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I had the total band revision done on Tuesday! I had to stay over night and have been home since Wednesday late morning. This surgery has not been so bad! I have already started my mushies! It is good to eat a little. My Realize band was totally defected and by that I mean that it had again detached itself from the tubing. I am going to have a fill on Wednesday already, trying to get me back on track with the weight loss. I am a bit nervous with the bad experience I have had in the past with the fills not working, but I am hopeful. I had gained 7 pounds from the IV fluids and I have also now lost the same 7 pounds. So if you get on the scale after surgery please do not be surprised by the gain it will just come off fast. Having now been through this surgery two full times and one port revision, I have to say this third time was very easy. Maybe because I knew what was coming next! I also just heard from another LB friend that she also just had her entire band replaced this last week due to leakage. I am not sure what brand of band she has! This is very interesting. I have been told by a lawyer that we have no recourse as long as we are healthy and it has not changed any of our normal life. This was all due to some court case that happened in 1974. It is the chance that we are taking by having a device implanted in our tummy's I guess. oh well, I am thankful to be alive and healthy! Three Cheers to Our LAP BANDS!!!! They do work well with loosing weight even though we may have to go through little glitches! :thumbup:

I can not believe that is has been two weeks since I last Blogged! Time goes fast when your have RESTRICTION! Yep! I have it! I went to see Dr. Feiz on 7/29, a week po and I was a wee bit nervous to say the least because I knew that I was going to have a fill! Everything went perfectly! It was such a great feeling to know that my band was working! I now know that I have an 11cc band and it is filled to 7cc now. I can eat pretty much everything that I allow myself to eat! I can feel the restriction but No BPing! Some times a wee bit nausea but it goes away really fast. I find all of this to be great since I really never had it before!!!!! The very very best part......I am down another 6 pounds making it now a total of 53 pounds! 12 more pounds and Onderland there I will be and over half way to my goal! Dr. Feiz would have given me another fill this last week but I opted out. He was really trying to get me to a goal that I had of wanting to be down to 199 by next weekend when we are going to Monterey for a Big Car Show weekend, BUT, when I get back I will go in and get another fill. Technically that will be my fourth fill then hopefully I will have found the "Sweet Spot". God this band is wonderful! A side note to anyone out there who is having faulty Band problems....I am checking into having the Ethicon or Realize people be responsible for all my medical bills since the Port revision. I believe they have already made a deal with the hospital for this last surgery but I am going to try for the port revision also. So far the second surgery is totally 3500.00 more out of pocket! My DH is not happy! If anyone needs updates on that part of my journey please email me and I will be happy to let you know what is happening! Life is so Very Very Good!

I can not believe that is has been two weeks since I last Blogged! Time goes fast when your have RESTRICTION! Yep! I have it! I went to see Dr. Feiz on 7/29, a week po and I was a wee bit nervous to say the least because I knew that I was going to have a fill! Everything went perfectly! It was such a great feeling to know that my band was working! I now know that I have an 11cc band and it is filled to 7cc now. I can eat pretty much everything that I allow myself to eat! I can feel the restriction but No BPing! Some times a wee bit nausea but it goes away really fast. I find all of this to be great since I really never had it before!!!!! The very very best part......I am down another 6 pounds making it now a total of 53 pounds! 12 more pounds and Onderland there I will be and over half way to my goal! Dr. Feiz would have given me another fill this last week but I opted out. He was really trying to get me to a goal that I had of wanting to be down to 199 by next weekend when we are going to Monterey for a Big Car Show weekend, BUT, when I get back I will go in and get another fill. Technically that will be my fourth fill then hopefully I will have found the "Sweet Spot". God this band is wonderful! A side note to anyone out there who is having faulty Band problems....I am checking into having the Ethicon or Realize people be responsible for all my medical bills since the Port revision. I believe they have already made a deal with the hospital for this last surgery but I am going to try for the port revision also. So far the second surgery is totally 3500.00 more out of pocket! My DH is not happy! If anyone needs updates on that part of my journey please email me and I will be happy to let you know what is happening! Life is so Very Very Good!

My revision from sleeve to bypass is on June 9th, my question is , is it easier to get out of bed or recliner? Recliner seems like it would pul on stomach to get in and out of. Please let me know your experience. Thank you

So here I am, today makes 3 months exactly post op and I am down 42 lbs. I am finally in Onederland. I am so amazed at how easy this journey has been in comparison to the Lap Band that I had placed in 2006. I am so happy that I went through the revision surgery 3 months ago. The sleeve is everything that the band was promised to be and more. Thank God I have not had one complication and I feel fantastic. As of now I have no regrets and I feel healthier than I have felt in years. I want to send out a special thanks to my surgeon Dr. Aceves for changing my life.

