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I was banded may 31, 2011 in Cali. Left out of state a two wks later this was the biggest mistake of my life. Texas medical did not cover any dr spots to be seen or fills. So I only lost 8lbs in two yrs. So I revised on July 19th 2013 to gastric bypass and lost practically all my goal weight already:)

Okay folks here it is..i had original surgery in 2002 January, had a revision three years ago..have had bouts of pancreatitis off and on which to my understanding can be fatal...had a scope done by my bariatric doctor. He said I had candycane syndrome. Said it is likely the culprit of pancreatitis attacks. So Monday I go in for that repair on my small intestine. My question is this....Has anyone ever experienced this syndrome? and did it get better after surgery to correct the problem? from what I have read it is relatively rare, and article says ninety four percent correction after surgery which is dam good in my opinion. Oh starting weight before original was five hundred, weight now is three fifteen.

I applaud you for looking after your child's health regarding her weight. I now wonder what my life would have been like if I had not been overweight/obese; I bet a lot different. I went to Dr Fernando Garcia who is absolutely fantastic and a well respected surgeon in his field. I paid $5500.00 but this was for a revision(removal of my lapband). Whomever you chose I wish you and your daughter the best.

I had the lapband in jan 09. I'm a revision surgery patients going to the RNY.

I was banded in 2010. I did really great on the diet and lost around 30 lbs. I was going to the gym at least 3x per week until my knees started Killing me! I couldn't take my prescription anti-inflammatories because of the band. Once they were out of my system (I stopped them just prior to my band placement - I didn't realize how much knee pain they were conceling), I could hardly walk up & down stairs. It was awful. Of course I couldn't exercise so I started gaining some of the weight back. I went to an Ortopedic surgeon who tried shots in the knees to no avail. This surgeon did not want to do replacement surgery & told me I'd needed to lose weight! I'm in my 50's, so not being able to even do my housework tasks helped me gain the weight back. About a month ago I got something stuck in my band (it was something I'd been able to eat before) and violently vomited. It was a Sunday so I couldn't go to my Bariatric Surgeon's office. I suffered all night long to the point of pucking up my own saliva. The stuck food was NOT moving. I went in the next day and had a doc remove all the fluid. I found out on a later visit with my Surgeon that my band has slipped.I'm so done with the band! I'm having it taken out & am considering the sleeve (my surgeon encouraged me to switch; he answered all my questions) - I just want to make the right decision. I feel like I've failed at every "diet" possible to man & now I've failed at the LapBand...am worried I'll fail yet again on the sleeve. No matter how much you tell yourself you have to change your diet and exercise, those old temptations come back. I could eat the "bad" things with the band, but not always the "good" things I wanted, like scrambled eggs. I could eat a wafle, but not scrambled eggs??? Ridiculous! Sometimes I could eat granola, sometimes I couldn't! It drove me crazy! I feel that having the band was a big mistake for me. Now I'm just hoping my insurance will pay to remove the band; it has to come out, & approve a switch to the sleeve. I just am not certain about having that revision????

How severe is your GERD and what is involved with a revision? I am having horrifying reflux almost every evening and throw up probably 3 days a week. I am over 4 years post surgery and didn't anticipate any of this happening!

Only popped back in now, I’m two years since my MSG revision. I’ve spent the last year hanging around 84 kgs so I’ve another 20 to go (was 135kg at MSG surgery). I have to get back on track as I know how to cheat 🤣

How much would you have to lose to get to your goal weight (whose goal weight exactly)? I'm asking because results regarding weight loss seem to be quite mixed when it comes to revisions.

If you don't mind me asking, how much is the revision going to cost out of pocket?

I had kind of a similar experience, except that my symptoms started suddenly. An upper GI showed my badly dilated esophagus; the gastro doc who did an EGD found food in the lower third of my esophagus (I hadn't eaten for 12 hours) and diagnosed me with an esophageal motility disorder called achalasia. My surgeon removed all the saline from my band and strongly recommended removing it. I decided to revise to the sleeve,but when my surgeon removed my band, she was unable to do the sleeve because of a stricture we didn't know I had. I went to a different gastro doc who said I don't have achalasia, I have stenosis (thickening of the tissues) from 25+ years of "silent" reflux. He dilated the stricture and I'm having surgery again in August to try to do the sleeve. My unfill greatly relieved my symptoms. I'm still taking omeprazole. My symptoms were like yours but I wasn't vomiting blood. That kind of thing URGENTLY needs attention. I would be concerned about ulcers or band erosion. I hope you get in to see a specialist at Hershey Hospital ASAP. Good luck!

