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I had revision from band to sleeve on 7/1/15 and couldn't be more happy. They are such different in how they have worked. I was banded in 2012 and lost 25lbs and gained 75 when they had to take almost all Fluid out as I was not hitting "sweet spot" and getting food stuck. Since revision 2 months ago I have lost just over 40lbs and feel so much better!! Port area for me was always sore and doctor said that tends to be normal as well.

I had the revision on 3/27, and I struggle daily with keeping my calories down only to 1000 cal per day. It is still really hard for me because I am hungry and 1000 cal is absolutely not a lot of food. Kudos to those of you who find it difficult to Consume enough calories. Envious!

Had my surgery on Monday the 14. My surgery took 5 HOURS!!! My husband was so worried. I had the band for 4 years and the doc said my scar tissue was really bad, even with having my band out 9 months ago. I also had a large hernia he repaired. He was very happy we didn't try to do the revision in one surgery. I wanted to post earlier but really didn't feel up to much of anything until this morning. I'm still here in the hospital because of the distance I live from the hospital but am being released today. My experience so far has been what I expected. I had my leak test yesterday which came back with no leaks, thank God!! I've had trouble getting in fluids...but I'm working on doing better. The cranberry juice and warm broth goes down pretty easily, as does chewing on ice chips, but the Water and crystal light isn't so easy. I do have to go home with a drain, an onQ pain pump and have to give myself lovenox shots....but I guess I'll get used to it all. I'll check in later! Crystal

My pouch and esophogus are dilated. The doc immediately took out all my fill. Before, no matter how much of a fill, I could not eat any bread, no matter what. Now I can eat ANYTHING. I need to have another barium swallow and then the doc said if it fixed itself (90% do...but 1/2 recur...) we'd be re-filling VERY SLOWLY...I'm up 10 pounds since my unfill in December and am worried it won't correct itself (or hasn't). I get alot of gas in my stomach whenever I eat and severe left shoulder pain--no matter how much I eat. I've decided to start investigating revisions...Anyone else with the same issues?

That's pretty much how I was too. I hated my Lap Band. I just had revision surgery this month I couldn't wait to get that thing out!! I went from Lap Band to Gastric Sleeve. Might want to look into it. I was so tired of vomiting everyday!!

So I was waiting to be banded for several weeks. Mind you the last time I was in the hospital as a patient was the day I was born! I have never had a stitch or broken bone or ER visit, so being banded was a huge decision for me. I was banded on 04/29 and to my dismay, I was complete closed and nothing was passing through the band. They removed whatever little saline was in the band and still nothing. So after vomiting most of the day into the night, on 04/30 I went back into surgery for a revision. Of course since I was vomiting so violently the band and my stomach was completely twisted. Surgery was done, and during surgery a tube from my nose to my stomach was inserted to prevent vomiting. I went for the GI and had a trickle flowing through the band. I spent the night and was released Saturday at noon. Having the tube in my nose was the worst experience in my life! The rest of the day at home was uneventful, drank what i was suppose to, went to bed and woke up at 1:30 am vomiting. Wasn't really concerned since it was once and I felt OK. 6:30 am vomited again violently and called to Dr. who said to meet him at the ER. Went to the ER on Sunday morning, went for a GI and found that I had no flow at all. :smile: They wanted a tube reinserted from my stomach to my nose to prevent further vomiting. The ER Nurse who tired to put it in didn't know what the heck she was doing since the tube starting coming out of my mouth. And of course she than realizes, oops, I used a tube that was to large. :cursing:She pulls it out after I am screaming like a lunatic on crack! :angry:At that point I am covered in blood from my nose and screaming at the nurse. Thankfully another nurse came and inserted the tube and I was sedated. I spend the rest of Sunday in the hospital with the tube in my nose and me being the worst patient any nurse could dream of. I was so miserable I was about to tell the Dr. to take the band out, I was done! Monday came and back into surgery I went! So within 4 days I was operated on 3 times! Came out of surgery and the GI showed I was Free Flowing! I was so happy and excited. The tube was removed which made a happy camper and the best patient ever! LOL. I spend the night Monday to Tuesday, went for another GI and everything was perfect. The Dr. said he would discharge me whenever I wanted. So for my own sanity, I spent Tuesday to Wednesday in the hospital. Woke up the next morning still flowing, no issues! Went home Wednesday afternoon and have been doing great so far. Already lost lbs! But what a way to lose it!:cursing:

I don't think you need two years of history anymore. Their requirements were revised on 8/12. Must meet either 1 (adults) or 2 (adolescents): For adults aged 18 years or older, presence of persistent severe obesity, documented in contemporaneous clinical records, defined as any of the following: Body mass index (BMI) (see appendix) exceeding 40; or BMI greater than 35 in conjunction with any of the following severe co-morbidities: Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea (i.e., person meets the criteria for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea set forth in CPB 0004 - Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults); or Coronary heart disease, with objective documentation (by exercise stress test, radionuclide stress test, pharmacologic stress test, stress echocardiography, CT angiography, coronary angiography, heart failure or prior myocardial infarction); or Medically refractory hypertension (blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg systolic and/or 90 mmHg diastolic despite concurrent use of 3 anti-hypertensive agents of different classes); or Type 2 diabetes mellitus

