MrsBerggren

I start my Protein shakes Monday for two weeks and I have been eating like crazy!! I feel like I need to eat all my favorites this weekend before I begin the shakes. Ugh!! Where to begin? lol I am not looking forward to the next two weeks but I know it will all be worth it! Surgery is Monday, August 13. Good luck to you all!

Hello all, My name is Mari and I was banded in 2009. Due to a recent slippage, I am revising to the bypass on August 13. I am looking forward to having this band removed from me. Starting my meal replacement shakes Monday, can't wait!

Sorry to hear about your troubles Newbie. I think you have a good chance to have a revisional procedure due to your slippage. I was considering the sleeve as well until I attended an information bariatric meeting. A bariatric surgeon informed me that many people who get the sleeve tend to revise eventually to the bypass. He did not want me to get the sleeve for that reason, and frankly, I want to have ONE revisional procedure and be DONE with it. I have not been happy with my band at all. It's either too tight or I am not losing much and need an adjustment. And like you, one minute I could eat one thing, the next minute I could not. I also have a lot of stress in my life and that affected my band as well. I am NOT by any means thinking the bypass isn't going to have it's share of complications. But at least I know I will not have to take a half a day of work off every two weeks to adjust my band. It was a LOT more maintenance than I anticipated. But it is what it is. I am thankful I have the option for a revision. I start my Protein shakes Monday and have surgery August 13. Can't wait. Good luck to you and let us know what you end up having done.

My band slipped a couple months ago and I am revising to bypass on August 13. I cannot handle the constant maintenance of the band anymore. I have a feeling I will be so relieved. I should have gone the bypass route the first time around.

UPDATE I was just contacted by my local surgeon who said my insurance has approved a revision to the bypass procedure!! I am tentatively scheduled for surgery on August 13th. I am SO FRICKEN relieved and happy!

Boniluuu, I am not scared of the sleeve. I am scared to have my band removed and gain all my weight back. Each procedure comes with it's own complications and risks but the band has just been too much maintainence and inconvenience for me. I am just tired of vomitting daily and the constant heartburn/reflux. Being bulimic just to be thin is not worth it to me. My insurance has approved a lap band revision, however I am attending an informational meeting Wednesday to learn more about the sleeve and to meet with a surgeon where I live. I hope to submit a request to my insurance and see if they would cover a revision to the sleeve rather than repair the band I have.

For those of you that revised to bypass or the sleeve from the band, what was your BMI at the time of the revision? And did your insurance pay for the revision? I found out Friday that my band has slipped and I will need to decide very soon if I want to fix it, remove it or revise to a different surgery - if that is even a possibility for me. I am at a BMI of 34 now and am wondering if I would qualify for a revision to the bypass or sleeve at this point in the game? For anyone else that has experienced this, I am looking for your input. Thank you.

I just found out today that my band has slipped and I soon will have to make a decision what to do. You say you revised to bypass, did your insurance cover this? Can you provide me some details? I honestly want this thing out of me. I never expected this journey to be easy, but I am tired of vomitting daily and my teeth and body aching. My son told me today he wants it out too because he is tired of seeing sick all the time. Ugh, decisions...

Yes, I have had symptoms. I got a fill about two months ago and thought I was in my green zone as I was losing steadily. I've had good and bad days but lately it has been more bad than good. I've been having to throw up every single day and all day long. My heartburn and acid reflux has been so bad that I would find myself vomitting in my sleep. Or I've needed to sleep sitting up to avoid feeling it in the back of my throat. My teeth and body just aches from what I believe is malnutrition. My hair has been brittle. Ugh. My father was recently diagnosed with Stage 3A Lung Cancer and has been so sick from chemo and battling pneumonia, emphysema and COPD so I've been stressed and worried sick about him that Ive put off seeing my doctor so I could support him. I don't know when my surgery will be. I PRAY that somehow my insurance will cover a different procedure after the complications of this. Time will tell but I am fearful of gaining the weight back. I feel awful that I've failed the band. But I cant change it now I guess. As far as insurance laws, I am not sure if this is true for all carriers but I do know that Medica and BCBS Minnesota no longer cover bariatric surgery. Thanks for your input cocoabean - I hope I will be one of those people that it will work out for. I did not come all this way just to lose the fight.

Ugh! Went to see my doctor this morning and had an upper GI done. Found out my band has slipped. She was going to write my insurance to see if they would cover a revision althought I don't know that is what I want. Why would I want it fixed just to risk this all over again?? To be honest, I don't, I think I want it out of me. It has been nothing but a pain in the @ss to me with constant vomitting, heartburn and inconvenience of constant maintainence. I am waiting to find out what my insurance says although I dont believe it will be in my favor. She said I could consider a different type of procedure but I can't afford that and with the new insurance laws these days, bariatric procedures are no longer covered. Not only that, I don't know that I would qualify for a different procedure now that I have lost what I have. FML.

If I'm being honest, I have asked myself many times why I got the band. I have had it for almost 3 years and have yo-yo'd with it. My biggest problem BY FARRR was the emotional toll it took on me knowing I physically could not eat what I wanted and when I wanted. The times I couldn't handle not eating "freely," I got an unfill just to allow myself to eat more. I should mention that I did have a baby since I've been banded and that was one of the main reasons I had the procedure. At 250, I was unable to get pregnant and my husband and I desperately wanted another child after the death of first son. It has been a year and a half now since giving birth and I am forcing myself to finally DEAL with the fact that I got this band for a reason and it's time I face the emotion grip food had on me. I still have bad days but I am very happy I did have this procedure done rather than dealing with the torture I was putting myself through by overeating and making myself and my life miserable. I am down 50 lbs and my quality of life has not been better. I am more confident and am able to enjoy life now without feeling self-conscious about my weight. That is priceless. Point is, YES I would do it again. Please stick with it, if it gets hard, try and determine what it is you are struggling with and try and face those struggles head on. You will be glad you stuck with it. Best of luck to you.

This thread is just what I needed to read right now. I have been whining on here in the last couple of days after having a .5cc fill and went from tremendous appetite and hunger to not being able to eat 1/2 cup of SOUP BROTH. I have lost 7 pounds in just a few days and I think now I am a tad too tight, but it just amazes how me how I went from wheret I was at before my fill, to this. I have been very discouraged along my journey and it has been very emotionally draining on me. At times I have felt like giving up, but I feel like I am so close finding my green zone and I cannot wait till I am there.

I am experiencing the exact same thing as you right now! Last Friday my doc gave me a .5cc fill, since then I have litterally ONLY been able to drink fluids, and I am lucky to keep even that down. I have been pbing often if I take too big of a drink, so I have only been sipping and cold/warm fluids do not make any difference for me. I too have lost 7 lbs because of it. Yes, its nice to be down that much so quickly, but I cannot live on broths so I am going in tomorrow for a slight unfill.