Search the Community

PCP is going to write a letter of medical necessity. Apparently, UHC did not even look at my heart issues on the last appeal so I might have a chance for approval. The problem is simply converting to a sleeve rather than revising the band.

Hi. What do you mean revision from your bypass? What did they do ?

I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. I hate to say it, but I think this is something that only you can answer. Maybe you should sit down and write a list of pros and cons regarding both being re-banded and just having it removed. I would think that a larger band would relieve some of your discomfort, but there is still the possibility that it may not. If you have it removed, will you revise to a different WLS? If you have it replaced, do you have a backup plan if your issues don't go away? If you don't revise or re-band, are you going to do it on your own? Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck.

I am at day 15, aching soreness and deep pain in the abs on left side. The MD yesterday said this is normal and should subside by 6 weeks. I am free to return to work between 3 and 4 weeks and he suggested I wait until closer to the 4 week time frame. Since mine was a revision from lapband, I have a bit more to heal inside

Hi everyone. I'm new to this journey, although this is my 3rd attempt at getting the surgery. I have so many questions that I don't even know where to start. This biggest one is deciding between the sleeve and the band. I'm so afraid that I won't be able to control my eating without the band but I've also read a lot of the revision forums and I don't want to be regretting the decision to get the band. Also, I'm reluctant to even get excited about getting WLS because the last time I went through this, a family member was going to pay out of pocket for it. However, the day before my first doctor's appointment, she decided the withdraw her offer (and her money). I don't know if I could handle going through that type of emotional pain again. Has anyone used Dr. Webb in Jacksonville, FL?

Vicki, glad you are here for support, I'm sorry you aren't getting it from those closest to you. I hope you will find some here. And I do agree that this is major surgery, not sure what constitues 'radical', but I know for me WLS is not something that I just woke up one day and wanted to do. It has been years that I have thought of it, but was always too scared to act on. Having been banded twice, I'm sure you don't want to keep having band surgery. I think you will find a lot of people here who have revised from band to sleeve and much prefer the sleeve over the things they experienced with the band. If you are truly experiencing agony over the decision to have or cancel surgery, is there a therapist that you can reach out to and go for a visit just to talk and clear things out of your head? I'm sure you probably had to have a physch eval just to have the band, or maybe you know of someone who would be willing to listen and give you an objective opinion. Or as Eureka said, to sit and write things down. Good luck with whatever you end up doing, just remember that you are doing this for YOU and no one else.

My name is Michaela I am 29 I am considering getting a revision to the gastric bypass. I had the sleeve exactly 3 years ago. I am 5’4 at my heaviest I was 272 and got down to 174 now I’m back up to 222. I am super depressed because I don’t know how I let this get this bad. I’m looking for stories of people who have had this revision and what made them decided to do it and how much the have lost so far. Also people who are looking into getting the surgery and what made you decide to look into it.

Congratulations on everything! I hope everything works out with your revision! My name is bilijean and I'm 27 and well. My surgery for the sleeve is schedule in two days (December 30th)!! Hope everything continues to go well

I did not have a revision. I had Bypass and I love it. My blood work is fine and I don't have any malabsorption issues at this point. I don't have GERD either. I made this choice in part because I had pre-diabetes and the bypass has the best prognosis for remission. If I was already on my way to diabetes of course I wanted to avoid insulin shots if at all possible. Good luck. Your acid sound wicked, so sorry. Its hard right now but you will get there.

Recently I had asked my surgeon to allow me to use my band prior to surgery. He agreed and scheduled me for a fill. The clinic I am using called me to say that if I filed with my insurance for my fill then they would not cover my Gastric Bypass. Apparently my insurance will only cover one WLS a lifetime. Obviously I already had a WLS. I used my father's insurance to have surgery and did not use my personal insurance at all. The clinic called to say there is a chance that now my personal insurance might not cover the procedure, because it is a revision. This set me into a panic thinking that I might not actually have this surgery. I took it upon myself to call the insurance and confirm this. I was told that the revision would not effect them paying of my GB, because I hadn't use them for the Lapband. The Patient Advocate at the clinic said there is no way to know if that is true until I complete the steps to get authorized. I don't really trust what the Patient Advocate is saying, because she has given me a lot of false information already. Basically, I am wanting to know if anyone had issues with their insurance turning them down because they have previously had Lapband surgery before having a Gastric Bypass?

