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The most weight I lost with the band was pre-band and 2 months post band. The the weight started coming back on. It made me gag, puke, and the band itself shows on the outside. At one point the port turned and was difficult to fill. The main thing...my appretite was not suppressed. My stomach never felt full...just me gullet to the point of drooling. I have the original band whatever it was called, not the newer version. I have spoke to people who had the band and have had the GS revision and all are pleased. I guess I will have to play the waiting game. But going back to square one just makes no sense to me.

I'm probably not being very objective about the sleeve right now. I think it could be an option for someone who wants to revise because their band was so problematic, but if you're thinking of revising because of disappointing weight loss, I'm not sure you'd be all that much better off.

I think I may go in April for the surgery. I will be going for the gastric bypass whenever I go.

Hi! I’m from the NE, too. Albany, NY to be exact. You can do this! I will be having a hiatal hernia repaired with my bypass surgery, too. It is pretty common from what I hear. I have anxiety, too— and I’ve definitely have a few panic attacks over going through with this. But I’ve told myself that this is my best chance at a healthy, long life... You may get gallstones, you may get them even without the surgery. I had them years ago. They are uncomfortable, but not... end of the world bad. The gallbladder removal surgery is quite simple for most people. As someone who has been through the gallstone thing, it wasn’t as bad as some of the things I may experience if l don’t address my weight- so I wouldn’t let the possibility of it deter you. Best of luck to you and welcome!

Did anyone have gastric bypass and at the same time fix a hiatal and umbilical hernia. I have been fighting like crazy to avoid surgery and I know in my heart this is the surgery that will probably be the best thing in the world for me. FEAR has led me to believe it will be me who gets a stricture or me who has gallstones or me who has nausea and vomiting everyday or any other random negative thing. I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and this is probably the 3rd time I have been in a Weight Center and every time the topic of bariatric surgery comes up, I fly right out the door. I was told today I have a small hiatal hernia and I feel like I have been given the final sign that it's time for me to "Grow Up" and realize it's what is best for me to do and have the surgery. I developed high blood pressure and chocked it up to "ok a pill will help," developed being pre-diabetic and put on metformin which does a job on my stomach and said "ok, this will prevent me from being diabetic(full blown). Now after being in the ER Monday night for a kidney stone, I was shown on the CT-Scan, a small hiatal hernia along with an umbilical hernia I developed a year ago. Sorry for the novel but I am at my lowest point and I needed someone to tell me "you can do this and come out ok". I know recovery is a tough road and it will require everything I have to not scare myself to death but I truly don't want to live this way anymore. I'm from Boston and will be at Mass General with some of the best doctors in the world yet the fear doesn't leave me, I'm sorry to vent and write a novel but I needed to write down what I'm feeling

Please, please give me any advice you might have. I am contemplating having my band removed and a bypass done. I am 19 months from banding and have not lost a single pound. I am the same weight I was when I left the hospital the day after surgery. I will be the first to admit that I have not followed all the lap band "rules". I've made poor food choices and haven't exercised like I should. However, my portions are decreased dramatically. The band is doing its job - I'm not doing mine. I feel like with the difference in portion sizes from what I used to eat til now - I should have lost SOME weight. I'm not expecting to be a big loser because I don't apply myself like I should. That being said, I am becoming very frustrated and depressed because of the lack of success. I'm wondering if maybe the band was not the right WLS for me. Has this happened to anyone else? I'm really thinking about the bypass - even though it is so risky, I'm wondering if that will work for me. I don't need criticism - just advice. Thanking you in advance.:wub:

Hello :frown: I just had my 1st consult yesterday. Im still trying to decide on which OP to get. Im leaning towards the Lap-band since it seems to be a less risky surgery with the same results as the bypass. Im sure I will have lots of questions but just wanted to say hello. :thumbup: Thanks Mark

