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Good for you!!! Rock it! You’ve got it! my revision was 3/18 to 4/29 and nothing. I’m hoping the governor will open up 5/15 but I doubt it. I’m in NY.

lob1999, I suggest that you do your research by reading the forums both here and at the Lap Band message boards (there are several). There are also TONS of bloggers who've had the lap band and post about their experiences. I have about 100 of them bookmarked and checked them daily while I was researching. MY conclusion was that the lap banders had a really high incidence of slippage, erosion and general failure to lose the weight they wanted to lose, whereas those who had VSG seemed to lose a significantly higher percentage of their weight. I had one shot (self-pay) and wanted to make sure I got what I wanted out of the surgery, especially since I was doing it more for health than vanity, like most people. IMO, there are a lot of people who have had band to sleeve revisions because of complications. I just didn't want to do two surgeries and I really didn't want to have to be constantly going to the doctor for a "fill" or an "unfill". I was sleeved on Aug 30 and I'm (so far) content with my decision. Disclaimer: I had several co-morbidities and a death sentence hanging over my head: "Lose weight or you'll be dead in a year." Seeking Health, I STRONGLY suggest you talk to your surgeon and/or your PCP. Your experience sounds atypical of anyone I have met or seen who has had VSG. I cannot imagine the hell you go through with your GI difficulties. It sounds like something is really wrong and you most assuredly need some kind of intervention. I can't imagine living with the side effects you are experiencing. Please post again once you've seen your doctor and let us know that they were able to help you. You're in my prayers. The only person I've heard of who has problems is the sister in law of a friend, but hers are self-inflicted because she is not compliant with either drinking Water or ensuring that she gets enough Protein daily. That lady is in the hospital regularly with malnutrition and dehydration issues. She's a great motivator for me to keep plugging away at the liquids and protein on a daily basis. Every time I see her, I note her pallor and she looks bad, almost emaciated.

Tomorrow makes 2 months since my band to sleeve revision and I am down 35 lbs. I have also been going to the gym 5 days a week and I am eating very healthy. I do think that I still would lose if I were not doing the working out and eating healthy, maybe I would not have lost quite as much. The sleeve won't allow you to eat a ton of food but if you drink a milkshake then that might keep you from losing. I find the sleeve is 1,000 better than the band. I have never thrown up my food with the sleeve where as I threw up every meal with the band. It has been soooooo much easier to make the lifestyle change with the sleeve versus the band. You can also go read up on LilMissDiva on this site. She has lost 100 lbs since her band to sleeve revision which I believe was almost a year ago, and I think she is in a size 4. I also think that she works out quite a bit and eats very healthy. I suppose you can fail with the sleeve but I would think that would be very hard to do and that person might just not be ready to make the changes necessary. My doctor told me that the surgery is only 50% and that I have to put in the other 50%, and I believe that statement to be very true. Good luck to you, you are going to love your sleeve way better than the band

Although I have never personally heard of being re-sleeved I have heard of others like previously mentioned being revisioned to another procedure- ie bypass or RNY. However having said that my advice to you is to not get discouraged- Take what the doctor gave you- still follow the protocols- who knows maybe you will be successfull- it sounds like you may have accepted because it isnt "Normally how he does it" that it wont be successfull- PROOVE HIM WRONG!!! Moniter your intake, exercise- stick with his program who knows you may never need another procedure AND if you did the weight loss you have had will enable him an easier 2nd time around-. I had 5 laparoscopic surgeries before my sleeve and at the time of my sleeve also had my lap band removed- Due to auto immune problems I have a collagen disorder and build scar tissue like crazy- My surgeon didnt have any problems with previous areas nor accessing anything he needed. If by chance you are not OK with your doctor then perhaps you might seek another opinion to see if they can offer anything else in the mean time.. but I'd really give it some time- let your body adjust before you go doing more to it. GOod luck!

I've never heard of anyone having the "sleeve" procedure done twice. I've only heard of people revising from the "sleeve" to a full gastric bypass, or duodenal switch.

