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I got my first band in march of 2006 and i think but am not sure that it started slipping in december of 2006. Final blockage in november 2007. I had an immediate revision. I did not do like many people and have it taken out and reinstalled later. They just put in in higher

Just wanted to check in had my port revised on August 8th what had happenen was where the port pokes out of the muscle the tube should move freely with movement from your body my case the area healed and there was scar tissue and it was fixed in an akward position that did not allow movement and it flipped the port well it pulled the port out of the muscle my doctor said he has never seen that before well it seems to be ok though now I am on antibiotics because they did so much work in there and fluid built up however I have lost 36 pounds in 2 months but all this is listen to your body and ask questions we can all tell when something is not right and the port wasn't so hopefully everything is done and I can get on my way I have had one fill and it is giving me restriction and they said it usually don't have restriction after one fill thanks for reading bye

Hey all.. new to this app. Love it and all the support I see! I am on the fence and looking to see if anyone has had a revision from sleeve to bypass? Since my sleeve I have developed the worst heartburn. I had it before but not to this extent. My doctor didn’t tell me that the sleeve will make your gerd worse. It’s to the point that I eat only what doesn’t hurt. In addition to that I can’t eat anything with flour. Horrible stomach ache. I’ve been allergy tested for gluten bcus I was SURE that’s what is was but turns out I’m not. So I know enough to stay away from carbs.. bread, rice and anything with flour. Thank goodness for gluten free crackers. They are my staple. Doctor says the revision make the heartburn and pain and will repair the hernia that developed from the first surgery. I guess I just don’t know anyone who has done the bypass and if they have any complications. I’ve heard dumping could be really bad. What are the big differences in foods with the sleeve vs bypass. I heard you can’t have anything with sugar.... I’m thinking of my coffee creamer ( which i allow myself) which is not sugar free.... fruits, honey, oatmeal .... would appreciate any feedback or insight.

I came across some statistics. People that get the sleeve and didn't have GERD prior to surgery.. 9% will develop GERD because of the surgery. 16% of people that have acid going into surgery had it resolve! But, acid is a concern, and one of the reasons I'm considering getting a RYN bypass to begin with. Or I'll get the sleeve, and have a 9% chance of needing a revision. Sent from my SM-N920R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

Congrats, and keep us updated, if you want! Karen PS:I had GERD from my band but had a revision, so I am okay, now!

i pm'd my dear friend jean mcmillian about this thread as i belive something similiar to this happened to her and she recently revised to the sleeve..i am sure she can offer some insight.

I was banded in 2008. For the revision was in the hospital for 2 nites. I had no issues. I'm a pain weenie but this was no problem. I have also been nervous that I will fail on this because I had such limited success with the band. But I am older and hopefully a little wiser now and I prepared for this one differently. I was too cavalier before. Now I'm much better prepared and committed to the changes required for success.