Oh man tig, so sorry to hear that...but you've got a great attitude, it's a good thing that you found out now and then you'll get good restriction. I wish I remembered what it's called, not sure if it's barium or fluro or something else, but anyway, they can inject something into your port and then look at it on a scan and it will show up where the leak is. I'd certainly ask about that as there was someone here recently (self-pay) that paid for a port revision only to find out it was a defective band. I've also heard of docs putting a blue die into the saline so when they draw it back out they know they're in the port and not just pulling fluid from your tissues...doesn't sound like that would help though if he's not getting anything out of the port at all. Well, at least it sounds like a short easy procedure. Good luck next week and keep us posted! -BG

Sorry forgot to add the link to the book....http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Weight-Loss-Surgery-Revised-ebook/dp/B006GO6F9O

Revision and self pay people that have used Dr. Castro can you tell me about the way he does his band to sleeve revisions? Does he remove the band and do the sleeve at the same time? Is the surgery done lapproscopic? What kind and how long of a preOp diet? I'm self pay...anyone self pay that can tell me how fast the process took since we don't have to just through insurance hoops? Also..which pre testing does he require. I am looking into make an appt. with him but I want to ask before I waste my time and money if some of his qualifying isn't quite what I can afford. Thanks to all and good luck in your journey.

I had my surgery on 12/17 and my doc wants me to return on 1/15 I had a revision from the band to rny maybe that's why.

Mandy, My story is very much like yours. Here is a post i made almost 2 years ago now. Please stay with it. Kelley and Walter Lindstrom are so helpful. I am 21 months post surgery now and slightly below my goal weight. Search for my posts to see my frustrations while going through the approval process. I picked this one as it made me very happy Posted August 4, 2011 - 3:10 PM Congratulations to everyone that was approved. I have Aetna and was denied. the denial was upheld in the first and second level appeal by Aetna. It was so stressful. The final appeal is an independent external review process. This is where the decision goes out to an independent doctor not associated with the insurance company who will decide based upon the information provided if the patient meets the standards published by NIH and other medical groups. Mine did and the decision by Aetna was overturned. The entire process took almost 10 months and was SO stressful. All of my appeals were done with the help of http://www.obesitylaw.com It cost me nothing and Kelley is the BEST !! She called me 2 days before I was going to Disney to tell me the good news. She even offered to give me passes to Disneyland that they use to take out the employees in the office each year. Unfortunately I was going to Disney World in FL so I couldn't use the passes. She was so nice I decided I would tell everyone who was having issues with approval about them. They provide an awesome service to people who could really use help. I believe her husband Walter had both Gastric bypass and a Lapband revision later on. Good Luck to anyone having to deal with Aetna. 1st Lap band seminar: 12/14/2009 Highest weight: 253 Pre-op diet starting weight: 247 Banded: 12/28/2010 : 236 1st fill: 2/8/11 (4.5cc) 2nd fill: 3/15/11 (7cc total) 3rd fill: 4/25/11 (8cc total) 4th fill: 9/30/11 (8.5cc total) 18 months post-op: 175

Hi Everyone! I've been reading one of the posts about complications and then went to the "complication" forum and of course that gets your mind racing. I am having the bad to sleeve revision surgery in about 14 days (I know my band is not eroded, because I just had all the rests last month at a hospital here in the states) but the stories are scary. Does anyone have a "complication" story to share with the rest of us??? Clots, leaks, etc.???? Thanks!

Gigi you are right. Mis you are not there yet so you probably don't realise it but there seems to be a point where it is difficult if not impossible to achieve the correct balance between having enough Fluid for restriction but not enough to cause reflux. It seems that most of the long term bandsters have had or are having an issue with this - Lellow, Jachut, myself and quite a lot of others ( I can't remember all the user names). I developed some reflux at the beginning of the year (out of the blue), ended up having a partial unfill and have since been refilled. I now feel literally no restriction except on rare occasions. I can easily eat things that previously I couldn't and I am struggling with hunger. Yes some of it may be in my head but the waking up hungry part certainly isn't.I am going back to my Dr at the end of the month and am hoping i will be able to get an effective fill but I will have to wait and see. The worst part is that 3 years ago when I was first banded there were a number of people that were talking about this issue.Quite a few of them were choosing to revise to the sleeve because of it ( I am not sure how that helps because as far as I am aware most sleevers have to routinely take an acid reducer).Obviously as a newly banded person I didn't want to hear about possible future problems. I'm not sure what the solution is, hopefully they come up with something.

as some of y'all know I live in New Orleans and right now it's Mardi Gras season for the first time in a long time I really had fun in my tube top with no bra and tight tummy even dancing to the different bands. I finally feel good about my body and even feel a bit sexy :wub: . now I know the scar isn't perfect on the tummy and Im going to have a scar revision after im a year post-op if it doesn't improve.

