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IDK. I think you are a fairly unique lady and VET. Maybe in the top 1-3% of people/"types". You DID learn your lessons while losing. You DID incorporate your doc/RD instructions and adapted them to work for you long term. And when you experience regain for any reason, you've set a protocol that is inspiring and amazing to watch. And it gives me hope for my future--that I'm not doomed to regain it all without being able to maintain. Because you quickly and efficiently go back to your roots and get rid of the regain. I feel like the OP has not done the work. Or maybe the surgery was the wrong surgery for him/her? We are all so unique, one solution won't fit all. They claim the reason for the regain and for not getting lower to their goal was based on undisciplined behavior. But if you lack discipline before, what will change this time? How will you magically change for good? Any of us can do things for short periods of time. But being "habilitated" sometimes, even more than being "RE-habilitated" is important. Not all of us can do that on our own. Not everyone learns things the first time. Maybe some of us DO need the surgeon revision or the RD new plan/accountability that meetings provide? Maybe we DO need bariatric therapy to discover what is driving us to self-harming behaviors? It usually isn't the short game that's the problem for any of us...it's playing for the long game. It is about changing lifelong behaviors for long term success. And that's a TALL order for most of us (the other 97%). Dunno...just spit balling here.

DH = Dear Husband I am not sure with the sleeve, but I had sex with my husband about 10 days post-op my band surgery. John, my husband, was deployed during my revision to the sleeve June 3rd, and he didn't get home until September 30th. From what I've heard from others, they were able to be intimate once they were pain free, and comfortable. Of course, you can't be a contortionist immediately post op, but take it easy and be gentle.

I am six weeks out and stalled to. I have lost 44 lbs, but been bouncing up and down the lady two weeks. I am so afraid I will fail. I am a lap band to rny revision so I have been defeated before.

I am 57 and had sleeve last year. Revision to bypass this year. Plenty of people here your age and much older that have done well. Good luck!

lap band or gastric sleeve EnergyTank I am biased because i have the sleeve i have happily been in "sleeveland" for 2+ years i have heard that the lapband is becoming extinct my dr and many other docs don't/won't even perform the lapband there is a thread called band to gastric sleeve revision what does that tell you?? many people have had problems with their lapband erosion with the lapband et al lapband had to be removed "lappers" please don't be mad at me, just stating my thoughts"" then people usually/frequently will get the sleeve me/many/most sleevers here never had any complications there can ALWAYS be complications with any surgery but.....i think 99.999999% of people (like me) had no major issues post surgery i can see you are a smart cookie, and will hopefully make the correct decision to have the sleeve good luck guy kathy

Hello - I am new to the site, looking for some support, encouragement, and advice. I am about 15 years post op, but have regained and am hoping for a second chance with a revision. Has anyone had experience with this insurance wise and just overall success wise? What are the pitfalls to avoid, how do you prep for this, etc? I was over 400lbs when I had the surgery, and have kept off about 70lbs but have really struggled due to not handling allot of stressful situations well - allot of relocating, five deaths including my father, aunt an uncle all within three years, a bitter divorce, a foreclosure, leaving my job and starting a new job with Disney in Orlando, etc.... I am hoping my surgeon can revise my roux en y by making the pouch smaller, and thus getting me back on the road to health. I have struggled over the last five years and am in such a positive place mentally and emotionally now. Any advice? Thank you in advance!!

