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Thanks everyone - great responses and discussion. For me personally, I probably SHOULD be worried about the forced change of relationship with food, but I am actually looking forward to that part. I know it will be rough at first, but I want to eat like a normal woman, small quanties and and based on what I need to fuel my body and no more. I probably should be more concerned about the fact that being obese is slowing killing me (I have sleep apnea, early onset arthritis and borderline blood pressure. I have insulin resistance, and will likely become diabetic if I don't get the weight off and keep it off), but there is something about surgery that focuses your worries on a specific event...lol My conscious fears are really surgery and recovery related. I know that MOST people have no major problems, but I guess the thoughts that keep creeping in is what if I am one of the unlucky few that get a leak, a stricture or has a problem during surgery. I realize that my odds of dying on the table are very low,but it is still in the back of my mind. As a revision from the band, I probably have a higher risk of leaks and I know that can be a real recovery nightmare. You are right, I feel great about my surgeon's skills and support, but I know that even so, bad things can happen. I am trying to keep my mine focused on all the benefits of losing weight and becoming healthier. All the sleevers I have met are just so happy with their new life - I keep trying to focus my "eye on the prize" but I do sometimes get a little overwhelmed with the fears. I keep trying to visualize myself 6 months post surgery - alot of weight gone, feeling healthier etc and with NO long term complications.

Who was a band to sleeve revision patient? I am having this done in 11 days and would appreciate it if you would share your experiences.

several years ago when bypass and the band were my only options, I decided against WLS surgery altogether. The band was a no go for me because I didn't like the idea of having a foreign object in my body. Late last year when I learned about the sleeve, I knew it was right for me. Especially since it addresses the issue of grehlin (the hunger hormone) whereas I don't think the band does. Once I made up my mind, I found VST. There's an entire gang of folks here that are band-to-sleeve revisions. And holy moly some of the complications people have had from the band are enough to convince me I made the right choice!

It is brand new and I think sleevers should all be interested in what they have to say there, in the event we go for revisions later on in life. Best of luck, and I think at some point there should also be a revision-specific board.

As long as you do your research and know you are going to a good doctor there is no problem with going to Mexico. Just follow basic guidelines, don't have surgery in a clinic... only go to a hospital. Don't go to someone that sends you to a hotel for recovery, stick with someone who keeps you in a hospital for two nights after surgery. You don't need to be sitting in a hotel in TJ after surgery. Go to someone who does a barium swallow after surgery AND sends you home with the films. Go to someone who sends you home with all your lab results, chest xray films, barium swallow films, EKG, etc. Go to someone experienced with a good track record. Don't go to one of the butchers, stick with someone who is great. Don't fall for someone who sells you on charisma but skill instead. There is one TJ doc that is just a horror but he's really nice so people go to him. Be careful of who you go to regardless of country. I've seen people post here about going to the US or MX and they just love the doc they are planning on going to. If you ask them the stats of their doc they don't have any idea. Ask them if they use a hospital or clinic, inpatient or outpatient, number of bands placed, which bands, etc., they have no clue. But he's sooooo nice and apparently that makes him a skilled surgeon. Don't fall for that. Right now the going rate in MX for the good doctors is $7K. I went to MX twice, once for a band and once for a revision to a sleeve (I'm not cut out for a band) and I only wanted to go to my MX doctor. But I know his track record and I know his stats. He's great. Point being, I did my research. You need to do the same and find the right doctor for you. Good luck!

I was six days out from a RNY revision surgery, a few weeks ago. I did so well preparing for the surgery that I decided to postpone it. The procedure I was going to have is one where the Roux arm is lengthened and the stoma reduced in size. The modification of the bypass has a 15% chance of complications. My surgeon was confident in his ability because he has only 1% complications with this procedure. If they are just working on your pouch and stoma I would not worry. That is low risk. I am losing weight again, slowly. I have learned so, so much from this forum. I have been reading the books and watching videos that are helping me understand why I am hungry. It was 2000 when I had my bypass. There is so much more information and tools available now. I am relearning how to eat properly and how important vitamins are. I will wait six months before I decide if I need the revision surgery. My suggestion is, study up and copy what the new RNY patients are doing. I feel I am a born again bypass patient. Best of luck!

