Search the Community

I hope you don’t leave this forum forever. I’m right there with you. I was revised to RNY from a lap band and my idea of “restriction” left with my band. I don’t feel “restriction” now. And many people who haven’t had a revision don’t understand what a shock the change can be. My cue now is more like “uff, I don’t want to eat anymore”. Not a “full” feeling, not a restriction as I knew it. I’m afraid of eating too much too. I follow my program, like you do, and feel like I could keep eating no problem. The only thing that I think has helped me is using a food scale and measuring the food, then eating only that. Even after measuring I don’t feel full, but I’m also not hungry because of the surgery, so I know eating more would be to satiate head hunger. Please don’t be discouraged. Keep reaching out for help and resources.

Hi there, I was also looking at having my sleeve revised to switch, I have GERD and gained a little weight back since my sleeve surgery. But I could only find Mayo Clinic to do a revision, and they will only revise to bypass. Are you having it done for gerd as well? I also have sleep apnea real bad , I want to get away from cpap but need to lose more weight. was your process difficult? Or was Alina willing to work with you? thank you

March 3 for me! Just stared the 1 week liquid diet. I had the lap band in as well and am revising to gastric bypass. My doctors program requires a 7 day liquid diet consisting of 4 serving of protein (shakes, creamed soups, and milk as well as unlimited water, sf jello, sf popsicles and broths. Good luck!!!

Just found this post! I'm from MN too. Which revision are you looking into? I'm going through Allina Health. Dr. Jayson Dock will be revising my sleeve into the duodenal switch

Hi everyone, New here. Looking for a safe space to ask questions regarding revision. A little back story... I had the VSG in May of 2019. I only lost 60lbs and regained 20 of them. My goal was to lose 150. I'm waiting for a surgery date for the duodenal switch. I guess I am asking for advice and experience from those who had revision from sleeve to DS. How was your weight loss after? Pros and cons? Anything that you struggle with? Thanks in advance, I greatly appreciate it!!!

Hello all! I had gastric sleeve back in 2013. The weight slowly started to creep back on. Then, due to a number of circumstances, it ALL came back. For years I was having terrible heartburn/reflux, so my insurance paid for me to have revision surgery to gastric bypass. I had the surgery 6 weeks ago (Jan 11th). I have never felt any restriction at all! At first I though it was because it was all liquids or mushy food. But for the last 2 weeks I've been eating chicken, crab meat, hamburgers (no bun), etc., and have not had anything that didn't agree with me. I can eat way more than what my list calls for, too. I only stop because I'm not hungry, or I'm tired of chewing. I'm so sad about this. I'm worried that I'm going to fail again. I know I have to be accountable to myself, but if I was good at that I wouldn't have needed surgery... I just had such high hopes that with this tool I would get it right this time.

I couldn't get the revision surgery fast enough! I had reflux since 2010, and had the sleeve done in 2014. Never knew that sleeve surgery can actually make GERD worse. After exhausting every medical option, sleeping in a recliner and constantly coughing from the acid erosion of my throat, I went back to my original surgeon who gave me the LINX or bypass options. I didn't go with LINX because it's only been around for 10 years and bypass (gastrojejunostomy for insurance purposes) is considered the "gold standard" for chronic GERD. After GERD was confirmed by testing (including BRAVO), I had the bypass on 10/29/20. Have not had any reflux since surgery. I struggled through the first 3-4 weeks post op, and I am a "dumper", but I feel great. I've lost 41 pounds since surgery, I'm now in the normal BMI range, dropped from a size 16 to size 10 and have more energy than I did before surgery. I think some of the energy is also because I can finally sleep at night like a normal person: no waking up with a hand/mouth full of stomach acid! I did lots of internet research, including articles in medical journals, and the gastrojejunostomy made the most sense for me. And the weight loss is definitely a bonus!

