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I had the sleeve in 2012 and just had the revision to bypass July 27th of this year. I lost 130 lbs on the sleeve. The only problem I had with it was the heartburn. I kept the weight off for 4 years but due to some negative changes in my life all at once I gained all of it back. I have to say I found the sleeve to be a much easier process than the bypass. The sleeve I had no negative reactions to any food. I could eat whatever I wanted but in moderation and the weight came off easily. With the bypass I'm having trouble eating. Certain foods get stuck in my chest which makes me have to throw it up. So far its been a very unpleasant experience but I hope as time goes on it will get better and I'll be able to eat more variety.

Had my daughter at Parkwest in TN. However, I am in the same situation. I originally wanted bypass or DS but Dr pushed for sleeve, now I'm getting DS. Based on having the sleeve the best revision is the DS from my understanding. When is your revision scheduled?

Hey everyone... just checking in. I had my revision to DS Loop on 9/29. It wasn’t nearly as painful as my original VSG with hiatal hernia repair. My abdomen is sore of course but I’m able to walk, shower, bend somewhat... without major pain. I was released 9/30 afternoon. I had to go solo due to Covid but they let my husband stay with me in the lobby and in the next room up until I had to get IVs and be wheeled off. So that was nice. Because after that was anesthesia, surgery and morphine so it wouldn’t have mattered if he were there or not lol. I slept a lot. I’m at home recovering nicely. My tummy does feel a little weird, like something got shifted. But the only pain I feel are the incision marks. I do have a on again off again headache. And the acid reflux is new. I didn’t have this before and I am praying it goes away because it is painful. Acid just comes up sometimes and it burns. My doc said it should subside as the swelling goes down. They didn’t touch my sleeve. So I’m able to drink and gulp and it not hurt my tummy but it does feel weird so I limit it to small sips only. I do have to follow the usual post-op diet but I didn’t have to do the pre-op diet. It was optional for me but I did it anyway so I could lose and I lost about 10 lbs. I’ll try to keep you all updated and respond to any questions. Thanks for your support!

So before I get started, here are my stats... Surgery Date: June 12, 2017 Surgery Type / Cost: VSG - Self Pay (~$19,000) High Weight: 216 Low Weight: 125 Current Weight: 150 Goal Weight: 116 Between relationship stress, COVID stress, and just life I am now up to 150. I need help to get back into the "sleeve" mind set. I REALLY want to avoid revision surgery. Any suggestions? My pouch has definitely stretched. I can eat a lot more than initially after surgery (not like right after obviously, but the first year or 2 after). Help!!

