Search the Community

I am pre-op for my sleeve so take my advice for what it is! I had the lap band about 10 years ago, and realize now I was not ready for the band when I had it placed. I am also a over eater and realized through several years of therapy that I actually had BED (Binge Eating Disorder). Once I started to get help for that, everything else fell into line. I am no longer gaining weight but instead am maintaining my weight (I also feel prepared for my sleeve!). Something to think about, as food is a complex and complicated issue for most of us. If you constantly feel like you are beating your head against a wall, sometimes it is time for some outside help to give you some coping skills. I first started with overeaters anonymous, and then went on to counseling sessions.

Get it diagnosed if your surgery is stretched. I am hearing it can be from the procedure performed wrong, complications or overeating. If it’s overeating, get counseling so you don’t stretch a second surgery. (I'm hoping @JamesL73 is opening a revision thread. I would like to understand more about this topic) I'm five years out. My situation may be different than yours. I had weight gain in my third year and worked it back off. Did your Dr's let you know that you would feel less restriction as you progress out from sleeve surgery? This is a common experience. Mine is not back to full size but it is larger. Just because I have extra stomach compacity does not mean I have to eat over my weight loss/maintenance calories/macros. Some things that help me satisfy the extra room: I eat dense protein and foods allowed on my plan. I eat as much veggies until the sensation of full. (ditch shakes, bars and soft foods. They won’t keep you full years out) I eat five to six small meals. It helps to keep my blood sugars level. I log to make sure I’m staying within my calories/macros Keep healthy sweet and salty options on hand to satisfy cravings. Once you add extra carbs and sugar you crave them more and they cause hunger. Detox off them. know you will feel crappy for a while. It will pass. The main killer of weight loss is grazing. Eating several small meals healthy and unhealthy options that total over your daily calories and macros. When you eat small meals, you don’t feel any surgery restriction. The sensation as if you never had surgery. You will gain weight.

Ultimately. Choose the type of surgery you want. Research take your Drs suggestion into consideration. Ask your insurance what types of surgery they cover. Have your friend go to an information seminar. I know what the statistics say on each surgery. There are no absolute stats/results with any type of bariatric procedure. Some of lose slow and others lose fast. Sex, age, hormones, complications, medical issues, medications, genetics are factors on the rate you lose and how much you lose. The only part of Weight loss surgery that is in our control is how you work your plan. We are all more than the statistics. I guess you can say I don’t fit the statistics/norm of a sleeve procedure. I lost fast. starting 254 to 140 in six months. I had no complications. I bounced back from surgery quickly. Five years out I maintain in the 130’s. Most people that are maintaining and doing well don’t stay on this site. Not many vets hang around. I’m not sure if people are getting a balanced look at WLS outcomes. Revisions are done on all types of surgery for many reasons. I’m hoping to see an official revision thread. I would like to know why we are seeing so many revisions. I’m now talking to people that have had three surgeries. For me absolutely no regret.

I did not read most of the replies, but I previously had a band in 2010. I chose it because it was “least invasive”, or so I thought. I lost allllllllllll of my weigh with it beautifully, followed all the rules etc. After two back to back deaths I couldn’t eat anything & was put on liquids a week. Following that, I began throwing up from eating + ultimately ended with a slip. It was VERY hard finding a revision surgeon. Even my original surgeon (a top bariatric surgeon in ATL) no longer performs the band surgery. I finally found a surgeon I loved, but he also refused and equated it to “ walking around with an iPhone 3 in 2019 when technology has surpassed it”. All of my fave 7 banders, besides 2 , have also said goodbye to the band. I, for one, LOVED my band and am in no way trying to discourage anyone. I am simply speaking my truth and sharing the opinions of other surgeons. I believe that complications and advances in medicine may contribute to the decline in banders..... I successfully revised to the MGB.

