Search the Community

I know everyone has to consider the financial aspect of having bariatric surgery but please take the time to really research and talk directly to other patients that have had surgery with the Surgeon you are considering. My surgeon will be Dr. Aceves and he is more expensive but has the experience that I felt comfortable with for a revision. I have seem many warnings in regards to Dr. Almanza and although that not a substitute for actual experience with a surgeon... I would prefer not taking chances with my life... but that is just me. There are many surgeons that are reasonable and very few complaints... I'd go that direction! I also talked with Ron when I was researching and he was quick to respond with information I requested. Good luck with your journey and the surgeon you ultimately choose!

Just like it says. My stomach is very sensitive and I have a hard time gauging what I can do. Even when it has been well enough time for me to be able to eat again or take a sip of something, it isn't. I have been sick all evening and I guess this happens 2-3 times a week. It is a very painful process for me. I go in for my third endoscopy this Thursday. I just had one almost three weeks ago, I guess it was and another four weeks before that. I have a stricture that keeps coming back. I am not sure how many times the surgeon is going to dilate it before he decides to go ahead and do a revision. I am feeling much better than I did in the first couple of months after my surgery but I am nowhere close to feeling normal by any means. I love the fact that I have lost weight and have more energy and can get around with more ease. My RA and OA have really improved, but feeling like I do right now is the pits.

Help! I am 5 months post RNY. I had band to RNY revision and was laced with complications (leaking, feeding tube, fistuals, PICC line etc). I have a remaining gastro-gastric fistula which is not closing with conservative (wait and see) approaches. I have lost about 116lbs in 5 months. Still 80lbs from goal weight. I see from a medscape article there are many approaches to deal with fistuals. My question to those with gastro-gastric fistuals: 1) Did you have the fistula repaired? If so, by what method? 2) Has anyone lived sucessfully with the fistula and maintained weight loss? My fear is after going through this the fistula will stretch and I will lose the restriction effect of the RNY. Please share your stories with me! Best, Janine

Talkalot1981, I just found this in Tri-care Provider News TRICARE covers the following bariatric surgical procedures: • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass • Vertical banded gastroplasty • Gastroplasty (stomach stapling) • Adjustable gastric banding (i.e., adjustable LAP-BAND®) TRICARE does not cover: • Nonsurgical treatment of obesity or morbid obesity (commercial diet programs, weight-loss supplements) • Redundant skin surgery when performed solely for the purpose of improving appearance • Biliopancreatic bypass, gastric bubble or balloon, gastric wrapping/open banding or sleeve gastrectomy for the treatment of morbid obesity • Devices used for bariatric surgery not approved by the U.S. food and Drug Administration Note: TRICARE only covers one bariatric surgery per lifetime. In certain medically necessary circumstances, TRICARE will also cover bariatric-revision surgery. For more information, visit www.tricare.mil/coveredservices. n

I'm scheduled for June 21st. I'm having a band revision. I just hope they can do both in the same day. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Hey everyone...I am tentatively scheduled w/Dr Aceves for May 30th. Finally got tired of fighting w/my insurance and decided to head south. Still have a few things that need to come together for this to become a reality...but I am close I am a band to sleeve revision...can't wait to get rid of this thing!!!