I would join 100 %! While I have been approved to have my band removed and then revision sleeve, with insurance, my portion would still be approximately $13,000. Why? Most insurances won't pay for the removal. They will cover the revision and it is all tied in with the surgeon but since I have $6000 out of pocket and the surgeon isn't contracted for removal, that cost is on me. I am stuck with this "thing" inside my body, even though I have developed a hernia and am no closer to my goal weight than I was when I had this put in, in 2008. I know that some of it is me, of course, but due due severe spinal issues I can not exercise the way I did in the past and unless starving, I am at a loss. I had the band opened completely and while food goes down, the nerve endings in my stomach have been altered to the point that I just don't feel full or even satisfied. The hormones released to tell the brain, stop eating, you are full also seem to be off. I will be seeing an eating disorder specialist but as a cash patient, for the lapband, all I want is to be reimbursed to have this horrible device taken out. I don't even care as much about revision but I don't want this in me anymore. I feel that as a patient the description of feeling "full" was so incredibly misleading and it has caused an even worse effect on disordered eating. I have to work diligently to not gain weight now that it is open. I feel that everything has changed so much metabolically and physically that I was never warned about as a side effect.

Willie (my band name for free Willy(fat)) lol Willie and i did great at the beginning we worked together and understood each other until he turned on me. I too was told this band can stay forever if there is no complications, slips, infections ect.. But after about 6 to 7 years he refused to get filled properly so insurance paid for fills and unfills more fills and unfills sometime 2 times in one day, xrays, barium swallows prescription omerprazoles, Over the counter TUMS, Endoscopy ect. ect. They could have paid for the removal of band and getting the sleeve done with that money. And to thing i was denied and had to resubmit (last week) while they (insurance) continued to pay for three back procedures in 2 months ranging from 4000 to 6000 plus a whopping 2500 for accupuncture lol and they (insurance ) think they are saving money by denying the revision. For crying out loud i have degenerative disk, sciatica, bulging disk slipped disk, lumber L2, L3, L4, L5 something that is getting worse with my increasing weight. Oh i'm sorry, i lost track of what we were talking about Yes sign me up!!

Yes I would definitely join as I listened to my Dr that assured me this was safe and 7 years in I have had 2 port revisions and a band revision and now it needs to come out from the damage it's done to my stomach. I don't know how they get away with selling these things. I did lose my weight and just now have gained some back but that's not the point. Health is the point and this device puts people at risk and it's a temporary fix at best. So either way we should want our money back. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T377A using the BariatricPal App

Hi all, I'd be interested to hear any experiences with the Omega loop (mini gastric bypass)! Im from south australia. I had a band in 2007, lots of reflux and developed terrible eating habits. Went from 118.5kgs to 83... Lots of deflations and inflations to try and manage the terrible reflux. Then got pregnant and deflated the band again....Back up to 102 by the baby's birth. Then had the band removed in dec 2012, after I found out it had slipped. Waited 6 month and revised to a sleeve in may 2013... and went from 107 to 93 within the first 2 months and since then.... well, nothing. Up and down on the same 2 kilos my surgeon said my stomach was so damaged by the band that he just couldn't make my sleeve small enough. I can eat normal sized meals... The only positive is that I don't have any reflux! Surgeon recently went to a convention in Vienna about the omega loop and thinks I might be a good candidate... So I'm booked in for October. I feel like a failure that this will be my 4th surgery related to weight loss, but hopeful that this might be the one! Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Hi There, Nice to see some Aussie voices on this site. I am due to have my band removed on 10 July for revision to Rny scheduled for October. (The mandatory 3 month wait with my Dr). I had around 4 yrs of success keeping weight off with the band and was down to around 85kg from original 145kg. Unfortunately I developed esophigal issues (too much vomiting I suspect) and ended up having all Fluid removed from my band. Now I'm back to my pre band starting weight and feeling incredibly depressed about it - can't wait until Oct but very scared all at the same time. Would love to hear from others especially anyone in syd - what doctor / clinics are u going to.

Hi there I had my band to bypass revision on the 13 may. I'm from Perth western Australia.. Where are you all from. When did you have your surgeries..??