hi all, looking for some advice. i had the band in 2008 and was revised to the sleeve in 2010. my lowest weight has been 145 lbs but i usually stayed between 145 and 149. i went on a cruise in september and even came home losing a lb, but since then my weight has crept up and today it was 152. i know its not a ton but dont want it to get out of control. what did everyone do when in this situation

Hey! Are you having bypass in February? We are starting a closed/secret group on Facebook and would LOVE to have you join us. 2 years ago I had a sleeve done, but due to complications they are revising me from sleeve to bypass. I had an AMAZING group on Facebook that all had the same surgery that month. We were going through the same things whether it was venting one day, sharing milestones, and made lasting friendships! Since it's a secret group there is some hoops to go through to get added (sorry, Facebook makes it harder) The good thing is that it's completely secret meaning none of your friends can know see posts or ever know you're in it This makes it a safe place for us because I know for some it's not something they want to share. Here's how to join: 1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/lanaepetersen and send me a friend request 2. I will accept the friend request, then send you an invite to the group. 3. After you are added to the group I'll unfriend Hey! Are you having bypass in February? We are starting a closed/secret group on Facebook and would LOVE to have you join us. 2 years ago I had a sleeve done, but due to complications they are revising me from sleeve to bypass. I had an AMAZING group on Facebook that all had the same surgery that month. We were going through the same things whether it was venting one day, sharing milestones, and made lasting friendships! Since it's a secret group there is some hoops to go through to get added (sorry, Facebook makes it harder) The good thing is that it's completely secret meaning none of your friends can know see posts or ever know you're in it This makes it a safe place for us because I know for some it's not something they want to share. Here's how to join: 1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/lanaepetersen and send me a friend request 2. I will accept the friend request, then send you an invite to the group. 3. After you are added to the group I'll unfriend

HI, Im scheduled Feb 1st for a revision from a sleeve I had just shy of a year ago! I am so excited!

May 11th revision to gastric bypass

I’m a band to mini-gastric bypass and it was the BEST decision I ever made. I had trouble with my band from the get-go. It sprung a leak early on so I never got restriction and spent the first nine months of my honeymoon wondering why I could still eat a full steak and everyone else was complaining about being full after a teaspoon of tuna. Had it fixed but it never really worked. Either too tight or too loose and when I moved O/Ṣ I just gave up and ate around it. I used to feel embarrassed to tell people I’d had a Lapband years ago and yet here I was north of 140 kilos. I’m about ten months out from my revision, surgery went brilliantly. My surgeon did a single operation to remove the band and give me my bypass but he had to make my stomach pouch larger b/c of Lapband scarring. I don’t mind b/c I’ve slowly lost 2/3rds of my excess weight, am just about to hit Onderland and I feel bloomin’ brilliant. Even if I never lost another kilo I love my life so much more now.

I just had a revision on 3/9 I had a sleeve 8/2016. I lost 50 lbs. I had GERD before the sleeve but not too bad. The first 2 years after sleeve my GERD was nearly gone. BUT then it came back with a vengeance. It was awful, waking from sleep with bile in my throat, burning all day everyday, and the tightness in my chest. Top that off with a hernia and a fold in my sleeve. I started gaining weight back because crackers and bread were the only thing that made me feel better.My Dr gave me 2 choices, live with it, or do revision. I lived with it for about 8 more months and could no longer do it. I was honestly afraid to do another surgery. I am in week 6.5 post surgery, and am very disappointed at my weight loss so far. I lost 13 lbs, the first 3 weeks and only 1-3 the next 3 weeks. I'm only eating 700 cal a day an losing nothing. AND I have had days where I have some GERD. I am taking my meds and they help but I thought I would have none. The biggest issue I have is the fear that I feel totally different. With my sleeve I felt full really quickly and knew when I was full. So far I feel like I can eat more, I haven't, but I feel like I will be able to. I don't get the same feeling. My thought was that at least I'll lost weight after doing this again, but it doesn't seem like that will be happening.

Is it worth it? HELL Yes!!! Would I do it again? YES!!! In a heartbeat!! What you are feeling is normal. Have I had problems? YES! 99% caused my me! Remember our band is a tool. We have to work at it too. The first think I tell pre ops is to do your research and do it for you nobody else. XOXO~Teresa 34 5'9 Divorced 3 Children~15/13/11 Gering, Nebraska Surgery: 5/14/02 Port Revision: 9/22/02 .80cc Used to be at 2cc 366/209/180-160<~~~Goal!!! Some day soon!!! Dr. Halloway & Dr. Forney Regional West Medical Center Scottsbluff, Nebraska

If you haven't, you may want to try posting on the DS message board here: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/ I would bet there are lots of folks there who have experience with revising to DS. Good luck to you!

