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Hello! I am so sorry you are dealing with that, it is tough. I was in the patient exam room when they called the insurance company and it took literally 10 minutes. All you need is a surgeon to document a complication. Imaging confirmation is also helpful. I already had 2 imaging tests confirming the problem and a letter from my previous surgeon and all of my monthly visits to my primary care doctor with my continuing symptoms, plus the recommendation from my new surgeon. I actually had way more than enough for the removal. I seen the surgeon on Friday and had the band and port removed 3 days later as an emergency case. I hear there is no vomiting with the sleeve, but there is more reflux due to the high pressure that it creates. I wanted the sleeve but after speaking with my surgeon, he recommended bypass due to my severe reflux. The sleeve would just make it worse for me. I am a nurse and I want to be healthy and reduce my risks for diabetes which runs in my family. I will do whatever I can to save my health and live as long as I can. If you follow the plan with either sleeve or bypass, you will do well. I would talk with your surgeon and get a second opinion if you need to so that you make your own decision for a revision if that is your choice. I would call your doctor and find out what is the hold up regarding the insurance approval from your insurance company. If it is documentation, your doctor can provide that easy. Explain to your doctor you are having this discomfort and would like for it to be removed asap. I would also call your insurance company to find out what's taking so long. I wish you the best and hope that you will get some relief very soon!!!

I'm pre-op, but here was my process. I considered the Band for years (And pounds ago). My BMI is higher now and my surgeon recommended the bypass for me because of it. But I did do my research. I didn't like the idea of a foreign object inside of me. Plus I know someone which the band was less than successful. Band was out. I don't have severe heartburn or acid reflux but I do get it occasionally. I am scared of causing a problem don't have and having to revise later (Which I have no idea if my insurance covers. Bringing me back to...) The Bypass. I didn't think restriction was enough at my BMI. Malabsorption scares me a little but I think the results will be worth it. Also I wanted the gold standard. If I'm gonna do something, I do it all the way, so to speak.

Good evening, I would like to know if anyone has any idea how much revision surgery will cost to get resleeve due to technical failure? The sleeve was left too large due to revision from lap band. I'd appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

@@Pinkgirl1234 sorry for your problems with the band is the revision to the sleeve in process? do you have approval??? date?? inquiry minds want to know kathy

Yes insurance companies should be glad to revise band to.......less money for them in the longrun.

Getting the band was a BIG MISTAKE.I have had the band since 2004.At that time it was band or bypass...that was it....I desperately want a revision to a sleeve.

Shouldn't you be able to get approval for revision because of band failure...slippage,hernia?

I am having my band removed next week after several complications over the past 10 years of having it. After having it revised 3 times, I started gaining weight back about 2 years ago and started noticing other issues with my band. I have had severe acid-reflux and pain from my band recently. I have a hernia in my stomach, stretched out esophagus and nerve damage in my pouch. After talking with my doctor, he recommended having the sleeve done after having the band removed. I am really excited to get it removed finally but I am really nervous about getting approved for the sleeve. I have been through the 6 month of msd, psych eval and all the other hoops that they recommend to increase my chances of getting approved. My doctor recommended having the band out first and then 2 weeks later submitting the paper work for the sleeve approval. He feels like this would increase my chances to do them separately. Has anyone else dealt with BCBS of Tennessee? I work for the state. I'm having terrible anxiety about it!

I am also a band-to-bypass revision patient and my first month was very slow. I stalled early on and the stall lasted a couple of weeks, but once I was able to eat actual food I started losing weight. I am now 4 months out and have lost about 55 pounds since surgery. Weight loss for me has definitely been slower than it was early on with the band, but I feel soooo much better with bypass than I did with the band and I am down 71 pounds from my highest weight (in December at band removal), so bypass is definitely working for me. Hang in there. The first month is not an indicator of how things will go for you moving forward. Your body is still adjusting to the major shock from this surgery and you are pretty much just trying to meet Protein requirements and getting your Fluid in at this point. Once you are on a good eating and exercise regimen you will lose. It's very disheartening to not see the scale move when you are expecting it to, but it WILL move, believe me. Congratulations on taking this step toward your future health. There are a lot of us who have converted and I am seeing many, many success stories with revision on this forum. I expect you are going to be another one!

