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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.

Dr Aceves............Nov 7...........Band removed long ago....Revision to Sleeve

I personally have been through almost exactly what you're going through. Sleeved 10/2013...lost 90 lbs the first 7 months, then hit a wall. Stuck to diet & exercise...nothing! My body put back on 15 pounds even though I still stuck to strict eating! I went back to my surgeon in May 2016. We tried even stricter diet...stayed the same. I took phentermine for 3 months and only lost 3 lbs!! (Most people will lose at least 20+ in that med). So, it was inevitable....I opted revision. I had my surgery 11/9...had a bleeding complication the next day and ended up in the hospital a week and had 4 blood transfusions. Healing now &. on track. Lost 19 lbs, but have been stalled for 6 days!!! Frustrating. I never stalled with my sleeve. I guess I'd suggest trying what I did with your doctor and seeing if anything else can help you while making the decision to revise. Everyone will tell you eat better, exercise more, do a pouch test, do back to basics, etc...all good intentions but not the answer when you know what you've tried. Good luck to you!!!

@Audacious Marie, I love my sleeve. It's an awesome WLS but I suffer from severe gastric reflux which is causing other problems to my esophagus. My surgeon wants to do the revision to the gastric bypass to fix this and it seems like the best option. I prefer the sleeve to the bypass but I'll do whatever will help clear up my problems. Good luck to you.

Hey! I had my Sleeve to RNY revision on March 4 of this year! Started around 209 and am now at 182. It has gotten slow since April 3... -2 lbs in 12 days! And I was not really eating much, so we will see. I had so many issues after my sleeve, in addition to regaining. We had this done almost at the same time, so go us!!! I hope we do well!

AZDee, I've read so many of your posts that I feel like I know you. I agree with your comments about scaring. That's initially one of the reasons I looked at Gutierrez -- his micro-surgical expertise. But now I'm trying to look at the big picture thanks to all of the honest, open feedback provided by you and others. I'm definitely concerned about scaring, technique (sculpting skills), infection rate and of course price. Because I need multiple procedures, pricing is a concern but doesn't trump the other considerations. I hate, hate, hate general anesthesia and really think twilight is a better option. But that's not enough to make me have the procedure performed in MX. Initially I too thought that affordability was only an option outside of the US, but I'm seeing more and more affordable options. I know the look I'm going for. As the girls on realself.com say, "I want to get snatched!" But..... I'm trying to be realistic about what is possible for my body type. I find that a lot of the drs. here (even in FL) give tummy tucks with a boxy shape. I'm in love with the curvy hour glass sculpting done in MX and DR. So I still have a lot more work to do. I really wanted to chat with you about your experience with Gutierrez since you're having some revision work done in TX. I read a review from someone else that wasn't thrilled with their work. Sigh..... Ally

Sorry to say but yes I did vomit after surgery. Also my nausea was pretty bad. I had a little rougher time than others because I was a revision from band to sleeve. However that is not a prerequisite for this type of reaction. Just remember, nothing worth doing is ever easy. My results are proof of that. I really went through it for the whole first 6 weeks, but I'll tell you what, I wouldn't trade in one second of that knowing how I'm living today. Your emotions will get the better of you leading up to your surgery. Just don't let your feet get so cold they get stuck to the ground. Stick to the plan and make your life better!!!

I was denied as well. A Peer-to-Peer was scheduled for yesterday and MY DOCTOR MISSED IT!!! I don't know if there was an emergency or not, but I was sooooooo upset. Now I have to wait another week. I know a week doesn't seem like a long time to some, but I too am just so anxious to get this over with. I have GERD so bad I can't sleep. I have to lie in an upright position. PLUS, my chest hurts and it's hard to breathe. I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Just want this revision so badly.

Thank you. I am so happy about the baby but i don't know why i feel like i am a bad person for wishing they would havw approved the surgery months ago. Im leaving my job with the insurance that approved yhw surgery finally and i dont know how thats gonna work with my soon to bw husbands insurance for next year. He has blue cross blue shield of Texas and i dont know if they have bariatric benefits. Im on an emotions roller coaster and im scared that im never gonna be able to have revision surgery with a new baby on the way.

So i write this with mixed feelings today. I finally got approved for my revision surgery after months and months of waiting. I gave up. But now i can't have the surgery because i am pregnant. I am very disappointed that i couldn't get the surgery sooner but i am definitely so happy to be having a baby. I guess ill have to wait a year now.