I am a dumper and I cant vomit. I dump on carbs, dairy, and sugar or combos of the 3. No biscuit and gravy, no cereal, no ice cream. Things I dont need to eat anyway. I am a violent dumper too !!! It can go on for hours and its like having the worst stomach flu for me, but nothing will come back up. AWFUL. Overeating does the same thing. Guess that is why I dont have problems with trying to keep my weight down like I did with VSG. I have a friend who is not a dumper and can eat good size portions and has had a good amount of weight gain. Be careful this is NOT a restrictive surgery for revisions. She said she waited 2 years to try no no foods and since she doesnt dump she eating like before surgery. Good luck

I will be revising from Lap Band to Bypass soon. I am PETRIFIED of dumping! I have partial dentures and the last thing I need is to puke them into the toilet! Also, I LOVE chocolate and ice cream and would love to eat a mouthful occasionally after maybe 6 months post-op. Also I'd like to know if you have a problem with any fried foods? The only thing I eat now that is fried is an occasional flounder filet. Please tell me at how many months post-op did you re-introduced sugar and fried and what happened. Was the reaction immediately after eating them or delayed? I'm hoping I will be able to tolerate them down the path.... I am also concerned about becoming lactose intolerant...

I had lap band in 2009, it slipped in 2017, and I had it revised to bypass December 2020. I lost 16 pounds in two weeks then nothing for over a month. I worry that our bodies already got used to the lower calorie intake from when we were banded. I also think that is why I gained so much when my band slipped because I was eating “normal” amounts of food, but my body had been set at band amounts for a decade! I’ve finally started losing slowly again in the last week. I too got discouraged reading people’s posts about their significant and quick weight loss, I was starting to feel like a failure. But we each have our own journey and I wish you all the best on yours.

Me. I can relate to slow weight loss with the sleeve and for many of the same reasons you've stated. I had a lap band in 2005. Did great, but was miserable and later found out that my band had slipped. I had it taken out in 2009 and did pretty well maintaining my weight until I had some major life changes and did some stress eating. Gained all of my weight back over the course of 2 years. Had a sleeve done in 2018 and my weight loss was slow but steady. I'm still not at goal, but I'm happy and feeling good. COVID lockdown has totally stalled me and maybe added a few, but my tool is still there and when I'm ready, I'm confident I'll get back on track. Stay the course. Follow your plan. It will work. (side note: it is my understanding that revisions typically lose slow. Something to do with the impact on our metabolism. Sort of a "been there-done that" mentality.) Good luck!

I am 9 months post revision to RNY. Things are good and I like the RNY much better then I did the first several months. I am weighing in at 156 this morning. It is much easier for me to maintain this weight then it was for me to stay under 170 with VSG. CRAZY but its true !! I just keep waiting for the ball to drop like what is the catch? I also wonder if there is a honeymoon phase with a revision ?

That is curious, and beyond my limited experience! I suppose that is can be strictly an esophageal problem, though as I noted, I have only seen such things as they related to other root causes. No, I haven't had such a revision, though it was suggested at one time for another issue, but I have avoided having to go that route (with the help of some second opinions that basically said to leave well enough alone for now.) I do have minor GERD, which is readily treated with low level OTC meds, so there is nothing worth fixing at this point on that account. The sleeve is predisposed to GERD by virtue that the stomach volume is reduced a lot more than its acid producing potential, but the body usually adapts to that over a few months, and most surgeons prescribe a PPI for the initial few months and then wean off of them. (Similarlly, the RNY is predisposed to dumping, reactive hypoglycemia and marginal ulcers, so there is no free lunch in that regard, no matter what procedure one goes with - there is always some risk there.) I would prefer to keep the sleeve as long as it cooperates, as the RNY is a little bit fussier to live with, but it's not the end of the world, either, and certainly preferable to what you are going through; my wife has a DS which is a bit fussier still, so I'm familiar with all that entails if I need to go there. The surgeon who has adopted our local support group does quite a few oddball and esoteric revisions (like the complex RNY to DS), people come from across the country to see him, and he sometimes pulls up scans on his laptop of one of the wonky sleeves that has come his way, so we get some feel of what can be done, that other surgeons pass on. That's why I brought up the stricture idea (beyond your regurgitation sounding like that might be it,) because that is something that many surgeons prefer to revise away rather than correct. I does seem like you are heavily restricted, much more so than normal for a normal sleeve, or RNY. 500 calories isn't so bad - it's not that unusual for people with any of these WLS to still be down there, though more commonly somewhat higher in the 6-800 calorie range; it's the water intake that I would be concerned with as dehydration will get one thrown into the hospital a lot faster than low protein or other nutrients in the short to intermediate term. The vast majority of people go through this, an RNY, or VSG, or a DS, with little or no complications, but sometimes they crop up; hopefully, you have had your share of them now and that's it. In some respects, the RNY is a more familiar procedure for the surgeons,, even if they don't do as many of them as sleeves, as it has been around in bariatrics for 40-50 years, so most started out with them; the basic procedure upon which it is based has been around for some 140 years in treating gastric cancer and other GI maladies, so it is familiar territory for most; the VSG on the other hand, had more limited application until it was created/adopted for WLS as part of the original BPD/DS, so it was not as widely used until the DS guys started using it some by itself (usually as part of a two stage DS) and saw that it offered good weight loss all on its own, so I wouldn't worry too much about your surgeon's experience with it, as that was the default WLS in Canada until fairly recently.

