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I got pregnant 3 months after revision from band to sleeve....we had been trying for several years and my doctor told me that I probably wouldn't be able to get pregnant until I lost about 100lbs. We had stopped trying I was focusing on weight loss......Anyway long story short I am having issues with low blood sugar. I have a few questions and concerns. 1. What have you all done to prevent this? I am eating about every 3 hours. Maybe I need to go to every 2? 2. I am supposed to do that sugar test next week but I honestly don't think I can go from midnight until 8am with nothing to eat....... 3. What about during labor....do they give you fluids with sugar in it? UGH so worried. Other than they low blood sugar I am feeling fine.....just nervous about all of the above. Thank you in advance.

I would wait until you meet with your surgeon. They likely will suggest bypass over sleeve mostly because the sleeve can make reflux much worse and in some cases require a revision to bypass anyway. I had planned for the sleeve but ended up going with bypass for that very reason. I am thrilled that I did. This surgery cured my reflux completely among other things. In terms of using aspirin, I am not sure. I do know that we are never allowed NSAIDs again. These surgeons really do a great job of finding alternatives to medications so if you are taking aspirin for a reason, they may be able to tell you what can be taken in its place. The bigger question with be if you are taking it for a heart condition they will want a clearance from a cardiologist before moving forward. I have read about many patients getting through this with heart conditions, this surgery helps your heart in the long run but it depends on the condition.

Thanks for the responses. I only wish there was someone who had gone from plication to sleeve. The other thing is that I don't know which approach is actually better and can be done safely and effectively. My plication was done in Mexico(self pay) however, my insurance has approved my sleeve. Because plication is not a practiced procedure in the US, I'm not sure Dr's here really know and/or have experience with plication revision? I'm also not sure how insurance would respond if I had complications as a result of the previous plication procedure? Would they pay?? Don't know? Any suggestions moving forward would be greatly appreciated.

I think the larger issue is trigger foods. I was banded for 14 years prior to revising to VSG and there were foods that were a "slippery slope" for me. They would awaken the monster and I could not have just a little bit. Those are the things I am watching out for. Sweets do that to me so I avoid them but don't think it is cheating to have them. I am not having sweets outside of an occasional sugar free pudding because of that.

Hi Pam I am going for a revision from a failed lapband to bypass.At 51 I know that the weight will be hard to come off..,but I gotta get it done...My doctor is Dr. Ness.I haven't told anyone except my parents...zi am so fat right now I feel invisible...I attended the hospital seminar and ....you are gonna laugh..I was the supermodel in the room!Everone was 2 to 3 times my size....I have to make this work.Being this overweight is just plain miserable...what procedure did you have done? I live near Princeton Who was your surgeon?

I am so glad everyone checked in. It's really good to hear from everyone. Kim I think you are so brave to ride a motorcycle all by yourself. I would never attempt that in a million years. Kelly, be good to yourself. You're going through a lot. Just recuperate. My left arm has really been hurting. I am going to have a stress test next week. I sure hope it is not heart related. Sheryl, Where did you meet Steve? I hadn't heard you started dating someone again. I am completely disgusted with the dating prospects here. I'm afraid I'll be alone forever. Now we need Florinda to let us know she is okay. I am having terrible acid problems too. So many people are revising to RNY because of acid and I don't ever want to do that. I have to get this under control. I've heard drinking apple cider vinegar helps but I can't bring myself to drink it.

I know nothing about plication but I did band removal 3 months prior to sleeve. After 10 years of lapband hell, I had alot of scar tissue. My removal surgery was longer than the sleeve because they did the scar tissue removal then. The idea was that a period of healing increased the chance they could do a proper sleeve. Sometimes they can't do a normal size/shape sleeve due to scar tissue but in my case they could and I believe it helped me succeed. I am half my former size....and maintaining. My revision was 2011.

I had my band out in June 2014 and just had the sleeve done Nov. 12. I am losing but pretty slowly. That is fine but just wondered if those of you that are revisions, and female, about how many calories do you consume to continue losing and did you find that you have to add exercise too to keep losing. I plan to add exercise in when they release me to do so but feel like my metabolism is very slow from having the band prior. Any thoughts are welcome.