I amj so sorry h that your are going through this. Sometimes, you need to, just sometimes, exagarate the poain a bit. I do NOT men flat out lie. what I am saying is you need to have in your doctor's history, how bad the bnd is hurting you. How you feel. So when the insurance company person who goes through hundreds of these a day, look at it and can say. "well this person ha been back and forth the there pcp.many complaints and complications with the band. It will be cheaper for us to revise then for her to keep going back and forth to the doctor's plus meds". This is how they think. I had to jumo through many mnay hopes not for bypass but for my tummy tuck I got 4 weeks ago, today. I was denied 3 times. Then I got a hold of paper work with HOW to be approved. Tjhye changed it from 12 months post op to 18 months... Done 3 viits to your pcp with skin issues. I had complained for over 1 year about the skin rashes but never had made an appt. just for that. So Done Then I needed to hhave the plastic surgeon write a letter and pictures of the skin. AND my pcp had to write a letter. Done Done and Done. It took 7 weeks and I got approved. Just don't give up!!!!

@@cmblackmon35, congratulations on your loss so far, you are really doing great! I would be very careful about putting a goal out there like losing 25 lbs per month. The reality is you are likely not going to lose that much per month after the first month. It slows down after you get back on regular foods. I have been losing on average 2 lbs per week and that means some weeks I will lose absolutely nothing and other weeks I will lose 5 lbs. If you put that much pressure on yourself you might find yourself really dissappointed which can be demotivating. I think I have seen other revision folks on here as well and they have said with revision, you sometimes lose at a slower rate. I would follow the plan and enjoy life a bit, if you do that the weight loss will simply happen for you. You really are doing fantastic!

Wow, we have the same starting stats. I am a revision from sleeve to Rny Starting weight preop diet 240lbs Surgery weight 2/12/19. 230lbs Current weight. 208

My lap band pre-op diet was so long ago, I don't remember how well I stuck to it. Now because of a revision to sleeve surgery, I will once again have to go through it. 2 weeks. 2 long weeks. I'm not looking forward to it. I've heard of some doctors who just say stay under 1000 cal. Others says pre-op diet for sleeve is unnecessary. I have a friend who said their doctor told her 3 weeks liquid diet. Other than Meal Replacement shakes, what else is allowed? I don't remember anymore and maybe it's different than a pre-op lapband diet. Thanks.