I spaced out the procedures. Breast bum tummy and outer thighs then arms next inner thighs. Time off work will be close to 9 weeks I saved - set aside bonuses and tax refunds... not ruling out some face work but let me get years past the inner thigh lift. It has such a high complication rate it is frightening. Best to you.

Glad to hear it! I didn't have any pain, problems or complications either. It's a life changer!

This is the questions that I need to present to the surgeon and see what they say! Questions to the Surgeons What does the surgery procedure look like? Can you take a picture saying good bye to my old stochmache? How long is the hospital resort stay? How long do I have to be out of work? What is the success rate for a bypass surgery? What is the Pre op like and Post op like? I been working with a GI nutritionist and can I still work with her after the surgery? I am still with my psych and will be working with her as well. What is the cost for this surgery, even if I met my Out of Pocket max? What does the scar looks like and will I am able to still donate my kidney next year? How much pain will I be in after the surgery? How much weight will I lose and how fast? Will this surgery help with my gastropresis? What will eating be like after the surgery? Will I be throwing up with blood again? What can I do before surgery to lower the complication rate? How often to see the doctor after the surgery in the first year? What type of anesthesia they will be using on me? (TELL THEM ABOUT THE WAKING UP PART!!!) How can I prepare myself for the surgery? Emotionally and physically Why should I close you then another surgeon at another facility? Do you love you job and how long have you been here in Houston, TX? What kind of exercise can I do and what about the extra skin that I am going to have? What type of vitamins will I need to have? What about hair loss? What kind of complications that I can expect in the surgery? I have a NO BLOOD TRANSFUSION policy, will this hurt my changes of the surgery? Do I need to have my gallbladders remove for this surgery as well? I know I have a lot of allergy to stuff but I do break out so please read the allergy alert in MyChart! When can I donate my kidney to my friend who is in need after my surgery? Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

In 2015, I was at my highest weight ever of 420 pounds. I had high BP, High Cholesterol, Acid Reflux, Sleep Apnea, and had just been told I was diabetic with a BS of 7.5. I didn't have insurance so I searched around and finally found Dr Dirk Rodriguez in Dallas, TX who would do my VSG for 10,000 cash. I had my VSG on 6/23/2015. After a few weeks recovery, I began walking then fast paced walking, I introduced intermittent jogging, then jogging with intermittent sprints, inclines, stairs. I started bicycling. I got to where I was jogging/running 5 miles a day and cycling another 5-10 miles a day, every day. I was going to a gym and doing some strength training, hitting the rowing machine, doing some kickboxing classes, etc. A little over a year later, I was down to my GW of 190 pounds. Every single one of those comorbidities....GONE!! No more medicines!! I swore that I would never regain that weight, I felt better than I had my entire life. But then reality set in, you see, that whole year that I was doing this extreme cardio and other exercising, I was living off of my savings, not working, so I had all the free time in the world to focus fully on losing the weight. But, then I had to get back to work, my savings was pretty much gone. I am a career crane operator, over 20 years, it's all I know and it pays very well. It is also a very sedentary job, just sitting in a crane all day for 12- 14 hours, 7 days a week. Needless to say, it gets boring. I began to snack (graze) throughout the day. I mostly still eat healthy, just too much, that coupled with the fact that I have no time for all of the intense exercise I was doing....I have regained about half of what I lost. I am now back up to 320 pounds. So, since I have no intentions, at 45 years old, of trying to change careers, I have decided to try a revision to the Mini Gastric Bypass. I am hoping that the restriction of the sleeve, coupled with the malabsorption of the bypass, as long as I keep eating healthy, even if it's a bit too much, it will even things out. I know that I need to work on the grazing habits. I also know that I need to try and make some time somehow to get in some kind of exercise, even if only 15 minutes a day. I am scheduled for my revision on June 15, 2019, almost exactly 4 years since my VSG. I will be going to Mexico this time simply because it is so much cheaper, but also because I know the standard of care down there, especially at Bariatricpal MX, is just as good, if not better, than most in the US. Also because the Mini Gastric Bypass is very common there, but not so much in the US. I will be using the very well known and highly recommended, Dr Jalil Illan. I can only hope that I will have as much success this second time as the first. I do consider my VSG a success, I just don't think it was the right procedure for my specific circumstances. Hopefully, with the MGB, I will be able to lose the weight again and keep it off long term this time. For anyone considering weight loss surgery....If fear is holding you back, find a way to get past it. It truly is a great tool. But it is just that, a TOOL, it is not a miracle cure for obesity, you must put in the work, make lifestyle changes, dietary changes, a lot of times it means social changes. A lot of people can be negative or become jealous because you are getting healthy and better looking and they are not. I say this, if those people are unwilling to support you in your efforts to do whatever it takes to be a healthier you, then they are not worthy of being in your life. I know that is a harsh reality but in the end, you need to do this for YOU. It is your life, not theirs. You are the one suffering from Obesity and all the myriad of illnesses and complications that come with it. Do you want to be able to play with your kids, your grandkids? To see them grow up? To see yourself live longer, healthier, happier? To be able to do all the things you have been dreaming of your whole life? Do you want to finally, truly LIVE?? Then do it. Don't let anyone stop you, don't let fear stop you, don't let insurance stop you. Definitely don't let YOU stop you. Get up! Take back your life! Fight for it! Good Luck. YOU'VE GOT THIS.

