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Dear all, I had a lapband in 2010, and it did massively kickstart my weightloss and I did get all the way from 364 lbs to 180 lbs. I remember that I was not really explained the refill process and did not know I would have no restriction following the operation, and it took about 5 fills to have restriction. At one point, even yoghurts were difficult to drink quickly. At some points I had to unfill slightly when waterbrash (like reflux, but just water) stopped me sleeping, but I think that was due to too much fluid in the band. I didn't enjoy the process last time - I didn't like vomiting so much, and maybe the band only did half my weightloss and then I started having things to eat I knew would not be caught by the band, i.e. less solid food (ice cream, soup, etc) and calorie-counting. So the second half of my weightloss was pure diet -- but the band did get me over the hump. Now after years of being unfilled, I have allowed myself to go back up to 280 lbs. There are reasons/excuses for this. I had a broken arm all last year and couldn't go to the gym. Finally today I've got an appointment for a refill. As long as it works, I can take the parts of the process I don't like (like vomiting or like suddenly realising you've eaten too much or having a problem when visiting people in their house and finding you're having to spew up in the toilet and the hosts know). And at least this time I know what to expect. So I've read a lot of posts by people who have had to revise the surgery, but I'm looking forward to my refill today and hoping it will work for at least a year to put me right. I can hardly believe what has happened to this forum. I remember before it was bariatricpal and most people were on LapBands and there was a generally positive vibe.

Seems soft foods are less restricting and allowing more consumption. I have been trying to avoid soft foods to keep my calories down and also because I seem to be satisfied longer when I eat meat vs. soft foods like refried beans. One thing I like to snack on is homemade cole slaw, it's low in calories, gives me a crunchy consistency that I crave and I'm filled up with a 1-2 ounce portion. I hope I have the same results in month two as you have. Did you stall during month one? I'm a band to sleeve revision and on another discussion board for us revision patients it seems to be very common for a longer stall than people who haven't had the band too. Not much of a stall -- 3 days max during week 4. Since then, I've been dropping every day (0.2 - 1.5 lbs/day). I like Asian Salads (similar to a slaw), but I'm not cleared for raw veggies til next week, but nothing has been a problem (yet).

I voted yes, back in hospital. To clarify- 2006 Lap-Band 2006, slip before I left hospital and had to have 2nd surgery to replace band. Never felt OK from that day on, lots of pain and nausea. Lap band did not work for me. Jan 13 2015 Lap Band revision to sleeve. No problems so far. Some dehydration. Feel much better than lap band surgery. Recovery so far much easier. My opinion- lap band works for many but not all. And from what I understand there is no way to determine that before hand who the lap band will work for. (may be the same for all WLS) I have always had a sensitive stomach and the lap and just never felt right. The lap-band is gone for me now and that tightness and nausea in by belly is gone.

I had complications after band surgery in 2008 - had a slip less than a year out after losing about 70 pounds. Had surgery to revise the slip in 2009, and still suffered from continued serious (really awful) night reflux after the revision which was not relieved until my band was completely unfilled (gained all weight lost over the following 5 years plus a few). Had sleeve surgery in June and had no complications whatsoever. Down 98 pounds as of today. SO happy with my sleeve!!

