Search the Community

I had my revision Feb 25, 2014 and I've lost 47 lbs in those 7 weeks. Feeling great!

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/77969-sleeve-revision-to-gastric-bypass-tomorrow/page__fromsearch__1

I have been struggling to stay on track recently. Some of my clothes are fitting better, but I could not "see" any difference. Photo below are 15 weeks apart. Starting weight 228, surgery weight 219 (Jan 8, 2020), current weight 189. Goal weight?. I had a revision to RNY in Jan 2020. Previously banded in August 2008. Lost 60 lbs, gained 30 before revision. Sent from my SM-G981U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have been denied coverage from BCBS insurance company for requesting lapband to bypass revision. Because they can find nothing wrong with my band, they won’t do the surgery. Even though the band is okay, I’m not. It has caused esophageal dilation and dysmotility. I lost weight with the band but I was vomiting a lot at night. Id wake up from a dead sleep vomiting out of my nose and mouth at least three nights a week. Very scary due to possibly getting that into my lungs. Has anyone else filed an appeal that was accepted by insurance?

Cowgirl, what did you do to have a port revision? How did you push yourself too hard?

I eat salads, fresh fruits and veggies EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! I know that fruits are high sugar, but I love them so I eat them anyway. Alot has happened in the last decade regarding post surgery eating. I have had very detailed follow up, but I picked a practice that does that since I think that is one reason I didn't do super well with the band (among other causes!) I think you should ask the surgeon, but I had a very conservative "refeeding" program. I was on liquids and mushies longer then most becasue i was a revision and with that scar tissue, there is a higher risk of leaks - so they have you be extra careful. Here was my timeline - every surgeon is different, but I wold be suspicious if you don't have something similiar. Surgery day was 12/12/12 12/12-12/13 - Clear Liquids only 12/14-12/27 Protein liquids added (Protein drinks, strained Soup - no particles at all allowed) 12/28-1/3 Add pureed food (small curd cottage cheese, applesauce, refried Beans thinned with broth etc etc) 1/4-1/17 Mecanical soft, mushy food (must be soft enough you can smash with your tongue - add more Soups, well cooked veggies, groupd meants, flaked white fish, soft cheeses, etc) 1/18 restrictions lifted, but proceeded slowly on adding foods, as tolerated I had a very low appetite for several more months, so ate pretty limited but of course I had alot of weight to lose so it worked out great! I detest protein drinks - but honestly, for that first 6-8 weeks post op, I think you will really need them. Protein helps you heal and you will NOT be able to eat much those early times post op. I was quite restricted in food quantity for the first 2-3 months post op and you will likely lose too much weight if you don't find something liquid (and later soft foods) to supplement you.

Success with weight loss is dependent on getting the upper hand with your relationship with food. There is a psychology behind eating patterns which have taken WLS patients into the realm of obesity. Though I am not a physician, I do feel that you would benefit to see a nutritionist to devise a healthier eating plan. As a psychology professional, I can say that the other part to your equation is to reign in on your choices of food, and accept that we must adjust our beliefs about food. We must revise our thinking to "eat to live" rather than "live to eat" if we want long term success with weight loss and maintenance. I have found it useful to use sipping Water or other no calorie drinks and distraction to keep my thoughts away from feelings of hunger. And I also use "self talk" and ask myself prior to eating anything which I know I should not have, do I really want this, or would I prefer to continue to move towards my weight loss goal? The band is around your stomach, not your mind. You have an incredibly self empowering tool to use for weight loss... Best wishes....

My ins co paid for what was supposed to be revision and ended up bein a removal and then approved the replacement of either band or sleeve and I was almost at goal weight. The argument is that it took the band to get you to your weight nd you would still need the band for maintenance. Now they may have approved mine because I think we all new surgeon 1st surgeon screwed up. My stomach was adhesed to my spleen which I believe was an inexperienced surgeon touching something w instruments he shouldn't. If they don't approve I would definitely appeal w or without an atty. but because it's a complication of first surf they usually will ok it.

i have the adjustable lapband that has slipped so i need to have it removed. i'm currently at my goal weight too and choosing to have the revision to the sleeve. i've heard too many horror stories where people have gained all their weight back after their band removal and i REFUSE to let that happen!! like you, i have a hard time maintaining my weight and fluctuate between 120 and 130... when i should be 145. thats when i looked the healthiest. i am worried about the post-op diet that needs to be followed the 1st month after surgery. i'm guessing i'll lose 15-20 pounds which isn't going to look healthy on me but will hopefully gain it back i can start eating solid foods again.