I don't mind. I developed a heart arrythmia (atrial fibrillation) around 18 months post op. The band surrounds the vagus nerve which controls, among other things, heart rhythm. I ended up in ER with my heart completely out of rhythm, beating at a rate that was close to having me have a stroke, and blood pressure also sky high. It took seven hours to bring everything around using medication, and now I'm on medication for life. I had my band's restriction loosened so as not to touch on the vagus nerve and just went back in last month to get a bit of fill as I'm gaining weight and hungry all the time. Immediately following the small fill, I went back into atrial fibrillation. That's pretty conclusive evidence that there is a correlation, at least with my particular anatomy. If you google gastric band, or lap band + atrial fibrillation, you will see a lot of people who have now experienced this. There are several on this forum right here. So yes, I regret what I did. Living with a-fib is no picnic, and the side effects of the three medicines I now have to take have greatly compromised my quality of life: extreme fatigue, memory loss, inability to do any sports that might raise my heartrate...wish I had chosen a different path. Would a sleeve revision correct the afib? Unfortunately, no. Once you have afib, you have afib. In fact, afib begets afib. In other words, once the electricity in your heart becomes chaotic (which is basically what afib is), it will constantly create new "bad" pathways in your heart. According to my cardiologist, it is unlikely that even removing the band will make the afib disappear, as the band has already done its damage. All I can do is keep it loose and off the vagus nerve, and continue with my meds (or, in the future, ablation or pacemaker if the afib worsens). I would not do another WLS in any case. I'm out of the game. For me, these are "Flowers for Algernon" situations. When I was doing my research, I was convinced WLS was the gold standard for permanent weight loss. Now my thoughts are different, especially concerning the lapband (since I had a bad experience with it) but also with other surgeries. There really is no tinkering with major body parts that is going to come out ok in the longterm, imho. We are seeing wonderful transformations in the short term, yes...but my sense is longterm we are going to see some health-complications from all WLS that have yet to reveal themselves. I would not even consider going under the knife again. I'm sorry it's been such a bad experience. One of the reasons I went with the sleeve is, while it's newly used in WLS, it actually has a huge amount of long term info as it's the same surgery used for stomach cancer and perforated ulcers and has been for probably over half a century at this point so long term effects are well and truly known. I agree that this is not a decision to make lightly. I hope you have a really good cardiologist. My dad has afib and my brother (an MD) did a bunch of research into meds to control it and found one that has stopped it completely - though this drug has serious complications potentially itself and should only be used for about a year as side effects become more prevalent at that point - should it come back it will require that they zap the heart tissues to stop it... PM me if you'd like me to share the names of the meds he researched so you can ask your cardiologist about them. I'm really glad you shared this. Most of the people on this site are very enthusiastic about their experience and I think it's important to have a balanced view. The numbers do support surgery as being the gold standard, but I also think it should be the last resort because if you can do it without then that is infinitely better health-wise. I've had a harder experience than many but nothing to yours and I am still glad I made this decision. I'm currently struggling with serious Iron absorption and anemia problems probably made worse if not caused by the omeprozole which can inhibit iron absorption but I've been a little anemic for years so it's not the sole issue and can't be laid at the feet of the surgery etc entirely. However all my iron stats have dropped 40-50% in less than 2 months and I will be seeing a hematologist to discuss IV iron transfusions next week. I do hope that this is going to be a non-issue once I can go without the omeprozole but in the meantime I am lucky to be able to work from home as I need to be lying down most of the time or my heart starts racing and I get dizzy. I'm also lucky as this is a manageable issue even if it does require long term IV iron transfusions instead of just a couple to get me back to the normal range until I can get off of the antacids. Further I'm intensely grateful that I went with a program that includes 2 years of follow up with nutrition, fitness and psych as this wouldn't have been caught for another 2 months without the nutritionist pushing me to follow up with my PCP as my numbers hadn't gone up even though I'd been on high levels of iron for over six months starting long before my surgery. It was at that visit that the drop was caught and while they would have found it at my next post surgery follow up that isn't for another 2.5 months and I could have landed in the hospital in serious trouble long before then if it continued to progress at the pace it has been going. Worth every flipping penny of the extra money staying here and going with that program instead of heading to Mexico imo.

@Creekimp13 I guess nothing has changed on this site. People judge food choices, goal weight, current weight, weight regain or revision. They judge how you work your own plan. I've been judged here because I enjoy sports (running, biking and hiking) If I never had surgery and enjoyed sports would I still get the same negative judgment? It's weird how judgmental some people can be.

I find that people either have problems right away with the band or a few years out. It's considered the safest weight loss surgery and is the least invasive in terms of procedures. All weight loss surgeries require learning to eat healthier and adopting an exercise plan so none are guaranteed. I guess the big decision for you to make is waiting for sleeve procedures to gain approval versus not waiting and having the band placed. When the band failed me, the U.S. surgeons wanted to place another band or see about getting me approved for the bypass. I don't absorb Iron and get intravenous iron treatments when my ferritin is low. Malabsorptive procedures are not in my best interest. Self pay in the U.S. for sleeve surgery was quoted at $25,000 for the surgery and a one night hospital stay. I used saving and borrowed money from my sister to have surgery in Mexico. A virgin sleeve is $9000.00 and a revision is $12,500 with Dr. Aceves. That included the transportation to and from the airport, the hotel stay, the transportation to the hospital, pre-op testing, the surgery, medications, and a three night stay in the hospital. It was a big expense for me and it was hard for me to spend that money on myself but I deserved a better quality of life. I don't regret my decision.

