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I didn't read your thread until the day after your surgery. I hope everything went well. I can completely relate to your nervousness going into the surgery date. I am exactly 2 weeks out from my band to sleeve revision. Unlike you, I didn't have to do a pre-op diet. I am only about 15# from goal and so the doctor didn't require a pre-op diet. Lucky me. I still remember how hard it was when I had my band surgery. So far, my sleeve is SO SUPERIOR to my band. It is sooooo nice to get up in the morning and not be so tight that I can't even drink. It is so nice not getting food stuck all the time. It is so nice not having acid reflux. It is so nice to be able to eat meat again. It is so nice not having it hurt to eat. The list goes on and on. My recovery has been so easy. Less pain than with the band placement. I didn't even need any pain meds when I got home from the hospital. My hospital stay was 3 days. My doctor is careful about leak checks. I hope your recovery is as simple as mine and that you enjoy the sleeve over the band. Like I said, I'm only 2 weeks out, but so far, so good! Get some rest and give us an update when you feel up to it. Shelli

Your not alone! I got banded in July 2009 and lost 40lbs, but this October they found out my port was cracked and I too had a revision surgery but unlike you, I gained back 15 lbs and I feel horrible! I am ready to get on track and finish this! I still have 30-40 lbs to my goal. I am trying to fight the depression of gaining some of my weight back and it is definately affecting my motivation. Natalie

... is not a magic bullet. If it was there wouldn't be the need for WLS. Yes, I'm afraid as well that this might be only temporary. However, I did quite well maintaining with the lap band before I got revision so I have hope that I will doing quite well with maintaining after MGB again.

I had the lapband for two years and just had it removed and the sleeve done 6 days ago. The lapband worked for me for 7 months until I got acid reflux and it had to be emptied and we could never get it full without reflux again. Then a few months ago it slipped so I decided to revise to the sleeve. So far I have no pain and no hunger;) hoping for a great journey with the sleeve;)

