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I got a band in 2009 for much the same reasons as you are contemplating it. It was reversible, I wasn’t fat enough for serious surgery etc. It helped me achieve my goal weight and maintain it for about 6 years and then I started regaining . There are a lot of things they don’t tell you preband , the reality of living with it is very different to the marketing. You get told if you overeat it will make you sick, you don’t get told that you may get sick on your first mouthful of healthy food because for some reason it didn’t go down right today. You may have taken a small bite, chewed it well and it could be something you have eaten multiple times before but for some reason today it’s not going to work. You wish that being sick actually meant vomiting because that would be over quickly and a lot less painful than being stuck. Being stuck causes pain in the chest, you think you are having a heart attack, you can’t swallow anything, not water and not your own saliva. In extreme cases you end up going to emergency to get an unfill and put on a drip to rehydrate you. They don’t tell you that healthy food is really hard to eat yet high calorie unhealthy food will go down really easily. Be prepared to say goodbye to steak, chops, chicken, corn, lettuce, raw carrot etc all whilst cursing candy, cookies ,ice cream etc. You will never feel full or satisfied like a “ normal” person again. Instead you will feel a horrible pressure in your throat and or chest. You hear about this magical sweet spot. Well that can be as elusive as the holy grail. Not enough fill and you are still really hungry, too much and you can’t swallow your spit. The difference between the 2 can be O.01 ml and for some reason you still can’t get that sweet spot. Be prepared to spend lots of time in restaurant loos instead of chatting with your friends ( see my comment above about getting stuck) Then there is the reflux. Waking up in the middle of the night choking on acid is no fun. In spite of all this I loved my band as it helped me keep the weight off ( until it didn’t). I was horrified when my surgeon told me they have a limited lifespan and that it was unlikely to do what it was designed to do any longer. He suggested a revision to RNY and I was horrified. That seemed way too extreme. I went home and did lots of research. Came back into these boards and other facebook groups and asked lots of questions. I decided to go ahead and my revision to RNY in Jan 2019. What can I say, the difference is like day and night. My RNY does what the band was supposed to do. I can eat small portions of healthy food and feel satisfied. Hello steak, chops, salad etc. When I’m full I feel it like a normal person would, no more horrible pressure in my chest. I can still eat cake, cookies etc but in much smaller quantities as too much sugar makes me feel gross( which is a good thing). I can go out to eat and spend the time chatting to my friends, food doesn’t get stuck and I haven’t vomited since my revision. So with the benefit of hindsight if I had my time over I I would not have a band I would go straight to bypass. If you still feel the band is for you, good luck, do lots of research, be very aware of what you are signing up for. Also start saving so you can fund your revision surgery at some point within the next 15 years.

Very interesting. I think you are the first person I've read who had a RNY to Lap-Band revision. All the ones I've read was the other way around. Also, I didn't know that they were still performing Lap-Band procedures.

why so many revisions if you don't mind me asking?

Imaginegirl, like people have already said, you might have trouble finding a surgeon who still do bands. Also, long term about 50% of people who got the band 10 years ago are having difficulty and getting them removed. There are LOTS of us here who have had to get revisions done. I went with the band those 11 years ago with the same reason you did, I just wish I knew then what I know now, and I'd have gone straight to the bypass and not wasted 10 years fighting with my band. Of course it's your body, but do your homework and be sure the band is really what you want. Either way, good luck!

I am barely 3 months out from revision. Sleeve to rny. 38 pounds down last time I weighed. I still have 20-30 to go in order to reach goal but I am feeling great! My revision was due to hernia and gerd but I was hopeful that I would also lose more weight.

So I’m about 3 months post op from my last surgery- D-Switch and have only lost 20lbs and even that was lost during pre-op diet. The STRUGGLE is real. Anyone else?

good luck finding a surgeon who'll do it. Most refuse to place lapbands any more. Way too many complications, and many people who had them have since revised to sleeve or bypass.

My surgeon will not do bands and neither of my hospitals will do them now. There were just too many complications and the results were not that great. Many resulted in follow up revision surgery. How much weight do you need to lose?

Not sure where you are now on your journey, but I just had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Carlton and I must say that I do not regret it a single bit! I had an RNY in '11 and have had a lot of issues since then. I drove to meet with him, based on a recommendation, and within a few hours, he had me in an OR fixing a stricture I had (he fought to get a place to allow him to do a procedure immediately). This man is down to earth, honest and definitely cares about his patients and their welfare. While he could have touted a revision for me as an immediate option, he wanted to get me some immediate relief and monitor my bypass. It definitely is normal to have reservations and if you had none, I would be concerned. While he helped fix my issue, he gave me something other doctors havent in the past 8 years - a solution that is working. Few days gone, every meal I could drink liquid 30 mins after. Haven't been able to do that since 2010. Highly recommend Dr. Carlton to anyone willing to go down the road on this lifelong journey.

