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Revisions are also done to correct issues, like recurrent ulcers and hernia's, (from rny) and not always to go from one surgery to another. A reversal is a takedown.

I'm not sure what I would do, but I was definitely disappointed with the band. I had great success and lost 120 pounds in 1 year, but then everything came crashing down and I started having lots of problems including several ulcers. So, ultimately I had to have it emptied...and gained all of the way back. I am, however, happy to say that on Friday I will be having the band to sleeve revision surgery.

Reversals are actually done a lot more often than you would think. I may be doing this by the end of the year. There are Facebook groups for gastric bypass takedowns and support. Lots of people have had mechanical issues and needed reversals. They are definitely high risk, however if they can take you apart, they can put you back together, although I wouldn't go to just anyone that's for sure!. I'm personally experiencing malnutrition, and severe weight loss (and no, none of this is my doing. I did all that I was supposed to over the last 16 years). Had a revision in September, and still having complications. Seeing my doctor again next week to discuss next step, which is most likely the takedown. They also do them on those who continue to get ulcers, or severe dumping (which I also get from everything I eat). In regard to weight gain from the reversal, it's one's choice to eat badly and put the weight back on, just like you can start making bad choices with rny and never expect to stretch your stomach. It happens in most cases. I learned a lot about eating well, healthy/organic, locally grown as often as possible. (wish I knew then what I know now, I regret my surgery a lot) I would actually give anything to eat a salad or a piece of fish right now, instead I am getting tpn through a picc line. So even though you follow the plan, like I did it doesn't mean you wont have issues.

Hi, Not sure anyone is reading this, but I'm trying to gather as much info as I can before seeing my surgeon next week. I had my original bypass in 1999. Followed the rules, successfully lost weight. I didn't have any health issues before my rny, however a few years after my bypass I started having complications, and more complications. It started with ulcers, vomiting, Iron and blood transfusions, syncope, Vitamin def.. gerd. This went on for years. Tried to get in to see my original surgeon several times, but it was impossible. Lots of GI doctors, scopes, etc. later, they could never find anything wrong (aside from ulcers) that were treated with medication (which I wasn't absorbing). Fast forward to present, I moved to another state a year and a half ago, things became pretty bad. I was vomiting from everything. I too, had already suffered broken teeth, fracture lines and a few pulled due to poor health and the vomiting. Everything was going right through me. I found a bariatric doctor here, and he found that I had a huge hernia pushing my stomach out (my stomach was stretched pretty far from it), and in my chest, which was causing the food to just sit there. I had a revision to repair the hernia, and pull my stomach back down where it needed to be. My doctor said I would probably lose a few lbs. after (I was 108 lbs. the day of my revision in Sept. of this year), but then start to put some weight back on and feel better. I spent 5 days in the hospital. Once I came home, it was like starting all over with sips of Water, liquids, Protein drinks, soft/puree...all the steps. Everything stayed down, but I still had a blah/gut bug feeling and just figured it's part of the process, etc. it'll go away. As the time went by, my body wasn't absorbing anything at all, and lost all muscle. I went down to 94 lbs. I started getting dumping from everything I tried to eat, even Protein Drinks. My doctor admitted me at that point (about 6 weeks ago), and put a picc line in for nutrition. I was also very dehydrated. I spent another 5 days in the hospital. I came home with the picc line, and have had tpn 18 hours a day, visiting nurse once/week. I have been seeing my doctor every week for weigh-ins, lab checks, etc. The original plan all along was that if this didn't work out, I would be reversed. When I saw him last week, he felt a bit different. he felt as though that maybe in time (6-12 months time) "maybe" the dumping would go away, maybe I'll eat more and absorb and feel better. In the meantime, I would continue with tpn. I can't imagine going like this any longer, feeling this way. He told me that my chances of developing gastroparesis would be 50%, but there's that chance that my old stomach will function after all these years, and I'll feel better. I'm not as concerned about gaining weight, than I am about being healthy. What if in that 6-12 months I don't feel better? What are the chances if it's already been two and a half months since my revision, and I get dumping with everything I eat? I can't imagine this would all of a sudden stop, and be "fine". I'm really just trying to reach out, and hopefully come to terms with a final decision before I see him next week (time does matter in my case right now, so if I reverse it will happen before the end of this year). The plan is to have a plan next time I see him. How do I decide when both sides of things just don't look so great? I have 2 young children at home, and it's already been a lot to process. I need and want to just move on with my life...so much to do. So much to do:(