Each person has their own "negatives". I personally had an extensive, exhausting and mentally/physically draining recovery because I was a revision patient with major complications. The negatives for me were: 1) Trying to sip enough early out seemed impossible 2) Taste buds changing 3) Developing a whey protein intolerance and mild lactose intolerance post-op 4) Lack of energy early out, but it was temporary Of course, the positives far outweigh the negatives especially since everything I experienced was over within a few weeks to couple of months, and I have a very normal, active, fun social life. There are plenty of us out here that "get WLS" there's others that don't. Unfortunately, the sleeve only does so much. I still have to be mindful of what I put in my mouth. I can still suck down a 3000 calorie milkshake if I wanted to so the point is making a permanent, and lifelong commitment to better food choices, and to honestly change your relationship with food. The sleeve makes this process much easier. Every WLS has failures even the heavily touted Platinum standard Duodenal Switch. I've read several stories of regain, or DS'ers not getting to goal, and their surgery is far more drastic than even RNY. I take 4 vitamins a day. That's it, nothing major, 2 multis, 2 calcium citrate. Make it a habit, it's really not that big of a deal. To address some of your concerns: 1. Death - huge I know. Ask your surgeon their mortality stats. If it's more than 1% get a new surgeon, and find out the details. 2. A Leak - also very risky. Same as above 3. My head hunger issues will be brought out huge. Start working on it now, get a new coping mechanism in place before surgery, therapy is a great tool especially if you can find someone that works with bariatric patients, along with support group meetings and using online support groups, find a buddy that has surgery around the same time to share ups and downs, get a mentor that you trust, and can talk you off the ledge when you're wanting to take a dive in the pool of caramely goodness of Girl Scout Samoa cookies. 4. My "food to cope" tool will be gone! Same as above 5. possible acid reflux... what's worse being fat or popping a Prilosec or Nexium to prevent reflux? 6. Gaining the weight back Establishing better habits, measuring portions, staying within your caloric intake guidelines is the best options to avoid gain. It's easy to gain weight, I won't lie, but for me, it's still super easy to lose it by following the rules. 7. not really losing anything that's pretty rare, I've read plenty of slow losers, but you have control of how you lose weight. Some do it differently than I did and that's okay, some do not want to give up carbs, I did because I knew I'd lose fast and hard. That's the path I chose, and I couldn't be happier with how I did it. Some have metabolic issues that slow weight loss down, and that has to be taken into consideration as well as activity level, and each individuals needs. One thing you have to remember is that the VSG is not some miracle that is going to cure it all. They operate on our stomachs, not our brains. So, getting ahead of the curve by establishing some good habits NOW will go a long way post-op. Eating slower, chewing your food more, sit your utensil down in between bites, do not drink with your meal, eat protein first, stretch your meal out to at least 20 minutes. Don't sit in front of the TV to eat, focus on what you are putting in your mouth/body and see how your body responds. Best wishes! ! !

After I had my port revision I had pretty good restriction but I could take a bite or two and it would sort of hurt but then if I waited a few minutes I could go ahead with my meal and to me was eating too much so I decided to go and get another fill. Well when I did this he moved me up to 1.6 and the rest of that day and most of the next day I couldnt hardly even swallow liquid or even saliva was uncomfortable and I was burping up acid so by the next afternoon I decided to go and get some taken out. The medical assistant went in and tried to get it and she couldnt get it out so she called the nurse in and she tried and by then she could only get like less than one cc to come back out and now I have no restriction at all. My question is has anyone experienced this? I am scared that somehow the first girl somehow punctured the tubing or something and all my saline leaked out. I am scared now because I just recently had the port revision and I dont want to have to go back in now and have something else fixed. Can anyone advise? I cant get another appt with the dr until December 20th when he is back in town.

Quick question for all the veterans out there. I had a revision surgery from Lapband to VSG on December 15th. I have lost 12 pounds since my surgery date. I seem to stay the same weight for 3 or 4 days at a time and then drop a couple of pounds. I've been on liquids now for almost three weeks. I can start mushy foods in two days. I would think with the very limited calories I am consuming that the weight would be falling off. Any thoughts?

Before the band, I used to sometimes measure time in terms of "pounds ago". 100 pounds ago was quite a while ago, high school years. 60 pounds ago would be more recent, about when I was 19 and 20. 40 pounds ago I met my husband. Twenty pounds ago I started to give up on losing that 20 pounds from 40 pounds ago. Now that I have the band, I suppose I could try it in the opposite sense. It is sort of strange in a way, having my linear sense of time disrupted. Maybe its a good reminder that life and time really are cyclical. Now I can say that 40 pounds ago I had weight loss surgery and was waiting to see if I got into grad school. 10-15 pounds ago, I found out I got in. Hmm... I've also been working on my rules for when to not follow the rules. Normally there is a stage in every diet for me, when "just this once" starts to happen more and more frequently until its always just this once and I think we all know that it is pretty downhill from there. ) So I have my rules on when there can be no rules. If it doesn't fit in here, then sorry, I have to be good: 1) My birthday; whole day is a free for all (if my birthday is "missed" due to illness I may reschedule for a later date. 2) Celebration dinners (and no, everyday cannot be a celebration) 3) Christmas, New years eve, the eight major pagan holidays, and maybe a couple other holidays I specify in advance. 4) Cinco de Mayo. Its mexican food and margaritta goodness. 5) the times I order movie theater popcorn so long as these times do not exceed 8 times per year and the bucket never exceeds a medium (probably won't be bigger than a small). I get soda on those days too. 6) vacation If its not on that list, then its not allowed to be a free for all. Naturally, I reserve the right to revise my list, but I think this is a good starting one.

Just wondering, i have Medicare and Medicaid in mass and wanted to know how long it took the insurance company to approve for a revision.

@@lovemyself Good luck! Glad you researched and came to a decision. I just had the sleeve (revision from band) on 5-25 and feel good. I'm very glad that I took action. Keep in touch.

