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Personally, I went with the sleeve because I did not like the idea of my intestines being re routed. Also, from what I read, there seems to be less complications, less need for vitamins long term, less issues with malabsorbtion and dumping. Also, with the sleeve, you can be revised to the by pass, or Dudial Switch at a later time if you feel it is not effective enough. I would discuss and research the pros and cons of both surgeries, and see what your surgeon suggests and why, but I am pretty sure most all of us here will be just a little more biased toward the sleeve Good luck on your journey whatever you choose!

For those who haven't been following my story............... I was diagnosed with an eroded band in November of 2011 and had it removed in March of 2012. I had to wait for six months before revising to the gastric sleeve as my surgeon wanted to wait for me to heal completely and do medical tests before confirming that I would be a good candidate for the sleeve. I have complete those tests and he was satisfied that I could have the sleeve. We also found that I had developed another hiatal hernia (the first one was repaired when I had my lap band surgery). My predetermination request for the sleeve surgery was denied. They stated that I needed to complete a six month weight loss program in order for them to consider my request. I asked my surgeon's insurance coordinator to appeal based on the reasoning that this was a repeat surgery for a lap band that had medically failed me and that I shouldn't have to complete the six month medically supervised weight loss program. She filed an appeal but no where in the letter did it address the six month weight loss program so of course they denied me again stating that we still hadn't submitted the records they had requested. Frustrated beyond belief, I took the initiative to write my own appeal letter. I used language from the BCBS-AL bariatric policy regarding repeat surgeries and their rationale for requiring the six month weight loss program and explained how I had met that rationale just by having a lap band for four years and that my waiting for six months before revising to another surgery was not conducive to improving my health. I just got off the phone with BCBS-AL and they have approved my surgery!!!!!! I am actually shocked that I succeeded in my appeal. I fully expected them to deny me and had already started the medically supervised six month weight loss program in preparation for that denial (and have lost 10 lbs over a six week period which is nice). I'm excited, relieved and nervous! I've been through this before so I don't know why but I am. I was very successful with my lap band (losing 94 lbs). I remember how wonderful it felt to be thin and feel good about myself and how I looked and not to be in pain anymore from carrying around all this extra weight (yes I packed the pounds back on after my band was removed). I can't wait to be there again! Yeah me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I chose lap band first, and revised to sleeve after complications with the band. I agree with the points above about the sleeve - the only thing I'll clarify is that while there are more minor complications with the band than the sleeve, there are more risky complications with the sleeve - and more with the bypass. But really I think you should discuss options with a qualified surgeon. At 500 pounds you will have different factors that will need to be considered than someone under 3-400 would. I would strongly advise that you find a surgeon who has a lot of experience with surgery on larger patients. Apologies if this sounds insensitive! Not trying to offend. But there are increased risks of surgery with patients over 400 pounds, and the more experienced surgeons generally have fewer complications. There are also different factors to consider in terms of longterm success, so what works for others on this board may not be appropriate for you. In order to get to your goal weight you may need the malabsorption of the gastric bypass. Another possibility to perhaps discuss with a surgeon is the duodenal switch - in this approach you could start with the sleeve, and then if your weight loss slows before you've hit goal, you could add the duodenal switch, which adds a malabsorption factor, so you don't digest all the calories you eat. One of the benefits of this is that the sleeve is a shorter slightly safer surgery than the bypass or duodenal switch, so it would be a safer first surgery, and then you do the 2nd one once you've lost some weight and it can be done more safely. I wish you the best in your journey!

Anyone approved for revision with Aenta? Did they require pre surgery nutrition or any evaluations? Even if you had it for Band? How long did approval take? Sharon

I have a hiatal hernia that will be fixed during my sleeve surgery. My surgeon said I may have to have a revision later if it gets worse. They should do an EDG to check the health of your esophagus and severity of your GErd. He will know for sure what direction to go on then.

I swear by CelebrateVitamins.com. Before my band was removed and revision done 5/20, I found a protein drink & multivitamin all in one! If I do that plus their drinkable multivitamin in the evening I get all the vites I'm supposed to get within the time frame my Dr. wants. My levels are great. Iron is my only prob...but this is a "prior to surgery" issue I'm working on. Check them out. I don't like the chewable a....textures bug me. :-)

I developed GERD with my sleeve. Had the sleeve for just over 3 years before having revision to bypass in dec 2020 and Couldn’t be happier now. Since the bypass, no more symptoms of GERD at all :) and weight loss has been so much more consistent for me this time so far Good luck on your journey :)