Hi Ashley and welcome! My heart goes out to you. I started this journey over 400 pounds too so I know first hand how crappy life can be when you're morbidly obese. My biggest piece of advice is to research it thoroughly. Having Lap-Band or any other WLS will require you to change your eating habits to healthy ones for a lifetime. A lot of people even greatly benefit from counseling to help them overcome the mental aspect we've had so long with over-eating. I am copy/pasting a bit I just replied to on another thread to explain how and why I got the Lap-Band surgery: I knew I had to do something. I watched my kids' grandmother die when she was only 55 years old. She was a morbidly obese chain smoker who died of congestive heart failure. I too was a morbidly obese chain smoker and her death terrified me because I knew if I didn't make drastic changes, that would one day be me. I quit smoking over a year ago and then started getting serious about researching WLS. I also happen to have Multiple Sclerosis. I can't cure the MS, but I figured I could take a lot better care of the rest of me so I'd at least have a fighting chance against this crappy disease. Having MS is bad enough, the last thing I needed was to have a bunch of obesity related (preventable) illnesses like Diabetes and high blood pressure, too. Originally I was scheduled for Gastric Bypass, but at the last minute, I canceled. I just couldn't justify rerouting perfectly healthy organs irreversibly without first trying something far less drastic and reversible. So, I started researching Lap-Band and I knew it was the one for me. I had surgery 6 1/2 months ago and have lost 122 pounds so far. I can't begin to tell you how much losing this weight has drastically improved my quality of life. I still have a lot to lose but I know I'll eventually get there. For me, getting the Lap-Band was the best decision I've ever made for myself.

Thanks guys, and I'm glad you posted Tiffkins. I knew you had a revision also, but couldn't remember the details. So, Tiffkins question for you as you seem so knowledgeable about the different surgeries. I'm really leaning towards the Sleeve, but I feel I really need to understand the other options out there but scooping information up from this website and that website and on and on is getting overwhelming and still not really giving me a really good way to understand what my best option would be. I understand speaking with a Bariatric surgeon is a good start, and I will do that as soon as I finish a couple of their hurdles- but a concern I have is that that surgeon typically will specialize in certain procedures which is fine- but then I'm still not going to have all the facts on all the different WL procedures. I'm considering calling my PCP tomorrow and see if he might be any help with helping me digest the information- but as a GP, I'm not sure that's going to yield me the results I want either. I just don't want to hop on the latest fad because its popular right now and then regret it later. Keep the comments coming.

I'm six week post op (bypass) and had the same concern about losing weight too fast. I went from a 1-2# daily loss to 2-3# weekly loss currently. I've gone from daily weigh ins to weekly weigh ins. I'm no medical professional but I was told that if my urine was light colored I was probably getting enough fluids. To reach my Protein goal of 70 grams daily, I still have 2-3 shakes before I have any other real food.

I have a recurring hernia that came as a result of my gallbladder surgery years ago. I have had 3 hernia surgeries to date and part of Plan B is a 4th. I'm having that on 3/23 and then scheduling the revision to bypass for about 3-4 months after the Hernia repair so I'm all healed up. I've been feeling really down about this so I'm glad to be back on the path to resolution Wishing you the best as well.

I am 3 weeks post op gastric bypass. I wanted to see if anyone else is still experiencing extreme soreness in their stomach after surgery. My whole abdomen is so sore almost as if I have been doing sit-ups and it hurts to turn over in bed at night. I had been doing 30 minutes of walking 1 week post op and it was fine. The only things that I have done differently lately was I recently started a soft diet and I also have started back to work. Also can anyone tell me how long it takes until your stomach actually feels normal again without pain? Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

I had gastric bypass 13 months ago. Food doesn't taste the same and it doesn't taste good. I don't like any kind of meat anymore. I feel like I'm just existing and not living. I live on soup mainly. I don't know what to do anymore. My Dr said I just need to eat meat. I am still losing weight and I'm beginning to look anorexic. Has anyone had this problem with food, not liking the taste anymore?

