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I'm doing okay. I have lost 40 pounds. I am a revision surgery from band to sleeve. I have had some beers and some cocktails recently and also have cheated a few times on my food plan but I ate in smaller amounts than I would have. I'd like to drop another 20 pounds but I'm fitting into a lot of my skinny clothes again so that's encouraging. I try to walk 10,000 steps five times per week.

No I didn’t have one for my sleeve or my revision to rny.

Hi PB&J, I had my one week post-op appointment today. I don’t even feel like I had a surgery. I’m a little bit tired, but that’s all. I think they do many, many surgeries and have plenty of experience. I’m sorry for your disappointment regarding the sleeve, but it’s much better to know that it’s not a good option. I had the sleeve and ended up with the upper chest pain of GERD without actually having reflux. This surgery was a revision to bypass. One surgery is better than two, lol.

Why not? It's certainly been done before. The earliest scripture is generally considered to be the “Pentateuch”, the first five books of the Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy… though there is some scholarly evidence to indicate that the Old Testament Book of Job may actually be the oldest book in the Bible. These writings were passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. By approximately500 BC, the 39 Books that make up the Old Testament were completed, and continued to be preserved in Hebrew on scrolls. As we approach the last few centuries before Christ, the Jewish historical books known as the “Apocrypha” were completed, yet they were recorded in Greek rather than Hebrew. By the end of the First Century AD, the New Testament had been completed. The oldest copies of the New Testament known to exist today are: The Codex Alexandrius and the Codex Sinaiticus in the British Museum Library in London, and the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican. They date back to approximately the 300’s AD. In 315 AD, Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identified the 27 Books which we recognize today as the canon of New Testament scripture. In 382 AD, the early church father Jerome translated the New Testament from its original Greek into Latin. This translation became known as the “Latin Vulgate”, (“Vulgate” meaning “vulgar” or “common”). He put a note next to the Apocrypha Books, stating that he did not know whether or not they were inspired scripture, or just Jewish historical writings which accompanied the Old Testament. The Apocrypha was kept as part of virtually every Bible scribed or printed from these early days until just 120 years ago, in the mid-1880’s, when it was removed from Protestant Bibles. Up until the 1880’s, however, every Christian… Protestant or otherwise… embraced the Apocrypha as part of the Bible, though debate continued as to whether or not the Apocrypha was inspired. There is no truth to the popular myth that there is something “Roman Catholic” about the Apocrypha, which stemmed from the fact that the Roman Catholics kept 12 of the 14 Apocrypha Books in their Bible, as the Protestants removed all of them. No real justification was ever given for the removal of these ancient Jewish writings from before the time of Christ, which had remained untouched and part of every Bible for nearly two thousand years. The first hand-written English language Bible was produced in the 1380’s by John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor, scholar, and theologian. The invention of the printing press in the 1450’s made the Bible widely available to lay people. In 1496, John Colet, another Oxford professor and the son of the Mayor of London, started reading the New Testament in Greek and translating it into English for his students at Oxford, and later for the public at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London. In 1516 the scholar Erasmus published a Greek translation of the New Testament. This milestone was the first non-Latin Vulgate text of the scripture to be produced in a millennium… and the first ever to come off a printing press. Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German from Erasmus Greek-Latin text and eventually went on to publish an entire Bible in German in the 1530’s. William Tyndale wanted to use the same 1516 Erasmus text as a source to translate and print the New Testament in English for the first time in history. Tyndale showed up on Luther's doorstep in Germany in 1525, and by year's end had translated the New Testament into English. The first complete English Bible was printed on October 4, 1535, and is known as the Coverdale Bible. John Rogers went on to print the second complete English Bible in 1537. It is a composite made up of Tyndale's Pentateuch and New Testament (1534-1535 edition) and Coverdale's Bible and some of Roger's own translation of the text. It remains known most commonly as the Matthew-Tyndale Bible. In 1539 the Archbishop of Canterbury hired Myles Coverdale to publish King Henry VIII’s “Great Bible”. It became the first English Bible authorized for public use. In the 1550's, the Church at Geneva, Switzerland, was very sympathetic to the Protestant reformers. Many of them met in Geneva, and under the protection of John Calvin, the Church of Geneva determined to produce their own Bible. Their New Testament was completed in 1557 and the complete Bible was first published in 1560. It became known as the Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible became the Bible of choice for over 100 years of English speaking Christians. Between 1560and1644 at least 144 editions of this Bible were published. In 1568, a revision of the Great Bible known as the Bishop's Bible was introduced. Despite 19 editions being printed between 1568 and 1606, this Bible, referred to as the “rough draft of the King James Version”, never gained much of a foothold of popularity among the people. With the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Prince James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. The Protestant clergy approached the new King in 1604 and announced their desire for a new translation to replace the Bishop's Bible. This "translation to end all translations" (for a while at least) was the result of the combined effort of about fifty scholars. In 1611 the first version of the King James Bible was published. The Anglican Church’s King James Bible took decades to overcome the more popular Protestant Church’s Geneva Bible. One of the greatest ironies of history, is that many Protestant Christian churches today embrace the King James Bible exclusively as the “only” legitimate English language translation… yet it is not even a Protestant translation! It was printed to compete with the Protestant Geneva Bible, by authorities who throughout most of history were hostile to Protestants… and killed them. Throughout the 1600’s, as the Puritans and the Pilgrims fled the religious persecution of England to cross the Atlantic and start a new free nation in America, they took with them their precious Geneva Bible, and rejected the King’s Bible. America was founded upon the Geneva Bible, not the King James Bible.

