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@@Pinkgirl1234 I'm so sorry to hear that happened. I know you must be devastated. Does this mean that you can never have a revision, or that they just have to wait awhile to give you a chance to heal? I sure hope it's the latter.

Hi, I just joined this site. I'm 68 and live in the Woodlands Texas. I had the lap band to gastric bypass revision, November 23, 2016. I've lost about 65 pounds. Struggling now my weight has stayed the same for a couple of months. Health and family problems and my inability to cope without The excess food. I feel exhausted and don't exercise much/only swimming. Any ideas, friends?

Hi everyone. My name is Margaret. I am a mother, wife, friend, employee advocate, and a lover of dogs. I live with my husband and Chug (Chihuahua/pug) in Colorado. I just had my revision surgery on June 30th from lap band to sleeve. I am at Bariatric Stage IV - eating pureed foods and drinking Protein drinks. I am limited to five foods: egg whites, plain yogurt, refried Beans, cottage cheese and pudding. I am also taking liquid Vitamins and getting B-12 monthly injections. My daily goals are to continue to drink 64 oz of Fluid each day; eat/drink 65 grams of protein, walk 30 minutes (if not more), and continue to protect my surgery incisions and stomach by not lifting, pulling, pushing anything over 15 lbs.I am glad that the doctor limits his patients to five foods because I think it's really easy at this point to overdue it on other soft foods that may not be so healthy for you. The weight is coming off slowly which I think is good. I feel pretty good except last night, I had a side ache next to the incision where my port use to be. Other than that, I feel really good. I think this surgery was much easier than the lap band. I still get hungry and the food that my husband is eating looks tempting. However, I try to remind myself that this is just head hunger. I don't think I am really hungry. I am no longer a coffee drinker since we were told to stop drinking it. I was totally addicted to coffee mostly because of the liquid creamers. I feel so much better and I no longer have to have coffee first thing in the morning I am just beginning this journey and I am still learning to listen to my body. I am not in a support group at this time but I would love to connect with others who are on a similar journey.

I am revising. I was previously banded Nov 2011. Lost 80 pounds, but developed problems with my band about 2.5 yrs out. I hit the green zone once. Long story short, my band cause so many reflux issues, heartburn all the time, vomiting. It eventually slipped and I just had it removed in August 2015. I am revising to bypass 11/30/15. I initially wanted sleeve, but because of the damage caused from my band with my reflux issues, the sleeve would make reflux worse. I am happy with my bypass decision. I should have chosen bypass in the first place. I am told that revision patients lose a little bit slower than a new WLS patient. We shall see.

I threw up just about everything I ate with the band, it was horrible. It was either too loose or too tight. I never got close to goal weight with the band and managed to gain back some of what I did lose. Then 4 years after having the band it slipped on me. I had it removed and had a revision to the sleeve on 06/23/11. HANDS DOWN, the best thing I ever did. It's been a little over 4 months since surgery and I have never thrown up a meal. I can eat a small portion and I feel like I ate a brick I am so full. I feel as though the sleeve does exactly what they said it would do where as with the band it did not. Everyone is different though. You are going to love your sleeve in comparison to the band. Good Luck!!!

I had the revision to sleeve all-in-one and I was out of it for about 2 weeks....in pain and walking slow, like an old lady, I felt like the world was moving at lightning speed, while I was inching along. To make matters worse, a lady who was sleeved the same day as me, had her one week appt. on the same day and while I was moving at a snail's pace and sitting down very gingerly, she was zooming around the doctor's office and feeling fine. She had driven herself home from the hospital, she said. We are all, definitely, different. I stopped taking pain meds after about 9-10 days and at 2 1/2 weeks, I, was getting around pretty good. It gets easier. Hang in there.

Get Better than Bullion. It tastes so much better than premade broths and they have a ton of flavors. It was the only thing that got me through liquids! Katy W- Louisburg, NC Lapband revision to VSG with DS HW- 297 Weight at Surgery-279 CW- will update at two week appt

Hi, Mimi! Welcome. Here's my take, for what it's worth. (And I think it's worth a lot cuz I mostly copied it from coffee Wench and she knows everything.) With either surgery you will have to learn new ways to eat and deal with life. With the bypass, you WILL lose the weight, but you will gain it back if you don't do the learning. With the band, you have to make the changes to lose any substantial amount of weight. So, let's look at the "failures." Two years out, the unsuccessful bypass people lost and then regained and the unsuccessful band people never lost. And the unsuccessful bypass patients (it used to be 20%) have had massive, organ-rearranging surgery, and need a lifetime of supplements and have an increased risk of other health problems, while the unsuccessful band patients have a band that can stay, can get deflated or can get removed (sometimes with lap surgery, sometimes with open). There are, of course successful people with either surgery. But a far higher percentage of bypass patients have complications which require re-operating ("revisions") and/or OR visits. There are many people who have BMI's similar to yours and who are doing (or have done) well with the LapBand...including those who were much heavier than you. By the way, most surgeons who have done well with the bypass tend to prefer it. They think it is more successful because, after the surgery, they see only the patients with complications. Band patients take more follow-up care, and most US trained surgeons are not so into the day-to-day, patient support that's needed with the band. I think they tend to measure "successes" in terms of what percentage of patients they never have to deal with again...and with the band, that's "zero percent." Sue

