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@@LilMissDiva Irene I'm very curious about your journey and experiences. However, I don't want to be rude and reach out privately unless you are comfortable with that. The short version of my story: Banded in 2006 Erosion into stomach 2010 - band removed Previous 4 years have had well managed gerd from omepraezole. Gerd has increased in recent months and I am in process of getting evaluated to see if I have a hiatal hernia or other complication. New surgeon group (moved to a new state between 2010 and now) already asked if I would consider revision during my intake questioning. I haven't even seen anyone in that bariatric group yet! (strange!) I'm terribly afraid to even consider further surgeries, except to repair complications, because of all that I have already been through. I don't know anyone who has been down the road I have, so seeing that there may be others here, is a ray of hope.....

I'm feeling pretty good. I have had some issues, but nothing that required surgery or revision. All and all I would say, I am one happy camper. I am doing a 5K on Saturday and looking forward to doing this with friends. Hope all other 2yr folks are well and still loosing weight. Melinda in Florida

I read it and appreciate it. You might save someone's life, too. I am doing so well, as you, so how easy could it happen to anyone of us, this year or five years from now. The lesson=Growing pain in stomach=see surgeon immediately! Gratz on being your own advocate and getting them to fix you! I hope the revision works.

Welcome to the forum Jade. Don't be afraid to ask questions? You'll find people here who love their band and those who were not successful with their band and revised to other WLS options. I won't sugar coat it, for some folks this journey has been a breeze and for others, very difficult. Just be ready to make a major lifestyle change for the better.

Please don’t forget to contact your Surgeon/team. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for their help. Perhaps you can get a good look at how to optimize your diet with a nutritionist, habit building with a therapist and there are a lot of new weight loss medications recently approved that may help before revision surgery is needed. Good Luck ❤️

@@VSGAnn2014 I am 3.5 years post BAND to SLEEVE revision and that video is absolutely spot on summary of "long term" maintenance post WLS. I encourage everyone who is thinking about this to watch it!

I'm in your shoes...totally unfilled at the beginning of December and up almost 20 pounds from my lowest weight last March. Everytime I get a fill, I have to get some out at my next visit. I'm considering revision to the Sleeve (which brings me over here), but I'm totally torn. I threw up more than I admitted, had massive heartburn and worried over every meal whether I'd tolerate it... lots of potatoes and Soups (which helped lead to my gain even before the unfill). I go Tuesday for a new upper GI to see if my dilated pouch/esophogus has fixed itself... It's very stressful. If I wanted to get cut I would have went with the bypass originally...now even with the sleeve...ugh. So stressful. Sorry I'm no help, but I thought you'd like to know you are not alone! Oh--I don't think you have to worry about the insurance thinking anything about getting a 2nd opinion...alot of them will give you a free initial evaluation anyway. You are just covering your bases. If you qualify for it, seeing a second dr. shouldn't disqualify the coverage. My 2 cents... Take care!

Hello..I had lap band on May 2008 and lost about 90 lbs. In Feb 2011 I went for a checkup because I was having some pain in my left side and it was discovered my band had slipped. The dr stated that it may had slipped due to a bad stomach virus I had a couple of weeks prior. I had revision surgery Feb 2011 and they put in a new band. Because of this of slippage I am very scared of over eating, but I am very careful to measure all my food. However, I am confused about how much fluid I can drink at a time and if it can stretch my pouch. I feel like if I get in all my fluids, I feel very over full. Can fluids stretch your pouch?