I was notified by Alex Brecher that I have been registered with VST for two years now - doesn't seem like it has been that long and I was encouraged to share my story again so I thought that I would re-post my story. I hope you can relate and it brings some encouragement to others that in life you can make changes. I'm a Californian for life! - Wife of 7 yrs to a wonderful husband who I love very much, mother of a 11 yr son, 21 yr old daughter and 19 yr old son , god mother to my 20 yr old god daughter , older sister to 5 brothers and daughter and granddaughter to my mom and father grandmother whom I love and respect and thankful for them loving and teaching me . I enjoy making people life, people say that I'm ALWAYS smiling and I love to swim, play volleyball and aspire to be able to run a marathon. I started my research journey about weight loss surgery in May of 2009. After 10 yrs of failed attempts at losing weight on my own. My story is probably pretty common, I was never a fat or big kid, teenager or young adult always weighed within normal or above normal range and could eat anything and everything I wanted and never really exercised accept when I had too. Always busy and on the go enjoying life, friends and family I guess that kept me thin. But something happened to me when I hit my mid 20's and I started slowing my life(style) down - I started slowly picking up weight that I was unable to drop or loose easly anymore, to top it off by age 28 I became pregnant with my son( love him). I had a difficult pregnancy near the end of my first trimester I was diagnosed with Preclampsia and eventually it affected my weight, blood pressure, and if not monitored could shut down my major organs and death! During my pregnancy I gained 75 lbs which was crazy! 27 weeks into my pregnancy I had to be admitted into the hospital because my Protein levels were too high and I had to be monitored and blood drown 24/7. I gave birth to my son via C-Section at 31 wks so he was a Premie and weigh 3.06 lbs at birth! He (Kalani) was born not breathing and had to stay in the Neonatal unit for 5weeks before they let him come home with me. Initially I dropped the weight with breast feeding, however with dealing with a Premie and being a new mom I think put alot of stress on me so I sought comfort in food most of the time. I had to deal with him being so small and being susceptable to getting sick alot because he was born with under developed lungs - me putting my child in regular daycare was not an option! I eventually went back to work and my grandmother my son's great grandmother took care of him for the first 4 years of his life. She was my daycare provider and I will Always love her for that! During the first 5 yrs of his life I felt like I was always at the Dr. office or in urgent care with him being sick! So, I definitely forgot about me and it became all about him and the only thing I could think of doing in my spare time was eat or going out to eat or snacking on sweets or making sweets and eating big portions of food. I just kept getting bigger and bigger each year. Blaming my clothes not fitting on "Cheap materials!" LMBO SMH To try and get my life back I joined a gym (still a member - not using regularly yet), I tried every diet that was on TV or a friend told me about or the latest and greatest fad diet. from Atkins, Southbeach, Weight Watchers 3X, Lemonade Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Vitamin B12 shots, Appetite Suppressants, 7 Day Diet, Detox (Fasting), not to mention how much money I spent on Excercise Vids, DVD's! Sheeeeeesh! But, I did loose weight sometimes anywhere from 20-50lbs but I would always seem to gain it back plus some. So in 2009 I was fed up I had to do something different!!! - I had heard about the Gastric Bypass which was the most common so I did a little research but not much and had a talk with my PCP and he thought it would be a good idea so he started my paperwork and at the time I was with an *** so the requirements were I had to have 6months of weigh ins and some other things so I started in excited however once I started reasearching the R N Y and asking people that I had met and watching YouTube vids I started thinking, "I don't think this is for me I wasn't liking the "Malabsorbtion" and "Restriction" together I didn't think it was for me despite all the positive feedback. I made it to the Surgeon for a Pre Op and decided that I didn't want to go through with it. I knew based on research and talks on obesity.org and on Youtube and speaking with the surgeon that the LapBand was a waist of time (in my opinion) I saw and read about alot of folks getting revisions and switched to the sleeve or the R N Y. But then I started researching the sleeve and flet that this surgery was more along the lines of what I was looking for and since I didn't have CoMorb's like diabetes or cholesterol, etc. and it wasn't Restrictive so I thought Great! Eureka! I've found it. However, my *** at the time did not cover it and I tried to get an exception based on me having a bad back and having to take NSAIDS often for pain and the R N Y did not recommend taking those becasue it could cause issues with the R N Y. But, no go they declined me - so I stopped pursuing and thought well maybe this is not my journey and I should just keep trying to diet and exercise maybe one day I will eventually loose this weight and left it alone for about 5 months. In 2009 my husbands company was bought out by another company and when we had to re-enrolled for benefits the new company had different plans - PPO & *** options so I called each one and asked if they approved Bariactric Surgeries (some don't believe it or not) and if yes, did they offer approvals for VSG and one did - so I felt well Lord maybe this is still a journey I can take! So, I had to go through couple of their guidelines but most of my previous paperwork was still good so I didn't have to re-do anything (GOD is Good) and now hear I am almost two years later and a with a VSG surgery date for next month! Can't say it was easy but I'm so glad i'm here and I had a loving and supportive family! I still continue to read and ask questions to get my mind ready for the change but I'm so excited and ready to begin a new way of life!!! ***And now I'm living my new life i'm 21 months post-op and down 136 lbs never felt better and glad I began my new life and journey!***