Hi Leena, I can only tell you what others here are telling me. And that is to hang in there. I'm freaking out too and sitting here waiting for my Dr's office to call me back with a date to have my band revision. I'm 5' 3" and weigh 213. I haven't even started the liquid diet phase yet. I'll keep you in prayer and ask the same for me. Keep in touch!

Revising the RNY to anything is difficult, which is why we don't see many revisions done; typically the most that is done is applying a band over bypass, or tightening the stoma to try to restore some restriction, but neither has a particularly good track record. I have seen a few revisions to the "traditional" BPD/DS performed which is very complex, and there are only a half dozen or so surgeons around capable doing that one. As the SIPS/SADI/SA-DS is being promoted as a simpler, more "accessible" procedure on a par with the RNY on a complexity basis, I wouldn't expect to see many surgeons with the skills yet to do a revision between the two. One doc to check into, who is in your neck of the woods, is Dr. Mitchell Roslin in NYC, who has done some of the RNY to DS revisons, and is a big promoter of the SIPS/SADI - if anyone could do it, he would be it, or he could tell you why it isn't such a good idea, if that is the case. Another possible in your neighborhood (just over the border in NJ is Dr. David Greenbaum who also does a lot of these complex revisions.

Good evening! I had band to bypass revision on May 3 and I LOVE IT!! I am so happy with my "decision". Mine wasn't so much of a decisions as it was...if you ever want to eat again you need to get the stupid band out of you. I was very successful with my band and lost 110 pounds in 9.5 months but then right around my 3 year anniversary I started having major problems. I was completely unfilled but I kept throwing up quite regularly. Any time anyone would question it, I just made one excuse after another without realizing it: The food was too tought, I ate to fast, I didn't chew enough, etc. Finally I had resorted to eating three things: Hershey's with almonds, cheese puffs, and Pasta with alfredo sauce because those were the only things that would go down with out being rejected by my band...which we soon nick-named the "anti-gravity band"...cuz what went down was inevitably coming up!!! (TMI...but any of us revisioners have been there and done that!) After craziness with my insurance company I finally had my revision done by Dr. Stowers in Decatur, TX. The recovery was very easy for me. I was back to work as a high school science teacher 6 days after surgery. The first two weeks were pretty easy because it was just liquids. Weeks 3-6ish were a little more difficult as I transitioned to soft foods and then to real foods. I was getting nauseated all the time. Every time I ate I felt like I was getting car sick. However, that has seemed to fade unless I eat too much fat. I have avoided sugar at almost all cost except for the piece of cheesecake on my birthday which sent me over the edge. Dumping for me is a lot less about running to the bathroom (though I was in there for a while) and more about my the heart pounding in my chest. From what I have read everyone's experience is a little different but for me I know when I have too much fat or sugar because my DH can put his hand just barely touching my shirt and feel my heart beating. I can feel it in my ears and it is awful. This might sound bad but I am done counting calories, grams of Protein, and everything else so I don't. I eat things that are healthy (though I am having a really hard time even wanting meat...it disgusts me right now!) and I eat small amounts but I don't fret like I did with my band. I have lost 27 pounds in just under three months. However, I was fairly close to goal and only have 13 pounds to go to get to goal so my BMI was not very high. Both my doctor and I agreed that I would take the weight off slowly because my rapid weightloss with the band caused me some medical issues. I will tell you that your tastes buds are going to change. I thought they were crazy when they said you wouldn't crave sweets, but I haven't wanted a candy bar, doughnut, or ice cream since surgery. Salt on the other hand...that is my new "transfer addiction". I can't get enough! Please let me know if you have any questions. I still feel like a newbie myself but I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. Good luck!

I had a revision I'm always starving and over eat. I'm not losing much weight but really don't care just trying to get protein before I go completely bald but I hate shake they literally make me gag!! Need fellow revision patients experience please!!!

Have you spoken with your doctor about revising to another procedure? Your body may be better suited for bypass or sleeve. Learn all you can about them before making any decisions. It can often be done during one operation, keeping costs down.

