Search the Community

Yes thankyou. I took 3 weeks off, but you are right. I may have pushed myself too much coming right back with so many hours. I will take it easy this week. I work weekends mostly and that is where I do tons of walking, sometimes I get to work from home during the week so I don't have to walk anywhere. I started the treadmill very slowly after surgery and have worked up to about 45 minutes at a good pace, but maybe the constant walking of being up and down aggravated the area for more than what I am used to. What has been your symptoms of your body's rejection of the band? What is really crazy, is that I still have some restriction. I am getting between 1000 and 1500 calories a day which is great as I am trying to lose a few pounds before my revision. I have lost 8 since surgery and am going up and down 1 pound variation. I am sorry to hear that you had a rough time with your band, but I am glad that you feel better now. It seems as though there are more problems with the band nowadays and that surgeons are moving away from it. Thank you for you support I placed call to surgeon, just waiting to hear back.

I agree with Milli. While I understand your mom's concerns, my mom called my choice to revise to the sleeve "wreckless" and that I should just deal with the band issues I was having. You have to remember that you can and will lose it with the trainer and nutritionist, but at what cost? Calculate what it will cost for that trainer and nutrtionist for the next 20 years and see which one comes less expense, and which will give you greater long term success. I think I read on the Biggest loser contestants about 38-45% of the "losers" have gained back more than 50% of the loss during their time on that program. 95% of diets fail. Most of us have zero issue losing, it's keeping it off, and avoiding a lifetime of yo yo'ing up and down, and fighting co-morbidities. Personally, and this is just me, there is NOT one person on God's green Earth that could have kept me from doing the revision. If my husband would have not been supportive, I would of told him to build a bridge and get over it. I didn't do this for anyone else, but myself. Grant it, having another child, and being a better, more active wife and mom contributed to my decision, but at the end of the day, my health, my life, my future was more important than anyone else's opinion on if I should proceed with VSG.

Seems soft foods are less restricting and allowing more consumption. I have been trying to avoid soft foods to keep my calories down and also because I seem to be satisfied longer when I eat meat vs. soft foods like refried beans. One thing I like to snack on is homemade cole slaw, it's low in calories, gives me a crunchy consistency that I crave and I'm filled up with a 1-2 ounce portion. I hope I have the same results in month two as you have. Did you stall during month one? I'm a band to sleeve revision and on another discussion board for us revision patients it seems to be very common for a longer stall than people who haven't had the band too. Not much of a stall -- 3 days max during week 4. Since then, I've been dropping every day (0.2 - 1.5 lbs/day). I like Asian Salads (similar to a slaw), but I'm not cleared for raw veggies til next week, but nothing has been a problem (yet).

I'm revising from sleeve to bypass on 7/1 because of severe GERD. I'll admit I'm going off the rails a bit. I have a perfect sleeve (other than the fact it's trying to kill me with acid) that tolerates all food. Do I know how my frankenstomach will behave after surgery? No. So while I stayed on plan 98% of the time during weight loss (and I'm maintaining a 120lb loss to prove it) I am eating foods now that may bother me after surgery. Last night I had ice cream. Did I eat a pint? No, but ice cream is not something that is a part of my every day diet. Did I enjoy it, yes! Am I going to eat it every day until surgery? No. I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't think a "food funeral" means your not ready for surgery, that you're lying to yourself, or that you won't be successful. We all start this process in our own way and I don't believe I'm hurting myself by having ice cream. Maybe I'm speaking in the voice of a 2-year post op but I really think you need to do what you need to do to get to the starting line. However once you're at that line (the pre op diet, whatever that means to you) you need to be fully committed. I wish all of us luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My PS wanted me to try to lose more weight, but I was stuck for years as far as weight went. I was having reflux at that time and within the past two years after the tummy tuck, it got worse , I think due to all of the muscles being tightened, it put more pressure on my stomach, so I had to have the band removed. Now, I'm 8 months out of band removal and haven't gained any weight... yet. But I feel like it's only a matter of time, so I'm probably going to revise to RNY. At least when I do get to goal, I can finally do all of the plastics that I was planning to do right when Covid hit. But I understand about your age and the risks involved, and it will be a relief to get the excess skin removed. Best of luck to you!