I would definitely be interested. I had the lapband back in 2003. I have had other surgeries due to slippage and to put in a new band. I just got it taken out on the 19th of December due to dilated esophagus in which they expected to get better when they took the saline back in February. I got the lapband done in Colorado where they have since closed the clinic. Which I don't understand since they had at least 900 patients. I was 281 down to 140 and now back to 220. My insurance denied a revision to the sleeve. I will be working with primary and surgeon who took it out to hopefully get a sleeve. Kinda stupid that got denies since I am headed to the same place I was before. I have invested so much time and money in the lapband. I live in New Mexico and the many trips to Colorado due to problems and other surgeries such as tummy tuck and arms done due to that insurance doesn't cover. I have paid out AT LEAST $40,000. out of pocket for me. I AM DEFINITELY INTERESTED. And still wondering about the Doctors where the clinic closed.

My first lap band was amazing. Second one has sucked, but I was informed and the band changed my life. Now having revision due to some complications. But I was aware of these complications. Sorry everyone's experience wasn't good. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Nychkole2, yep! Same here! I am African American and have always had super long, thick hair. No longer the case! My hair is so thin that it scares me to think of what revision wls surgery would do to what's left. I am SO afraid of losing the rest of it! I can't afford to have it become any thinner!!! I have to get this thing out if my body!!! Surgery freaks me out though. Yikes!

I'm sorry you're going through this. Doctors definitely do mess up sometimes. I had gastric sleeve surgery in September 2014, but stopped losing weight three months post-op. I was always hungrier than everybody else in my support group who had the surgery around the same time as me and I always told the nutritionist that I could eat more, which she said was good and that it meant I was recovering faster. I moved to a different part of the country for school in August 2015 and started seeing a new facility for my continued care. The new doctor wanted to get familiar with my stomach and ordered an upper G.I. and an endoscopy. He saw that my stomach was the same size as someone who had never had the surgery and the endoscopy showed I had an hpilori infection. The new doctor put me on antibiotics immediately and began discussing my options with me. I have opted for a revision surgery to switch my gastric sleeve to a gastric bypass, which I'm having on Dec 15 (currently on pre-op liquids only). When I had to submit my paperwork to the insurance to pay for this new surgery, I had to get my surgical report from my previous surgery. In that report I noticed that my previous doctor knew I had that same infection (it tested positive from the stomach sample) and did nothing about it- and didn't even tell me I had it. My new doctor was shocked that I had this untreated infection in my stomach for almost a full year. He said that the inflammation from this infection is what could've caused the inflammation in my stomach to make it as big as it is now. He also said he couldn't believe the other surgeon wouldn't treat this because it puts me at a high risk for Post-op ulcers. I contacted my old doctor to see what he had to say and I got a standard reply from the hospital that shifted the blame away from them. They said it was not a standard procedure to notify people or treat them for this infection, even though every Bariatric Health professional I've talked to since then has said that's crazy. All in all, I am trying to Move on and focus on my new surgery. My new doctor explained that I won't have the same weight loss now as if I had had this surgery the first time, but I'm hopeful. Another disappointment from my previous surgeon is that he told me that I should get gastric sleeve, even though I wanted gastric bypass, because he said they don't do gastric bypass anymore unless the patient has diabetes, which I didn't have. So I went with the gastric sleeve because of his recommendation, but now my new surgeon has explained that that is simply not true and that gastric bypass is actually the more successful and clinically proven long term weight-loss solution, whether you have diabetes or not. So I feel your pain having to deal with dumb doctors and I hope you find someone to help you correct the problems. I also hope you find peace with it and know that any weight-loss failures are not your fault. I wish you the best with your health and would be happy to answer as many questions as I can about revisions if it comes down to that for you. Cheers. ~H

Found an interesting review of this surgeon on another site... sounds very familiar. "My first post op visit I had lost 14 lbs. My 3 month post op visit I had lost a total of 35 lbs. At my 6 month visit I had only lost an additional 3 lbs. I never lost anything after that. Dr. Lucktong told me I wasn't eating right and needed to exercise more. I had a physical demanding job and was doing Water aerobics 4 days per week. When I went back to him 3 years post op I was 25 lbs heavier than my pre surgery weight. He told me that I had stretched my pouch out and insurance would not cover a revision. I asked if I needed to come back anymore and he said no. I am now seeing another surgeon who found gastro gastric fistula and said that my stomach was never completely stapled from my pouc h in the original surgery. Dr. Lucktong wouldn't listen to me and would not even consider the fact that maybe there was something wrong. March 31, 2011"