I was a revision so I had a bit of a different mindset. I spent a long time debating both, whether I deserved another chance at WLS, and also if I could even be successful after failing once before. But I do think that going back and forth is fairly common. Even when we know we need to do something to save our lives, I would question the sanity of the person that didn't at least give a 2nd thought to removing 85% of a major organ! Now, I would never look back and couldn't be happier, but I certainly spent plenty of time questioning my decision too, just in different ways!

I am revising to bypass. I ha e already had my band removed 3 months ago and scheduled for bypass 11/30. I sending you PM

I've slipped again--it's the second time. Going in for revision Thursday. I don't want it removed, I want him to fix it or put in a bigger band. Ugh!

Thanks for your concerns -- there is a good possibility that counseling may help me. I do take Paxil for depression, and feel like it does a good job; however, I don't know why I "lose control" sometimes, in the food aspect of life. My portions are very well controlled, but I make bad choices. I am trying really hard to eat Protein first just because I know that's the hardest for me to get in and I am exercising for 1 hour 2 days a week. I need to drink more Water. Basically, I know what I need to do, I just don't do it, and the frustrating thing is I don't know WHY I don't do the right things. BTW, my surgeon called and said he would do a revision from the band to the bypass on me. He wants me to start with the psych eval again, and I think that's a great idea. I go to see the psychologist next week. Keep me in your thoughts - I appreciate the concern. Stephanie

In 2012 I paid for my lap band out of pocket 13,000 and it was outpatient and 2 weeks ago I paid for a revision to a sleeve out of my pocket as well. My insurance doesn't cover WLS or any complications of it. While it's frustrating to have to pay, I know the money I will save on weight related medical issues will make up for it in the long run. My total for the revision was around 15,000 in the Salt Lake area. That included a 4 day stay in the hospital.

Hi and congrats on taking the steps to a healthier and better you. The sleeve is a wonderful and I absolutely love life post-op. As for your questions, I'll answer honestly and openly as I can. 1) I am a smoker. Smoking inhibits healing, and can cause ulcers. Not only that, it increases your risk of a leak due to hindering healing of the staple line. My surgeon knew my smoking status, but I didn't quit pre-op. Could it have contributed to the fact that I did have a leak, yes, but the biggest issue in my recovery and leak issues was because I had a band first that destroyed my stomach tissue. Smoking also complicates anesthesia recovery. Your abdomen is sore, causes more coughing and I had to use a spirometer to help prevent pneumonia. That really sucked because coughing caused major discomfort. I have quit twice since surgery, and am now trying to quit again. I actually went on Wellbutrin to help with the withdraws of nicotine as the patch, gum and cold turkey make life with me pure hell. 2) I had a huge panel of labs, a chest xray, psych eval, and consult with a nutritionist. Some surgeons require an upper gi and sleep study. 3) I didn't have a drain initially. A lot of surgeons use drains to make sure there is no leak, and some pull it before discharge, some require it stay in for about a week. I only had drains due to the leak repair surgery, and they stayed in for over 2 weeks. 4) I was not catheterized for my revision. I urinated before surgery, and was dry when I came out. 5) hair loss can happen to anyone that goes through surgery. It's a pretty normal occurrence. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. It's a combination of anesthesia, surgical stress, and rapid weight loss. I lost hair for about 3 months, and I lost half of my hair. Luckily, I had super thick, coarse hair and no one that didn't know me before never guessed that I had lost all of my hair. The only thing you can do pre-op and during your recovery is to take hair/nail/skin supplements to help with regrowth. Biotin is usually the one most people choose. I didn't do anything to help with regrowth until I started losing. I used Folicure extra care shampoo. I started having new growth pop in while I was still losing. Currently, I look like a chia pet, and have chopped my hair off, layered it and bleached the top to help hide some of the new growth. I kept the back and underneath dark to help give the illusion of depth and volume. Unfortunately, hair loss seems pretty inevitable. There's several patients on this board that got in there Protein and extra protein, and they lost more hair and lost it for a longer period of time than I did, and I didn't get in my protein until I was on soft solids when I could eat chicken and other meat. My main advice is make sure you can handle the mental and emotional aspect of this surgery. It's a huge change, and no matter how much you read or talk to people will you really grasp it all until you go through it. I truly believe going in positive, and upbeat helps. Find strength within yourself, and know that you are doing something absolutely fabulous for yourself and your family. Know that recovery can be difficult, you'll be tested, you'll be exhausted, you might be mad at yourself especially during the post-op diet, but all of that is just temporary. Questions to ask your surgeon: What size bougie do you use to make the sleeve? What are your leak/complication stats? What are your expectations of my weight loss? Do you provide follow up care, labs, access to a nutritionist and psych if needed post-op (especially since you'll be self-pay find out what all is included in that cost)? Do you prescribe an acid reducer such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium to protect the sleeve, how long should I be on it? Post-op diet instructions? Pre-op diet instructions? How many sleeves have you performed? How many bariatric procedures have you performed? How long is the hospital stay? Leak tests, how many and when are they performed? That's all I can think of right now. Best wishes on your consult, and if you need anything ask away. We'll all be here for you through this journey.