I have been relearning how to eat because I too would trick the band. Drinking lots of water, enjoying a lot of oil and butter to help the food slide through the stoma, Self-induced bulimia due to overeating, etc. I had a revision on March 27 and I can tell you that it is really truly different trying to eat because there is nowhere else for the food to go when you are full. There is no waiting to wash it down through the stoma, no adding extra oil and butter to get things to slide down, et cetera. I am not a very good rule follower, but with the sleeve I have never had an incident where I had to vomit due to overheating. Again, I do have a really good shrink who helps me through the detours on my path of reinventing myself. It's a really hard struggle, but I am worth it.

Don't see what age has to do with it. if you need a revision get a revision. I'm only 49 but never would have considered my age as a factor. so thrilled to be rid of that miserable piece of junk that was permanently damaging my body. there are tons of people in their 60's and older who have had bariatric surgery. so I think you are probably fine. if you do a search of forums in here you will find them. good luck with your revision.

I will be having revision in Summerville in September. Good luck!!!!

This happened to me at my second fill apt in August. I was so upset. They told me that my port flipped and scheduled me for port revision. Fluroscopy even showed it upside down. When the dr. opened me up, my port was fine, it was never upside down. The fill nurse was not accessing the right spot. So I was opened up for nothing. My surgeon was very upset and apologetic, but I got a 3ml fill while I was opened up, for a total of 5. He said from now on all fills will be done under fluro by him. It isn't the worst thing. They can fix it. Good luck. Angie

So, I think WLS is a very good choice, but I do still cringe a bit at the very young, and even more so, the not very overweight. I get they have their reasons, but I sometimes feel that the serious nature of this business is not well understood. I am not talking about the direct surgical risk - I mean the unknowns of altering your body for a lifetime. For me, it was that or die young. If one of my sons (who are not obese, but one of them is slightly overweight) decided to do it, i would have a very strong opinion against it for them. Young people have metabolism on their side and genuinely believe that if anyone can make without surgery it is young people, particularly lower BMI. They are a good audeince for the "lifestyle" type programs like 20/20 that work on changing your healthy habits wholeistcally. I knew it was bad when the 2 year program i reached out to wouldn't take my money. Told me I didn't have a prayer without surgery- I was too obese for too long - my body had been changed by the obesity. Their honesty was one of the kicks in the gut I needed to revise from my failed band to the sleeve.

Hi! I got my LB in 2007 n just got it removed 3 days ago due to complications arising from a tummy tuck in May 2017. The LB is a good weight loss resource tool but it won’t work alone if it doesn’t first click in the mind. I ended up developing GERD n ANEMIA from it but nothing serious. For now I’m going to give my body a break from all these surgeries b4 I consider any more revision to my body. Good luck to a u new with Bariatric surgery

I'm a recent Band to RNY. My revision was performed on the 21st of March. Very happy with the change! No real advice, you've been through the surgery before, so this time around it's really not any different, they used the same incision points for my revision, so no new scars, recovery wasn't much different than it was with the band as far as pain and mobility. Surgery was longer, and recovery in hospital was a few extra days, but all in all, it wasn't different enough from the band installation in many regards. If you've got any specific questions, please make sure to hit the quote button so I get alerted to your reply, or you can send me a private message and we can chat there. Congrats and good luck!

Hi all I'm having my revision lap band to bypass on Monday Oct 22..I was just wondering if anyone has gone thru this process and how your surgery went. Also was wondering if anyone has any advice....I'm on day 6 of pre op diet and I'm down 12 lbs already.

I worried about the same thing and now I weigh 129 pounds. My normal weight is 125 but a gained a few when they took all my fill out for a revision surgery. But I'm losing the extra pounds fast and will be back to my "normal" 125 in no time. Have hope! If you work with your band, it will work for you!

Not exercising....and grazing.... I lost 112 with the band before the revision and I hate to gain it back.....I just want to start losing again so it looks like I need to get busy!!!

I had my revision on 6/29. Chicken, even with my sleeve, was always a difficult protein for me to get down. Have you tried a softer protein? Tuna with light mayo? Egg salad? Ground pork in spaghetti sauce? Maybe try something else besides chicken. I can eat most things now at nine weeks post-op.

