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Like you, I had a sleeve also. Ultimately I lost 110 pounds and have regained 60 if those pounds. As I write this, I'm sitting in the hospital waiting to be discharged. I had a revision to a bypass on this past Saturday so I'm 3 days out of surgery. I didn't have any acid reflux, I just felt like a failure and knew that I was still very unhealthy and unhappy. This particular surgeon requires that his patients follow a clear liquid diet for 3 weeks following surgery and right now that seems to be my issue. I'm ready for my protein shakes. Sent from my SM-G930P using BariatricPal mobile app

What qualifies a person as a Vet? Can I claim that hat? I think there are so few because after the first couple of years we get less obsessed with weight loss and just go back to “ normal “ life. We don’t need the constant support and feel we should just be getting on with things. We come back when something has gone wrong and we are staring down the barrel of a revision. At that point we feel like we have a lot of experience but we are also confused and apprehensive and a little bit scared. Can we do it again and be successful. Will we survive that bl@@dy awful preop diet for a second time etc I know what worked for me the first time was education education education.

Congrats and welcome to the Revision club! Did they warn you that your weight loss might be slower than "typical" with the revision? If not, be aware, but don't let it get you down, I'm done 100 lbs since my pre-revision check in, so, we can do it just as well as first timers!

Statistically the band fails more often than not. If it didn't then major manufacturers wouldn't have packed up shop and stopped making parts. Surgeons all over the world wouldn't have stopped installing them. I find it funny that folks continue to push it, with all the slippage, erosions, scar tissue issues, that people swear up and down that those that failed... failed and it wasn't the bands fault. For me, The band did not perform the way it needed to. The healthy foods I should have had no issues with, were nothing but problems. And whereas I didn't have any erosion or slippage, my band was 100% encapsulated in scar tissue and was a problem that required removal. No one is going to tell me that I failed the band. The band failed me. This is pretty clear with my continued weight loss with the revision to bypass, if it was I that failed the band... then the bypass would not be working as effectively as it currently is, now, I'm able to eat those healthy foods that the band prevented me from eating. But still, the majority of failures are not the fault of the user. Some, sure, but majority... no.

Hi all I'm 1 day post Op revision Band to Bypass and doing great my surgery was @ 10am yesterday Oct 22. I was a lil nauseated after surgery and pain was around a 6. I was up walking on my own at 7pm that night. Still NPO till swallow study results are in. I can't say enough great thing about my surgeon David Provost he is AWESOME very knowledgeable and straight to the point, which I love. If anyone has any post Op advice I would love to hear it PLEASE

To come back to topic I think these 60% EWL after 5 years or so are pretty much common after some decades of WLS. I don't know how many people really get to a normal or near-normal weight and maintain it after 10 years or so. I don't know many people IRL who had WLS. One had lap band as well and gained it all back. Another one got to a normal weight and gained part of it back. Another one got lap band and revision to bypass and after looking at a picture of her a few months ago she gained at least most of it back. About the people on the boards who vanish - who knows? After all I vanished from the boards for years and years before a revision got me back to one. When it comes to weight and regain and the like I think too many people are asking the wrong question. Usually the question is: "What are these people doing to get to a and maintain a normal weight?" I personally think the question should be: "What enables these people to do the necessary things to get to a and maintain a normal weight?"

Thanks for filling out a little more info about your journey! So your revision from band to MGB was also laparoscopic and more recent and would also provide you with the advantages of the latest techniques and surgical advances in WLS! Good for you! And you make a great point about being able to fake anything on the internet. I remember the "Kimmer" scandal and class action lawsuit. She set herself up as a guru, charged money for a VLC diet and forum membership and said she was this total fox. She turned out to be well over 300lbs, and was a regular consumer of candies/chocolates like Snickers etc and an alcoholic.