Popsicle brand makes a fudge pop "no sugar added" ice cream pop that's a good chocolate craving treat. Not sure yet if it makes you sick yet, my revision to the bypass is sometime in the next 2 months. Sent from my N9560 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi Natalie, I had a hell of a hard surgery....The surgeon said there was so much scar tissue around the band....Not only did it flip it was pulling my stomach up so I have a new 2" scar about an 1 1/2" from the original...so much for them removing it with a keyhole..,.throuugh the original site...I was cut.My stomach has about 10 stitch/scar points.My stomach is still swollen...distended and so sore! I was released the next day...they wanted me to stay an extra night but I convinced them I could do it.I went home.It is not easy A lot of pain...I feel as though I was in a bad car accident.The first 3 days were hard....I used the Toridol pain killer pills they prescribed as well as the anti nausea medication.They want you to walk,walk,walk....please ...it is very hard...pain and sleepiness....very tired. Today is my first day off of Clear liquids onto full liquids...I am cautious....had tomato Soup diluted with chicken broth and now the unjury unflavored Protein I added.I also had some coconut Water and finally a small Greek plain yogurt.I am still deficient in my Vitamin and water... As I write I have just had a heating pad on my left side (back).Is that a kidney issue? I have gotta sit here a sip more water.....I went to the grocery store and got some progreso pea Soups and tomato soups .Its hard walking in the grocery store in pain ,looking like a zombie....but that is a way to walk.... I need to drink more clear fluids.... No regrets.... I can't take weeks off from work that is why the holiday saved me ....Tomorrow (Monday) will be a full week since I had surgery .I can't make it tomorrow...no way so I just have to call in.I don't have the finances or seniority to take many days off so I definitely will have to brave it on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am so angry with myself for allowing the failed lapband to just go on and on....I had it in 2004 and from the beginning It failed me....I only lost 35 pounds initially.I struggled for years trying to make it work...It has ruined my insides.I am an involuntary bulimic because.I was constantly thinking about food....what could I eat without throwing up???Hunger like hell and my weight was creeping unsteadily.The worse acid reflux you could imagine....Ugh there were days that I would be so hungry ,ravenous....full of air trying to figure out what I could eat and not slime or puke....chocolate,bread,Pasta,muffins and bagels always went down easy...chicken.vegetables,fruits or anything could set off a puke session...I was soooo hungry 24/7.......my eophagus I was diagnosed as torturous...because endoscopy indicated the root problem.. I am so glad to get this revision to bypass...all though some discomfort..,each day gets better..... You gotta get a revision!They make you jump through hoops but do it!!!! Sandy

Hi everyone, I'm two weeks out from my band to bypass revision and tomorrow I start the optislim liquid diet. I had my band placed in 2006 and had it removed three months ago after the second slip. For most of the 10 years I was under weight, having lost over 100pounds (50 plus kilos) mainly due to not being able to tolerate much of anything. I lived knowing that if I ate, it would become uncomfortable and I'd need it out. I lived with sliming, coffee (the milk) congealing in my stomach, reflux day and night, waking at night with it coming out my nose, finding out where the restroom was as soon as I'd go to a restaurant or someone's house, an annual Iron infusion for anemia - it was no way to live but still a better alternative to being fat again. I got to the point though, that I was so dehydrated that I couldn't cope any longer. Out it came. Since then I have gained 12 kilos (about 25 pounds) which I'm desperately unhappy about as I followed a very strict food plan, combined with intense exercise (I became very fit since losing weight) and was so hopeful that my natural metabolic state may have reset itself - but no. Even though my insurance resistance and under active thyroid returned to a normal state my genetics remained the same. All those long forgotten feelings of shame, disappointment in myself, failure, frustration and desperation returned, just like I'd lived with for the 34 years before the band went in. So, now for the next new beginning! I just want to be able to eat small amounts of nutritious food, enough to give me the energy to live my life actively and happily and to not become malnourished. I'd be really interested to know how those that used to suffer food intolerances with the band, are now coping with eating food after the bypass. I've also heard that those who have a bypass after a band don't do as well. My surgeon says it's because we keep bad habits with us (ie we know what passes through restriction most easily) however if you've had success please share it and why you think you have. Thanks so much and I really appreciate you sharing your stories:) DR

Hi all , Just registered on here , I am having Band to Mini bypass revision on Friday after 5 years of the hideous band and an absolute nightmare! I am SO worried after reading some of the posts that the surgeon will say when I wake up that he couldn't do it due to scar tissue :-( Is it more common than not for that to happen does anyone know ? Or not that often? Thank you in advance :-)

I wish I could have had the revision the same day and I wouldn't have gained 75lbs waiting to heal and be sleeved. You're lucky! I was too sick to have it the same day.. Or even same year. I am now sleeved and couldn't be happier Good luck!

can i ask what made you get a revision?