Hi my name is JAMES I ad a revision from sleeve to bypass nearly two weeks ago. Would like to talk with others who have had it done, as I have some concerns that I wish to talk about. I don't feel any different after the revision like I did after the sleeve. Eg feel no restriction and never had any real pain after the op. looking forward to hearing fom you. Sorry about missing spelling in heading should have been people. Edit won't let me get back to and change it. Lol

Ok hi all I'm wanting to Touch base with the light weights and revision RNY's. I myself am a lightweight and a so to be revision. Sleeve to Rny . I had the sleeve 6 months ago and only lost 35lb after 12 weeks if no weight loss and 14 weeks of no inches lost It was suggested to me to get a revision . I'm getting the RNY for its metabolic reset value and to loss the rest of my 60lbs. I was 244 the day I was sleeved and 209 today 5"6. So how was your weight loss? Did you loss slow? How many lbs a week did you loss? Are you a first time lightweight or are you a revision light weight?

Juditha, I had a lapband put in, in 2006, revised 2008 and removed 2010. It is a great tool for those it sits right, mine did for the first 14 months and I lost about 80 pounds with it but, then the trouble started. Never got it right after that and after the revision. It was years of hell with the reflux and no sleep because of it. I had my RNY 6 weeks ago. I've run into issues due to infection but, otherwise I feel good and no adjustments necessary! No reflux either and that in itself is great! Good luck!

Okay, tomorrow is the end of the first week. I think that we should post how were doing. Good or Bad. We can revise or give some support. Only check-in if you want, no pressure!

Try typing in the doctor's name your are researching on Youtube. Some of the doctors have patients with testimonies. Good luck. I hope you are able to get your revision. I know how hard it is to have a failed band. I am so ready to get rid of mine!

I wish someone had suggested that for me. I got the lapband first. I loved it at first but then with all the fills, unfills, food getting stuck, and finally a slip, I had a revision to sleeve. I wish I had known about it first. Yes, I did know there could be complications and I hoped for the best and went through with the lapband but the sleeve has been a godsend. I was lucky in that my revision went very smoothly. I've lost a lot more weight with the sleeve and I don't have the same problems I did with the band. The band works great for many people and it did for me at first. I loved the restriction but I didn't like food getting stuck and having to run to the bathroom all of the time. It was always a guessing game with each fill on what I would be able to eat and sometimes you can eat one thing and with the next fill you can't eat that thing anymore. I went with the lapband first because of the idea of it being reversible. I thought that sounded appealing even though I knew I didn't and wouldn't want it reversed. I had no will power at all. With my sleeve I can still only eat 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food but I don't fear what I eat anymore. It is still a struggle some days to get in all of my Protein but I am thankful I went with a permanent low maintenance alternative. I used to have to drive 2 hours for a fill and my husband has now changed jobs and our new insurance would not have covered the fills or a revision surgery. Revision surgeries don't always good and I can tell you from experience that if you have a band failure, it is heart breaking to know that you may have so much damage done that you don't have any other options plus you could have permanent damage it the band erodes into your stomach. I was lucky in that mine just slipped up my esophagus. They had to unfill my band and I gained 20 lbs back waiting on my revision surgery. I knew I couldn't lose or maintain the weight I lost without help. I revised to the sleeve 2 years ago. I feel normal like I did before the band, no throwing up, getting food stuck, worries at all. Now I can only eat a small amount and I feel full a lot faster and stop eating. The same downfall with the band is that you can't drink anything while you eat and you have to wait until your stomach empties after eating before you can drink anything because there is simply no room for it to go anywhere except back up. Please take some time to visit the sleeve forum and also the band to sleeve revision forum just to be able to make an informed decision of just how many people have complications. I wish I had done that but I so desperately wanted help and knew my insurance would pay for the band that I just went through with it. I was lucky in that my revision surgery for the sleeve took only 45 minutes to remove the band and to perform the sleeve. My surgeon was very skilled and I have had very successful weight loss where a lot of revisions experience slower weight loss than had they had the sleeve surgery from the beginning. Best of luck to you sunshine.

I will start by saying I have an extremely high tolerance for pain. That and I have family that I have seem struggle with addiction. I would rather be a little uncomfortable than go through what they do on a daily basis. I chose to have no narcotic pain medication after I woke up from surgery. I took Tylenol and used heat and walking to work through the pain. Honestly it was not bad at all. My surgery was a revision from a lap band to a sleeve and I was told it would be more painful than if I was just getting the sleeve. I think when you allow your body to push through pain you heal faster. That is just my opinion with absolutely no scientific evidence to prove it. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days to make sure I had my fluid intake good enough to keep the progress at home. Best of luck to you!

