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I can also empathize... mine has been awful over the past three weeks since my gallbladder came out. I am on pantoloc twice a day, sulcrafate four times a day and buscopan twice a day. For pain i am on tramacet every 6 hours. Been hospitalized twice now for a total of 5 days. ???? Have a follow up appointment this week to see how next steps for medication and if I stay on what i am or if they want to change it. For the past few days it has at least been bearable. Prior to the pain medication i couldn't cope with the tearing and sudden pains . They would last 20 to 120 minutes and would happen up to 6 times a day ???? Needless to say eating was tough. My surgeon also said a revision to bypass would be the next steps if the gastroscopy shows it is worse and cant be managed by pain. I have been drinking happy life Water with a ph of 7.4 and i think it does help soothe the stomach a bit.... Have you had a gastroscopy and ph test and stuff ? I also try and eat a small amount of food every 2 hours while i am awake. I try and stick to foods with a ph level of 5 and higher if possible... very hard to do and still get Protein... so i definitely rely on the medication. Oh and i also have a couple plain dry almonds and some alkaline water after every meal. And i sleep partially sitting up.... Sorry for rambljng... those are the things that come to mind. I feel i have been obsessed with this since the awful pains started! ????

I understand what you are saying. I always called my VSG my sleeve or stomach, not pouch. I can kind of understand the pouch idea with the gastric bypass because things get stuck in our "pouch", which is the size of an egg, and not our stomach. Thank you for your response. I only threw up once with my VSG in many years. Then again, I had a very conservative surgeon who made it 10 ounces instead of the 3 - 5 ounces. I wish I could say the same thing that I never foamed or threw up about my revision to RNY. 😆

Try not to worry what other people tell you; if you and doctor agreed that WLS is the way to go, then that's what you should do. I think some people tend to think in order to have WLS you need to be 400+ pounds. WLS helps a lot of people with their weight, but also healing joints, getting rid of diseases that can be caused by excess weight, etc. I had the sleeve and am currently getting a revision to bypass, and am at 35 BMI. Some would say i don't need the surgery, while me and my surgeon have decided that's what's best. Do what you feel is best.

I was banded 8/03 and lost close to 60 pounds. But, I had slippage 5/04 and my band was unfilled. I gained 20 pounds...then had revision surgery last March. Lost about 10 pounds and had to have another unfill because of acid reflux and other complications. I need to go to my regular doctor to make sure everything is okay before I go back for another fill. The good news is I am NOT typical of most bandsters -- whose experience is far better than mine. But I'm still hopeful. I love Savannah...St. Simons...haven't really been to other parts of S. Georgia. Good luck with your surgery on the 29th. Who's doing it?

Could you explain why? At the moment I am leaning towards gastric bypass because: 1) I don't want to be considering a revision surgery in a few years if I am not successful with the band. 2) The amount of maintenance a band requires (I live two and a half hours from my surgeon).

I had a BMI of 32 with no comorbidities. I had to self pay. First spot was in September and I had surgery in November. This was 2017. I advise addressing any food addiction or other mental health concerns adequately prior to surgery. Or you may end up like me 3 years later and qualifying for surgery yet again and pursuing revision. Dealt with my trauma with food and I had to do therapy before I felt ready to seek revision now.

i get my revision from sleeve to bypass on tues if you want to keep in touch i'll tell u all about it.

hi all i had a gastric band fitted in nov 2012 and have had numerous problems , fills and defills and even a period of 18months with nothing in my band , i decided to start again in april this year and have fills but having got to 5mls have had to have two defills putting me now at 4mls . i never know from one day to the next how my eating will be , one day i can be pretty ok and the next i may struggle with a yoghurt . i have after some time enquired about revision surgery from my band to the gastric bypass and have plucked up the courage to book a consultation to discuss it properly , i am also seeing my gp this coming tuesday with a view of mentioning it to her amongst other things . i have struggled with my weight pretty much all my life and not a day goes by when it is not in the forefront of my mind , i also suffer with depression , weight being a large part of that since being subjected to bullying re my weight at senior school . So sad am i my favourites tv programmes are about weight loss , especially dr now ! can anyone tell me of their experience with revision in this way , what type of things do you manage to eat ? do you struggle with salads and fruit like me ? is it a case of you plate is a side plate size or smaller but no food groups are a major issue like with me , sorry if this all sounds silly things to ask but i struggle with the heathiest of things which is just miserable and mad , any tips , experiences and advice would be most grateful . thankyou x

Actually, when i was there in October, he mentioned that he had his first leak. He said that is was a revision and it was a band to sleeve surgery with lots of scarring and such. Noting that could be done, but the leak was caught right away and the patient was brought right back in to surgery and re-stitched and the leak was repaired. I would go back to Dr A in a heart beat!

