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I just used UHC as an example of bariatric revision policies for my appeal. Here's what they say: Surgical revision or a second bariatric surgery is proven for inadequate weight loss if the original criteria for bariatric surgery (BMI, co-morbidities and patient selection criteria) continue to be met. Surgical revision of bariatric surgery is proven for complications of the original surgery, such as stricture, obstruction, pouch dilatation, erosion, or band slippage when the complication causes abdominal pain, inability to eat or drink or causes vomiting of prescribed meals. You can see it all on their web site at: https://www.unitedhealthcareonline.com/ccmcontent/ProviderII/UHC/en-US/Assets/ProviderStaticFiles/ProviderStaticFilesPdf/Tools%20and%20Resources/Policies%20and%20Protocols/Medical%20Policies/Medical%20Policies/Bariatric_Surgery.pdf

I'm in Medford. Not too far! Though with the band I loved that I wasn't permanently altering my anatomy, I decided with the fills and all - and a possibility of it slipping, or something getting stuck, idk.... it seems like I'd have to be more attached to my doctor forever, and I wasn't keen on the idea of having that virtual "umbilical cord" to the doctor for the rest of my life. The sleeve seems more drastic for sure, but, it seems to be a one time decision and then you're done. Plus when I researched the sleeve forums (there's a sister forum for the sleeve to this one - verticalsleevetalk.com ) there is a whole board of band to sleeve revisions. That kinda scared me It's been a long road though, and there was other emotional factors for me to consider. I have recently lost a child to miscarriage and I desperately want another, but I decided I won't until I've gotten healthier. I don't want to take a chance that the band doesn't work for me, so I'm going straight to the sleeve. The band does seem great though, it's just a decision everyone has to make on their own!

Boston revision on may 2 at Brigham

Hi everyone, I’m having gastric bypass revision surgery on October 15th and have been doing my liquid diet. Aside from being constantly hangry which is its own version of suck I also feel like I’m in a brain fog. I feel like my brain is simply not processing things as it should. I’m also super irratible which I at least understand. The brain fog tho is really getting to me. Also for some reason I have slept through my alarm twice which I have never done before. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar. It’s making things difficult.

I had a lap band for 7 years and I had it removed almost a year ago due to GERD. I'm revising to RNY in the near future.

I am having my band to VSG surgery tomorrow morning and I just want it to be 24 hours from now and it will be over. I know this is normal but man, I was not this anxious and scared with the band surgery. I think a lot of it was kind of like having your first baby, you are scared because you don't know what to expect and with the second your scared because you know what to expect. Except with this, I have the added worries that I have scar tissue from the band, major organ getting removed, etc. So its not really the same thing, right? The following is my post on my blog today. I thought I would share it over here also. Hopefully any new followers will look back on my journey and realize that I've had a Lapband for 15 months and not think that I am a crazy person trying to become anorexic by getting VSG! Even I look at these pics and think "I think I look pretty good right now and I'm so close to goal. Why can't I just be like everyone else and have a band that likes being inside me and lets me continue to lose and maintain my weight!" Honestly, if my band would behave, I would stay at this weight even though I am not at goal. The problem is, it doesn't and I cannot maintain with an empty band. Been there and tried that. Not happening. Believe me when I say that I did not make the decision to have my band removed and revised to VSG lightly. I have and continue to agonize over it but I am putting myself into my doctors hands tomorrow morning and I know I will be ok. Here are some pics from my journey so far. I apologize for the pics that I took of myself today...my husband/photographer is not home right now and I do not own a decent full length mirror! A few days before Lapband surgery - March 2010 213 lbs. Day before Lapband removal/revision VSG - June 2011 160 lbs. Please wish me luck tomorrow!

I did lose most of my weight with the band, but starting putting it back on when I needed a revision. I probably put 20 back on which I lost on the post op sleeve diet, plus 15 more.