No regrets here, but I couldn't tolerate fill in my band for years, so I was essentially unbanded when I had my revision. I've heard that for some people it's a struggle to get away from eating the slider foods they got into the habit of eating with a finicky band - and these same foods can prevent success with the sleeve. So it's important to make a fresh start with the sleeve and get into the habit of eating dense proteins and veggies.

All cousins Revision 10/25/18 Kattrax421B.Com Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with catchup!

Welcome to the forums. There are a lot of people on here who have revised from the band to the sleeve and have had success. There's actually a separate board for those that have that type of surgery. On the main page, scroll down and you'll see it. You'll have success with the sleeve. Just follow what your surgeon and dietician tell you, and you will be successful!

Exiciting to see how close you are to surgery date. Think you will find more answers to your band to sleeve questions on a specific forumon VST just for people like you. Here is a link. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/13-band-to-sleeve-revisions/ Hope this helps you be successful on your journey to the new you!

Hello, UserName (I LOVE your handle!!!), my name is Sheri and I have also had revision surgery and I had a hard course. I got my band in 2007 as well, and I got mine in Mexico, basically shutting me out of aftercare everywhere. The closest band doctor to me was 50 miles away and he had a real problem seeing patients who had their surgery elsewhere, so he charged us $350 a visit, even if there was no fill performed, and that was after a $950 initial visit fee. My insurance didn't cover a single thing related to bariatrics, so that was not an option for me for years. I found a fill nurse who charged $75 a fill but they were just done in any ol' location that would allow them and they traveled, so if I got a fill that was too tight I had to wait until they were back in the vicinity to get an unfill. Nothing was ever done under fluoro. Needless to say, things did not go well for me post-op. The only reason I lost weight during the first year was because I couldn't keep anything down. Everything hurt when I ate except for tortilla chips with salsa and sour cream (no idea why!) and cream of chicken soup. After the first year I learned what soft carbs I could eat to make the hunger pangs stop but I dealt with my issues for 7 years before I finally got some insurance that would cover a revision surgery. By that time my radiographs were showing a tortuous esophagus and a slipped band. What my surgeon actually found, however, was that not only was my band out of place, it was actually slammed right up against my diaphragm and all of my dilated pouch was in my throat, not below my diaphragm. Things were so bunched up I apparently had nothing more than a pinhole for my "food" to go through, which is why everything hurt to eat. I had to have my surgery done in 2 phases; band removal last December and bypass in April. Although my course was rough, I do not regret it for a single second. I am not ravenously hungry any more, ever. I do get hungry if I don't eat, but it is not that out-of-control hunger I was having with the band. I was told that my weight loss would be slower due to being a revision patient, but so far I have lost 87 pounds since I started the pre-op diet 13 months ago and I feel amazing. I so wish I had just done bypass in 2007. If I had had any idea what a nightmare my life would become with the band I definitely would have gone that route, but no one knew back then just how high the failure rate would become. If you do decide to go through with revision surgery, you will be amazed at just how different bypass is. For me it has been as different as night and day from the band, and I really do feel like I can live this new lifestyle for the rest of my life! Good luck to you in your journey. This community is the best resource I have found for information and support!

It sounds like your surgeon was comfortable doing everything at once, though, so that's good! It really is rough at first, though. I had a JP drain in for 2 weeks, too, and that thing drove me crazy!! I had to laugh at myself, though. With the scars from the band and the partially-healed scars from band removal, plus the 7 new scars from revision AND the bruises everywhere from the heparin injections I looked like I had been jumped in a dark alley, lol!

Every patient and every surgeon is different. I had a band, revision of band, band removal and finally the sleeve. Not trying to make u nervous but I had the most pain after removal. The surgeon said it's is because of a large amount of scar tissue that forms around the band and port that needs to be removed. I did go back to work after 3 days but still had pain for a week or two.