Thank you....With the RNY, there are two suture junctions (anastomosis) which is how they form the "Y". With the MGB, there is only one anastomosis. In an MGB done as an original surgery, they would leave the duodenum attached to the remaining stomach that is left after creating the sleeve, this would allow for the stomach acids to still flow down the intestine and meet the food further down. The newly created sleeve gets attached approximately 7 feet further down on the intestine. This MGB procedure couples the restriction of the sleeve with the malabsorption of bypassing the duodenum and most of the jejunum. This procedure is far less complicated for the surgeon, there are less complications health wise for the patient like bile and acid reflux that can be very common in both the sleeve and RNY. It is less time under sedation, as well as less recovery time, from what I have read. Now, the question I have yet to have answered from anyone is how this procedure differs in those of us who have already been sleeved and no longer have that remaining stomach attached to the duodenum, and therefore, no stomach acids flowing down to aid in digestion. If/when I find out, I will try to remember to update this. I should add that, even though the MGB seems to be the far better choice over RNY, it is still fairly new and not yet approved by the FDA or the ASMBA (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) so there is most likely no US insurance that will cover it and also very few US surgeons who will perform it. It has become the preferred procedure of surgeons in Mexico and other countries that don't have all the strict bureaucratic BS to deal with.

I was extremely lucky the slimband gastric band did not cause any complications....removal and gastric bypass done on May 8 and so far so good[emoji3] Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

Some stretch, or growth or adaptation is to be expected - we don't stay at eating only 3 tablespoons forever. This doc gives a good idea of the progression of meal volume that can be expected, and is consistent with my experience - You may or may not get along with his prescription for countering this effect, but it is a viable one. In short, we need to learn to accommodate some increase in eating volume without allowing the calories to get out of hand - taking up that added volume with high bulk, low calorie veg is a good way to do it. As to which procedure to go for a revision, the first thing I would want to know is whether the stretch that your doc sees is unusual - sleeves done by docs early in the learning curve of doing sleeves (and 2012 is consistent with that for many surgeons) may have undue stretch if it wasn't formed well to begin with. Sometimes excess fundus (the stretchy part of the stomach that is largely removed with the VSG) is left behind at the top or bottom of the stomach, or other shaping issues may lead to the problem. If the sleeve is nominally well done, there is probably little to gain be resleeving it - you will lose some at the outset from low capacity due to surgical inflammation and the very restricted diet that we have early on, but overall you shouldn't expect great things from it. Likewise, a bypass is similar in its overall power to the sleeve, but does have some temporary caloric malabsorption that can help get a little extra weight off, but doesn't do any better when it comes to resisting regain; in some patients it is worse in that regard due to reactive hypoglycemia inducing more inter meal hunger. Overall, when I think in terms of revisions, I see a procedure that is more complicated than the original virgin WLS, and usually less effective overall (think in terms of your stomach originally having a capacity of 32-64 oz, and now a few years post op it may have a capacity around 6 oz, so there is less difference to play with. Being more complicated both in implementation and in the reason for doing it in the first place, I like to get a second, or even third, opinion on the matter - different surgeons have different experiences and perspectives on these things. There is also the aspect that while doing a virgin sleeve is a fairly straightforward procedure, and most surgeons are now fairly well up the learning curve in doing them, repairing or revising a faulty sleeve is another matter, so I would look to a surgeon who has done lots of them. In NJ, I would suggest Dr. David Greenbaum as a good guy to consult with. A final thought - what is the capacity of your sleeve now? How much chicken or steak (and nothing else) can you comfortably eat? We usually remain fairly restricted on firm meats for a long time, but can eat an almost unlimited amount of "sliders" - things that just slide on through with limited restriction, which are frequently also pretty junky.