I first looked into weight loss surgery about 15 years ago. Things were different back then; the sleeve was not a common procedure (and not covered by some insurance companies), and the place where I attended an information session was mainly doing gastric bypass as an open procedure. They would only do laparoscopic surgery on patients with lower BMIs, and I wouldn't have qualified. I didn't go through with it because my family talked me out of it. The risks of complications were higher then. I have been lucky enough to have good health for most of my life. I'm in my late 30s and until the past year, I never went to the doctor or took any prescriptions during my adult lifetime. For all those years, I thought it would be crazy to take the risk of having weight loss surgery when I was perfectly healthy. I was afraid I would lose my good health to complications of weight loss surgery. I looked into it every so often, and when I remembered all the restrictions, I couldn't stand the thought of giving up my diet sodas and pizza and ice cream, letting my pouch rule my life, getting sick if I eat the wrong things, and having to take pills every day for the rest of my life. But aging takes a toll and my good health was starting to slip away. I found out from my work physical that I had high blood pressure, and they urged me to see a doctor. When I went to a doctor, I was diagnosed with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. It's gotten increasingly difficult for me to get around, which became a vicious cycle as I became more sedentary and gained even more weight, and the weight gain continued to decrease my mobility. I had a BMI over 60 at my highest weight. I came to the realization that I had a choice: I could keep going the way I was, keep gaining weight and losing mobility, see my health continue to decline, and probably die of a heart attack or stroke before I turned 50. Or I could have weight loss surgery, because I sure as hell wasn't going to be able to lose that kind of weight on my own. All that stuff I couldn't bear to give up for a chance at losing weight started to look a lot smaller compared to the life I was already giving up more and more every day at that weight, not just health-wise, but in my social life and my career as well. I went into it thinking that I wanted the gastric sleeve. It seemed less extreme, less risky than gastric bypass, My surgeon recommended gastric bypass because my BMI was so high. He said that for lower BMI patients, there's not a big difference in outcomes between sleeve and bypass, but for high BMI patients, the difference can be significant. Both are very safe procedures with low complication rates nowadays. So I ended up getting gastric bypass. I've since read a lot more information that has confirmed in my mind that gastric bypass was the right choice for me. I've seen a lot of people get their sleeves revised to bypass because of GERD and/or unsuccessful weight loss, and I don't want to have to get a revision. I had my surgery on July 16, and it went well. I was discharged from the hospital the next afternoon, and I had surprisingly little pain. I didn't need any pain medication, even Tylenol. The first few days were miserable (mainly due to gas pain from the gas pumped into my abdomen during the surgery), but I healed quickly and went back to work in a week and a half. I've stuck to the post-op progression plan very closely, and not gonna lie, the liquid phase is hell, but it went by quickly and it was much easier once I got to purees and soft foods. I haven't had any issues with anything I've eaten so far other than a feeling of food getting stuck sometimes (which isn't pleasant, but it works its way through after a few minutes). I lost 70 pounds before surgery and 40 pounds so far after surgery, for a total of 110 pounds. And now my BMI is about the same as yours, which is kind of depressing. But I have had great improvements in my health, like my blood pressure in the normal range and my latest A1C was 5.2 (down from 8.1 in February). My mobility is improving. I started out wearing size 26-28 and now I'm wearing 20-22. I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting there. I'm not far enough out yet to know how this is going to work out for me in the long run. Obviously, I'm pleased with my results so far, but from what I've read here, the first year is easy. Here are some of the cons that are not so obvious: I haven't told anybody other than medical professionals about my surgery because people can be very judgmental about it. How many people you tell is a very personal choice that can be difficult. It is really stressful to keep this secret and try to hide this surgery that affects my life so very much! (But also stressful to endure judgment from people who are clueless about WLS.) The fear of regain keeps me up at night. I'm doing well now, but I've seen soooo many people lose a ton of weight and gain most or all of it back. I've yo-yo dieted all my life and I would be absolutely devastated if I went through all of this only to gain the weight back. Food is everywhere. I feel like I'm constantly being bombarded with ads for food and restaurants, seeing decadent recipes on social media, and watching other people eat foods I love but can no longer eat. It's rough going to the grocery store and seeing a great sale on something I love only to remember I can't have it. Maybe you get used to it after a while, but right now, I have these sad moments every day where I miss the food I used to eat. Even if you reach your goal weight, you're still not going to have a great body... unless you go through the pain and expense of plastic surgery. It will still be a heck of a lot better than where you started, but not the same as someone the same height and weight who was never obese. I think it's important to go into this with your eyes wide open, understand what the tradeoffs are, and accept the things you will have to give up or deal with for this shot at changing your life. Most people say it's worth it.

No, I didn't have any nausea with my GERD. I vomited acid a few times but I wasn't nauseated beforehand. I don't know if gastric juice minus acid can still cause Barrett's. I think I am an exception in that because I had a myotomy, where my esophagus was widened, the gastric juice can more easily flow up. Many, many people on this board have had revisions to RNY for GERD and I can think of only one other person who still had reflux after surgery, so that makes 2 out of many. The vast majority of people are cured. I know you are worried but Barrett's is no joke. If conventional treatment is not improving your GERD, if I were in your shoes I'd have the RNY. Like I said, I am way better than I was with the sleeve and statistically you would most likely fall in the group of people who are cured.

I had to get iron while in the hospital post op after my RNY revision because I was so anemic. Took about 2 or so hours for the infusion. If you’re super sensitive to smells you might be able to smell the iron through the bag.... or from my IV infiltrating. Not sure which. 🤷‍♀️

Wow. Just reading posts like these help me recognize I never had the promised restriction. I was able to swallow a fistful of pills without any issues weeks post op. I was sleeved 6/2015. I lost 60 lbs in 3 months only because I restricted myself to 800 calories per day. I was hungry but motivated. When my personal life hit a MAJOR bump it all fell apart. Now I’m back up just 15 lbs below my starting weight and worried I’m diabetic (awaiting test results). I’m starting to think a revision to RNY might be a good idea but with a different surgeon!

Both! Sleeve in 2011, developed GERD, revised to bypass this past June.

Did you have the lap band before revisions? Did you gain any weight before you got the sleeve after 2.5 yrs? I didn't make it to my goal of 135 but that was because I didn't exercise while I was losing the 108 lb. loss. I wasn't unhappy with the weight I lost. Just am having problems with food getting stuck and coming back up. Not all the time just 2 or 3 times a week. But it would start to choke me and I couldn't get a breath. The last time I thought I was going to die. I broke my back 3 times and lost 13 lbs. Not a way to lose the weight. I have stayed down around my loss weight and now under it. I don't want to gain back any of the weight I have lost and have kept off for 13 yrs.

