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Banded 11 months Started at 205. Currently at 141.4. Wanted to lose 75 pounds. Revised to 70 pounds Have lost 63.6 pounds. 27 of that was pre-op. Rating of 10. I love the way I look, the way I feel. But biggest difference is in the bloodwork. Triglyceride count from 399 to 133. Overall cholesterol normal. Hga1c is 5.0 from being a type 2 diabetic. Pretty awesome. Did I mention I'm hot now??

After a great deal of soul searching Hubby and I realized we both had a lot of weight to lose. We also considered the fact that dieting and exercise only would take years to lose the weight and that's ONLY with us being a customized diet and workout routine and sticking to it no matter what. We decided to have a consultation with Dr. Robert O. Powell in Dallas, TX. We went online and checked his medical license with the states he had worked in and all was well. I searched and read references from others who claim to have been succefully banded by Dr. Powell and were happy. We found no negative posts. Our first consult was with a Physician's Assistant and he showed us a demo band and answered all our questions. Then we submitted to insurnace. Months past and still no word from the insurnace people he was using at the time. Finally after several months I decided to call one last time and the company had forgotten to submit our paperwork to our insurance. :thumbup: Dr.. Powell's Office Manager who also turned out to be his sister submitted the paperwork and Hubby and I were both approved in less than 24 Hours! This was back in August 2005. I had my surgery first. It was in the day surgery part of a regular hospital. All went well and I was discharged a few hours later as planned on my clear liquid diet. I developed an infection at the incision sites that laid immediately under my breasts. Dr. Powell blamed this on me. Simply because he had NEVER had a problem with infection and I must have picked it or something besides the fact that my boobies were laying on it. He placed me on an oral antibiotic and sent me home. About a week later I noticed a clear hard, yet flexible string outside of a few of my incisions. I called the office and they said it was normal and to pull them out. YUCK! Like someone waiting to be shot, I relunctly pulled the little strings that ended up being dissolveable sutures. It didn't hurt but was worrisome at the time. The exact same thing happend to Hubby so I believe it's common but not anything to worry about even though I think it's freaky and they should have warned us about it potentially happening instead of freaking us out. After losing around 100 pounds, I began to develop pain around my port area. Take into consideration I was banded in 2005 and they used a larger port than the ones they use today.I believe the no longer place the ports on the lower left side as much sas the use to. I spoke with Dr. Powell's office and he suggested that I have a Port Revision done under local anesthesia. He stated it would be day surgery and it would be simple and easy under local. I said sign me up and made arrangements with a co-worker to help me with more of the bending/heavy stuff for a week or so afterward. One Friday afternoon at work I get a phone call from Sandy at his front desk asking me to go to Lab Corps to have my blood drawn. I asked why and she informed me that whenever a person is placed under General Anesthesia they must have current labs and blood available in case they need it. I told her no, that there must be a communication problem with what procedure I was to have the coming Monday. Come to find out that instead of me being put down for a simple port revision under local, Dr. Powell had decided to do a full blown exploritory surgery with general anesthesia. The only problem is they forgot to inform me, the patient who had a 10 month old and a full time job at the time. Needless to say I was upset and I cancelled the surgery. This was the beginning of the bad experiences I had with Dr. Powell. I have another blog with dates and more precise issues that I faced in dealing with Dr. Powell at another one of my blogs. This blog is intended to hopefully document a new start in my life, not ponder over the many ways that Dr. Powell screwed all his patients. Let's just say that eventually EVERY LAST ONE of his patients were handed out to other physicians based on insurance. None of us got to choose who we went to. Which made for many unhappy folks. Dr. Robert O. Powell currently operates in California. He left his Texas patients high and dry and has moved onto another state to start the same old routine. I figure there are only 50 states and hopefully some day he will move on and find some obese Terrorists that pose a threat against America. In closing, you may ask, why did she chose "Meeting Pamela" as the title to this post. Well, my band is named Pamela. Just like a famous actress we all know named Pamela. She is full of saline with a little silicone and has some crazy mood swings, she can be quite the litttle b1tch if you know what I mean!

