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I am in Raleigh, NC and looking for someone local who had a band to sleeve revision that I can talk to. I want to learn about their experiences so I can make an educated decision on whether or not to get the revision. Thanks!

I have had my band for almost 3 years and I hate it!! Dense meat is not an option for me and most fibrous veggies won't work either. I slime, puke, pb or whatever you call it at almost every and I am sick of it.. I could never get a "sweet spot" and never really a good amount of weight. I am 5'0 weighed 200 the day of surgery and 188 today bmi 37. I went to my surgeon who did my lapband deemed my lapband and failure and suggested to I covert to the sleeve. However the person who does the insurance said I didn't "weigh enough" to send it to my insurance and it called out the $17,000 price tag to me. Which was out of the question. So I am looking those who have gone to Mexico to have a lapband revised to sleeve. What dr did you use? What was your experience with surgery and care? What was the cost?

Ok so I had a revision on the 26/11 do far going on 3weeks but I have only lost 8 pounds ? My weight prior to sleeve was 155 I lost 75 with the band but it slipped so I decided to get the sleeve but I was sure I would loose at least 25 pounds like everyone else but no!!!! Sooo is the normal ????

I had my revision on September 10, 2012. I went to Dr Fernando Garcia, an amazingly skilled surgeon in my opinion. There are many posts on here about him and he is well liked. I went through ready4achange and I do say that having the surgery was the best thing I could have done for myself.

I had to re-finance my house in order to pay for this surgery and I am single on one income. I really started out looking at other surgeons as they were more affordable but in the end... I was going alone and wanted to be in the best hands possible. For me... he was the best choice and I felt the best chance I had for having a revision without complications. My band has been in for 9 years and I just can't imagine the mess he might find! There are a lot of skilled surgeons in Mexico... and I am sure you can find one that fits your research and can provide a safe surgical experience. Just be sure to talk to as many people as possible and don't make price the first priority.

Hi - I'm flying in on the 2nd for testing and then will be back on the 3rd for sleeve revision to bypass with Dr. Q. I'll look for you

After two years of having issues with my band, I went to see a consultant. I really, really wanted a bypass as I had failed miserably with the band!! Straight out he said he would do the sleeve! The bypass was not even an option he mentioned. I was absolutely distraught and cried and cried. However, today I'm the happiest I've been for a very long time. I'm almost 7 months post op and have lost 104lbs. My start weight was 397lbs. My sleeve has been a Godsend and I'm so happy he never entertained the thought of a bypass. Band to sleeve revision peeps are having great successes

Went to see DrProvost today (I have second with Dr Cribbins Wed)... I told dr provost I wanted to revise band to sleeve. He said he will do band to gastric bypass. He said the sleeve is not good for banders. Had I never had a band he would do a sleeve but because I do have a band he recommends the bypass. Which I am scared to death of. He said people with bands that have sleeves I told him I didn't like the thought of bypass because of re routing everything and dumping syndrome. He said dumping happen when you eat sugar or high fat foods. If you eat that you will feel very sick, and faint like you want to pass out. All the things I worried about. He said well I should not be eating that anyway so I should do bypass. I fully understand that I must change my eating habits and that sugar and high fats are off limits... However the thought of NEVER having sweets really bothers me. I think if every ONCE IN A WHILE I want to share a piece of birthday cake with my son I would like to be able to have that option once I react my goal weight. Hopefully I'm not wrong feeling that way. My question is has anyone else been advised to so gastric bypass vs sleeve and what did you decided an how did it turn out? Also, has anyone had leaks since sleeve revision. Advice needed and appreciated

I was banded 2012 and immediately stopped having reflux. I was revised to sleeve 4 days ago and have had worse acid reflux than I have ever had in my entire life! Is this normal? Common? Will this go away? The prescription Pepcid isn't doing a thing to help it. What do you do about your reflux? I'm on full liquid diet for 2 weeks and I can't imagine what food will be like if liquids (water, juice, broth) is this bad.