Well here I am, losing weight and seeing this port starting to stick out. Well, went in on 10/26/09 for a Port Revision. All went well. Went home and dealt with the pain as I didn't take the pain meds that were given to me. ( The same one gave me a bad reaction for the lap band surgery) So I just dealt with it for a few days, then worked out of the house for the remainder of the week. On 11/2/09, I went i to the Doc for a post op visit and found that I was down to 5 cc. Lost 1.45 cc due to the revision. I had a 1.3 fill and couldn't even drink water. The NP removed .3 cc and I felt better. HOWEVER< when I got to the office and had soup......my trouble began.....I was sliming soup just after 3 oz.....Same for dinner. Had chicken broth and after 3 oz I was sliming. Caled the Doc's office and am scheduled for an unfill this afternoon. Probably .5cc -.7 cc. Need to find that sweet spot again. I need to maintain now. Lost 114 lbs. Down to 223 which is where I wanted to be. I think what happened ( just guessing) was the new port is alot smaller so to fill me up to my old restriction would really require less volume to give me the same effect. In other words with a smaller port, 5.5cc would get me to the sweet spot. We shall see...........

Has anyone had revision? I'm considering it. What's the process like. I'm 2 years out almost in August.

Wow your ports are so high! Mine is about three inches left of my navel. Previously, if I did a really intense ab workout, I would get a little sore. They found a leak and I had to have a revision on 12/9/08. The doctor moved it slightly but it is still roughly in the same place. I will see if it makes a difference.

I was able to eat popcorn before I had my fill. I have not tried since I got my first fill last week. My doc doesn't advise it because the kernals could get stuck he said. I will listen to him. I already had to do a port revision, and I do not want another surgery.

So my drs. office has TONS of support groups, classes, phone-chat, etc. It is one of the reasons that I picked him. However, right before I was having surgery, I was told that all the support groups were undergoing a radical overhaul, and to 'stay tuned'. So in one of my post-nutrition classes I met a lady. She and I were the only two in the classes so we got chatty and friendly and exchanged email addys. She had the RNY procedure a few days before I had the VSG. I got an email from her yesterday saying "there is a support group tonight, let's go!" And even though I couldn't find it on my calendar from the surgeon's office, I decided 'what the heck' and went. I got there, sat down and then realized....this support group is for lap band people. Whoopsie! But the group was facilitated by my NUT and I do really like her and they didn't ask us to leave or anything. So there was probably 10 people total there and my friend and I were the only non-lap banders. So this is how the breakdown of the room went: * 2 people - Super-happy with the band (and less than 4 months out...one lady had lost 40lbs in 4 months...not too shabby) * 2 people - Completely unfilled due to issues (one lady was headed to the ER after class she was in SO MUCH PAIN...I really worried about her...poor thing she was over 1 year out) * 1 person - Happy with her loss, but unhappy because she could never eat for 10 days after a fill, she was banded in June and spends more than a week after a fill being sick and having to survive on liquids) * 1 person - Didn't say much, but was very obese (not sure when banded) and said she was struggling but didn't elaborate. * 1 person - Was pre-surgery and trying to get a feel for things during post-op life, etc. * 1 person - Struggling with 'getting back on track' just having issues in general. And then there was me (VSG) and my friend (RNY) and I felt SO BAD for the bandsters. They had all sorts of questions about why I choose VSG, and some of them called it "radical" etc. SO there I was saying 'um I didn't get the band because I can't stand to throw up, plus I don't view the band as a long-term solution' ...I wasn't expecting all the questions. I ended it by saying that those were having trouble could consider revising to the VSG. It was all very eye-opening. And every single bandster who had thrown up was blaming THEMSELVES! Truly. "I did it to myself, I ate too fast, too much, too big of a bite, etc." Wow. So I'm glad I went but next time will go by the schedule. Interestingly enough, they don't have a stand-alone sleeve support group...we are lumped into the RNY category. Oh well, it will be interesting to hear all of their stories too. I did ask pre-surgery for them to make a sleeve support group since they are in the process of restructuring, etc. Oh and the reason I put 'real' in quotes is because I truly consider this to be my TRUE support group...love this board!

Ok im back from the revision, it all went good and im back to work. I asked my Doc why it flipped and he is saying that the type of band i got (realize) tends to flip. So he went in and said THAT THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH INTERNAL SCARING TO HOLD IT IN POSITION oops caps. So he placed gauze inside to promote scaring and installed a new port w/ a small fill I barely feel any restriction which sucks. So here i am sore and bruised.