I'm having my gastric bypass surgery on June 4th. I currently watch my daughter's children ages 11 9 and 3. I told my daughter when I started this journey, that after my surgery, I wouldn't be able to babysit for quite some time. My thought process behind that was that I would need time to get acclimated to my new normal. So I wouldn't have to worry about cooking meals, or having foods in the house that I shouldn't have. It's bad enough, that I'm going to have them during my two week liquid pre-op diet. I thought this was all ironed out, but today she said to me that the baby was going to be in daycare and possibly the 9-year-old, but the 11-year-old would be staying with me in case I needed help. I love my grandchildren, but this really concerns me. I feel that it'll be more stressful than helpful and I'm really stressed out about telling her again that that's not a good idea. Any input that you can give me would be amazing! I've come too far to let anyone sabotage my journey. Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using BariatricPal mobile app

Everyone ends up with a different experience no matter which surgery you choose. I have a friend that is about four years post op, is struggling with anemia and has gained some ( maybe twenty to twenty five pounds) of the weight back. Has trouble with some Desserts with the dumping syndrome, but cheesecake( and some other desserts) are no problem. Some gastric bypass people gain their weight back and some Lap Band gain their weight back. For me, GBP was not an option. I could not get over the rerouting and bypassing of my stomach issue. As far as what you can eat after. That varies, too. Some banders choose a stronger level of restriction or band fill than others and with a strong fill level, it's possible to have difficulty with a larger variety of food. But having the flexibility with the band is something that bypass don't have. Their pouch is formed and that's it. No adjustment is possible. did your surgeon say why he thought GBP was better for you? Many surgeons prefer one procedure over another simply because they do more of them and a few might prefer it as ins. pays more. Or are they doing more Bypass because they keep recommending it? So far, I do not slime, I have had food stuck a couple times in the beginning stage of being banded. Why is it hard getting fills? It takes about a 10 min. appt for my fills and most of that time is talking to the PA about how I'm doing. Yes, losing weight is slower with bands but many GBP patients look wasted and gray in the first six months from the rapid weight loss and the malabsorbtion of nutrients. Both procedures have pros and cons. Keep reading and learning about both procedures and you'll be able to make your decision. There are forums that have more GBP people then banders, this site has mostly banders on it.

I'm not saying that your PA does not know what she is talking about, but people do fail with bypass. There is a way around any weight loss surgery if one really wants to. I mean with the band when you have the right restriction it forces you to make changes or at least it did for me. Both surgeries have consequence if you don't follow the rules. If you look at the statistics after 3-5 years, the results with both surgeries are comparable. Maybe you don't have good restriction. Did you do after-care? How many fills did you have? Oh and there is the guy on the Biggest Loser that had the bypass and look where he is at!

radink, my sister had the Bypass surgery. She lost a lot of weight fast but it left her with a lot of sagging skin and unfortunately, her insurance refuses to approve the surgery to have the excess removed. Due to other complications/issues, she was nearly 450 lbs when she had the surgery and now down to about 250 but I would say a good 35 is skin. If you choose GBP, make sure your insurance company will approve the surgery for the tummy tuck and removal of the excess skin. You lose much slower with the band but I believe that gives your skin more time to shrink naturally (not to say there won't be some excess).