The first surgeon I went to insisted that the best thing for me was bypass even though I told him that I was absolutely not interested in that at all. He grudgingly said he would sleeve me if I insisted, but every visit, he rammed bypass down my throat. I am NOT a band revision, but he could give me no good reason why bypass was better than sleeve other than his thought that I should want to dump if I ate bad things. Uhmmm....no. I want to live a fairly normal life. I am not a huge sweets eater, but I do want to have a bite of cake or a scoop of ice cream from time to time. His nurse was a bypass recipient and she was also extremely pushy about having bypass over sleeve for the same reason. When I told her my feelings on it, she acted as if I was nuts and just like the doctor, told me that dumping was desirable. WHUCK!?!?!! I changed doctors and I am SO glad I did. SO GLAD. Edit to add: I was 4 months into a 6 month process and had to start all over. Still glad I did it.

I hate the idea of any more surgery but saw the bariatric surgeon for my regular visit on Friday and showed her the 'golf ball'. She said it wasn't dangerous but I really needed to get it fixed. So...a lower profile port is what I will get along with her stitching it to the muscle so it gets buried deeper. She said it would hurt more to get fills but I don't get any now so I don't care about what might or might not happen. I tried on a dress last week that I couldn't buy because my port was so visible. Will be nice to not have to deal with that anymore. Then she mentioned that she didn't do this too often because most bandsters didn't become as thin as I have. She said there's no fat for the port to be hidden by. I must say, I liked how that sounded.

You need to read the band to sleeve revision forum. Your story is like all of ours. Living with the sleeve is pretty effortless. The band was a nightmare. There are many people who have horrible band problems that do great with the sleeve. I sure wish I had gotten the sleeve first!

Good morning i had my sleeve back in 2014 and lost 60% of my excess weight . So nowhere near “my” target. Over that 4 years , I was careful recording food and disciplined about protein , then veg etc but despite being about 1400 calories daily, I just did not lose the balance. I am 5 ft tall ( just) because of GERD, I had revision to bypass 8 weeks ago. The surgery has successfully resolved that , thank goodness i am now eating about 700 calories a day with 60-70 g of protein but the weight loss is still really slow. In 2 months, i have lost 16 pounds. What is the experience of others who had revision? thanks for your input

Hi. I'm also a teacher. My surgery is scheduled for 6-24. I waited until summer so I would have 6-7 weeks off, plus I have 2 young children at home. I'm a revision from band to sleeve so I wanted to allow myself plenty of time to recover and get through the liquid, mushy phases during my vacation. I started the pre-op diet the last week of school which was tough but I managed. Good luck to you!

I'm four years into my surgery this month and here are the things that I've learned. At the beginning most will feel mixed emotions. Euphoric due to rapid weight loss, concern due to stalls and minor setbacks and trepidation due to looking at how others are doing and you feeling you're not doing enough. The one feeling we all have will be a renewed confidence in ourselves due to the fastest weight reduction you might have ever experienced. We attain our goal weight. We then transition into making wise food and lifestyle choices. No longer are we to eat the things that made us obese and unhealthy such as the three C's, Cookies, Cake and Candy. We will get more exercise. Maybe we park further from the building, maybe we join a gym, maybe we walk, run or work out. We are feeling great and we love our new selves. Next we work on maintaining the weight loss and our healthy lifestyle. One thing happens, we decide since we lost so much weight it couldn't hurt to visit our friends the three C's. If only for a short while and only in small amounts. Hey, why park so far? It's really cold/hot, I'll park closer. You're still feeling confident even if you gained only 10lbs of the 100 you lost. Hey, you're still down 90lbs. No problem, I can lose the 10lbs. I've lost far more than that after surgery. Then we realize, we are no longer weight loss super beings. We are just mere mortals who now have to work hard to lose the weight. Our bodies after time (usually after the one year mark) will not give us that rapid weight loss we once depended on. Here is when your determination and or lack of it will affect you for the rest of your life. We will all get back on a diet or healthier eating plan to lose the weight we gained. The majority will not succeed because it is not as easy it was when we first had surgery. Some will become complacent and throw up their hands and surrender. The weight will come back and the thoughts of a revision will come to our heads. Unfortunately, most insurance companies do not allow for a do over. For a few they will overcome and work on shedding those pounds. They will succeed due to a variety of reasons such as a good support group, using the honeymoon period wisely and really making better lifestyle choices or simply losing one pound at a time instead of trying to lose all of it at one time. Since my surgery four years ago I had five friends and family members undergo the surgery. We ALL gained back some of the weight. Some were able to lose it and regain their healthy lifestyle. Some never were able to lose the weight and went back into the habit of eating for gratification. This is what I did. I originally got down on myself. How did I after three years let myself gain 10 lbs. I vowed to get it off. My 1st week I lost 1/2 a pound. I was devastated, how could this be? The next week I gained a pound. Why? I needed help!! My regular group meetings were cancelled due to covid so I lost valuable support there. I decided to call my family and friends who had the surgery. I spent hours talking to everyone, I told them about my struggles and they told me about theirs. We all came away with a few good ideas of what to do. First don't look to lose the WHOLE amount in one shot. It won't happen and it will derail you from succeeding. Set a goal of 1-2lbs per week. Don't worry that some friends or family might be losing more. We aren't in competition with them. Look at the little things. One friend said she stopped putting Crystal light or Mio in her water. She only drank plain ice water. It seemed to help her jump start her weight loss. Another friend said he started taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He climbs seven flights at least once a day. Another told me her husband who did not have the surgery brought snacks home and that she would eat them. She purged her home of the unhealthy snacks as she did right after her surgery. I started to implement these and other ideas and I have lost 5lbs in five weeks. I'm at the half way point to getting back to my goal weight. We are not super humans we need help and we need encouragement in order to succeed. There are a few on here who have done a tremendous job on their own and they are to be commended and emulated. For me, I need and I will take all the help I can get. Everyday is a struggle to be healthy. I told my surgeon that all this is happening after only four years, how do people succeed at maintaining the weight loss? He said sadly, the majority won't.

