Search the Community

Have you looked into getting a revision of your bypass? My Dr said 1 of 3 things causes weight gain 1-something wrong with the original surgery like an enlarged stoma 2-lack of proper eating habits or 3-lack of proper exercise. I hope you find the help you are looking for!

I think the more likely option is a revision to your pre-existing rny. Lots of people need/get revisions with little problems, so I would definitely look into it. I wish you the best of luck.

I'm heading in on March 10th for my revision. Got that awful band out on Feb 5th after 8 years, and now I'm just healing up and getting ready for my bypass. I'm nervous but I'm ready.

Bypass (revision from lapband) scheduled for March 10th!!! Yay! I have four kids (2 bio, 2 step) and a great and very supportive husband who has loved me through thick and thin, literally!

I just did the revision February 1. And have had no Gerd since then. I'm in Oregon also. It is the best decision I've made. I've heard minimal about the linx, but my surgeon doesn't offer it. The recovery time from rny was less than half of the sleeve.

Can I really do this???? My HW was 337 and I'm hoping to get down to at least 150, but my personal goal is 130. That seems IMPOSSIBLE. I'm so worried that I can't do it!! I am a revision patient, from the lapband. It worked for 6 years, but it broke three years ago and I regained EVERY POUND plus 37 more. I've even had a hard time staying on my pre-op diet now that I'm going through this process. If I couldn't make the lapband work, how can I make this work? I am so afraid to fail again. My band was removed on Feb 5th. My bypass is scheduled for March 10th and I'm scared. I'm working so hard to make the mental changes I need to but I keep falling back into bad habits. What needs to be different about it THIS TIME that I won't fail again?

My date is March 10. I'm a revision from lapband. It was removed Feb 5th and I've been on liquids since Jan 23rd (with a few slips on that). My height is 5' 4". HW 337. CW 304 I'm hoping my surgery weight will be 290 but I'm worried I won't get there by my surgery date. :-( It's inspiring to see all of these stories of you folks a year out!!! Thanks for sharing!

When they diagnosed"stretched sleeve" did they indicate how that happened? A recent thread about someone with a "retained fundus" has put this in a new light for me. Essentially a surgical error. I was band to sleeve revision and so went to the most experienced of the surgeons at my practice. Due to the scar tissue they sometimes can't do a proper sleeve on revisions. I remember my surgeon teling me he thought I had a good "tight and correctly shaped" sleeve. I was coming out of anesthesia at the time so didnt inquire about what he meant, but now I think I get it. He was pretty sure he'd been able to remove the fundus and leave a banana shaped sleeve.

I'm not sure I'm a gastric sleeve patient with serious complications and I'm being revised to the bypass and my surgeon require a 2 day liquid diet Sent from my LG-H634 using BariatricPal

I've had same problems. Always having band deflated and refilled until major problems occurred. Could not swallow , massive gerd, reflux. Regurgitation to name a few Band has been deflated for six months and experienced 35 lb weight gain. Revising to RNY.

I was banded in 2009...and revised last June. Best decision ever made. I wish I was banded earlier. You will do fine, just stick to the plan; as you will be able to eat whatever you want, so you have to make good choices...and when you occasionally want to "treat" yourself...not "cheat" yourself; you have to in moderation. I have no regrets my friend! The band was horrible....(no more looking for the nearest restroom in case you have to purge in public or at a friend's home bcuz of band restrictions, etc). Good luck..and if you need any assistance after surgery, just reach out!

So I finally got the call I been waiting for over a month! I will be getting my band removed (2/2011) and getting a gastric sleeve. I have had too many issues and can't get my band any tighter because when I do I can't literally even drink a sip of water. Other issues as well but I'm excited and would love any info on anyone who has done this and what is recovery time for this since my surgeon told me it will be longer and I also will have drainage tubes as well. I have a 10k scheduled for May 7 and my surgery is March 30th. Thanks

Me! Atascadero! I see Dr. Bounoa, will be getting a band to sleeve revision next month

March 30, band to sleeve revision

So I finally got the call I been waiting for over a month! I will be getting my band removed (2/2011) and getting a gastric sleeve. I have had too many issues and can't get my band any tighter because when I do I can't literally even drink a sip of water. Other issues as well but I'm excited and would love any info on anyone who has done this and what is recovery time for this since my surgeon told me it will be longer and I also will have drainage tubes as well. I have a 10k scheduled for May 7 and my surgery is March 30th. Thanks

Your story has really helped me feel better. I've been beating myself up about needing a revision from the sleeve to bypass. I've felt like a failure for the weight regain. My sleeve is stretched and I have acid reflux. Thanks again for sharing I really needed to hear something like this.