I feel bad for you, to have had to have the revision really sucks! I got the mesh (or whatever you called it) in the first place to give it a good base to scar to to prevent the flip (I have Allergan) so I hope that works. I always wonder if I have a complication like that do I have to pay because I self-payed the first time! Anyway I hope you feel better soon, its a bump in the road (a long road of life I guess) but you are doing great!!

Good luck! I had LapBand three years ago and loved loved loved my Magic Bullet - for WLS it is a godsend. I am looking forward to getting an MD's perspective on the Sleeve as a patient. I am having revision surgery on July 1st - my doctor wants to remove the band and I'm waiting on insurance approval for Sleeve. Looking forward to your posts and getting to know you... Leslie

Hey, long time no talk. I cannot decide what I want to do! I am not getting anywhere on my own. I am pretty much where I started when I first got the surgery the first time. It's just making me more depressed. I am trying and trying to lose it all on my own, but not having that restriction of feeling full I don't know when to stop. I never feel full like I did when I had the band. I was actually able to lose weight when I had the band, looking back, it really was helping me. It sucks that my infection i recieved when I had revision surgery made me lose my band I am SO scared to get it again because what if this time my body can't handle it and I die? :/ I'm so scared that what happened back in april where I had to get the revision surgery and get my band removed due to the abscess and then having high fever and high heart rate because of it. Being stuck in a hospital for a week with drain tubes and a feeding tube, what if that happened again? That was such a traumatic event So scared. I feel like I should do it tho. I am not getting anywhere with what I am doing now. The only way I lost like 10 pounds in October was because I wasn't really eating and you have to eat to lose weight. People are trying to back me out of it too. Why can't they just support me in what I think is best for me? The people that back me out of it are already skinny people and they seem to not understand that some people just can't lose it on their own. I am one of them. Decisions, decisions. *sigh*

Hey All... I'm Jacee and this is my story. I am 23, female and living in Australia. In 2008 I underwent Lapband surgery and went from (127kgs) 275lbs to (70kgs) 150lbs. I was initially very successful and I loved my band. In early 2010 I started suffering for undiagnosed gallstones, which meant that in turn my Lapband had to be loosened from unrelentless vomiting. My gallbladder was removed in December 2010 and by then I'd gained back (20kgs) 45lbs. In early 2011 I suffered from a Lapband slip and my surgeon recommended I undergo RNY Bypass. At first it was a very daunting decision that I wasn't ready to make, but within a month I changed my mind. My codependency to food had returned due to a constant feeling of hunger and an urge to eat after being so severely restricted for 3yrs. Our health system in Australia is very different to the US. We do have public health provided by our tax dollars, but it is a VERY LONG wait for elective surgery. When I was 20 and got my Lapband I didn't have private health, so I had 2 options - wait on the public waiting list - 3-5yrs or pay for outright. So I took the second option and $12,000 later I had a Lapband. When my Lapband slipped in 2011 I didn't have private health cover available to cover the RNY bypass, and my surgeon told me without private health he could only put me on his public wait list for revised surgery. It's been 10months wait now and I go in for surgery in under 4 weeks. I currently weigh close to 140kgs which is over 300lbs. My BMI is 49, nearly 50. The last 10months of my life have been devastating emotionally and physically. I have felt and lived success, but here I am now, bigger than I've ever been, ready to start all over. I'm literally terrified, but at the same time, I am extremely eager to get my "restriction" back. To feel healthy, happy and confident again. I'd love for my husband to know thin me, to feel beautiful for him. I also want him to know that in the next few years I'm going to be healthy enough to give him the family he so eagerly desires. I can't wait to fit into my AU size 12 - US size 8 - clothes again that are piled in boxes in my cupboard. I have so much to strive towards because I've been there, I've felt success, and now I want in more than ever. I wish you all luck and plenty of love on your journeys, I'd love to hear other stories. My surgery is in Brisbane Australia on the 25th of May 2012. All the best, Jacee

My BMI is 57, the last time I was weighed I tipped the scale at 409, and I'm 5'11". I decided to do the sleeve after doing lots of research. I have talked with several people who have lost over 200 lbs with just the sleeve. I have talked to those who had the bypass revision after being sleeved. I made the personal choice to go with the sleeve because I fear some of the effects of the bypass. If I need to do it in the future, it will still be a possibility, but I would like to try without the need of rerouting my gastric system.

After 8 years with a moderately successful lapband I am revising to RNY Monday morning. I've been painfully aware of my port for months now and can't wait to have it removed. I am praying that no lasting damage has been done and all goes smoothly. I know many are in my situation so I will update my progress next week - wish me luck!