Mine was a bit different because I'm having a revision. My band flipped over so I it only took less than a month and the longest time was me waiting on the Dr appt for the X-rays and my records from my previous Dr to confirm what I told him. I was told by 2 other Dr's that it had to come out so my original date was 10/26 but I rescheduled. So in a nut shell no u didn't have to do anything was approved immediately

Let me tell you the downside to shame... it can block your willingness to seek help. I had alot of shame about my failure as a lapband patient (2001 - 2011) and it didn't help that I was so ashamed that I didn't seek and find the help I needed. When i revised to the sleeve I was educated on the disease process of obesity and how to "fix it". I am maintaining fine now, but if I start regaining. ..no shame...I will seek help.

@@James Marusek My ticker is correct. This isn't my first WLS rodeo, revision from sleeve. Ticker was started back when I was venturing for the last WLS. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement! I actually had a bloodwork up completed this morning, as I am seeing the surgeons office on Friday. We shall see.

I just wanted to say hi and welcome. I hope you have a safe surgery and speedy recovery. I did not have a revision so I cannot help you with those specific questions but there are plenty of people on this site who can.

Hi everyone! I had band to sleeve revision surgery on the 11/9/2015. My BMI was low 33.4, I have lost 17kg since surgery, just over 2 months ago! Best decision ever! I want to lose 20kg still, Nut and Surgeon say about 13kg but we will see what happen!

A few random thoughts on the DS vs. VSG, but first my relevant background - my wife and I have been in this game for about twelve years now, from when we first went to one of the support group/seminars and started the common insurance mandated six month diet/exercise roadblock to approval deal. It took us close to two years to get her on the table after the serial insurance denials (DS was still "investigational/experimental" then) and getting our ducks in a row to self pay the job. Her history since has been boringly normal, losing 200+ (350 into the 140s) and regaining about 20 from her (too) low - not uncommon to overshoot the mark some with any of these procedures. In the meantime, I lost about 50 over that first 6-8 months or so from basic diet clean-up (wanted it to be sustainable, no fad diets, just what I could change a do for the long term - cut out/down the junk food, more fruits/veg started tracking and monitoring calories/nutrition, etc.); kept tweaking and trying different things and lost a bit more here and there, but overall simply maintained that original 50lb loss and fundamentally worked into a WLS maintenance life along with my wife (but without the WLS on my side.) Maintained that state for 5-6 years, not comfortable with the DS if I could maintain what I had lost, so was in a holding pattern until finding that the VSG was then being covered by insurance, so went ahead with it. Four and a half years out on it and so far, so good. To the random thoughts: supplements, Vitamins, etc. - you should be taking some with any procedure, or even no WLS at all given the state of our food chain, so at least a Multivitamin and probably more as we age. Calcium is likely with the sleeve just from our overall lower intake of food - I take one dose a day to keep my total intake including food in the 1500-2000 range, so that is no great inconvenience (I take it with my normal evening pills.) The DS will typically require more due to the malabsorption: Iron will probably need to be supplemented with the DS and the other "typical" DS supplement is an ADEKs tablet (for the fat soluble vitamins A,E,D &K in a "dry" or Water soluble form as the normal fat soluble forms are not well absorbed due to the fat malabsorption of the DS) or some subset of that group depending upon your labs. Supplementation with the DS is moderately more complex (or PITA) than with the sleeve, but periodic (annual typically) lab testing is critical as things can skew out control much more easily if not watched. Most of the DSers that I know are healthier than the general population, in good part because they become amateur nutritionists and are much more aware of their body's needs than average people (and often better than their family doctors - some keep spreadsheets of their lab results to watch trends more closely than their PCP.) One of the common problems with the sleeve is the prospect of reflux or GERD - it's a function of a small stomach with potential acid production that is not proportionately reduced along with the stomach size coupled with the pyloric valve closing things off at the bottom. PPI medications like Prilosec or Nexium usually keep things in check, but are not desirable long term as they can impair absorption of minerals like calcium and iron (so there is potential malabsorption there without the intestinal work.) The DS is less prone to this problem as they typically use a larger sleeve with the DS (though some surgeons these days like to use smaller, VSG sized sleeves with their DS's). This is a point to ponder when considering the "VSG and revise to the DS if I need to" approach. This is a subject to discuss with your surgeon. When we were first getting into the DS world 10-12 years ago, our doc's figures for needed revisions was around 5%, roughly split between adjustments needed for inadequate weight loss and those needed for excessive weight loss that couldn't be resolved with diet and enzyme supplements; since then, the DS world has gotten much better a tailoring the DS for individual needs rather than the one-size-fits-all that it used to be, so the uncontrolled losers are much less common now. I understand your surgeon's concerns about metabolic issues stemming from your previous loss/regain history - yoyo dieting can really screw up our metabolism (though if it was only one cycle as you indicate, it may not be as big a deal as those who have been serial yoyo dieters.) Have you, or are you now, tracking your intake with My Fitness Pal or some similar app or program? Tracking, beyond being a good tool for controlling our weight and understanding our dietary needs, is one of the best means of getting a handle on your metabolic rate (given that the calculators are useless, most particularly for us fatties/former fatties, and even the active VOx tests are suspect for us.) If you have decent idea of where your metabolism is, that is a good guide toward deciding on a procedure. For instance, if you are keeping yourself under 2000 calories (as a guy) and still gaining, then a DS is a good bet as it will allow your long term diet to be more "normal" and easier to maintain. With a sleeve, you would likely be maintaining in the 1200 or so calorie range which is hard for most guys to stick with long term. OTH, if you are stable in the mid to upper 2000's, then a sleeve can be a good fit. Before surgery, I was maintaining my weight in the 26-2800 calorie range, and now do so in the 2000-2200 range (it just takes less energy to move <200lb around than it does 300+.) The prospect of doing a DS as a back-up if the VSG is a tricky one. Beyond what I mentioned above about the prospect of using a larger sleeve with a "virgin" DS, there are some other considerations or risks that I discussed with the doc. It is generally considered that a virgin DS works better than a 2 step or revision DS. Like your doc, his experience has been that the second stage should come fairly soon after the first, but certainly before any significant regain occurs - it works much better to allow the "switch" part do mostly the maintenance job rather than depending upon it to get significant weight off. So, if one is starting to lose control and regain, when does one pull the trigger - 10lb up? 20? 30?... Adding to the conundrum is that insurance typically doesn't cover the revision unless one has regained back up to the normal 35-40 BMI level, which reduces the effectiveness of the revision. In my case, with the weight stability that I had been experiencing, I thought it was worth the risk. YMMV I'm sure there are more points I can think of, but this is enough bytes for now (and it's time to get the steaks on the fire,) but good luck with the decision and hopefully I have not obfuscated things too much.