Call BCBS & find out their requirements. You should have done that first. Know your benefits, what will you have to pay, & what they expect out of you. I have BCBS North Carolina & they don't require anything if you have BMI over 39. I just submitted it (I do authorizations for a living) & gave BCBS my height, weight, & BMI. I got an approval in 3 days. Each BCBS has different requirements. I am assuming CAL is California? BCBS California is BCBS Anthem. -----------------------------------------------\\\ ANTHEM BCBS – REQUIREMENTS FOR WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY In Am I Covered by OC StaffOctober 19, 2013 Anthem BCBS does cover weight loss surgery as long as your policy does not specifically exclude coverage. ObesityCoverage strongly feels that morbid obesity is a disease and every insurance company should cover these life saving procedures. So we are happy to report that Anthem BCBS covers weight loss surgery. In fact, most of the Blue cross Blue Shield network has some sort of coverage for weight loss surgery. It is important to know that your employer can typically opt-out of weight loss surgery insurance coverage for their employees policies. Opting-out typically saves the company money on their premiums. Contact information for your Anthem BCBS is listed below. Even if your policy excludes weight loss surgery, because BCBS has shown that these types of surgeries are medically necessary you might be able to appeal their exclusion. Before calling make sure you see our questions to ask before calling your insurance company section. Note Blue Cross of California is the trade name for Anthem BCBS so your criteria for weight loss surgery will be the same as it is here. ANTHEM BCBS PRE-APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS The items below are the minimum necessary for approval of your weight loss surgery. Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or greater OR… a BMI of 35 or greater with at least 2 comorbidities. Primary Care Physician’s Letter. Active Participation and Documentation of non-surgical methods of weight loss. 18 years of age (special consideration if under 18 with severe morbid obesity and special circumstances). Consult and recommendation from a weight loss surgeon. Psychological evaluation Nutritional evaluation Policies Included in Coverage Blue cross Kentucky Blue cross Virginia Blue cross Wisconsin Blue cross Ohio Blue cross California Blue cross Georgia Blue cross Missouri Blue cross New York Empire TYPES OF WEIGHT LOSS SURGERIES COVERED BY ANTHEM BCBSRecently gastric sleeves have begun to be covered by some of the large insurance companies as a primary weight loss surgery. Currently, gastric sleeves are considered experimental procedures and are not covered. Covered Weight Loss Surgery Procedures Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Open Gastric Bypass Surgery Gastric Banding – including the Lap Band and Realize Band Duodenal Switch also known as Biliopancreatic Diversion Gastric Sleeves Unsure which surgery is right for you? Take our bariatric surgery test! Lap Band Fills Covered? Anthem BCBS considers Lap Band fills a medical necessity when required to meet the proper level of weight loss. This is true only if you’ve had a previous adjustable gastric banding procedure that met all of the criteria laid out for that procedure. Typically, if you paid cash for the procedure ongoing lap band fills will not be covered by insurance. Procedures Excluded From Coverage Mini-gastric bypass Banded vertical gastroplasty Any other ‘experimental’ weight loss procedure Is a Second Weight Loss Surgery Covered if Gastric Banding Didn’t Work? Surgical procedures following a previous weight loss surgery that did not result adequate weight loss, such as a lap band or realize band to a gastric bypass, gastric sleeve or duodenal switch are covered by insurance when the following criteria are met: The patient continues to meet all the medical necessity criteria for bariatric surgery, and There must be documentation that the patient was compliant with the original post-operative dietary and exercise program, and 2 years after the original weight loss surgery, weight loss is still less than 50% of pre-operative excess body weight and weight remains at least 30% of the patients ideal body weight, per BMI. Revisions Revisions are covered if there is documentation of a failure secondary to a surgical complication. Complications can include but are not limited to fistula, obstruction or disruption of a suture/staple line.Does Anthem BCBS Require Center Of Excellence? Yes, weight loss surgery must be done at a Center of Excellence. Do I have to use an in-network weight loss surgeon? No. However, your deductible and out of pocket costs may be significantly lower if you do. And you will still need to find a surgeon that has privileges to perform the surgery at a accredited Center Of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery. ANTHEM BCBS CONTACT INFORMATIONAnthems can be contacted at 1-866-293-2892. You can also locate a contact number and email address on their website after choosing your state. ANTHEM BCBS WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY FULL COVERAGE STATEMENTAnthem’s full policy on weight loss surgery insurance coverage from their web site.