Hello all, I would like to reintroduce myself, I have been a member of this group since my lap-band to sleeve revision August of 2013. I am by far the worst sleever ever. CAN'T STOP EATING !!!! It hurts mentally and physically. I was 224 Lbs, when sleeved I lost 60 Lbs and I felt so good about it, but no that's a lie I smiled politely at people when they complimented me but I didn't see it This past year has been a big change for me, my family moved from Long Island N.Y to Palm Coast F.L , no support group, no more Dr. I had to have my ligaments and tendons replaced in my elbow and my surgeon advised me that I can no longer remain in my profession, Emergency Medical Technician Critical Care, due to nerve damage I tend to drop things ....never a good thing when you drop a patient LOL. Any other EMS or Nurses out there can appreciate what I mean. I no longer work. I am a mother of 3, oldest daughter 19, middle daughter 15 who has picked up my bad eating habits, and a 12 year old son (Boy Scout), so I am moderately active. When my body lets me. I have regained half my weight back, 30 Lbs. It mentally and physically hurts, my general Dr and myself have diagnosed me with BED Binge Eating Disorder. Can't stop eating. I can eat 2 1/2 slices of pizza, a whole Maruchan instant lunch(cup of noodle soup), popcorn, chips. I'm sure some of you have picked up on the problem, yes how much is a problem but also WHAT. I also do not drink enough Water,what's Protein, Vitamins? worst sleever ever. Because of the weight I have put back on, my body is very angry and lets me know it is not happy, planters fasciitis, bursitis in hips, and I found myself becoming winded. Can I recover from this? I really hope so, my general Dr has prescribed me vyvanse FDA approved for BED.Oh, I also forgot to mention I was on medication that warnings read increased hunger and weight gain. no good stay away no longer taking those. Im not sure how many people can relate to my problem.or even if you would admit that your having such a problem,because it really sucks. Today is a new day I will not binge. I am also going for a swallow test and found a Bariatric Dr in St Augustine.

Hello my Dec pals. I just got home from the revision. It wasn't bad but the gas was/is unreal. It's like carrying knives inside me juggling around. They took out drain, almost fainted, horrible feeling unraveling out of my belly. I continue to pray 4 the rest of you and upcoming and those of us who's done. Glad it's over:)

Just bought a copy on iBooks! Surgery is scheduled for 12/28/15, so I have a lot of reading to do! I also was banded and am revising to the sleeve.

Hi all, I'll add my band to sleeve experience with all the others. I had my lap band for seven years, I lost 150lbs. Went from 291lbs to 140lbs. No problems or issues, I was very lucky. January of this year, I noticed that my weight started climbing. I went in for a fill and after a few days, I noticed that I didn't have any restrictions. Went back for another fill a few weeks later. The NP pulled out my fluids to check my levels and noticed that my CC's weren't matching with what was in the computers. Long story short, after several months and a fluoroscopy, it was discovered that my band was leaking in an area that couldn't be fixed. Talked with the surgeon and I decided to revise to the sleeve. I was was revised on October 29th. I had gained 60lbs with my band leaking. Since being sleeved almost 6 weeks ago, I have lost almost 35lbs. My surgeon told me that revision patients generally tend to lose weight slower than virgin WLS patients, then he said since I had lost so much weight and don't have much to lose to get back to goal, I'm going to lose even slower, BUT I will get there. Apparently, I was one of the few people in the WLS department at my hospital that lost that much weight with the band, as he put it "you rocked that band and you're going to rock the sleeve, it's just going to take a bit longer to get there". I'm fine with that, slow and steady is okay be me. I'm just happy to have been able to get sleeved, we are switching insurance companies in January and my company dropped bariatric surgery coverage, so having my band leak was a blessing in disguise. I got in just under the wire. I'll get back to goal, no doubt in my mind.

Hello, can some of you please provide feed back. I am having revision to sleeve 28 December 2015. I signed up to run a 8k on 19 March. I love to run and cycle. I ran a Christmas 8K today and felt good. I am 5'8, 210 lbs and want to get down to 175 lbs. Will I be able to run in 3 months post operation?

I have no idea how plication scar tissue distributes. I know I had so much from my band and port, over a 9 year span, that my records say that the doctor literally "excavated through scar tissue and adhesions" to locate my port, and he told me he "gouged a trough through the scar tissue" on my stomach wall in prep for my sleeve surgery. He removed what he needed to do the revision, and 9 months later I am still happy and healthy. If I could do any surgery once... it would be the sleeve. Is this is any help?

Had my plication 10/2010 and have regained my weight plus some:( I originally chose this surgery because it was less invasive & reversible. Now that I want to revise to Sleeve, I'm being told a couple of things: 1. The revision would require the undoing/removing of the sutures first, then doing the sleeve. That I might not be a candidate for a sleeve because of the previous plication (potential scarring & condition of stomach tissue from the sutures). But that he wouldn't know until he was in there? So I guess it really is not reversible? 2. The plication would remain in tact. The sleeve would be created/done from the inside of the suture line of the plication, then the plication & excess stomach would be removed. Two very different approaches. One removes the plication all together after creating the sleeve and the other removes the sutures before creating the sleeve. I do not know which procedure is best but it does seem like if the condition of my stomach tissue and the potential for scar tissue as a result of the previous plication is the concern, then the second option would address this concern by removing it all together? I currently weigh 250 lbs.

Hopefully some of the revision sleevers will chime in, however I think the key will be working with your nutritionist to make sure you switch to maintenance once you hit your goal weight. Thankfully their isn't as much of a malabsorption issue with the sleeve as there is with bypass so you could prevent getting too skinny with a proper diet.