I have been thinking about this for quite a while and now it is bugging me enough to write it down here, and see if anyone else had a similar experience. I was sleeved/revised by Dr. Lopez in Tijuana on May 23, 2014. I felt very comfortable with my decision- I thoroughly researched all the doctors and have friends who have used Dr. Lopez in previous years. Also, to preface my account, I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali in '07 and that was an AWESOME experience!! Best hospital experience I have ever had and I have had a lot! So, back to it...Everything seemed to be going well until I woke up in my windowless little closet of a room after the surgery sicker than hell. Horrible reaction to the anesthesia which isn't new for me. The part that bothered me was that every time I tried to get anti-nausea drugs or ice chips from the staff, they treated me like I was putting them out. As a matter of fact, none of the staff was very friendly or helpful. I was never encouraged to walk or sip my Water. I found my breath exerciser thing buried under a towel on a chair still wrapped in plastic when I was discharged, with no instruction on using it. OK- here's the part that REALLY bothered me: When Dr. Lopez and another doctor came in to see me the day after surgery, Dr. Lopez started off by saying I had a great revision and they removed my lap-band and by-the-way I fixed your hiatal hernia. Well, that shocked me because I had my lap-band removed in 2009. Turns out that almost everyone I spoke with in those 5 days had a hiatal hernia repaired that they were not aware was a problem previous to surgery. Maybe hiatal hernias are very common. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue regarding 'removing' my lap-band. In any case, it's still gnawing at me and I am curious if anyone else felt uncomfortable in Mi Doctor hospital and/or with the staff of Dr. Lopez.

Trust the knowledge of your surgeon, GERD has been know to get worse with VSG but cured with RNY (not always a rule though) If it gets worse you may need a revision

I've been banded for 7 years and in the process of getting authorization for band to sleeve revision. It's up and down with the band. Too tight or too loose. Lose/gain/lose/gain and hit repeat! I've never had slippage but being too tight had many vomiting episodes and too loose I'm ravenous. My body at 5' 3 and with band I dropped at lowest to 164. But that was 30 miles per week of running/6 days per week of working out and throwing up or not being able to eat like I needed with band. Also the adjustment costs add up after a while

@@ericaacire I had the exact same experience as you. I had my heart set on the sleeve and was told and shown all the data on revisions because of redux/Gerd. I had a little more time than you so I ended up going to see another gastroenterologist for a second opinion. My fear had everything to do with the idea that bypass might be more invasive and the malabsorption concerns. Everyone tried scaring me out of moving forward. My bariatric specialist asked me the following questions: 1. Why do you have the opinion that bypass is more invasive that sleeve. I responded be caused of the rerouting. She reminded me that to remove 85 percent is very invasive. Bypass is the gold standard of WLS. People who go thru the sleeve and suffer from Gerd after usually end up revising to bypass. Bypass is in fact reversible. Once your stomach is gone, you cannot get it back. 2. What about the malabsorption scares you, after all it is designed to help you lose more weight. I responded with some of the horror stories about people who didn't get their proper Vitamins. She educated me about why malabsorption is a good thing and as long as I take my supplements: multi Vitamin, Calcium, Vitamin D and B12 and follow up with labs to check progress, I won't have any problems. By the way, with the band and the sleeve you have to take supplements and go have labs regularly as well. After that one session with her and lots of time on line, I was feeling so much better about having WLS overall. I got excited, I was not scared any longer and I knew my success was completely up to me. By the way, I have not had 1 episode of reflux nor have I had to take any meds for it since 30 days post op, no more type 2 diabetes, no more high cholesterol, no more high blood pressure, no more sleep apnea, and last but the most important, no more stage 3 kidney disease. Don't be afraid, do some research if you need to. See if you can get in sooner and talk to a bariatrician if you are worried. You have worked way too hard to get to this place and you have to already know that the diet yo yo thing will only cost you more time lost down the road. Haven't you been there already?

I had the sleeve 3 years ago. I have to have revision due to Gerd plus a couple other sleeve complications. I honestly wish I had opted for RNY initially. I must admit I am more anxious about having revision surgery than my initial procedure. I know many successful RNY'ers!

