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I haven't had any issues, but I've heard of many people have. It's definitely not the right solution for every single person. Are you going to revise to the sleeve? Or just take it out and be done with the whole thing?

Why do you think you won't be able to eat certain foods? I'd say most people can eat the same foods they could before surgery. It's all about choice and moderation. No need to food funeral it. Best of luck on your revision!

I am so sorry. I totally understand because I had my lapband in Mexico. When I started having complications, everyone treated me horribly. Luckily, my insurance took off the WLS exclusion. I had about ten doctors practically hang up on me before I finally found one who would revise my band to the sleeve. Just the mention of Mexico and they would end the conversation. I hope you can find a doctor in your area. I pray things get better for you. You should not have had to deal with any of that. I am so glad you stood up for yourself. You are a superwoman!!!

I had the sleeve and a hiatal hernia repaired and I have severe acid reflux to the point that we are revising to a bypass. One thing that concerns me that I've read on this thread is that people with the sleeve don't have to take Vitamins for the rest of their lives which is false. For both the bypass and the sleeve you need Vitamin supplements for the rest of your life. The choice is of course yours to make but neither is a bad option and IMO bypass isn't only for people with more weight to lose. If you are worried about the reflux you may go with the bypass but the sleeve is much less restrictive which also has pros and cons. With the sleeve, you have the option of eating ice cream, drinking soda, etc. which if those choices are made you won't lose weight. The bypass is more restrictive and will hold you accountable physiologically. Dumping syndrome doesn't usually happen unless you are eating sugar and carbs again holding you accountable because you will feel crappy if you cheat. There are pros and cons to every single surgery ever and complications and risks. You have to figure out what you are most comfortable with good luck!

My port revision surgery was fine.....but I had my surgeon to add 1 cc during surgery to bring me up to 4cc in a 12 cc band.....well apparently I swell more than the average person during any type of surgery so the 1 cc along with the swelling was too much. I would recommend not getting a fill at the same time as surgery. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

That sure was a nice year. I hadn't felt that good about me in years, and I haven't in the last 2 years since. The following 6 months from this post would reveal erosion with an 80% migration. I would regain about 30lbs before band removal, and all the rest of the lost weight in the next 2 years. I went from a high of 280lbs to 172 to 284. I am back even higher than where I started, no band, and obese with painful heels and elevated cholesterol included for good measure. I wanted the band because it was reversible. It reversed all right I attempted to keep the weight off, but it just wouldn't stop. I joined nutrisystem and followed it strictly but gained instead of lost or maintained. My body saved everything from the stress of the erosion I guess. It took me until now to know for sure what I should do, and of course get the financing together. I was paying for a band I no longer had for a while. After tons of research, I've decided to revise to the VSG procedure with Dr Pleatman. He's close to home, I really like what I've read about him. He is very quick and concise when corresponding via email. His office staff is very knowledgeable and friendly, and his price rivals Mexico. I am scheduled for my revision August 26th, 2008. I hope to be as happy one year from today, as I was when I started this thread. Losing the one weight controlling tool that really worked for me was devastating. Wish me luck. I'm shooting for permanence this time!

Wait... Why all the revisions??!?!?

Evidently it is NOT common in the US to remove the band and revise to another surgery in one procedure. One of the two doctors this woman was referred to (a band surgeon) said it was more than he could handle alone (surgery to repair the leak), and he referred her to a large teaching hospital where there were a number of specialists. Dr. R (her Mexican surgeon) advised her NOT TO GO, although she would not say why. She has complete faith in her doctor and he says the leak will heal and no surgery is required. He determined this over the phone. I hope he is right. As for doctors in the US "having" to treat you, I don't think they do. My grandson was born with a rare GI abnormality (Hirschspring's Disease) and the pedi released him from the hospital, although he should NOT have. My DIL and I took him straight to another pedi's office and the guy refused to even examine him. He told us to take him back to the ER of the hospital where he was born....and this was an obviously ill (juaundiced, lethargic, vomiting, not eating, not urinating) newborn!

I've already had it all...LOL. I guess that means possible revisions for me. I had full body lipo., breast lift and tummy tuck in 2005. Would I do it again? Only the TT. I wouldn't pay the money for the BL or Lipo again......love the TT.

