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I was concerned about that. I do have gerd that did get better when I had a hiatal hernia repair with my band. Now I'm waiting to hear if I get approved to revise to sleeve (had my last appointment on Friday, yay). I had asked and my surgeon said it can be controlled with meds if it happens. Not that I want to be taking a PPI for the rest of my life. But maybe I won't have to and I'll b ok Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I must not have hit submit on Thursday on the post above. I had my revision done robotically onFriday. I also had two IV.

I went to the hospital today for an upper GI to figure out what has been happening. I have had a terrible time the last few months with vomiting/pbing/sliming/acid reflux etc. etc. and the Dr. confirmed I have a slip and I am the 1st patient he has had slip-he stitches the stomach around the band to prevent this from happening. I thought I would post my series of events in case it may help someone else. I had a too tight fill with some vomiting/reflux problems back in May and had a complete unfill and everything looked great on the upper GI-no pouch dilation, no slip, etc. I was just too tight and within about 2 hours I starting feeling better and slept with no acid reflux. I was unfilled for about 5 weeks and went in for I believe two more fills-1cc the first time (I have the 4cc band) and about .5cc the next 5-6 week appointment. The 2nd fill seemed to start causing me problems, I was clogging a lot and started going through the cycle of liquid diet for a few days and then I could slowly start eating again and would feel fine and then horrible acid reflux keeping me up at night started coming. I went in and got completely unfilled in September. I started to feel better and was fine for a few weeks, however the acid reflux did not go away at night-fine during the day-evening came around and the acid started flowing. I was on Prevacid and Carafate and on occasion they helped, but I usually still had the acid reflux at some point. I would eat normal (band standard normal) for 2-3 days and feel great and then I would clog or something 2-3 days of vomiting. I continued to loss weight but had no energy to exercise. The past 2 weeks I was fine during the day, eating and then around 9-10pm I would throw up whatever I ate for the day-even if I had eaten it 5-6 hours beforehand and even if I had been on liquids for the day. I still felt like I had restriction - however I may have confused this with the fact that I have sincerely changed my eating habits. I started waking up just about every hour coughing from the acid and then throwing up-I slept sleeping up as well and it still didn't help-couldn't keep the carafate or the prevacid down and sometimes not water-sometimes I could though (confused me) . The exhaustion from lack of sleep and then not being able to eat was horrible. I got ahold of my surgeon last Friday and he asked me to go on Clear Liquids (1 ounce every 15 minutes) for the weekend ( I threw up every night and finally slept almost through the night last night-but it may have just been exhaustion as I had some acid on my pillow when I woke up) and call him today, which I did and had my test. He wanted to make sure all the fill was in fact out and he was able to pull an additional 1cc of Fluid from my band-not sure where this came from, but hopefully it will help things. I need to have revision surgery and unfortunately he is on vacation until next Thursday-he will be replacing my 4cc band with a new 10cc band and until then, it is liquids for me-he actually said try to gain 10 pounds before the surgery-I asked if he was joking-never in my life did I think I would here that. I will try not to tackle anyone at Thanksgiving-I did just ask my husband if I could lick his chicken-that really sounded good didn't it. I hope this helps someone-I of course wish I would have gone in sooner, but kept thinking it would get better especially after feeling okay and being able to eat for a few days at a time-including an occasional pasta/bread-which I have been able to eat on occasion through the process-just depends. Presurgery 250/current 140/goal 150 5'6"

Denied:( they approved the removal of my band but not a revision due to my bmi being 37 with no comorbidities. They said I have to start all over again.... Supervised diet for 6 months etc.... (Which I won't get approved anyway cause bmi is under 40) I was self pay for the bank 1 1/2 years ago.... I'm devastated.