And I'll be praying for you both, I am a RuN on September 5th, 1st time so not a revsion but I'm a good friend to have and I'm 72. Our Bari-pal Ellie 123 just had a revision on August 22, she's 40 and doing real well. And I believe you both will also heal fine. So smile Gals we are on our way to better things!😛

Are you saying that Tricare won't cover revision surgery until you reach your 2-year anniversary? I have a friend who revised from the band to RNY, not because of problems with the band but because after losing 100 lbs with the band, her weight loss stopped and she still needed to lose 100 lbs. Tricare covered her revision, which was done about 4 years after her band surgery. She wanted to revise to the sleeve, but Tricare wouldn't cover it.

i believe everyone has the right to choose their own surgery for their own reasons. these are mine... i'm not trying to convince or scare anyone it's just why i am choosing what i'm choosing. first i wanna say, we already have titanium in our bodies so i wouldn't worry about the staples. its an organic element. now with the plication, can they see inside the folds? can you still get ulcers and gastritis and cancer in that part that has been sewn up? does it meld together over time (which would make it, i guess, irreversible?). i could not do plication because i already have gerd, so it was never an option as they don't recommend it. but i'm curious about the procedure and will follow the long term results. i hope it's successful in the future for the sake of all the people choosing it right now and not something short lived due to failure and complications... i chose the sleeve over the lapband because 1. my doctor advised me not to have the band (he doesn't perform either procedure and i'm going self pay to Mexico so he has no vested interest or kickback from my procedure). he just said he's had a lot of lapband patients end up having to be revised to sleeves and it would probably be better for me to skip the whole in between and go straight to the sleeve. i understand his thought process and i can see it's something that happens just looking at the revisions forum. 2. i do have a freaky feeling about having a foreign item in my body that's not organic material. i'm afraid of developing more auto immune problems from it. 3. i truly believe once your sleeve has healed up, you should not have to worry about complications and live your life. this might take up to six months (as i've read about people springing leaks a time out but not past that mark i believe). with a band people can have a complication any time, even after a couple years of great results. the plication is too new, and again, i don't like the idea of not being able to scope the tissue in case i had cancer ... now i know i could get cancer in my sleeve but i am sure that it would be found much sooner than with a plication therefore giving you a better chance for treatment before metastasis took place. i was freaked out about losing 85% of my stomach forever at first. but then realized it's still my stomach and will still work like a stomach, it's not being rewired (like with a bypass or ds) and if i looked at it with an xray it would still be a stomach but smaller. i also have had a history of peptic uclers in the fundus of my stomach, so seriously this is something that they would do for me if my ulcers ever got so bad they would bleed etc. i'm just kinda nipping it in the bud this way. my doctor told me they have been doing this for years (the gastrectomy) on ulcer patients and their life expectancy and quality of live has improved.

I am 3+ years from revision and it was the best decision EVER. I am maintaining at half my former weight!

@@honeysmash I'm glad you'll get to have a revision. I get my band removed and revised to gastric bypass all in one surgery in January 2016 (soonest insurance will approve it). Keep me posted if you don't mind. Take care!