I revised to rny...mine worked for 4 years and then misbehaved after pregnancy and then just broke completely at 11 years.

Had my VSG revision (from LapBand) scheduled for tomorrow (8/15/17) in Mexico. Got down to do the pre-op testing. All was going well, vitals were all good, I lost the prescribed weight, but then... Apparently either I missed the question or it wasn't recorded properly in the pre-screen that I have had Hepatitis B in the past. Mind you, my HepB was 30 years ago and was acute (meaning no ongoing symptoms). Also, I had LapBand 8 years ago and there were absolutely no liver issues then and I have numerous liver panels through the years with no ongoing liver function issues. However, out of an abundance of caution - they want to run a fresh liver function blood test and the results take 10 days to process. Assuming it's good, they will reschedule. This means my surgery is postponed a minimum of two weeks and possibly longer depending on their availability. The real kick in the teeth is I have to stay on the pre-op diet the whole time.

Hmm, good question. I had a revision to the sleeve because my surgeon suggested it. First, I want to say that I loved my band. I had it for 7 years. It helped me lose 129 lbs. and maintenance was relatively easy. The weight loss was steady. No hair loss, nothing drastic. For me, the band problem was never severe (no erosion, no slipped band) but it was time and money consuming because my band tended to be fickle. The band can be a successful tool if you're dedicated to it, as with all tools. I think the most important part of it though... Is having a good surgeon. My first surgeon knew exactly how to fill it but then I moved, and as your body changes, sometimes the Fluid need changes. It was hard for me to find another surgeon who did the fills correctly. I was either too lose or too tight, and if you get too tight, you get a pouch dilation, and when you have a pouch dilation, they remove all your fluid for months, wait for your stomach & esophagus to normalize, and then you go back through the phase of finding your sweet spot again. During those months with no restriction, you gain back some weight, and it's harder to take it off again. I went through that cycle twice which is why my new surgeon suggested the revision since Yo-yo dieting is one of the most unhealthiest things to do to our bodies.

I didn't have one for my band but I did for my band to sleeve revision. They pulled it out the morning I went home. It was a pain and they had to pin it up to my gown so I could do my walking in the hallways or it was banging on my knees. That incision is still the sore one 2 weeks later.

When I first got my band I was 325lbs. Up until about 280lbs I hadn't really felt that bad and considered myself a 'healthy' fat person. As I got closer to 300-325 I started feeling worse. I got banded, lost 127lbs and stayed happily between 200-225lbs for about five years. However, I had constant reflux and heartburn from the band. About a year ago I finally had enough and had some Fluid taken out of my band. Holy crap did I gain weight fast!!! I went from 213 to 293 in less than a year and felt miserable. Gaining weight at the rate of 10lbs per year allows your body to adjust and get used to it but gaining 80lbs quickly made me feel like I was trapped in a fat suit and couldn't get out. I'm now having revision surgery next week on Tuesday, June 7th and I cannot wait! I'm so excited. I just wanted to share a brief synopsis of my journey and encourage anyone out there that is unhappy with their chosen weight loss surgery to never give up!

Yours was revision so maybe requirements are different than initial surgery. I would hate to end up with $10k bill if I have to pay if not preapproved. So I still need Medicare required screening (3-month medically supervised diet with FAILURE to lose weight, psych eval, nutrition visits, etc.

Hi White06...I most definately think either you have a problem with the band, or you are overfilled. A healthy, properly filled band is a tool that enables us to eat hard Protein, not liquid meals. Trust me, I've been there. Please get an unfill ASAP before you damage your esophagus or band, if it isn't already. What does your doctor say about all this? I'm not trying to be judgemental; I went through hell with my band before finally having it revised to RNY, and I hate to see you suffer like this. Take care,

If your incision site is red and hurts that is a sign your band has eroded. The infection travels from the band threw the tubing and into the port. I only say this because I have had a port infection that is being treated with antibiotics for 2 months. I had and EGD done in August and my band has not eroded. If the band had eroded it will have to be removed. Some surgeons revise, some surgeons wait for several months and try to reband. It is not suggested to reband. I hope in your case it is not an erosion. Good luck!

Any experienced Gastric Sleeve Doctors. in US offering Gastric Plication to regular Gastric Sleeve Revisions?

See, I was kind of comparing it to college. Many times (not all times) kids whose parents pay for their college tend to goof off more and not take it quite as seriously as those who have to pay for it themselves. I know for me, since I am self-pay, I can't afford to do anything that would jack it up, because if I were to have to go in and do a revision, it would be out of my pocket. I agree with what many of you said that you have struggled to get to this point and have done your research and you will work the program like it should be worked regardless of how it is or was paid for. Thanks for all of your thoughts and feedback.