Actually I had that for the first few months and I decided to go lower on profile after that "ban wave" rushed through the boards and the "tough lovers gang" got banned. Never had pics online here (or anywhere) other than the one my employer made of our department. I think the older users can remember that I had them on my profile. About regain: I wrote in older posts about (temporary) regain when I stopped smoking and when the band started to migrate and fail in the year before revision. Both times the weight loss following the regain was easy and without a real effort. I have a BMI of 25 or 26 (depending on season) and I'm still not sure if I should shell out the money for plastics but I guess I will in the end. I'm actually quite afraid of complications on the one hand but on the other hand I'm quite unhappy with several of my hanging body parts. Stats can be faked and the person in the picture might not really be me. So while I can see where you're coming from I don't think it really adds to the credibility of a person when he/she is posting stats. For example, I wrote above that I had temporary regain twice and that getting rid of the weight again was quite effortless. Well, it could be that I made that up or that I regained four or five times during the years or that I struggle mightily... posting any stats or pictures won't change that everything I write here could as well be a big, fat lie. I have drawn information for free from the net without end regarding endless topics so I'm happy to provide my experiences and opinions in return because I think they might be helpful for others but I don't need people to believe me. I'm not butt hurt if people on a message board don't believe what I have to say or that they might think my whole account is fake and I never had WLS because at the end of the day it doesn't really make a difference for me. I'm not writing on message boards to make my living. 😂 Can't provide any horror stories here. I had laparoscopic gastric banding and you can only see the little scars at the usual incision points. But back in the days it was lap band for a young woman or nothing so there wasn't much to choose from.

I had my revision done on 1018 and this is three days post op not been drinking a lot of Crystal light I’m eating sugar free Popsicles and sugar-free Jell-O for the next week and I think I’m feeling pretty good but yeah I get pretty tired also they also have this tube coming out of the side of my stomach for discharge so I’m hoping to get that removed next or this Thursday when I go see my doctor for. Anyway I’m kind a new to this so I’m gonna keep trying to come on and get suggestions in friendships And I wish you all a blessed day

Hello to revision from lapband to sleevers. I’m 22 days out and just wondering how everyone is doing. I’m having a lot of heartburn no matter what I eat. I’m still very fatigued if I do something for more the two hours straight, like housework. I actually feel faintish. Sometimes I’m hungry sometimes not. When I eat I have to be very careful because I don’t feel full until it’s to late then I’m sick, I’m trying to measure out food but I’m so hungry at that moment that I feel that one more tablespoon is not going to make a difference..wrongo! Otherwise I’m feeling great, no pain or soreness anymore I never took pain meds so that wasn’t and issue. Sleeping is getting better can lay on my side now without discomfort!! Just like to know how everyone else is doing and stage they are in?

Your message sounds like my hubby all over. He had the Lap Band for 13 years. It finally got to where he couldn't even hold down water. Went to a new Dr, and he went to have his Band removed and have a revision to the RNY, when they got in there his Band had eroded into his liver. He had to much scar tissue so he closed him up and told us he could have the revision in 3 months. Well...that didn't work at all. He developed 5 different stains of infections. And was deathly sick for 9 months. After he got well the Surgeon that did my RNY and his attempted revision told him they wouldn't do his surgery at all. So in 2016 he decided he would go to Mexico. He wanted the RNY, but ended up having a Sleeve. He has not lost much weight, but a total of 200#'s overall. He says the Sleeve just isn't restrictive as the RNY but..he actually doesn't do it consistently. He will do great for awhile but then he falls off his wagon again. I swear he loses 5#'s over night if he tries. Good Luck on your upcoming surgery. You definitely have been thru it all!! It will be here before you know it!!

Surgery was successful🤗 Band to bypass revision & A hernia repair on Oct 16, 2018. stayed 2 nights at the hospital. Terrible shoulder pain since I been home. They say it's gas.. I'm walking & applying a heating pad on it, but the pain LAWD it hurts!!! I got a JP drain which is uncomfortable & painful but controlled by medication. I'm getting it removed Wednesday & I can't wait .. Overall, I'm doing good😊