I think the Band works differently on different people. Not sure if it has to do with the type of Band... fill docs... or whatever. Some people PB a ton from the get-go regardless of what they eat. Others never have a PB at all. What I do believe is that you need to work to be successful with as little fill as possible? Why? Because in general, the smaller the fill, the more healthful/normal foods you can eat. The smaller the fill, the more calories you're probably getting (although not too many), so your metabolism doesn't shut down. You also leave yourself more room for success. I know that when I got super-tight... when barely anythign would go down... that's when I turned to the junk food that somehow always made it down. At this point, I was starving... eating so little... and desperate, so I turned to food, any food, for nourishment. My nails were shot... hair looked like crap, etc. Removing some fill lead to better choices, and eventually more weight loss. Of course, now it's been three years since I've had a fill. Had to have the one I had in March (I think) removed because it gave me problems. Was planning on revising to a VSG (Vertical Sleeve)... but became preggers again. I will say that even though my Band can go crazy during pregnancy, even with no fills (like when you have your period)... it is still comforting to know that I have the Band vs. a malabsorption surgery during pregnancy. As for the MGB, I looked into having that done in 1999 when I started my WLS research. Have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Rutledge. He has published some great long-term data on the MGB, covering a ton of patients. You can check it out at his site, which used to be clos.net Not sure if that still works.

I'm not going to read through every response so forgive any of these that are duplicates. The things I didn't know about before are fairly personal - not as in "won't share" but as in "specific to my situation". I was a revision, and so the only things that have surprised me are relative to my previous WLS, or the things you have to be living it to know whether or not they even apply to you. But I'm a researcher, and started looking into VSG about 5 years ago. Not a lot will escape those two conditions. However, I see a lot of new people "shocked" to learn lots of things, so here are some that I see come up a lot: You will probably lose a good amount of your hair (I'd estimate 20% - 40%) starting about 2 or 3 months after surgery. It's possible to dump with the sleeve. Most people seem surprised to learn this. In fact, there's already been a thread on it today. It's possible to develop intolerances to foods with the sleeve. Not "sleeve doesn't like it" but actual intolerances. Reflux is a fairly common side effect. Reflux over time can lead to additional issues such as Barret's. Reflux can be helped (I won't say controlled) by medications - PPIs and the like. PPIs are currently under a lot of scrutiny for their long-term effects, i.e. bone density. [*]Your tastes can change with this surgery. So can the foods that work for you. These aren't necessarily slow changes. You'll probably be eating low-carb, at least for a while, and that can bring its own complications: "Ketosis" breath Low potassium may result in muscular cramps particularly in the legs/feet Pooping might totally change. In too many ways than I can list here, but let's just say there aren't really any good ways. Etc. [*]You may have to take Fiber supplements and/or laxatives for quite some time, maybe permanently. But maybe you'll never need one. Just gotta wait and see. [*]Since this is not a malabsorptive procedure, it's still possible to gain weight. You're still accountable for the things you eat. I'm surprised to see others surprised by this. [*]When food doesn't "sit well" it can be surprisingly painful, and can hurt in places that initially won't make sense (referred pains). [*]You may or ay not have problems with nausea. I've had no nausea, and no vomiting -- but I've had my share of discomfort. [*]Your body will probably start to make new noises. Gurgles, burps that aren't burps (I call them nurps), etc. They may or may not go away. [*]Your hunger may significantly diminish, or go away completely. But it might also remain consistent. Our fundus is the primary place where Ghrelin is produced, but it's not the only place. Think this is only a good thing? Lots of studies right now are pretty consistently linking Ghrelin to things like memory and cognitive function, is in - not enough Ghrelin, so in 50 years you may be skinny & have no idea why. [*]Lots of aspects of general weightloss tend to be forgotten or overlooked: things like your feet get smaller, your fingers, etc. Medication dosages may also need to be recalibrated You will need to actively adjust your caloric intake (you won't have much say in it for a while, tho) to adjust for your shrinking body - needs can change by 1000 calories, easily. Don't get in a "rut" and assume things will be forever this way, or that. There's more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my Ghrelin-starved brain.

Just got approved for Roux en Y... nothing but trouble with my band since I got in 2008. Actually looking forward to the revision! I just hope I don't have as many issues with the bypass as I've had with my band...

OMG I'm SOOOOO glad I stumbled across this thread!! I was banded in 2009 and lost 157 lbs. within a year and a half. A very happy size 4 lady! But within the next six months my band betrayed me - horrible, horrible problems! Problems that made me so sick, so much of the time, that I totally FORGOT about the fact that my port used to flip upside down, and what a weird pain in the neck that was!! I was drawn to the thread because it was about people losing more slowly after band-to-bypass revision. My band was finally removed in November, and my byass surgery was February 10, 2014. I think I had lost 25 pounds between my pre-surgery diet until my one month check-up with the band. In the 5 weeks since my bypass I have lost 16 pounds. And honestly, I'm not eating more than 600 calories a day, AND I am following every recommendation my doctor gave me. My doctor promised me that since I was an "ideal" bandster, I'd be an even better bypasser! But he did say the weight would probably come off slower, if for no other reason than my smart body has been on this up and down roller coaster too many times to be tricked into rapid weight loss again! So glad I've found you! And so glad to be rid of that band, slower weight loss or not. There has NEVER been a time in the past six weeks where anything made me throw up, or nauseous, or "stuck," or heartburn, or gird, or anything else. So I'll lose slowly but never have all those life-destroying side effects. AMEN!

