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Im 18 months out from sleeve, had a revision to bypass two weeks ago. I have only told a handful of people because I was really judgemental about bariatric surgery and I can't face the comments. A therapist reminded me that it's not anyone else's business, plus it's not a secret, just something I prefer to keep private. I have told a few heavy friends because pretending it was possible to lose do much through diet and exercise felt like a betrayal. Though I did start running regularly, which definitely sped up my weight loss. I'm 148 lbs, down from 267. Had the bypass due to GERD and a stricture. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I have a high pain threshold too. When I had my sleeve 18 months ago I wasn't up to driving for a couple of days. I had a revision to bypass 2 weeks ago and could have driven when I came home on day 2, though I'm glad I didn't need to. I drove for an hour on day 5 and was fine. I second the suggestion that you don't tell them you're planning to drive yourself. Plan for a backup in case you aren't able to drive and can't stay. I haven't told anyone about my surgery, I said it was a hernia repair, so that's always an option too. Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

So in 2012 I had the sleeve done in Mexico and was pretty successful initially. At that time my highest weight was 270 and with the sleeve I lost almost all of my excess weight. However, after 2 years I ended up getting pregnant again and not long after giving birth separated from my husband. So, long story short, I battled a severe depression and not only regained all of my weight but added another hundred pounds to it! My highest weight was 361, and about 7 months ago I began looking into revising to a bypass. I was put on a 6 month doctor supervised diet, and lost about 20 pounds, and am currently waiting to meet with my surgeon. My insurance approved me so far, and I get positive feedback from my doctor I see for weight loss. My main issue is that I am so scared of failing at this AGAIN. I was one of those people that was like "I will NEVER go back to my old eating habits" and I looked down on others who had regained after wls, not knowing that there really is so much more to it than the surgery. I still feel like I dont know how I am supposed to be eating, the dietician I was seeing really didnt go over that, believe it or not. I feel ashamed to admit this but I do not know how to eat like a "normal. healthy person". Quantity is not so much an issue for me but quality is, I wish I had so much more knowledge about not only hoq to eat healthy but how to prepare meals for a family also. I have 5 children, and they really aren't picky, its just that I dont feel like I am equipped for long term success. If there is any links anyone wants to share or anything I would really appreciate it! I am so embarrassed, I feel like I should already know this stuff, so I am honestly scared to ask people at this point. Sorry for such a pathetic post, but I just CANNOT afford to fail at this again. My kids need their mommy back and I know that with the right "tools" I can be successful, so what did you all do to get your menu ideas?

right.... that's the whole point! the sleeve constantly needs to be revised because it either causes unbearable GERD, or did not provide enough weight loss. so they are revised to - guess what - RNY. RNY is virtually never revised or reversed because it works so well in the first place and doesn't need to be. i don't understand why this is so hard to understand. best weight loss, best diabetes outcomes, no GERD. and if you aren't an idiot and have the ability to follow basic instructions (take a vitamin every day... oh god, the HORROR), the chances of you experiencing "complications" is extremely low. RSM - the only real alternative to RNY is the mini-gastric bypass. but most dr's still don't provide it - it's still considered "experimental" for some reason. and it has a higher rate of reflux than the RNY. not nearly as high as the sleeve, but higher.

I will add that with the bypass you can always get a band over a bypass down the road as an option, though I dont know if I would classify that as a revision or not. But i probably see more band over bypasses done than I do lap bands for people who have never had surgery before.

If you only have 75 pounds to lose and don't currently suffer from GERD, you are likely an excellent candidate for a sleeve. Both sleeve and bypass are good surgeries, but like others have mentioned before, the bypass can have long term complications that are less likely with the sleeve (intestinal problems and malnutrition). Unfortunately there is no perfect bariatric procedure. They all have pros and cons. We each have to weigh those things that are important to US, and in that, there is huge variation. I don't care that a portion of my stomach landed in the trash. If it keeps me from developing diabetes or having a stroke from high blood pressure.. all to the good. Sleeves ARE frequently revised. Partly because they CAN be. RNY are almost never revised, and it would be an especially rare case where it would actually be reversed. (It CAN happen, just almost never does). Regain can and does happen post RNY. I think that "malabsorption" component allows people to feel relatively safe in eating a smidge more than they need. Then after a couple years, the intestines adapt, and suddenly they begin gaining. The sleeve requires the patient learns good habits during the first year. Regain is always a threat, so they must learn new eating habits, right out of the gate. And lots of people just. don't. Initially, post surgery weight loss is combined physical and mental effort. After the honeymoon period ends, it becomes all mental, no matter which procedure you have.