OP - I totally get where you are coming from. It's actually my worst fear that the sleeve won't work in the long run. Not everyone reaches their ideal goal and a big part of it is non-compliance but some of it is factors harder to control like genetics or thyroid problems. A great number of us are fighting a constant battle against our own bodies and always being one step ahead of the slump is very hard to maintain. Despite the pontification of some posters on here, I think the battle to maintain effects everyone in some way. I won't say don't do another surgery but I will say I also know people who had gastric bypass or the DS revision you're talking about. A few of them got to goal but struggled with the maintenance and ended up gaining back. I know a woman who lost 150 lbs with gastric bypass but 5 years later she has gained more than 50 lbs back. She is in her 50s and overweight. And she has bad arthiritis now so exercise is difficult. There are no more interventions left for her other than diet and it's a daily struggle. Like the sleeve, DS and bypass are tools, not solutions by themselves. Could they help you get back down to goal? Sure they could. But there's no guarantee you won't find yourself in a similar position in another two years. There are lots of DS resources out there, which other posters shared. People who have undergone DS probably don't post on VSTalk anymore so that's probably why you didn't get a response you'd hoped for. Talking to your old surgeon or nutritionist or a WLS counselor may also help you to determine what options would be best for you at this point. I am rooting for you! Wishing you all the best.

Hi everyone, First off, I apologize if this question has been asked and answered previously. I did a search and did not find one that matched my question. I was not sure of the forum to post this question between revisions or insurance. I currently have a lap band in and found out it has prolapsed. My insurance company (UHC) does cover revision surgery. I have met their criteria as far as BMI, comorbodity and psych evaluation. They also have a 6 month medically supervised diet criteria. Has anyone with UHC been able to have this criteria waived with an early submission of a device failure? Thank you for your replies.

Good luck 3 weeks is long time- I was just advised I will need 2 week Pre-Op diet due to revision and need to reduce liver as much as possible. Luckily I like shakes (At least for now-That may change after 2 solid weeks of them), and I will be on diet from May 3 thru 3-17, so not during any major holiday.

Ok, I know this will be kind of long, but I am going to include as much info as I can about my slippage. Hopefully it will answer a question or two, or maybe help someone avoid a slip. To start, I was 209lbs, 5'2", not super overweight my BMI was 38 I think. My insurance stinks, so they wouldn't cover the surgery. I have no other medical problems or comorbidies. I was banded 2-8-08 by Dr Corvala in Tijuana, Mex. The surgery cost me $8,000, plus $350 airfare. My surgery went soo smoothly. No problems at all. I did have the regular gas pains, but I was up and walking the halls and outside the next morning. I found a local Bariatric Surgery hospital that accepted Mexico banded patients. I chose to go through them for my aftercare and fills. My first visit with the local doc was on 3-21-08 (6wks post-op). I met the doc, gave her all the info I had from Mexico. Did almost an hour consultation on the aftercare process. Then went into the x-ray room for my first fill. The fill doctor was super nice and explained the fills process. The contrast was gross, but oh well. I was filled 1.8cc. This initial visit and fill cost me $550. I was told to wait about 2 weeks and come back for another fill. I had no restriction, and my doc does not require any after fill diet. My 2nd appt was 4-10-08. I did not see the actual doctor, just the fill doctor. I was given 1.4cc and told to come back in 2 weeks. This visit cost me $385. I had no restriction still. My 3rd appt was 6-6-08. Again, just the fill doc. I was first given 1.6cc and could not swallow the contrast. He took out 1cc and I was fine. So, I was increased .6cc. Again, 2 weeks and come back. After my 3rd fill, I was restricted and loving it. I could eat right at 4oz of food and be very satisfied. If I tried to eat more, I would PB it. I was in heaven! Losing weight steadily and really with not much strenuous exercise. Just walking and playing with my kids a bunch. Then, on about 9-16-08 (7mo post-op), I started noticing that I couldn't eat or drink anything. I would drink and it would come right back up. I knew this wasn't good. I remember waking up on 9-17 and getting a drink of water and pb'ng a bite of food from dinner the night before (12 hrs later). I thought that I had just ate something that got stuck and it wasn't coming up or going down. I hoped it would clear up on its own, so I waited, and waited. At night when I was sleeping I would get woke up by my body pb'ng on its own. I had some heartburn, BUT NEVER ANY PAINS. Then found myself Friday morning (9-19-08) calling the doctor. I explained to them that I though I had something stuck and have been pb'ng for almost 4 days. The nurse very scheduled me for a "look and see" check. I went in about 3 hours later. When I got there the fill doc had me drink the contrast and said "uh-oh". My heart sunk. He said that I had a band slippage. Then he proceeded to accuse me of overeating. I told him that I was very set on keeping my portions to the 4 oz or less and I did not abuse the band by eating 'cheat' foods or such. When I defended myself with the 4oz comment, HE FREAKED OUT. He said that I should never eat 4oz, that is waay too much. He said that my meal size should be 1-2 oz and up to 5 meals a day. I was like "WHAT?!?!?" Finally he admitted that I probably did have something stuck in my band since I was borderline too tight. And that all of the pb'ng caused part of my stomach to come up through the band and enlarged the pouch. It is called a band slippage, but in reality unless a stitch is busted, it is really just the stomach moving up or down the band. The band didn't move on me, it was my stomach tissue. So, the fill doc took 3cc out of my 3.8cc fill. He advised me that I will come back in 2 weeks to see if the stomach tissue has went back down where it should be. I asked him about liquids or anything to help fix it. He said no liquids, that won't help pull the tissue back down. Just eat normal foods like chicken and steak, and keep the meals to 1-2oz, NO MORE. He also stated to me that if the unfill does fix it, we can SLOWLY proceed with very small fills and to be super vigilant on my eating because I will be more prone to slips from now on. If this doesn't fix the slip, I would need a revision. This visit cost me another $385. Then I get home, very depressed and upset thinking that I had done exactly as told and this crap happens. I came on LBT to see what info I could find about slippage and see what hope I have. I am very confused about different doctors having different directions and ideas on how to fix a slip. My doc says liquids won't help at all.... Oh, and I also found out when I got back home that all along I thought I had a 10cc band, when really I have a 4cc (10cm) band. So, I thougth I was lucky and got restriction with 3.8cc, when I was really very full and didn't know it. DAMN THE LUCK. So, now I am waiting, hungry all the time, I have 4 more days until I go back to see if the unfill helped fix my band slip. The good news, if there is any, is that I have lost 50lbs in 7.5 months. Only 34 more to go until I reach my goal of 125lbs!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that is everything, at least for now...:thumbup:

I had the sleeve on 1/26/2012. I did lose 90 lbs. within the first year. I had absolutely NO dumping and no reflux. I figured out really quick that I could eat all the same foods as before but only less. I convinced myself that now I was "normal" and could eat what I wanted because of my restricted stomach size. WRONG!! I started regaining a couple of years out and all the weight came back quickly. I have no restriction and can eat a full size plate with no problem. I am now scheduled for a sleeve to bypass revision at the end of October. Everybody has to do what is best for them, but I have since learned after the sleeve that there are quite a few others that are also gaining back after about year two. I am beyond blessed that I get a second "second chance" with bypass. I will not mess it up this time! Stay afraid of the foods that caused the gain in the first place!!

It is good that you are asking this question! Many people simply decide that they want the Lap Band because they hear that it's "easy", "less invasive" than some of the other types of WLS etc, etc. But the truth is that it's NOT easy....most people here will tell you that. In specific answer to your question, yes, people HAVE lost 100+ pounds with the Lap Band. But you need to thoroughly research ALL the WLS procdures to make sure that you choose the one that is right for YOU. Many people think the varous forms of surgeries are all interchangeable, that they are simply "different methods", and you just need to pick one. Not True. You need to pick the one that fits your physical and emotional makeup. And that's not a decision that you are going to reach by reading a few articles and visiting some internet forums. I myself have had two Weight Loss Surgeries....Lap band (disaster for me) and Gastric Bypass (Success!). You will also find a growing community here on LBT that have had their bands removed and revised to a "sleeve" with great success. So, there are many options....but only one is the RIGHT one for you. Take your time, talk to as many Drs and patients as you can, do a LOT of research. Make the right choice the FIRST time so that you don't have to go through multiple surgeries like I (and other here) have. Good Luck! HH

I had the band 5 1/2 years ago, lost 85 lbs, my band slipped and I had it redone 18 mths out 2nd band was not a succes. I really didnt loose too much more. I had fills then unfills, then fills. I stopped loosing weight and really had to rely on ME now, which I did. I walked 2 miles at least 3 times a week, ate semi- right. I pushed the envelope sometimes but not most of the time. I went back for a fill because no weight loss, even a few gained. So I thought maybe I need a fill, Guess what the band had slipped again. I am not telling you this do sway you from the band...The band is GREAT - remember I lost 85 lbs, However I think it just was not enough for me. 5 1/2 years ago..it was the ONLY choice for me, RYN was a dirty word.....I would have never considered something that invasive. Now since my band has slipped that is exactly what My Dr will be doing - a revision to either the RYN or the Sleeve. Would I have the band again, you betcha!! For me at the time it was the best choice. Do your homework, research and read about all of the WLS options. Read how each one is performed, what the risks are, what the % of weight loss is, then YOU decide, it is your body and you know it best. Best of luck to you!