Hi there! I am scheduled for Revision from lap band to gastric bypass on Dec. 12th. I am sooo nervous! I'm self paying so I'm going to Mexico, alone, for the surgery. Can anyone give me some information on how you are doing after your revision, like the recovery period and how much you have lost. I'm really nervous because I was a complete failure with the lap band and I don't want another failed surgery.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I had RNY surgery. “Not obese enough”??? If you medically qualified for the lapband then I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have medically qualified for the sleeve as well. They go by BMI and I believe it is the same for sleeve and band. (40 or, if you have comorbidities then it can be 35) It sounds like you likely used a general surgeon instead of a bariatric surgeon. Both are qualified to do the procedure but a bariatric surgeon is far more educated on the actual Bariatrics aspect. They are much more informed and actually take a couple of years to specialize in WLS. As opposed to a general surgeon who only learns the procedure and then does it. He doesn’t take that extra time to learn the ins and outs of it all. Even being on the smaller side of overweight, I still don’t understand why a surgeon would perform a procedure that has SO MANY complications and such an incredibly small rate of success. Why would he perform this operation at all? It is such common knowledge within the bariatric community that the band is a hugely bad idea. If you said you had it done several years ago then I might understand more, but you had this in 2017. The surgeon should be ashamed. Did he tell you the complication rate is far higher with the band than with any other procedure? Did he tell you people lose far less weight with the band and the rate of regain over a 5 year period is almost double that of the sleeve and RNY? My surgeon told me it won’t be long before we are seeing commercials saying “if you’ve had the lapband and had complications, call the law office of...” I’m very sorry this happened to you. I am super angry for you, to be honest. Your surgeon did you a huge disservice. I actually had a lapband for a long time and the loss was incredibly slow. After several years, I developed complications and nearly died. I had to have the band removed. I chose to also have a revision to RNY and it is a completely different experience. It’s so much better. If you continue experiencing pain or the other issues you mentioned, I would strongly suggest finding a new surgeon and having a consultation. Try your best to find someone who specializes in Bariatrics rather than just a general surgeon. I had a general surgeon with my band too because I really didn’t know the difference, to be honest. It was a huge mistake. I wasted a lot of years of my life with that awful band. Again, I’m very sorry. I’m seriously angry right now. I can’t believe these surgeons are still doing this procedure. Please don’t give up. I know this is hard. It’s so hard. But just remember why you did this. You wanted a healthier, better quality life. You can still have that. It may just happen a little differently than planned, that’s all. As of October 12, 2017, I am 4 months post op and have lost 100 pounds. I have reached my goal weight and could not be more ecstatic!

I've actually been working on something like this with my own recipes.. but if you need help on actually making the book let me know (katie@griffonco.com) Maybe I can just convert my personal work in progress to the LBT book since its already started hehe im also including a lot of info related to eating and the band since i was plannign to give this to a couple girls in my support meetings. But basically will have stages, broken up to what stage your on from pre-surgery to years post op. I have made several cookbooks for family / friends that I've printed and bound with table of contents, pictures etc. I can even help with pricing. Laminating is VERY expensive, so i stopped doing that awhile ago... plus several of the books we did revisions about every year or so adding new recipes etc so they just got a new copy! My dad used to be a head chef and he had me make a book that was about 250 pages catagorized etc. anyways if you need help let me know.. i have all the software needed to make any type of professional looking designs (I'm a professional graphic designer btw) and if we set it up right we could very well make it a website out of it.. (professional web designer too) I actually also have a ton of ideas I've got a binding machine and can generally get the materials fairly cheap. Depending on the size of the book prices vary but the large book that i did for my dad came out about 20 bucks each (including ink, full of pictures, front back covers and the binding) but we didnt make very many of them (just for family) so obviously the more you do , the cheaper it will be. im also able to work out deals with print shops to get cheaper stuff like copies and cutting etc Anyways.. lemme know if you need help perhaps we could set something up to where we sell the books at cost, or perhaps slightly over and we give away prizes from the proceeds with contests nstuff (did i mention i know alot about marketing?) haha so yea email me if your looking for some help