You can succeed with either a bypass or sleeve with PCOS... The weight loss will likely be speedier with a bypass. Sleeved women with PCOS tend to lose at a painfully slow rate, especially if revising from some other procedure to a sleeve. You can reach your goal weight with a sleeve. Other sleeved women with PCOS have gotten to goal. Just be warned that the rate of weight loss may be slower than average. Also, revision patients tend to lose more slowly than first-time bariatric surgery patients overall. This is because a revision patient's body has already dealt with the metabolic shock of a previous bariatric surgical procedure.

I have been trying hard for the past several months to try and lose my regain. I have struggled a LOT. well, now things are starting to make sense. Saw my surgeon, had EGD. My GERD-which was pretty dang bad pre-op- never really went away after surgery. Now it's BAD. I also have sleeve stretch and although this part of it could probably be fixed with some weight loss, the GERD is significant enough that I am once again at risk for my Barrett's returning. Doctor wants to revise to RNY. While I am ALL FOR doing what is best for my health, and doing it quickly, I sort of feel like I failed at VSG. Even though I should have never been given a VSG in the first place, I still feel a bit defeated. My new surgeon actually gave me some published research to read up. I'm a post-Master's student and have done my fair bit of research that has been published, so i'm all about the statistical data. The most recent data shows that patients who suffer GERD pre-op are not really good candidates for VSG at all, and should be only offered RNY. There are also some very interesting published numbers on the occurance of GERD post op, the return of GERD and what those numbers look like for RNY patients. So, I guess that once I'm approved by my insurance, I'm onward to a revision.

I have surgery on the 31st. I'm a band to sleeve revision but this is still a. If step

My advice is to figure out why/how you became overweight. You need to know the root cause before you can conjure up a permanent solution. Here's a hint...food is never really the root cause of our weight problems. Some people are emotional overeaters who use food to cope in times of stress, boredom, joy, pain and uncertainty. Others are garden variety eaters whose social lives revolve around overeating. Some people became obese due to hardcore food addictions and others have psychological diagnoses such as binge eating disorder. Finally, some people overeat to soothe past trauma they experienced or witnessed such as sexual abuse or violence. Some people will swear up and down they never eat too much, exercise regularly, and still became obese. Nonetheless, obesity due to medical issues only occurs in less than 5% of cases. In my personal experience, the people in profound denial who lack insight and are unwilling to practice introspection (e.g., "I got up to 300 pounds eating 1200 calories a day!") are often the same ones who seek their third or fourth revision surgery due to each previous procedure "not working." In other words, be honest with yourself. I ate too much for physical reasons because insulin resistance kept me chronically hungry. Also, I experienced childhood traumas such as domestic violence and drug addiction, and food soothed me when those ugly memories resurfaced. So I attended a few counseling sessions as I reached my goal weight. Good luck to you.

@dreamingsmall it does stretch. But it's supposed to. You have to watch the videos for a full answer. They have scoped (camera down the throat into the stomach) WLS patients and found that sleeve size really has no effect on weight regain. Everyone's pouch stretches in time, it's the diet and activity level that will create lasting change. He also has a video on re-sleeving and revision procedures. Research shows that these revision surgeries (including the re-sleeve) end up with minimal results. He calls WLS a "one-time restart button" and emphasizes that we must be ready to make change and do the mental work because we get one shot at this.

If I may ask - what repair to your esophagus did you have? I was diagnosed with achalasia and am revising my sleeve to a bypass as well as having a myotomy. Just curious what it was that you were treating. As far as recovery for my sleeve, I work a desk job and took 2 weeks. I was fine, physically, at about a week, but was still very tired all the time due to nutritional intake (or lack thereof) and being tired as my body healed.