Have jumped through all the insurance hoops, My surgery date is 6-12-2019 pending insurance approval, don't see any issues with approval since this is a revision due to complications of the lap band. Looking forward to finally feeling better and losing weight. My lap band has a slip and rather than fix it, my surgeon recommended a revision to the sleeve. Lost 50 lbs with the lap band, but slowly gained back most of my weight that I lost, although I did keep the 50lbs off for over 10 years. Looking forward to finally dropping this weight and keeping it off. Any pointers or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Amen, sister! I pray every day for God to let me to continue to lose weight and be healthy and I thank him for getting me through surgery with no complications.

I had VSG surgery on 3/18/19 had one week of smooth sailing and then all hell broke loose had every complication you can think of. I was subsequently converted to a bypass of 4/11/2019 and I am grateful that I have had no issues at all other then I still am having issues meeting my protein goals. The good news is i have lost 53 pounds and I am probably only another 30 from goal weight.

I had sleeve 10/2013, lost 60lbs, gained it back, had some reflux but not terrible. Was revised to rny 2/12/19, SW 230, CW 190, no complications, no food intolerances that I know of (haven’t had any sugar, pasta, bread or rice). So far so good.

Hi! I'm 52 and had ROUNY in March. My starting weight on surgery day was 235. I'm 210 right now. My doc says that due to my age and that I'm a sleeve revision, I will most likely lose slower than average. Yay me...lOL. The surgery was perfect and I was back at work in 4 days. Mo complications so far.

Let’s talk weight gain if you are researching. This thread is not to discourage you. Many people lose weight, have no complications and keep weight off long term. It’s a good idea to understand weight regain and reasons for revisions. Information is power. The work does not end after goal. This may help you get in a mindset that this is lifelong work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7zBjwtL51M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKBfkTqcwVo

@Panda333 Positive WLS stories https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/423992-what-you-had-no-surgery-complications/?tab=comments#comment-4758950

@Panda333 I’m a sleeve five years out maintaining in the 130’s. I am type one diabetic. My surgeon suggested the sleeve because there are times, I need to eat sugar to raise my blood sugars. WIth the sleeve, my intestines are not altered, I don’t have dumping syndrome with sugar. I am now well controlled and hardly use insulin. I want people that are researching weight loss surgery to know, many of us have had no complications and have maintained years out. Weight gain or need for a revision does not happen to all of us. Do your research, trust your surgeon’s advice do what’s best for you. Any type of bariatric surgery may need a revision due to complications, surgery not performed correctly, eating to the point of stretching your surgery (big debate on this issue) Grazing/eating around your surgery, eating disorders, or simply not following your surgeons plan. Only my opinion: For some, the sleeve is the wrong choice for them. Things I wish people knew about the sleeve. Your sleeve restriction will become less over time. you can hold more food. (it’s not back to full size) Long term success will be diet and behavior change. Just because you have more space does not mean you have to eat over your calories and macros to gain weight. If your surgeon has diagnosed that you stretched your surgery. Get counseling before a revision to make sure you don’t stretch a second surgery. Your intestines are not altered with the sleeve. Most of us can tolerate sugar without dumping. If sugar is an issue for you, investigate surgeries that give you dumping syndrome. You will feel real and head hunger at times (true with any surgery type) Hunger is more manageable after surgery. age 45 day of surgery 2014 - age 50 2019

