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I had a "thin swallow" test before I was released from the hospital to make sure I wasn't aspirating etc. My doc does that with ALL his patients, regardless of the surgery (bypass or band) and whether or not they "think" they are fine (i had finished 36 ounces of water before my test)

one more thing, why did you have to have a port revision?

I just came across this discussion and decided to join to reply. I myself have been looking into lapband for quite a while now, but am disabled and my insurance won't cover it. I've heard nothing but good things about the lapband oposed to gastric bypass. That is up until this last week. My cousin called me to say I seriously hope you aren't still considering it. She works with a girl that had it, she's lost a lot of weight, but was in ICU several days last week due to bleeding internally due to the lapband. She also told me about someone that came in her clinic that had just lost a friend due from the lapband lacerating something I believe she said. My aunt is currently in the hospital and her roommate also had the lapband. She lost 135lbs, but developed a hernia and her intestines were all twisted due to complications of the band. She is so weak and sick and can't hold any food down. It definitely make you think...

I don't think any of us said it was simple! I have the same trouble with carbs (insulin spike, etc.) that you mention. That was why I decided it was imperative that I get off of most of the sugars and white carbs. It wasn't easy! I had cravings for a good month, but I also found I felt a whole heck of a lot better when I avoided most of them. I think we can all agree that French Fries and white bread don't offer much nutritionally. And, to my surprise, I found I didn't miss them all that much! Anyhow, on to your question about the band long term. This is where the band excels. Not only are you able to keep getting adjustments as needed, forever, but bandsters tend to find that even when they stray, they don't gain it back nearly as fast as they did without the band. That 10 pounds gained over the holidays might just be one or two. Regarding band vs. bypass, studies show that after 3-5 years, the weight loss of the two groups evens out. It just takes a little longer with the band. A small price to pay for not having your insides re-routed, IMHO. So, if you are ready and willing to make the necessary changes, and your stress level is closer to "normal", go for it! If you follow most of the rules most of the time, you'll lose most of the weight. :-) Orea

Sue, Per my doctor's orders I was on liquids the first day and then could eat normally again after that. Just told not to go crazy. I didn't revise at the time and had no complications either. Good luck to you, Nancy.

Hello EVERYONE! This can't happen we have been bumped down the list!! I have been missing for a couple of weeks but wanted to check in. Some of my fellow A11s may know I had a flipped port in November and had revision surgery. The surgery and recovery was not bad. I was unable to exercise for a little over 2 weeks. OMG let me tell you about Thanksgiving I was so proud of myself on my first plate, I had a very small amount of everything. Felt great not stuff or anything. But later that night I ate again but with more of my favorites on the plate. It was my first holiday after being banded and I would say I did better than expected, but not that good. I lost myself for the week following Thanksgiving with leftovers and Desserts and on top of all that I could not exercise. During the struggle I lost and gained the same 3-4lbs. I am happy to report that I was back on track as of 12/5 and lost 5 pounds in that 1 week. So this morning I went for my first fill following revision surgery. I had a hematoma that he had to drain but I got my much awaited fill . So needless to say ladies and gents I am back. I have my second fill since being banded! Hope all is well with you all. Thanks for listening!!

UGH... and I had the EXACT symptoms you do. Mine felt like an overall tightness/soreness /extreme discomfort - like when I took a deep breath, or was sitting/laying in a certain position, bending over, etc. I basically felt it all the time. I discussed with my doctor and he said it's most likely a combination of trapped gas and constipation. I was banded on 11/10 and had a hell of a time (excuse my language) going #2. I had HORRIBLE constipation. I've since taken colace and have had a MUCH better time. High Protein diets are synonymous with constipation, so it’s very important that we drink as much Water as possible. I was 3 weeks post-op yesterday and can still feel it, just not as bad. It’s DEFINITELY gotten SO much better though. I too was very concerned for a while. My port is the lower right side of my stomach closer to my belly button as opposed to under your left rib cage. So for me, this particular ailment wasn’t port pain (though I DO have some port pain, just not there lol). Also, I know that some sleeve/bypass patients have experienced the same pain/discomfort… so I don’t think this symptom is exclusive to banded patients. My doctor also suggested that it may be something called "splenic flexure syndrome." Essentially, gas gets trapped in the bend of the colon near the spleen (the splenic flexure). It’s more or less just gas pains that will eventually dissipate. This may sound crazy… but I found that flapping my arms, like I’m doing the chicken dance helped. I know it sounds weird, but it actually helped alleviate my discomfort/pain But overall, if the discomfort if not manageable and is not getting better at all, I would certainly call your doctor. There’s no reason for you to be uncomfortable and in pain.