i respectfully disagree. the risk of dying during surgery is the same at around 0.5%. making both very safe, "routine" procedures. so your "simpler operation" rings irrelevant to me. i guess it's relevant if your surgeon sucks or if you're doing it on the cheap in a Mexican alleyway, but that's another issue. risk of short-term complications? slightly higher with RNY, yes, but you have to consider relative risk. no complication goes over 5% (leak, stricture, etc). there's risk of leak with VSG too, it's a bit lower at 3%. now, if that 2% is enough for you to choose a less effective bariatric surgery? that's your choice. i guess i have a different calculus when it comes to those things. the long-term risks you cite are rare and the patient has to purposely disobey basic rules of common sense to trigger. like going back to eating way way too much. don't want ulcers? don't take NSAIDS. it's quite simple, if you reach for Tylenol instead of Advil, your risk of ulcers is negligible. but the average American is stupid as hell, so even simple directions like that are routinely ignored. Petersen hernia? most studies have this occurrence as low as 1%, and is virtually not an issue with an experienced surgeon who knows where to connect the roux anastomosis. now, you want to talk about life-altering long term risk? let's talk GERD. which i've seen studies range from 20-40% of VSG patients!!!!! this can range from merely annoying to life-crushing and needing revision to, yes, RNY. this message board is FILLED with these patients and my surgeon says about 20% of his operations are revisions from sleeve to RNY. now THAT is risk. and perhaps the biggest risk not talked about is that of permanence. to me, it's very RISKY to do the sleeve because your stomach is thrown in the trash bin and it is completely irreversible. the RNY is reversible. ergo, much much less risk. again, you mention the sleeve "doesn't alter the anatomy". first of all i don't understand this argument. what's wrong with altering anatomy if it makes your body perform better? by that logic, getting glasses to help you see is "altering your anatomy". getting a heart bypass if you have heart disease is "altering your anatomy". is this a God, intelligent design thing? i'm not going there. all i know is that cutting your stomach out (VSG) is very much altering your anatomy. much more than RNY which leaves it there to be a perfectly healthy functioning body part capable of getting back on the playing field if need be. another risk of the VSG? not reaching your goal weight. and isn't that why we're doing this? the fact is RNY results in 70-75% excess weight loss on average. and that average is brought down a lot by a huge sample population of people who are too dumb to behave after surgery. VSG is, with a smaller and more motivated sample set of patients, at best 60-65%. i guarantee you that as time goes on and more and more VSG patients are tracked, that number will go down even further.

Haha, Dr Ortiz at OCC is actually where I'm going I had my LapBand placed in San Diego. But I know Dr Ortiz via my sister as he placed her band. I was so impressed with him personally and his facility that I started getting my fills there. I knew when it was time for revision, that he would be my number one choice.

Hey, I did SO well for the first 4 ish years but I have gained almost all my weight back. I am just here seeing if any of you are still working with your band. I see a lot of people getting revisions to the sleeve and bypass but has anyone had luck getting a secondary or even dare I say, longterm weight loss with the band? Hope to hear from y'all soon!

Basically what LifeChangesLori said. I'm four months post-op Gastric Bypass. I'm not a surgeon or anything but I'd say go for Bypass. I did it because I thought the benefits outweighed the benefits of the sleeve and I needed the extra help with portion control. I did it because I only wanted to go through one surgery and not have to risk coming back for a revision. Never had experience with the lapband. This was the first surgery. ---------------------------- HW- 273 Pre-op Wt- 230 SW- 226 CW- 172 GW- 130 Ht- 5'2.5" DOS- April 26th, 2017 "Only those who try will become." ~FFX

I had my band placed In 2009 and did very well until this year. I'm shooting for a single surgery for revision on Sep 9, 2017. One of the reasons I chose Mexico was because I thought they would be more likely to do it in one shot. The other reason for Mexico is I have a relatively low BMI (32) and no comorbidities. I never thought the single versus dial stage option was for a better weight loss outcome. It's my understanding that some doctors think the 2 procedures is a little safer. I think otherwise, I prefer the idea of getting cut open and anesthetized only once.

It is an adjustment for sure! But do a search on revisions + GERD and you'll see hundreds of stories of people who had the sleeve then had to have a second surgery to solve the reflux problem. Your surgeon is trying to save you from disappointment and pain (literally.) I wish could have the sleeve, but I can't. It took a few weeks to adjust my mindset, but now I'm ready to go again! You will be too. Sent from my SM-G930V using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes, exactly! You have to watch the video. He's not saying the stomach doesn't "stretch," he's saying that it is supposed to! That we have to use our "magic first year" where our metabolisms reset and our hunger are gone to make good choices and create healthy habits. He is saying that it's not the stomach stretching that causes weight regain – it is never changing your eating habits. If you don't change your diet and simply eat smaller portions of the same foods you always have, weight loss will only be temporary and in a year two you will gradually put on more weight as your stomach increases in size, since your portions will naturally also increase in size along with it. I guess I kind of knew that part – but thought that we were supposed to really work hard to prevent stretching. According to him, it doesn't matter. A lack of follow through and real permanent change is my personal biggest fear! I hope I can really change. For good. I know food will always be a struggle and temptation, I just don't want to waste this opportunity. Something he explains is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. A "One time reset button." Revision surgeries don't come close to the same effect and show pretty minimal results in the vast majority of patients.

I had the sleeve in 2011 .Due to severe gerd,I had revision to bypass done Nov 2016.I wish I would of had that done first.I feel great and no issues.