I'm new to this site. Here's my story. It's rather long so I'll try to keep it short. In June of '07 I was banded - self-pay. I lost about 50 pounds, putting me about 60 pounds shy of my goal weight. Then, at the end of '08 I got pregnant, got unfilled and had a baby in '09. Later, when I finished nursing him after about six months, I went back in to get a fill. The doc couldn't find my port. He said it had flipped and scheduled me for a port revision. Well, the port hadn't flipped at all, it had shifted. IF he had he done a xray to find it , I could have avoided surgery and not had to pay two thousand dollars. So, then after that, I went back, had it filled and then had the worst reflux/heartburn ever - doc said it was too tight - took out a little - no luck - then got nausea and vomiting. The doc looked at it on fluoroscope -said it's a small slip and unfilled me and told me to come back in a month to look at it again. Went back later and no change- so Doc says it has to come out and that it can't be filled. The funny thing is he just recently hired a doctor who specializes in revisions so he would be glad to take out my band and give me some other kind of surgery. Of course, it would cost several thousand dollars more. Since I was having no problems at all with my unfilled band, I decided to wait until the summer (I'm a teacher.), when I would have more time to deal with this. After the mistake with the "port revision" I was skeptical and went for a second opinion to see if I could keep my band. So, I scheduled an appt with a different doc and about a week before my appt with him, I started having tight restricition and reflux, even though my band is unfilled and I haven't had any problems for about a year. He told me that I have a "massive" hiatal hernia and that it needs to be fixed. So, tomorrow the doctor will be removing the band, fixing the hernia, giving me a plication and putting the band back on. He said the plication would greatly reduce the chance of any slips and he'd be able to do it laproscopically. And, it's all covered by insurance because it's a hernia repair. I'm excited by the chance to start losing weight again. I've been unfilled for so long it will be nice to have restriction again. I'm also interested to see if I can eat and then just get full without the burping and food getting stuck or having to cough it up. But - I am worried about the lack of long-term studies on this surgery. I'm worried that if I have gastro problems later I will have a hard time finding a doctor that will want to deal with my folded up stomach and the scar tissue? I'm worried about the pain from this procedure. Is there any pain during or after eating after healing - say - after about 4 weeks? I'm also worried about constricting my stomach too much, possible blocking blood flow - first with the stitches and then with the band. The doc seems very excited about this, though - the plication with the band. He was the one who suggested the plication - not me - I was just happy that I was going to get to keep my band. He assured me that it is safe - and reversible, if necessary. I don't care if it's reversible or not - I just want permanent weight loss - with no complications. How is it possible that this is reversible?!? I can see being able to reverse it soon after the surgery - but once the scar tissue forms, it has to be very difficult - if not impossible to reverse. -Anne

You did great, take care and you will stay the course. I went through having my lapband unfilled and then revision. I know what you are going through. Good luck, Karen

I just read a distubing email from Nina with Dr. Aceves. She stated that the leak rate after a revision to VSG is 3x greater in those of us who are banded then switch. I can understand that if I was eroded or something but I'm not. Has anyone else ran across this information?

I have been approved with Dr. Lousiana Valenzula in Mexico for a band to sleeve revision. Anyone have experience with this and can give me insight as to what to expect from travel to accommodations to procedure, etc. I have had my band 7+ years with limited success and difficulty the last couple of years with reflux to the point of having band filled and unfilled. As much information as anyone can provide I will be grateful.

this is a major decision. Cutting a body part out...cost is factoring in somewhat, don't want to cheap out and get an infection. gonna call a few local MD and see what the price is I'm thinking twice Mex price for a revision. Since I had the band placed in Mex I'm over the concern of "going to Mex yikes!" HATE this band it is coming out no matter what my final decision. Having a total unfill done soon (tommorow if I can talk the surgeon I am seeing into doing it...-I could do it myself for that matter!!!) Don't freak out :scared0:if you are reading this I am an RN and would make sure it was a sterile procedure!-still I wouldn't do it ethics..)

I was wondering if there is anybody else out there that is having as hard a time with their band/port as I am? I was banded in Sept. 2007. I had my first fill 6-7 weeks out and was good for awhile. When I went for my second fill we discovered that my port had flipped completely over. I had my first port revision done in mid-January of 2008. At my six month check-up I mentioned that things weren't feeling quite right and was told not to worry about anything I'm fine. So now I go in for a fill (I am STARVING when I am done eating) and the dr. has a hard time accessing my port. Under fluro we discover AGAIN that my port has flipped. So now the dr has to determine which is the best course of action. Do another port revision even though it's ripped through twice already or do the whole surgery over again. Either way I am faced with another unpleasant experience. And I couldn't get a fill so I continue to starve until I know what's going on. Am I all alone in this miserable boat or is there anybody else who can sympathize?

I was sleeved on August 14 th but I had a revision from band to sleeve.

