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If you haven't yet, have your doctor to a peer-to-peer appeal on your behalf. In many cases, especially revisions, insurance companies will try to deny revisions unless you fight for them. My band-to-bypass was denied a couple of times, even though I jumped through all of their hoops, because they said that I hadn't proved that the band had a technical malfunction (I had severe acid reflux and couldn't tolerate any Fluid in the band at all, but apparently that didn't count, lol) and couldn't prove that I had been compliant with diet and exercise (I had been, but had to switch surgeons three times when I moved to new states, so I didn't have records). I finally asked my surgeon to do a peer-to-peer appeal, and was approved the same day.

I'm in RI as well, there are a few of us and a bunch from MA. I had the band installed in 2011 and was just recently revised to the Bypass in March.

I had Lap band revision to VSG on 2/26/18. I decided before the procedure that I wouldn’t weigh after. And I haven’t. The only time I’ve weighed was at my postop visit, where I was down 17 lbs. that was early March. Before surgery, I watched a YouTube video that suggested not to weigh and I thought about all the times I was happy - until I weighed. I read all the posts here panicking about a stall. And I decided the scale wasn’t for me. *HATERS STEP OFF NOW. DO NOT POST A REPLY IF YOU THINK THIS IS STUPID, BECAUSE IM NOT SUGGESTING ANYTHING TO ANYONE.* It’s been really peaceful. I’m down 4-5 sizes, I log all of my food, but I have no idea what I weigh and I’m am SOOOOO okay with that. I’ll be weighed when I go for my next doctors visit, I know....but for now, I’m at peace. I know I’m working what works for me and I’ll do it as long as it does.... Just wanted to throw this out there for others to consider....if it’s not for you, more power to you. Do what works for you. I’m doing the “me plan” and I’m happy and healthy and so not stressed out about my weight right now. Taking it a day at a time.... Hope everyone else is working what works for you and at peace with yourself or well on the way...

Good luck to you!! Maybe you can do revision to sleeve or RNY??? Like previously said, no need to be embarrassed!

Today marks 3 months since my revision surgery (4/30/15). -> I am down 46lbs. -> I hit the dreaded 3 week stall and it lasted two weeks. -> I now seem to be losing around 10 lbs a month. I can live with that. -> I do exercise and see a personal trainer twice a week. I am feeling so much stronger. -> My extreme lethargy went away around week 5 or 6. -> I do get hungry now, but only occasionally and it is amazing how a few cashews can make it go away. -> I do start my day with a Premier Protein shake to help boost my protein intake. I then eat every 3 to 4 hours, protein first then veggies if I can fit them. -> food does not taste the same. It is no longer exciting, which is a good thing. I can look at a menu and choose the healthy option, rather than what sounds yummy. -> I easily feel full and have no issue pushing my plate away. -> I don't care that I am wasting food. I was wasting it before too by stock piling it on my waist! -> I went on vacation for a week and came back 2lbs lighter! That has never happened before, even with the band. -> For me the sleeve is WAY better than the band. My only regret is that I did not get the sleeve sooner. I hope this helps people who are earlier in the process. I would love to hear from others who are around the same point in their journey.

Hard to believe I had my patient advocate submit for my band to sleeve revision surgery today and I got a call a half hour later saying that Blue Cross/Blue Shield of AZ had already approved it! She said that it was hands down the quickest approval she has ever seen. Now I have to set a date.

I just want to say that I'm so thrilled with my decision to go with a revision and I wonder why I even bothered with the lap band in the first place.. Because I didn't want to be internally altered... Like many of you, I suffered more from the band (and what it was doing to me - cutting into my liver) then from the alterations that have been made to my body by switching to bypass. I can now actually eat good foods - salad and Protein - and not throw up or be in pain. Surgery on 10/5/15 and 3 months later down 46 pounds. Awesome!

Hello everyone , I had the lapband 6 months ago went to see a new dr. today and he told me he doesn't do the band anymore because it doesn't work. He thinks I'd be a good candidate for the sleeve or gastric bypass. But he wants me to go through his program which is a six month program. I don't want to wait that long to get this done I waited years before I decided on my band it's not working for me I've done the nutrition program and the physc council. Has anyone else had this problem I'm from Mass and trying to find a good dr to do this for me sooner rather than later. I don't mind doing the program i just wish i could have the procedure done and go through the program all at once. Anyone else have this issue going from band to sleeve? Thanks I'm so depressed

Thats my fear with the lap band, having to revise to a sleeve. But I guess at this point I will take whatever he can do for me. He won't know how my scar tissue is, until he goes in. I'm afraid to wake up and be told that I couldn't get anything done.