Thank you:) I had a LBL, Butt lift with fat flap, Breast augmentation, Medial thighs lift and TT and Nable scar revision. I will post incision pictures tomorrow. Can I ask what is nable scar revision? PS you look great!

10 days out for me. I had similar thoughts prior to having the surgery. I know I need this tool to help me revise and develop good eating habits, lose weight, get healthy and be able to do things I'm limited to due to wait. My experience has been very positive. The incisions are tiny and my pain was minimal. I was on painkillers for 3 days and Tylenol for 1. It is wonderful to feel full after drinking such a small amount. Yes, some of the shakes are horrible. I've found mixing the powder with soy milk and letting it sit for a while really helps. Nashua Nutritions sells samples of the majority of powders. I bought a bunch to try before buying a big container. You're going to do just fine. Waiting is the worst.????

He does, he takes the revisions last because they take more time. I think I went in around noon. I just read a book. Lettuce/produce is absolutely fine to eat at the hotel or hospital. They wash it in bottled Water. I asked. ;o) I didn't lose as much as most the first month because I was trying really hard to maintain my weight. I was 125 or so at the time of my surgery. I just had to get the band out quickly. I lost about 10-12# but I've finally gained it back.. no more 'crack whore' look for me! HA No, I didn't take the sleeping pill, I wasn't nervous. I had my band there originally so I already knew the routine. I didn't even take the antibiotic, I don't take antibiotics unless I have an infection I can't kick on my own. But I didn't tell them that. ;o) Oh, thanks! You are so sweet but no, we don't get anything for referrals. My big thing is that I just want people to research their surgeon and going to someone who will give them a safe surgery. However, next time I do something stupid to myself at least I can preface it with, "HEY! I referred someone to you, you can't get mad at me!" LOL Sometimes people go to a really baaaaad doctor because the doctor is cheap or has a fast talking coordinator. I really feel bad for those people because I know there is a pretty good chance they are not going to have the same shot at a safe and effective surgery as those who go to good doctors. When someone is going to Aceves I don't worry about them, I know they are going to the best! Good luck tomorrow! You'll do great, you'll see. If you need anything just email me or PM me. Congrats on starting a whole new life, band free! __________________ Originally posted at www.lapbandtalk.com

Hopefully Dr Iriqua will be revising my band to sleeve.. any suggestions?