Someone slap me (but not hard) if this is a violation of something. I hope it's okay to post this here but if it's not, just tell me and I will delete it. Here is the latest (Sunday, Oct 15th) post from the lady who had her band removed in Mexico and was revised to a bypass at the same time. I cut and pasted the whole thing. Hi everyone. Again I want to say I love you all and thank you for being my friends. Let me tell you the latest. I went in for a CT scan on Friday and was expecting just that but oh no, it was so much more. They put an IV in me and shot die in my arm that felt like fire, I had to drink gross stuff and well and shoving that same gross stuff into my feeding tube making me dry heave. I wasn't expecting the IV and so I started tearing up when I got the shot. You guys have no idea, my arms are all black and blue and I've been through so much pain, I didn't want anymore. So there I am sobbing and the doctor is telling me that I have the largest leak he's ever seen and I will have to have surgery again. Of course I start bawling and I can't believe what I'm hearing. He goes on to ask me why I got this done in Mexico and blah blah blah. I just asked for my husband and I was a mess. Nick kept telling me I don't believe this hunny, you are not in pain like you have a large leak, your drains are not filling up that fast, I don't believe you need surgery again. He calls the Dr. here. Dr. Oh (who I can't stand) and he instructs us to come to his office. On the way over Nick calls Dr. Rumbaut who tells him that I will NOT have to have another surgery and he was pissed that they upset me. If I do have a "large" leak Dr. Rumbaut said it will heal. He once had a patient that had a 300cc leak and it healed. He said a lot more but I don't have the energy to write. We get to Dr. Oh's office and again said, well they can do whatever they want in Mexico and not worried about being sued but here in the US we have to worry about our practices (yes he said this) and so your case is too complicated and I'm only one surgeon so I don't want to take on your care. He basically kicked us out. He told me to go to the U of Washington to see specialists. When we called Dr. Rumbaut he said NO WAY. He gave me the reasons why he didn't want me to go to UofW but I'm not going to share them on here. He swore he would find me a doc here who would see me through this. So basically I"m back to not drinking anything through my mouth. Nick e-mailed him all the pics from the CT scan. He believes in his heart of heart that I will heal and will NOT have to go to surgery. He said if there is some unforseen reason I have to he will pay for Nick and I to come back and he can repair the leak through the inside therefore going through my mouth. He doesn't see this happening. I'm so pissed because every doctor I see I face prejudice about going to Meixco and then have to justify why I did both surgeries at the same time. I'm sick of it and so is Dr. Rumbaut. I believe in my surgeon. I'm so tired guys and it takes everything I have to not get depressed. My husband is amazing and so is my family and friends but it's just so hard. I have a long road ahead of me, I need to find the strength. Love to you all. Sorry I'm not on here that much, but my energy level is for shit.

I'm having my revision on March 11th. I was scheduled originally for December, and got cold feet. I've had some time now to better mentally prepare. This board has helped so much with putting things in perspective. My fears are bleeding and leaking. But I trust in God, my surgeon, and positive thinking. KajunGumbo- did your surgeon mention anything about using bigger staples for the scar tissue the band may have created?

I've answered this many times, many ways...... but the short version. MAINTENENCE! the ongoing fills (when needed) are the magic... I've been up and down the scale so many times, I know that if I had the RNY I would eventually have a regain. I doubt I will need another fill maybe NEVER, but if I do... I can... Other reasons that make my top 10. 1. Surgery on Thursday, back to work the following Monday 2. All my inards are in tact 3. Down the road, if needed I could get a total unfil, and then start the process again. 4. Reversible.. any general surgeon can remove the band. 5. I absorb the nutrients from the food I eat (RNY is a malabsorbative procedure) and even though you can easily start a regain, you will never absorb the nutrients. 6. I am horrible about taking vitimins.. w the RNY you must be religious in your Bariatric Vitimins and most get VitB shots. 7. I have two friends who had the RNY... both are fighting Regains...... one more severe than the other, and both have the RNY "look". 8. The RNY scared me. 9. Ports do not scare me as they have been used for a long time, the band is just a different application. (my grandma had a port for pain meds) 10. If and when I need a revision or replacement.. I will say BRING ON THE NEW and IMPROVED VERSION!

I'm the 11th too! I'm having a band to sleeve revision. I'm overwhelmed too. I've been making a list on essentials we will need and buying them here and there. Also I'm kind if addicted to this site and it's really helping me be better mentally prepared. Hooray for us March patients!

What kind of complication did you have? (If you don't mind me asking). Because I lost so much weight so rapidly I got the 0.02 % of getting my insides twisted, literally twisted and kinked. :/ Keeping a positive attitude though and I have NO REGRETS what so ever! Best decision I ever made! Granted I wasn't expect to have the surgery and give month post op needs to go in for revision, the journey was well worth it. Wishing everyone the best of luck and quick recoveries!!

Just curious, how were you treated after getting your revision? I mean in the hospital? I weighed 174 last week the day before my revision. I was 144 18 mths ago and managed to gain 30 lbs following a slip and unfill. Only 14 lbs from goal. The nurses all thought I was crazy for having 85% of my stomach removed to lose 45 lbs. It's not the fact that I want to lose the 45 lbs, but that I would like to keep off all 130 lbs of lost weight. It seemed like most of the nurses thought I was crazy. I was even told by one that I was the skinniest weightloss surgery patient she'd ever seen! Felt good to be called skinny, but I don't think they realize that once your tool is gone, the chances of putting the weight back on increase dramatically.