Would love a local group for support. Had band to sleeve revision on May 23rd with Dr Lopez in TJ and it's been rough not having follow up here at home. Questions and concerns go unanswered and I take things day by day.

Another failed lap band here! I am getting revision to RNY tomorrow morning. I am so excited to get this awful thing out of my body. It did NOTHING to curb my hunger or appetite. All it did was make eating healthy food hard, and make eating slider food rewarding. Couldn't get a chicken breast and a cup of broccoli down because it would get stuck in the band but I could eat a greasy cheeseburger and a milkshake with zero issues. I wish the lap band procedure would be banned all together. It's useless at best, and potentially fatal if it's left alone to cause issues.

Right, it's a conspiracy against all of Inamed and that is why I post. ;o) Now com'on.. you have to admit your question is odd. I offer a lot of band information, not sure why you suggest that I some weird intentions. I've been here for two years or so, I'm not likely leaving anytime soon as I have a lot of friends here. I don't go into a lot of detail about sleeves on regular band threads unless someone asks or if there is a person that already knows aftercare if going to be an issue. If you'll notice there is a sleeve section in this forum as well as a bypass section.. The forum is not limited to banded folks only. This board is not for bands only. This is an erosion thread. Usually after an erosion the doctors will not reband those folks. They are likely to erode again. Should I not tell them their options? Most people think they have a choice of band or bypass. Most people who get banded do so because they don't want bypass. Are you suggesting that those of us revising to a sleeve not tell anyone? There are quite a few of us, more and more daily. Why shouldn't I have it in my sig? Should I pretend I'm still banded? You really are picking here looking for any little thing you can jump on. If I just post and people know I am at goal should I let them assume I am banded? Is that something you believe is a better option? Yeah, my real intention is to gain converts. I get brownie points from God for gaining converts. Are you reading what you are writing? Why don't you explain how it benefits me if someone gets a sleeve, band, or revises from a band to sleeve? How does this improve the quality of my life? Since I wasn't aware that letting people know their options was a plus for me personally, perhaps you can explain this to me? How do I know I will stay at goal with a sleeve? How do you know you'll stay at goal with a band? I know that odds are I stand a better chance than banded people do just from stats. I know that I do not struggle to maintain my current weight. I know that I have completely and totally changed my eating habits. None of us regardless of surgery type has a written guarantee that we will reach goal or stay there. We all have to find the right surgery type for us. I find value in people knowing ALL their options, don't you? Nope, the sleeve is not adjustable like banding. But I am not sure you understand why this is not necessary. There is a valve at the bottom of your stomach and that valve controls how fast your stomach empties. The lap band basically attempts to do what the valve does naturally, just higher up in your stomach. Your use a band for this, I use my pyloric valve for this, thus I don't need adjustable. When you get adjustments you are basically trying to make the band do what your pyloric valve does anyway thus, I have no need to adjust my pyloric valve. If for some reason I fail the sleeve, and I don't see that as a problem today but none of us knows what tomorrow will bring, I can revise to bypass or DS. If someone feels restriction alone is not working sleeved people have the same options for revision as banded folks. When I was banded there were no long term US stats on banding or sleeves. Those came out recently. Had I known then what I know now I would never have gotten a band. If I can prevent someone else from getting revision surgery... damn straight I'm going to. It's riskier to have a revision, it is expensive, and the more options people have the better. I will continue telling people of their options and that is just something that isn't going to change, sorry but it's not.