This is a long post, but it details my gastric sleeve experience in Mexico, and I feel like it's important to share it. I'm sure there are great results from this clinic and others in Mexico, but here are some of the pitfalls: I had a sleeve gastrectomy in April in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with Dr. Juan Francisco Hidalgo (Weight Loss Team), and I have had extreme complications since then. I had to undergo a revision surgery to a full gastric bypass because the multiple strictures in my stomach were so bad that surgeons at the Mayo Clinic (arguably one of the best groups of bariatric surgeons in the world), after five procedures, couldn't fix them. They say it was most likely Dr. Hidalgo's technique that created the stricture - he uses a much smaller bougie (tube to shape the stomach) than is typically used in the United States, and it is more likely to create complications. I know loads of people have a good outcome from Mexico surgeries, but I share my experience because I owe it to anyone contemplating this. I did a lot of research before going there and thought I had chosen well. The website of Dr. Hidalgo is very sophisticated, and there are no language issues when asking questions in advance because of the English-speaking administrator, Gerald. The website gives reams of information in perfect English -- all very comforting. Plus, as I was considering the surgery, they offered me access to the support group on Facebook for patients of Dr. Hidalgo -- something that seemed so authentic and convincing since I could read posts from all kinds of real people. However, after they recently found out about my complications, Gerald, the administrator, removed me from the group even though I was not all over it bashing Hidalgo but had just posted a couple of times about my situation. I suddenly felt so duped -- I believed all the great testimonials and was too gullible to understand that only people with positive outcomes were allowed to be in that community. So since I can't share it with people allowed to join that private group, I feel it is my responsibility to share my experience here: My experience in the Puerto Vallarta hospital was very hairy - I woke up after surgery in some kind of lounge with no one around me and in extreme pain - sobbing and begging for help, and after that at one point my blood pressure was so dangerously low that they wouldn't let me lay down anymore - forcing me into a sitting position, and I think it was possibly because the nurses gave me pain medicine twice at one point. Dr. Hidalgo was summoned to the room, and actually suggested perhaps my condition was because I hadn't taken my Wellbutrin for a couple of days. Um, what? I sincerely thought for a little while that I might die. Promises that the medical staff would check in on me at my hotel regularly after discharge from the hospital didn't materialize, and a bellboy had to track down Dr. Hidalgo to remove my staples because I was due to fly home. And then when I required intervention a couple of weeks later because I couldn't eat or drink anything due to the stricture, I was told by Dr. Hidalgo that I just needed a shot of cortisone (Seriously? Where?), and when they sent my "surgery report" to share with the U.S. doctor, it was actually just a generic report with my name at the top - not my report. It didn't even include my actual surgical information because it talked about the port they had installed, which I never had. When I asked for full records, including the swallow study/leak test done with X-Ray at the hospital before discharge, I was told that Dr. Hidalgo didn't have any of the records, and that it could be three or four months before he got it from the hospital. My diagnosis was that I had a severe stricture in my gastric sleeve in several places, and the five additional surgeries were to try to stretch and stent the stomach open, but nothing worked and I had to have a complete revision to a roux en Y gastric bypass because my stomach was unsavable. The Mayo surgeon's professional opinion based on my situation and the generic "surgery report" Hidalgo's team sent is that this stricture was caused by Dr. Hidalgo because he uses a bougie that is far too narrow. This is the tool used to size your new sleeve stomach, and Hidalgo uses size 18, while the medical standard in the U.S. is more like 28. Though I asked several times, Dr. Hidalgo would never provide my actual medical records or X-Rays from after the surgery, but the Mayo doctors believe the X-Ray immediately following the surgery shows the stricture, which left just a 1/4 inch opening and was slowly killing me. I didn't eat a solid piece of food for 140 days, I was anemic and malnourished and needing fluid IVs just to stay hydrated because I couldn't even force enough water down the narrow stricture. Half of my hair has fallen out, I was confused and exhausted for months due to malnutrition, and I could hardly function. I lost 75 pounds in four months, but I only had 100 pounds total to lose so that was a dangerous pace for someone my size . Yes, I lost weight, but this was not a safe way to do it and I was desperately sick the whole time. Besides, my procedures to fix my $4,200 gastric sleeve from Mexico cost more than $125,000 - thank GOD I have good health insurance because just the co-pays alone have caused me significant hardship. I'm sorry to share such a terrible story. I understand how hopeful it feels to finally have the opportunity to lose weight because I was desperate to do so. But I made bad choices, it seems, based on a fake Facebook "support group," and English-speaking staff, and a charming doctor. My advice is to choose slowly and well and to comb forums looking for posts from people who may not have had the best experiences with the clinic you choose. I have a network now of a couple of other people with an experience similar to mine from surgeries with Hidalgo's Weight Loss Team, and none of us ever saw anything negative ahead of our visits. People with complications need to share them for the benefit of people in the future. I would also recommend that you ask a surgeon for the technical aspects of their procedure and then compare them to the vast volumes of research available from doctors who practice in the U.S. The bougie size is a big deal, and so are the exact kind of staples used. And above all else, DO NOT leave Mexico without a copy of every medical record generated about your care, from the films of the leak test to hospital logs. Even in Spanish, they can be invaluable later to a team of doctors trying to help you if you have complications. I have learned these things the hard way, and it's been a rough road. If I could do it over, I would still have the gastric sleeve, maybe, but I would have been much more cautious in the process. I wish you all the best.

My youngest daughter, now 5, is a lap band baby. I got pregnant with her 6 months after having the band done. I am a revision and LOVE the sleeve. I can't give any opinion about pregnancy with the sleeve but with the band I can say I did not have any issues. I ate nutritious food, took liquid Vitamins (EXPENSIVE) and did everything the OB Dr said and had a healthy 8.8 lb baby girl. I will also say that although age is a factor that needs to be considered, I was 33 for my first daughter and 43 for my second. There is a great advantage to being an older mom and with my very energetic 5 year old, I am so thankful to be thinner and able to keep up with her. My advice for whatever it is worth to ya.....get the sleeve, wait until you are down to goal and then get pregnant. You will be healthier for pregnancy, able to be more active with your baby and be like me....kick ass right along side all those younger moms

We've received many many requests over the years to add a revision forum. Your wish has now been granted!