I had VSG 5 1/2 years ago for some upper GI issues, not really for weight loss. I had severe acid reflux also. The sleeve did not do anything to help my reflux, and recently my acid was out of control. My doctor said the only way to cure it and avoid more acid damage to my esophagus was RNY. So I had revision to bypass in June. He said I would experience acid for about 60 days maybe, but no more than that. I was on my two pills a day. I had reflux about twice a week very early morning. At about 7 weeks, my acid stopped. When I went to my post op, he told me to cut down to one pill a day, and then after a week if I still had no acid, to stop them completely. so I did stop them completely, and have had NO acid at all! Finally! So this is just my suggestion, but if you have severe acid and are opting for the sleeve, you may want to talk with your doctor to see if bypass may be a better option for you so this issue can be resolved instead of maybe a revision down the road. IMO since I have had both, I can say that the recovery from RNY is no different than the sleeve. Of course there is greater restriction because you are dealing with a small pouch now instead of a banana sized stomach, but I am now starting 12 weeks, and everything is coming along nicely and every week is better as far as eating goes, and for once I can say I do not have acid reflux!

I just had a revision from sleeve to bypass in June. My acid was terrible and literally had control! The sleeve did not do anything for my bad acid in 5 1/2 years. This was the only resolve for it was to have RNY. He said I would still experience a little acid for about 60 days. So I was still on my Pepcid twice a day. I still had reflux very early morning a couple times a week. I stopped having it about the end of seven weeks. He said to stop taking the second one for a week, and if I still had none, stop taking the second one too. I did, and have not had any acid! Finally! So my suggestion is that if you have severe acid and are opting for a sleeve, talk to your doctor to see if an RNY would be better for you in the long run. The recovery for RNY is no different than VSG. Had I known then what I know now, I would have had the RNY then!

Of the WLS procedures, the DS is certainly the best in addressing bile reflux - it's almost impossible (never say never...) for it to occur due to the geometry, With the small intestine being split at the duodenum in the DS, keeping the bile and pancreatic enzymes separate from the food flow until they get down several feet to the common channel (and for reflux to occur, things would have to flow another several feet back upstream,) it's a near a certainty to eliminate bile reflux as one can get. Contrast with the RNY geometry where the stomach access is moved downstream of the bile ducts, and the pyloric valve is eliminated from the food flow, and bile reflux is more likely with that procedure. Bile reflux is a relatively common problem with gastric cancer patients who undergo an RNY like procedure to eliminate the cancerous stomach or portion thereof. Surgical technique can reduce but not eliminate the chances of it occurring with that procedure. The DS is a more technically challenging procedure than the other common WLS procedures, so that does put a premium on the surgeon's experience with it (not just experience in general, however - one should try to find a surgeon who has several hundred of them under his belt.) The DS world is a relatively small one as a result of not many surgeons developing and maintaining the skills to tackle it routinely, but amongst that well experienced cadre of surgeons, complication rates don't seem to be abnormally high relative to the more common WLS procedures. Many do have to travel to have a DS performed, and as a result most of the DS surgeons are set up to handle travelers. When my wife had her DS 12+ years ago, the main lower cost self pay alternatives to the US doctors was Dr. Baltasar in Spain and another doc in Brazil. both of whom are now probably retired. We ultimately stayed in the US but still traveled about six hours for her DS. DSfacts.com has some good information on the DS, and a rather incomplete listing of surgeons who perform it. There is one listed in London, though I don;t know anything about him - the DS world is a fairly small one so one becomes familiar with most of the major players. Another potentially complicating factor is if you are revising from an earlier WLS to the DS. A sleeve gastrectomy or lapband is a fairly straightforward revsion, little different than a basic, virgin DS, but a revision from an RNY is a more complicated revision that limits the list of qualified surgeons further. Good luck in your quest, and ask away with any more questions. There are also a couple other DS forums on other sites that can also offer some help if you haven't found those yet.

I have heartburn about once or twice a week. But it's different from "regular" heartburn - tums don't help at all, nor pepto, mylanta, etc. It's not actually reflux of stomach acid, it's more esophageal irritation from something I ate that hasn't cleared. My doc is confident that it will stop after surgery. He says he has been quite successful with Heller Myotomy and he is a leading bariatric surgeon so I think he will handle my revision well also. I'm very much caught in my own head about what recovery will be like, and frankly it seems like this procedure has a rather large margin for issues post op. I'll just have to take them as they come, stop stressing the unknown, and hope for the best possible outcome, knowing that an IMPROVEMENT might be all I get, as "back to normal" doesn't seem to be an option with this condition. It's a lot to wrap your mind around! Also, I can RELATE to it being impossible to tell what will go down from one day to the next. Even plain water is difficult at times. It's very frustrating, and more than anything, I'm sick of being SICK all the time.

I switched from sleeve to bypass before surgery. I didn't want to deal with GERD. I also wanted to not feel hungry longer, two months out and I haven't had any hunger yet. While watching this board, I saw several revision posts and that factored into my decision. I want to do this right the first time. I was 292 at my highest and 256.8 at time of surgery. I liked the idea of having two mechanisms for weightloss. HW-292 • SW (6/29/17) 256.6 • CW 225.8