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My surgeon advised that the best option was RNY. Less risk of reflux. Less risk of more damage/ issues to the oesophagus. I also know a lot of people that have revised to a sleeve or had a sleeve as an initial surgery who have not lost or have had massive regains. I decided to go with my surgeons recommendation and had my revision in Jan. I am very happy. My diet is much healthier than with the band, I don’t spend hours in restaurant toilets throwing up and I have reload the weight I gained and am sitting at goal.

Hi Astrid I am uk based aswell. I am 3 months post sleeve op but due to get revision to bypass in about September due to acid reflux making it soooooo difficult to eat and drink. I only told about 3 people about op and they have been very supportive. I dont tell anyone as people are very judgemental. If they think its the easy way to lose weight they are seriously wrong lol. Good luck with surgery and I know you will be successful in your weight loss journey

You may want to look around on the forum for answers. From what I have read the process to get a revision does not take anywhere near as long as original surgery. Good luck to you

I may need to revise for GERD. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I had gastric sleeve surgery about 3years ago. Since then I have been having boughts of back pain in my lower back. They did MRIS and found two disc issue in the lower lumbar disc. I had some pain (cortisone) injections but still have this pain. Could this be due to the gastric sleeve as it was a revision or a disc bulge issue?

Banded in Ft Worth in 2012- I just met with a new surgeon yesterday after having a swallow study. My esophagus is expanding causing reflux, etc. He unfilled the band and set me up for a follow up swallow study and follow up with him on Aug 15th. We talked about options. Do I want the sleeve or bypass? With revision do they make you wait months and months? Thanks...

Hi! Am en route to have my lapband revised to the RNY (most likely- not sold on the sleeve...) and I am trying to figure out how much time off from work I need. When I had the lapband surgery, I spent a day in the hospital with gas pains and just a little sore. If I had the job I have now back then (middle school teacher- so I can be fairly sedentary if needed) I think I would’ve been able to go back to work within a few days. I mean, I just had a baby with no drugs, had to be stitched and I was going on long walks the day after. I also had ankle reconstruction and went back to work in 4 days (including a weekend). Not saying that I am super tough, just a seasoned surgery patient- there are way more that I could list :) Those who have had both surgeries, how do you think the recovery time and pain compares? Thanks! Amanda

Hi Revision buddies! Just a bit of backstory: I had a lapband placed back in fall of 2007, so almost 12 years ago. Unfortunately, I have always struggled with my band when it had fluid in it (vomited frequently, inability to eat most proteins, GERD, could not drink anything that wasn't warm or at minimum room temperature.) My band and I officially "broke up" in 2015. All of the difficulties I had been struggling with had gotten so bad that I had developed acute gastritis, and esophageal spasms due to the GERD and persistent vomiting, which resulted in me having to have all of the fluid removed. While the vomiting every time I ate and esophageal spams stopped, the GERD remained and the last 60 pounds I had managed to keep off after my initial loss, rapidly returned. So here we are in 2019, through an unfortunate incident my husband had earlier in the year, our deductible and out of pocket maximum have been met for the year. The window of opportunity for me to finally end 12 years of GERD and struggle with this band is finally open. I found a surgeon I really am confident in and have had an EGD to check for Barret's and see what kind of shape my stomach was in. I was lucky in that my hernia had not returned and I didn't have any ulcers, but he did notice that even with no fluid in my band, that it seems tight, I'm not really sure what that means, but it would explain why I still struggle with most proteins. At my last appointment, we reviewed my EGD and he was sending the letter to the insurance company. Because my revision would be due to band complications, my insurance doesn't require the 6 months of dieting, psyh visit, etc, just a letter from the surgeon showing medical necessity for the revision. Since I have a history of GERD, we have decided that RnY is the best option. The paperwork was probably sent in sometime after July 3rd, my appointment was late afternoon on the 2nd and I can't imagine that they would be able to get the letter done and submitted the same day. And now I wait. UGH! It's the worst. I don't have any idea how long it should take. I've read the boards and for some people, it's taken as little as a single day for approval. and some waited for weeks only to be denied. It's maddening!! Thanks for the vent! TX2NC