Removed and revised? or just removed?........... my revision was 2.5 years after the removal. Down 53#

Im from VA but in WA. Had my sleeve in 2015, and insurance approved revision to DS. I didn't have to do the 6 months etc., because of reflux and other comorbidities. My dr suggested the DS because of the success rate as a revision. Plus I saw how the bypass did my mom, my surgery is scheduled 10/22

October 22 - DS- i had the sleeve in2015, this is a revision

I've had two surgeries--a sleeve, and then a revision to RNY because I developed GERD after my sleeve. Nine years ago, I lost 100 lbs with the sleeve from a starting BMI of 36 and kept it off, so that was a big big plus. I don't recall much pain after the first two days or so, and my recovery was uneventful. The cons were that my sleeve was very picky about the foods it would tolerate. I could not eat scrambled or hard-boiled eggs. I could not eat dense protein like tuna, salmon, or chicken breast. I could not eat pasta, bread, or bready things because they balled up inside my stomach, absorbed stomach fluid, and then hurt. I lived on seafood, steak, dairy products, and vegetables. I did not dump. I developed GERD a couple of years after my surgery but I loved my sleeve so much I did not want to consider a bypass, but after a year on 3x the regular prescribed dosage of PPIs plus OTC antacids that still did not control my reflux and regurgitating everything I swallowed multiple times I decided on RNY. I had my RNY on June 29 of this year, and maybe because I'm ten years older than when I had my sleeve my recovery was a little bit harder and more painful. I definitely felt like my insides had been rearranged. RNY is way different from the sleeve to me. I don't have that tight feeling anymore that I have eaten enough so I have to measure my food, but I am used to eating a small amount so it's not a big deal. I can eat eggs and pasta again. I don't dump, but I became lactose-intolerant. I lost 10 additional pounds following the RNY surgery when I was on a liquid/puree diet, but I haven't lost anymore and my BMI has leveled off at 20.

Deep Incisions tend feel like this for me too. Congratulations on a successful Revision ♥️

Be careful with bread after bypass is what I have heard. I have eaten a half cheeseburger with the bun and had no issues since my revision to bypass.

Hi there! Fingers crossed for you that your referral goes smoothly and you can have a good meeting with your doctor about bariatric surgery options. I've had two bariatric procedures. The first was in 2011 when I got Lapbanded. At that time, the only real options for me were Lapband or Bypass as insurance carriers in my area viewed Sleeve Gastrectomy as "too new" (never really got that as it was part of Duodenal Switch, but also my insurance didn't cover that outside of extreme circumstances). I chose Lapband because frankly, RNY scared the hell out of me, despite the fact that my Mom underwent it and was and remains wildly successful with it. I was younger and the thought of rerouting everything was too much for me, plus I'd seen my mom go through dumping and that also freaked me out. So I went with what felt like a good choice for me. And it was good until it wasn't. I did lose weight! Until it started coming back. And then my band slipped and I apparently developed a minor hiatal hernia from it that I likely lived with for a long while without knowing it was there. When I found out about it as part of my revision process, it suddenly made all of the regurgitation I'd suffered from for years make sense. The Lapband is really the best option for people who are in the 30-35 BMI scale and need that extra help to get closer to what is considered healthy. It is rare that Lapband weight loss is equivalent to that of RNY, VSG, or DS. The Lapband requires a lot of upkeep because it's effectiveness is based on how filled the band is. So you will have a lot of appointments in the first year or two where your doctor adds more saline to the band to give greater restriction...takes some out to lessen the restriction...then adds more...removes some. It's all a game of finding the elusive "sweet spot" where the band is filled the right amount to allow for continued and consistent weight loss. It is fairly common for a Lapband to slip, which present all kinds of difficulties. When it slips, it is no longer in the position is it supposed to be. Thus your pouch ends up no longer being the right size. It can also lead to hernias when it slips. Slippage CAN be fixed, but you're looking at another laparoscopic procedure so that they can put it back to the right position. Which requires removing all of the fluid from the band, doing the procedure, and essentially starting at square one again. That said, it is STILL a useful weight loss tool for those that it is appropriate for and who achieve success with it. There are plenty of Lapband success stories! In July, I had revision surgery to remove my Lapband and to have a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy done instead. I am older than I was in 2011 and realized that making major adjustments to my insides was not actually a horrible thing in light of dealing with bad knees, a bad back, sleep apnea, CPAP dependence, and the risk of onset of any number of other comorbidities that I have been fortunate to avoid. I'm only 12 weeks out as of today, so I don't have the breadth of post-op experience that others here have when it comes to VSG, but I can't say that I regret the decision. I have continued to lose weight since surgery, adding to my pre-surgery weight loss. None of my clothes fit me anymore, yet I am still wearing them because I can't see the point of shopping for new clothes when I am still losing weight. Seems like a waste of money to do that! The cons for VSG? Strangely, I'm not encountering too many yet. I actually found I was in more pain post-op from my Lapband surgery than I was recovering from VSG. Any of the others cons I've experienced are not exclusive to VSG surgery. Almost every bariatric patient complains about dealing with constipation at some point. Discomfort from eating too much in the immediate post-op phase as I learn my body's signals and how to read them to know when to stop? We all go through that too. The biggest con that I can think of is that if I'd chosen RNY over VSG, my post-op weight loss would likely have been quicker, so I might have been down another 10-20 pounds by now, though that is not guaranteed. It is just very likely as RNY statistically has a greater percentage for weight lost than VSG. As for what you've heard about bariatric surgery patients only being able to eat small portions, that is generally true across the board. That is one of the key features of ANY of the weight loss surgeries. It's a GOOD thing, though. Many people get to the point where they consider these surgeries because of eating too much. It's an unfortunate aspect of how many world cultures have evolved when it comes to food. The US is probably the worst about it. Think about when you go out to eat at a restaurant, especially a chain restaurant. You open the menu and you get a list of appetizers in your face to tempt you. So we order an appetizer or two. Then we order our entree which comes to the table is a massive sized portion that is, realistically, enough food for at least 2 people. Yet we're trained to believe that this is an appropriate portion of food. Let alone the fact that it's frequently overloaded with carbs and fat. So between appetizers and your entree, you've probably eaten 3 meals worth in one sitting. On top of everything else you ate that day. So by getting a surgery that provides you with a tool that limits how much you can eat at a given time, you're able to retrain your body and brain to realize exactly what and how much the human body needs to survive and thrive. A good bariatric team will be there to help you change your relationship with food so that every meal and snack you eat during the day, provides you with the good nutrients that the body needs, while limiting the intake of the "bad" ones that the body still needs, but only in the quantities that it needs. Carbs and fats are not actually bad. The body needs them to survive. It just doesn't need them in the quantities that we frequently take in. It is NOT an easy journey, but it is a deeply rewarding and fulfilling one that will, quite literally, change your life. Welcome aboard and I look forward to seeing your journey and offering support every step of the way!