I'm over 4 years out and I don't have any of those issues but I do have a stretched sleeve and bad acid reflux. An EGD showed the stretch and reflux so I'm waiting for insurance now to decide if they will pay for a revision. If I were you I'd stay on the doctors to find a solution for you. I'm seeing on her a lot more people are having revisions due to not only regain but also complications. Good luck.

Hi ldramafree35 I had a ventricle hernia and gastric bypass revision on 9/11/15. I had my original gastro bypass on2/15/90. The program followed me for a year. I lost 130 lbs. My problems began by getting pregnant 18 months after surgery. I had 2 children 14 months apart. I managed to keep the weight off for about 10 years. I had major problems with my gallbladder, it was removed. I had an umbilical hernia and 2 c-sections in 6 years. I had my revision done at MassGeneral. I feel so blessed to be given this second chance. My surgeon was Janey Pratt. My surgery weight was 345lbs. My current weight is 270. The surgery they are doing now is so different than what I had before. I am so happy about the support there is. I am also much more educated about the high protein low fat very low carb.

Hello All, I had the lap band put in five years ago, and it hasn't been the best journey. I've had two revisions due to the band being punctured at fills, one in which it snapped and was poking me all over inside. We've never been able to find the sweet spot...it's either no restriction or so tight I can't get good Protein down. So in the past 5 months or so I have had unexplained swelling in my feet, ankles and calves. My regular physcian says it's due to sitting at work. Long story short, I had my band released a little bit (like .5 cc) and it was so loose that I had no restriction. She put more in, no restriction filled it back to where it was too tight at one point and still no restriction. I am now scheduled for an endoscopy to see if I have band erosion. Honestly, I feel like my body is rejecting the band. I'm holding Fluid everywhere...my belly feels like I have a bowling ball in it, my shoulders ache and my chiropractor today confirmed that he can tell my body has changed..he said my body is much tighter indicating to him I am full of fluids. My body hurts, my feet, ankles and knees are the worst...I can hardly stand to walk. I can't get comfortable when I try to sleep So I am wondering, have any of you been through this, and if you have, what did you do to help yourself? I cut out as much sodium in my diet to see if that was an issue, but it hasn't made a difference. TIA!

Thank you! I am going to try one more thing before having the revision, low carb lifestyle. I pray this works.

Well I had my appointment and got a glowing review from my surgeon. I brought with me my complete 2015 food diary along with my weight graph, nutrient percentage charts, and etc... I also showed him my revised tables for 2015/2016 with month over month comparison. Ever since I first showed him my data he has been excited about reviewing them. So I tend to bring more and more each visit. My official weigh in was 218.1lbs. Just 4 days before I was at 214! After discussing that, he said he believes that my weight has bottomed out and now I will fluctuate around where I am now. The lowest I ever got was 213. So a 215-225lbs range looks to be where I will maintain if I keep being good about my diet and exercise. Another topic that came up is BMI. I wanted to get tested to see where I am and he said he thinks that I am down to what he called essential fat. I am lean enough that the fat I have is just what is needed. Damn. That means the excess I see is all skin. He estimates that I am 17 or 18% BMI, which is good. But to be sure, I would have to go to another place and pay for it. He said that it was around $25, so I think I will go ahead and schedule that. All in all, it was a decent appointment. He said he wished that he had more patients like me that took advantage of this surgery and took it as serious as I have. That made me feel really good. Then he thanked me for letting him be my surgeon! Now that made me feel great!

Grek79Ital I'm curious so see how you are doing? I'm waiting for my insurance to decide if they will pay for my revision. The doctors office doesn't think they will without the 6 month diet, since I never had one because my first surgery was in Mexico. So I've talked to my surgeons office in Mexico and we have a tentative date at the end of March for revision to bypass if my insurance denies it being done here.

