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I don't know how much this will help. My highest weight presleeve was 283 pounds(p) in 2014. When I got to the table, my weight was 243p. My lowest weight postsleeve was 181p. 2017 started gaining weight and really bad GERD. It took until 09/25/2023 to have revision. I am now GERD free and losing weight. I have no regrets. Fight for your health like your life depends on it, and that's what I did. Yes, sleeve to bypass. Sent from my SM-G996U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I don't know how much this will help. My highest weight presleeve was 283 pounds(p) in 2014. When I got to the table, my weight was 243p. My lowest weight postsleeve was 181p. 2017 started gaining weight and really bad GERD. It took until 09/25/2023 to have revision. I am now GERD free and losing weight. I have no regrets. Fight for your health like your life depends on it, and that's what I did. Yes, sleeve to bypass. Sent from my SM-G996U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

I think some get around this by having their insurance approve the staged treatment plan ahead of time, that way it isn't considered a revision, it is considered the second step in a primary surgery. This happens most often when a person's weight is high enough the surgeon believes the intestinal part of the surgery will be easier and safer at a lower weight. I've seen a number of people do this on the DS groups so it is possible, but my guess is not every insurance company lets their patients know it is possible and I'm sure there are some that outright refuse to because insurance companies like to be difficult. I wish you much luck with your surgery!!

Hey all! I had a sleeve in 2020, and am having a revision the end of this month to a bypass for severe GERD. I also have a gum obsession, always have. It is only a short time you can't have it (or straws which is my other obsession lol). Hoping everyone who has had surgery is feeling okay and on the mend! My doctor does a 2 week diet but unlike last time (different surgeon) they allow solid food, which is a plus. I'm not complaining. I'll eat soup and chicken for 2 weeks. The liquid was tough, after day 4ish it got better though. I was so hangry the first time around, I thought I'd lose it on my husband. He knew to tread lightly LOL

Congratulations! You give me hope. I just received my January surgery date for a revision or completion from a sleeve to a SADI. I was sleeved in August 2020 and will have the SADI in January. I'm around your age, 54, and a slow loser, so I'm hoping for the best. My NEW surgeon will also be repairing a hiatal hernia, removing a portion of my fundus that was left, and correcting the bottom of my sleeve which for some reason has a sharp right hook. I kid you not! I'm hopeful this time around will be different. You summed it up perfectly, fight for the life you deserve.

I’ll hop on the bandwagon! I am having a revision from a sleeve to a bypass on 11/28 for severe GERD. I also have a stupid hernia now too which will get repaired while they are in there. I can’t wait for some relief of pain. Hoping anyone who had surgery today or so far this month, is doing well so far! Even with my issues, I don’t regret having my sleeve! It truly changed everything for me.

My surgeon recommended starting with the sleeve, and then at a later date it can be revised (if needed). If you start bypass then the sleeve would do no good.

Hello All! I had Surgery on 10/18/23 😊 I am usually in Facebook support groups, but lately they are too busy being negative and quick to tear others down. So, I am here for new scenery. I also noted most the talk and experiences are VSG, and less RNY Gastric Bypass. They are always talking bad about Bypasses until they need a revision to Bypass from VSG. So far I am doing really great! there's some hard moments, such as post op pain, gas, and one episode of dumping. (I think i ate too fast. Eating and talking). I am down -22 lbs. I will be one month post op on November 18th!

I had a revision from the sleeve to the traditional duodenal switch on October 4. The scale isn’t moving a lot but I’m losing inches. Good luck to everyone!