I think you are confused about a few issues. Let me explain so you will understand. First of all, going to Mexico isn't anymore dangerous than going to a surgeon in the US. Regardless of country it is critical to research your surgeon. My insurance would have covered my band and my revision to sleeve in the US. I didn't like those surgeons. Now, when I had my band I didn't want to jump through insurance hoops and wait a year to get my band so I did my research and I went to Mexico. I hated the band, hated it with a passion. I had band intolerance. I got to a point where I couldn't wait any longer. I needed a revision. There are no revision surgeons in AZ that I was comfortable with. I am a nurse and it was my choice not to go to them. I wanted the best surgeon possible and for me that was Dr. Aceves. Yeah, he's in Mexico. I have news for you, just because someone is in the US does not make them good and just because a doctor is in MX does not make him bad. Open a book, do some research, you will see that there are fantastic surgeons in every country just as their are crappy surgeons in every country. I'll bet you a dollar my surgeon has better stats than your surgeon and I don't even know who your surgeon is. As far as angry... Ok. Let me rephrase my comments about banding. I have very fond memories of acid shooting out my nose in my sleep, it was an enjoyable experience puking acid in the middle of the night. I should have known better than to lay flat in bed. Lord knows, I should have slept standing up. My fault completely. I was especially thrilled each morning when I would wake up so I could look forward to finding out if I could eat food that day or not. Or... if I could drink water. It was nothing short of trippy discovering I couldn't drink water that day. Yet, on other days I could eat a steak in one sitting. Social events were exciting! I'd go out with friends shopping, then we'd go to lunch and if I dared to eat anything solid I stayed in the bathroom puking and stoma spewing while my friends waited for me. I could go on but no doubt you can see how much fun it all was. I have very fond memories of banding and ohhhh, I wish I could do it again! Just for the heck of it! Do you know what Inamed's stats are? At the end of 5 years you can expect to have kept off 55-60% of your excess weight. Those are horrible stats. 30-50% of people have to bank on having a 2nd surgery before 5 years is up. Anything from a flipped port to repairing a slip (which is still on the rise, btw), to removing a band due to band intolerance, erosion, or a host of other reasons. Banding is the hardest procedure to lose weight, it offers the slowest weight loss and the lowest weight loss of all procedures. It has more long term risks and complications than the sleeve - hands down. So before you start talking about how we are, those with problems, you keep that band and when you are at five years we'll see you here too, probably sooner. Please don't assume you have the slightest clue what the people here have been through. Unless you have experienced what those posting here have, you have no room to talk as though you have any idea of what they have lived through.

How do I contact Wasabubblebutt - I need info on the sleeve and band revision hptransport@yahoo.com

Thanks Sara, I have the sleeve. At first I was going to get the band and then I started reading all the problems people were having. I was like hell no! When I was in Mexico there was a girl who only had hers for six months and she had problems with the port already. Just six months out and she was having a revision. Anyways please keep in touch. Maybe if you start to gain weight you can do the pre-op diet off and on. Have a safe trip.

I had my revision on January 8th. I lost 28 pounds the first 2 weeks and haven't lost a pound since. From what I'm reading, this seems pretty normal. Try not to get discouraged and hang in there Sent from my DROID RAZR using VST

My Lapband, revision to Sleeve were both done by Dr. Richard Carter in Arlington. He has also been my general surgeon for other non-bariatric issues including bowel obstruction and hernia repairs. My wife and I both love him!

i had a terrible experience with the band as well. I'm 2 weeks post revision to RNY and and I am mad at myself for not doing this years ago.

I am having revision from LapBand to RNY on Tuesday 2/27. So close! Starting wt. 314, current 293. Doing a liquid preop diet. Good luck and healing prayers to you all.

You can do this! I'm on day 10 of my pre op diet and if I can get through this without a "cheat", you sure can! I also a revision patient.Just keep reminding yourself that it's not worth it. You want to set yourself up for success and you don't succeed if you start out by finding ways to sneak around the rules. It hasn't been easy, but when my stomach is growling, I remember why I am doing it. Drinking lots of extra fluids help fool an empty stomach too. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App thank you @! Yes, that's what I'm focusing on...the end result. I've already awakened once "sleeveless" because the surgeon felt my scar tissue was too excessive to get around. He told me to wait a year or two for new techniques to become available. I was beyond devastated! So, this go round will be by the "book" to the best of my ability... Thanks for the good wishes. Heading to get my Protein Shake now Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yep! I should’ve specified so I edited my post to include RNY. My surgeon said reflux is rampant with sleeve patients and the #1 reason folks come to him for revisions to RNY. Some people just can’t get a handle on it 😥 I hope you can get some relief.