I had my Lap Band surgery Nov 2006 and had great success with it until late 2008 when several majorly stressful life-altering changes came upon me. I developed stress-related ulcers and as the story goes my Band was never successful again. I wasted 4 years of my life being unhappy with my Band. Being afraid to eat. Not knowing if I could eat or if I would be vomiting. Fast-forward to 2012 and I finally found stability again in my life and was ready to revisit the idea of a Lap Band revision. I had my revision surgery a week ago Wed (Dec 5th, 2012). My doctor corrected a hiatal hernia while in there and I was feeling pretty confidant and great and on the right track until two days after my surgery (Fri) when I became overly nauseous. I dry-heaved for hours that night. I called my doc in the morn and they had me come down for an office vist and called in a rx for anti-nausea med. It didn't help at all. I dry-heaved that night too and the next. Sunday I had a break from it and felt pretty good. Nevertheless on Monday morning (first day back to work) my Doc called me to see how I was doing. He wanted me to pick up a second rx he had called in for me for a different anti-nausea med that would dissolve on my tongue. (without insurance it is NOT cheap, I might add) I took it Mon night after work and within 10 minutes I was dry-heaving violently, racked with chills and misery. I did not that until after 2 in the morning. On Tues I woke up and went into my doc office to be put on IV to get fluids. After that I felt prettty good. No more nausea. However, and this is where I'm getting to the entire point of this post, Wed (yesterday) and all day today I have that terrible "leaky faucet" feeling in my stomach that I used to feel all of the time when my band had slipped prior to revision surgery. And my throat/chest area burns when I inhale or exhale. And I have a splitting headache that will not go away, and seems to get worse when I eat or drink. I am going back down to my doc tomorrow morning for a swallow test, but I really am at a loss here. Has anyone any advice or support to offer me? Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Do you think all of the dry-heaving caused my newly stiched band to slip again? Could the hiatal hernia have reopened with all of the dry-heaving? Very sad and feelings defeated. Melanie, 33

I just had it 2wks ago. My port flipped completely over. My Dr said I'm only the second one after hundreds of surgeries he has done. I'm so special,lol Any ways, this surgery is much easier than the original surgery. You don't have the chest and gas pressure , as with LBS. They also give you pain meds that work well on incision sting. I had to do 24hrs of liquid b/c I also had a 1.5cc fill at time of revision. Needless to say, I'm being very careful not to lift anything to heavy this time. Oh, another thing, didn't have to have to be intubated(?) air tube down my throat and they used local and different sleep meds than LBS. My daughter met me after surgery and said "you look great for someone who just had surgery" and I did feel good, not the WTH did I do to myself after LB! Good Luck, you'll be fine!

Had my port revision yesterday. Glad it's over is all I can say. But here's my takeaway story for the day. So I'm wearing the horrible hospital gown with the sock thingies on as well and waiting with the BF for my surgeon to come in to see me. Already got alot of comments from the nursing staff about the weight loss and was OK with it knowing it would stop once I went home. So as you likely know, the surgical floor is kept fairly cold and while waiting for the surgeon, I tucked my legs up under myself to keep warm. The surgeon walks in and first thing she says after good morning is 'well...look who's all curled up in the chair there.' Figures she would spot that right away knowing that was an impossible position for me at one time. A NSV is a NSV no matter where it happens...

Did you get a fill while having the port revision done?

My PCP is awesome. Just saw her today in fact and told her about my revision from Lap Band to sleeve. She was supportive when I had the band put in and is supportive now that I have been sleeved. But she never once told me to lose weight, even when I was near 300 lbs at 5'2 and 3/4".

I'm finally come to a peaceful mindset about my conversion surgery from Sleeve to Bypass. My surgery date is set for Sept 19th. I have met with my surgeon's assistant and the hospital pharmacist to go over my current meds and meds post op. My surgeon's assistant informed me about changes to recovery meds. My surgeon office no longer prescribes the pca pump or heavy narcotics. I don't know what to make of this. I'm a little worried about pain after surgery. I had plastic surgery last Sept and I was only given 7 days of opioid meds. The first 7 days were trouble. Nothing like my recovery from VSG. I'm praying my recovery from Bypass will be similar to VSG. I will be prescribed gabapentin and tramadol. In addition, some other meds while in the hospital. My surgeon office calls it ERAS protocol. I will see my surgeon again on the day before my surgery. I'll be sure to ask him about this new recovery pain meds protocol.

@@James Marusek My ticker is correct. This isn't my first WLS rodeo, revision from sleeve. Ticker was started back when I was venturing for the last WLS. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement! I actually had a bloodwork up completed this morning, as I am seeing the surgeons office on Friday. We shall see.