Shell u know nothing about this! ~What WLS does is that it allows you to feel satistifed with that small amount. ~ SOME WLS's do that! The band does NOT do that for many banded ppl! That is one of the reasons that so many ppl revise FROM the band!!!

I'm in the same boat. I am over two months out from revision, and down 19 lbs from surgery day. 202 down to 183. But I must say that I notice so much with that 19 pounds lost. Bones I have not seen in decades. I was 18 years old the last time I was in the 180's (I'm 40 now). Also many people have commented on my shrinking, and every time my husband hugs me he says "You are so skinny!" Gotta love that. When I went from 255 down to 215, 40 pounds, no one really noticed. When I hit 205, a few people asked and were shocked I had lost 50 lbs. It was like, really?? Then looking me up and down to see where. But now, losing this 19, I am getting comments like "wow you have lost a lot of weight". We all just have to hang in there! Esmeralda, it's been a month since you posted this thread, how is it going?

I was revised on May 6th at 165 pounds. I lost another 25ish in the first 2 months or so and than stopped.I am happy where I am at but I feel I should be loosing at least a pound or two with the little bit of food I eat.

Oh no...food backed up....must be bad...glad you did the revision...me too...I am not loosing too much...body was already used to less food and high Protein.. But I am hopeful...with less food more Water and exercise we will loose weight.

Here's my input (for what it's worth)... I had the band for 7 yrs and my revision is coming up on the 1yr. mark. I discovered (after the nerve healing time mentioned) that my interpretation of restriction was skewed by my experience with the band. With my band, what I thought was restriction was really food backed up into my esophagus instead. Now, I have a better understanding of how restriction is supposed to feel. Give yourself some time to focus on that feeling. Eat slowly, pause, and wait. The full feeling (at least for me) ended up in a different place compared to what I experienced with my band. Good luck!

Well, not sure what to tell ya, but here goes. I would say be committed to the post op plan. If you do this, you'll probably be successful. I've had a very easy time with the revision...but not everyone does. I have found the "full" feeling is different than with the band. That was surprising. I guess I would say just follow the dietary & exercise guidelines. I feel like I've been successful. I'm down 60lbs since revision surgery and down 90lbs since my highest before the band. I'm in a size I've never seen and a weight I saw 30+ yrs. ago. Feel free to ask any questions...good luck.

I was a little gun shy of another WLS as well. I revised to a sleeve. But... Maybe restriction alone isn't your thing? If you lost 40# in under two years with a band maybe a malabsorptive procedure is a better bet for you? We really do not do well losing/maintaining without a tool. Stats show about 3-5% of obese people can lose weight on their own or maintain after losing their WLS tool. You can try to maintain or even lose but don't be too hard on yourself if you can't do it. You might want to start researching other options? You don't have to do any of them but use this time to consider what else is out there.

Hey there. I'm a kaiser gal that had surgery in May. My understanding is once you qualify, your in, no matter what your weightloss prior to the surgery. I was a revision patient and didn't lose a whole bunch pre surgery. However, the pre surgery diet is really about preparing you in a couple of ways. 1) are you committed to the change in lifestyle? Losing weight prior to surgery begins you on a path for continued success. 2) prepping the body for surgery. To complete the surgery your liver needs to downsize and losing weight prior to surgery will do this. It's like a win-win! I would think if you still desire the surgery, then it will still be a go. Just my 2 cents. :-)

Hi there, I am new to this forum, and I am considering revision band to sleeve surgery. I've watched multiple youtube videos, some good and some horrible; therefore, I am very nervous to meet with the new surgeon tomorrow. I like this forum and it is very helpful. Because the band did not work out as well as I thought it would, my biggest fear with the revision is failing. I appreciate how you all give your feed back and encouragement. so so nervous!!