If you had a DS you are thought to absorb about 20% of the fat you eat, 60% of the protein you eat, and 100% of the carbs you eat. Your doctor should have explained this to you... The intestines can adapt some to the surgery over time, but most studies have shown DS patients continue to have malabsorption. That's the whole point of the surgery! In rare cases, there is a small number of patients who will lose more weight than they intend, or have excessive muscle wasting. The muscle wasting is normally due to not eating enough protein post surgery. A DS patient needs around 120 grams of protein a day, more if they workout trying to gain muscle. Are you taking your vitamins? Have you had your labs checked recently? In the case of someone who has lost more weight than they intended to with a DS, certain enzymes can be given to help them absorb more of the food they eat, or a surgical revision can be done to lengthen their common channel, giving them more length of small intestines to absorb calories from. Of the two, I'd try the enzymes first. If you gained up to 240 with the enzymes, clearly they were effective for you! So why not consider taking them on an alternating schedule, titrating the dose to slowly gain what you need, and then taper off of them and see if you can maintain?? If you want to do this with food you are probably looking at over 4,000 calories a day. That is going to be tough. You can only eat so much food in a day! DS patients usually don't count calories at all, we count macros because it is the macros that help us stay in our target range, since no one really knows exactly how many calories an individual with a DS surgery is going to absorb, we can only ballpark it. But you should be getting a LOT of protein and around 120-150 grams of fat, according to vets who have lived with this surgery for decades. To bulk, most people I know load up on carbs, which is not easy for a DS person unless you want to spend a lot of time in the bathroom, or you are lucky enough to actually tolerate a decent amount of carbs. But carbs will usually put weight on. If you want more people with DS to talk to, check the bariatricfacts.org forums. We are mostly DS people over there and most of the regular posters are vets. But be prepared, they are fans of straight talk and not everyone likes that!

Congrats!! I'm so happy for you! how has your journey been with revision?

Two major ones for me stand out… First - I was on an insulin pump because my diabetes was so bad (was 274 lb at the time) Second - I went to ride a rollercoaster with my kid and a couple of his friends, could not fit in the over the shoulder to buckle the belt. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. I can say the guy was a bigger guy and was trying to make it better by saying “oh it happens all the time, these seats are weird” but it was mortifying. And I told myself I wasn’t doing that ever again. Sleeved in 2020, about to have a revision for severe acid reflux and I’ve never looked back.

Literally was going to say the exact same thing! I associate it just like with having a baby. When I was pregnant, I heard EVERY horror story about traumatic births and dying babies. Does it happen? Absolutely. Do people share the worst typically with the world? Absolutely. It is okay to worry, and wonder if you will have complications. I had several with pregnancy and birth, and then with my sleeve (waiting for my revision to RNY this month!!).... Nerves are totally normal. Its okay to have a freak out moment but just remember that sometimes you come across the exception to the "normal experience" rule though that doesn't mean it is likely you will fall into that category as well. Also, you are doing EVERYTHING that you can do to make sure those complications don't happen. YOU GOT THIS! I've never had a TikTok but I had to stop getting on IG, (its my only social) because it was making me feel bad in so many ways. Sometimes maybe you just need a little break OP!

not sure where to post this or even if this has been asked before. Wondering if Kaiser would pay for a tummy tuck. I had gastric sleeve done by kaiser in 2018 and then a revision due to GERD in 2020. doing good now but need a tummy tuck desperately wondering if anyone has had it paid by Kaiser. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Thank you so much!!! I'm still in shock about it all. I knew what I wanted, but actually getting there...well, you guys know how hard it is for us to really believe we can do this. Living the life I always wanted still seems like a dream to me. Now here I am. All the complications, surgeries, pain, the revision.... all of it led me right here, and I don't regret a single second of it.

Wow that’s amazing progress! I’m so thankful you responded back to me! Sounds like you’re having a happy ending. Any advice on the revision? Anything you would change or prepare for? What would you tell yourself before the surgery?

That is really good to know. My particular situation is I had a baby eariler this year and gained 80lbs from pregnany. I"m 6months post partum and still breastfeeding so that makes me super nervous but docs say I should get the revision.

Original VSG WLS 11/7/2017 (revised to RNY 2019) Height 5’3”-5’4” starting BMI 43-44 current BMI 25-26 Measurements July 2017 (before WLS) Hips 51 Thighs 31 Lower abdomen 53 Mid abdomen 49 Under bust 43 Full bust 50 Over bust 46 Arm 16 Measurements Jan 2021 (before plastics) Hips 43 Thighs 25 Lower abdomen 38 Mid abdomen 34 Under bust 31 Full bust 38 Over bust 36 Arm 11 At this point I barely remember what life was like preop unless I look at photos. However, I vividly remember immediately post op. The constant monitoring of every aspect of life to make sure I got it all right. Not going to lie, I don’t miss that- it could be exhausting at times (but ultimately worth it!). I have relaxed into a routine that works really well for me and nothing feels restrictive. I’m very happy I chose this path.❤️

For me I think I should’ve gotten a bypass in the first place but my pcp said I was so young and the sleeve was good so I just went along with it. At first I had no intention to get a revision even though I had gained almost all the weight back but I’m glad I did and I have no regrets.