The reality is that it is just business, and the ever powerful "bottom line" on the budget which drives these incentives. We can't allow ourselves to personalize this... Many people are lazy about doing what they need to to keep their health or regain their health. Money is usually a good motivator to get the point home and spur people into action to take measures to improve their health. The research does not lie. People with chronic health issues are more expensive to insure. Some medical conditions are not preventable. Obesity, and the many co-morbid medical conditions which often accompany obesity are preventable if people choose to act on revising their eating and activity. Big business is trying to cut their costs...people who would rather be obese are resistant to change. You can make a choice to use another pharmacy, but it will make no difference to CVS. Their employees who balk at the idea of their new requirements for weight disclosure can choose to be employed somewhere else. It's all about choices...and discrimination for weight is just another social issue which travels just under the radar and doesn't get much press because it s so difficult to prove. I'm not saying the CVS corporate policy is correct, but it was not put in place to discriminate against obese people. It's not personal...it's just business.

I was banded in June 2011 (NWWLS Dr. Michaelson in Everett, WA). I never was able to lose more than 20lbs. About a year ago I had finally gotten fed up with the acid reflux, stuck food, and vomiting so I had it almost all unfilled. I've gained about 30 lbs back and am above my prebanded weight now. Recently I've become very interested in getting a revision done but my insurance doesn't cover it so I've been researching Mexico Does anyone have recommendations on a surgeon? I'm also interested in the pre-op process for having it done there. What do I need to have done in the states prior to arriving in Mexico? Any advice or personal stories is appreciated.

My EGD was nothing. I’d never had surgery before so I was terrified of being put under. Ha! I was in and out in 15 minutes! I remember NOTHING after they said something about we’re giving you something that will relax you. I was clean so I was good for the sleeve which I was sooo glad about. I absolutely did not want the bypass. Yes, my surgeon requires it. Plus, when I went in for surgery, he simply uses the endoscope as the bougie. So my tummy is quite a bit smaller than most surgeons create. It’s a 32. A pretty tight 32. Here’s a nifty little comparison of bougie sizes. After I had such an amazing and easy time with the EGD, I never panicked about surgery. Not one bit! I have terrible anxiety so I guess knowing I would be ok being put under made the actual surgery a breeze. I’d say if your insurance covers it, go for it. Even though I did not want the bypass, I’d rather have had the EGD come back with the results that told my team I needed the bypass than have to go through a revision surgery later on.

We’re the same height & about the same weight. I struggled to find my maintenance point too & lost about another 12kgs. I’m only 2yrs out but it took me a year of increasing my calories to find the right balance & stop losing. As I couldn’t really increase my portion size for my meals (I physically couldn’t eat any more) I added snacks - what felt & still seems like lots of snacks. I was eating 5-6 nutritionally beneficial snacks a day. Now I eat 3-5 a day just depending. I’m pretty consistent in what I eat. My lowest weight was 48.2kg but for the last 6 months I usually sit at about 49kg (swing 48.5-49.5). I have dropped a bit lately (been 47.9 a couple of times) because I haven’t been overly hungry or interested in eating. I’m sure this will pass. If not I’ll have to work harder at getting in my 1200 calories which seems to be my golden number. Are you still tracking & weighing your food? Do you have a caloric goal or average number you consume in each day? I do random checks to ensure I haven’t misread caloric or nutritional information or am misjudging portion size - it’s easy to under or over estimate. I suggest going back to your dietician & revising your daily food intake for a few weeks with them. There may be something you’re missing & they should be able to recommend or advise on a plan forward. My medical team were concerned at first especially when I was still losing but they’re ok now cause I’m stable. I’m pretty small boned so I don’t mind being on the lower end of the BMI scale. (For years I was told I was big boned but it was just fat - lol!) Congratulations on losing your regain. Good luck.

Welcome to our forums! We are definitely glad you have joined us. I had the band and revised to the sleeve and have never been happier. You are in a great position, in that your insurance will cover the sleeve. So many of them don't, and most of us end up going self-pay.

