Nanook

Congrats on your revision Elizabeth and hope you're well soon! Nancy.

I had my lap band removed in 10/08 and it took about 5 months before I could get the courage to go "revision". I'm now in the process of getting RNY (knock on wood 6/11/09) but after my experience with the band, gaining, not losing and always too tight I'm pretty sure I "really" need the malabsorption aspect that RNY or DS would give me. I'm also on antidepressants, have type 2 diabetes, hypothyroid and peremenopausal. I think those of you that can do well with just the restrictive aspect of the band would probably do well with getting sleeved. Good luck and you'll know when and if you're ready to revise.

Any of you ACoA's have a fixer mentality even if you are a woman, seems to be more common place in men to "fix it". Does it cause problems in your every day life? Nanook.

Hope you're feeling better soon. I had an endoscopy about a week or two after removal and they found several stomach polyps that were benign but I suppose in some people they can cause problems and they thought they were caused by the acid reflux medication. Don't know if that could be an issue for you. Anyway good luck and hope you start to feel better soon, Nancy:smile:

I had many apneas during my sleep study and have been using my mask/cpap machine for the past two years non-stop. It's really helped me with my quality of life as the toll the apneas took on me were greater than I had imagined. I think if I was 22 I would feel a bit more self conscious as you are and that's probably normal. I've been with the same man for the past 27 years and he'd rather me look a bit goofy than stop breathing and die or snore or be cranky during the day because of my lack of a good quality sleep. There are many types of masks or nose pillows you can choose from. I had to pay for half of my machine and all the equipment and it wasn't cheap. Once it's used they may not take it back, you'll have to look into that. Anyway I wouldn't give mine away until I've recovered from sleep apnea. Good luck to you Nancy.:smile2:

You can come here and read all the happy stories of people doing well with their band or you can go to the complications section and read all the people having problems with their band doesn't mean it's right or wrong for you. I started with my journey in the spring of 2005 and was going for RNY-gastric bypass laproscopically. Then boom, my dad got ill and died, my sister developed breast cancer and my beloved beagle (Brandy) of 12 years got cancer and died so I put it on hold as I was needed in many directions. Then about 2 years later after I decided it was "my time" and went back to the surgeon who now offered the lap band and I started thinking about all these reasons I should do that instead. Even thinking at my age, I was 47 then, that I could get cancer and wouldn't it be better if I was banded instead of going through RNY, plus I was scared like many people of rearranging the insides etc... Well to make a long story short the lap band didn't work for me, I love sugar too and am type 2 diabetes, insulin resistant, hypothyroid, on antidepressants and just a hormonal mess and of course at my age perimenopausal so after developing acid reflux it was removed last october and I'm now in the beginning stages of revising to RNY. I've gained back my confidence in myself and the surgery and hope this time it will work for me. It can be a difficult thing to figure out whether or not this is the right surgery for you personally as we're all different. But in your gut you usually know but read as much as you can and that will help you with your decision, good luck Nancy.

You guys are getting me all excited now, even though I'm not going to be a sleever, but ever since my lap band went down hill I was severely in the dumps! I just called my insurance company and they will cover a second surgery for "med nec" which shouldn't be a problem. I feel like I have a future again!!! Good luck to you all and let's hope #2 is a WINNER!! Nancy:smile:

I had mine removed last October due to it not working (I gained weight with it) and having acid reflux. I was put on protonix for the acid reflux and had an endoscopy to see if there were any problems after the removal. I still feel that my esophagus is a bit tight but nothing like it was prior to debanding! I can eat and drink anything and that was pretty much right after removal. I have no idea what your problem is but sounds like you need to get some testing done to find out what is causing this! Good luck to you and keep us posted, Nancy.

I was wondering what people thought about having a section in LBT call "REVISIONS"? It appears that a lot of us who seem to have a real attachment to this forum are revising now or have revised a while ago and it might be time to have a major section in LBT. I know there is another WLS site that has one and I've found it helpful but still feel more attached to LBT. Would it just be redundent or is it a good idea, any thoughts? Thanks Nancy.:huh2:

Thanx, didn't know if anyone else had brought it up, I will.:huh2:

That's still south of me I'm much closer to the base of the Adirondacks. I take a handful of pills every day but my daughter did struggle after getting her RNY to take her pills so I know the importance of that. I am insulin resistant, if that's the correct term and dieting is way too difficult so I'm hoping RNY and it's malabsorption aspect will help me. Good luck, Nancy.:huh2:

David Graham sounds like a successful name to me for some reason, not really cutesy babyish but for when he's older.