In ancient times, sailors would make sure they were staying on course by referring to the location of the North Star. A constant light in an otherwise black sky, the North Star kept sailors clearly focused on which direction they were traveling and where they wanted to go. However, the skies over the ocean could become cloudy and stormy and sailors might lose sight of the North Star. Sometimes sailors lost their way and became lost at sea. The quest for weight loss and long-term weight maintenance is much like journeying a great distance over an enormous ocean under an endless black sky. Like the sailors of old, to be successful on your journey you need to be clear about where you’re going. You need to stay on course. You need to remain focused. Like sailing across the ocean, losing weight can be stormy and treacherous. Your brain, like the ocean, is not your friend. Your brain is not terribly interested in your desire to lose weight. Your brain is busy trying to maintain your current weight. Trying to lose weight is putting your brain is at war with itself. Your forebrain is the thinker who understands that you want to lose weight. It agrees that losing weight is a good idea. Your midbrain is not logical. It’s a perpetual 2-year-old who is hungry and cranky and likes potato chips, candy, hot dogs and deep fried chicken. This is going to be a very difficult journey, and one that is going to go on for a very long while. What can you do? Look for your North Star(s). It goes without saying that you know your goal, right? In fact, it seems quite simple. You want to lose weight and keep it off for good. If you’re like most people, you’ve had this goal for many years and you’ve probably had some success in pursuit of this goal. But there’s a problem with your goal. Believe it or not, weight loss is not your true goal. Your real goal is not to lose weight. Your real goal is to accomplish and experience what you believe losing weight will provide. Therefore, you actually have multiple, specific goals. These are the reasons that inspire you to keep sailing when the ocean gets stormy. These are the reasons that keep you on course. These are your North Stars. To make it across, you must keep your North Star(s) squarely in view. Here’s how to keep away the storms and stay focused: 1) Think long and hard about why you want to lose the weight. Yes, you want to lose weight…but why? What’s in it for you? Take out a piece of paper and put a line down the middle from top to bottom. On the top of the left column write: “What I will gain if I lose the weight and keep it off.” On the top of the right column write: “What I could lose if I don’t lose the weight.” Think of the left side as the “positives” of losing weight and the right side as the “negatives” of not being successful. The left side is what you want; the right side is what you don’t want. As a general rule, positives motivate us more effectively and more consistently than negatives. However, our fears (the negatives) do have a place on the list. Some examples of positives include: improved health, reduced need for specific medications, improved mobility, wearing the clothes you want, improved confidence, and pride in your accomplishment. The negatives are probably more obvious to you: specific health problems, limitations in mobility, frustration, various difficulties in your personal, social and other areas of functioning. Don’t try to write the list all at once. Write down whatever comes to mind right now, but allow other reasons to come to you over the next several days. Take your time. When a specific motivation comes to mind, write it down and add it to the list. Consider asking loved ones for their thoughts. You may never be 100% finished with the list, but you can always add more items later. You’ll know you’re truly ready to begin your weight loss journey when you read the list and deeply feel the emotional impact of each of the items. As you well know, the struggle to lose weight and keep it off is very emotional. If the items on the list don’t move you, you need to revise the list. When it’s complete, this list is your North Star. 2) Make several printed copies of the list. Make a small one to keep in your wallet or purse. Make another to keep in your car. Make another to keep in your office. Make a document containing the list on your computer and keep it on your desktop, laptop, tablet and cell phone. Put a printed or electronic copy everywhere you spend your time. 3) Read the list every day, over and over and over and over. This list needs to be etched on your brain and be in the front of your mind as often as possible. You need to read the list every morning when you wake up, multiple times per day, and before you go to sleep at night. The list needs to be as familiar as possible and as accessible as possible. Rehearse it like a speech. 4) Read the list before you eat and every time you eat. Read the list when you’re cooking or serving yourself food. Read the list just before you start to eat your meal. Read the list just before you place your order in a restaurant. Read the list when you’re about to get up from the couch and wander into the kitchen. Read the list just before you go into the mini-mart to grab a snack when you’re out running errands. If the reasons to make choices consistent with your goals are not in the front of your mind when you are about to choose what or whether or not to eat, they might as well not be in your mind at all. We always seem to know each and every reason why we shouldn’t have eaten that cookie just after we eat it. It’s only by being aware of those reasons before we eat it that can help alter our behavior. (In case you’re wondering why, it’s a forebrain-midbrain thing. Once your cranky 2-year-old midbrain gets the cookie, she’s happy and quiets down, therefore you can now clearly hear your forebrain and all of her brilliant reasons not to eat the cookie….albeit too late.) Having this list is the single most important part of your weight loss journey, and quite frankly the rest of your efforts might be pointless without the list. Here’s why: no learned behavior is ever fully unlearned. Once a particular relation occurs it never returns to zero strength so you never forget that you love donuts, candy, potato chips or chicken wings. These foods will never become completely unappealing because the brain never forgets. Therefore, you have to practice reminding your brain of what you hope to accomplish by losing weight and why eating donuts, candy, etc. is incompatible with those goals. Your brain may never forget just how yummy those foods are, but if you maintain your focus on your goals and avoid overeating those foods (or learn to eat better foods or learn to engage in new behaviors that replace eating), the impulse to eat those foods weakens and you gain habit strength and confidence in new behaviors that are consistent with your goals and avoid getting lost at sea. All weight loss efforts falter when the reasons for persevering weaken. If you have a bright, shining North Star, a setback is just a setback. You just keep on sailing and don’t become adrift. You’re still clear on where you’re going. Even if you have a donut, you can refer right back to your list, view it as an “oops” and get back on track. In fact, when your reasons for losing weight are solid and deeply personal, you might even choose to have an occasional donut, knowing that it won’t cause you to lose your way. None of what I’m suggesting in this article is intended to minimize the importance of other skills in helping you achieve your weight loss goals. You know that losing weight and keeping it off is very difficult and that your brain and body are unrelenting in trying to sabotage your best efforts. Therefore, if your specific reasons to embark on this weight loss journey are unfamiliar, vague or uninspiring, it’s very unlikely that you will make it across a very treacherous, dark ocean. Take the time to make the list and keep your North Star shining bright. My best wishes to you for smooth sailing.

I am also being revised from the BIG mistake of having the Lapband from Hell to RNY on July 5. My surgeon also recommended RNY over VSG because I also developed GERD after the band. He said VSG would make it worse. I have also had people, including a couple of docs scare the bejeesus out of me! I only have 30-40 lbs. to lose because I kept my weight off - only because I was sick all of the time. Friends are also giving me a hard time about having another surgery... my doc said 95% of patients that have the band removed gain their weight back. I have health problems that the weight would affect, heart, joints, gastro and endocrine, and I am prediabetic. My post is long too. I am also more comfortable with the sleeve but don't want my GERD to get worse so I just have to have trust in my very excellent surgeon! Still scared though!