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Hi Liz, I just sent you a response to your message, and I hope you got it. I just wanted to add that I have Kaiser Insurance too, and they will actually cover Lap Band, Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, and Gastric Bypass; however, they are not recommending Lap Bands for the barriatric patients anymore due to so many problems which have occurred. I just had revision surgery and had my lap band removed and a vertical sleeve put in. Dr. Billy was my surgeon for both, and he is so wonderful!

Welcome, we are so happy to have you join us! I am band to sleeve revision as well, and have never regretted it.

Hiya Ana and welcome to VST!! I too am a revision from band to sleeve, and I too agree that my recovery was a lot better with the VSG. Or maybe just that I already knew what to expect, who knows. Wishing you well as you continue to recover and with that all the wonderful results the sleeve can give! Stay strong and positive, you WILL get to your target weight. Cheers!!

Hey guys. I had POSE in June 2011. Lost 61 lbs and was within 25 lbs of goal when I got pregnant (which is one reason I had the procedure). Had our miracle baby in Nov 2012, lost all the weight from pregnancy, picked back up with bootcamps and started cross fit. Had to quit cross fit in November 2014 and in March the weight started piling back on. Lack of exercise, my stomach was stretched back out prior to the weight gain, I just kept the weight off with a buttload of working out and only maintained. Multiple nodules were found on my thyroid but benign, have PCOS...so a couple things working against me there plus what I caused myself. Anyway, now I've gained right at 30 lbs and will be going for a revision soon. There's more to my story but just wanted to share a little about me. Right now, I'm just wondering how many here have had POSE and revised to sleeve? Sleeve is what I originally wanted but insurance won't cover and I was scared of complications. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have done sleeve to begin with. If you're revised from POSE, please share your experience with me. Thank you in advance!

Have you tried marinating the chicken in something like fat free Italian dressing or cooking it in some chicken broth? With hamburgers I have to have mine medium instead of well done to be able to eat it. I like pork with fat free honey mustard dressing. We have a Nu Wave oven like you see on TV and it's well worth the money. You can cook your meat from frozen and it stays really juicy. My husband hates turkey but he will eat turkey cooked in the Nu Wave because it's not all dried out. My surgery was June 1st. I'm down 29 lbs since surgery. I haven't had any problems with any foods but I'm a band to sleeve revision and my sleeve is a little larger - he only took out 75%. I have marinated the chicken in multiple marinades, no luck. I have now switched to chicken thighs. I can do loose ground beef, but hamburger patties for some reason hurt. I can only eat 1-1.5 oz of meat anyways. I usually just make my husband dinner and take my meat from his plate lol.

I went with www.BariatricPsychEvaluations.com. Granted, it was for a revision, but it was quick and painless and only cost $100. I was on the phone with the psychologist for less than half an hour, and they sent everything to my doctor very quickly.

Great question, but I moved it to a forum where you are more likely to get replies. The veterans forum is for people a year out from sleeve surgery. I had the lapband, did not do well, but lost over 160 since revising to sleeve. I am currently in maintenance. Revision was the best thing I did.

October 7 was my day 3 weeks post op tomorrow. Down 15 lbs. Had lapband revision. Sooo glad I had it done. Lapband had eroded into stomach and was pull port in with it.

Wow I got my lap band in 2008 also. Just starting the revision process. Am prepared to self pay but hoping my insurance will cover surgery. My weight loss center staff is very good with working with insurance companies. Keeping my fingers crossed and doing a lot of praying.

Is MGB an option for you at that practice? The weight loss approaches DS, with fewer side effects, and there's a proven great effect with VSG-->MGB revisions. The DS revision wouldn't do anything for your reflux, so that'd be on borrowed time anyway. The MGB could solve it.