Yes, I had a sleeve to RNY revision on 2/11/20 due to GERD.

I am 23 days post op and on soft foods now per my doc. Ever since surgery, when I eat, my stomach never feels settled or “normal”. I wouldn’t say I’m nauseous, but it’s close to it. I can only eat very little. A few ounces at most so I’m not over eating. I’m waiting 30-1 hour before drinking fluids again. I thought eating soft foods might make my stomach feel “normal” again but it hasn’t. Is this just because my stomach is still healing you think? I force myself to eat because I know I need to, but my stomach feels the same before I eat and after I eat. It’s hard to explain. I can only say that it does not feel like a normal stomach feels if that makes sense🤣 Most people say they feel “normal” after 2-3 weeks. I always feel sickly, but not to the point of throw up. Any advice or similar experiences are greatly appreciated. I see my doc for follow up on Wednesday. Also, I am a revision patient. Lap Band to Sleeve.

I am 23 days post op and on soft foods now per my doc. Ever since surgery, when I eat, my stomach never feels settled or “normal”. I wouldn’t say I’m nauseous, but it’s close to it. I can only eat very little. A few ounces at most so I’m not over eating. I’m waiting 30-1 hour before drinking fluids again. I thought eating soft foods might make my stomach feel “normal” again but it hasn’t. Is this just because my stomach is still healing you think? I force myself to eat because I know I need to, but my stomach feels the same before I eat and after I eat. It’s hard to explain. I can only say that it does not feel like a normal stomach feels if that makes sense🤣 Most people say they feel “normal” after 2-3 weeks. I always feel sickly, but not to the point of throw up. Any advice or similar experiences are greatly appreciated. I see my doc for follow up on Wednesday. Also, I am a revision patient. Lap Band to Sleeve.

The very first time I felt the full impact of my weight loss was when I began to have A LOT more energy for tasks and activities I had long dropped because of fatigue. Walking long distances became pleasurable again and I encouraged others (mostly my thin & lazy teen kids) to join me. I believe it was around 190lbs (down ~60lbs) Next was when my super attractive Surgical PA said he wasn't worried about me or my progress, I was at the proper weight for my frame and I looked *amazing*. I could tell he really meant it by the way he gushed over my results. That was around 160lbs (down 90lbs) Another time, I was waiting in my surgeon's office about to discuss revision (from VSG to RNY to solve a few complications) and a prospective patient kept staring. Hard. He eventually asked me if i was waiting with/for someone and I told him no just my surgeon. I thought he was trying to *pick me up* but in fact he was confused that I needed to see a surgeon & was a WLS patient because i didn't look like it. (I've heard these types of comments several times) Two final events sealed the deal for me: My Bariatric surgeon and I decided revision to RNY was the best course of action for me but he DID NOT want me to lose anymore weight. He was adamant that I was at the right size and was already small enough at 155lbs & 5'3". (The revision went well and I'm maintaining in the 150s as promised.) Finally, I had Plastic surgery. At the Preop workup, I was discussing my plan with the surgeon. I wanted a Mommy Makeover- breast augmentation, Tummy Tuck and Brazilian Butt Lift. I wanted lipo on my back to transfer fat to my buttocks. He informed me that there wasn't much fat to lipo and it was excess skin that needed to be removed (instead I would need skin removal - a back lift and *maybe* after we could lipo my inner thighs for fat grafting.) He manually lifted the skin to prove it. I was shocked because I thought for certain it was excess fat but apparently I have thicker skin in certain areas. ****************************************** I took the long way round just to say that there were many incremental (progress) points that help me view myself differently/adequately and not just one defining Aha! moment. For sure outside validation played it's role and luckily I became receptive to complements instead of misanthropic because of society's new level of interaction with me (nicer, more welcoming) However, I'm unsure if I would have ever believed anyone's comments if I didn't begin to feel & see the change on my own first. Being kind, loving and accepting myself at every single stage of weight loss, instead of just at goal, really helped me. Good Luck ❤