Hassan thank god I am not alone ..I have decided to revise my protien and water as may not be getting enough of both ..Keeping a journal now I have my pre op visit wed .. Post op 2 week I mean

My friend had the band 6 years ago. She never quite got down to ideal weight. She was about 25 pounds away according to the charts at her lowest. She is now more like 30 pounds. She looks fine. I think she would have preferred more weight loss but she did lose 80 pounds and 80% of her excess weight. When I was considering bariatric surgery she really discouraged me from getting the band due to the issues she has. She still gets things "stuck". She still vomits periodically. She will make a batch of chicken on Sunday night for her lunch for the week. On Monday she is fine to eat it. Tues it just won't go down, Weds it is fine again. It isn't consistently the same things that will cause problems. It can be things she has eaten fine for weeks. On one of her follow-ups with her surgeon he said his practice no longer will install bands and they are removing so many due to complications, many of these get revised to sleeve. My surgeon recently retired from bariatric surgery and he was still performing bands but only if the patient really did not want the sleeve or bypass. The other surgeon at that facility no longer does bands. I think over time you will see fewer and fewer bands performed and I think there will be insurance companies that will approve sleeve or bypass but exclude band coverage. I think that the band appealed to some people because if you have complications it can be removed. The sleeve isn't exactly reversible. However, an aquaintence had so much scar tissue from her band she still has a stricture where the band used to be. I remember one of the selling points from when I had looked at bariatric surgery about 7 years ago was that for young women they could have some or all of the fill taken out while they were pregnant and breastfeeding when they had higher nutritional needs. They could then get the fill added back once they delivered.

I'm sorry if this question has been asked already, but I'm looking for any recommendations on surgeons in New York City who are known for Lapband to Gastric Sleeve revision, or specialize in Gastric Sleeve. Thank you!

I had band for 10 years. Severe problems. Choking in the middle of the night, throwing up every day all day, 24/7. had severe dialated esophagus. Finally did revision July 9. I did have a little gerd in the beginning but nothing nexium didnt cure. I seem to be fine now

@@ryebread that's wonderful news about your friend's weight loss, and best of luck to you with your revision. I might be in the same boat--haven't been able to keep anything solid down in over a week. I'd be suprised if my band hasn't slipped! I have an esphogram scheduled or next week and I'll know then. Regardless what the outcome, it's not working for me and needs to come out. Please keep us posted on your post-op. @@Pinkgirl1234 good luck with your tests. I hope your band didn't slip, but if it did then it's probably for the best. The band might work for a small number of people but clearly not for most

@@Katy Walton Hi there and welcome! You are getting some great feedback already as you begin researching more about weight loss surgery options. Before you rule out any options please please please do your research first. There is a reason a surgeon helps you determine the best surgery for your medical situation. The funny thing is, most surgeons are deterring folks from choosing the band these days because of the rate of revisions to bypass or sleeve that are required. The sleeve is no less radical than the bypass. The bypass is the gold standard in weight loss surgery but most people are terrified until they do their research. The sleeve removes 80% of your stomach, the bypass creates a pouch and reroutes. Both are radical but very effective if you follow the eating plan. The biggest reason why people end up going with the bypass vs. the sleeve is because they have a history of Reflux/Gerd. Both the band and the sleeve can make this medical issue worse or even bring it on. The bypass can cure it. If you don't suffer from this, then the sleeve seems like a very good option for you. I was dead set against bypass as well until I had 3 doctors explain to me that I would do very well with it because of my Gerd issue. I tell you all of this to hopefully get you to completely explore your options with your doctor and don't rule anything out until you both decide what is best for you. Take a class, they are very beneficial. Call your insurance company and find a bariatric center of excellence near you. They always have classes if your surgeon does not offer one. I can tell you I have never regretted having bypass done. I no longer have type 2 diabetes, Gerd, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea nor stage 3 kidney disease. The best thing you can do is educate yourself and make sure you are completely ready to begin a whole new life because that is what you will get. And let me tell you, life 118lbs less has gotten really great! I wish you the best of luck!

@@losing_the_band - I hate to say it, but does she really need to know? you still have the band and you are probably still eating pretty rationally. Does she know it is being removed? If she only knows that (its being removed), not revised, then why share the extra info? I ended up telling everyone at work because they thought I was sick. I was hoping to not have to tell everyone but the cats out of the bag now. I do not tell them "numbers" just that I am losing "at my pace" and I am happy about my decision and feel great, which is the truth! no regrets!!!!

I have a revision from band to rny. my doctor said it is much harder for us revising to have a good outcome in wt. loss. so I am being so strict with myself. eating exactly what I am allowed and especially amount of food. I am keeping a food diary and fitness pal. I am treating this surgery as if its the first wls I had. I can see what my doctor has said as true. we know the ends and outs of wls. its easier for us to not follow the rules. so my advise. be strict and overly strict with yourself.