It's not a guarantee you won't get gerd after getting the sleeve. That being said I also had heartburn at the end stages of both my pregnancies and the occasional heartburn after eating certain foods or overeating right before bed. It never occurred when I was thin so I determined that the cause was the abdominal pressure. I have not had any reflux or heartburn since my surgery, not to say it won't happen in the future but so far so good. Talk to your Dr. in depth about your concerns and ask him/her how many revisions they've had to do because of gerd so you can make the most educated decision you can.

I may end up needing to revise myself. Thanks for starting this thread as I will be watching it closely. goid luck to you!

Maybe you could get some other surgical opinions. There seem to be a lot of folks here that have revised from sleeve to bypass. Check out their posts and see what has worked for them. Best wishes,

Ohhhh @azhiker I love your excitement!!! Haha so fun. @losingit2018 my surgeon said the DS is the way to go he doesn’t revise to the bypass and since I have the sleeve already i can see advantages to the DS. I’m not confident another surgery will be the answer since it seems like I have been gaining weight so easily w the sleeve after 2 years. I don’t want to redo my insides and have bathroom issues for the rest of my life and still be fat. Sigh

I revised from Lap-Band to RNY and was at the lowest weight I've ever been when I revised. Good luck with your revision!!

🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 Not many may know but I require a revision from VSG to RNY. There are several reasons but none are regain or weight related (I've had no regain) I am scheduled for July 15, 2019. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 I can't deny I am slightly nervous because who wants more surgery after WLS that isn't cosmetic 😁 but I'm taking it day by day. I will keep updating this thread now that i have a place to keep my story 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠

We've received many many requests over the years to add a revision forum. Your wish has now been granted!

@GreenTealael I missed what date you are getting your revision surgery. I just want to make sure I wish you the best of luck prior!

I am a sleeve patient and don’t have any answers for you. I am wondering why would a person choose ds over bypass revision? I don’t know much about ds but I may soon be facing the decision to revise myself. So I am curious what the benefits may be with ds over bypass?