I am five months post op from the sleeve and down over 100 pounds since day of surgery. Due to complications with my new pouch, I am going in for revision surgery to partial bypass on Tuesday March 18th. So I guess I'm an October and a March surgery

I had the gastric sleeve done 2 and 1/2 years ago and I lost 70 pounds. I have kept it off and I love my sleeve. I follow my diet and I'm very comfortable with the sleeve but unfortunately I have developed severe Reflux and Gerd and no amount of medications helps me. I am going to do a revision to a bypass just to keep from getting esophageal cancer. I prefer the Sleeve and I'm sad I'm having to get the bypass but I have no choice at this point. For all of you who are undecided, if you have heartburn or acid reflux, go with the bypass, otherwise the sleeve is awesome. I'll be doing my revision in August.

I am still preop but have heard about a lot of people having sleeve and winding up having to get it revised, but not sure why? I'm leaning more towards the sleeve but am now second guessing myself worried I'd have to get it revised Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had the sleeve about 8 years ago. I have gained most of my weight back now so I was thinking about finishing off my VSG with the DS now. To me it seems logical: Since I have already had a sleeve I am already half way there so why not just finish it off with a DS? Unfortunately, the surgeon that did my sleeve got killed in a plane crash about 3 years ago so now I am looking for a new surgeon. I have contacted a few places to see what there cost would be and whatnot so I can decide. When I contacted one of the places they tried to talk me out of it telling me that the DS is a very extreme procedure and it is performed only as a very last resort. They told me that usually the only time when they do a DS is if the patient is extremely obese and the patient is going to die at any moment if they do not do it. I am currently 350 lbs and 5'11" for a BMI of 49. Eight years ago when I had the sleeve I was 412 lbs for a BMI of 58. The doctor said that DS patients have a very bad body odor for the rest of their life. He told me that he could always tell when a DS patient was in his office because he could smell them while they were sitting in their office. He said that if I got this procedure I would have social issues the rest of my life because I would always smell bad. I would in effect become a permanent pariah for the rest of my life. People would be ablel to smell me over a mile away! He said that I will have permanent diarrhea for the rest of my life and that my stools will be very foul smelling. It will be like after I go to the rest room it will smell really bad so that everyone will know that I was in the rest room. I can imagine going to church and having to sit by myself in a pew that is far away from anyone and having to use private rest rooms. This doctor also said that since I have acid reflux that he could not do the DS on me. I have however found other surgeons that would be willing. This doctor recommend that I revise to a mini gastric bypass (not sure how that would be possible since the half of the stomach that would normally remain attached to the duodenum piece that would be attached downstream is already gone. I have also found another surgeon that has a different type of DS called the SADI-S that is supposed to be better for acid reflux people like myself but the weight loss results are not quite as good as a traditional DS. What are your experiences? Is the DS really as bad as that one doctor says for your social life? Is this SADI-S a good thing? In my situation would mini gastric bypass be better (even though I am not sure how they would do it)?

I have long term WLS friend with whom I was first banded (SAGB) in 2000. She developed complications a good 7yrs ago and she went the revision to Duodenal Switch route. She's required re-sleeving once in the last 5 years and says she could probably do with another resleeve, but is currently unable to fund it privately. She's a major diet coke drinker. We're all different. It's just doesn't take much to work out that with no carbonated drink addiction, my own band was not removed until February 2011. My pouch was intact, the port tubing was leaky. I was sleeved on the 18th Sept. and I don't expect to ever need resleeving. If I do, I can guarantee it won't be down to fizzy drinks since that's something which is absolutely under my own control. I can't make anyone elses' choices for them, nor would I want that kind of onerous responsibility. Neither can I remain silent when I've seen first hand resleeving required in a big diet coke drinker.

I've been reading a lot of posts that state revision patients lose slower. Is this your experience? Why do you think revision patients lose slower? What is the science behind it. I just don't understand why I wouldn't have the same results as any other RNY patient.

It has something to do with hormones that are released during surgery which cause a rapid weight loss. Since this is a revision those hormones have already been released. I'm still trying to research this though.

I visited with the doctors this past week. They are putting into insurance to authorize band removal. I'm so happy about that. I just need to wait 2-4 weeks to hear from them if insurance will approve. Then we will wait 3-6 months for everything to heal and try for revision. Not sure if I will go for a sleeve or bypass yet. One step at a time though. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi Bugaboo, I feel what you are going through. This is the catch about getting the band removed: you either pay for it out of pocket,,,not an option or if your BMI is still high the insurance company will only cover if you have a revision which means they take out the bad and give you a full bypass! But my doctor showed me what needed to be done to remove the band and do the repairs wi h you end up having part of the stomach removed so I'm going to get the full bypass I wish you much luck on your journey! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Got my approval for revision from sleeve to bypass! Aetna