Wow, Little Miss Diva. This post of yours really spoke to me. I could have written most of it. Hunger has always been my biggest problem and when I was young and thin I used to eat a lot to feel satisfed but I didn't gain weight and I didn't think about food. Hungry? Eat until not hungry then don't think about food. But that all changed as I started to put on a few pounds. Went to my first WW meeting weighing 136 pounds at 5'6". And when I started dieting I put on over 120 lbs the next 30 years. I am currently banded and it has never worked for me. I have been banded for 2 1/2 years. I have a 4cc band. At no fill level from zero to 3cc did it ever stop me from being hungry. At 3cc's I had pain, pressure, reflux and heartburn and my former surgeon blamed me. But an upper GI showed I was too tight. I got all my information and went for a second opinion to my current doctor who told me I had a 4cc band (my former surgeon told me it was a 10cc). Like you, any weight I lost was through the 6 month pre-op and the 2 week liquid only diet both pre and post op. I was starving. All of this resulted in a loss of 60 lbs. and I only lost 15 pounds since then. So, 75 lbs and most of it was from starving and willpower. I exercise every day and eat healthy but I am always hungry. I am totally unfilled now due to a very bad stuck episode a year ago that resulted in a trip to the ER and overnight stay. It hurt so bad I couldn't speak and felt like I was shot. I am 60 years old and I think I am too old to get a revision but when I read the experience of those who went from band to sleeve it sounds like everything I thought the band would be but isn't. I thought it would control my hunger and I could just eat small quantities of healthy food and exercise and I would lose weight and not have to think about food all the time and struggle. I fear putting on weight and am so tired of being hungry. I don't know what to do since insurance doesn't pay for the sleeve and I can't afford it as of yet. I don't think they'd do it on someone my age, anyway. Would they? I am getting criticized and insulted on LBT because I don't like it when people post harsh comments to struggling posters. Or tell them that they failed the band not the other way around. Or tell the truth about my band experience. Did you get that? I'm not sure what to do at this point. Any suggestions?

Yes. Every year after my vsg surgery, I did two things: Full blood test and have a check up visit with my team including a barium swallow to check my sleeve. I was always paranoid I had stretched it. I will probably do the same now with my revision. Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

Several people have mentioned that at this point 800 cal/day is too low, your body is probably in starvation mode. Try to increase to 1000 cal/day, same type of food but slightly larger portions. This will help you feel fuller while hopefully kickstarting your metabolism again. Drink a LOT between meals to fill up your stomach too (but wait at least 30 minutes after eating before drinking anything). I personally hate drinking water so I drink lots and lots of crystal light lemonade. It has almost no calories and is still 99.99% water. Try supplementing your breakfast with a protein shake. That will help you reach your protein goals while also filling you up. I drink one Premier Protein every single morning after breakfast (Chocolate flavor!) It feels like I'm treating myself and I'm adding 30 grams of protein every day. That usually keeps me satisfied until lunch. You said you're logging now - are you also weighing your foods? If not, you are likely grossly underestimating your portion sizes. My wife made a chicken stir-fry for dinner tonight and I decided to have some - I weighed out 4.5 oz into a bowl and it looked like a VERY small portion - she was shocked when I told her how much it was, it was actually a little more than I've been eating lately (3-4 oz per meal). It was actually really filling though, but if I just eyeballed it I almost definitely would have eaten too much and not even realized it. The "surgery is a tool" can mean several things. For some (most?) it provides an automatic restriction so that you physically can't eat as much as you used to without getting sick. For those who had gastric bypass, it also provides an incentive for what you're eating to be healthy in order to avoid dumping syndrome. Bypass patients also get the benefit of malabsorption. For others, it's the knowledge that you underwent major permanent surgery as a last ditch effort to get healthy and that can help change your mindset about eating. I'm in the position to have gone through both major weight loss surgeries. I had the sleeve in December 2016 and lost about 120 pounds in about six months. I was a regular on the forums here, I tracked every single bite (my personal recommendation is My Fitness Pal - I also weighed myself every morning (which is not always recommended) and took a full body photo with the app once a week to see my progress), Then I had some personal/profession issues which screwed up my schedule and my mindset and slowly began to gain weight back. I stopped tracking, stopped eating healthy, and all of a sudden a few years later I realized I had regained almost all of the pre-surgery weight. I was depressed, upset, embarrassed, ashamed, but I decided to do something about it and I went back to my doctor (I had stopped going to appointments too) and he said I was a good candidate for revision surgery to gastric bypass. It's been just over 4 weeks since that surgery and I'm down 36 pounds so far - not losing as quickly as the first surgery, but still losing. I still track religiously, and follow the meal plan exactly the way it was given to me (first month, soft high-protein foods with no fruits and veggies, no sugar, no bread, pasta, etc.), just starting my second month by adding some veggies to every meal. I had a couple of brief stalls but I kept with the program and they went away. I've been slowly increasing my daily calories and that has helped as well (still below 1000 most days but I've gone as high as 1200). In order to feel like I'm not depriving myself of sweets, I have one or sometimes two containers of sugar-free chocolate and vanilla swirl Jello every day. Last time after a few months I added a small portion of Halo Top ice cream as a daily dessert - very low calories, low or no carbs, and delicious. It's important not to feel that you're depriving yourself. Another thing to look at is your sleep - are you getting enough sleep? When I get a good night's sleep I lose about a pound over night. The times when I don't get enough sleep are the days I notice a stall or even a slight increase in weight. Given your starting weight is there a chance you have sleep apnea? I was diagnosed with sleep apnea several years ago and started using a CPAP, my sleeping improved dramatically. Ultimately, the surgery is not a magic bullet, although when things are going well it can seem like magic, but that happens when you put in the work. It's not bullshit, or useless, it has helped many many people who have tried everything else (myself included). You said you lost 30 lbs so far, that's great! That's 30 lbs you probably wouldn't have lost without the surgery. Now you have to figure out how to kickstart the rest of your journey. To summarize, here's what I would do if I were in your place: 1 - Increase your calories - same healthy foods for larger portions 2 - Increase your protein - add a protein shake after breakfast if necessary (wait 30 minutes after eating first) 3 - Increase your liquid intake - drink water if you enjoy it, or mix up some crystal light lemonade or something similar, drink ALL THE TIME 4 - Get a good night's sleep 5 - Keep tracking everything - make sure you WEIGH everything you eat, never eyeball. You can get a basic food scale for 10 bucks 6 - Don't give up! I know it's frustrating but based on your posts you're in a tough headspace right now. If you keep going on about how the surgery is bullshit, useless, etc. it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Good luck!