Sorry think I was writing while still stressing so cams out jumbled. I changed doctors when I kept being told that I wasn't losing because I apparently don't know how to count calories & was told to join weight watchers, which I did for support & still wasn't losing. By the time I stopped using that doc I was gaining still even on no breads/pastas, lean Proteins and veggies. When I saw the new doctor they found that the band was so restricted liquids couldnt pass and he advised that I was at the weight I should be at for Lapband surgery, that based on y start weight and my weight at the time I was at the % that most patients lose to. That had I wanted more of a weight loss I should have had gastric. They adjusted my band so it wasn't so tight and at that point being told that I spent $13,000 for thus surgery & those were the results I would only be able to obtain using the band I started seeing the nutritionist for more support and taking phentramine and was able to get my weight down 20lbs. Since July started having health issues we chalked up to stress until November when the GI problems really got bad nearly landing my in the hospital but testing had to wait for my insurance with the new company to kick in in Jan. at that time they started checking my gallbladder and intestines to see what was making me do sick. Plus blood panels for thyroid again (waiting on those results done last week) Those issues started neausa and vomiting which caused my band to slip and the irritation cause swelling and I wasn't able to swallow Water at that point so last week when they found that they unfilled my band and stated that the doctor who initially did my surgey has a history of not implanting the ban a the correct angle and they end up doing a lot of his revisions. I go back in Thursday for a barium swallow to see of the band corrected its self. Luckly the new insurance will cover if I need a revision due to medical needs which I qualify for so if needed they can remove his work and inplant a new band, remove this one all together and no band or gastric is another option. Because I've had such rotten luck with having complications since the surgery I was debating having it removed all together, but then all my hard work and money is gone and I may start gaining back even more weight, go for gastric or attempt the band again and see if I take to it better this time. It's not so much a matter of junk foods, pastas breads. I've always tried to avoid those as much as possible because we have weight issues in my family. It's not being able to eat almost any vegetable or I bp, have to drink them, most meats can't eat. So I end up sick from throwing up or not getting enough nutrients ect. We laugh at tw irony of a woman who can't keep down almost anything half the time stays the same weight or gains ha! Wasn't so bad till I tore a ligament in my toe at Christmas so working out has been more of a challenge but am able to more around better now.

My peer to peer that the doc had with my insurance co CIGNA, was denied due to the fact that my BMI is 33 and they need 35! I had the band which was removed sept 19 and was going in for the revision of the sleeve. They denied it, now, what. An I do? Bascially, I have to wait until I gain 15-20 MORE lbs or I can go back to the sleeve!! Help, is there anything I can do on my part? Different doctor? Anything? Thanks, D

How many calories have you been told to eat at 3 weeks out? And what type of foods?? I'm stuck at the same weight now for 10 days...im post op sleeve revision to bypass. Frustrated.

I was revised from gastric sleeve to bypass on 8/31. I had the same thoughts on food but know from the last surgery that would happen. The only pain I have is my lower belly feels like cramping and pulling. I have fits of energy then need a nap. I knew that would happen too. Hang in there! Once you start seeing the scale moving you will realize you did this for the greater good! Good luck and keep us posted on your progress !

I'm late responding to your post, and according to your original post, it seems you may have already had your surgery. I hope that you are recovering well. My situation is kind of odd, because this is my second time at the rodeo. The first time I had the lap-band in 2006. I told one close friend and my immediate family. Fast forward 12 years and I've had the revision from the band to SIPS, and I only told my husband and son. My daughter, brother, and mother don't even know, and the friend got chopped out of hearing the news as well. Compared to 2006 to now, more information is available to people which causes them to form their own, and sometimes, uneducated negative opinion. While I'm generally a "don't give a sh** what someone thinks kind of person", the crappy opinions out there and the idea of defending why I did what I did just doesn't get me excited. While it seems almost hypocritical, I share foods that I make, my gym check-ins and walks all on Facebook. As such, I'm getting a ton of support from folks supporting my new food regime, exercise routines and weight loss. It's very encouraging, and I'm glad I took this route instead of bearing all on the table. It keeps me motivated daily reading such encouraging posts on FB, posts that I don't believe I would have received had I shared the surgery. I know my crowd. 🙂

My biggest fears are: 1. Dying- I am the breadwinner for my family, have two young children, and two elderly parents with dementia I take care of. I need to be here because there are a lot of people counting on me for pretty much everything. 2. It not working- I feel like I hear so many horror stories of it not working, or people losing only a small amount of weight before nothing happening. I know it generally works, but you can’t help but be concerned that you might go through all this for nothing. 3. Regain. This is not my first rodeo with weight loss. Over 10 years ago I lost 150 lbs (without surgery) and had an amazing experience being “thin” for the first time in my life with all the accolades, pride, etc that comes with it. Only to gain it all back plus a lot more. I am doing everything I can to try to make this time different but I’ve done it to myself before and I’m terrified I’ll do it again. 4. My freaking insurance finding some dumb loophole to deny my surgery that they submitted for last week! Or Covid causing elective surgeries to be cancelled again and my husband losing his job that has the Bariatric coverage medical insurance before they resume surgery. Or basically some new reason that I get denied after so many years trying to make this work. 5. Complications: a leak, chronic issues, being nauseous forever, a clot, having to have the surgery revised later due to gerd, or any other issues that I can think of. So basically what are my greatest fears? Everything, it looks like. Ha!