Don't fret just yet. When I had my lapband 4 yrs ago, I was told Id need to modify my diet and to restrict bread, Pasta, rice, and sweets. I mustve had a band of steel cuz I tolerated everytning, in very small quantities. I lost 104 lbs eating everything in moderation. Id be bummed if I could no longer have Cookies, ice cream, and chocolate. Im 5 wks out fro my revision and on soft foods. The only sweets I've had is my Protein shake and yogurt (and applesauce if u count that) and I've actually been fine. Last nite I had an ice cream craving so I went to the Circle K adross the street and bought a pint. I ate about 4 bites before being sattiated. Hubby ate the rest. Its not the end of the world, altho it freaked me out a little aftwerwards. My philosophy: u got the sleeve instead of the RNY ( amalabsorbtion surgery) so that u can't eat very much. U should be able to eat everything in small quantities. Now, if this is ur trigger food, the problem with eating junk is that's its often a "slider" food that u can eat endlessly. U really have to watch ur portion size. Now, I may get bashed for my philosphy but that's ok. Life would not be fun if I just ate chicken and broccoli forever. Good luck with ur decsision

I am 2 days before surgery but I have mixed emotions. I am nervous because I worry about complications because I am a VSG to RNY revision. But I am excited because I am one step closer to starting this new journey

What about a revision? To say gastric bypass?

:welcome: Hello and welcome!! Wow, you had a difficult time with the band. I've read this a lot on the boards, but maybe not as bad as your case. You may have already asked, but does Medicaid cover revisions? If so, do they cover the sleeve as a revision to option? I know all states are different, but my state would not cover the sleeve, only Lap Band or RNY. They would also only cover WLS one time. Your case and your state may be different. I also agree, you should find a good and experienced surgeon that has experience with a patient that had a lapband. Make sure you are healed enough, and how extensive the damage was and how much scar tissue you have. As far as acid reflux, this can be a problem immediately post op. I would try to find out if you have a hiatal hernia and most drs can repair at the same time you get sleeved. Most drs put you on a PPI for 3-6 months while your sleeve heals to protect the suture line and to reduce any acid problems. I am 3 mo post op and have discontinued the PPI. So far no problems. Good luck!!

Hi Karen, I don't know you and am wondering why you had the revision.

And it wasn't for an appointment. When I was in the hospital right after surgery, I had an incredible team of professionals looking after me. They were quick to respond, they were compassionate, and above all, they were competent. About two weeks after I was discharged, I even got a card signed by all the people who cared for me, wishing me luck and encouraging me to stop and visit sometime in the future. So I did. I had some other business close by, and used the opportunity to take some thank you notes addressed to each of them up to the floor I was on. As I was walking along the main floor toward the elevators I needed to take, I saw my surgeon standing along the wall with another gentleman in a white coat. I figured he was a doctor of some sort too. Anyway, my doc saw me coming, and apparently recognized me, as he got a big smile on his face and said, Hey, how are you doing!?!" "So, you recognized me with my clothes on, eh?" That got the both of them laughing pretty hard. I stopped to speak with him, and his next question was, "How far down are you now?" "One hundred fourteen pounds since the beginning. I'm slowing down a little, but I am about 40 lbs from my original target, 60 from my revised one." I turned to the other gentleman standing there, and said, "He did a good job slicing me up. I did ask him to make mine bigger". My doc started laughing again and said, "I remember that!" It was a conversation we had as they were wheeling me into the operating room. The other doc said, "I wish someone would operate on me to make me taller". I am 6'1", and my doc is about 6'3". This other guy was about 5' 7" or so. So I said to him, "We could always nail your feet to the floor and kick you in the... well, you know." That got a shocked look from both of them coupled with a second or two of complete silence, and then some uproarious laughter. I went on to say, "The Bible says, "Which of us, by taking thought, can add a single cubit to our stature? We are born the way we are, and height doesn't matter. I was born to be tall and fat." The short doc responded, "Well I was born short and fat, and I would like to be taller!" We all engaged in one final round of polite laughter, and I parted ways reminding my doctor that I would be seeing him in a week. I am pretty much a blue collar guy with a bit of an education. I have had surgeons and other doctors as students of mine. Doctors don't intimidate me. I think I might have shocked them a bit. It was worth it.