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8/6/12 - band to sleeve revision bright and early!! Tomorrow is going to be a very long day getting through with only liquids for the day...but Monday will be here before we know it! Good luck everyone!!

I am close to 400 pounds and have done the gastric bypass and on the 30th I am having a revision and looking at some of the stuff I've seen on here makes me kind of nervous .

I just want everyone to know there are other options and this is NOT one size fits all! Yes I've had the dumping episode from hell, but I survived. Currently it's allergy season big time in central AR. I'm snorting, and sneezing, and draining....and I can still eat and drink!!!!! My allergies were a huge issue with my band from day 1 so I was a bit anxious to see how it would be with allergies and my RNY. I've had some real smart assed replies and some ugly private messages about why I post here when I no longer have a band. It's because I did have a band. I had the good and the bad of band life and I have a lot of knowledge about life with and without a band. I suffered through prolapse and emergency removal. Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. I'm not here to bash it, I'm not here to scare people off, I'm not here to tell you to get your band taken out and have an RNY.... I'm here because sometimes you need to know stuff happens....whether your fault or not, stuff happens. And you don't have to just give up or be miserable. I'm happy to help in anyway I can. I'm on RNY talk as well (soccermomma73) there are A LOT of band to bypass revisions, and like this site it's a great resource. Good luck on the next leg of your journey! I hope your recovery is as good as mine was!!!!! (And I do think I'll post under the I failed my band thread too, thank you!)

Other than the really bad acid reflux which I am going to see the doctor about in my appointment in a few days, I feel pretty good. My resting heart rate is now 70. It used to be around 80-85. I used to have the band and had a revision to gastric sleeve. Whenever I used to take deep breaths, I could feel the band and it felt like a stricture. Not having it in my body feels great just because I was always aware that it was there and it was always bothering me. I huff and puff less when climbing the stairs.

Post #20 on this thread, I got you down. Here we go!!!! Okay Gang...here we go, we have 4 new bandsters this week... Jennifer (jrowell) on the 29th gypj on the 31st Isa on the 1st AND Geochic77 on the 1st. Good luck everyone, have a happy and safe surgery and recovery, and puleeeze post when you return, so we know you are safe. Don't make us worry and fret, now. Wanna see your cute avatars on a welcome home thread, okay? Happy Banding!!!! Wait, add 2 more with Saturday surgeries, jeangab and BigDaddy216 on the 2nd...the above instructions go for you two as well...See you on the other side! Editing...I started a new thread for this week's bandsters, go there for the complete, revised, updated and final list...Yay Ya'll!

Hi Everyone :thumbup: I'm new to this site and so far it is soooo helpful. I currently have the band and I too have a lot of questions. Just want to clarify...when you say you get full really fast and once you are full that is it..done. So do you mean (sorry if this sounds really dumb) you can NOT eat another bite? If you do, do you get sick?? or do you just not want to or?? I find with the band that I over eat a lot. I don't plan on it, but I get full, then it seems to settle and I can eat more. Some days I can't eat much but other days you would never know there is a band in there.... I also thought I would be able to NOT drink when I eat...ummm yeah...not so much. Why is this one so hard for me..not sure. Can you drink when you eat with the sleeve? My biggest issue is this....if I could control my portions..I would never have reached my highest weight of 420. I thought I had done so much research before getting my band a year ago, but now I don't think I did enough. What I'm trying to find is a surgery that once I'm full I can't really eat anymore. I'm so afraid I have streached my stoma, pouch whatever it's called because I just seem to be able to eat too much...and sadly I can't seem to find the control I obviously need. At the same time I wonder...am I just being lazy? Have I not given this enough of a chance? Should I just keep getting fills and hope hope hope I find the sweet spot I keep hearing about? I mean I've been fat my whole life...obviously control is an issue with me..lol. I too am self pay and am thinking of a revision. I currently have had 5 fills I think in a year and I'm ready to make an appointment to try another. I now have 8cc's in a 10cc band. I've lost 70 lbs but have not lost an ounce since Christmas. I was actually down 78 but have gained 8 lbs since Christmas even after having more fills. I know I'm at fault because of my portions and I often make poor food choices because I'm sick of getting stuck. I have told very few people about my WLS and when I'm invited out to dinner and get stuck..I'm so sick of having to excuse myself, dash to the washroom to get sick . At the same time...is this my fault? Am I just doing this all wrong? Sighhhhh...I'm frustrated and don't want to make another mistake with the wrong revision...