I'm in the process of having my last clearance for revision surgery. Still undecided with revision surgery is the best to have. I hear the Duodenal Switch is the best. im looking forward to hear from everyone who has had revision surgery good and bad..

I had Gastic bypass surgery in 2002 my start weight was 303 and within a year I lost 134 pound putting at 169. In the last three years I have gained most of my weight back CW269 I have been talking with my doctor about revision surgery. I'm just not sure which revision surgery will be the best one to have. If anyone has had revision surgery I look forward to hearing from you Thanks (I also had a healthy baby boy 16mnths ago)

Your metabolism will change. As a revision patient I need fewer calories. In short your body becomes more efficient over time. The first few years losing and maintaining will be easier than it will be for you 5-10 years out or longer.

I am just the day before. I had my band out 2 years ago but my dr is still calling in a band to sleeve revision. Good luck! Good luck to you as well!!!

I am just the day before. I had my band out 2 years ago but my dr is still calling in a band to sleeve revision. Good luck!

That is very kind of you. I appreciate it. Just 4 more days for me!!! Good luck on your revision in 3 months!!

Sounds like you are doing alright that's good. I'm sure adjusting is hard... I'm starting the process to see if I can get the band out and revision to sleeve. My first appointment is today. I've only ever lost at most about 55 pounds with the band. Currently I'm down about 40 pounds from my original pre-band weight. I've had so many issues over the last several months and the last 2.5 weeks was the about all I could take. I was in a lot of pain because my band became irritated and I guess swollen and so I was too tight. Just BOOM for no apparent reason one morning I woke up and couldn't keep anything down. I had to go in TWICE in 2 days to have Fluid out of the band. Everything hurt including liquids, but at least I was able to get it down. It took close to a week and now I'm back to being able to eat again and I've felt hunger for the first time in the last 2 weeks. So normally the cycle would just start again. Fill, unfill, fill, unfill, fill....I'm over the game. Even though this whole revision surgery is scary to me. I'm just going to see what happens if I don't get a fill. If I don't start gaining weight because I don't have enough restriction. It will take about 3 months to go through the program - which insurance requires me to do. So it will be into the new year before I'm finished. Then they will have to re-check to see if anything with my insurance changed from this year. As it stands I have to do the program, show supervised or unsupervised WL efforts and then they will decide if they will cover the revision. My BMI is still plenty high. So I hope they will cover it. If not...then I will just stick with the band and see what happens. I know if I have it out and no revision it will be a disaster.

