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Well I figured it was time to start documenting everything, so here it goes. On March 10, my best friend was telling me about how we should get the lapband to lose weight. Now being a member of weight watchers for many years at first I was very against the idea (if you even mention it on the weight watchers boards you get yelled at!) Then I decided that maybe I should look into this and talk to my doctor. So I say my doctor on March 14 and she said that she thought it was a good idea. I called the surgeons office to sign up for his seminar on March 29 and the moment he started explaining everything I knew this was for me. He gave us a packet of everything we would need to do as far as clearances so I started making appointments. Here is my timeline: April 2 Psychologist April 3 Gastro (need endoscopy) April 4 Cardiologist (need echo) April 5 Chest xray April 11 Pulmonary April 16 Echo April 23 Endoscopy April 23 Nutritionist 1st appt May 8 Nutritionist 2nd appt June 12 Nutritionist 3rd appt June 10 Surgeon!!!!!!!!! June 16 Hospital bariatric coordinator So before I started this process I had called my insurance company HIP and asked what the requirements were and I was told it had to be medically necessary (yeah no six months) then on May 5 I just happened to be on HIPs website when I see that bariatric surgery was revised on April 15, 2008. I almost died when I saw that. According to their website you now needed six months diet. I called HIP and the girl had no idea what bariatric surgery was and I had to give her the link to the website and of course she had no clue and said whatever it says on the website is what it is. Well I was pissed. So I told the nutritionist this and she said ok then come to me for six months. Then I thought did I just open up a can of worms? Although I didn't want to not say anything and get everything else done and then have to start over with a six month diet. So I figured let me just tell her. Then I decided I should probably go talk to the surgeon, even though he doesn't want to see you until you have every clearance including the nutritionist. So I get the appointment and tell him everything about the insurance and he tells me that he probably won't be taking my insurance much longer! I almost cried. He then tells me that he was going to submit everything I had up until this point and for me to get the nutritionist to sign off on the three visits I went to. Well 2 days later I was approved. I could not believe it. Thank God. My surgery date is July 16 and I couldn't be happier.

I had a relatively low BMI I have a lapband because I didn't want to remove a body part. Now almost 10 months later I hate the lap band. (food getting stuck, not being able to eat chicken, meat....having to chew my food to a pulp) But I did lose weight! I am doing a revision to a sleeve. It is a hard choice. Best of luck on your decision! D.

Welcome to VST! I was considered "light weight," but my bmi was 39.6. I know I've read of people who had vsg at bmi's between 30-35, but cannot remember if they were revision surgeries or not. I believe most have gone to surgeons in Mexico though...wish I had specifics to give to you. Good luck on your journey! I also started looking at the band first and so glad I discovered the sleeve.

I had lapband in 2008 was 305 went down to 170 in 9 months. Kept it off for 6 years then my band eroded in oct of 2013. I was revised to bypass in May 2014 but had to gain weight to meet the criteria to have the bypass. Day of surgery I was 245 on May 21, 2014. I am at 189 now still have 19 left to get back to my optimal weight but it's coming off ????

Hey there. Good luck with your surgery. Im so nervous also buy anxious as heck! Anyway, i have a lapband currently and want to revise to gastric just waiting on insurance approval. And im also hoping that it can be done all at once. I would hate to wait so long to have the revison. Anyway, why did you have to wait so long? Was it a stipulation of insurance or just doctors orders? Anyway, good luck hun. This site has been really helpful to me so far. Hope you are finding to useful also.

i had lapband done in 09, had my son in 2011, lost a total of 120 pds. I had a breast Aug. done, as I went from a ddd to a b cup. I also had my tummy done last summer. I can say that it was the best thing I did. My insurance covered the tummy part. I found out last month that my lapband caused my Hiatal hernia and I was able to get the revision to bypass. I can say that I should have done this before hand. I feel that the only thing that I will have to have done is my arms. I gained back 50 pds and I have lost about 25 of it before my surgery on the 30th.