Elizabethsew, Good luck with your revision to VSG. I don't even know any surgeons in my area that do them. I'm upstate NY. Since I was the one who never did well from the beginning on the band I'm hoping the RNY will help me this time. Anyway good luck a revisioner is a revisioner is the way I look at it, we'll all be exbanders! Nancy:smile:

Yes I do but I can't go back in time but hopefully will be able to revise to a different surgery that will work for me.

how do you copy/paste? I cant doooit!

I know you're just venting and that's fine, but remember just because someone has insurance doesn't mean that you don't have to pay premiums and copays, nothing is free.

I had a complete unfill for over a month prior to my lap band removal and I still was having pain from the acid reflux and was still PB'ng on the same foods that I PB'd on prior to the unfill. I just wish the banding experience was consistent but it seems for some it's works great while for others like me and many here not so great. I know by experience that when you want food you're not tolerating "healthy foods" you're going to get in you whatever works and why I ended up gaining during my little 14 months with the lap band and also gained more co-morbs. Good luck and health to you all I'm looking at RNY now! Nancy.

sunflowerw...., Sorry you had such a traumatic experience with your band. When I had mine removed I was too afraid to attempt a revision because I was afraid that it wouldn't work and that I could just try to lose on my own. At first I was able to lose but it turned around within a month. My stomach had shrunk before so I ate little but soon was back to my old self and now working on my RNY approval. I don't have to eat a lot to gain anymore because my metabolism is so screwed up from so many years of dieting and then the lap band. I feel I have no choice but to take another risk again! Good luck to you though, Nancy.:w00t:

There's also a relationship between carb drinks and acid reflux which can become a real problem for a lot of bandsters.

Susan, After going through all the emotional issues I had dealing with my lap band and it's removal and after putting back 20 lbs I decided my quality of life was definitely suffering and I met with my surgeon's office today to get it rolling and am crossing my fingers that it will happen! Take care Nancy.:thumbup:

Good luck Susan! I just got the ball rolling on my RNY and am crossing my fingers for approval in every respect. I thought of you as I flew into JAX last week, nice airport. Anyway good luck and I'll be reading your postings even though we're doing different surgeries, Nancy:thumbup:

ebar... What procedure did you revise from to the band? I am in the process of beginning my revision surgery process. I've already been debanded but I was too paranoid to revise during my removal surgery. I felt as if since the first surgery didn't work none would work and I didn't want to put myself through it physically as well as emotionally. I suppose your feelings are probably normal and you'll get through it. Good luck with your revision, Nancy:smile:.

Sorry, I haven't read all the threads here but want to share my latest video reviews since my vacation. We saw two DVDs, both with subtitles. The first one was "Mongol, The Rise of Ghenghis Khan". That was a pretty cool flick and one I think most guys who like a bit of blood splatter would appreciate. It's like mixing "Braveheart" with "300". He was a cute little boy and had a tough life and if you like foreign films and historical pieces you might like it. I give it 4 stars. The second one was called "JCVD" It wasn't a Roman flick but a semi biographical film staring and about Jean Claude Van Damme and is in French with subtitles. Now if you were raised in a martial arts family like I was and also found JCVD kind of foxy in the early 90s you'd probalby like this film (although no JCVD butt is shown). Actually if you're a JCVD fan you're more likely to feel compelled to see but it is different than his typical flicks and doesn't have to make up an excuse as to why he has a French accent because it's about his life. It actually got good reviews and if you've followed his career from "Bloodsport" and "Kickboxer" to all the films that were only released on video you just have to see it. I did feel a bit left hanging in the end though. I give it 3 stars if you like JCVD.

I don't know what would have made my experience with the band a better one, one where I actually lost weight. I do know that my band never slipped and if vomiting caused it that would have happened to me. I vomited (pb'd) a lot!! Phen fen worked for me at the time when I took it many years ago but was taken off the market mid-stream. It was basically like the "speed" I took in the 70s when I first lost weight. Metformin also worked for me but I had to go off my antidepressant to take it which was a difficult time but like most people I only lost 10% of my body weight on it before it stopped being as effective. It made me feel nausious, not to be confused with a "PB" which kept me from wanting to eat. I know my endocrinologist told me at one time she had people on this drug after WLS. Just because you're banded doesn't mean we're not going to want to eat. We're all very different so the lap band may stop some people and not others. It's not a sign of weakness or our own failures as human beings but that it's not necessarily the right proceedure for EVERYONE, Nancy:smile:

Wasa, I know the sleeve would be a bad choice for me so I was looking at DS or RNY. Is it true that the sleeve is the first part of a DS? Does that make sense? It seems to me that I've read that on some other sites. There are so many revision combos out there it can get overwhelming at times. I wouldn't want to be too far from a DS surgeon and that's where I gave up on that proceedure. I think my insurance would have covered it though. Thanks Nancy.