I am 3 years out. I have had one "classic" dumping episode and it was Christmas day 2011. My surgery was December 11th 2011 and since I was a band revision, surgeon had me on a much slower food progression than typical. I was still on liquids so whilst my family enjoyed a Christmas feast, I had a warm chocolate Protein drink... but this was back when my thinking was still a bit "off". It was Christmas - I needed a treat, right? So I blended some Peanut Butter in. Perhaps too much peanut butter. I felt horrible - cramps, digestional upset, overall misery etc. It was bad enough that I didn't even taste peanut butter for a very long time after that. Since then, I will say that I have had a few meals that made me feel bad, although I don't think they were classic dumping. My take away is that you need to be "in training" to eat junky crappy food. If you eat pretty clean and then decide you will share a deep fried fish and chip dinner with a friend (hey, i was at goal, what's a little treat?) you may decide it ISN'T WORTH IT! I had a horrible tummy ache, I felt like I had been dipped in grease and had to digest it all. It wasn't the same as my Christmas day event, but it wasn't good either. So, where that leaves me is I can have a bit of something deep fried every once in a while.. but just a bit... and I feel okay. I made homemade potato chips for my boys and their friends, munched on a few with no ill effects... but just a few with a very healthy meal. I don't really want to eat that crap anyways so it is fine. I can't even fathom eating say a McDonalds meal, I suspect I would hurl it just based on the grease alone. Well, who knows, but I decided I don't want to find out.

I also had a band failure and will be having my sleeve revision surgery shortly. In the meantime, I hope to see more "success with sleeve after band failure" stories.

I am heading this way as well - band out and getting sleeve. I have to wait until next next year, but I'll be sure to start the process in January at the latest!! I'm over not being able to even keep down liquids one day to being able to eat everything under the sun the next. The port pain. The reflux. I have to pay about $350 up front to go through the program before insurance will cover revision...this is why I can't do it this year - too much going on that requires my money and is important/necessary.

You're revising from the sleeve? The DS was my first choice but I'll probably sprout fairy wings and fly before being able to get it covered, so sleeve it is! Please keep us up to date on your progress - I wish you luck!

I'm about to have port revision surgery because the cord has wrapped around my diaphragm and is hitting the vegus nerve. It sends shooting pains to my left shoulder. Apparently since I have lost all my weight my port sits higher to my diaphragm. I remember my port hurting really bad after surgery 2 years ago.

I went into my consult with about 20 pages of past weigh ins, graphs, and whatnot from my own personal apps and MyFitnessPal, etc. They didn't even want to see them... I just verbally went over the diets and exercise regimens I had previously tried, the gym memberships I've had, the 2 years of fills I had with my Lapband, and they said I was set and that's all the insurance really requires. I do, unfortunately, have to go through several pre-op tests other than the normal psych/NUT visit which I knocked out the same day (esophageal manometry, EGD, upper GI, chest x-ray, EKG, thyroid-specific blood tests... I think that's it, lol.) But I think that's surgeon specific and because I'm a revision. Keep me updated with your journies, ladies!

Not getting any support from my husband about getting my sleeve revision to gastric Bypass,he thinks this is a stupid idea and is very negative about everything. Tomorrow is my surgery and I have to be there at 5:30 am and he’s even complaining about that because God forbid he loses his precious sleep.

I was afraid to tell my husband about my revision. As we are both on my insurance from my employer. They only cover me for this procedure. He has a little GERD and was sleeved a month after my sleeve. We used his insurance. Additionally, he is a cáncer Survivor. I feel alot guilt. However, I must still move forward. Sent from my SM-J727T1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Right on Sthomas! I am a band to sleeve revision. I researched long and hard on where to have my surgery done. I was looking at several things for my 2nd and last surgery. I wanted a place with a good record of doing revisions without complications and in a single surgery. I wanted a real hospital and I wanted a sleeve that had proven results. I got all 3 with Dr. Wilhelmy at Mexicali Bariatric Center. I had surgery one month ago and have lost 25 lbs already. I can eat very little and know this sleeve will take me where I need to be. I thank Dr. Wilhelmy and staff and congratulate myself for making a better decision this 2nd time around. Live and learn I guess.

I told my son everything. He's kind of one of those gross, everything about the body intrigues him, kids. So, when it came time to revise to VSG, I allowed him to watch a youtube.com video on the procedure. At first, I showed him the "cartoon" animated video and then asked if he wanted to see the real surgery. Of course, being the gross 10 year old boy he is, he was game to watch the gory surgery. He thought it was awesome. I think it really depends on each child's maturity level. My son and I are extremely close so it made things easier to explain to him. I did tell him I was doing it to lose weight, but only because we have family members and friends that had the band and RNY performed so he was already familiar with weight loss surgery in general.

Welcome Becky! There are more than a few MX band revision patients on here as I'm sure you know if you've been reading a while. I'm typing this from Mexico actually. I had a great experience here, heading home tomorrow morning. Look forward to seeing you on the forums.