Today is the day band revision to sleeve nervous and excited lost 10lbs on the preop diet

First, I have never heard that there was more risk with RNY. In fact, I have heard on this very forum a number of times from people who had the band or sleeve and ended up getting a revision to RNY, because of the problems that came up with their other procedure. Gastric Bypass is the "Gold Standard". It has been around since the 1960s, and the medical community knows the most about the long term effects of it. Note that in the gastric sleeve, they actually remove a huge portion of your stomach, right out of your body! In RNY surgery, everything stays there (it's just re-routed). Now, it is definitely true that there are some increased restrictions with RNY. You can develop "dumping syndrome", where if you eat sweets or high-fat foods you may feel light-headed, dizzy, fainting, sweating, nausea, diarrhea, cramps, or multiple of these symptoms at once. Not a happy thing to go through. But guess what? You shouldn't be eating those things anyway, so it is a good training tool to keep you away from that stuff. Also, your pouch will be much smaller than the stomach left by the sleeve. You will be eating less. And if you don't chew your food completely, it doesn't get through the opening in your stomach and you end up throwing up. So, just remember to always chew your food. Vitamins? You have to take those with the sleeve as well. All in all, RNY is nothing to be afraid of. I've been living with it for 9 weeks now, and I've really embraced it.

I finally have a date...jumped through all the hoops...pulmonary doctor is holding me up because I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea and he wants me to have a cpap machine.In the meantime my port just flipped surgeon has scheduled me for December 28.2 week fast required pre op...anybody out there like me?

I had vbg done in 2005 and have suffered with sickness and bloating ever since. Been told I need a revision to a bypass ,which was funded four times but not carried out. They treat me for malnutrition and send me home. I want a life but not like this. I have been fitted with a PEG feed but have found that the same symptoms persist. They will not proceed without a Barium meal ( I have had 10). However I bring it up and it does not register. My skin is breaking down and my upper thigh is covered in sores. I just want someone to make me better Ro

Congratulations on your surgery dates! Please keep me posted with your progress and how you are doing after surgery. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers as your dates approach! And I cookarue- I am with you on the data. As pleasant as the sleeve sounds/sounded, a part of me feared what it would look like in 20 years. I never could find any success stories, or stories in general after 3 or 4 years post op. I know that weight regain is possible with any WLS, it my surgeon is very confident in the bypass and what it can offer me over the other surgeries. So I am very excited about that. And like you- I want a one-time deal. The thought of having one surgery, it not be a success and causing me to have a revision to the bypass is too much. My dear friend who had the sleeve earlier this year is mostly satisfied with it, but she wishes she would have just gone with the bypass. I don't want to have that regret. RC- I currently do not have a surgery date. I meet my surgeon again in December, which is when I'll have a better idea of when they will be submitting paperwork to UHC. Monday is my final weigh in for the 6 month supervised weight loss and after that I have to complete the second portion to my psych eval- so I shouldn't be far. Did your surgeon say anything about what they expect life to look like after surgery with your PCOS? I am so badly praying that I will see an improvement with some of my side effects from PCOS. It has gotten so far out of control that I can barely tolerate it anymore. ????

Yeah I'm having the revision also, but having a large portion of your stomach cut out is a lot different than just having a band put in. I think that is what makes me nervous. Doing pretty good on the Pre-op diet. You?

Yeahhhh since I'm getting a revision i kind of have an idea how things are going to go. With the band i didn't get nervous till i was in my gown with iv in place. Right before walking into the er. Not really nervous now just anxious. How's the preop going?

I can definitely relate. I actually basically lost my best friend because we had the sleeve at the same time & she's gained her weight all back (plus some) and I've worked hard & maintained below my goal weight for over a year. She basically won't talk to me anymore, which is super sad & is getting s revision to a bypass because her sleeve is "broken" according to her. It's incredibly frustrating to me. I didn't just "get lucky" ; I worked incredibly hard. And I feel sad for her because unless she changes her habits, the bypass will "be broken" too.