Wait... Why all the revisions??!?!?

no. The RNY is the stronger of the two surgeries, so I'm not sure why anyone would do that. there are people who revise from RNY to DS, though - and the DS features a sleeved stomach. So in that sense, yet. But just to a standalone sleeve, no. I've never heard that.

I am wondering how common it is to have a revision from bypass to sleeve? I see a lot of the opposite.. I had my bypass done 7 years ago and lost 125lbs, got down to 145lbs, then got pregnant within the 1st year. I am now up to 215lbs and the dr said my stomach is still the right size but the opening into the stomach is very large now. They have suggested and scheduled this revision from bypass to sleeve for Oct 14th. Hoping to find others who have had this type of revision.

What type of surgery did you have? I got sleeved 14 years ago, and was revised to a bypass 56 days ago. You're best bet immediately after surgery is chewable vitamins. They have everything chewable now (no gummies for me, because they don't get as well absorbed with a bypass). I take Bariatric Fusion multivitamin 3 times a day because the bypass is a malabsorptive surgery. I take a calcium chew once a day, and an Iron once a day. The Iron I take isn't chewable, but I'm 3 months out now so, I'm feel ok when I take it. It really all depends on your surgery and how far out you are from it.

There are many revision people here. I actually did great with my band while it was working, but once it slipped and I was never able to keep a fill in it I gradually gained back every pound... I knew that I needed some help to lose and keep off the weight. I find the Sleeve to be everything I wanted, and I think you will be very happy with your decision. Search the forums and you can probably find numerous threads on recovery and results after revision! Good luck!

Are these types of complications normal for the sleeve? I'm thinking of revision from the lap band, but after reading this thread, I'm having second thoughts.

Congrats!!! I myself am just going through all of the preop testing and just praying my ins. goes through with no problems and hoping to get through the process quick and easily! I will be a band revision due to band complications so I am very nervous...I am very happy for you and hope you have a very speedy recovery and things go very smoothly for you and you have as little pain as possible I have a cpl of friends that have had this done and they are all doing pretty awesome! Good luck on your journey and your new life!!! Feel better

I look at this thread and I reminded of all the people who post I lost __Fill in the blank___lbs Gone Forever! It used to make me so sad because I was one of the first people to join this board, revising from a band and I knew I had made the right decision. I lost weight right away because I got revised quickly when I started to have band problems. All of a sudden, between year 2 and 3, I could not lose the little gain I had over the weekend. I was good all week long, ate all Protein drank my Water and the scale did not budge. Pretty soon it was time for the next weekend, and I gained 2 more lbs. Then the holidays came around and I was completely depressed. I lost all my regain with the 5:2 plan rather easily. I didn't have a bf or husband, so I could plan all my meals the way I wanted. All that changed when I got another bf. Popcorn at the movies, him bringing home ice cream and donuts constantly etc and I am right back to where I was. I had back surgery in early Nov. and I have had complications from that, so I can't even exercise. I am determined though. It's either take off some weight or go and buy new clothes. I refuse to give all my really cute and stylish expensive clothes to a thrift shop. I just have to gather all my willpower and stop snacking in the evenings. I hate to say I'm glad other people are now gaining weight back, but i have to say it was so depressing to keep reading how everyone was getting full from 4 bites of food, and they have lost all desire for sweets. We can do this, and we don't have to do it alone!