Congratulations I had my revision from sleeve to gastric bypass on September 04, 2015. You will love the GB much better than the lapband.

Hello I had revision lap band surgery into the RNY on 12-01-15. Looking for someone in my area to talk with or become each others support system! I live in valley of California !!

Hi I am in Scotland, NHS revision band to bypass done 16th September 2015. I use Phd diet whey as its so low in Carbs. 39lb in 12 weeks will keep a look out for other uk people x

When I started my journey, I researched hospitals first. Newton Wellesley is the top wls hospital in New England and top 5 in the country, so I started there. At the orientation, they made a point to say that they no longer do lap bands for two reasons; they provide no metabolic help, and so many are being revised to sleeves. Not saying this is true, but considering the source, I'd give it some consideration. For me personally, I looked at all the options and selected the sleeve for the simple reason that it was simple and eventually, you completely heal and are left with a normal body and a "skinny girl" stomach. It is the one option that gives the least trouble with food textures, ibuprofen, and alcohol. Also, my life style doesn't lend itself to frequent doctors visits for adjustment. That said, I am impressed by the success stories I read on this forum from banders. I think it's safe to say any of the wls options will be better than just trying to lose weight on your own!

First, you should know I've never been banded. Have just been sleeved. But yes, some people who've been sleeved do lose too much weight. But that's a rarity, not commonplace. And actually, based ONLY on what I've read online the last two years, it seems to me like at least some people who revise from a lapband to a sleeve have a harder time losing all their excess weight than those who are "virgin-sleeved." If this is true, I'm not sure why (I've never seen any well designed studies about this phenomenon). Those who've been banded / sleeved should chime in on this. But when I've read previously banded folks complain about slow weight loss after being sleeved, I've wondered if it's because people who were banded and didn't lose all their excess weight or who regained after having their bands removed have had more experience learning how to "cheat the band" (e.g., eaten more than their stomachs would handle by stacking food up in their esophaguses, eating slider foods because that's all that would stay down if the band made them throw up a lot) and fall back on those behaviors after they have been sleeved.

I have lived with PCOS for years,hirutism,weight issues,heavy periods,insulin resistance, dysplasia...had to have a partial hysterectomy and metastatic breast cancer ....I am revising from a band to bypass...hoping to get a grip on this...

I am curious if someone gets a band to sleeve revision, if it's possible if the can end up losing too much weight? Or if they may have problems stopping their weight loss once they get to their goal?

I'm sorry you're going through this. Doctors definitely do mess up sometimes. I had gastric sleeve surgery in September 2014, but stopped losing weight three months post-op. I was always hungrier than everybody else in my support group who had the surgery around the same time as me and I always told the nutritionist that I could eat more, which she said was good and that it meant I was recovering faster. I moved to a different part of the country for school in August 2015 and started seeing a new facility for my continued care. The new doctor wanted to get familiar with my stomach and ordered an upper G.I. and an endoscopy. He saw that my stomach was the same size as someone who had never had the surgery and the endoscopy showed I had an hpilori infection. The new doctor put me on antibiotics immediately and began discussing my options with me. I have opted for a revision surgery to switch my gastric sleeve to a gastric bypass, which I'm having on Dec 15 (currently on pre-op liquids only). When I had to submit my paperwork to the insurance to pay for this new surgery, I had to get my surgical report from my previous surgery. In that report I noticed that my previous doctor knew I had that same infection (it tested positive from the stomach sample) and did nothing about it- and didn't even tell me I had it. My new doctor was shocked that I had this untreated infection in my stomach for almost a full year. He said that the inflammation from this infection is what could've caused the inflammation in my stomach to make it as big as it is now. He also said he couldn't believe the other surgeon wouldn't treat this because it puts me at a high risk for Post-op ulcers. I contacted my old doctor to see what he had to say and I got a standard reply from the hospital that shifted the blame away from them. They said it was not a standard procedure to notify people or treat them for this infection, even though every Bariatric Health professional I've talked to since then has said that's crazy. All in all, I am trying to Move on and focus on my new surgery. My new doctor explained that I won't have the same weight loss now as if I had had this surgery the first time, but I'm hopeful. Another disappointment from my previous surgeon is that he told me that I should get gastric sleeve, even though I wanted gastric bypass, because he said they don't do gastric bypass anymore unless the patient has diabetes, which I didn't have. So I went with the gastric sleeve because of his recommendation, but now my new surgeon has explained that that is simply not true and that gastric bypass is actually the more successful and clinically proven long term weight-loss solution, whether you have diabetes or not. So I feel your pain having to deal with dumb doctors and I hope you find someone to help you correct the problems. I also hope you find peace with it and know that any weight-loss failures are not your fault. I wish you the best with your health and would be happy to answer as many questions as I can about revisions if it comes down to that for you. Cheers. ~H

January7, 2016 lap and revision to sleeve