I had the sleeve in Nov 2011 and had a revision to mini gastric bypass in March 2016. I needed the revision because my sleeve had stretched and I had a lot of acid reflux. I originally lost 88 pounds with the sleeve but then regained about 36 pounds. I wish I had done the rny or mini bypass from the start and only needed one surgery. Having gone through two surgeries I would never recommend the sleeve to anyone. I've talked to too many people that had to have a revision. But ultimately it's your decision and whatever your surgeon recommends. Good luck.

Try not to give up on yourself and/or the surgery so early. What side effects are you having? If it's gas, that would happen with ANY laparascopic surgery. If it's pain, same thing. If it's the food restrictions, you would have those (maybe not the same) with any weight loss surgery. i had the lap band before I revised to the sleeve and my post-op diet is almost exactly the same as the sleeve. I'm sure the more radical Gastric bypass and Duodenal Switch would be the same if not more severe. You must have read on here how people feel better soon after having the surgery, but it's probably going to take a good 4-6 weeks for you to establish a good routine with your new tool and diet. Don't beat yourself up so quickly. You obviously did this for a reason, which was most likely that diets just don't work long term. Good luck to you!

I am also having trouble with vomiting a lot. My chest hurts because of all the vomiting. I went to my doctor but they are not sure what's wrong. They did an upper GI and the doctors here have not seen a sleeve before so they are not sure what to look for. I had my surgery in Mexico and I live in upstate NY. I had a band and had it revised to a sleeve. Since then I have been tired and nauseous a lot.

This is interesting. I didn't know a sleeve revision could be done. Sorry this happened. Maybe you are just stalled? Could you have done a sleeve to bypass? What did your surgeon say? Hopefully, the weightloss will start again. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal mobile app

This is just my 2cents and you can take it for what it is worth. The sleeve long term success is directly tied to 1) patient compliance 2) surgeons technique and follow up/aftercare program. I've seen some pretty dramatic regain, and a few patients seeking revisions because they went to inexperienced surgeons who just did NOT have the technique down. Sleeves are not created equally. The bougie size only plays a small role in the sleeve size. How far or close he/she dissects away from the esophagus and pylorus play a huge role in sleeve capacity especially after 18-24 months post-op. I had a similar dilemma when it came to my revision. My surgeon had tons of VSG experience, band to RNY experience, but was somewhat limited on band to VSG surgeries. HOWEVER, he had the sleeve technique down, and I was confident with his experience. Given this seems like the only 2 choices you have; I'd go with the surgeon who has performed sleeves. One thing I would do long before you agree on him being your surgeon is make sure he knows how to repair leaks, strictures and other surgical complications that can arise due to his lack in experience. Especially since the other surgeon in the practice has more years of experience with no sleeve experience, he won't have the experience to repair the leak/stricture either for a VSG patient. Having a leak is no fun. I had one, and mine was directly related to the damage that happened to my stomach tissue from the band.

I am a revision also. My band also went horribly bad, slipping and causing massive amounts of scar tissue. I am glad that you are feeling so good and that they were able to do a revision for you. The first month or two are the hardest for sure. I find that at 6 months I can pretty much eat normal healthy meals, just in smaller portions. I do still start my day with a Protein drink. I hope you continue to do so well, I know it has been a good decision for me too!

Charcoal was the surgery before and maybe you’re right. I thought it was a good gas release. Or so I was told and read. Don’t honestly think it had to do with the revision though. I was sick and gassy before the pills. Who knows. Water under the bridge and already had a 3rd surgery

I seem to sneeze when I have are to much or to fast . And it's like a lot of sneezing . I am a lap banded revised to sleeve and when I had the band in I was also sneezing a lot also ..

i was sleeved (revision from band) on June 15....one week and one day ago. today i had my follow up appt with my doctor. i have lost 12 lbs and i am happy with the progress. however, i was hoping he would give me the okay to advance to the mushy food stage, but he told me to wait another week. he did say i could try a bite or two of eggs, but to no push it any further than that. i'm surprised he said eggs....i thought he would mention something more softer (like mashed potatos or fat free refried beans) i was really hoping that he would let me advance. the fulls liquids are not keeping me full. i've had enough sugar free pudding/jello, strained Soups, and greek yogurt i can take. going into the sleeve, i knew what the post-op diet would be like. it was similar to when i had the band. i guess i just was hoping he would let me just do full liquids for a week like he did when i had my band. any ideas on how to get through another week? how many weeks out did your doctor let you progress to the mushy stage? thanks for letting me vent and thanks for understanding!