I honestly have never heard, met, talked to, read about anyone having a remotely bad experience with Dr. Aceves. Nothing negative pops into my head about Dr. Alvarez either. I can share my opinion with you. I was a revision patient, I have some medical issues that can cause complications outside of the actual surgery, I researched Mexico and US surgeons, and at the end of the day, Dr. Aceves would have been my surgeon if insurance would not have come through on my revision, and if I needed to travel outside the US. It was a comfort level thing for me. All the research led me to him, his staff, the facilities he operates out of, the sheer number of successful revisions he'd performed, plus additional years of surgical experience that he has under his belt, all contributed to my choice. I had some stateside surgeons picked out as well that are located in Texas because that is where my family lives. The aftercare that is available to you with Dr. Aceves via email and phone was big contributing factor to making him my choice for MX surgeons. Plus, the 3 months f/u labs and upper gi that he offers and recommends gave me another level of comfort with him. I mean seriously, how many MX surgeons offer aftercare at all? Not many. Just my 2cents.

I personally think that while the leak rate MIGHT be 1%, I think the overall complication rate is higher... I think I saw a study that suggested around 2-3% since leak isn't the only complication. I was a band to sleeve revision and the surgeon told me that our risks were probably "about double" that of a virgin sleeve. Scared the crud out of me, but I was in a pretty bad way at 308 pounds, 52 BMI so finally decided I was going to die of obesity if i didn't take the risk. I thank God on a regular basis how well this has gone, no complications so far, and that while I am not at goal I am a normal sized person and my life has changed for the wonderful! It is so scary to read about the complications, but it makes me so happy to read the "happy endings" when people get over it and get back to the business of losing weight and being healthy!

I haven't activated my google account...so it won't let me update. I didn't update in June - 224. July - 224. After port revision, thus delayed fills, in June I had a small setback. Two months of no losing is discouraging, but the scales are moving again. I hope to post a good loss next month. I think I've found my sweet spot. Can someone update me please? The Avengers Thread had been slow lately. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and losing.

I am a PA with many years experience in AGB. Was the erosion found on an EGD or a barium swallow? Did you have any port infection or any other surgical infection in your past history? If there is truly an erosion, the band must be removed and another should not be placed in the future. A gastric sleeve would be risky and many surgeons will not attempt it. Bypass may be an option but consult with a surgeon with experience in doing bariatric revisions. You shouldn't have to regain your weight back, a letter from a surgeon that reads "in order to preserve his excellent weight loss and return of comorbidities, a revision surgery should be performed" would help. I tell my cash pay patients they better have at least 10K saved up for future complications.

Banded 3/19/2012 this summer had to get all fluid taken out. Lost total of 40 lbs, gained back 30 recently. Dr wanted to do revision, bc of stomach coming up over band. Insurance wouldn't pay for new wls so, I said to keep my band. I'm all good now, it went back down with unfill and liquid diet. I go next week for another fill(3rd since unfilled), right now I still have no restriction. With my Dr hating the band now, and not doing them anymore, I feel so isolated. Started local support group this week, but no one has had the band. I feel like I'm on my own. Could anyone give me an encouraging lapband story?

Hi there @@kmt1973 -- there is a group of very successful banders who post on a thread called Banders #7. With so many different surgeries represented here on Bariatric Pal, Banders are somewhat of a minority so I always look there first. And I try to avoid the negative band talk from those who have had revisions. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that and hope that you're on track now -- sounds like the unfill and now refill process is going well. I think some doctors are annoyed at all the followup that a band requires. Most surgeons would rather be in the OR than discussing the finer points of appetite. There are a couple of links in my signature below which really helped me a lot -- the O'Brien Eight Golden Rules of Lapband on videos and the Dr. Simpson link. Best wishes to you!