Hi guys, Have been a little absent in recent weeks - have been busy with work and trying to get consultants here. So I have finally made a decision having seen a consultant. I am going for the gastric bypass - just waiting on fund approval from insurance and then should be good to go. hope you are all well x

I am 65 years old. After gastric bypass surgery, my skin became extremely wrinkled, like paper crinkles. Overnight, I began to look a hundred years old. My wife suggested I use Bio-Oil available at CVS. I apply it once each morning and that takes care of the problem.

I accepted the moment I made the decision to have my bypass (7/1/13) that I would also have a certain amount of plastic surgery after (5/21/15). I began this journey 2 years ago at almost 320 lbs. I got down to 195 and stalled. I held onto that weight and was thrilled for 8 months. I was so much happier and healthier. I was also working towards my skin removal. I knew I needed it, with or without insurance approval I was getting it done. My wonderful surgeon recommended that I not only get a panniculectomy (skin removal from the belly button down) but also an abdominoplasty (belly button up with the muscle repair) and circumferential lower body lift (360 degrees skin and fat removal). It is not uncommon for insurance companies to cover a panniculectomy when you can prove there is a medical need but the rest is very unlikely to unheard of. My doc felt with my situation he could make a good case so we went for it. We documented infection after infection and submitted a ton of photos. They came back with a yes to 2 of the 3 procedures. My surgeons office worked up a quote for my share of the third procedure plus a little light lipo under the chin and bra line. It was a no brainer for me, I had to make it happen. Before my surgery my doctor predicted he would be able to remove 8 lbs at most of extra skin and tissue. When I woke up he informed me it was closer to 15 (14.8lbs). Tonight I am 5 weeks post-op and I would do it again. I have had no major complications however I am still in a fair amount of pain and discomfort, especially at the end of the day. I have had a disappointing libido response but I am hoping that's because I am still healing. I am down to 178 lbs and I love the way I'm looking so far. I feel confident that at 8-12 weeks post op when I am released to really exercise, I will finally reach my goal weight of 165. We are all different and this weight loss effects each of our bodies very differently. I think it's important that you are happy with your own personal choices and who you have become. Christy

I totally understand your fears. Mine were so similar. The one thing I did know was the band needed to come out! I wasn't really having any problems but I felt like something wasn't quite right and had gained most my weight back. Remember how well you did with the band in the beginning when it was all so new? Once you get a bad fill then it's all downhill from there. Well, did the revision- turns out the band had slipped and formed a hernia. I'm in the beginning phases of the sleeve and am following the rules just like I did with the band. I know it's up to me for this to be successful. I know I'm going to have my ups & downs but this was a chance I was willing to take. Good luck to you in your journey

Hey blond and anyone else out there who needs support- I just had my bypass surgery 8/5 so I am a newbie BUT I did have surgery at a center for excellence by the chief of staff. I have had numerous nut visits and have a large binder of several topics like diet, exercise, recipes and so on. I spend several hours a day on research and feel I am educated in this process. A far as repetitive posts about stalls- I agree that everyone should know that they will happen- but consider the fear we all have had that maybe we are one of the ones this doesn't work for? SUPPORT should not be something we pick and choose as to when we provide it and to whom. Support should be given freely. Each and everyone of us are/has been fat- and we each made the choice to finally do something about it. We know better than most what it feels like to be judged... So shame on anyone in here judging others! Perhaps you are now superior to the rest of us? If so maybe you need to move on to answering the questions In vogue magazines instead of griping about questions you find in here? With that being said- I am available to anyone to answer questions I feel I can or direct you to other sources if I don't know...