I stop as soon as I get the slightest twinge and wait 20 minutes to try again. Take very small sips and tiny bites and chew lots. My CT scan shows there might be a piece of the old band left in there but they are not sure. It can be somewhat normal for a while after a hernia repair. Lap band 2009 Sw 200/lw 161 Sleeve revision 17 May/17 Sw 217 CW 193

The closer I get to surgery the more I think about my relationship with food over the years. Today, while cleaning, I came across my recipe box. I became overwhelmed with emotion and my first thought was to throw my recipes away. My first thought is usually wrong so I put them back in the box and back on top of the refrigerator. At some point I think I will revise my recipes to be post-op friendly. I admit it, I cried... My surgery is 20 days away!! June 25th.

I had a 2nd slip last year and the doc did a revision (first time it slipped I had a doc who didn't believe they worked even though I had lost 72 lbs in 7 months -I started at 237- so he simply emptied it without doing any imaging to see how bad it was. I agree that it isn't the same. Doesn't mean it won't work if I go back to basics. I too have gained half of it back. Saw these posts and decided it was time to start logging food and exercise. Keeps me honest because I weigh, measure and put it in writing. Good luck to you. You aren't doing this walk alone.

Please add me to the November list November 7, 2012 12:30 be at hospital 10:30 Wow hard to sink in that it is really going to happen Revision from lab band to gastric bypass.

I just had a revision to the sleeve in mid-August. I had my Lapband removed due to issues and knew I couldn't remove it without gaining weight again. It was much more involved than my out-patient Lapband surgery. I had my surgery around 12:00 noon, and I don't think I really woke up enough to even get up to go to the bathroom until 9:30 that night. I did not have a catheter or a drain. I had 5 incisions. My mouth was so dry I couldn't talk well. I did stay overnight. I had an IV and I did remember to ask for an abdominal binder to help when I tried to get up out of the bed. I used it for a while even when I got home. I actually tightened it too much and ended up with dots on my stomach for a bit, I guess from the elastic. It was quite an experience, but I am glad I did it. I haven't had reflux since then. I have been slow to lose weight, but I had already lost 100+pounds with my Lapband. I started with an app, logging everything I ate to help me keep track of protein and I think it actually helped me eat too much. I have scrapped it as of yesterday. We will see what happens. Good luck! I just had to keep telling myself the surgery part/liquid diet stuff was temporary.

Me too. Banded 2005. Removed 2011. Sched for VSG 6/27. Hope all of us revisions do great this time around!

I think we all have those thoughts to some extent. I was a band to bypass revision and oh the mental conversations I had with myself in the days before the bypass. I mean, I failed a band, why will this work???? But it DOES work (and you will be bitchy! Be prepared). You're worried, you're taking this seriously, you're concerned about the future...all good signs that you'll do great!