Normz956 and beachbum, you ladies are dong great! I had my initial RNY eight years ago and my staring weight was 383, by 18 mths post op I was down to 213. Maintained that for a few years, over the last couple of years I gained up to 266. I just had a revision RNY on 8/20 because my anastomosis was dialated. This is the best single thing I have ever done, without this I would of never gotten down to what I did, I chose to go through this again for several reasons but most importantly because I never want to go back to feeling like I did at 383 ever again! Good luck on your journeys and know that you ladies will succeed!

Ok so yesterday I had my upper GI done and the radiologist was extremely distressed by the position of the band, the severe reflux, the dialation of the pouch and esophagus, and the fact that barely a drop a barium went through. Fast forward to this morning and after ignoring the radiologist's request that I immediately go upstairs to have my fill completely removed, I did just that. They quickly removed all of my fill. Then stated that I have a dialated pouch and stretched out my esophagus. My band may also be slipped, but not officially stated yet as such, but with all of the symptoms, it fits that diagnosis. They stated that more and more of us are having trouble as the years go by. I was a model patient for the first year, then complications struck. Major surgery to repair, then it was never the same. Extremely painful to eat, led to eating only foods that didn't hurt. I haven't gained much back, about 20lbs. But I see that changing. We are discussing a revision. Probably the VSG which they believe will phase out the band in the future. I don't knock the band completely, it did give me my life back, however with this foreign body inside of me, things have been complicated at times to say the least. So it looks like I'll enjoy a good thanksgiving dinner and that the new year will bring a new partner in helping keep off the weight.

It would be the VSG that I would be revising to. My insurance covers revisions, but we need to appeal for the Sleeve specifically. The reason for the weight gain, is that with a slipped over tightened band, your pouch and esophagus stretches out, allowing much more food than we are used too. There are days when I am constantly hungry and can eat way too much, and other days when a hand full of nuts makes me puke all day. Sucks.

I revised to a sleeve in June and can't say enough about how great it is. No more stuck food or sliming and no hunger either. I can't eat around it, when I'm full, I'm full for hours. It's really what I thought the band would be. Don't get me wrong, my weight loss was great with the band, but it was a fairly miserable experience even before my band slipped. I just wish I'd known about the sleeve the first time around.

To make a long story short. I had lapband in 2008, lost 90 lbs within a year and now have gained back 30 lbs. The band is no longer working for me. If I get a fill, I have problems, no fill= I eat more. I checked with my insurance, they cover WLS but only 50% after my deductible has been met, which it has. I've had my consult and he order my EDG, motility study and gallbladder ultrasound. Everything came back good for sleeve revision versus RNY. My insurance will not require me to go through the 6 month diet history and psych eval, etc because I am seeking revision. The problem is getting through to my advocate. I did not go to seminar again and for some reason, getting through to my coordinator/advocate has been an issue. I have let two messages but no return phone call. The good thing is I have an appointment scheduled with the nutritionist (scheduled prior to finding about no diet history needed). The nutritionist is in the same office as the advocate, so hopefully I can get some questions answered and tell her what the insurance company said. The only thing is I have a real good medical necessity letter. I will just pray they give me a good one and I am approved. I meet the requirements (BMI over 35 with 1 problem- joint issues plus I now have an auto-immune disease which was diagnosed last year. From what I've read, the lapband does not work well for that type of disease. It's just depressing to think about getting back up to 278 and my highest ever was 321. Currently, I weigh 221 which is depressing enough. I can not wear any of my clothes and it has been rough. I never thought I would be need my size 18 and 20s again but I do and I do not have them. I gave them all away making a vow to myself not to ever get that size again. But the lapband only worked for me for a few years. It would be nice to have surgery by June... We shall see. If I do not get a return call from my coordinator before my appointment with the nutritionist, I will get my questions answered then,

Lying in ICU. The could not do the lapband remaval and revision in one. Work thought I will be off for three weeks. Now only probable two days coming back in three minths. Work does not know about WLS. What do ai tell them now. Why inly three days and whe second surgery? What a bummer. I pray I am not gaing weight now, ugh. Pleas help

I was originally going to get the band. But, when I found out how many ppl with the band ended up getting revisions due to complications, I said forget that. The sleeve made perfect sense and the number of success stories is mind boggling. On another note, I am a firm believer that if it's your time to go, then it's your time to go. It doesn't matter if you are on an operating table or taking a nap. But that's just my opinion. Best of luck on the journey, keep us posted.

Just got revised 6/8 and my biggest pain is my lower left abdomen and side. Does anyone have any tips for getting through this part? I’m wearing a binder and trying to walk as much as I can. Any tips would be very much appreciated!