I'm new to this site. Here's my story. It's rather long so I'll try to keep it short. In June of '07 I was banded - self-pay. I lost about 50 pounds, putting me about 60 pounds shy of my goal weight. Then, at the end of '08 I got pregnant, got unfilled and had a baby in '09. Later, when I finished nursing him after about six months, I went back in to get a fill. The doc couldn't find my port. He said it had flipped and scheduled me for a port revision. Well, the port hadn't flipped at all, it had shifted. IF he had he done a xray to find it , I could have avoided surgery and not had to pay two thousand dollars. So, then after that, I went back, had it filled and then had the worst reflux/heartburn ever - doc said it was too tight - took out a little - no luck - then got nausea and vomiting. The doc looked at it on fluoroscope -said it's a small slip and unfilled me and told me to come back in a month to look at it again. Went back later and no change- so Doc says it has to come out and that it can't be filled. The funny thing is he just recently hired a doctor who specializes in revisions so he would be glad to take out my band and give me some other kind of surgery. Of course, it would cost several thousand dollars more. Since I was having no problems at all with my unfilled band, I decided to wait until the summer (I'm a teacher.), when I would have more time to deal with this. After the mistake with the "port revision" I was skeptical and went for a second opinion to see if I could keep my band. So, I scheduled an appt with a different doc and about a week before my appt with him, I started having tight restricition and reflux, even though my band is unfilled and I haven't had any problems for about a year. He told me that I have a "massive" hiatal hernia and that it needs to be fixed. So, tomorrow the doctor will be removing the band, fixing the hernia, giving me a plication and putting the band back on. He said the plication would greatly reduce the chance of any slips and he'd be able to do it laproscopically. And, it's all covered by insurance because it's a hernia repair. I'm excited by the chance to start losing weight again. I've been unfilled for so long it will be nice to have restriction again. I'm also interested to see if I can eat and then just get full without the burping and food getting stuck or having to cough it up. But - I am worried about the lack of long-term studies on this surgery. I'm worried that if I have gastro problems later I will have a hard time finding a doctor that will want to deal with my folded up stomach and the scar tissue? I'm worried about the pain from this procedure. Is there any pain during or after eating after healing - say - after about 4 weeks? I'm also worried about constricting my stomach too much, possible blocking blood flow - first with the stitches and then with the band. The doc seems very excited about this, though - the plication with the band. He was the one who suggested the plication - not me - I was just happy that I was going to get to keep my band. He assured me that it is safe - and reversible, if necessary. I don't care if it's reversible or not - I just want permanent weight loss - with no complications. How is it possible that this is reversible?!? I can see being able to reverse it soon after the surgery - but once the scar tissue forms, it has to be very difficult - if not impossible to reverse. -Anne

Here is my experience with RNY. First, I had my original gastric bypass in January 2005 at the age of 24 with a starting weight of 249 lbs. I did great with no real problems. I never had a goal weight but I got to my stable weight at about 6 months (157 lbs.). My weight stayed the same till January of 2009 after my divorce. I did gain back about 75% of the weight I loss. It is 100% my fault. I could eat anything prior to weight gain but after the divorce when my entire life changed dramatically I started to eat more often and much more carry out/fast food. The weight came back quickly but I was in denial. This past July I decided to look into a revision. I met with a different surgeon that was a revision specialist. My pouch had obviously stretch. On October 31 I had my revision with a starting weight of 217 lbs. I am now 33 and my recovery has been very slow and painful. I have only lost 10 pounds but I have lost inches. I am struggling with Protein intake. I am positive that I can do this again and commit 100% as my life is drastically different and I actively participate in therapy. So in my nine years here is what I know: #1 You gain regain your weight if you stop following the eating rules. The pouch will stretch. #2 Vitamin deficiencies are very real and you MUST take Vitamins for life. You must also take bariatric vitamins. I will note this part was not true in, research wise in 2005. I developed a deficiency because I was told pills like Centrum and Citracal were just fine. I know now the importance of bariatric geared vitamins. #3 Once I got t to about a two years post op I forgot I even had the surgery because my eating habits were just natural. I didn't think about it. #4 I became extremely fertile after bypass and hormonal birth control didn't work. Most people here are under 3 years out so I hope my story tells a more long term view. I am not a model patient. I admit I did not have to try very hard to lose my weight the first time. But on the other hand it didn't take much to regain it back. For me I went back to letting food be my emotional crunch and coping tool. Now that I have that under control I can be successful. I am 110% delighted I had my original surgery in 2005. Even though I am not having an easy time this go around I know that I am older now but I know what is down the road for me. This keeps me in check.

I know this is a little late but in case anyone still wanted to know I wanted to let you know about my revision. My surgeon tightened up my pouch by making it smaller as well as making the original opening smaller. Pretty much the same exact procedure just not from scratch. It actually has been incredibly painful this time around and my weight loss is much slower then the first time. So far my loss is about 23lbs at 5 weeks which is about 21% of my excess weight. It's actually really good but hard to see it that way since I lost almost 100 in 5 months in 2005.

My band was removed because of esophageal damage from several decades of "silent" reflux whose symptoms I managed to ignore because I was never aware of any acid. My symptom was a persistent cough, and I didn't believe the ENT doc I saw for the cough when he suggested my problem was reflux. My band probably aggravated the problem. And to illustrate what a contrary person I am, I later revised to the sleeve despite knowing that reflux is extremely common in sleeve patients. So it looks like I'll be taking omeprazole for the rest of my life, and I hope that PPI (omeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor) use doesn't cause me the problems it causes other folks.