Hi! I had almost your same exact scenario. I had the sleeve 5 years ago at 275. I lost almost 100 lbs in the first year but after the first year i struggled to maintain my weight even exercising and sticking to the diet. I slowly gained back to up 235 (5 years out) and had severe reflux and my hiatal hernia was recurrent. So on 9/10/18 i had a revision from sleeve to bypass, revision of my hiatal hernia repair and my gallbladder removed. I had a rough start after surgery. I sailed thorough my sleeve recover 5 years ago easily so i though this would be the same. But I had a lot of trouble getting my fluids in and i got dehydrated and had to get IV liquids the first week and i ended up with a partial bowel obstruction the second week and back in the hospital for 5 days. The sleeve to bypass transition as been harder than i expected. I just didn't expect the surgery and adapting to the bypass stomach to be so different from the sleeve. The first month for me was very hard and i struggled to get in fluids and calories. I had a lot of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but i think a lot of that stemmed from the problems with the partial bowel obstruction. I am 6 weeks out now and doing much better. I still struggled with hitting my fluids goal and my new pouch is very grumpy at times so it doesn't like alot of things..lol But i have found foods that are gentle to my stomach and I getting my energy level back up. I have always able to eat pretty much anything i wanted, even after the sleeve surgery nothing really bothered my stomach. Spicy, beef, rich or fried food etc.. This was both a blessing and a curse, but after the bypass my stomach is very sensitive. So far and i have to be very careful trying new things because my bypass pouch will let me know quickly if she doesn't like it. Good luck with your surgery what ever you decide. I hope my post doesn't scare you off. Although, my complications can happen they are not the norm. I admit had times the last 6 week that i had "buyers remorse" ( which is pretty normal) and though what have i done. But now that i am gaining my strength back and staring to feel better, and i am losing i feel like this was the right decision for me,a nd these complication and limitations will help keep me on the right path to success. As of today I have lost 35lb (counting my 2 week preop liquid diet). They say revision patients will lose slower than first time WLS patients, but i am happy with my progress so far. I had a 2 week staff after the 3rd week, and i just started losing again. Hopefully, It will continue! Best of luck to you! Keep us posted!

Hello all. Just visited with my Dr. 5 years post sleeve start weight 239 current weight 200. I lost 69 pounds max got down to 170. Now here I am. I have a hiatal hernia from my first sleeve and the worst acid reflux. Dr tells me I should have had the bypass from the start. The only way to fix things is to do the bypass. I workout 4 x a week and still diet with no results other than feeling healthy and young but still overweight. I've gotten to where I don't even care about the weight loss from the surgery anymore just want to be healthy and keep doing what I'm doing. Has anyone else experienced this and has the surgery and what were your results?

Wow!!!! I am having surgery on November 6 as well. I guess we will all have turkey broth for Thanksgiving. I am excited even though I won't be eating my way through the holidays. I am excited about a new year and a new outlook. Hope we can all stay in touch along this journey. By the way, I am getting a revision from Lap Band to Gastric Sleeve.

I was in a somewhat similar situation with regards to insurance coverage and time frame. I had to revise from the band to the sleeve because I had esophageal dilation, then all the fluid removed. The entire time my team told me to just not gain weight because I was already under 40 BMI and had no co-morbidities. We set a date, I completed all of the prep and my surgeon submitted the paperwork. I received notice that I still needed to lose 5% and had 2 weeks to lose 10.8 pounds or my surgery would have to be rescheduled (they were booking 2 months out)...Grrrr! I lost 10 pounds in that time frame by following the pre-op diet and daily cardio. Resubmitted, with the thought that it wouldn't be approved because I missed the mark by 0.8 pounds😒. But it was!! It was stressful because I nearly had to weigh-in naked to document the 10.8 pound loss on the very last day the surgery could still be considered, and I was so close (I wouldn't have even need to cut off an arm to make goal!). Sometimes the insurance companies will surprise you and do what is right! I concur, the diet is challenging, but you can do this! I had to follow it for a month (two weeks for the power weight loss sprint, then two weeks truly for the assigned pre-op diet). Yikes! I don't know if it got easier or I just became delirious and convinced myself that I was eating real food, but I survived. You definitely can and will, too!!! Think positive; it is so worth having the mindset that your surgery will progress as planned...so be prepared!😊

First... relax. Second, use the search feature to search for "Stalls" They happen very often, it's normal, BREATHE! Stop freaking out, just follow your diet plan and don't stress. Make sure you are getting upwards of 128oz of water (yes that much, it's important) and if they didn't tell you, typically band revisions don't lose as fast or as much as those that haven't been revised. And for your own sanity. DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS... no one is going to lose the same way you do, so don't even open that can of worms.