Laura -- maybe we just need to fly to Houston and have Terry take us to Dr. Spivak!! I called Fill Centers USA and they will only use saline. A lady from Ethicon Endo-Surgery called back this afternoon and she said that she would check to see if any of the engineers were aware of Omnipaque. I told her I'd sign up for a trial!! I'm so upset and I'm only looking at a second surgery. I cannot imagine being in your place knowing that you have already had a revision once before!! :confused:

I just posted a similar question in the insurance forum. I was a self pay banster, but was told insurance WOULD pay for complications. It hasn't covered an unfills due to dehydration though. There is no way I could pay for removal/revision right now, but can't live like this either.

Hey! I’m hoping to find someone that’s going on a similar journey. in 2016 I had a sleeve. Lost 100 lbs, got pregnant in 2017 but Kept most of. Then in 2019 we started fertility treatments for number 2 and I gained all 100 back. I’m having bypass revision on Jan 6. I’m panicking. I’m 30, I have two girls, 4 and 1. Live in Illinois. I have an extremely sarcastic personality. Not a good marriage, not much support. I don’t really have friends. Anyone? Lol I sound like a blast

I just read your response for this person as well. I'm definitely trying to uplift my spirits in every way! I guess it's all about calorie counting and keeping active! I wonder if after so many years, one's stomach does actually shrink. Hi! Life without the band has been good and bad. I am constantly struggling with trying to lose weight. I eat between 1200 to 1500 calories per day. I walk 30 to 45 minutes each day. I also do Zumba 3 times a week for 60 mins and strength training twice a week. I feel like I am not getting very far with weight loss. I haven't gained. As far as physically, I feel soooooo much better! I don't have reflux anymore and I can sleep on 1 pillow instead of 8 pillows. I still feel some restriction due to the smaller size of my stomach, I can eat more but i get full usually on half a sandwich. I still try to focus on healthier options. No more vomiting thankfully. Occasionally I have some heartburn but it is very mild and I have a history of it prior to band anyways, but definately has improved since band was removed. Today is October 4th and I can easily do ab workouts at Zumba class. I actually started working on abs about 4 weeks after removal, starting slowly and knowing my limitations and stopping when too uncomfortable. I do not regret the removal at all. It is such a relief for me. I am planning on revising to bypass hopefully next month. Best of luck to you on your band removal, you will feel better once removed. Hopefully I answered your question. If there is anything else specific that you would like to know, I would be happy to tell you anything that can help

You're welcome. I think many of us have DREAMS of where we will be when we hit the 1 year mark but......when it comes down to it at least we took the steps to help ourselves and we need to remember that. It took us a long time to put it all on so it takes longer to come off. I really think we all forget that because it comes off easy at first for most. Me...I never dreamed I'd be in this predicament right now nor did I EVER think I'd put 30 back on after working so hard to take it off UGH. I'll get there though...after this revision. It's nice to have a fresh start and I plan on doing better for myself this time around Including getting my gym downstairs all set up and ready after I heal up from the surgery :biggrin:

Hi Helen, I would take WASAs advice as she has hadf a revision and knows the operation and care surrounding it like the back of her hand. Trust the advice from her and ignore uninformed nurses. I hope you feel better soon. Hugs, Jane

Hi, I'm new here. Pre-revision post lapband removal. It appears to me that you have walked before me in this. I'm nervous about getting approval for sleeve, now that band is out..well...I'm gaining. I had the band in Mexico and all was well until I became ill on every front. My health plan is reviewing my situation. Did you go back to Mex for the revision? I have lost some and don't want to regain all while waiting. How was that for you? Thank you, LB

I contacted for a revision. I had incision because Dr. KELLY removed the lapband. He never performed the gastric sleeve. I still needed help to keep the weight off. That is why I gained 20 Pounds so fast.