This CHEW CHEW CHEW thing is harder than I expected it to be. I am not doing well at all. The bypass surgery actually might be better for me because it means I CAN'T eat sweets. And I sure don't WANT to experienced dumping syndrome. I think I might do better that way. There is so much to think about I can't begin to take it all in. http://losingitat67.wordpress.com

@@Remmy75 good for you!! I'm 47 I was sleeved in February this year the pain really wasn't bad and they give you good drugs lol felt more like I pulled the muscles in my abdomen back and shoulder mostly hurt when getting up and down bending over etc for a few days then it eases up the gas pain was nasty for about 3 days and was nauseas they also give you good drugs for that too lol they do not want u to throw up I took pain meds for 36 hours never touched the RX for home they gave me this horrible nasty vile tasting liquid to go home as a pain meds it was gross I also lost my mom she was 56 she developed diabetes after a lifetime of bad food choices and wasn't not compliant with dr instructions taking meds revising diet or excercise as a result she had bad things happen eventually became septic and died I felt that if I didn't take control that could be me in a few years so I applaud you for wanting to be there for your child hope all goes well for you and best of luck

I will be having surgery here bc insurance will cover most of it. I will be going to MX for skin removal as it won't be covered. MX can be great option! My surgeon spoke about doing revisions bc the previous surgeon didn't remove enough so I would definately ask that question to whoever you go to. Good luck with your journey!

Thanks to both of you for the responses. Amforshort congrats on your revision, we had the same procedure one day apart. I won't get into gory details but I took miralax once every night since the surgery and yesterday it started cleaning me out. It wasn't as unpleasant as stimulant laxatives have been in the past so I would recommend it to others. How are you feeling 5 days in?

My depression/anxiety was well controlled before my surgery and now it's back, so I can understand. I have the same thoughts you do about the future. My husband had gastric bypass 2 weeks before me and he is doing SO good and feeling great. My nurse told me this week that generally the sleeve is harder for the 1st 3 months than the bypass (and I originally wanted the bypass but my surgeon suggested sleeve). Would have been nice to know before surgery. I have hopes that it will get better- not feeling yourself mentally or physically can be miserable. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App I totally agree Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

That really stinks! I am sorry that you are having to consider more surgery. I know there are a lot of people on this site that had revisions to bypass so hopefully you will get your questions answered. Many of them have done fantastic with bypass. I can tell you that from what I have read, the initial weight loss is much slower but I have seen folks get to goal. Personally I am so thankful I went the bypass route because it put several illnesses into remission for me. One of them was very severe Gerd, I have not had a single bout of heartburn at all. My diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, anemia and stage 3 kidney disease are also all in remission. Do you still have the same insurance? You might want to give them a call to better understand coverage. I had Medica United Health Care and I was only allowed 1 Bariatric WLS surgery in my lifetime. Now I have a completely different insurance and they cover nothing. It really depends on your specific insurance. I wish you the best of luck!