I was happy to happen upon this thread. I am banded and having a revision to the sleeve. What you are speaking about is the same thing that happens with the band. I feel like a band failure although there are also mechanical issues that can happen. It makes me scared to move forward to the sleeve as I am well aware of head hunger etc and how it can take over. I am going to do all that I can during the honeymoon period to get myself ready for when it's over. I hope that by being aware will be part of the battle.

I've had the band since 2010, going to Mexico tomorrow for revision. dr. Ponce de leon and Trish as coordinator. I'll keep you posted.

If you have your heart set on the sleeve and your surgeon will do a sleeve with your diagnosis of Barret's you must also see if your insurance would allow for a sleeve to bypass revision in case reflux gets to bad. Most insurances will only cover 1 procedure per lifetime check the fine print. My surgeon wouldn't do a sleeve on me because of my diagnosis of Barret's so I had the bypass on the 15th of June. Hope this helps. Best of Luck.

I had a sleeve 5 1/2 years ago. Just had a revision to RNY on the 12th. I had terrible stomach acid to the point it was taking over my body! The sleeve will not prevent acid reflux since the partnof your stomach that produces acid is still there. My doctor suggested RNY because he said that is the only way Ito finally get rid if my reflux. If you do have a lot of acid before your procedure, you may want to talk to your doctor to see if RNY would be a better option for you now, rather than maybe revision down the road. congrats to your husband for his success!

Stacey - I too am a LB failure in the process of looking at a revision and scared of another WLS failure. Thank you for the thread and for everyone's replies! I copy/pasted Tiffy's standard replyas backup in case my insurance denies me! May we all be successful with the sleeve!

I had my band placed 09/2008 and had initial weight loss, but then wammo!! had a slip, an unfill, regained all I had lost +10 more, started having re-fills and have never lost any more weight or ever found the "sweet spot"! I currently do have Fluid in my band and now am too tight! This was my "last ditch" effort attempt with this band, i.e. trying yet another fill. I can't seem to eat solid foods! Maybe every 2-3 days, I can tolerate a few bits of chicken breast...maybe, if my band can keep it down that is! Anyway, I'm done! I have had a miserable 3 yrs with this band! I think the only thing it has caused me, other than severe aggravation, is a very poor diet! Only crap foods seem to go down without pain! I can't eat veggies or fruits and most meats! It has just not worked for me....AT ALL! Anyway, My surgeon says it is time to revise. She initially said to RNY, but I speak with her again on the 28th of this month and she is now performing VSG, so I will be discussing this with her. I am still just not comfortable with the whole re-arranging your bowel! I don't know why I'm soooo afraid of this, but I am. I also am just as afraid of staying 100-110 pounds overweight for the rest of my life too I might add! I also have some feelings of failing with WLS and scarred feelings of "what if another WLS fails".... probably all the normal fears everyone has going through a revision. I wish I knew the right answers and automatically knew the right surgery for me. I'm so afraid of picking the wrong surgery out of fear and then it not working! I know my ins. is soon changing to include a "once in a lifetime" WLS per person... so this revision is probably my last ins. covered surgery chance! My hubby, God bless him, said to me last night... "is this surgery new? and considered expiremental? and you might not lose the weight??" And I don't know how to answer that! I am currently 246 pounds at 5'6" tall. I am turning 40 yrs old this summer. Can I lose my weight with VSG? My bariatric program director had RNY and refers to it as the "gold standard", actually so does my PCP. Are they right? Is VSG too new and not tested/proven? I did lose iniitally with my band, until it slipped, but band life is not something I could ever tolerate for the rest of my life. The whole stoma thing just is a miserable way to go! I really just wanted some help with my portions and I wanted the ability to be able to decide on my food choices! I never expected to have such a limited diet with the band! I know there are going to be times, i.e. birthday parties or "special occasions", where I might eat something sweet. That's life. I just wanted that "choice". I also know I need to make a lifestyle change and have recently started attending some therapy groups with other women trying to lose weight and make better food choices. I feel like I have in place things to help enpower me on this weight loss journey! I just now have to chose what "tool" surgically to utilize.... and it is a tough, tough decision. I don't want another failure! It's my biggest fear! Please any insight / advice would be sooooo appreciated!

Hi, Tiffykins is the resident expert on revisions, as she has a compelling story and fantastic success. I am newer on my journey - 6 weeks out and have lost 20 pounds. I just shattered through my lowest lap-band weight as of today and I am thrilled about it. I, personally, was not expecting to lose much weight with the sleeve because I am a low BMI patient and had been very disappointed with the band. I was just happy to have the band out and I wanted a safety net to keep me from regaining a lot of weight. But, the sleeve has completely exceeded my expectations. The restriction is very consistent. There is no more discomfort from the port internally or externally (of course my port area is still healing from the removal and I can't put a lot of pressure on it rgiht now). I eat chicken - which I couldn't do with the band. I eat 1/4 of a piece of wheat toast, which i could never do with the band. The difference is wonderful and immediate. I am so sorry to hear about your lap-band problems. Take some comfort in knowing you are not alone in this experience. There are a lot of us out there that didn't see lasting results with the band. The sleeve has been a great option for the people here on the board. Good luck in your decision-- Lara