Hi to all who come after me! My story, huh? Well, I've been overweight for 20 years now, and I've tried a lot of diets, exercise programs, and have had only marginal success. Two years ago I took the next step for me and had the Lap Band Surgery. That wasn't a good experience for me at all. The "minor" reflux I had pre-surgery turned into a monster, and I was always either too tight or not tight enough... and that was in the same day. After two years of foaming, vomiting, and spitting my way through practically every meal, I decided it was time to take control of my life again. At first, I was just going to have the band removed, but when I learned about revision from band to RNY, and how common it was, I found the courage to go through with it. I had my surgery June 3rd, 2011. It has been a rough recovery, but I'm happy to say it's getting better every single day. I'm excited about my future again, and can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me!

Hello all...I too will be a Band to RNY revision. I'm waiting now on insurance approval. I have gained back all of my weight lost along and decided well that cellulite may be lonely , so lets add another 20 pounds to it... I'm glad to find others out there to talk to about these issues. Sometimes the Rose Coloured Glasses mentality can be frustrating...I know the band does work for some, but I unfortunately cannot include myself in those numbers. I look forward to talking to all of you. Leslie

It's been four months today since I had band to sleeve revision. After a complicated surgery and a rough recovery I was feeling really good. I've lost 72 pounds, have lots of energy and best of all, I haven't been in any pain. Fibro was a huge part of my life prior to surgery and honestly, after surgery I haven't had any fibro pain. However, the past 10 days have been very reminiscent of the pain I had experienced before. I know I'm walking much more and am more active than I have been in years. Maybe the increased activity is causing a fibro flare up, I don't know. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

That's good news for your husband! I am sorry that you are going through all this. Would you be denied from your surgeon or insurance? I thought it was pretty common these days to have the revision. I started at 40 bmi (back in August) and was so nervous I was going to drop below and get denied - that I unintentionally gained more weight over the course of 9 months. My process was a bit longer than most, because I was on anti-depressants, but not seeing a therapist. They wanted me to do 12 weeks of therapy. When that was completed, I was weighed in and was told I needed to lose 15lbs to before I was even allowed to meet with my surgeon. It never dawned on me that sleep apnea (I had just been diagnosed) would be considered a co-morbidity, until my nurse confirmed it. Extra anxiety over nothing. You should contact your insurance/surgeon and ask, just in case. Keep me posted on how you both are doing!

Not finding anything specific unfortunately, at least nothing "new" or recent (or clearly outlined). Rebound rates aside, if you've got a slight reflux now, it will be amplified with the sleeve and reduced with the Bypass, based simply on what the surgery does. And in the off chance that you end up with a major problem... there is no going back after the sleeve, 90% of your stomach is rotting in medical waste somewhere (or been incinerated), with the bypass, everything (for the most part) is all still in there. The sleeve is ONLY a restrictive surgery, there isn't any reduction in caloric intake caused by the surgery itself outside of forcing you to reduce your intake, but then there are all the "slider" foods etc. I made the mistake of choosing the lapband back in 2011 because I was under-educated about the bypass, and well, I didn't want to make any permanent changes, which is ironic, because, I didn't get any permanent weight loss. So, second surgery to remove the band and revise to the bypass in March and I really couldn't be happier... I really do wish I went with the bypass from the get go. A personal (in real life) friend of mine had the sleeve, and he's getting it revised to the bypass because of the lack of progress. Just things to be aware of.