Yes, even for revision surgeries. Sent from my HUAWEI NXT-L29 using the BariatricPal App

I kind of fit. I'm a student. And I have taught, but don't now. I can do it well, but it's not my thing. I prefer the behind the scenes work. So I'm the one who would create the materials you would use to teach. Though my professional competencies includde adult learning theories/practices, and knowing how to create effective materials, and knowing how to accomodate different populations when you instruct, etc. I also do contract work with schools to 1) revise/design their curriculum... making sure there's instructional congruence on the goal/objective/content/assessment levels and 2) guide teachers toward being more effective facilitators. An awful lot of teachers out there know their stuff, but don't know how to best convey it to a given audience. I don't cringe when I see an older profressor. I used to assume they would be more strict, but I've had too many experiences that have proven otherwise. Nothing tickles my fancy like an older person who's feisty as hell. I love the older "firecracker" types. One of the best things you can do (and it sounds like you already do it, with the activity around describing colors to blind people you mentioned in another thread) is to hit them upfront with an unexpected hook. If it's a good one, they'll be wrapped around your finger. If you can "impress" or "grab" a student from my generation or younger, you've won us over. I think with teachers, first impressions are more final than with most other people, because students are automatically judging you off their past experiences, and EVERYONE has had less than spectacular educational/learning experiences. I'm a difficult student sometimes. Not difficult, but I do push my instructors to prove their worth, so to speak. I'm not going to assume they're teaching me the right things just because they're standing there. That's my personality type, through and through. I can't respect someone just because of a title or position. I will respect them through what I see them produce or through demonstrating competencies. Few things will disengage me faster than a teacher who can't (or won't) validate something they say, and that happens a LOT. A lot of older teachers don't like this, and I completely understand that. You have to see it on a generational level. Most of the older teachers come from generations where your title earned you respect, and feedback was given once a year/semester/when you did something bad/whatever. My generation expects feedback when asked and on demand, and aren't impressed by the number of letters after your name. Side note, if you'd be interested in seeing it, I have a matrix of 4 or 5 generations that are currently in the workforce, comparing about 5 or 6 different traits. Very interesting stuff. Could you make a whole lot more money doing something else? Probably. Would you love something else as much? You seem to be a very passionate teacher, and to care for your students. Could you walk away from that and feel fulfilled? My field pays very well, and is often a place people with teaching degrees/experience try to get. And very often they fit with a little training and information on the "scientific" side of what's going on (that's part of my responsibilities, too - to get people "up to speed" who may know part of the process but mot most of it). Teachers are generally good at assessing what's going on and reading the audience. They often just need a little work around the actual science of instructional design because they're not used to designing the materials, just using them to teach (referrign to things like texts, teachers frequently have to supplement with activities, analogies, etc. of their own creation). Then again, larger companies usually silo based on duty. In that case, a lot of former or intended teachers will opt to facilitate. This is at the corporate level. Is that something you might enjoy?

I have read a lot on the site that many people wake up and they could not have the sleeve done in the same surgery , that is a fear of mine. After getting my hopes up to get the sleeve done during the band revision. Has anyone had success with getting them done the same day and how is your journey going. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I had the lap band done about 2 years ago. The original doctor does not want to do the surgery because they don't take my insurance. Does anyone out there know of a surgeon who can get rid of the lap band on Long Island New York in suffolk county? That accepts Medicaid or Medicare?

I'm in ONE...DERLAND..............I thought I would never make it here......to some my journey here is short, but for me it's taken me 21yrs....since my baby boy........I saw the ONES briefly with my lapband but as many revision patience know it just comes right back.......I'm so happy right now!!!!!, thank you God! What do you want to shout out loud? Sent from my iPad using VST

Hi everyone, Here's an overview of my history: 2004 Lap band 2007 port repair 2012 band removal 2012 gastric bypass roux en y 2017 gastric bypass revision Planned adding a minimiser ring Dec 2022 Has anyone had a surgery just to add the minimiser ring? After bypass revision? What were your results? I'm booked with Anthony Clough. Appreciate any insight into pre op prep, cost and considerations. Thanks y'all.

Anyone have their band out and have time in between the revision? I had my band out on Thursday and they haven't set an exact date for my bypass yet, but it will be sometime within the next 2 months. I made a tuna melt for lunch today. My first bite in and it got stuck!!! I mean, sliming, gagging, painful, stuck! It eventually went through, but I can't believe that the scar tissue from only having a band for 2 years could cause that much of an imprint on my belly that food is still getting stuck. Anyone else have this happen??