There is a lot of variation in amount of weight loss for all types of weight loss surgeries. The outcomes are not that different between sleeve and bypass, but it is true that on average, bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients. But again, that is an average and doesn’t mean that an individual patient will be better off with bypass than with sleeve. There are pros and cons to both surgeries, and your surgeon may have had specific reasons for recommending sleeve to you. This would have been a good thing to ask before you went through with the surgery. I guess the good news is that you can get a revision to bypass if necessary, but that is a long way off. If you follow your clinic’s instructions (which is the most important factor in your weight loss), you will achieve significant weight loss with the sleeve.

I had my band put in 2/08, with a successful surgery and postop check at 2 weeks. Then we had some long distance emergency travel come up and I was unable to see my Dr. until March. No fill because I had been ill. Golfed in May and felt something like a muscle "popping" in my abdomen. Immediately the previous stretching/straining muscle pain in my port area stopped and I felt instant relief. Saw Dr. in June---he couldn't locate the port and I had to have a revision the next week. Done outpatient, full sedation, they located the port, filled it and sewed it again (tightly). Felt like a puppet....lift my right arm and felt like my left leg would shoot into the air!! LOL! It is a constant annoyance for me to feel that port straining. But the procedure was quick and straightforward with no complications or surprises. Good Luck!

Where in Florida are you? I'm in Miami/Aventura. I'm hopefully getting a revision from band to either VSG or RNY (probably RNY), but I'm still trying to find a good surgeon.

So, I had a band 10yrs ago and nobody knew about it. I never had a very high bmi - around 36 but looked very big. After the band I lost minimal and have just eaten badly due to the vomiting. I am back up to original weight and am going in for a revision. I think I have decided on the RNY due to reflux and one surgeon said that the first restrictive didn't work on my so why do another. I am pretty nervous to do such radical surgery but the band has to come out. My questions are... I understand the first months or 2 are really obvious..but after that, is it possible to hide RNY surgery from people? Not talking about the weightless, talking about the going out to restaurants for meals etc. Obviously I know I can only order appetizers. My friends always meet for meals - breakfasts and lunches etc. Even if not a big meal it's just usually convenient for people. Is it realistic to not want to make it public? Should I suck up the reflux and have the sleeve?? I know most of you tell but I am pretty private with personal stuff. Am single mother and would just rather keep it to myself. Help....

Hi there! Welcome!! I had my band out just before Christmas and revision to RNY. Best thing I ever did! Yes you can keep it secret. The first month or two isn’t hard at all (esp if you are ‘on leave’ for the op itself). Within a week you’ll likely be up and about, many return to light duties. I needed 3 weeks but had full open 5 hour surgery. I am 5 months out. NOW it is hard to keep it secret! I look normal. People who saw me 3 months ago when I was 20 or 25kg weightloss didn’t really notice - but the last 10kg I have gone from chubby to normal - and it is dramatic. NOW people are asking if I am well etc. If you want to keep it private, and I did because I am a sort of public figure, then in those early months make it clear you are dieting hard, on a high calorie restriction diet like optimist (All will be true, so no problem!) and also have people see you exercise. I do the stairs at work, 7 stories, and people see it and talk - positively. All of this is not RNY specific - any optifast-type severe calorie diet will do the same - my strong recommendation is, use that early food-restrictive time to get people used to “you’re gonna get thin’ - and double benefit is you’ll find some buddies who will help you stay on track with it all!! Good luck!