Hi all. I'm a 34-year-old mom of 2, dd is 10 and ds is 7. I was banded in August of 2006. Immediately after my port flipped and needed to be repaired. THat should have been my first clue I made the wrong choice! I managed to lose almost 100 pounds with the band in the first 2 years, but it was s-l-o-w. At the end of 2008, my band surgeon said I should get a consult with a plastic surgeon about my huge apron of skin. It was horrible, hung down past my girlie bits, made me look a lot heavier than I was, my skin was constantly tearing and it gave me rashes. So, in Feb of 09 I had a tummy tuck and breast lift. Holy crap what a difference! He took off 16 pounds of extra skin and the surgery took 11 hours. The recovery was horrible. Because of the band, I've had problems with medication working right and it took a bit before we found an oral pain killer that actually worked. I was off work for 6 weeks and the recovery was horriblle. I managed to mess up my knee the day after surgery so it was always going numb and giving out on me. No one knew why. Then I got a stomach virus and puking after a tummy tuck, with a lapband, is it's own special kind of hell. Just as i was starting to feel human again I got scarlet fever. Which I thought went out of style with hoop skirts and mutton chops! Evidentally not though. My pcp said because my system was so screwed up due to the surgery, a strep infection just went haywire. That took another 2 weeks to recover from. I'd finally gotten to a weight that, while it wasn't as low as I wanted, I was happy with my body. I looked good, felt normal for the first time in my life and liked the way I looked in the mirror. I no longer walked into a room and got that horrible feeling of "Oh no, I'm the fattest person here". I felt like people noticed me and not my weight. A couple months ago I started having restriction problems, bouncing between too loose or too tight, and waking up at night with horrible reflux and choking on my stomach contents. Yuck! Had an upper gi done last week after an unfill didn't help matters and surgeon says the band needs to come out. It is extrememly tight, which he said makes no sense because it's empty and I don't feel like I have any restriction (which is why I've gained some weight back ). So, now we start the process of getting insurance approval for the band removal and revision to the sleeve. He said he'll push for the sleeve instead of bypass because bypass does not appeal to me. I'm already deficient in B12 and vit D and take injections and supplements for that. I'm afraid of what would happen if I had the malabsorption issues to deal with too. If insurance (Anthem Blue Cross) wil only cover the removal but not the sleeve, I'm hoping it will be cheap enough for me to self-pay for the sleeve. And I really want to get this done soon! The idea of being on a liquid diet over the holidays is not at all appealing. I've been reading all your stories since finding out I might lose my band and have gotten so much help from them! Thanks for sharing your stories. :001_smile:

Let me cut to the chase...Lapband is a living nightmare.I have had it since 2004...I was going for a revision to the sleeve but this is my 2nd and last WLS and I have decided to go with RNY....it allows you to lose the amount you need and if you are like me I don't have the time to lose a little?.i want the proven Gold Standard with the history of success and data....Do yourself a favor and research....I thought it was the band...then then the sleeve...finally I have it RNY.I am a few pounds shy of 300 no time to play games..RNY....but it's your choice.

Mind telling me what your allotted calories and carbs are each day? I am also a revision patient and have a bigger pouch. I didn't get any guidelines as to what that should look like other than 5 small meals a day.

I was banded 12/3 and was rockin my band until they realized my band wasn't working properly due to a kink in the line. I had surgery again to revise the port 2/8. The problem is the incision where the port is happens to be much larger now and slower healing. It's really difficult to wear a bra due to it rubbing right on it. I work at a hospital and we have try a few things to make it more comfortable but it continues to pull the glue off the incision. Any suggestions on something else to use. Thanks in advance!

So I'm thinking about giving up on my insurance fight and just switching to self-pay. I had a slipped band over a year ago. It took 6 months to get the insurance company (Fed BCBS) to finally agree to remove the band but they denied a revision to VSG stating it wasn't medically necessary because my BMI was under 35. I submitted an appeal to the Federal Office of Personnel Management in October for what was supposed to be a 60 day appeal. They "lost" my case and had to start over. Then they closed it because they didn't understand I was asking for a revision and not some sort of random partial gastrectomy. They finally sent it out for review but it sounds like they didn't select a bariatric surgeon because the answer last week came back that it isn't medically necessary because my weight isn't over a 40 BMI. The told my attorney to wait for the report and then call and talk to the nurse but I haven't heard back yet. At this point it's been almost 7 months since I submitted the appeal. This has been going on for so long I'm almost back to my original weight. If I had it to do over again I'd have done a self-pay revision with Dr. Aceves right from the start. Heck, I'd be at my goal weight by now. I just don't have it in me to keep this up. I went ahead and requested a surgery date with Dr. Aceves and put first-class airline tickets on hold on my miles. I can't think what hoops the insurance company would have next. They just don't get that the standard of care for a revision doesn't require you to regain all your weight first. I could go forward with the surgery and then sue them after the fact but I'm not sure it's worth the mental energy after all this. I had some old Microsoft stock lying around and it's almost enough for the surgery. I'm thinking that I'll never miss the money and can just get on with my life. I don't want to self-pay up here because it's really expensive and they don't cover complications like Dr. Aceves does. I could be down there next weekend having this done and just moving on. Thoughts? I could use some additional input... Thanks! Britt

I had band problems and mine had to come out my insurance required 6 months of appts and counseling was well worth wait my revision was done November 16 2015. Down 50lbs. It's frustrating to wait but well worth it in the end.