I recently had a revision of a gastric sleeve from a Lap band January 16th with the Bariatric Pal team. OH MY GOSH what an awesome experience. I live in Missouri and it was pretty hard to get the right flight in to fit the time schedule but they were amazing to work with me and helped me get a hotel to stay the night before. The surgery was very easy and Dr. Illian was so kind and sweet and listened to any fear and concerns I had about getting revision surgery, about the scar tissue, about not losing as well, about the size of my tummy all of it.. he was amazing and smelled good too!!! LOL I felt NO PAIN at all. I can’t say that will happen to everyone but the nurses were on top of it and I never felt once ounce of pain.. NO gas either.. Sure I was sore and I still am a little but it was amazing how little pain I have felt from MAJOR surgery. I was walking all over the places chatting with other patients and staff. So I was supposed to stay 2 days in hospital and two in the hotel but I only stayed in the hotel one day and they let me go home early due to a health issue with my mother. They were accomodating and so caring and kind. I was treated very well and having so many doctors to come check on me every day besides the nurses and the valet was always close by. Honestly, I got better care then in any regular US hospital. The hospital was as good as any hospital in US and the staff were very professional and treated me well. I loved my own room too.. that was a blessing and the Shower heads were great.. LOL... The hotel is beautiful.. the staff accomodating and the entire experience there was fabulous.... the shower there was great too! LOL I done self pay and it was well worth the price to ensure my health... Thank you Bariatric Pal Team- all of you for giving me my life back.. I will forever be grateful and in debt to you for saving my life.

Im not saying im freaking out. I guess once its gone its gone forever. I firgot to say im a revision patient. I had lapband before. I guess the fact that the grehlin will be lessened will be worth it.

I had my surgery on 9/24/09 I went in for my first fill in Nov. and found out that my port was at an angle that I was unable to receive my first fill. I now have to have it revised.. I go in for pretesting tomorrow and will have the revision on 1/11/10. I am very discouraged and have not been exercising and just eating what I want but small portions. My weight at the time of surgery was 252 lbs and as of today I am still at 229 lbs. Has anyone had this type of experience and how do you get back on track. I am angry because the surgery and healing time went so well but I did not expect to have a revision so soon after surgery! :drool:

Well I probably won't be a ton of help. But I revised from the band to sleeve on Monday. So far I think the pain has been pretty comparable. With the band I took pain meds the first 2 days and just once on day 3 mostly due to TOM. This time I was in the hospital for 2 days post op. I think the last time I asked for pain meds is early Tuesday morning. I did have a lot of nausea post op with the sleeve. I was only supposed to stay one night, but I could barely drink anything without feeling very nauseas. I did not have nausea after the band. And I did vomit a few times in post op recovery too. I t is definitely harder to get fluids down . I currently feel like I constantly have something stuck in the back of my throat. I've been doing better drinking at home than I was doing in the hospital. My surgeon did not send me home with any pain meds (which I was surprised at, but didn't really need). And told me if I'm in pain to take Motrin or Tylenol. I do have a little of pain getting up and down, especially in and out of bed, but it's self limiting, so I wouldn't have taken meds for that anyways

I will chime in here as a woman who has had two children already before WLS. I have almost zero loose skin on my body post wls EXCEPT in the area of my stomach below my belly button. It is stretched out as a result of two pregnancies. I have Freddy Kruger stretch marks where the skin was stretched beyond repair. There is a reason why plastic surgeons don't recommend tummy tucks to patients who plan to have children. There is a chance you will stretch out the muscles that were tightened and the skin will be stretched. If you have an endless surplus of cash to get surgery now, go for it! Just know there is a pretty good chance you may have to have a revision later. As far as other procedures, you weren't very specific in your post what you were considering. It may be wise to seek the guidance of a plastic surgeon to address your concerns.

I would suggest calling Dr. Cobourn's clinic and asking them for feedback regarding this. Donna Banded By Dr. Cobourn/06 Revised From VBG/87 251/142/125 goal

Hi. I had my initial band surgery in 2008. Needed a revision due to a slippage in 2013. I am now hoping for a conversion to the sleeve. Has anyone ever had this done after a prior revision? Thanks.

Best of luck to you in your new journey! I have to partially credit this site with my decision to get the VSG (originally I was thinking band) but thanks to my husband (a VSGer as well, he pushed me to research all options) and a couple of real-life people I have met, I knew that the band wasn't right for us and went ahead with the VSG. I'm now 16+ months post-op and my hubby is 1 year post-op and we have lost about 170lbs between the both of us and I can truthfully say that I haven't had any regrets. For us it was the best thing we could have ever done for ourselves. I'm sorry your band has given you so many issues. You will find lots of posters here who have had revisions and they all say that the sleeve does what the band "promised" to do (but failed!) Good luck with everything!