Got my answer...in my soil slinging fury LOL I flipped my port... Somehow the way I twisted I managed to pull a few of the stiches right out of the fascia/muscle... however on the bright side...my dr is amazing, he had me in the O.R. within an hour and I was home with a port revision completed by 6pm! And I got to upgrade ports...my doc just got in the new lower profile ports, about half the size of the old ones...so he put that in with some surgical mesh...so I can't flip it again playing super hero gardening girl! :thumbup:

Idid have one stone in my gallbladder but we realized that it wasn't the problem the day after surgery when I had my first solids and spent the next 8 hours in agony. After about $40,000 in medical bills I found out that muscle spasms in your stomach and esophagus from band tightness is the same pain you can get from gallstones. The problem now is that I am able to eat just about anything now at 6cc but when I had good restriction at 8 and 9 cc's I would have these attacks every couple of days. I asked my doc about revision and he said he won't even consider it until I am 2 years post-op. Hopefully I can make the band work still with less restriction. Luckily, I didn't have a slipped band or any dilitation. Just beware letting your band stay too tight. Danielle

I am having a really hard time with my band. In the last month I had my gallbladder out unneccesarily (my band was too tight), an $8000 ER visit, 2 unfills and an upper GI with a refill. I keep getting spasms of my stomach and esophagus that cause vomiting and abdominal, chest and back pain. The only way to keep it from happening is to get an unfill but then I don't have good restriction and I gain weight. I'm just really frustrated. Danielle

I'm so happy for you, I have surgery on Friday and I hope my recovery goes that well! I'm a revision from a sleeve after complications and my sleeve recovery was great (beyond the major complications) so I'm hoping I'll get lucky again and have another easy recovery. Keep us updated, I'm hoping you stay feeling this good but we are here for you if you hit a speed bump

I was revised from sleeve to RNY yesterday. Today I can do way more than sip water, Propel, and crystal light. Am I correct in assuming that liquids are going straight through like a slider and that I have nothing to worry about other than liquid, protein, and vitamins?

I'm sure I'll be an anxiety-ridden mess once this settles in and hits me, but right now I am so excited. I finally have my surgery date (revision) set for May 22nd! I start my pre-op diet this weekend (basically, as soon as I get to the grocery store). I was actually hoping to be doing all liquids (I find it easier than having to navigate the weird world of food), but I'm doing two shakes, one Protein bar, and one "sensible meal" a day. Should be do-able. My schedule has suddenly become jam packed with support group meetings, pre-op testing at the hospital, a surgery education appointment, an appointment with my surgeon to discuss pre-op testing results, an IVC filter placement date and all the rest. I have the feeling I am going to be a very busy girl until surgery...ha!

I got my lapband in 2006 and loved it.I lost over 100 lbs and felf great. However it needed to be removed due to slippage. Medical necessity, not by choice. It was removed last November 2014. I got two Doctors opinions, both prefer to do the two surgerys seperately to give everything enought time to heal. I am now fighting with insurance company. My wonderful Doctor did have a peer to peer with my insurance company to explain why he felt I needed the revision to the sleeve. I have written 2 appeal letters and have been denied 3 time. It is now in the hands of a third party. I was wondering if there are others out there with similar storys. I am going to have the surgery regardless even if I have to self pay, which would wipe out all my savings. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Hey girl regain is actually common that far out on the sleeve statistically you are not alone. You could try to get revision to d switch or you could try to lose the lbs by following plan. Also maybe consider getting apetite suppressant to help if you feel hunger. This reads more like binge so maybe make appointment w counselor

When I decided on the sleeve vs rny I think the difference was like 13 lbs I think sleeve people average loose 60% and bypass people usually lose about 70%. Depending how I am feeling in a few months I will probably talk to my doctor about switching to a bypass, but for me its because of reflux. I had pretty severe reflux before, but I let the doctor talk me into a sleeve, and now it is the same or worse than before so I might be one of the revision people too. I'm down almost 40lbs but my weightloss has slowed this week. I think that people who have the bypass lose faster, but from what the doc told me by 2 years everyone is about the same.

I called my surgeon’s office today because he submitted for a VSG to RYGB and was told it was denied because they want me to do 6months of supervised weight loss. I just had my VSG in December 2019! plus, their reason isn’t even listed under the revision surgery section in the handbook. Since then I’ve developed a new hiatal hernia, GERD to my mid esophagus and esophagitis. Of course I’ll file an appeal but I’m just frustrated. I’m sick of only getting 4-5hrs of sleep a night because the chest pain from the GERD is so bad it wakes me up. Im sick of taking the max allowed PPIs on top of 8-12 tums a day, and Thorazine for the hiccups causes by the GERD. I sent my surgeon a message asking for another prescription because I can’t take it anymore. I'm jus so frustrated. I just don’t want to be in pain anymore.