If there was no sleeve procedure, MBC surgeon will perform gastric sleeve and the only charge she will be responsible is the revision part ($1400). Plus travel and related expenses, additional time off work, etc...for something that should have been done correctly the first time --and was paid for. I didn't even know a "loose sleeve" was an option...I haven't seen that term used in all of the research I have done. I will make sure I ask my Dr. about this. Mexico Bariatric Center fully paid for Debra Stienmen original surgery to Dr. Ramos Kelly. MBC has fulfilled its contractual obligations with Mrs. Steimen and deems it unnecessary to provide compensation at this time. Did Mexico Bariatric Center fully pay for Debra's surgery to Dr. Kelly with Debra's money that she paid to MBC for the surgery and additional services as contracted or did MBC fully pay for Debra's surgery as a gift to her? I understand Mexico Bariatric Center trying to defend themselves. The coordinators are not the ones performing the actual procedure and can't control the doctors actions in the OR. There is a level of professional business integrity that looks to be lacking. To say that Mexico Bariatric Center has gone "above and beyond in this case" may be a stretch. The actions of A Lighter Me, Janese and Sandy show what going above and beyond means. They were able to "clean up the mess" that Debra was in --- which should have been handled by MBC. It shows there was a way to work through the negative situation and make it right. Maybe if MBC had handled the situation differently, it would have portrayed them in a different light without a need for a rebuttal within this forum. The subject of obesity and the struggles with weight are very personal. I hope this was an isolated incident that was mishandled by a small representation of the business and doesn't reflect the core values of a company that should be customer focused.

Hello, My name is Debra Steimen. It has taken me several months to recover from my mexico bariatric experience to talk on these forums. Now it is time. Please feel free to ask me any questions regarding my experience. If you don't ask you may fall victim to: Mexico Bariatric Center mexicobariatriccenter.com WeightLossMex.com SOURCiS, Inc., doing business as, Mexico Bariatric Center. Address: 705 E. Bidwell Suite 2-111 Folsom, CA Last April my lapband of 5 years slipped and needed removal. I was told that it would cost me $40.000 out of pocket to have it removed because my insurance did not cover the removal. Desperate, I contacted Christy at mexicobariatriccenter. Christy told me that the owner was in business for years leading me to believe that the company was in business for years. Christy was very believable and seemed very concern with my welfare. I trusted her and the company and went ahead to schedule a lapband removal and a gastric sleeve. Christy suggested that I use a specific doctor because of his experience, since she did not think the other doctors had enough experience with revisions. It would only cost me $6,500. My Surgery was scheduled a few weeks later. I arrived in San Diego and was taken to a little hospital. The Mi Hospital. I was being registered by a Mexico bariatric center assistant that seemed very shady. He made me feel uneasy. After being register I was moved to a normal hospital room. I was undressing when a staff member came in and told me I needed to be moved. I was then escorted down to a different floor in a room with no nursing attendant and no other patients. I was a little confused but I was trying to go with the flow until I realized my hand had swollen up three times it size. The needle that was inserted penetrated my vein. I rushed out into the hall asking for help by anyone that I thought could understand english. Finally someone ran upstairs to get a nurse. I was so freaked at this moment. Debra Swiszcz <dswiszcz@gmail.com> 4/9/13 to cindy Hi Christy, I'm pretty nervous right now. They have not been able to get an IV in me. I was put into one room and moved to another room down on the second floor. I don't think there is a-nurses station on this floor. Finally they called a surgery nurse to put the Iv into my hand. She thought she go it in however 20 minutes later I look down and my hand was swollen 4x it's size with fluids. People are all very nice here but I'm still a little confused about my room. It has no call buttons for a nurse. I had to run and find someone to look at the IV in my hand. I'm really getting worried about the safety. Sent from my iPad Debra Swiszcz Things didn't get better during my stay. I was in that room for a day and a half before they moved me into a real room. 4/12/13 to christy Hello Christy, I hope you had a nice day. I was up early and walked a total of 5 miles. I paced myself and did it in intervals. I spoke to Daniel this afternoon around 2pm and he told me doctor Kelly was going to stop by this evening with the return to work certificate. It is now 7:55 and I haven't heard anything from anyone. No note, not what time I should be ready in the morning to leave for the airport. It's a really good thing Im very independent and smart enough to reach out to you early enough so you can help with some answers. With that said. Can you please find out what time Victor will pick me up at the hotel? Victor told me that Daniel should have contacted me with the information. Also is doctor Kelly really coming or do We need to figure out another way for me to get note. I really don't understand why Daniel couldn't run the note over this afternoon to make sure it was in my hands. It's only a five minute drive. I really don't know what his problem is with me. Yesterday he's ask me if I would like him to pick up omeprazol since he was going for other patients. I.asked how much was it and he told me around $15.00. I didn't have change and I gave him a twenty. I told him he owed me five dollars back. Some how I knew he would not give me the money back. If he handed it back to me I probably would have told him to keep it but since he didn't bring it up again. I just though wow he thinks he deserves at 35% tip. He is leaving a bad taste in my mouth and today is just adding to the pot. Ps my phone does not work in Mexico. I'm in room 219 if you want to call me at the hotel. Warm regards, Debra S Desperate to have the revision that I went through hell, something I would never have accepted in the States. In Mexico I guess I just expected this was normal. I'm well traveled so once I was at the hotel I was pretty much on my own. I felt fine after the surgery and could eat just about anything I wanted. I was starving. What was wrong with me? Several months after the surgery I gained 20 lbs. I contacted the doctor and Mexico Bariatrics. No response. I finally got this email telling me to stop eating. "Really" Stressed and my whole self esteem deflated I just felt something was wrong. I contacted MBC and spoke to the owner Ron. I told him of my concerns. I didn't believe the doctor they recommended preform the gastric sleeve. He ask me to get some test done in the states to verify my concerns. Again out of my pocket $3000.00 later I was told by my doctor her in the states the procedure was not done. Mexico Bariatrics washed their hand of me. I was shit out of luck. My story got out to others by an x-employee of Mexico Bariatrics Janice from A LIGHTER ME called me and asked me about what had happened with my surgery. I told her my story and she was dumbfounded. She then confirmed the rumors I heard about Mexico Bariatrics. MBC was only in business for a few months at the time of my surgery. The owner Ron at MBC was the webmaster for a Lighterme and had no experience. Janice reached out to her boss and owner of A Lighter Me, Sandy Johnston. Sandy contact me herself and listened to my story. She was so nice. She offered me to come to Mexico with A lighter Me at cost to find out what exactly was performed on my stomach that cost me $6500. On February 2014 I had a surgery performed by Dr. Ortiz from A Lighter Me On his report ( I have copies ) It states that no gastric sleeve was performed. He himself performed the gastric sleeve. It is now two months later and I have lost about 10 pounds. I hear from Ronda the dietitian once every two weeks to make sure i stay on track Sandy the owner has called me as well as Dr. Ortiz himself. The care and concern from the staff at A lighter me has been wonderful. A difference of Night and Day from MBC. The moral of the story. Research carefully what you are about to do with your body in Mexico. The Dr. that performed my surgery was DR. RAMOS KELLY ( I am not the first patient that he has done this too.) Please if you have questions contact me. I would love to help anyone about to undergo a bariatric surgery in Mexico.