I had the band put in july 2007 and had similar weight loss results as you. I also had serious problems with food sticking and my esophagus became eroded with some ulcers. I went to my doc to have the band removed and he suggested the sleeve. Surgery experience was not bad. No real pain. Healed well. I am 5 weeks out and eating pretty much what I want but much, much less. Chicken was always a sticking food so I avoided it. I have begun to enjoy eating it again. I highly recommend doing the revision. The same MD that put in my band did my sleeve. I have BCBS Federal and it was covered.

Cathy sorry to hear you lost your band but your outlook seems fantastic. I am having surgery to revise, fix or if they have to remove my band. I hope if it has to be removed and my dr can't fix it I get your attitude. I need to check on this forum more often because I keep wondering where to we go if we are unbanded. Part of me felt like I should not post anymore but the support and info on this site is fantastic. I wish you all the best. Hang in there.

I am curious how this band is 'better' - ??? Does anyone know what the differences are in the old one he used before and the new one? Also, when did he start using the new one? I had my surgery on 1-12-07 and am now confused about which one I have. I know one thing - I wish I had a 'MAGIC' one that would do the work for me and make this easy, and have me drop about 5 pounds a week! If they come out with one like the one I just described, I'll be first in line for the revision. Good night friends ~ Lynn :notagree

yes - people with GERD should go with bypass. GERD doesn't get worse - or start up - for EVERYONE, but it's a significant enough minority that I didn't want to risk it (I had GERD pre-surgery). I've seen too many people getting revisions because of out-of-control GERD after sleeve. No thanks. and yes - either surgery can throw diabetes into remission, but the percentage is quite a bit higher with bypass.

Hello!!! I can totally relate to you!! I was banded march 2012, got sick all the time band slipped. I'm 30 and a mom of 3 boys. I had my band to sleeve surgery almost a week ago on 7/17. I too was absolutely terrified of the "what if's". I work in a hospital and I have seen people in the icu from complications from bariatric surgery so I think that's what scared the **** out of me. To the days leading up to my revision I was having visions of what life would be like for my kids if something did go wrong. I was really making myself crazy. I knew I absolutely had to get that useless band out of my body and I knew that I didn't want to go through surgery again so it was all or nothing. I said my prayers and felt comfort from that. Had my friends and family pray for me and I am fine! And you will be fine too! Although I'm quite miserable on liquids right now, I know that I made the right decision. I can't wait to run around the baseball field with my boys!! Good luck and you will do great!

I’m trying to rally round some more specific support for people that are Sleeve to RNY (either pre or post op RNY). Not sure the best way to do this. I did create a group.... anyone interested? It’s called “Revision Journey.” Anyone interested?

Sharon - I too was vomiting up brownish liquid - that is not a good sign:eek:. Did your doc do a barium swallow? In my case brownish liquid was blood. I was suffering from worsening reflux, and coughing all the time too. I just figured I would live with it. But when I googled "brown vomit", I called the doc, and after some tests, we realized my band had slipped. I am on a mushy diet, waiting to get my revision next week. When was the last test you've had done?

I've been on all kinds of medicine. They are going to do a revision of my bypass. I got rid of my surgeon and got a new one I'll be seeing next week

Hey Bryn! I was following up to see if you got your revision to bypass! I see you now belong to Gastric Bypass Patients so I assume you did. How are you doing and feeling? Edit: I see, May 9th! Good luck, one week!

surgical glue and steri-strips on the skin. In the inside (to stitch band and port) he used dissolvable stitches at first then when I had revision surgery he used real stitches to re-attach my port. Good luck!

The Healing Bandless Revisions or simply... Lap band Removals

An infected port site would be red, swollen, and/or warm to touch, maybe with pain. In a new post-op, it would probably be caused by bacteria exposure during surgery and would be treated with antibiotics and careful wound care. In a later post-op, it's often a sign of band erosion - the bacteria travel from the band, along the tubing, to the port. The treatment for band erosion is removal of the band. Depending on the damage done to the stomach, the patient might eventually be able to revise to a different WLS procedure. Most surgeons want the stomach to heal completely before performing further surgery.

Why was a revision needed and exactly what was done? BTW, what's wrong with 5'5 and 113lbs??? Sounds attractive to me. You said yourself it's post op Water retention, etc.