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

Back when I was one week post-op I asked why wasn't I losing weight????? I was so very frustrated. I had 'only' lost 4 pounds since my surgery the week before. Boy, was I young and naive. Those 4 pounds were just the fluids from the surgery, and about the only weight I lost until about 5-6 months post-op when my fills finally kicked in and started working for me. But, the nice people here at LBT boosted my spirits and reminded me that until I got to my green zone, my weight loss would be limited. Then I starte getting my fills, and the weight started coming off...pretty easily too. Easily if not consistently. The Lap Band literature tells us 1-2 lbs per week. That was a pipe dream for me. I averaged 3/4 lb per week. Yes three quarters. Some weeks were more than others, some weeks were gains, some weeks/months were plateaus. But the overall trend was down. I stuck with my new portions and habits, and I got to a healthy BMI, my blood pressure normalized, my cholesterol normalized, and my blood sugar improved. Sometimes, when the short-term is sucking...look at the long term...focus on portion control, food choices. Even if your portions are not tiny, make them better. One of you was banded in November...you've had what? 1 maybe 2 fills? The band isn't helping much yet. But it's there, and you are working on it. The July bandster, DON'T compare yourself to bypass patients. We had completely different procedures. That will mess with your psyche and set you up for failure..."why should I get a fill, it won't help..my brother's lost 100 lbs already...there's no point, I'll never catch up." We are in this for life, being banded is not really about losing the weight. It is about making changes forever that help you become a healthier, thinner person. Work on the habits...the weight will follow.

Good luck to you. After my endoscope my surgeon told me I'm not a candidate for sleeve because it would increase my gerd. Since then I have read so much about folks having terrible gerd and going for revisions. This confirms my decision to move forward with bypass. I wish you luck and a speedy recovery.

Sorry, Cleo's. I made a generalization and spoke it as fact. I should have stated that for most the band does not work without fills and adequate after care. It can take some people many, many fills to reach the green zone. The band is not a "set it and forget it" WLS like bypass or sleeve. If I were in fear of losing my insurance coverage and did not have adequate resources to pay for fills (I have seen amounts for fills here on LBT anywhere from $75 to $250), I'd have to give the other procedures serious consideration.

OK, I will tell you my story....Both my parents had gastric bypass when it was still experimental, about 30 years ago. Things were great with them (although they have both gained part of their weight back). Recently my dad had to have surgery for colon cancer. Due to the way his gastric bypass was done, they needed to reverse the previous bypass and do a gastric sleeve. He had that surgery on May 17th of this year. He was in the hospital for a week, and came home, looking and feeling pretty good. Within 2 days of him being home, he lost energy, became white as a sheet, and was not himself. He only wanted to sleep and take his pain pills. I finally convinced my mom to take him to the ER after he had been home a week. Well, his sleeve had SEVERAL leaks and he had a septic infection. He was in ICU for 9 days, and so far has been in the hospital for over 3 weeks. He has had over 15 surgeries in that time, and still scheduled for at least 3 more, and will be in the hospital another 2-3 weeks. His bill is OVER $1,000,000 right now and the end is not in sight yet. I DO NOT recommend the sleeve! This has been a horrible experience for my family and my dad almost died several times. I am SO glad that I have my band. Yes, the weight loss is slower, but the complications are no where near what my poor father has been going through. I have had my band since 12/22/11, and so far lost 50 lbs, I would not trade my slower weight loss for the complications that my dad is going through EVER! please make an informed decision. I wish my dad would not have gotten the sleeve and they did the band instead for him, he would have avoided all of these complications!!!!

Thanks Froggie!! Ann: The doc said that with my Bmi he would not do the gastric bypass on me. I was definitely not interested in that anyway but as far as the lap band goes he said he is fine to do it. Wait and see I guess. Thanks for all your support.

My doc said something like, well you can still regain weight the weight you've lost after you get the sleeve since your stomach can stretch like with the band, if you eat too much or the wrong foods. He's a highly educated and savvy person so I'm wondering if he was just trying to put the fear in me so I won't eat the super foods (high calorie, low complex carb foods like candy, ice cream, pastries, etc.) I sure hope he's one of the doctors that Tiff's post mentioned. Meaning the ones who remove all of the stomach except the muscle part. I wonder if I should ask him about this because he's the reason I am so worried about stretching the pouch because of what he said about regaining lost weight. If I didn't have to worry about that, I might be able to relax and accept a slow weight loss with the confidence that I will reach my goal eventually and if I eat nutritious food I won't have to worry about getting obese again. I've seen many people who had gastric bypass regain most of the weight they lost. In fact, there's one gal I know who regained everything and more. Has anyone heard of the "rosebud" surgery for patients like that?