How come you had to get a revision? I have been so sore, that I don;t know if I could ever do it again! Anyway, could you tell me on average what your daily menu looks like? I can;t wait to eat again!

Hello Helen, Nice to meet you. I think my surgery took around 1 hour 30 mins but it was a straight laproscopic procedure on a virgin (so to speak) stomach. So basically I don't really know what you should expect for a revision and open surgery I am afraid. Regarding pain it was fine, please don't worry. I was dosed with morphine directly after surgery and my nausea from the anasthetic was treated very promptly via intravenous drugs. I was walking around the day of the op, but I was done laproscopically so I don't know how you will be I am afraid. I was leak tested the day after using liquid that I had to swallow in front of an xray machine. I don't know if they do it differently in the UK, this was in the Czech Republic. I was on liquids for 2 weeks and mushies for the next 2 weeks and then normal after that. I think different surgeons have different regimes though. Please keep me posted on how you get on. Do you still have the slipped lapband inside you? I can send you my diet plan if you like, PM me for it. But your own doctor will have their own plan I would hope. Where are you getting this done? All the best, Jane

This is going to sound so obvious it's stupid but please do try your best not to vomit AT ALL between now and your surgery date. If you have a slip and a lot of inflammation they may not be able to revise you to a sleeve at the same time as band removal. You need for all the swelling to go down in order to have a safe revision. Risks are already triple for a revision vs. if you never had a band. Swelling makes it much worse. Milk and yogurt? (eye roll)

Silviamom...When did you have your band removed? I have heard the 30% chance of leakage is when you have the revision, but if you wait 6 months and everything is healed the chance of leakage goes way down. I also don't have any interest in bypass, to many risks for me. when do you plan on having your sleeve? mine will be around Xmas or right after the first of the year.