I’m feeling VERY discouraged! I bad lapband to sleeve revision surgery September 13th and in the first month or so dropped about 25lbs. However, but the end of the 4th week or so and up until now I’ve been at a CRAWLING weight loss pace...I don’t weigh every day, but it feels like I’m just bouncing between 355-358. How am I stalling this early on? I’m not eating nearly as much as I used to, of course and doing my damndest to get in all of my protein. (It’s really hard since protein shakes are now making me gag just because I’ve been doing them basically non-stop for the last 2-3months in my pre and post-surgery diets.) I’ve tried exercise, but I’m so quick to get weak and tired...I think it’s my lack of calories. 😩 I’m wondering if this plateau has something to do with being on such a restricted diet for so long. I lost about 125 with diet and exercise prior to surgery, I was eating about 1400 cal/day and exercised pretty heavy as well. It’s so frustrating with this lack of stamina and eating so little while not seeing numbers change. I’ve decided to cut out ALL POSSIBLE carbs from my diet now that I’m off liquids and go straight to low-fat protein options...only because I can get just a few bites of anything in without feeling queasy still and straight protein doesn’t seem to give me that effect as bad. (Anything creamy, heavy or even mildly “rich” makes my stomach churn minutes after eating.) I’ve added protein to my coffee drinks in the morning, trying to get at least one shake in and nibble on chicken, tuna or whatever protein feels like it’ll sit right. Anyway, long story short...I’m trying but not seeing the scale move hardly at all. How much were you guys still losing a month or two out? I’m terrified this stall means trouble on the horizon and I’m failing this sleeve thing! Please help!! 😭😭

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

Personally, I had several. I had some easy, more difficult, almost absurd, and dream. When I was 370, my goals were, 300 for the "easy", 275 for the "more difficult", 250 for the "almost absurd" and 200 for the "Dream". This was when I had the lapband installed. I hit 300. Then I couldn't go any farther, floated up and down from 300 - 320. The revision to the bypass helped me clear all the rest of my goals and now I'm a stones throw from 200. So, the take away, don't be afraid to dream big, just make sure you understand that dream goals might never happen. Set yourself a few goals, that way when you start ticking them off, you won't be frustrated trying to get to JUST that one, crazy, dream goal. And don't forget to celebrate each and every victory with the same level that you would beat yourself up for each failure, it's only fair to be equal!

There is a search button at the top of the forum. It may help to look up topics that relate to your situation. Some links that may interest you. https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418753-weight-gain-after-veg/?tab=comments#comment-4684219 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/381839-has-anyone-be-re-sleeved-revision/?tab=comments#comment-4312175 https://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/418208-causes-of-revisions/?tab=comments#comment-4676887

Gastric Bypass. I had horrible knee pain and GERD pre-gastric bypass and both have resolved. I don’t think I would have lost enough with a sleeve to improve my mobility and pain issues to the degree I have. I’ve also heard of too many people that have VSG but later need to revise to RNY to correct newly developed GERD or poor weight loss results. This is hard because many insurance only pay for 1 weight loss surgery per lifetime so if you require additional surgery later it might require self-pay or none at all. With your financial situation it may be too risky to have VSG because of the possibility of needing another procedure down the road.

It's cool to see another Tennessean on here. I didn't have a revision, so I'm not sure how the psych eval goes with that, but my Dr got my psych eval before I did. They emailed me saying they had it and a few days later the psych dr called saying he had sent over my eval then the next day, I got the copy of his letter to my surgeons office.

Great info everyone! I have my revision from VSG to MGB on 1Nov and would love to get any advise y’all might have.

I’m 1 November! I’m a revision from VSG. I’m super excited to meet everyone!!🤗