I was also initially interested in the lap band. I was hoping to get it done here in Canada, but I would've had to fly halfway across the country and pay like 20 grand - and then find my own doc or nurse here to manage my fills. It was quite a turn-off for me. I called Dr. Aceves about the lap band, and his coordinator told me about the sleeve and said they weren't having a very good success rate with the band and the sleeve was a much better option. I mulled over it for a few days and decided it was the right choice for me. I'm very glad I had the sleeve! There were so many people having band-to-sleeve revisions in the hospital when I was there!

I've had a leak almost 9 months now. They have tried everything, sometimes more than once, I go to a large hospital in Seattle. I had a consult last week with a bariatric surgeon and after talking with him, I am really considering getting the "fix it surgery" or Bypass, because I am not healing and I have very little quality of life. But my gastro doc says "just be patient, i'm confident it will heal." As of now I have a PICC line (3rd one) for food. I haven't eaten in a month in a half and the month before that only a few bites of Beans a few times. I am so hungry!!! Of course, my family has to eat so I have to smell food every night and I want to cry. I have a drain tube (the 3rd one) coming out my back. Have lost 2 jobs and was recently given one back, but is now rocky because I can get sick at any given time and they know that. I have went to work a few days then been hospitalized several times and back out for approx. 2 months at a time. I am in pain almost always, have been on pain meds almost every single day. I have been hospitalized probably 10 times ( 5 hours away from my family so no one is ever able to be there with me). The longest stay almost a month. I have to go back (5 hours one way) every couple of weeks and sometimes we have to borrow money for gas just to get there. I has ruined us financially. I do have insurance but I have racked up at least 350,000 dollars in hospital bills. There were months we could not afford dinner for our kids. I can't sleep but a few hours at a time. I try to work 3 days a week just to keep the lights on and food in the fridge, but its obviously very uncomfortable as I am a nurse and on my feet all day. I have very little family support, just my husband who has taken about 6 weeks of time off work to take me back and forth to Seattle (he worries about his job) . In fact, it has ruined several relationships in my family. My parents only live 10 miles away, young and healthy (at least my mom, my dad does have med prob), and they have not showed up one time to ask if I need help while my husband is gone 50 hours a week working. That hurts the worst. I could probably go on and on as you can imagine, but I want people to see how bad it has been for me going through this as I am sure many of you can relate. I was told the bypass was an option from the beginning. But I did not want that, so I think I have been strong and held out for a long time before considering the fix it surgery, or Bypass. I just feel I cant do this much longer. And now my gastro doc wants me to go back to Seattle to have open surgery for a feeding tube in place of the picc line in a few weeks. So this is obviously far from over. This will be my second feeding tube. The bariatric surgeon and his partner act like this is a good idea at this point. Yes, of course they say my chances of complication increase because its a fix it or revision surgery, at about 5%. They seem confident I can have a successful surgery and heal and be back on my feet in about a month. I just need advice, comments, if you have done it and are you happy you did? I am afraid, and I have seen this story on this site where someone went through similar things and still had to have the bypass and of course, says don't go through this for too long because you may end up having to have it anyway. How is the bypass different in the way of eating and quality of life versus the sleeve. My gastro doc said it took one patient a year and a half to heal, but she did. Of course she was much older than me, but still I CANNOT IMAGINE LIVING LIKE THIS FOR 9 MORE MONTHS!!!! Thank you so much, I really need the support and information on this big decision.

