a lot of food, especially compared to pre-lapband days. Over time, that should have a good affect on your weight. Congrats on being below your 250 target! Just be patient with yourself. If you need to take a break from the board, that's understandable - but come back and see us sometime!! Best of luck to you - keep your head up!! Lara

Well, hindsight is always 20/20. I think, when I was making the decision, I was much more tortured about it. It is a unique dilemma to have already committed and paid for a weight loss surgery and it doesn't work. I did not lose much weight with the band and it didn't slip, but it was uncomfortable and was doing me no favors. I was self pay both times, so it isn't just the failure of the band, but paying for both surgeries. It's a major fail either way you look at it and I am not the type of person who takes failure lightly. I think it is good that I had the sleeve in this time because I think the procedure has evolved and it much better now than it used to be. Of course, I wish I had never had to deal with a failed lap band. The sleeve is everything the band promised, without the BS. I never had much success witht he band. You did have success, though, and I can see where you may feel odd about losing it. I couldn't wait to get that piece of crap out of my body. When I went in for surgery, I was totally at peace with the idea that, even if I didn't lose any weight, I would be OK. I was getting the band out and I was doing the VSG as insurance. I just didn;t want to get any heavier. When I woke up in the afternoon after surgery, I touched my port site and almost cried - I was so happy there was no more hardware in my belly. Another revision patient that was a very low weight (she had good success with the band until there were complications) is Loouuu (not sure how to spell it). It's not crazy to do VSG with a BMI of 30. Just think, You are almost all the way home!! After VSG you will have a new surge of success. Some people do VSG on a virgin stomach at that BMI. Just make sure to find a good surgeon who has lots of experience with revisions - we are a little more risky.

It goes to show you that everyone reacts so differently. I was rebanded in 2009 (org. surgery 2007) and I cannot take as much fill....was 6cc now am 4cc's in a 10cc band. Also in 2010 had a port revision so when surgeon snipped the tubing and hooked it back up (lost my fluid then) was refilled slowly and go back up to 4cc's. That is a perfect amount for me. I had an upper GI in Oct. which indicated I needed more fill but I know my own body and I know I cannot take anymore so even the upper GI isn't accurate...you just got to know you body and how it responds. I have maintained for 3 1/2 years.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm trying to get my EGD scheduled now for my (hope) revision

Congratulations! You look great! I will be having a revision surgery from lapband to the sleeve with Dr. Garcia on May 31st, just booked my flight so no turning back! Keep up the good work!!