I am 13 months post revision band to bypass and lately nothing seems to taste right. Meat in particular tastes weird. I don’t have an issue eating it, it doesn’t get stuck or make me sick but it tastes and often smells weird. For example the lamb mince we ate tonight tasted very gamey. I used to love pork and would often order it when we went out but the last couple of times that hasn’t tasted right either! At this rate I am going to end up vegetarian which could be a problem as there are a heap of veggies I hate ( the bitter ones) , don’t really like eggs ( I can do the yolks so long as they are runny) and only eat small quantities of cheese. On top of that if I try to turn my hubby veggie he will rebel! I can’t live on yogurt nuts and seeds! Has anyone else been through this and how did you deal with it?

yes - people with GERD should go with bypass. GERD doesn't get worse - or start up - for EVERYONE, but it's a significant enough minority that I didn't want to risk it (I had GERD pre-surgery). I've seen too many people getting revisions because of out-of-control GERD after sleeve. No thanks. and yes - either surgery can throw diabetes into remission, but the percentage is quite a bit higher with bypass.

This makes no sense. If the band was a failure and was causing you problems, why would they deny a revision? Is that a Canadian healthcare thing? I had a slipped lap band removed and a revision to a gastric bypass, and Medicare paid for it without batting an eye! Good luck to you with your endeavors!

I had a revision last January. My weight now is lower than my lowest weight with my band and I achieved it fairly quickly. I started from a lower weight so yes I want losing a huge amount per month but I still got to my goal and beyond pretty quickly

I am scheduled for MGB surgery with Dr. Cazares at Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana on March 28th. This will be a revision from VSG in 2015. I am extremely nervous to say the least. Has anyone used the physician or facility and can provide some better insight. I don't want my nerves to talk me out of this, but want to know I'll be taken care of!

March 10th revision from vbg to rny for me. Best of luck to all!

I am having revision from lapband ( that slipped after 11 years and will be having gastric bypass paid by Medicare on March 26. Looking forward to starting my weight loss journey!

Thanks for the update on revision. I also had a lapband that slipped after 11 years and will be having gastric bypass on March 26 after having my lapband removed last November. Looking forward to restarting my weight loss journey again.

I'm sure you all have heard that when you get a revision that you will have more difficulty losing weight than with the first procedure. I'm here to give you hope! I had an eleven year old lap band slip, so I had it removed and had a RNY done. Today is my three month post-op anniversary, and I am down 40 pounds. More importantly I am only one pound heavier than the lowest weight I ever achieved after my lap band! So trust the process, hang in there and hopefully you will also show the naysayers that it is possible to get good results even after a revision. Please add your stories here to help encourage the people who need a revision and think it'll be a waste...thanks!

I'm interested to know how this goes for you. I also have GERD with the sleeve & it is so much worse than just heartburn. I only had my sleeve done in November, but I'm already wondering if I'll have to do a revision to get rid of these awful symptoms. You're looking great ! I hope your new surgery is a success!

Ok ...sooo interesting! Re-silver swabs ... how I found my surgeon was very prolific participant here on BP, and elsewhere who had multiple surgeries w my surgeon (and eventually soured, but it seems to be a complicated story). But she had wound healing issues in her armpit after an arm lift. He sent her silver swabs, but it seemed to exacerbate the problem. Which I think explains when I told my surgeon I was using silver gauze his initial reaction was negative. Yeah, my surgeon is completely fine with open wounds. Totally f'd with my mind as well! But I googled it, and it seems like even the nastiest wounds heal very well without much intervention, as long as their is no infection. My surgeon says I will mostly likely need some scar revision in a year, but can do that in office under local anesthesia. I'm working on trusting that 😂 Are you sure you can't go in the water? One of the thing my surgeon prescribd is hydro therapy, i.e sitting in my hot tub. I have used my hot tub more in the past month then I have all year. Re: Ambien ... It is amazing! I also usually wake up everyday on my own. For me usually between 5:30 to 7. I also don't set an alarm unless there is something I need to do, like get on a conference call, or catch a flight. I don't take it every night since my insomnia is different. I only take it if I wake up between 1-3 am and can't go back to sleep within a 1/2 hr or so. No hard time waking up at all. What really impressed me about it is one morning I woke up about 3, couldn't go back to sleep, and took an Ambien. I kept emailing while waiting to get sleepy, and east coast peeps started responding, called me, I started earnestly working etc. I was able to work through the sleepiness. I could have slept if things were calm, but I was able to push it aside as needed. It felt so different then narcotics, that give you that grogginess you can't shake. I have a face lift, and potential arm lift planned on 10 yrs or so. But I am seriously considering a butt implant for next December. As hard as this recovery has been at times, I feel like I need the butt implant to complete the hourglass figure I aspire to

I revised from sleeve to rny 3 months ago. I had hernia repair with mesh. So far I am down 42 pounds and very happy about it! Only less than 20 to goal and I have no doubt at all that I will get there.