Hi Folks,

A brief synopsis of my situation. I was banded in 2007 at 210 pounds (self pay) The band was always problematic for me and I lost a great deal of weight because of the huge amount of discomfort I suffered. My goal weight was 120 pounds and I reached it and actually dipped below that to 115 because my band was too tight. Fills were difficult and expensive to schedule so I suffered. In June of this year (2012) I went to the hospital for a fill because the previous fills seemed to have no effect. It was discovered that the band was cracked at the juncture point and had partially opened and slipped down over the bottom portion of my stomach. Emergency surgery was performed and it was removed June 1, 2012. I cried and cried because even though the band was extremely uncomfortable for me for most of the 4.5 years that it was in, it was still my best friend and had allowed me a quality of life never before enjoyed due to my weight loss. My doctor told me that I needed some time to recover due to extensive scarring before they could perform a revision. I told my doctor that I did not want to regain the weight again before I could have the surgery. He assured me that this would not be the case. The records say that a revsion would be considered after a 4 kilo weight gain. Needless to say since I started back on a regular diet of solid foods I have gained 6 kilos (about a pound a week.) I am daily fighting the impulse to eat everything in sight and feel that with help and hope on the horizon that I can stave off weight gain but am also terrified that they will penalize me and say that they will not perform the surgery because I have my weight "under control." Has anybody had any issues with revision because they have not gained weight rapidly since having the band removed. I know all this sounds crazy but my emotions are all over the place and I am terrified of returning to my previous level of obesity. The only reason that I am holding on and able to exercise control is because I know that it is for a limited time only (October 9th) but if I am refused based on the fact that I "appear" to have it under control, I know that the hopelessness will crush me and I will return to the comfort of overeating. I would appreciate any and all feedback on this matter.

Oh thats a tough one. I totally see what you are saying. The only problem is that the sleeve could really take you down to a much much smaller weight than is healthy t the point that you are at. One thing that i did to see if i qualify for the conversion (because i too was below the bmi standard for bariatric surgery following my lap band) i checked out my insurance co policy and it did say that a certain percentage of weightloss i.e. Less than 50 percent ebw was considred to be a failure and that i would be eligible to convert to a different surgery, however my bmi is in the mid 30s. I cannot imagine that any doctor is going to perform such a surgery if you are as small as you say. As far as your cincern for the weight gain maybe you could talk to your dr about a prescription appetite suppressant, i have taken one called phentermone before and it worked really well, i can only imagine how difficult this must be, especilly being at you goal! Hang in there!

First let me preface this by saying that this is not my experience, rather what I have read elsewhere on this forum.

In the case of a revision the weight used to determine your qualification is your pre banded weight. Also most often the healing period for scar tissue to heal before revision is 6months.

I was banded 2006, repaired a broken tubing 2009, leaking again so im converting next week- - no weight gain to convert. I am a 24-25 BMI, Im self pay so insurance is not dictating the decision. My surgeon is converting since Im a band success but I am tired of mechanical failure. I dont trust myself to maintain the lifestyle and portion control, I need the mental sitter of the band or sleeve. 5-7K every three years for band repair is getting old so Im converting and hoping to be done with surgery for weight loss. I want the "irreversible last surgery" and to never have to see my weight loss surgeon again. I completely get the need for emotional control and the desire for the sleeve.