I got it in the first 6 months and stayed that way through years. Then a little more than 2 years ago, I had a revision for gerd and it somewhat corrected it. My doctor said it may be my hormone levels changing. For example, estrogen is stored in fat. I'm still colder than I was before I had any WLS though but I don't have that achy to the bone freezing feeling as much anymore.

Just talk to your doctor at the next appointment and let them know you would prefer to do a bypass, the doctor will let you know if they think you are a good candidate for it, and then it should be no problem, even for the insurance. I am getting the roux-en-Y bypass for those same reasons you stated and because I want to lessen my chance of revision, one and done with surgery is what I said to the doc and he said I get it.

I'm going the self pay route with Blossom Bariatrics, but was given similar timelines when I spoke with folks with Dr Shillingford and the Nicholson Clinics, but generally scheduling could be done 3 weeks out with 2 weeks of pre-op diet for a Sleeve procedure. From first call to the surgery is generally 1 month, but sounds like it could be less in some cases. RNY, DS, and revisions required considerably more time to plan for. Far fewer hoops to have to jump through going this route, though. I'm only going this route because my insurance declines anything related to bariatric surgery. My previous employer's insurance would only cover a lap band, and it required a year of meetings. If I missed one, or gained any weight between sessions, I had to start over, which is ridiculous. Also they didn't cover any counseling, which I definitely recommend signing up for! It's just as much mental as it is physical! I'd rather not have the equivalent of a car payment hanging over my head, but my health has been declining significantly the last few years and I need a change. My job isn't forgiving with PTO either, and it was all I could do to take the 3 days off for the week of Thanksgiving to get mine done next Monday. It's a small business, so FMLA isn't an option, so I have to go back to work the next Monday.

Feb 1st 2023 had Gastric bypass revision surgery. The Dr could not make my pouch smaller due to scar tissue around area. So he bypassed much more of my intestines. He said this would be greater malabsorption of foods. I'm still on first phase clear liquids and broth. I have been so hungry, though. Is this normal? Anyone else have this surgery?

only about 30% of bypass patients dump, and it can be prevented by not eating a ton of sugar or fat at one sitting. I've never dumped and I know lots of other bypass patients who've never dumped, either. I had some food intolerances the first few months but now the only thing my stomach doesn't seem to handle well is a really fatty meal. Something like a fish fry with fried fish, tartar sauce, French fries, a roll with butter, and coleslaw (as is a popular Friday night meal here in Wisconsin) would not sit well with me and might even send me into the bathroom. I could handle one or two of those things, but not all (like I could pre-surgery). I also can't eat tons of pasta or rice since it sits in my stomach like a brick, but I can eat SOME of it. I had some vomiting episodes the first couple of months after surgery if I ate too much or too fast or something that didn't agree with me, but since then, I don't think I vomit much more often than I did pre-surgery. Diarrhea isn't that common with bypass - and the adult diaper thing would be really rare - I almost never hear of that, and I've been on this site for about nine years. The opposite, constipation, is really common, though. A lot of us have to take daily Miralax or stool softeners to keep on top of it. yes I suppose constant vomiting could rot your teeth, but I'm not sure where you got that idea that bypass patients experience daily vomiting. I probably vomit 2 or 3 times a year. Plus vomiting now is much easier than it was pre-surgery. Your stomach is really small, so not much comes up. And besides that, you don't have nearly as much acid in your stomach (you can tell because what comes up tastes just like it did going down - you don't get that awful "vomit-y" taste any more after you vomit). Also, GERD is what can lead to Barrett's esphagus an/or esophagus cancer, and bypass usually improves if not outright cures GERD. That's why it's usually recommended over VSG for patients who have GERD. I should add that I'm not a revision patient, but I know of a lot of people who are from this site and similar sites. Most of them are very happy with their bypasses and aren't experiencing the complications that you're worried about (in fact, most don't have any complications at all). I hope you don't take this wrong, but you might want to do more research on the bypass because I think your views on it aren't that realistic. I wouldn't go so far as to say that no one has every experienced any of that stuff because I don't know for sure - maybe someone or a few people have - but we just don't hear about those things on here. If they happen, they're very rare, otherwise we'd hear about them given all the thousands of people who've been on this site over the years.

I had a band. Wish I never had. They are only temporary, have to be replaced in 10 years. Mine caused permanent stomach and liver damage. Ended up having to revise to RNY. Good luck.