I had a "secret lap band" in 2008 and it was REALLY hard not telling people. only my parents and husband knew of the surgery. The fact that everybody knows me for my hefty eating habits made me self conscious during holidays and dinners with friends and family. This made me try to be discrete and I would eat more than I should have with did not help me in the long run. My band slipped during my last pregnancy (less than 1 year post-op) and I've had reflux issues and weight gain. Now I weigh more than I did at 9 months pregnant and I'm preparing for a revision surgery to get the sleeve after the band comes out. I don't want to hide this surgery, I don't want to come up with excuses for not eating, not being hungry and actually even eating more than I should. Who cares what people say, EVEN IF IT YOUR MOTHER, we are adults and this is a medical decision for our health.

I feel like my band to sleeve revision is giving me a 2nd chance. I had the band in 2008 and did really well the first year to 18 months until I got a fill that was too tight. From there I went downhill, eating slider foods and my bad habits all came back to where I gained almost all my weight back. I'm 4 weeks out and I'm back to the beginning eating healthy and small portions I know that I'm going to have to work hard but I feel like this gave me a second chance

Very encouraging!! I'm a newbie here and am still on the fence about the surgery, as I am a bit of a scaredy kat when it comes to surgeries, especially one such as this. I lost weight successfully with the lap band, but it developed a leak and stopes working. My doc has suggested vsg revision, but I get anxious just thinking about it! I truly feel you and the other members of this community who have undergone wls are quite brave. I hope some of that bravery rubs off on me.

UPDATE: Just fillin' you guys in.. From everything I'm hearing, it seems like I probably won't lose the 200 lbs. I want to lose. I guess I'll be lucky if I lose 100 lb. I keep going round and round in my mind what to do. Truthfully, now with a more complete picture, I think the sleeve would be my best bet. Chances are good that I'd lose a substantial amount with the sleeve, and if I needed a revision, I could easily convert into the bypass. That said, Medicare, does not cover the sleeve yet. It's anyone's guess as to when they will -- anywhere from 18 months to 5 years. I don't have the time to wait. I am too scared to have the bypass, because of my age, prior history of a heart attack and co-morbidities. I'm sure I will pass all of the pre-op tests with flying colors. But I'm afraid to be on the table for the length of time it takes to do a bypass and the fact that it's 5x more dangerous than any other procedure. Since I had extensive abdominal surgery to remove my ovarian cancer, they don't know if scarring will be an issue that will force an open surgery vs. laparoscopic. And while I'm not having any heart problems, who knows what will happen during surgery. My doc tells me I'm already at a higher risk for pretty much everything, including a pulmonary embolism. Now all I have to do is find the right doc. My doc is probably the best and most experienced surgeon around, but I do not like his support staff (particularly the P.A. who will be doing the fills). Right now I'm on the medically supervised diet and doing quite well, to my surprise I've already lost 12 of the 20 pounds I need to drop without much effort. I'm not actually following the "diet" just being practical about what and how much I eat. Best wishes and healing thoughts for all you newbies. I'm not sure where I'm gonna hang out on this board -- but I will be popping into the 60s for sure. Kate

I have suffered from severe depression and fibromyalgia for years. I have had several hospitalizations, and so many med changes I lost count. I even had electro-convulsive therapy. I had to give up my career and take my disability.That's a story all on its own. I opted for the sleeve, because my health had begun to fail me and I had to get the weight off. A lot of it is from medications I have taken over the years. Research your meds, and if any of them cause weight gain, you have to switch or you'll have a hard time losing. I ended up having severe bile reflux--my gallbladder was removed years before my WLS, so bile just backed up into my sleeve and into my esophagus. It was torture. I had to have a revision to bypass to cure the reflux. My psychiatrist had to change two of my meds because they were extended release and I need immediate release now. I have never felt better psychologically. My meds are working great, and the weight loss helps immensely. I still have to do the work in therapy, but for now I am doing surprisingly well. This is a decision that will always fall under great scrutiny; so many people know nothing about WLS and some of them believe in incorrect information. You will have to defend your decision often in the beginning. You are the one who has to live with it and make all the changes. You may just have to wait until you prove them wrong before they will accept it. Some people never will. They will maintain that you should have done it on your own. I make no apologies for my decision. It was right for me. All you can do is try to educate them as to why this is the choice you have made. If you truly believe it is best for you, then do it. Just make sure you are ready to change every aspect of your relationship with food if you have to. It is worth it. Even if you feel alone at first, trust in your decision and follow your instinct about it. Good luck to you. I hope you find your way to what is best for you.