Hello All, I am a second time poster on this board. The first time being 3.5 years ago. I guess one stays away as long as things are going well. 40 years old male. I had the lap band surgery almost 9 years ago now. I am posting now because I am wondering whether I should have my lap band removed and if so, how to go about it. Weight loss wise, the band has not failed me. I have lost about 90 pounds with it and have maintained that (despite some yo-yoing in the middle). In fact I am now at my lowest weight ever now because of having to adjust my eating (see point #1). But I am considering removing the band for a number of reasons. 1) Acid reflux. Had it bad for a couple of years (and gained weight on those years) until I changed my eating habits (lower volume, not eating close to bedtime) about a year ago and the problem is now gone (and gone with them the extra pounds). 2) Gas/ bloating/ indigestion. Gas has been a problem from day 1. When everyone usually complained about trapped gas for a few days or a week or two at most after surgery, I remember having trapped gas for a month and half after surgery! And since my surgery, most gas has tended to come up (through my mouth). But I have noticed recently that gas (which I assume comes from indigestion) is becoming a real problem and that I have been spending sometimes hours after a meal suffering from excruciating abdominal pain because of trapped gas that needs to be released. 3) lack of follow-up support/ care. I live in Canada and because I was considered a low-BMI at the time, I had to go the private route for it. A year following surgery, I moved provinces and was thus thousands of kms away from the clinic where I had my surgery. 5 years later, and my surgeon no longer practiced at that private clinic and only now works in the public system exclusively. There are no private bariatric surgeons in the province I live in, and all attempts to follow-up wit a local surgeon through the public system have failed miserably. For fills, I used to either go to my original surgeon or to a fill doctor I know (flying thousands of kms away for both). In the 9 years, I remember I had my band checked once with my original surgeon about 5 years ago, and once at my local hospital here (where they do the public weight loss surgeries) only through x-ray when I thought something was wrong with the band. 4) the increasing stories on the forum and elsewhere about people opting to remove their bands. Very sad and depressing but understandable. I feel I am living with a ticking time bomb that will go off at some point in time (and maybe it already has and I don't know!). So it's a question of when rather than if. I am still debating when and how to go about this. Do I do it ASAP or do I wait a bit more until things are worse? Do I pay for it privately and fly again thousands of kms away to have it removed? or do I try to remove it locally? Is it even possible to do it locally without having to wait until I am dying for the public hospital here to remove it for me? I should mention that my family doctor retired a year ago and so I am now with a new doctor who I haven't had a chance to discuss all of this with at length yet. One thing I know for sure is that I am not revising to any other weight loss surgery privately because I will not repeat not having proper follow-up care locally like I did with the lap-band. This is very hard to live with and I guess I am now more risk averse now that I am older (and hopefully wiser with that lap band experience). Many thanks, Seldom

Has anyone had revision to a surgical Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy with a non-surgical Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty? If so, what was your experience like? Where did you have it done? Who was your doctor? Cost? Thanks!

I hope I am only in this infamous stall phase too...... I am 4 weeks out today.from band to bypass revision.... and have lost a total of 1stone 5 1/2 pounds... but of that only 1 pound this week and 1 pound last week... I have a shake for breakfast.... a small low cal high protein lunch and dinner... around 60___80 protein... not quite making my fluid target... but very disappointed the last two weeks..... recovery wise I feel fine...

I was reading some information on stomaphyX procedure which is done through endoscopy....isn't that basically the same as VSG, though it is done to patients who have had RNY previously and stretched out the stomach? StomaphyX - Bariatric Revision for Gastric Bypass Surgery Would sure as heck be nice to have it done without incisions.

It has a high failure rate. If you check out the revision board on OH, you can find tons of information on Stomaphyx. They go in and reduce the existing pouch and stoma size after patients stretch it out, but it's no where near close to a VSG procedure.

I had a VBG in 2005 and have never been able to eat more than slop ever since. My stomach swells and becomes as tight as a drum. I told my Doctors about the problem and they made all the right noises about revision but never delivered. Dieticians came up with the answer that it was all in my head. Finally some 12 years later they have come up with the solution. The stapleline has come undone and the area around the band has narrowed. I found that I too had pain around the ring area. Don't give up. If you think there is a problem remain positive and stand your ground

I am having a revision on Monday after being banded on 12/21/11. My band has a slow leak, and I have reflux, heart burn, and throwing up if this band is tightened at all. My BMI is only about 29 but my insurance approved it right away. I am having my revision on Monday and can't wait to get that band out of me. Best of luck with your decision.