hello, I was self pay revision from lapband to bypass. My BMI was around 32 (up from 25 when my lapband was unfilled 6 months earlier). The Dr (not my original lapband surgeon) who helped me when I had the complication and required a complete unfill would only take the band out and revise in two stages. I wanted to find a Dr to do it in one stage. So the surgeon I ultimately chose did make me do the psych eval (which was very easy). Also for me personally (because I mentioned my binge eating problems) insisted I also start seeing an eating disorder counselor. Also saw the nutritionist one time and had an ekg and bloodwork. During the appt I thought I wanted a sleeve, but because the damage the band caused to my esophagus he recommended bypass. At first I thought no way, but after thinking it through (and getting a third opinion!) I decided to do the bypass. My initial visit was March 11 and scheduled for surgery April 26 (but due to my conflict it was moved to May 1). Hope this helps Stella

I chose the sleeve because I didn't want to mess with the rearranging of the intestines in RNYGB. The research I read said that the complication rate was lower. Friends that just went ahead with bypass asked me why not just get the 'gold standard' since its reversible and some sleeve patients have to convert to bypass anyway. The way I figured it, I had a less than 5% chance of needing a revision to RNY from GERD. Then if I was that 5% and needed bypass then I would have a 20% chance of any complications from RNY. I didn't want to jump to that 20% complication risk right from the get go. I didn't care that the sleeve wasn't reversible - why would I want to reverse it? Some people need to have their bypasses reversed because of malnutrition, but because the sleeve isn't malabsorptive the risk of losing TOO much isn't nearly such a problem. There are a lot of surgeries that aren't reversible and no surgery has zero risks involved. Both surgeries are a TOOL. And your long term success is determined by how you use it when making a lifestyle change in eating habits. Those friends that had their "gold standard" surgery? They follow an everything in moderation diet and some are still working to get to their goal weight. I've eliminated a majority of sweets, breads, rice, potatoes, fried foods from my diet. I've reached my goal and have lost an additional 14 pounds beyond it.

I was pretty sure I wanted bypass then when I met with my psychiatrist and therapist, they both suggested the sleeve instead, saying it was "less radical" although it seems to me it's "more radical" because it permanently cuts out part of your stomach, but I listened to them and did the sleeve. No regrets. No complications, No problems.

Why on earth is it concerning for you to be home alone? We are not declared incompetent in need of guardianship in the post-op period. If you were independent before surgery, you should be independent after surgery unless you suffered crippling complications.

Hello All!!! It's so nice to see all your stories, success and struggles. Thanks for giving us all a voice of a different perspective. I'm here to gain some inspiration as I'm currently banded since 2010 had great success but as of late a long and painful digression having gained almost half the weight I originally lost from complications. The band is failing me due to reflux and trouble swallowing food but insurance denied removal so we're in peer to peer review to appeal it. Maybe they would cover a revision instead but we'll have to see. Not sure how I feel about not having the band but it's not serving it's purpose anymore. Should I go the distance alone or opt for another surgery? Decisions......

My surgery took 6 hours. Lots of complications with the hernias. I ended up with a collapsed lung and surgical emphysema (crackling skin chest neck face). Had a chest tube to allow space for my lung to reinflate, it worked. Had a rough first few days. Made it work. Lots of swelling and almost a week post op. One day at a time. It is improving. Tylenol is my friend.