I had the band installed in 2011, and whereas I lost 70 lbs then, it just stopped working and ended up causing more issues in the long run. I revised to RNY March 21, 2018. I was nervous as well, but, it was the best thing I've done and I really wish I did it before. Now, to your questions. It's going to be hard for you to just hide your new eating requirements. You can keep it to yourself, but, you might get questions about why you are not eating breads, or sugars, or high fat foods. If you haven't researched it, the bypass can (and does) cause dumping if you eat certain foods, dumping sucks. My nutritionists hammer the 5/5 rule. If the food has added sugar, then it can't have more than 5 grams of sugar per serving, and fats should be less than 5 grams per serving. This is harder than it looks at first because of how many foods have added sugar that you just wouldn't figure would. So, ordering appetizers (which are typically bready or fried) might not be the best answer. But you can eat a nice side order sized salad with some grilled chicken and balsamic or other dressing that would fit your personal restrictions. I've eaten a whole slice of pizza, took me a while, no dumping or major issues, except I felt like crap shortly afterwards, very run down and drained. It's a major lifestyle change. Not to scare you off, I wouldn't go back to eating the way I did for any reason at this point. Don't think you can't enjoy yourself, oddly (for me anyway and it seems most people are the same) I have ZERO problem with natural sugars. So, I could sit and eat a ton of strawberries and not have a single issue. Plus there are the whole taste changes that seem to happen to folks. For me, I can't stand the taste of things that are too sweet or have too much added sugar in them anymore. So, bottom line, you can flub a bit, tell folks that you've made an eating habit change, which isn't a lie exactly, and that's why you are eating differently, but that's really going to depend on your friend/family base if that answer is going to appease them. Good luck on whatever you decide!

Hello All, I have the date for my gastric bypass surgery on March 22, 2017. Still waiting though to hear from insurance, but that's why it was a good idea that the pre-approval documents were sent out in advance. Anyways, my parents are bugging me about the fact that they think I should go for the Gastric Sleeve instead of the Gastric Bypass. They tell me nothing new out of what I read, and I've read a lot.........a hell lot of material, kinda like reading War and Peace, but on Bariatric Surgery. I am fully aware of the complications from the Gastric Sleeve vs. the Gastric Bypass. However there is one reason I am interested in the Gastric Bypass OVER the Gastric Sleeve. A lot of doctors don't like to mention this that often, BUT, THERE IS A CONTINGENCY PLAN with Gastric Bypass. God forbid something goes wrong, it CAN be reversed completely. Yes, it is a very complex revision procedure, especially due to the Gastrointestinal Tract, but it CAN BE DONE! However the Gastric Sleeve cannot be reversed like the Gastric Bypass can. The only thing a bariatric revision doctor can do with the Gastric Sleeve is revise it to the Bypass or something else, but still the portion of the stomach that you lost from the sleeve is gone forever. At least with the Gastric Bypass, the portion of the stomach not used doesn't atrophy. And also, I really am opposed to the idea of 80% of an organ being completely removed from the body. However, if I had to, I would do the Sleeve. Next, I would like to discuss some of the negative side effects from Gastric Bypass. I understand sometimes people vomit, like in any of the Bariatric Procedures, not just Bypass, BUT I cannot stand to hear that there are some people who vomit every single day. I completely understand as a post-op bariatric patient that vomiting is different from the average "Joe" who vomits because after Bariatric Surgery, there is no vomiting of the acid juices, which usually makes it painful in a normal person, and makes it harmful for that person's teeth. However, I hate to hear one person tell me that even if you follow the nutritional guidelines to a tee, you are still going to vomit everyday. THAT CAN'T BE NORMAL. In fact I find that aspect offensive. It's like asking then what the hell was the point of the surgery to begin with? Therefore, disregarding ALL food items that cause the dumping syndrome, I would like to think that I can, after month 3 or month 4, eventually eat fish, and chicken, and occasionally "once in a blue moon" red meat. But sometimes when I hear a person's disgusting problems with food, I'd like to think that there is some sort of NUTRIONAL RULE or EATING BEHAVIOR that he or she is not following. Last but not least, before going into this Gastric Bypass procedure, I am currently 29 years old, 5 foot 7 inches, 364 pounds, and my only health issues going into this are Obstructive sleep Apnea, ADHD, and Major Depressive Disorder (IN FULL REMISSION), with a very healthy Hemoglobin A1C of 5.3. Please note, I have never ever been in the pre-diabetes stage with my Hemoglobin A1C. However, despite a full understanding of how much my parents love me, they are harassing me about my decision to go with the Bypass and would rather I go for the Sleeve. They are also doing this, because Post-Op Recovery-wise, they are my support system until I get better on my own. Both my parents work full time. My father is an insurance attorney and my mother is a pediatrician, and I completely understand that one of them is going to have to sign that Family Medical Leave Act form. Despite all that, I don't think they should be the ones to persuade me to change my mind over a procedure. That opinion should only come from my surgeon. Right? It's my body. Thanks, Gabriel