I have battled with my weight since I was young but pretty much kept it under control with working out and diet. Late 2009 I started having issues with my hips and was unable to walk more then just a few feet, so the weight just piled on was at my heaviest 312 I'm 5"7. My doctor recommended I have a bariatric consultant. At the time the way things went with the bariatric doctor it seemed like the magic pill we al dream of. Just one consult and I was underway to my upcoming surgery I had to lose 10% of my weight. Took me about 3 months and had my surgery January of 2011. I was outpatient surgery and was home by dinner. I have to say it was fairly easy very little pain, some shoulder gas pain I walked off. Being on the liquid diet the weight came off quick and I followed the liquid diet to a T. No issues weight came off and I was back to my normal activity within 2 weeks. Solid foods in the beginning where great small portions and chewed everything very carefully. Fast forward to 2014 I am down to 220 total weight loss 92 pounds feeling and looking great. Went from size 24 to 16. I had to watch everything I ate because the weight was creeping back so I went on weight watchers at this time I had put on about 25 pounds but back down to around 220. I never lost anymore weight. When I went back to my bariatric doctor for fills I was almost full...that's when things went down hill...after that I threw up every day every meal and still not weight loss but weight gain, then came the reflux...so bad I was taking medicine and eating bottles of tums every day, had to sleep with a wedge..but worse then that was my asthma was so bad, I was taking tons of prednisone my immunity was going down, I had thrush for five weeks...I was a mess, not to mention my weight was up to 263. My bariatric doctor said just go back on liquids I did but who can live on liquid for ever...finally my primary doctor got me a consultation with a different bariatric doctor and he was amazing ran test found out I had an ulcer around my band. I will not even do bands do to 50 % of patients having issues, I am no awaiting my insurance to authorize a band removal and revision to full gastric bypass...the band was a nightmare for me.., my band is open all the way now, my reflux and asthma is great! I've lost 8 pounds and going to meet with the nutritionist next month.... Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

32 in Lake Frederick, VA. I'll be having a revision from band to bypass on October 24 with Dr. Oviedo.

I'm already annoyed and sick of it lol I'm HUNGRY!!! And I'm already tired of drinking everything. I want actual food. BUT.... I know this is for the greater good. It's only for a week, and the first 3 days are always the worst. Thank goodness this is for my revision, so I already know what to expect with this since I've done it before. Just not having ANY fun with it. At all. Nope. Already ready to be done lol

The decision of what procedure to get is up to you and your doctor. The most important thing is that you get the procedure you are more comfortable with, for most people with the band the fact that you're not cutting your stomach and not rearranging your digestive system was a major reason for choosing the band, at least it was for me. You should also consider what life will be like after surgery. For sleeve and bypass patients, you don't have to follow up with your doctor as often as band patients. Also the process of getting to optimal restriction is often not easy and can take several months and for some people who had to revise from the band never found that green zone. You should also consider how your eating habits will have to change for each procedure, each procedure has it's own set of issues. Also keep in mind that if you want to have the sleeve you will need to make sure that your insurance company will cover it for your BMI, some companies only cover it for patients with a BMI of 50 or higher but this will probably change relatively soon. Finally there is a new procedure called plication where your stomach is folded in on itself and sutured in a sleeve instead of being removed. Initial results show similar weight loss to the sleeve but with fewer complications and this procedure should also be reversible. Since it is new it's not covered by insurance companies yet as a stand alone procedure but they will cover it if you are also having the band at the same time. The benefit of having the combo procedure is that plication seems to eliminate some of the common band complications like erosion and slippage and it should also help you to not be able to cheat the band because your stomach size is reduced. There aren't that may doctors preforming the procedure yet but it's starting to become more common. The main drawback is that there isn't that much long term data on the procedure.

Hi Shell4451... I am starting mine this week. It will be a revision surgery from sleeve to Bypass but I am more concern on the recovery since it will be my second bariatric surgery. Sent from my SM-N975U using BariatricPal mobile app