Everyone is different...I have PCOS and a sluggish thyroid.I am also a revision and over 50....ugh a long slow process awaits but I will work as hard as I can.

@@1Cor2:9 Well done and Congratulations! Awesome result! I am 1Ib away from being a sleeve success. I lost 60Ibs 5 months post op. Well, my revised goal is another 22Ibs down, and my stretch goal is 33Ibs away. I most certainly don't want to stop at my current weight. I want to keep losing until I reach my goal, then maintain it. My motivation is like yours, so I wish you all the best! We can do it

to to revise still having problems with this band, has the surgery to fix hole in tubing had a fill of 3 cc's that day went back this month and lo and behold had nothing in my band again, went for a port-o-gram and dye fill to check it and wouldnt you know it it is leaking again in same place, so its back again to have it fixed yet again

Bypass is only a tool, and is not a cure all. We now have the responsibility to use this tool and plan, track and manage our intake and exercise to get and stay where we need to be at. I could see that if I did not plan and stick to the macros, even with a pouch, I could over eat calories and carbs to derail my progress. I too can eat anything and no real dumping. Also, due to revision, I have a much larger pouch than many others, and the volume I can eat at a sitting can seem huge. Luckily small amounts keeps me satisfied, I eat 5 to 6 small meals a day, and do not go over my allotted calories and carbs each day. Each of us has a different challenge, and ours is our bypass does not control fully what we can eat. Good luck.

I am being revised Band to Bypass and have been dreading the pre-op diet. I was 3 days out when all elective surgeries got cancelled due to Covid. I had followed the diet well and was rescheduled. Date of the reschedule was coming up, was on the shakes and doing ok, only slipped once... again 3-4 days out was re-reschudled due to Covid. I am due to go in tomorrow. I really struggled this time, Firstly I missed the start day for the shakes (I work in government and between drought, fires and Covid I barely know what day it is), then I got in my head and have only successfully managed to do 4-5 days VLCD. The VLCD I was given was: Brekky: shake, Lunch: shake or bar + Salad, Dinner: Shake + Veg. My diet has been Brekky: Shake or bar (if I remember), Dinner: Salad. Im just super worried about starting late. I was 123kg a week ago, 117kg ealier in the week and 120kg this morning (that time of the month due tomorrow for my op - Yay for me) ... I just needed to get that off my chest as it's really been stressing me out

So I was sleeved in July 2014, and lost 70 pounds in 5 months!!! Then it stopped...it has been 10 months since I have lost anything. What's worse is I have gained 10 pounds! Now in July this year I saw my surgeon and we discussed my weight and he said to up my exercise and I have....work out at a gym now with a trainer 3-4 days a week....I am very careful as to what I eat. I guess my question is has this happened to anyone else?? My surgeon did tell me that if in 6 months there is still no change he would do the bypass revision...just scared to have another surgery...

I set my own goal weight...my starting weight on surgery day was 218 lbs and a 41 BMI. I'm vertically challenged at only 5'1", so I'm short. My original goal weight was 110 lbs and a 20 BMI, but since I was losing so slowly, I readjusted my expectations at 3 months out. My revised goal weight was 130 pounds, which placed me at a BMI of 24.7 (upper limit of normal). I reached 130 pounds at 14 months out and decided to keep going. I entered maintenance at 118 pounds and a BMI of 22. Not only do I like how I look and feel at this weight, but it's been easy to maintain. The moral of the story: you'll need to devote additional effort if you want to get to 135 pounds, but it is possible in spite of what your surgeon says. Good luck to you.

I had the Plication done in September 2010. So far I have lost only 30lbs, I am going on January 6th to try to revise the plication to VSG. This is being done by Dr. Jose Rodrigues. I will go in 1 day early to get some test done in order to measure my stomach to see if the VSG can be done. Has anyone heard of the plication being revised to VSG. I am feeling a bit nervous as the date is getting closer. I look forward to your comments,