Hi all I have a band revision to a sleeve on feb 18. I'm so excited! Hope all goes well for you all and keep us all posted on ur progress!

Of course - any calorie deficit will most likely result in weight loss. I think what the surgeons are referring to is the honeymoon period after surgery, where weight loss will happen the most rapidly, and the most easily. Eventually it does slow down, and for many people, hunger returns. But I've known people on this site, and other places online, who lost 80-90% of their weight in the first year (often faster), but took 2-3 years to get to their goal weight. It's not impossible. But I think it also sets up people to feel like a failure if they DON'T reach their goal, and that's not true either. Many people make it to the overweight BMI and can't go further into the healthy range (or can, but find it harder to maintain). But even then they've lost 80% or more of their excess weight. That's something to be proud of. Even for myself, I'm trying to manage expectations - I'd like to get to a healthy BMI, but I know that weight loss is usually not as dramatic with revision surgery, and that it will probably take me longer to get there (if ever).

Hello ladies and the one other guy, I don't think is even still with us....I haven't checked in in a bit. Just wanted to stop by and say all is well, feeling great.....or I was until today. I finally went and got a Black Card membership at PF and went today. Managed 3 miles on the treadmill, walking mostly but I was able to do a couple of intermittent jogs. Did some leg presses and then some ab killers....5 sets of 30 Russian Twists with a 10 lb medicine ball. My abs were on FIRE and I thought that would be the one I would regret but as it turns out, the leg presses were a bit too much, I can barely walk now and almost fell on my face a little while ago trying to go down the stairs. My legs are like jello. LMAO As much as I am hurting, I still feel awesome that I went and was able to do as well as I did. Other victories....Before surgery I was in a tight 46' jeans, I can now get into 40s but they're a bit tight so I'll stay in the loose 42s another week or so. Guy at the gym gave me a 3xl that I asked for but then he threw me a Large and said there's an extra one for you to set yourself a goal. Hell yeah!! Started on soft foods yesterday. I can tell it's going to be hard to get in the protein goals with just food so I guess i will keep some shakes handy. It wasn't so bad with the sleeve but with this revision, a spoonful of food fills me up. It's crazy. I make a bowl of scrambled eggs, mix in some unjury unflavored protein and just eat a bite every 10-15 minutes. Hope everyone is doing well. Best Wishes.

July 27th lapband to sleeve revision--So excited

I am a band to sleeve revision as well.

Well here it goes. I had vertical banding years ago and my Dr. never indicated if soda was good or bad. In the beginning I could not because of the small pouch, but as I stretched it out soda was fine. BUT I do think soda did contribute to the stretching and expansion of the pouch, and in turn helped cause the weight gain and other issues I now have. I am having revision to Bypass and already steer clear of soda all together. I learned from B4. FYI: My son recently had the sleeve MLS and even though his Dr did not specifically say no to soda, he cannot handle the gas pain it causes.