Absolutely not true. My policy through work covered my VSG in 2014 and my current policy covered my revision to RNY in July which was needed due to severe GERD. So your statement is 100% false. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Please understand that the word "MY" was missing from the post. All policies MY work offers has it excluded. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

I'm a sleeve. four1/2 year’s out. I maintain in the 130's. I give myself a ten-pound bounce range. when the scale moves up, I go back eating my bariatric food plan to stay in range. I'm in maintenance phase. I eat mainly clean, I do indulge occasionally. My third year, my weight got up to 147. (still a BMI 24.5 normal range) had to dial in my diet to lose the weight. I'm back in the 130's My two cents on regains. Weight gain can happen with any type of bariatric surgery. Some factors in regain: Complications from surgery Medical issues and medications pregnancy/menopause Not weighing yourself regularly Getting complaisant as the years pass You will reach a point that you noticeably can feel less restriction with the sleeve (it has not stretched) Just because you can consume more food, does not mean you should. Its important not to go over your calories and macros for the day. Stretching is rare. Get it diagnosed by your surgeon for a revision Eating around your surgery. Grazing is consistently eating sever small meals of healthy and unhealthy foods. The total will be over your calories and macros. It’s as if you never had surgery. You can eat 3000+calories. YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT Ask for help if you have a gain (surgeons office, dietician and counselling) - Easier to lose a 20 pound gain than a 40, 60, 80, 100+

Docs prefer to push the gastric bypass cause once your cleared after surgery and they release you. Thats it. They get their 15-25 grand and move on to the next paitent. Bypass costs more then the band. and has the least amount of aftercare. With the band your going to go back to your surgeon for fills/unfills probably for life unless you move/change doctors. Plus chances are after 5-10 years youll stop losing (if you don't change your habits drasticly) and regain weight once again meaning you will most likely try a revision surgery which means MORE money in his/her pocket. I have several family (5) members who have bypasses. I REFUSE to do the same to myself. NONE of them have gotten to goal weight, MOST have started regaining. And 2 have serious stomach & malnutrition problems. None were told they needed to relearn their eating habits, All keep eating junk/fast food/high sugar & carb foods. (not saying it isnt possible to be succesfull, but its not a magic pill) The one person who has done the best with a bypass (lost but some but never hit goal) now wants to get a band but is 9 months pregnant now and had to put that off for now. But shes curious about it now that I told her I wanted to do it. And we discussed it at length. Good for you with sticking to your decision

The first time was a band to sleeve revision and I had so much scar tissue that I don't think the dr was able to remove as much as my stomach. I am using the same doctor and he is going back in to resleeve and do the fundus.

My revision surgery was April 19, 2023 and I also have BCBS. my original sleeve date was 11/2016 and I lost 100 lbs the first year and half. My lowest weight was 135 and I’ve maintained that for the last five years. Around my second year post sleeve I developed acid reflux and heartburn daily. When I would eat, shortly after I’d need to either throw up the acid trying to come up or I’d have to sit and tolerate the acid burning until it subsided. Daily omeprazole and tums did very little to counteract the symptoms. If I ate, it was happening. 2020 I had another EGD performed that showed Barrett’s esophagus had begun to form in my esophagus and there was a hernia. The surgeon wanted to move forward with a bypass revision but because I didn’t want to lose any weight or have another major surgery I asked for other medications to try before we went straight to surgery. 2023 in March I had another EGD performed that showed three ulcers, the hernia and worsening Barrett’s. Nothing had worked so far and my quality of life just wasn’t good. Considering I love to cook and eat, I knew I couldn’t just live with this much longer. I agreed to do the surgery. The doctor sent over an EGD result, CT scan and upper GI to BCBS who approved the revision surgery. (My plan has Bariatric benefits) if your plan doesn’t have Bariatric benefits I would check with your insurance coordinator to see if there is another option. I am now three days post revision- no heartburn or acid reflux at all. Painful, but on the mend.