Im right here with you, being revised on aug 1st, same issue exactly...good luck to you, im sure you will do fine

I am thrilled to see such positive responses! Often people seem to use these forums to emphasize the complications and revisions, yet not one of us would trade our banded life today.. What a great endorsement for the weighty (ahem) issues we have all gone through!...Physical and mental metamorphosis. Many responses were from seasoned bandsters.... (All are so truly welcome... )But years down the road it is a different path than that excitable honeymoon phase ( we all seem to have that golden year or so) and I appreciate hearing your stories. It helps me daily. Please keep posting about life

Well I had my surgery with Dr. Alejandro Lopez....Dr. Ortiz assisted but I think it's a different Ortiz. My coordinators are through Alighterme. I'm happy with my results. Now it's up to me to use this tool in the right way. It's definitely not a quick fix but this is a proces....a continuous process. I think I worry mor about food now than before. But no complains. Btw, when I had my revision surgery in NJ I was treated like crap.at MI Doctor in MX I was treated well and it was very clean

Be suspicious all you want Sheree. This is one opinion and one opinion only based on MY EXPERIENCE and my THREE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE. If you dont like it, too bad. The reason these forums are in place to begin with is to share EXPERIENCES. Not to be the Cheerleader for only a select doctor, which it sounds like you are. The other comment I want to make is I have dealt with the OCC & Coordinators since 2008. I have ALOT of experience with their shenanigans. When I had thought that "maybe" I would go back to OCC for a revision, I was treated so incredibly poorly by Lori via email that I basically told her to go screw herself. Yes. I saved the email and just got done rereading it. I might as well swallow bile it makes me so mad and disgusted. As I stated, there are alot of wonderful Drs who perform this surgery. Dr Ortiz is a drop in the bucket and is definitely NOT my first choice (or any choice for that matter).

I'm not going to tell you to not do it... but, I would NEVER do it again. 1. The sleeve wasn't an option for me, it wasn't approved yet when I had the band installed, it was band or bypass, and I wish I went bypass back in 2011. 2. I had no hair loss with the band. I had no hair loss with the bypass either. 3. The stuff I should have been eating, I had issues with. There wasn't anything I "couldn't" eat, but things like grilled chicken, lettuce, leafy greens, all hurt to eat or would get stuck and I'd have to regurgitate it. 4. The first few months were great... then things just started to get problematic, I never had a psychical issue with the band, no erosion, no slippage, nothing of that nature, the band just stopped being effective, and there are PLENTY of reports like this. 5. Best tool was getting the band out and revising to the bypass. Honestly best thing WLS related that I've ever done was to dump the band and go with the bypass. Also, 2 of the major manufacturers of the band have either stopped production or sold off their lines, those companies no longer make parts for the bands. Something to think about. Why any honest surgeon would still be pushing these horrible little devices is so far beyond me it's not funny.

I had a revision from lab band to sleeve by Dr. Aceves for $10,000. I can't recommend him highly enough. He has sleeved over half the people on this board and you won't find anyone who has anything but wonderful things to say about him, the staff and the beautiful hospital.

For about the 12th time, I have told you time and time again that at one time I thought Dr. Arturo had a good rep. What I did not realize at the time is that I thought people were talking about Arturo when in fact they were referring to Jose Rodriguez. He IS a nice man, a VERY nice man. He is very charismatic, he just isn't the greatest surgeon. Look, Mellis, it's not my fault he and Sanchez were making their own bands, it isn't my fault the bands eroded at a rate of 50%, it isn't my fault he had to remove so many, and it isn't my fault he kept placing them anyway. If you don't like what happened take it up with your boss. You keep claiming that I work for Aceves, truth is I tell the truth about all doctors with the information I have. It's convenient to throw around accusations when I have some facts about your boss. It does not make it true or accurate. Look at the number of revisions your boss has on OH, between 300 and 400. THOSE ARE THE "MEXICAN" BANDS HE REMOVED. Deal with it or don't, I'm tired of your sorry debates and inability to defend your boss. I am sick to death of AGREEING with you that YES at one time I thought he was a good surgeon. YES I told you he was a nice guy, I'm not sure how I can communicate to you that more information came to light after our conversation. Honestly, I don't know how to explain it to you in terms you can comprehend or accept. I have tried about a dozen times now. Clearly you just don't want to lose business by the truth coming to light. You know what? Not my problem. I am not going to quit telling what I know about ANY surgeon because future banded folks have a right to know regardless of how that affects your paycheck. You can throw around any accusation you wish, it isn't going to change the facts one tiny bit.