Im having revision December 1st, yuk..i cant believe the damage done to my intestines during original surgery in 2013.

WLS is hard. I knew this going into my band back in 2011. I knew this going to my revision to bypass this past March. I expected it to be hard. I'm getting very frustrated with the struggle. Granted this is coming from a place where I'm working 10+ hour days, we just had to put a dog down, and I'm stalling hard every few days. My body fat has been slowly reducing but not the weight. And again, I get that it's a process. Just venting I guess. I'm in the gym almost every day, only missed 2 days total in over a month. One was because a friend needed help with his car, so I spent several hours in the junk yard getting a door off for him, so I might have missed the gym, but I certainly didn't miss the workout that day! And the other day was this past Tuesday, because my pup got put down while I was at work. She was old, and I knew it was coming, but that doesn't change the waves of depression and emotional break downs the loss is causing. Just need a win this week and everything is coming up crap. Our dryer stopped working and 4 parts later, too much money and too much effort and it's still not working. Just feels like this whole week has it out for me.

Success with weight loss is dependent on getting the upper hand with your relationship with food. There is a psychology behind eating patterns which have taken WLS patients into the realm of obesity. Though I am not a physician, I do feel that you would benefit to see a nutritionist to devise a healthier eating plan. As a psychology professional, I can say that the other part to your equation is to reign in on your choices of food, and accept that we must adjust our beliefs about food. We must revise our thinking to "eat to live" rather than "live to eat" if we want long term success with weight loss and maintenance. I have found it useful to use sipping Water or other no calorie drinks and distraction to keep my thoughts away from feelings of hunger. And I also use "self talk" and ask myself prior to eating anything which I know I should not have, do I really want this, or would I prefer to continue to move towards my weight loss goal? The band is around your stomach, not your mind. You have an incredibly self empowering tool to use for weight loss... Best wishes....

Congrats on all of your progress post-sleeve! I had my revision first thing yesterday morning. Procedure only took an hour because there was no scarring around the band. I was home by 11am. I took a 2 hr nap when I got home. I managed about 20 oz of Water and 3/4 can of reduced sodium with one scoop of unjury chicken Protein. Had a little discomfort from the gas bloat. Today has been awesome! No gas pain. Minimal pain around the largest incision placed where my port used to be. I have 5 incisions. I've met my Fluid and protein goals. Lots of walking. Hubby and I can't believe how great I feel. Cheers! Deb

Hi Nicki, I'm having revision from lapband to bypass and I can tell you, I wish I would have just gone with the bypass to begin with. For me, the gas pains from having the lapband was terrible and I'm not looking forward to that again and the lapband didn't work at all for me. I do have a sweet tooth so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I dump to keep me away from those foods, not that I'm even thinking of having those things anytime soon after my surgery. Ultimately the choice is yours and you have to do what makes you feel comfortable. Good luck in your journey!!! Heather Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

First I asked about getting the MGB before I got my revision to RNY for gerd, I was told that there are recent studies that MGB is linked to bile reflux. Because I was in the minority groups of VSG that got severe reflux (I think it's 15-20% of VSG), there is no way I was going to risk getting bile reflux. Also, my surgeon cautioned me against the MGB and told me to go RNY to help with my gerd. So, I was apprehensive like everyone else. I just suffered so bad and so long from gerd, I was actually looking forward to sleeping and no fake gnawing feelings of hunger that gerd gave me, or burning throat all day long... Etc. So 15 months since my revision, and no severe gerd. I also do not have any side effects like dumping, fluctuance, and am getting great post-op blood tests. I am feeling so normal (pre WLS op normal) but the only difference is I eat very little comparatively speaking. It has been an incredibly smooth ride.

These comments are encouraging. I’m revising from my VSG (2015) to RNY in 8 days and I have SOMUCH anxiety about it! I’ve lost more weight this year than I did post VSG thanks to a combination of severe GERD, aerophagia from my CPAP, and Ozempic. It’s worth it if it resolves the GERD and aerophagia (maybe sleep apnea altogether but I won’t hold my breath 😜). I’m just worried I’m trading one set of problems for another. One specific thing I’m worried about is immediately post op. I still can feel viscerally the heaving/gagging in PACU once I was extubated and they were trying to wake me up. It felt like I could breathe due to those dry heaves! I’m scared of going through that again!