I’m sorry for the long rant but I want you to see the full picture: sleeve vs. sleeve + behavior modification/commitment. You’re 2 weeks out. Don’t be so hard on yourself or doubt your decision. What is done is done. No regrets. This could be the beginning of an amazing healthy future. No looking back now — only ahead... Here we go: I am 7 years post sleeve and I’ve regained all of my weight back and some. Highest weight before sleeve was 210, Surgery day weight was 193 (done in Mexico). I got down to 147 and maintained that for about 2 years and then started regaining. I’m 214 now. According to my current U.S. surgeon (Dr. Stanley Klein), my Mexico surgeon (Dr. Ariel Ortiz) completely blotched my sleeve in 30 minutes (surgery report information) making it look like an hourglass instead of a banana. BUT, I regained not because of my “bad” sleeve but because I changed my eating habits. I have A LOT of restriction still, more than a friend who’s 4 years out. I also became very anemic which caused me to pass out and get into an accident in 2014. I’m terrible about taking my Vitamins, so that’s also not my sleeve’s fault. I then received multiple infusions over the years, had my esophagus dilated twice because I wasn’t eating enough (mostly GERD pain related) and developed a grazing eating style (probably the biggest contributor to why I regained). Having GERD since day 1 (couldn’t keep any liquids down/stayed on IV till I was literally kicked out - started putting my stuff outside - to get room ready for next patient), a hiatal hernia and two ulcers, I am now revising to the RNY (surgery date TBD 8/1/19). My malabsorption/malnutrition is because I don’t take any vitamins. I’ve become “nutritionally crippled” as my surgeon put it which makes my body crave carbs for immediate conversion to energy. It’s literally biologically driven at this point and he told me not to blame myself for the regain — he’s so nice but I do blame myself because I got myself here! Due to the malnutrition, I’ve developed some metabolically induced issues: thyroid problem, autoimmune problem, multiple infections that antibiotics do nothing for (or maybe I’ve become prone to the antibiotics) and lately, small Fiber neuropathy (worst feet tingling and burning ever). I’ve now started going to CBT and support groups that are super informative and fun. Last time they had a practical activity for us at the end where we pretended to be at a restaurant, were given real menus and we discussed why some choices are good and why some are not so good — keywords to lookout for, etc. I’m considering pushing my surgery date as far out as possible to be better prepared through these new resources. I realize the problem is not my sleeve. The problem is my head — my food abuse issues, my food addiction issues, my head hunger, my emotional eating... The list of “synonyms” goes on! But in essence, all of us are here because we have these issues plus obesity/genetically related comorbidities or else, we would have not resorted to surgically modifying our anatomy. We need to fix our relationship with food if our surgeries are ever going to help us, and that’s why I’m trying to work on that more than anything this time especially because I didn’t have any pre or post care before. I’d love to get rid of my GERD and the other problems but I’d really hate to fail at losing weight, again. Not out of vanity but just to prove to myself that I can triumph over years of using food to feed disease instead of health. Summary and awesome thing to keep in mind: “You get out of it what you put into it.” Thank you @Macy6! I love that... Great motto! Take this opportunity to change your relationship with food. You are in the “honeymoon phase” where your body is not ready to accept food (it’s all head hunger), so use this time wisely to identify your emotions and cravings, knowing you can’t act on them now with your healing stomach. Later, this will really help you... when you can map your behaviors to their origin in thought (triggers) and stop the unwanted behavior right in its tracks! You’re in control! Your taste buds may also change so what you’ve liked before, you may no longer want to eat, so this is also a great opportunity to try new healthy things and learn to like those instead of our old ways that hurt us in the end. I really wish this was helpful. I’m being as transparent as possible to give you vision into what the sleeve is and what it’s not, because I went into this initially thinking the sleeve will stop me from overeating and I’ll always have an accountability buddy, but you can drink and eat your way around any WLS out there and gain weight, not to discount the RNY for the additional malabsorption component... You can do this!! You can use your sleeve to change and become a new person INSIDE (head/habits) out (health/body). I wish you complete healing and all the best for your future.

I saw a highly recommended surgeon and he talked at me, making many assumptions about me without asking questions. He automatically said sleeve was the only option. For the fact that I have metabolic disorders, and cannot use exercise to burn calories to compensate for extremely slow metabolism I felt like pursuing surgery was not an option without RNY benefits of absorbing less calories. I was there for a surgical consult for my gallbladder as well and he also assumed my gallbladder was not inflamed. (My gallbladder was low functioning with severe symptoms) I didn’t feel comfortable and decided I was not going to pursue it with that doctor. It was crushing, I was getting exhausted trying to fight my weight alone, my own fight with low carb low calories wasn’t getting me anywhere. it wasn’t until I saw a endocrinologist and discussed my metabolic disorders and the fact that I couldn’t take the medications and that despite my efforts my weight kept climbing, that I got referral to Cleveland clinic. the doctor there knew right away based on my history of severe GERD/acid reflux that the best option was RNY. And I also had ulcers but that was not a factor for the doctor. If you have any kind of acid reflux the sleeve can make it worse. Many people get sleeve and then end up revising to RNY due to GERD. for me the possibility of dumping wasn’t an issue. One being that the gallbladder surgery also had similar dumping syndrome risk and I didn’t think It would be a big issue since I avoid the causes ie. Eat as little sugar as possible. And I’ve dealt with worse in my life. It was just something id deal with if it happened and not really think about. im glad I went with Cleveland clinic, they made the process much easier. And since I had record for months (actually longer) of my diet efforts. It was approved quickly. Also it turned out that I had chronic gallbladder inflammation despite what the highly acclaimed doctor had said to me ... but that’s just my personal experience. Some people do very well with sleeve.