I'm going to try and keep this from being too long, but there's so much to say!!! First I'll start with my newest NSVs. I'm officially in a size 18 clothes (from my original size 30), size 10 shoes (from my original size 11), size 6 1/2 ring (from my original size 10), 18" chain on a necklace (from my original 24" chain), and 2x jacket (from my original 4-5x). I can now comfortably fit on a massage table without fear of it creaking or breaking. I can now ride a bike because I'm within the weight limit. I now am able to hit my favorite thrift stores and walk out with seriously cute clothes that look nice, sit well on me, and actually fit comfortably!! My asthma is almost completely gone (I only have it when I get super sick now instead of all the time). My blood work came back and my hormone levels are almost in the normal range (I have PCOS) and my cysts that completely COVERED both ovaries are totally gone (without having taken any meds or done any hormone therapies!!) I did a 6 mile hike this past weekend with my son. I am completely pain free and am able to go full on beast mode with my workouts again. I can go up 5 flights of stairs before I need to stop and rest. Now for my new chapter in life and old dreams becoming new again. So years ago, I wanted to become a nurse. I completed all of the academics with a 4.0, aced all the labs, but couldn't do any of the clinicals because I couldn't do all the walking, I was 400 pounds, and my health/joints/back were way too bad. So I gave up on it. Then about 2 years later, I thought "well, maybe I can be a medical assistant. Surely THAT'S not as hard" and once again, I couldn't do the externship because I couldn't do the physical stuff. So I went into other areas for work, ballooned up to 421 pounds, worked remotely, and made good money. I loved what i did, but there was always a part of me that regretted not being able to go into the medical field. That was my heart's desire. So fast forward to now. I'm between jobs and miserable. I had to stop working because of all my complications from my first surgery. Now that I've been cleared, I can't get hired anywhere. So I decided that now is a great time to go back to my dream of working in the medical field. So on Sept 5th, I start school to become a certified pediatric oncology medical assistant. Most of my previous credits transfer over, so I only have about 6 months of academics to do and then the externship. Then I sit for my certification exam and then I get to finally FINALLY do what I've always wanted to do. By my 46th birthday next June, I should be right where I want to be, doing what I want to do, and hopefully at my goal weight. I'm sitting here in tears as I type this, because I thought this was something I would never see happen. I resigned myself to being morbidly obese, extremely unhealthy, and needing a cane to get around. I may not be at my goal weight (the weight comes off a lot slower with a revision, and also as your bmi gets smaller and you get closer to your goal) but I believe eventually I'll get there. But the things this surgery is giving to me, the dreams I can live out, the health and wellness and years of my life I'm getting back..... it was all worth it. The complications, the uncertainty, the pain and healing and stalls.... all completely worth it. We all start this journey wanting the numbers on the scale to go down. But there's SO MUCH MORE this surgery gives you. I will never, ever regret my decision. Never.

Well i am 1 day post op and i feel pretty darn good. I didnt ask for pain meds a second ago for the pain but i asked for pain meds for my headache. Lol Here is my surgery story. I had the lapband in 2007 and did great with it at first. Then the last two years most everythi ng i would eat or drink would start coming up. Started having severe pain in my esophagus and started throwing up blood. An endoscopy revealed that i had a class c esophageal erosion. The band had to come out Met with surgeon and determined the bnd would come out and he would revise to sleeve!!!! Scheduled my op for july 26 yesterday. Had to be at the hospital at 5 am for an 8 am surgery. Prep for surger i got a patch for nausea to help with any nausea from meds. Then they gave me a shot in my tummy To help with possible clots. Met with sirgeon and andsthesiologist to discuss surgery. Then they gave me versed before wheeling me back to surg. Best "margarita" ever. Then i was totally worry free. I was still awake in or. They hooked me up with all the electrodes and the anesthesiologist said ok its nap time im putting u to sleep. I said just please make sure i wake up. Then make sure i wake up sleeved!!!!! I was so worried there would b such a mess in my body that wiuld have to hold off on the sleeve. Next thing i knew theybwere waking me up. Zero pain. I just said yayy im alive and ong was i sleeved??? They said u sire were. Then my main concern was going to peepee. I had to go really bad. Surgery took an hour and a half and i was in my own room by 11. They immediately got me to the pot. Was sore but not bad pain. No gas pains yet either. I wone up with a binder on which feels great. Especially when i get up to walk or go to the bathroom. Ive probabky walked about 6 laps. Blood pressure has been a little low but they said its expcted because of the pain meds No fever. Nurses are amazing. Getting woken up so often is for the birds tho. Other than that ive been sleeping a lot. Sleep with my binder on and the pumps on my legs to prohibit clots. I had a popsicle and some sips of broth and sips of Water. Did not hurt when first going down but i was apprehensive at first. I did take a swig too large and it was uncomfortable but not painful. Have only drank half bottle of water. But staying hydrated thru iv for now They did my barium swallow this mirning to check for leaks and NO LEAKS. Yayyyyyyy. I feel so so much better without the band in i can already tell a big difference. I have 6 incisions. Some are rather large but im ok with that. Ill attach a pic which shows three i think. Three large incisions mid tummy and the other smaller ones are up under breasts. It was all a success and very pleasant. So happy to be on the loser bench. Fyi BIOTINE mouth rinse helps so so much with dry mouth. So get that for sure. Hope everyone is doing well!!!!!! Here is a pic of my incisions. So excited to begin my healthier happy life!!!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I regret having been banded. I hated it. I lived with it for 5.5 years and last month finally revised to bypass. It hurt to eat anything but I was hungry all the time and never got full. I lost weight only when I literally couldn't tolerate food. One poster mentioned that those who regret it likely aren't on here...and it's true. I didn't get back on until I became committed to revision. At the same time, I was convinced that the band would cure me because hunger has always been my issue and they promised a low appetite, but they were wrong (at least for me....and all the other revisions that are currently being done). So can I really regret it if I also would have regretted it if I hadn't gotten it? I can't say whether I'll regret the bypass, but I hope I don't. So far things have been easier than the band, and I have tolerated everything I've attempted to eat so far. There is really no way to know until you do it, which is really difficult to know.