Surgery of this kind is always a bit scary. I had the band since 2010 and revised in 2015. I am pending RNY and working on getting mentally prepared for it. Andrew- so true about the clothing. Made many a run to the second hand stores around my surgeon's office as my size went up and down. Only kept 30 lbs off but I am down 3 sizes solid and 4 is a bit tight these days. With the band wide open, it is expected.

they may be able to treat it medically (i.e., with stronger meds) - but there are some people for whom the only remedy is a revision to bypass. Although it's a lot more common that it can be treated medically - so fingers crossed! (I have nothing against bypass - in fact, I have one (got it because I had GERD prior to surgery) - but it's just a much bigger deal than taking some med!)

You need to find another Dr.... I went threw a very similar situation, so I know what your talking about. I did a post on here titled I want this piece of Garbage taken out ! After I posted it, a Hospital called me up, and said we are going to accept you as a patient, and have a appointment for you For a Fill done under Fluoroscope, or Revision surgery if necessary. It turned out all the problems with the band were do to bad aftercare. There was nothing wrong with the band, and I was stuck too, all the time. They filled me to my fill line, and it works ! So you have to have your records, and your Post Op Notes (these are very important!) Also make copies, because a lot of Doctors will say that they will not touch someone else's mistake ! THAT"S EXPECTED ! It will take you some time, but eventually someone will take you in, and check you out, and straighten you out. You asked for help ! That's the best help that I know of. So Good Luck with your research, and I wish you well. Shirley.

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!😛

I am revising from band to bypass on October 24. Unfortunately, despite insane nausea, heartburn, the pain with eating, I had nothing that looked to be an emergency, so I had to start back from the beginning with weigh-ins and nutrition visits. Without anything showing the band had to come out in an emergency situation, insurance would not cover the revision. I hope you have better luck, but just be prepared that it might not happen right away! It's a bummer, but I'm certain it will be worth not dealing with the band anymore 😃

Yeah Band to Bypass revision soon for me. I mean I don't know your medical history, but your age alone is no reason not to consider revision. I've seen older folks here on this forum than you getting wls for the first time and even revision. If you're starting to regain, definitely pursue revision.

Hi, Well I know that in my medical group that did my gastric bypass surgery they are getting away from doing the lap band surgery. The reason is it is the least sucsessful of the three surgeries and alot of people later have to have it revised to a different surgery like to the gastric bypass due to complication or the lack of the success of it working. With gastric bypass I was up walking around from day one and everyday after. The pain truthfully I've had worse with smaller surgeries. You can't lift anything over 10 LBS for the first month after that it's up to your doctor to decide. I know some people that went back to work after a week of surgery which is real fast. Most people go back after two weeks but your self employed so this is a different thing and I don't know what you do so for you this is could be much sooner. I would say study both surgeries as much as you can and go to bariatric meetings to ask questions of people that have had these surgeries and how they feel about them. I'm not an expert I'm just going by what I've heard from going to the bariatric meetings in my area, I've heard from the surgeons in the group, and read. Good luck in your decsion of whatever surgery you do and make it your choice that you feel is right for you.

I had the band to sleeve revision done all in 1 surgery but I think it would depend on the surgeon and how much erosion has taken place from the band. I went to Dr. Aceves and luckily my band had not done enough damage to prevent it from all being done in 1 surgery. The bad did leave behind a bunch of scar tissue which Dr. Aceves was able to remove during surgery. I think if you find a skilled surgeon they would definitely do what they think is best once they are inside and can actually see the damage that the band left behind. Good luck!