The easiest way for me to break down the surgeries for you is: RNY and DS both malabsorptive. DS is the most complicated, and most drastic with a true switch in how your body metabolizes food, fat, calories. High fat intake is necessary, and the Vitamin regimen is on average of 20-30 Vitamins per day, and this is not an exaggeration. RNY had too many long term complications, and far too many people looking for revisions due to stoma or pouch stretching and high incidence regain. DS was a no go for me. You could not pay me to have that surgery. Sorry, but the malabsorptive rate on DS is far too much for me to accept. I know it's a great surgery for some, but honestly I figured if I couldn't lose and maintain with a restrictive only procedure then I didn't need to be having WLS to begin with. All of the others you've listed are, would not be an option for me, nor did I do tons of research on them. The mini GB is a waste of money. So many people have revised to the full GB because of lack of weight loss. RNY with ring or band is just wasteful and most end up revising, most good surgeons won't In my blog, you'll find my reasons for choosing VSG over RNY for my revision. Google : DS long term complications and vitamin regimen Check out obesityhelp.com and look at the revision board, and RNY board so you can get a good view of other people's experiences. I know more people with complications with RNY and DS than I care to count. Also for me, I found great comfort in doing research on gastrectomies performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients. Gastrectomies have been performed for over 30 years, and I found a lot of people living very full, healthy, with either most or all of their stomachs gone. The sleeve has actually been performed as the first stage of the DS for around 20 years. It was actually started as the first step for patients with BMIs over 60 as a safety precaution to get them down to a safer weight to either revise to DS or RNY later after losing some weight. The techniques have now been standardized after the first studies came out showing a higher incidence of slight regain (10-20% bounce back) was seen when bigger bougies were used in the stand alone procedures. When the standard size dropped from 50-60fr to 32-40fr bougies, the numbers for complications, weight regain, hunger returning, all decreased. The bougie is the measuring tool they slide down your throat that the surgeon uses to guide the stapler while dissecting the fundus away from the "sleeved" portion of the stomach. The VSG became a noted successful stand alone procedure when those same super morbidly obese patients didn't need the 2nd stage surgery to DS or RNY. Results were that good, that they started offering to lower end BMI patients, and it's since gained in popularity. New research results will be out next summer from 2 of the pioneers of VSG. Dr. Cirangle and Dr. Jossart. I could seriously go on and go on. And don't want to overwhelm you. I think being informed is great, but make sure you get the good, bad and long term ugly on all of the options. The vitamin regimen, and personal friends in real life I have that have dealt with RNY kept me from having it. Neither the DS or RNY fit my lifestyle, and I wasn't willing to have a surgery that would not last a lifetime since I had already had one that failed me miserably.

Can't you have 1 piece of dark choc a day? The people I know that had bypass usually allow themselves that.

I am a bit of a hypochondriac so I was inspired to read this as well! I have hope that a revision won't be needed and that I can keep my weight maintained!

I had my gastric bypass surgery last Monday, Jan. 23rd and i've been feeling so low and depressed recently. Is this normal? I'm also going stir-crazy in my house and am so bored of watching tv. I also have a giant cyst from the catheter in the downstairs region which is more painful than the actual surgery incisions-which i am getting taken care of tomorrow. So it's a mix of feeling sad, bored, a little hungry for anything other than soup and water, a little lonely and the pain from this damn cyst. Help?

Are you measuring? With my bypass it took me a while to know what “full” felt like, so I always pre-measured my food

Do any of you know if anything can be done after gastric bypass? I had gastric 10yrs ago and within the last year have put the weight back on after my grandma died.

I haven't heard that, but who knows? It might be true. I know bypassers are susceptible to vitamin deficiencies, though, because of the malabsorption. That's why it's critical for us to keep on top of our supplements - the consequences of slacking off are more severe for us than they are for sleevers. EDITED TO ADD: I'm not really sure about fasting in general, though. I know the malabsorption the first few months is super strong - you malasorb calories in addition to nutrients. Unfortunately, the malabsorption of calories seems to go away after a year or two - whereas the malabsorption of nutrients stays. I had a 20 lb regain in year 3 (which is unfortunately very common - usually 10-20 lbs), and I currently struggle to keep my weight where it is, so the part of fasting where you lose weight isn't true - or at least not for me. But maybe he meant for the first year or two? Or was referring specifically to nutrients ? Not sure.

My port has flipped--my doctor is going to manually flip on September 28 since insurance was giving them a hard time to have revision surgery.