Well I've heard the difference is they do the plication with sutures and the ESG with some sort of rivets. I base this on Dr Tom Umbach from Blossom Bariatrics on You Tube. He said it is almost impossible to revise an ESG for this reason. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Ok so HOLY CRAP. I just got the call and my revision surgery is going to be on the 28th of June!!!! Apparently someone's insurance didn't approve their surgery and they had to cancel their surgery and I got their spot. I was told my pre-op appt with the hospital is on the 12th, my pre-op appt with my surgeon is the 13th, and I have to do iron infusions before surgery (first one on the 14th, 2nd one on the 21st, and 3rd one on the 28th after surgery). My iron is really low because of all my procedures, but they said it won't affect my surgery since I can have the infusions. My mind is literally blown. I wasn't expecting this AT ALL. This is really fast!!! But at least it's FINALLY happening and I can get back to my life sooner rather than later!!!!

I am finished with my full liquid diet. Today I start my clear liquid diet however my clear liquid diet consists of jello, sugar free popsicles, crystal light, water, clear liquid protein shakes(I don’t have), decaffeinated sugar free coffee and tea. I have to be at the hospital at 5:15am and I am determined that this tool will help me to reach my goal weight. I am getting a revision from sleeve to bypass. I have craved every food in the world even the food that I will never eat. I didn’t have anything outside of my diet because with needing knee replacement in both knees I can’t play with getting this weight off and keeping it off.

My date is June 20th!! Sleeve to RNY revision.. liquid diet (all liquids) starts June 6.. The closer it gets the more anxious I get. I feel like I was more calm the first time around.. Is anyone feeling this way?

Melody, Your 5 pounds is probably a combo of water retention from the salt in restaurant food and when I work out more than usual my body retains water for a few days too. I bet it goes away in a couple of days. Stacie-- What about the sleeve if you have to have revision? That is my backup plan. Bob-- Good luck with the panni, I would like to do some CS but A) I'm scared of the pain, :biggrin: I cant take off work and most of all C) NO MONEY. I am kind of irritated that, after losing all this weight I am not more happy with my body. I guess I thought I was going to get my 20 year old body back. SHEESH!

Hi! My name is Tiffany. I am a 50 year old mom of 3 adult kids. I had the lap band from 2005-2012. Never lost weight. Followed the program to the letter. My doc used to guilt me and tell me I was his only “failure”. He didn’t even offer me the choice of revision when I had the band removed. Unfortunately I’ve been misinformed for the past 7 years. People told me I couldn’t have another bariatric surgery after failing one. My PCP moved and I mentioned it to my new doc and she told me I could indeed have another bariatric surgery. I’m an oncology RN that has been disabled since 2012. All of my visits are done, I’m waiting for the surgeons office to call with a date, but he thinks the end of June. Not, by the way the same surgeon!!

So happy for you. I have my band to sleeve revision next Tuesday. What were your issues with the band? Did they do the revision all in one surgery or did theybremove your band previously? Im hoping it all gets done in one surgery. He said he can but you never know once they get in there. NERVOUS!!!! Glad you arent in pain! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello everybody! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I had a good Christmas and good times with the family. I ate well but we had the wii so I worked a good portion. I know why dancers and Michael Jackson stay so thin I have been reflecting on the New Year. I see my new surgeon on January 3. I am sure port revision surgery is coming down the pipe, but I will see--not to stressed about it. I am glad so my fills will not be painful. I also approach my one year bandiversary on January 14, 2010. Okay I know you all are going to beat me up--go ahead because I probably need it. I am pleased with my weight loss, but cannot help but be bummed that my goal of losing 100lbs by my anniversary post-surgery probably will not be achieved. The 100lbs I have lost includes pre-op weight loss. This week I am actually doing my pre-op diet just to re-discipline myself and really focus. I am hungry and have a headache--withdrawals. Mom is doing somewhat better, so I do not have to go as much, but I still we be glad when she is more self-sufficient. Any Happy New Year to all.