I had my lapband surgery August 2010 and have lost 67 lbs so far. Last November I was having severe reflux and went to my doctor and was told my pouch was stretched. So I was told to do liquid/mushies for 2 weeks and then try adding foods back in and I was good for a while. Then I started a cycle of doing the same thing- horrible reflux and vomiting, doing a liquid diet, going back to solid foods, reflux again....yada, yada, yada. This past Wednesday when I was drinking my Protein shakes I had SEVERE sharp stabbing pain in the center of my chest every time my drink went down. So I went to my doctor today and was told my band has slipped. He took Fluid out and wants to do surgery to fix. He said they could try and see if my current band can be repaired but if not they could just take it out and put a new one in. So I asked him about the sleeve and he thought it might be a good option for me.

Anyways, the doctor Ive been seeing is in Dallas, TX and I live in Austin, TX so whatever I do I want to find a doctor here in Austin to do things. My lapband surgery was done by a doctor here in Austin but I HATED her and her crap about holding my fills hostage because she didnt think I had lost ENOUGH weight 3 months post surgery. So I went to my mom's doctor in Dallas but its too far of a drive and Im going to find someone closer.

Are there any threads that I can look at that are basically Sleeve 101? Im hoping that since I have a slipped band insurance will cover the sleeve since Im quite sure they will be covering the revision surgery.

Did any of you have to go through the same pre-surgery diet like you did with the band? I had to do 6 months doctor supervised WL program and I dont want to do that again.

I know I will have more questions but I just wanted to introduce myself. Quite discouraged at this point but at least I know why my band hasnt been working for me.

Amber

I was never so happy the day my band came out and I was sleeved. There is not a single reason that I would suggest that anyone have a laband as you have too many problems. Then there are the constant doctors visits for fills, slips and the constant vomiting. I have vomitied one time since I had my sleeve on Dec 11, 2011 and that was my fault for pushing it when my stomach told me to STOP!!!!!!!!!!! I won't do that again.

I hope that you can find a good doctor that will be able to remove your band and that if you want can do the sleeve for you. If I knew then what I know now I would have never had the band and gone straight for the sleeve.

Keep me posted as to your progress as I understand what you are going through

Were you able to do both procedures in the same surgery? Or did you have to wait a few months to get sleeved?

I was never so happy the day my band came out and I was sleeved. There is not a single reason that I would suggest that anyone have a laband as you have too many problems. Then there are the constant doctors visits for fills, slips and the constant vomiting. I have vomitied one time since I had my sleeve on Dec 11, 2011 and that was my fault for pushing it when my stomach told me to STOP!!!!!!!!!!! I won't do that again.

I hope that you can find a good doctor that will be able to remove your band and that if you want can do the sleeve for you. If I knew then what I know now I would have never had the band and gone straight for the sleeve.

Keep me posted as to your progress as I understand what you are going through

Were you able to do both procedures in the same surgery? Or did you have to wait a few months to get sleeved?

The people I have seen that have went from the band to the sleeve had it all done in the same surgery.

I'm having my band removed and I'm being sleeved. My doc said that he can do it in one procedure provided there isn't an excess of scar tissue or other issues when he opens me up.

If there's a lot of scar tissue, he'll just remove the band and he wants to give it 3 months to heal before doing the sleeve.

I'm pretty confident he'll be able to do it one procedure, but there's no guarantee. I'm okay with that.

I'm in exactly the same situation as you. There is no reason that you would have to go through a weight-loss program again, and since your band has slipped, you need to have it removed.

I have been living with GERD and stomach pain since my band slipped. It took about six weeks and many appointments with several doctors, but I finally got the referral to have my band removed and revised to a gastric sleeve in the same procedure. I know other members of this forum that were able to get it done even more quickly than that. My surgery is in ten days from today.

Most people just have a liquid diet two days before surgery, and that is probably what you will have.

As for Sleeve101, my advice is to read as much as you can here on this forum and also check out some videos on You Tube. There are a lot of us out there. I recommend GastricReviews: http://www.youtube.com/user/GastricSleeveReviews/videos and Chantell had a band before also: http://www.youtube.com/user/scneaux/videos This is another good one: http://www.youtube.com/user/luvenit1979/videos These women have chronicled their journeys to help others, and they are fantastic. There are several others that you can find from there.