I have to admit I have seen many people mention it on here but had never tried it till today. I failed with the sleeve and I’m trying other things before I go the revision route. The NP said to try tea, especially when I know it hasn’t been long since I have eaten and surprisingly I think it worked.

I wouldn't have done it but I was "under" anyway due to breast revision. They actually dont use much fat at all, so you don't need to have much to do this and it came from my inner thigh.. I had it done with other procedures so cost was low. Quote I got stand alone was 1200 by a Seattle plastic surgeon. It lasts longer, for most people, than juvaderm etc. I asked doc about doing lipo around my waist etc..and he said, nope, I dont have excess fat, it's my muscles and the only way to further reduce loose skin is upper body lift or the vertical/anchor cut - and we both agreed totally not worth it. The mistake I made in all this is that my upper inner thighs had gotten worse over time. I had weird cellulite pockets there that were vastly improved with the small thigh lift, but over the 2 years, it was worse again. Thighs do that.. Anyway Dr was hopeful he could do some lipo and very small skin removal - not a full thigh lift. When I came out of recovery, he told me it hadn't gone well and he had to do alot more than expected to get decent results. Then, I had a complication. I don't blame the doc, I blame me. I should have not gotten greedy and pursued it. Recovery has been hell, I have had a recent setback, had to cancel my MAui trip...etc.

Sorry to hear your story. I just revised from band to sleeve on 8/12. I had my band for 9 years and I also had a hiatal hernia. What was slated as a 90 minute surgery took 3.5 hours. Recovery with my band was simple, I got the surgery on a Thursday, was at an Easter egg hunt on Sunday and started a new job that following Tuesday. I expected similar pain...boy was I wrong! I am 6 days out and I have been up walking...not strenuous, but about a mile at moderate speed. I have been getting about 40-60 grams of Protein in via shakes, hi-protein chicken broth, hi-protein Jello, and Isopure--by far the jello goes down the easiest and thinner liquids hurt. My problem is sudden, shooting pains in my sides and my groin. It feels like a cramp, but doesn't tense and then ease it is just tense....heating pad helps some and I have been popping Gas x and prescription heartburn meds. What are theses sharp pains and when will they subside? Sometimes the belly binder helps and sometimes hurts. My stomach looks like I am 6 mos prenant and was even asked such when in the grocery store! I do not regret my decision, I just want to get moving...please advise. P.S. My post-op follow-up is Thursday and I still have a drain in place.

I am not sure what surgery part two even is? Are you saying your sleeve has failed and need a revision or are you talking about plastics or what?

I just started the process of looking to get DS Surgery in Mexico. I know there are a lot of different organizations that can coordinate this process for you, the one I filled out the Health form for is Tijuana Bariatrics, using Dr. Fernando Garcia at Hospital CER. I got a response that I have been cleared for surgery. I am an RNY Gastric Bypass member (10 years out) and want to do a revision to the DS (I gained all the weight back in the last 3-4 years). When I first submitted my form, their response was they wanted to "revise" my gastric bypass because they don't recommend the DS because of gas issues? Has anyone else heard of this? I want the surgery, but only if I can get the DS. Also, my coordinator Karen seems very quick and anxious to get my deposit (this is self pay because the insurance I have through my work doesnt cover bariatric surgery at all). I am worried about getting scammed?! This all seems too easy. Hoping that someone here can lend some advice? Also, wondering if anyone has used any of the financing options listed on their website? Citerra Finance, Medicard, Medical Financing Solutions.. I guess I got a lot of questions..ha ha Sara

Check with Dr. Esquerra in Mexicali. I'm unsure if he does revisions but I know many who had his/her DS with him. I've also sent you a PM.