Im getting revision from band to sleeve this month so i love this question and cant wait to see answers. Super excited! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have UHC (through att) does anyone have this plan and how log did it take to get approval and do you know what if any requirements had to be met to get approved? My history has two bands, port replaced, hernia repaired when I got second band. I drained it two years ago when preg and did not refill because a I nursed a year... Not I just want it out all the problems I see freaks me out lol ohhh and I have hardly lost anything even with band My BMI right now is 39 or 40

The doctor described it as a tear. But I looked at the films from the endoscopy and to me it looked like the band eroded into the stomach. The hole was exactly at the bottom of the band. Also, it was not minor. The test results showed a 60+% tear. Another 40% and it would have gone completely through. I have gained 50 pounds back since 2008, so I am not doing a good job of maintaining the weight loss. Regarding revision surgery, I am very reluctant to do it based on the lap band experience. My husband was extremely upset and angry at the whole circumstance. He said he loves me does not care about my weight and is very against me getting surgery again. I sheltered the kids from much of the whole experience, but they did see me throw up numerous times and visited me in the hospital every day back in October 2008 when I got the band out, and was in the hospital for a week. I personally would love to do it again, but do not want to put my kids and husband through any more anguish. I am very blessed to have a family that loves me. I continue to try other weight loss methods, but to date, have found nothing that has worked. I keep praying and remain optimistic that the right answer for me will come one day. I will never give up on my efforts to get to and maintain a healthy weight.

I know what you mean! I have been doing tons of research from what it will be like to eat and what Vitamins to take. I am one of those people that wants to have everything in order and ready before hand! Hope your revision goes smoothly! Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

I am a sleeve to bypass revision. When I had my sleeve I went from 260 to 220 within 6 months. I followed my program to a tee. I then developed extreme GERD. At the time I had no idea what it was but it got so bad that about 2 years ago I was burping up water and feeling gross from the GERD that I asked for a revision and got it almost a month ago. i honestly don’t know why I regained my weight back. No one knew I had the sleeve but everyone knew me as the dieter: I did Atkins, Keto, you name it. You would think I would feel full from Keto cause of the heavy protein, but nope. I felt no restriction. But I felt myself slowly losing the restriction as time went on. I had my sleeve for 7 years before revising. I have also seen where some sleevers develop GERD and the only food that seems to settle is the bad food. That didn’t happen for me but I have read it on some forums.

The sleeve is the first "half" of the DS. Would you consider the sleeve, with future revision to DS if necessary? There are heaps of Sleevers who have lost more than you need to lose. Anecdotally I am a sleever who left the hospital with a sleeve and without diabetes. I have also lost over 70 pounds in just under 7 months so far. I got the sleeve with the plan that if I needed a revision because I couldn't get to a healthy weight, I'd go with DS. Another thing to consider is your pattern of eating. If your weakness is fatty foods, the DS is known to be more "ok" with that, because it inhibits absorption of fats. But if your weakness is sweets, you are much more likely to have dumping with DS than even RNY. And we are talking uncontrollable diarrhea and nausea if you eat a lot of sugar or carbs in a sitting. Some people would consider dumping a good thing because it can keep you on the straight and narrow, but others would consider it a quality of life issue they are not willing to risk. True dumping is very rare with the sleeve or band because the pyloric valve is left intact and the intestines are not shortened by rerouting. Evaluate your food demons, your goals, and what potential side effects you feel able to handle, research, and talk frankly with your surgeon or even several surgeons. That's my best advice.