My sleeve was 12/17/2019. My RNY revision was 8/11/2020 due to severe GERD and hiatal hernia that caused intractable hiccups. Seeing as I was only about 8 months out from my original surgery, I’m still losing weight.

I regret having sleeve as my first surgery. I woke up with severe GERD that never went away. I just had revision to bypass and am so happy I went through with it!

I revised primarily for severe GERD, though there was also a lack of weight loss due to maladaptive eating to avoid GERD symptoms. I woke up from sleeve with severe GERD that never really went away. I woke up from bypass with zero GERD and have not had any symptoms since surgery on 9/18.

Theres a revision forum that you can try asking in might have people over there that can help

Me! I only lost about 30 lbs with sleeve and gained half of it back due to maladaptive eating to avoid the symptoms of severe GERD. I just had revision to bypass on the 18th and am down 20 lbs from the start of my liquid diet 10 days prior to surgery. My doc said he expects me to lose about 60-65% of my excess weight, so a little less than I’d bypass was my first surgery.

Same! 280, then sleeved 2012! 5 years later gained 50lbs now I saw my surgeon n he said the revision will get me back down but I’m reading others say they didn’t lose after or just 20. How are you doing

I had my RNY revision for severe GERD (was causing intractable hiccups) on 8/11 and eat a pretty normal diet now. My portion sizes are definitely small but my sleeve was made into a pouch so I expected that. Very early on I did dump on some weird things though- whey protein blends that aren’t 100% isolate or collagen (not sure of plant-based ones), a couple broth based soups can’t remember which ones, and jimmy dean egg white scramble cups which has made me leery of trying real eggs. All the pain I had post-op is pretty much resolved aside from some random shoulder pain if I skip meals. (Surgeon was super confused! 🤷‍♀️) As to the alcohol, I don’t drink so no clue what that’s like or when would be ok.

I had my revision for GERD on 6/29 with a BMI of 22. I did not have much pain and resumed walking (starting at a half-mile) as soon as I got home. I walk about 3 miles a day at a quick pace and I'll go back to the gym when it's safe. I never had any problems drinking or eating while in the hospital and my surgeon said that I could have whatever I could swallow, so I did a couple of days of shakes and then moved to purees for a week, then regular food. I lost ten pounds during the liquid/puree days. I became lactose-intolerant, which was a surprise, but I can eat fat and sugar without dumping. I can eat scrambled eggs again, too, my sleeve hated them. I have not had any alcohol, I'm not much of a drinker. I think you'll be fine by Thanksgiving.