Thanks Rick! I too, also thought it was a stricture. I was convinced. But nope, on my barium swallow it showed my sleeve looking like a nice fat little sausage. The surgeon is who said it must be GERD-related, as the barium swallowed showed me regurgitating the barium. When I don't take the PPI, I get heartburn AND regurgitation - but if I take the PPI I only get regurgitation. He said something about "refractory GERD". I wish my province offered the DS. I'm in Alberta, they don't cover it and the surgeon isn't trained in it (I asked). He's actually the most experienced sleeve surgeon in the province (Which is why I'm a bit worried about doing RNY with him, hah. He IS experienced in both, but there are more experienced RNY surgeons in terms of total numbers of procedures completed, but to switch surgeons at this point would put me back months). Did you have a revision from sleeve to RNY? I guess part of my worries is that I'm playing with fire and possibly creating more problems. OR, that I will lose all the restriction my sleeve affords me (colloquially, I have seen RNY patients post food photos and they can eat more at 1 month post-op than I can eat now at 4 months post-op). I want to get pregnant, so the surgeon said that I need to do RNY so that I'm able to eat enough food to sustain a pregnancy. It's a bit of a mind trip. Surgeon ordered an esophageal manometry test and an endoscope. Manometry is next week, still waiting on scope booking.

It sounds like you may have a stricture in your sleeve (makes it hour glass shaped) - did he mention anything like that, as that would show in the barium swallow test? The drugs that you are taking wouldn't help that as they are just to treat the acid overproduction (the pantoprazole and Dexilant) and the resulting insult to the tissue (the sucrafate). From what I have seen over the years (not an MD, just an interested bystander) the problems with the esophagus are likely a result of the stomach problem (assuming that it is a stricture - I have seen such things sited as a result of lap band damage resulting in such symptoms) Strictures of such severity (if indeed that is what it is) were more common several years ago when the sleeve was new and most US bariatric surgeons were just learning how to do them. The stomach, when sleeved, tends to like to bend or twist in the middle if you don't do it just right - it takes practice. These days, I see it discussed more commonly in countries, like Canada and Australia, that were slower to adopt the sleeve, so as a result, their surgeons, as a group, are at about the same place in the learning curve as the US surgeons were 6-10 years ago. Usually, it is treated by a bypass revision as the surgeon won't know how to repair it (if it can be done.) Often, it can be repaired, or resleeved, to correct the problem, But that needs a surgeon who is much more experienced with the sleeve, so if it is possible in your system to get a second opinion on it (particularly from someone more sleeve savvy) that would be the way to go, if for no other reason than to get concurrence with your surgeon's solution (or hopefully, an alternative approach.) Ideally, you would like to find someone who is experienced with the duodenal switch WLS, as that uses the sleeve as its' basis and those surgeons tend to be much more experienced with them than the average bariatric surgeon, but they tend to be few and far between. The only one that I know of in CA is Michel Gagner, who IIRC works out of Montreal. Likely, the RNY revision is the standard of care within the Canadian system (and much of the US as well,) for this type of problem/ Good luck,