It makes sense that your fears are magnified with so little support at home. Good for you for coming to a safe place and asking for feedback from people who have actually had sleeve surgery. Everyone's journey is unique but we KNOW what we're talking about. I am a band to sleeve revision. (Band failed to produce weight loss and 6 years later caused serious complications.) I wasn't sure the sleeve would work for me either. I feared another failure. It had to make a conscious decision that whether or not the sleeve produced weight loss, I was giving myself the best chance possible to avoid diabetes, heart disease or stroke - all of which contributed to my mom's death. it was the mental adjustment I needed and I went into surgery 100% at peace. Recovery was so easy. I had localized pain where the port was removed from the abdominal wall but it wasn't unbearable and resolved completely in a couple of weeks. My nurses had me up and walking, which I think jumpstarted my healing. I would do it again tomorrow because my experience was so positive. Really, I would do it again with no hesitation. Weight loss has been slower than I'd like but I'm losing 1 - 1.5 pounds a week. Plus, my joints don't hurt, my clothes are getting loose, I'm starting to recognize my face in the mirror. I feel terrifi. I made the right choice for me. You considered this choice in consultation with your doctor for a reason. Listen to your inner voice and have the confidence in yourself to know that you'll make this happen. The sleeve is a powerful tool if you work your program. Don't give up and keep coming back here! We'll support you!!!! Band to Sleeve Revision Surgery 7/28/14 Before surgery 211. Now 173 Pounds Lost: 38 and counting

FDclerical I had revision from sleeve to bypass Nov.22,2016.If they need to repair Hiatal Hernia I don't think you will be singing.Otherwise going good.

Thanks everyone, my BMI is 25 still my diabetes lives on.. fingers crossed revision will change that ...even though it has greatly improved with the sleeve I pray for no meds

I have two big concerns. The first is reflux/GERD. Now, I know not everyone gets it, and most people who do get it can control it with drugs. A nightmare scenerio for me would be to have a lifelong problem of uncontrolled/partially controlled reflux. What a nightmare scenerio - and a sizeable minority of sleeve patients have some degree of reflux. Anyway, there is some disturbing indication that people 3-6 years out start seeing an increase in that problem. My second big concern is leaks. I am a revision from the band, and have a higher risk of leaks. What is scary is that leaks are always bad, but some people's journey to recovery is especially hellish and long (like a year!!!). I have tried to pick an experienced surgeon and doing what I can to minimize the risk, but I had the band for a long time so have mounds of scar tisue. It is very hard to get an actual risk percentage for a revision patient, but it is more then 1%, the published rate for "virgin" sleevers, probably less then 10% rate based on what I hear. I have never seen a published study on the rate for revision patients though. In the end though, when i look at my overall situation... I realize that i am pushing 50, pre-diabetes, i have sleep apnea, i have arthritis is both knees and my feet are killing me.... if I keep this weight on I have a very very high chance of dying way too young and suffering alot from my comorbidities in the meantime. Heck, I am already suffering from joint and back (and feet!) pain. when you do the total risk assessment, for my situation, it seems like it is worth it to gamble on the sleeve and hope like heck I am in the majority that don't have major issues. I am looking forward to resuming being active in all the things I LOVE to do. It will be alot easier after i have lost 100-140 pounds.

Hey everyone! Just wanted to see if anyone else has found out they're band intolerant? I've been having really bad bouts of constantly vomiting for awhile, and it has gotten to the point I'm vomiting up white mucus and blood clots. I went to my doctor's office that did the surgery, and they checked the band to see if it slipped, and it hadn't. So then 2 weeks later I had an upper endo by the same doctor. The procedure he said only took 4 minutes, and the band hadn't eroded. So it hasn't slipped, or eroded, however, I have all the symptoms that would make you think so. I can't hold down majority of solids now, and liquids are questionable. My band is completely unfilled at this point. I am working on trying to get an appointment with a gastroenterologist to get their opinion on it. I am really starting to think my body has just rejected it. I have stomach inflammation, and they biopsied a bacteria but didn't tell me what it was. All I got was,"maybe it's your gallbladder, you should get that checked out." I told them to do it when I was in the hospital after the endoscopy just to get it out of the way, but they wouldn't. My band physically hurts, and I don't know what really to do. My symptoms are just getting worse...and revision may be my only option to fix it, but I don't have the money for self-pay and my insurance won't cover bariatric surgery. But if anyone else has had intolerance, it would be nice to get your input. Thank you

I had gastric bypass surgery in October of 2008. I lost 150 lbs. In 2010 my oldest son shot himself and for years after that my weight has spiraled out of control. I have gained about 70 lbs. I haven't been happy, especially with myself, since my son's death. I am ready to turn my life back around and lose the weight again. I am needing to have a revision done. Thinking of having the stitches done.