Good morning good people. I am here because my sleeve is broken. I just don't want to get into too much detail to protect the innocent or anyone else, but lets just say in a Dr's Appt I had yesterday with my Bariatric Surgeon provided by my insurance and as we were going over slides of an upper GI I had a week prior... it seems my sleeve is way too big still and it is shaped like an hourglass. Also I have extremely bad reflux and it is causing me a whole lot of misery.

My surgeon is referring me to have an upper scope done now, which will be photographic images of exactly what my stomach looks like from the inside, as well as to see if I might have a hernia to tend to. His precursory recommendation though is to revise to a gastric bypass since my reflux is so bad, and do any corrections and hernia repairs as necessary.

So, I don't know if any of you know my story but I was banded in 2008. That's when the reflux started and my lapband caused me so much pain that I wanted it removed. My band surgeon was not helpful at all. I will just leave it as that so I was left to make my own decisions. I paid to have my lap band removed and revise to a gastric sleeve in 2010. I didn't know at the time that the gastric sleeve would just make my reflux worse, and believe me, had I known this I would've just gotten the bypass then.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd start sharing my story here because it seems as though this is where I'll start to get my support now. Note that I am not upset or angry at anything that has happened or what will happen. It's just a part of my progression in my life. I will get through it, that's for darn sure.

Thanks for listening.

Irene

Irene,

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience. I'm glad that you are still able to be so positive and still be optimistic about the future. You have been through a lot and you have been strong enough to overcome it. Thank you for sharing your story. Hang in there and best of luck to you!

Moni

stay strong and keep doing what you have to do!!!!

Shannon

Reflux is the reason I choose gastric bypass as opposed to sleeve. I'm surprised when you had the band removed the surgeon didn't tell you then about the sleeve not being a good choice for people who tend to get reflux. Anyhow, good luck going forward. Your right that looking back doesn't do any good. Keep moving forward.

Irene have you looked on the sleeve boards? You may find people who are experiencing the same thing as you and can offer you advice and support.

God bless you, Irene! You have been through an awful lot in your Quest to achieve a healthy life. My story is similar to yours, just not the sleeve part. I had the band put in 6 years ago, and went to see my dr wanting it OUT after years of trouble. The nurse asked if I had considered a revision, and here I am 3 weeks away from my bypass surgery. Like you, I suffer from reflux and heartburn, so the sleeve was not my best choice. I feel like over the years it has become more documented that the sleeve can cause heartburn or reflux to increase, but perhaps it just wasn't a common side effect when you had yours? Either way, like you said, what's done is done. I wish you success in finding relief. This board is a fantastic place for advice and stories.

Thanks for the support yall. Yes its true that when I had my revision the reflux wasnt as well known as it is now. It just happens to turn out I was not a good candidate for the sleeve.

Its likely that my revision will happen fast like maybe around early May.