He did a band to new band revision in one surgery NYE of 2009(I believe??) and then a summer 2011 did a 1 surgery band to sleeve

Hello Everyone, Short story- 3 years ago I had a lap band placed. It worked pretty good for a few months when I began to have troubles eating foods like lettuce, chicken, veggies, etc. I have been fighting this issue this entire time, having my "stuck" episodes and constant adjustment with no sweet spot. Finally I had an unfill of almost all the Fluid and have left it. I still get stuck. I have finally hit a point where my weight is back up, I am tired of the pains associated with my port location and my band. So I have looked into a revision. I started out originally looking at getting converted to the Sleeve because the idea of not struggling with malabsorbtion is a bonus. Then after talking to the surgeon I plan to use, he stated I may need the RNY. I started reading up on both procedures and found lots of stories about people planning to get the sleeve but had to do RNY due to the damage their band caused. This is really opening me up to both ideas. I was just wondering what experience everyone had with revision and why you chose the surgery you did? I should mention that this will be an out of pocket expense for me and I will have to travel to Mexico, but I have a very good surgeon and know his nurse. My hopes are to have it done by the end of February. Feel free to share below. I wouldn't mind seeing progress pics or information from those who had revisions. Thanks!

Dr.Thomas Umbach he done several of my chat friends sleeve for $10,000 but I'm not sure about revision. Google him he has youtube videos, and his office # is also on there.

Thanks guys. Jessica, I did not have a pre-op diet. I was a revision patient and my surgeon didn't feel that it was necessary. I am not a caffeine drinker in general though. I do not drink coffee and mainly drink Water or decaf iced tea. As far as calories, I am estimating high because I am not sure of the calories in the cream of carrot and potato Soups that I am making. I do not care for processed foods, so am making them myself. Thanks for the input everyone. Sorry that some of you are going through the same issues, but good to know that I'm normal. I had wanted to only take one week off work, but my surgeon insisted on at least two weeks. I have my appointment on Wednesday and hope to go back on Thursday, but I've got to get this exhaustion under control first.

I don't think you should be at all concerned with doctor shopping - we look at different cars/dealerships, different realtors when we buy a home. A doctor should be no different. But it looks like you have made your way through and yay for getting a revision! I had the Lapband in 2011. I never really felt restriction after my pouch healed (2 weeks or so) and I lost 60 lbs. I've kept it off but every time I try to lose more weight I end up gaining it right back. I've gone vegan for 2 years, then went keto and promptly had to have my gallbladder removed last summer - doc said it was directly related to keto. I've lost 40 lbs on my own and gained it right back. So in July I decided that since my insurance now covers bariatric I'd see what could be done. Boy have things moved fast. I went to my PCP (also a NP and I love her) and she referred me to a bariatric surgeon. I had my first consult with him on July 12th and he scheduled me for all the tests. I got them done in record time, sometimes two doctor appointments a day, and got done last week. Had my 30 day follow up today and although they're just submitting to insurance now, he's confident they're going to approve so I have my surgery date for October 24th. Here's to revision and another chance!

Great job! Yeah I love wearing stuff that used to not fit and now it fits or is even big on me. I've gone through all my clothes that I had when I was smaller and even stuff I wore after my first surgery (I was sleeved in 2016, lost a lot and then gained back and had revision in 2021), now I need even smaller stuff. Originally I was a 2XL shirt and those were starting to get tight, now I'm a Medium (!!) and down about 10 pants sizes as well. I've been getting my stuff at the thrift store because I don't know if I'll outgrow them (undergrow?) and they'll end up being too big. Once I reach my final weight and size I'll do a shopping spree.

Hi, I'm getting nowhere with my plication. I'm 3 months out and I don't feel much different to before (ie I get as hungry and can eat nearly as much). I'm considering VSG (if that's a possibility - I know it is in theory, but don't know if it's been done). I'm hoping I'm more like a bandster (without the slippage/erosion or things getting stuck). My question is how is the sleeve helping compared to before? I saw someone say that at 22 months out they couldn't get down a whole chicken breast. I'm 3 months out and can do that no probs (no nausea, nothing). BTW I got a 32 bougie. I'm just trying to find out as much as I can as I don't want to fail again!! Any input is much appreciated.