It does get better. To this day I still can't eat Campbell's tomato soup though. I am going to copy some soups that I made during my last "too tight" episode. I know you don't want soups, but that is really all you can have right now besides smoothies. For smoothies I would take Low Fat yogurt (I can't do milk since after surgery) so sugar free Hershey's Choc syrup, Peanut Butter, unflavored Protein powder (though can be omitted) and ice and blended it to a thin smoothie. You can do the same thing with fruit and yogurt (or use milk if you tolerate it). As for soups I ate pretty much tomato soup and cheddar cheese soup. Okay for the soup recipies: Soup recipes Roasted Tomato with Roasted Garlic This recipe yielded about 1 cup. Ingredients: ½ container of grape tomatoes 4-6 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu 2 TBSP of fresh basil (2-3 tsp of dried basil) Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Peal the garlic and wrap in a small piece of aluminum foil. 2. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet and spray with PAM, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 3. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a 350 degree oven until done. a. Tomatoes will burst and shrivel a bit b. Garlic will be soft and mash easily with a fork c. Tomatoes will probably finish before the garlic 4. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor (or blender) 5. Add the tofu and blend until almost smooth. 6. Heat through and add the finely chopped basil at the end. 7. Simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors blend. 8. If necessary thin out with FF evaporated milk. Grilled Asparagus Soup Ingredients: ¼ pound or more of asparagus 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) ¼ -1/3 cup of LF shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Either boil grill on BBQ (much better!) the asparagus until just undercooked. a. To grill on BBQ spray with PAM and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in aluminum foil if you do not have a flat grill on BBQ. 2. Sautee garlic, onions and cooked asparagus 3. Place veggies in a food processor (or blender) 4. Add the tofu and blend until smooth. 5. Add FF evaporated milk until correct texture. 6. Heat to desired temperature Sautéed Mushroom and Tuna Soup (This was my way of eating tuna noodle casserole…soup style!) Ingredients: ½ pound or more of mushrooms (any kind will work) 2-3 cloves of garlic (depends on size and strength of garlic desired) 4 oz of silken tofu or white Beans ¼ small onion (more or less depending on taste) 1 can of tuna fish Salt and pepper to taste Directions: 1. Sautee mushrooms, garlic and onions until desired texture. 2. Add to food processor or blender. 3. Add 4oz of silken tofu or ½ can of white beans (depending on your taste!) 4. Add drained tuna fish (or any other canned fish) 5. Puree to desired texture. 6. Heat and add FF evaporated milk to thin if needed So as you can see, the base for these soups is pretty much the same. If you don’t like tofu I would assume that white canned beans would work just as well. Experiment with different spices, add a little parmesan cheese, or different veggies. Right now you shouldn’t be worrying as much about calories, but rather about healing. If you would like add meat to any of these it would work just fine. Ground chicken, hamburger, and ground turkey all pulverize very well. You will most likely just have to thin it out with the FF evaporated milk. That one ingredient has changed my way of cooking. Once you graduate to real foods you can have chicken Alfredo for VERY few calories by using this one ingredient. Another soup that has good flavor is to just take some refried beans and beef stock. It has a lot of flavor and a lot of protein to keep you fuller longer. Also take some spaghetti sauce and add some pulverized veggies to it and it makes it better. Adding some pureed white beans also helps it feel like more food. How much longer do you have on liquids? I am really good at revising recipes so if you send me something via a private message I could probably figure out how to make it into a liquid. This is how I survived! Hope this helped a little!

Im also a recent revision (6/23) band to bypass person. I also had barrett's. I am finally sleeping like a baby again. Reflux is gone! Best thing i did. 25 pounds down so far.

Hi :biggrin2: My name is Donna and I'm in Texas. I am married with 3 grown children and 1 granddaughter (4months). I got the lab band Dec. 2007 and have lost 45 lbs. I did have to get a revision in Feb and I lost a lot of weight then and kept it off. I got the flu and could not hold anything down even liquids. I am ok now. I have gotten lots of fills and unfills but right now I am at 4.8, I think I will stay there. I also have good days and bad days. Guess you can say I am still getting use to it. Dr. John Gonzales put in the lapband at True Results but when I got revised he went to WeightWise and I am still there because his nurse went with him and she is great with the fills. I still have lots of questions about the eating. I am still on pureed foods or very soft foods.

Would you do it again knowing all you know and what you have experienced? Yes , just I wish I did this back in October when my dr first suggested it. I am am a lapband to sleeve revision. I know first few weeks liquids and protien shakes but can you eat real food again? I'm only 2 weeks out and eat normal soft foods. I can't wait to get back to other normal foods. What are biggest highs and what are worse things? Worst for me is Protein shakes. I'm having such a hard time as they all seem to sweet for me. Crazy to think since I have a big sweet tooth. Also trying to get in the 1000 calories my Dr wants me to when I'm not hungry so I have to force my self to eat something at times. And the biggest high is hearing everyone at work say they can see changes already so it makes it worth it. (Down 22 lbs since surgery on 6/18). Can you drink alcohol again once recovered and havre been on this new journey for awhile? I hope so even though I'm not a big drinker but do enjoy one here and there especially holiday time.

Does anyone have Cigna for a revision and didn't have them before? I'm wanting to switch to them but don't want to if they like to give the run around. I'm leaving BCBSIL and heard good thing about them but it was always someone who didn't have any bariatric surgery. Any advice would be loved! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App