Hey Krestel, Have you had surgery yet? I'm having RNY revision surgery on July 16th and can't wait for it to be done. My reflux is so much worse than it was before I had sleeve surgery on October 25th 2016 . Hopefully you are doing great. Have an awesome day. Allie in SC (South Carolina)

Hi SoCal, I'm sorry you're having issues, and you already answered your own dilemma! You're eating the wrong foods. Surgeons have done study after study and find the pouch does not stretch over time, but what happens is the hormones change, signaling your brain you can eat more. It's normal to feel you can eat more, and very expected. You did nothing wrong, and did not stretch out your pouch. A revision is possible but any doctor will let you know that a revision won't help you in the long run, but changing your habits will. You need to eat many more veggies and fruit, legumes and nuts. Steer clear of beef, beef has fat hormones. Chicken a tough on digestion. Eat fish, it's high in protein and gentle on the tummy. The Mediterranean Diet, basically. Don't regress back to the diet you were on initially (liquid)- that will harm your metabolism. If you cannot kick your bad habits, I suggest a support group for food addiction or a therapist, which may help you alleviate some of your issues with eating the foods you seem drawn to eating/or are addicted to by addressing the reason why you eat those. The surgery is a one time deal, really, to address those issues before hand and try to curb the tendencies that helped us put on on weight in the first place. Many people find themselves in your predicament and are hard on themselves, when really the solution is to simply change your eating and exercise habits to what they need to be for the rest of your life. I also suggest working out. The best exercises are some you can do outside a gym and in your home, push ups, squats, anything you use your own body weight. These reduce injury and burn a lot as you get cardio and weight in simultaneously. Wishing you absolute success! I think you can do this!

I had my sleeve last August, 2016. While there another patient was there for a "sleeve revision". Perhaps you could have your doctor do a barium test on your sleeve to see if it has enlarged. I know some doctors will do a revision and repair. Good luck.

I was just thinking the same thing the other day!! I'm also a band to sleeve revision and have always had soft brittle nails. This is certainly a side effect I am enjoying!!

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!

My first go round (dec 2019) I went from 279 to 264 (15lbs). When I had my revision for gerd (aug 2020) I went from 220 to 212 (8lbs). Both were 2 weeks long. Edited to add- my plan was 3-4 protein shakes a day, all the celery and cucumbers I wanted and 1-2 cups of broth.

I did go from sleeve to RNY. It did eliminate the gerd but I still take the protonix once a day when I wake up until I talk to the surgeon at my next appointment in July. I’m 9 months out from my revision to RNY have lost about 60lbs and I’ve been maintaining at 150-155 for almost 4 months now.

I had RNY to RNY revision surgery on 12/21/21. I thought I was fine, slowly recovering, until 10 days later when I started coughing up blood. I was airlifted back to the surgical hospital with a perforated jejunum at the anastomosis and SEPSIS. I had emergency surgery and was close to death for several days. I was in the hospital for 7 weeks and in a rehab facility for 3 weeks. I was discharged with a 15 cm long open surgical wound which is still not entirely healed 3 months later (but getting close). I resumed normal activities after returning home and have no pain from the open surgical wound. I have volunteer nurses who come to my home to do dressing changes, now every other day. Because of three necessary endoscopic procedures looking for leaks or abscesses my anastomosis is stretched and I have no more restriction than I had before the revision surgery. I had lost 70 lbs prior to surgery by cutting out all sugar, flour, rice, white potatoes, processed food. I've lost 25 more since the revision. I've been told to get 90 mg protein daily and to limit my calories to 800--which is VERY difficult. To add insult to injury I'm starting to lose my hair, too. I'm really struggling with cravings in the afternoon and night. We are now considering a prescription for CONTRAVE. Do I have regrets for having the revision surgery? Of course! I wish I had left it alone. I wish my surgeon had aborted the revision when he found I had dense adhesions. However, I'm well now and am approaching a 100 lb weight loss.

Hi Astrid I am uk based aswell. I am 3 months post sleeve op but due to get revision to bypass in about September due to acid reflux making it soooooo difficult to eat and drink. I only told about 3 people about op and they have been very supportive. I dont tell anyone as people are very judgemental. If they think its the easy way to lose weight they are seriously wrong lol. Good luck with surgery and I know you will be successful in your weight loss journey

girlfriend someone just started a new topic a few minutes before you called "Gastric Band Revision to a Sleeve" check it out - good luck ps this is not really a new topic - many threads around here with comments - band to sleeve - check it out