depends on the insurance. Most will not pay for a revision unless it's medically necessary (e.g., severe GERD, mechanical failure of the original surgery) - although even then some companies will only pay for one surgery per lifetime. You can always call them and ask, though - you never know. if your sleeve is still working, though, you can still lose the weight. You just have to go back to the way you were eating that first year (not necessarily all the way back to protein shakes, but the whole protein first, then non-starchy vegetable thing. Tracking your food. Weighing/measuring things instead of eyeballing portion size. Etc. It usually takes longer the second time around, but people have done it...

I had to pay for my sleeve out of pocket (went to Mexico) and now after gaining back 50 pounds in 2.5 years (!) I'm going to get a revision to gastric bypass in early March. For me, I think I had two reasons why I failed - first, I was distrustful of what my surgeon did. I came out of surgery feeling great (unlike everyone else on my floor) and had no problem eating or tolerating different foods when I got to those stages. One of the doctors told me that I had a really long stomach (!) and I wonder if that has allowed me to eat slightly larger portions as a result. I did well in the first 8 months after surgery, I was 100% dedicated to portion control and watched my macros, but I fell off the wagon at my dad's birthday (cake) and slowly but surely over time I was able to consume more, and eat more things I shouldn't have, over time. I knew going into the surgery that I had some food addictions, and unfortunately the last couple of years has taught me that these will be problems for me the rest of my life. There will be no "just once in a while" type of situations - sugar is a huge problem for me, and this next time around I know it will be gone for good - I'm not willing to fail after a second surgery (again, that I will have to pay out of pocket). I don't think anyone can know if your insurance will pay for a second surgery (only your insurance can tell you that), but if not, then I would look at cheaper options for self-pay.

I'll try to make this short and sweet I had lap band surgery in February of 2007. I was diagnosed as eroded in November of 2011 and was removed in March of 2012. I elected to switch to a new surgeon to perform the gastric sleeve surgery who required that I wait six months after the removal of my band in order for the scar tissue to heal and the adhesions to settle down. He also required that I have an upper GI, an upper endoscopy and an esophogeal monometry in order to ensure that I would be a good candidate for a high pressure system like the sleeve. I passed all tests with flying colors. I have BCBS-AL. They covered the removal of the band and the subsequent tests mentioned above; however, they have denied my pre-detemination for sleeve surgery until I complete a six month weight loss management program. They stated that since I do not currently have a bariatric procedure that I am essentially having to requalify all over again. Is it me or does this make absolutely no sense at all! Their policy plainly states that they cover repeat surgery as a result of band erosion with no exceptions to that policy listed. We are appealing based on the fact that my surgeon determined that it was medically necessary to perform the revision in two steps and that it would have ben unsafe for me to do otherwise. Has anyone had a similar experience? I feel like I am the only one who has ever had an eroded band and had to wait six months to complete the process. Help!

I had surgery with Dr. Garcia on February 21st. Dr. Garcia had four surgery patients that day: an RNY revision; a band removal with revision to a sleeve; a sleeve plus gall bladder removal; and my sleeve surgery. I got to know the three other patients and we spent time together at the Marriott...we all recovered quickly and had minor discomfort (but no pain) after being discharged from the hospital. For me, it was noteworthy that Dr. Garcia leads a team of doctors who care for you. He is the surgeon (an exceptional one, in my opinion!); the other doctors on his team handle your hospital and post-op care. I felt very well cared for by all of them. I am home now and I feel great! I highly, highly recommend Dr. Garcia and his entire team.

Listen to your doctor.I had the option of lapband or bypass back in 2004.My doctor saw that I insisted on the less"invasive " surgery...I went with the lapband.BIGGEST MISTAKE!I have had nonstop problems...looking back I wish my doctor would have given me the advice ...now I am seeking a revision to bypass....Get the most effective surgery.My friend has the sleeve and she has malabsorption as well..vitamin up!!! Go with your doctors advice.