I'm having my band-to-bypass revision on August 24th (1 more week!). I also had a choice between the bypass and the sleeve. Originally, I was leaning toward the sleeve, but I changed my mind after doing some heavy thinking and research. I have PCOS, and that, combined with the way I had to eat with the band, has really screwed up my metabolism. I need the malabsorbtion component of the bypass to jumpstart my metabolism, since it's already used to me eating very restricted amounts of food. The sleeve is just like the band in that it's a restrictive procedure with no malabsorbtion. I've done the restriction-only route already. It worked fine for the first year (once I had some heavy-duty restriction), but eventually your body gets used to it and you have to work really, really hard to keep the weight off and/or continue losing. One of the most common side effects of the sleeve is GERD. I already have severe GERD whenever I've got restriction from the band, so that leads me to believe that I would likely suffer severe GERD from the sleeve, as well. GERD isn't anything to fool around with. People say, "Oh, it's only some acid." Yeah, well, that acid wears away the enamel of your teeth, it damages your vocal chords, you can aspirate it at night if you aren't really careful (and sometimes even if you are), and it can cause damage that leads to esophageal cancer. It's miserable when it's uncontrollable. With the band, I was eventually sleeping on a high wedge with two other pillows behind me, and still waking up choking at night, and that was WITH the proton pump inhibitor that my first surgeon prescribed AND not eating within at least 5 hours of bedtime. The sleeve doesn't have that many long-term statistics available as a stand-alone procedure. Sure, it could be hugely successful. I got burned with the band, though. When I had my band surgery, it was being promoted as the next big thing, with projected long-term results that rivaled or exceeded those of the bypass. After a few years, though, the crappy results started pouring in. Sure, I could take a chance that the sleeve is going to be great. But I've had two band surgeries (the original and then a replacement when the original had a massive slip), and I don't want to do this again. The bypass has proven long-term results that are really good, and are still looking like they're 10-15% better than the sleeve. And that can be quite a bit of weight, when you think about it. Plus, there are more and more reports coming in of people having to revise from the sleeve to either the DS or the bypass, so in my view, it's following the same pattern that the band had.

I have this plan...I am trying to get a revision from lap band to sleeve.All the doctors in our plan are located in South Jersey so I have to drive Aan hour and a half.You need to just approach it differently.Talk to your PCP...get a referral to a bariatric doctor...excuse me....surgeon in the plan....get ready to travel to Camden,Vineland,Cherry Hill or Voorhees NJ because those are the only areas approved.Dr.Patel,Dr.Attia,Dr.Salcone and a few others take our plan but you need to get a referral for a consult...Also plan a method of attack...keep records of your weight loss programs...hoops...

I am two years post op from VSG and am being revised to RNY for esophageal erosion. Unfortunalty, this is not my first revision rodeo. I was revised from the band due to ulceration. I am extremely scared of the RNY. Please supply me with any and all info and wisdom you have for me. I have no idea what to expect short term and long term.

I had the band and just had revision surgery to the sleeve last Tuesday. The band never worked for me and I tried to utilize it as a tool to the best of my ability. My doctor said it just doesn't work for some people. I had it for 2 years and lost 30 pounds. It wasn't worth it!

I flew to Dallas the other day for an appt with a surgeon who was able to get me in next day. My sleeve and esophogas is eroded and I have to have a revision to RNY. I'm on weekly infusions, meds to coat my stomach in hopes of keeping food down, and zofran until surgery. I'm so disappointed and scared! I've now failed TWO WLS's!

Hi Everyone, I haven't posted a lot. I'm still a rookie at this. I have been so thankful for everyone sharing their experience that I thought I should be brave and share too & become active here. I'm 45 yrs old (will be 46 next week .. gah!) and had the band put in about 5 years ago. No complications that I was aware of. I had a fill, then unfill etc...I finally got to sick of it I had the revision to RNY on 08/11. I only lost about 30 lbs. My doc said that my band had slipped and it was too tight. Sooo glad it's gone. Oh and get this....I forgot to weigh the morning of surgery. I haven't got on the scale because I'm still all bloated & swollen. I think I started around 307 lbs. Here's to a new outlook and new behaviors!

Wonderful news! Sorry I'm mostly a lurker but I think we had surgery on the same day 08/11? I had a revision from the band to RNY . So I thought why not jump in! You got this! No regrets????

So I was the same as both of you. I went through the process of band removed in April and sleeved in June. I'll tell you honestly it isn't magic. I feel that I can eat more than some out there who claim to only eat a few bites. I don't know if this is the band, or the fact that I ate tiny portions for years and am used to eating slowly. I can tell you for sure that the ravenous insatiable hunger that I felt when my band removed is gone and I am satisfied with 3-6 ozs of food at almost 7 weeks out. I am down about 25lbs from surgery and am not exercising a ton yet. Hope that helps. My understanding with the sleeve is that you might lose slower but after 2 years it ends up being the same as bypass. I'm not sure if this is true but I think that bypass runs a greater risk of stretching the pouch than we do with our sleeve. The stretchy part of our stomach was removed. I really recommend seeing a surgeon who had done a lot of band to sleeve revisions. Hope this helps! Edited to say I plan on being a success check back here in a year .