I just posted this below on another post discussing VSG revisions and thought it was appropriate here as well. I am a VSG to RnY revision but not because my VSG failed me, because of GERD. I didn’t hit my weight goal but I lost 47% of my excessive weight and maintained until my revision. I do know I learned a lot between surgery 1 & 2 and my biggest take away is my surgery didn’t fail me but I definitely failed my surgery. Your tool, or whatever you call it, doesn’t decide what you eat or when you eat. It doesn’t choose to drink while eating or to graze. You get out of it what you put into it. I know people that have the VSG and have been wildly successful, I know people with the VSG who have lost and gained. I know people with the RnY who have been wildly successful and I know people with RnY who have lost and gained.

I am a VSG to RnY revision but not because my VSG failed me, because of GERD. I didn’t hit my weight goal but I lost 47% of my excessive weight and maintained until my revision. I do know I learned a lot between surgery 1 & 2 and my biggest take away is my surgery didn’t fail me but I definitely failed my surgery. Your tool, or whatever you call it, doesn’t decide what you eat or when you eat. It doesn’t choose to drink while eating or to graze. You get out of it what you put into it.

I didn’t realise that you were having a revision. Good luck, hope it all goes well and that it solves the reflux issue

When things are questionable, second opinions are a useful thing. But, I can understand the surgeon's concerns from a couple of different perspectives. One is that the bypass is predisposed to ulcers (typically marginal ulcers which would be of a different cause of what you have,) so as with the VSG which is predisposed to GERD and they often shy away from doing them with patients that already have GERD, I can see the reason to be apprehensive about doing a bypass on you. The second is that the bypass leaves the bulk of your stomach in a blind limb that can't easily be inspected by endoscopy, and as ulcers can be a pre-cancerous condition if left unchecked, it is something that you want to monitor; waiting until obvious symptoms such as pain or bleeding occur is seriously bad news. The marginal ulcers that are common with the RNY are typically at the anastomosis between the pouch and intestine, so is in a place that can be monitored; anything happening within the remnant stomach that has been bypassed is out of reach. As others have noted, not all bypass patients dump (maybe 30% or so?) so according to Murphy's Law (if something can go wrong, it will....) those who are looking for dumping as a form of aversion therapy will be amongst those who don't dump. As FluffyChix, the bypass is something of a one shot deal - it is difficult to revise to something else if it doesn't work for you, either on weightloss or regain or due to medical problems (such as your ulcer problem) and even a reversal is no walk in the park (we have seen a couple go through here the past few months due to intransigent ulcers) while the sleeve is more readily revised if necessary. So there is some additional "margin of safety" or "plan B" available with the sleeve when things are questionable. Overall, the results of the bypass and sleeve are very similar - whatever difference there may be in the intrinsic "strength" of each procedure is overshadowed by the initiative and habits of the patient - there are many successes with the sleeve (8+ years out here) just as there are those who fail to do well with the bypass, including going back to junk foods because they never dumped. There is plenty of work on your part whichever procedure you get. good luck....

Hey Krestel, Have you had surgery yet? I'm having RNY revision surgery on July 16th and can't wait for it to be done. My reflux is so much worse than it was before I had sleeve surgery on October 25th 2016 . Hopefully you are doing great. Have an awesome day. Allie in SC (South Carolina)

Alex, Omg seems like you have been to hell and back!! So sorry you have had so many problems. Why on earth would they leave the open incision? Did they think they were going to have to go back to Operating room?? Have you had complications from this surgery? I am having RNY revision surgery on July 16th from my sleeve surgery 0ct 25th 2016.I have to have it because my GERD has gotten so much worse than it was before the sleeve surgery. I didn't know you could have the bypass reversed. Good luck with your new journey and you don't look like you need help with weight loss anymore. Allie in SC