Good luck!

I agree with IowaAndy about the lap band. I wouldn't do the lap band again if given the choice.

Thanks for hte links to the youtube videos! I've already watched a ton and so encouraged and think this is going to be the right way to go.

One thing that I forgot to mention before is that the doc told me that I also have a hiatal hernia too which wasnt there when I had my lapband put in. I wonder if they will be able to do the repair for that as well as taking out the band and doing the sleeve at the same time?

You're welcome. I watched quite a few myself and still go back and re-watch some of the ones that were most helpful. Here's another good one: http://www.youtube.c...netqueen/videos She had gastric bypass, I believe, but her videos are really encouraging and positive, and she talks about exercise, Protein drink tips, etc. Another one that I like is Cecilia: http://www.youtube.c...elialane/videos and some of the earlier videos from AmySDMOM: http://www.youtube.c...AmySDMOM/videos

I was told that, unless there is actually erosion, the lap band can come out and the sleeve put in during the same procedure. If there is erosion of the band into the stomach (which can and does happen), then the stomach needs time to heal. That is what I was told by my surgeon anyway. He was delighted when he did an endoscopy and didn't see any erosion. Hiatal hernias happen frequently too with lap bands, and I think that is corrected once the lap band is removed.

awesome! I feel very encouraged by this! When I started having pain this past week I told myself that I should have just had the sleeve done and never even messed with the lapband. Is it bad that I secretly hoped that they would find something wrong with the band so it would HAVE to come out and a medical necessity for something else to be done? I just hope my insurance (its Aetna and they have been really good about things so far so Im very hopefull) deems it medically necessary!

Don't beat yourself up over your choice to get the lap band. A lot of us opted for the band because it was sold as reversible, and it does seem like the least drastic choice. It also sounds like you were successful in losing weight with it. Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say. The important thing is what you decide to do now, and it sounds like you are making the right choice for yourself and a choice that many others have done successfully.

Aetna is a good insurance, and I think they were one of the first insurance companies to cover the sleeve. Kaiser Permanente and Health Net also pay for sleeves. There is no question that they will remove the lap band, and I think it is very likely that they will allow you to replace the band with the sleeve if you and your surgeon decide that that is what you want. Make sure you find a surgeon that will agree that it is a good choice for you. Search the forum for a good surgeon in your area.

Having a slipped band and a hiatal hernia is all you need to have it removed, and the replacement of it is your decision. I don't think you have to worry, but I understand your anxiety. I was exactly where you are now two months ago, and now my surgery is in 9 days. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

Thank you so much for your response. I wonder how quickly I can have this surgery done. This was not something I had planned on doing and have so many things going on this summer and if I can get surgery done quickly and get the healing process going that would be awesome. I have been researching doctors in my area and will make some phone calls tomorrow! My husband and I are going to London/Paris in October for our 10th anniversary and it would be so AWESOME to have most of my extra weight off by then! I started by whole journey at 277, am now 211 and want to get down to 140 (at least). So I have 71 lbs staring at me right now and just want them GONE!

I am just about where you are. I am 204 and want to lose about 70 pounds. My surgeon says that I will do that easily in six months. Everyone is different, but I've been seeing an average of 10 pounds a month on most people. The first month, it is not uncommon to lose 20 pounds from what I've seen because of the month-long liquid diet after the surgery and because your body is healing. Your trip sounds wonderful.

Definitely see if you can find a doctor that others have talked about here. There is another web site -- I think it is obesity.com -- that also rates doctors that you might check. I'll have to double check to see if that is the right web site.

We are ready right away, but insurance referrals and approvals are usually slow. A member here got her revision as fast as two weeks, but I think two to four months is more typical. Some insurance companies used to make members do a six-month education and diet program before their surgery, but nowadays the program is usually three months, but then you have to wait for a surgery date. From first doctor's visit to surgery date for me is two months. You may not have to wait too long because you have a slipped band that has to come out. Try not to be anxious. Time goes by so fast:-)