Has anyone had an "early" revision? I see most sleeve to RNY's happen at 2+years out from sleeve. I had no GERD at all before I got sleeve on October 15/20. I literally felt the acid as soon as I woke up in recovery. My program has us switch to soft foods at 2 weeks post-op. As soon as I switched from liquid to softs, I felt food rise in my esophagus after eating (regurgitation, but not full on puking - it rises, and then goes down again). At 1 month post-op, surgeon did a barium swallow and noted that I was regurgitating the barium and also that my esophagus was showing dysmotility and tertiary contractions. I've been on 60mg Pantoprazole 2X daily - then switched to 60mg Dexilant 2X daily, in combo with 1g of Sulcrate 4X daily now. I don't feel these meds help the regurgitation at all. I experience regurgitation (the acid reflux movement feeling up and down in my esophagus) after eating solid food. Almost every single food I try. Because of this, I eat very little. Also, I have to wait around 90 minutes after eating to try to drink water, or else the regurgitation is worse. Because of this, I also struggle to get in more then 30oz of water a day. There is a fine balance between food and water for me, and if I go too much on one - the other one suffers. My dietician says she wants me at 1200 calories (seems really high, I'm in Canada and I notice they do things differently here), and at least 64oz of water. I'm at max 500 calories and 30oz water. My low food intake and water intake is now causing me to have internal hemorrhoids and now I bleed every time I have a bowel movement (which to be honest, is once every 4-5 days. It's not often). I've lost over 130lbs and I'm just over 4 months post-op. My surgeon says I need the revision to RNY and wants to do it at around the 6-month mark (so April 2021), but I have not heard of anyone getting a revision this early due to GERD. Has anyone here got a revision from sleeve to RNY due to GERD, less than 1 year out from sleeve? How did it work out for you?

Also a fellow Aussie here from Nsw. I had the sleeve in 2017 but due to GERD and weight regain have had revision to bypass in dec 2020. I have zero regrets about my decision to have the revision, and since December have lost 20kg. (40kg from highest weight in 2017) All the best for your journey !

Hi all-been a long time since I've been on this board. I had my sleeve with Dr. Aceves in 2011 (?). Time has passed and I'm looking for a sleeve revision and DS. I searched Dr. Wilhelmy but couldn't find anything recent. Anyone been to him lately? I really loved my previous experience and decided to stick with them but would love to hear from anyone.

Hi, I’m having revision from sleeve to Bypass schedule for March 20th. @NewMe3 when they filed the insurance claim did it ready gastric bypass?

I had the sleeve early 2017. Due to GERD and weight regain I also had revision surgery to gastric bypass. My bypass revision was in dec 2020 and since then I’m down 20kg. (44 pounds) so very happy with my revision. Wishing you All the best!

Hello, I'm a newbie. I completed four months of the required weight management for my insurance to approve the surgery. I am scheduled for surgery in early April. I had the EGD a few weeks ago for my surgeon to look to see if there are any issues in my esophagus or stomach before surgery. I had already mentioned to him that one month prior, I had started burping and was worried that I was developing acid reflux. Since that was the only symptom, he said it could be anything and that his practice is to fix any hernias that they see during the same WLS to help prevent acid reflux later. He said that if I have acid reflux, he would be able to see it during the EGD. So, I did the EGD and he said he saw a small hiatus hernia. He said for me not to worry that he would fix it during the sleeve surgery and that will prevent acid reflux. I had asked him should I choose the bypass versus the sleeve due to the possible acid reflux. He said that since he is going to fix the hernia, I can still go with the sleeve if that is my preference. My question is to those who had a sleeve surgery and the hiatus hernia fixed at the time of the sleeve surgery, did that indeed prevent acid reflux for you? I really dont want to have a sleeve surgery now and end up with bad reflux and then need to do a revision. I was very direct with the surgeon about not wanting to have a revision later. Thanks!

not many surgeons will place lapbands anymore - too many people have had complications with them years after surgery and had to revise to sleeve or bypass. So I agree revising to something else is a better option for you.

I had my sleeve done Dec 2015 and am scheduled to have a bypass revision in. So 2021 my sleeve failed me as well I am nervous excited how about you