Good Advice -I am trying to do that too🐾💕-I also have been immobile on a scooter due to leg issues - had to have revision of a prior tendon repair - I was not going to do this surgery but my Dr said I had a hiatal hernia and bad esophageal scarring and as long as that had to be repaired I should consider it and so while I was out with my leg I had the additional testing done- once we knew I did not have esophageal cancer I thought - I should do this and get myself back. I was in a very bad relationship with a man who tricked me into putting him on the deed of my coop. When I sold it he drained our shared account- as this happened- I needed hope and to do something for me. The feeling of betrayal was so horrifying- he nearly ruined me financially, physically and mentally. So when we say look forward I am so right there ready to not look back!!!

What caused you to have a port revision? What were your side effects?

33 was a revision from Band to sleeve. Have diabetes and high blood pressure. Sleep Apnea I believe might have been resolved Adter the band

I just had bypass on 8/12. I was 285 the day of the surgery and my bmi was something around 46. Bypass is the golden standard and I strongly believe there are fewer side effects like severe reflux and weight regain. It is your decision, bypass is not for everybody, but I heard of many people having revision from sleeve to RNY. Good luck!!

When did I claim not to be sarcastic? I am, it's me. But that doesn't change the fact that this one you brought on yourself. Don't blame me for your own behaviors. We have been saying the same thing since before you came to this thread, it's critical to follow your doc's advice. We explained why the post op diet exists, we explained why cheating is potentially harmful, we explained the head issues. The reality is that we wrote what a few didn't want to read. We tend to have a fat mentality and many ways of justifying more food. The docs don't say eat solids and chew extra well during the soft stage, they don't say to follow their diet because they like to torture others. There is a reason for the diet. When someone finds ways to justify more food, the wrong food, extra food, they are continuing the very same behaviors that earned them a band to begin with. If someone feels picked on because their behaviors are being pointed out to them, I don't care. If it takes that for someone to wake up and see what they are doing then great, they can be annoyed while they KEEP their band. I'd sure rather someone think I am a big bad skank than to be in a depression over losing their band. Look, I've been through a revision surgery and I followed all the rules. I did it the right way. It's hard, very hard. Revision is a hard surgery physically and mentally. I think it would have been worse if I caused the problems myself and brought on my own issues from not following basic instructions. You don't like my style? Kewl beans. I don't like yours. But we don't have to like one another's styles, we just have to learn from one another because that is why we are all here.

What input can anyone offer? What advice or suggestions can be offered to someone who flat out says that you do things your own way and that is how it is? We told you the truth and that makes you angry. So be it, it just isn't going to change reality. The sutures your doctor put in your band are not meant to hold it in place long term. That isn't going to cut it. What holds your band in place long term is the scarring or adhesions that form around your band on the outside of your stomach. If your stomach is churning and working to mix food with digestive acids it looks a bit like your stomach is in spasms. Each time you "do things your own way" you are breaking those newly forming adhesions. The thing about scarring is that it does not form in the same place with the same quality the 2nd time around. This is why if you slip once, you are likely to slip again. The adhesions are not of the same quality when they grow in the same place a 2nd time. When you blow off the post op diet you are breaking the fragile, newly growing adhesions. They are trying to do their job and you are fighting them and why? Because you are doing things your own way. So it's a choice. If you want to keep your band then I'd suggest you follow your doc's post op diet. If you want to lose your band I'd suggest you keep on doing what you are doing. Let's face it, this is a month out of your life. It isn't the end of the world. It's okay to feel discomfort every now and again, it isn't going to kill any of us. Most of it is head hunger so you might as well start dealing with it because that is the hardest part of this journey. It will get better but not until you start dealing with it. Stomach hunger... obese people do not die of starvation. We tend to have a back up system of fat. A little hunger is uncomfortable, we all have to deal with it. It's just the way it is. Cut out ALL carbs. All of them. Carbs just screw with your blood sugar and make you have blood sugar spikes. Protein evens out your blood sugar and prevents the spikes, thus prevents hunger. But it's your choice. Do as you will. I'm going to tell you something, revision surgery is MUCH harder to recover from than the original surgery. It hurts like f'ing hell. I know, I've done it. It carries more risk, more potential for problems, and it hurts like hell. I followed the rules and that is exactly why with all my barfing I never slipped. You are at MUCH greater risk for losing your band due to your own actions. It's bad enough when revision surgery is necessary, but revision surgery from not following your doc's instructions would likely not be fun on an emotional level. Again, your choice.