Dr. Rodriguez is supposed to be one of the first surgeons to start performing lap band surgery. He's a very able surgeon from what I have heard and Mellis has also corroborated in the above post what I have heard. Here's where I got Dr. Rodriguez brief profile: Dr. Arturo Rodriguez - Bariatric Surgery (lap band, gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, revision surgery) in Mexico The website also has some info about lap band costs and procedure and they list Dr. Rodriguez as one of their associated surgeons. I found it here: Cost of Lap Band Surgery | Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Belgium | Lap Band Specials |Price of Gastric Band Packages| Lap Band Surgery Cost

I am a band-to-bypass revision patient. I got banded in November of 2007 and had it removed in December 2014. I was such a mess that my doctor waited 4 months to do my bypass (04.08.2015) and I am SO glad I did the revision! My surgeon said that he likes to go with bypass for previously banded patients because of the trauma caused by banding. With the sleeve the new stomach is banana-shaped whereas with bypass a brand new pouch is created out of healthy tissue. It is incredible what a difference bypass is from banding. I was sick pretty much the entire time I was banded and I never could eat properly. Now I have what I was hoping the band was going to do for me; a tool that I am using to help me redesign my eating habits and live a healthy lifestyle! Of course ultimately the decision is up to you but I can tell you I am 100% happy with my progress so far. I actually feel like I can do things right this time!

Hi Star and welcome! Dr. Aceves total cost is $9500USD for first time sleevers (meaning not a revision). That price includes all pre-tests, one night in a resort, the surgery, the anethesia, and 3 nights in the hospital, all medication and all post-op tests. You also get a copy of your blood work, your chest x-ray, your GI xray and your operative report when you check out of the hospital. It also includes transportation from San Diego to Mexicali and Mexicali to San Diego. He is running a special for July of $8950.

I just went through a revision surgery to have my band removed and converted to the sleeve. I did not have much success with the band and found that most healthy foods I ate got stuck on the band. Ails never found the sweet spot (the perfect fill) and am unsure such a thing really exists. I am only 1 week post op, but I already feel that this will be a good solution for me. Good luck with your decision.

Hello! I'm new to this site. I had Lapband surgery in 2005, with no results. I'm thinking about having it removed and possibly getting a different surgery. I'm not sure what would be best for me to look into! Anyone with a similar scenario? Thanks! -Amanda

I guess this is too late to be of any help, but last year I went to Dr Quiroz April 10, 2013 and he did a lower face/neck lift a breast lift/implant and arm skin surgery. At first I gave him high marks as I did see a improvement, but was not happy that the breast tissue was simply folded over and sewn with what looked like a basting stich. These lead to horrible scars. The arm incision was cut at a angle and there was a 3 inch pulled area at the bottom of both arms. The face was the best of the three but I still was left with the deep lines running from the noise to the mouth. Then it was time for my lower body lift, hubby was not happy with the outcome from Dr Q so I started going to other Plastic Surgeons for consults everyone of them told me I needed to have revisions on all of the work Dr Q had done. The arms need to be recut and sewn, the breast need to have the implants removed and the whole pocket rebuilt, plus the face should have been pulled tighter. It was also at this time that I found on the site, realself, a pattern of sloppy work as told my many of his patients that also had the same type of folded skin with a basting stich...The clinic is beautiful and Dr Q is very charming and charismatic but you will only be at the center for a week or so and you will have to live with the outcome of your surgery for a lifetime or when you have a revision....I would steer clear...If you need a PS in TJ I would recommend my new surgeon Dr Victor Gutierrez, you can read about him on realself, he has several great reviews there.

The sleeve does take away all the hunger. I am never hungry. I eat by the clock. I eat when I get up, I eat at 12 noon and I eat at 5pm or later if I am going to dinner with friends. I am really glad I got a revision to a sleeve. I always felt guilty with the band that I was doing something wrong. I could not tell if I needed a fill, or if I was supposed to be able to work with the fill I had. When that decision was taken away from me by my dr. because of vomiting in my sleep, I am glad the sleeve was available because it's been the very best I have felt in years. It's so easy to maintain without effort.