Hang in there it does get better! My surgery was two day before yours and Monday at work for me was a killer and I sit all day. It is better now. Taking short walk breaks of 4-5 min few times a day. I am worried about getting all the Fluid in but we can do it! I understand your exhaustion completely just hang in there and try to move as much as possible. I only lost 6 lbs first week which was disappointing considering taking in zero calories and my dr told me yesterday that revisions loose slower sometimes. We can do this! Don't be discouraged! Yes!! We can do this!! It seems I have not lost any weight. I want to think my scale is broken but I am thinking perhaps I just need to stay off of it.. lol. I now have diarrhea to add to my list of complaints. I am thinking its hard enough to get fluids in for them to just pour out.. sad face

Please share how your consult goes including price. I am still about 35 lbs from goal but have the exact same problem areas. Sent from my SM-N910P using BariatricPal I posted this on another one but forgot to update here: I had my consultation with the plastic surgeon today. The first thing Dr. Weiss said after I told him I've lost 130 lbs. is, "Well you look great!" And I laughed and said, "Well yeah, with my clothes on!" He asked what my biggest concerns were and I told him stomach, boobs and side boobs (that bit that spills over the top sides of my bra). After I got undressed he was impressed with the amount of excess skin I had. It was funny sitting there and him gathering and poking to see how much is skin. The good news is he said I can get away with an extended tummy tuck, I won't need a body lift (whew!). He said he should be able to remove nearly all of the loose skin, including my stretch marks on my stomach. He showed me where he would cut and I could not believe how high up he would be able to go. He said I should end up with a nearly flat stomach and he and his assistant said I have a very nice body shape/build because I'm a natural hourglass and under my loose skin is a small waist so I will avoid looking boxy like most tummy tuck patients. He said there is quite a bit of loose skin in the breasts and showed me where the nipple should go. Again, I was surprised. We are talking about six inches or so. He also said I really REALLY need implants because I have zero upper breast. I'm basically pectoral muscles and then breasts below that. He wants to remove all the loose skin, some of my existing breast tissue and then put implants at the top where I'm completely lacking anything. Without them I can get a lift but will end up with the man boob look I'm dreading so much. Right now I'm a 36DDD and I told him I'd like to end up a 34DD. He also said he can easily fix the side boob issue with expanding the lower incision line. I asked him about my back rolls and he said they are all loose skin. He basically said there is nothing to lipo. I'm just skin! Which blows my mind because I still feel so fat when I look in the mirror. But he said that could be fixed later down the road if I decide to do any other surgeries. He said there is an increased bleeding risk when there has been extreme weight loss which is defined as losing more than 60 lbs. However, he has never had to give anyone a transfusion and he is very confident I will have no issues since I've never smoked and my skin is in great condition. He does want me to have a CBC done to make sure I haven't developed anemia from bariatric surgery. He said I could probably return to work after a few weeks if I'm sitting but I still plan on taking at least three, if not four. I can begin light cardio like walking after four weeks but no high impact exercise or lifting for many months. Also, no resistance exercise for many months although I can use my own body weight. It will cost $8,150 for tummy tuck only or $15,310 for tummy tuck and breasts. He offered to repair the side boobs for free. The cost includes all post-op care and if I'm not happy with my results he will do a free revision. He said, "If you're not happy with the results, I'm not going to be happy with the results." Now on to the mental/psychological part of this. I had a bit of a meltdown on the ride home. Part of it was because I made the mistake of listening to "Reflection" on the way home and started bawling. "Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? When will my reflection show who I am inside?" So I did a lot of thinking. On one hand, I feel selfish for spending $15,000 on myself. I don't feel like I deserve it. I don't know why I feel that way. I also don't know why I feel so weird about implants. I've always had very large breasts. But I've always kind of thought of women who got implants as phonies trying to be something they aren't. Just accept your natural body! But now I'm trying to replace what I've always had. And now I'm becoming more understanding towards those who want/need plastic surgery. On the other hand, when I see myself in the mirror I can see my potential but I feel like I'll never feel complete until this excess skin is gone. I really want to finish my marathon and get the medal at the end, my new body.

I went back to work 10 days after my sleeve surgery (no revision). I work in an office setting and did fine at work. I will say that although I was back to work 9 hours each day, for the first 6-8 weeks after surgery I was extremely tired and in bed by about 7pm each night!