I had no complications with my band surgery (Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico...Hospital San Jose), and no complications with my DS surgery (Keshishian in Delano, CA...Delano Regional Medical Center), and no complications with my breast reduction surgery/abdominoplasty revision (Andrew Cohen, Beverly Hills, CA...St. John's Hospital)...but with my original abdominoplasty (at a VA hospital), I ended up with a resistant infection, was readmitted and had to spend an extra week or so inpatient getting IV Zosyn q6h. See how we treat our veterans? The supervising physician said that the complication rate for abdominoplasties on an MO population--I was MO at the time--was 100%. After the surgery. I mean he SAID it after, not before, the surgery. HTH

Hello- I will TRY to make this short: I had vsg June 2016-I initially went from 229 to 160ish then got pregnant a year later. 3-4 months postpartum I was at 143 (I tend to loose weight during my pregnancies and loose after) but that only lasted a few months. Fast forward to today, I am at 185!!! I am only about 45 lbs from starting weight....that's scares me, I don't feel well physically...emotional, as I am back to carrying all of this weight around. I had an appt with my surgeon almost 2 months ago and I explained to her and the nurse that I am always hungry. I STILL focus on protein,....my diet is mainly protein but I also make sure I get my veggies in. I was referred to the nutritionist I saw before my surgery. I am puzzled by that because my issues are not what I eat, ive gathered the info I need prior to my surgery. Prior to surgery I had NO comorbidities. Now, I am on medication for blood pressure, and my recent blood test show that my cholesterol is high...first time ever....this is not how this experience was supposed to pan out. The point of my post is, I've done research and want to know if I would be a good candidate for a revision. The revision I am looking at is sleeve to Duodenal switch which I know was originally a part of the sleeve procedure. Just wondering for those of you who have had revision, how exactly did the conversation with your Dr start. Did you have to ask about it or did the Dr tell you it was an option? I have an appt coming up on 11/11. When i made the appt I asked if I could possibly have a scan to see if the size in my stomach have even changed. I was told most like they would not do a scan because YES the stomach does naturally increase in size about 2 yrs after vsg. Now what??

Hi Lizzy, and welcome to the forums. Dr. Aceves did my sleeve, but I revised from band to sleeve. Because of the problems I was having, I was on a complete liquid diet for a week prior to my surgery to give my tummy a chance to heal from the problems the band had caused. So, I would not be a good one to answer your question. I am sure some of the others will answer you soon, though.

Have they scoped him? I was thinking stricture, but perhaps not, So extreme gerd?? Here's a thread about a recents sleever with extreme gerd, it happens sometimes .... http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/77969-sleeve-revision-to-gastric-bypass-tomorrow/

Thanks so much for the responses. I am learning from everyone. I need to let everyone know why I had the sleeve. I was looking at my second port change and my insurance wouldn't pay. It was going to be 7000. So I went to Mexico and had the revision plus sleeve for that amount. I didn't get enough information. I am a NP and my patients did well that is basically all I knew. I honestly not sure what I would have done if I had all my facts. I am losing weight. I have lost 20 pounds. My surgery is two months tomorrow. I am still hungry. I stopped my PPI and that was a mistake. I have restarted taking to see if that will help. I am feeling a restriction now but feel like I have I have eaten too much. Do you know a food diary that include protein, carbs and calories? My facilitator want to see where I may be going wrong.

I had the band for 10 years. I chose 2 separate surgeries to revise because 3.5 years ago there wasn't that much evidence but it seemed safer. I had no complications. What does surgeon say about risks in 1 surgery vs 2? I think revisions have "about" double the complication rare as virgin sleevers but it's still low.