His words to me were “you need a revision to get rid of the GERD. I’m sending over a request for insurance approval.” This was July 1st. He wanted to have me in for revision before August. My surgeon is definitely a non-nonsense kind of person so I’m positive that he’ll be sending over an appeal as well.

Hello, I having surgery on September, 18. I know how you feel I'm not ready. This is a revision for me band to bypass. Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

As a recent sleeve to bypass patient - specifically to resolve the terrible GERD, Gastritis and Esophagitis caused by chronic acid reflux - I can so relate to your comments. I had acid reflux disease before I even had the sleeve, and my surgeon never told me that GERD could be a complication following sleeve surgery. In all fairness, I think that this has really only come to the surface over the past 5 years. Now surgeons, and GI doctors, seem to be more versed in GERD following sleeve surgery and more prone to advise patients to choose the bypass. On a positive note, I've had ZERO acid reflux since my bypass surgery October 2020. I stopped taking any PPI, and my primary care doctor is thrilled. Long term use of PPI's can also lead to bone loss in women. Best decision I made was choosing the revision surgery.

Thanks! I am cautiously optimistic that this revision will work for me. I am a bit scared about dumping syndrome. I need to research to find out what is going on to make you feel that way? It sounds awful although I know if may be weird but I hope the minute I try to cheat and eat crap food I get it bad! LOL

I'm almost two weeks post op from my revision. It's had its challenging moments I won't lie but after five years of dealing with lapband issues I'm beyond glad to have that crap out of my body. Ended up with a band slip, severe GERD, and Barrett's esophagus

good luck on monday. is this a revision for you or no?

The band has become the first choice here for people able to loose the weight at a slower rate the gastric bypass (w/o serious comorbitities) infact my dr. does only lap bands. He used to do others but since the popularity and sx risk is so low he now does just the band a revisions. I think its the perfect option for people willing to put in a little work to reach there goals.

Here is my 2 cents and the reason I chose the VSG: The RNY pouch stretches significantly, the VSG doesn't. No malabsorption = no need for multiple Vitamins and supplements (plus, the malabsorption aspect only lasts for a few years before your body figures out how to absorb all of the calories, but you still miss the vites and other good stuff). Everything functions normally, just smaller (I am fond of my pyloric value - it prevents "dumping syndrome"). The odd "blind stomach" VSG = The removal of the part of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone. The ability to take NSAIDs (I'm young now, but not naive to the fact that I may have to depend on these when I get older!) How did you do with the band? Did you have it removed because you had problems with it, or are you revising because you have lost all that you can? You were luckly enough to already have a "restrictive - only" procedure and have lost 100lbs (congrats by-the-way!). This should help you decide whether restriction-only is good for you or not. How was it working for you? If you were doing fine with the band and restriction, but started having problems with the band itself, then I say go for the sleeve. If you have had good restriction with the band with no problems and just can't lose anymore of the weight, then maybe you need the malabsorption; however if this is the case, I think it is worth a look at the DS, I would do the DS over the RNY anyday...but that's just my opinion. Good luck!!

I wasn't pressured. I initially wanted the sleeve, but I have been banded before and he took 45 minutes to discuss the sleeve with me and explained the risks because of my previous band. He told me that the sleeve would make my reflux and heartburn worse due to the high pressure it causes. I had been taking Zantac max strength and Prilosec both twice a day plus tums , milk and slept with 8 pillows at night for nearly 4 years so ....no thanks. I would rather not have any more heartburn or make it worse. I went back to him to discuss bypass after researching it on my own. He spent another 45 minutes talking with me about this and answered every question that I had. I have never once felt pressured. Bypass can be reversible, but if you are sleeved, your stomach is gone forever. If I hadn't had previous WLS, and if I was choosing for the first time, I would have chosen sleeve. But because of my weakened stomach from the previous band, and scar tissue, bypass is a better option, less chance for leaks and less complications for me. Research and gather as much info as you can to educate yourself. If you are new and not getting revision, go for the sleeve. But if you have had previous WLS before then consider bypass. Best of luck to you!