I wish someone had suggested that for me. I got the lapband first. I loved it at first but then with all the fills, unfills, food getting stuck, and finally a slip, I had a revision to sleeve. I wish I had known about it first. Yes, I did know there could be complications and I hoped for the best and went through with the lapband but the sleeve has been a godsend. I was lucky in that my revision went very smoothly. I've lost a lot more weight with the sleeve and I don't have the same problems I did with the band. The band works great for many people and it did for me at first. I loved the restriction but I didn't like food getting stuck and having to run to the bathroom all of the time. It was always a guessing game with each fill on what I would be able to eat and sometimes you can eat one thing and with the next fill you can't eat that thing anymore. I went with the lapband first because of the idea of it being reversible. I thought that sounded appealing even though I knew I didn't and wouldn't want it reversed. I had no will power at all. With my sleeve I can still only eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food but I don't fear what I eat anymore. It is still a struggle some days to get in all of my Protein but I am thankful I went with a permanent low maintenance alternative. I used to have to drive 2 hours for a fill and my husband has now changed jobs and our new insurance would not have covered the fills or a revision surgery. Revision surgeries don't always good and I can tell you from experience that if you have a band failure, it is heart breaking to know that you may have so much damage done that you don't have any other options plus you could have permanent damage it the band erodes into your stomach. I was lucky in that mine just slipped up my esophagus. They had to unfill my band and I gained 20 lbs back waiting on my revision surgery. I knew I couldn't lose or maintain the weight I lost without help. I revised to the sleeve 2 years ago. I feel normal like I did before the band, no throwing up, getting food stuck, worries at all. Now I can only eat a small amount and I feel full a lot faster and stop eating. The same downfall with the band is that you can't drink anything while you eat and you have to wait until your stomach empties after eating before you can drink anything because there is simply no room for it to go anywhere except back up. Please take some time to visit the sleeve forum and also the band to sleeve revision forum just to be able to make an informed decision of just how many people have complications. I wish I had done that but I so desperately wanted help and knew my insurance would pay for the band that I just went through with it. I was lucky in that my revision surgery for the sleeve took only 45 minutes to remove the band and to perform the sleeve. My surgeon was very skilled and I have had very successful weight loss where a lot of revisions experience slower weight loss than had they had the sleeve surgery from the beginning. Best of luck to you sunshine.

Since it's similar to the ROSE procedure for failed RNY patients, you might want to post on the obesityhelp.com Revision forum.

Somebody posted this link in a thread and i couldn't find it again - so thank you! I think it is a great article and should be read by people considering WLS. I am 2.5 years out from a revision band to sleeve and that article made so much sense based on my experience. Band (when filled) - I had a very small food capacity but I couldn't tolerate the reflux. I also honestly couldn't tolerate the very small capacity either and it drove me toward sliders (my responsibility not blaming the band). When I revised to the sleeve I was surprised that eating was so much easier say 3 months out then it ever was with the band. I didn't think about it that I could eat more quantity /capacity then I had with a filled band but it is true. I think for me that is one reason I have been so much more compliant with the sleeve, I can eat salads and veggies and dense Protein without feeling discomfort or pain. I get an "absence of hunger" sensation after pretty small quantities, but still more than I could consume with a filled band. I had the band for 10 years, most of that time with "no fill" due to my issues with it. I think that might explain why some people do really well with the band and struggle with the sleeve after revision because you can eat more. Anyway, there is alot more to the content of this article, but that particular piece fit my experience.

I was happy to read that you are working with a therapist to address your continuing issues with food. Though your weight loss has progressed impressively, your relationship and beliefs about food do not seem to have made the same rate of progress. Revising your thinking about food, and the requirements for your diet with your band has to happen before you can truly be in a different place emotionally. I have never felt that having to chew many times, taking small bites, and restricting the type of foods I can have were an imposition, or that I was "missing out" with the changes I chose to make with eating. These action items were part of what I still consider to be the opportunity to have better health. I had to wait an extra year for my surgery for a variety of reasons, none of which were planned or avoidable, so when I was finally cleared medically, I had no reservations to proceed. I believe that most bandsters have some pre-op questions to themselves about if they are making the right choice. There is no easy answer, but I believe that the answer is tied to one's priorities. At the Southern Woman's Show 2 summers ago, I had the good fortune to encounter someone who had been banded the previous fall. She helped me place my concerns in the proper perspective: which is more important to you? Being able to eat anything you want to for your meals covering several minutes a day during meals, or having some rules for those meals which require attention and mindful eating? It was a no brainer after that for me. We should eat to live, not the other way around. The longer you hold onto your flawed thinking, the more of a negative attitude towards diet compliance you will have. The things you mentioned that you disliked are the same things which got most all of us to the point where we had bariatric surgery. You cannot expect a sustained weight loss without increasing resentment towards compliance unless you redefine for yourself what your relationship with food needs to be. You have done so well with your weight loss...I hope you modify your beliefs about food. and let go of the ones which got you to your band surgery. Food is not your friend...and in many ways one can be addicted to food in the same way as one can be to drugs or co-dependent relationships. Wishing you continued success with your weight loss journey.

I don't even think about trying to eat slowly. I had been banded for 7 years when I got my revision. I need to work on that.

I am two years post op but revision from gastric banding to sleeve. I started at 265. I'm 5'1" and I've lost down to 147, size 4/6. I live in Longview, TX. I'm not sure what your questions are and I didn't start out in the exact same place as you but shoot away if you have questions. I can try to give you my best point of view.

Could you send it my way also Kit? I'm another looking at a revision. Have to do SOMETHING. I can't believe I'm back up exactly where I was when I got banded 8/05. The hopelessness is suffocating. I haven't seen any Penni updates. Are there some threads I'm missing? Did she disappear along w/ LaMadam & Vines? Kare