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Unfortunately I DO feel hungry, which I was totally shocked about. Right after surgery I had no hunger, but now I have it all the time. So I guess for some of us, that's normal. As for carbs, I don't have an answer for that. My doc didn't talk to me about it since I was a revision and so close to goal already. A lot of people had to talk to dietitions and they had guidelines for that. Hopefully one of them can offer some advice.

I was revised from band to sleeve in Dec 2011 - nearly 4 years ago. I hit goal in Feb 2013 after losing half my body weight. I spent some time under goal, spent sometime with a small regain to slightly over goal and am now at goal again. A success story as I have never maintained a weight loss of signficance for any length of time. I am gaining confidence that I will remain in the ballpark of my goal weight for the long haul these days. I had major plastics in Oct 2013 and while I got off my workout schedule, i got back to it according to a very clear plan and it didn't interfere much. However, I have had a very disappointing turn of events that have impacted me alot, especially over the last year. Even when I was in the 250-300# weight class I was as active as I could be. I pushed through pain and discomfort to keep up with my slender friends, to do horse events, take care of my little farm etc. One of the biggest joys for me of losing all that weight was becoming very fit and capable. I worked out alot.... then.. the problems started showing up. Overuse injury triggered by an overzealous and under educated personal trainer - hip injection needed in 2014 Elbow overuse injury got so bad I had to send my horses to live elsewhere for several months which triggered a bunch of other issues (horse behavior related) Left knee starting to hurt - I believe compensating for hip Find out right hip actually has arthritis, looking at a replacement in a few years and now get injections a couple of times a year to manage the pain Right breast starts mysterously swelling earlier this year - massive tests, MRI, labwork and no conclusions really. Good news cancer has been ruled out. A week ago I had to have the implant removed since nothing worked to resolve the swelling issue. I don't have the labwork back but I am optimistic that I can have a new one put in after the 3 month resting / healing period. So, I now have a plan to deal with the hip pain, the elbow is "ok" but I am avoiding pushups for sure and the breast surgeries interfere, but I also know it is temporary... just disappointing and not part of "the plan" So, I give myself a pat on the back for maintaining my weight even as my fitness level is disappearing. I need to get back on the fitness train (hip doctor has a very good plan for my hip anyway!) but have to wait to get clearance post current surgery and then wait for a new hip injection as it is hurting again. So, the moral of my story to pre-ops: one thing to consider the longer you remain morbidly obese, the more likely you are to have problems. It is pretty clear that i had a childhood injury or perhaps birth defect that triggered the hip issue, but packing around all that extra weight is of course a major component to that hip issue, the knee issue and ongoing back pain too Moral of the story to active post ops: your body is not as healthy and strong as it seems if you have a long history of morbid obesity. Losing the weight, getting fit improves all those bloodwork, the blood pressure and all that stuff, but the muscular skelatel system damage may have already been done. I was careful to avoid high immpact workouts like aerobics, but I very much enjoy high intensity, high fitness creating activities and while they didn't cause any of my issues, they helped expose them, that is for sure. Moral of the story to all of us - don't self identify so strongly with one thing. I got really into my physical prowess (for my age), became a much bolder and stronger horseback rider and loved it. I had to cancel plans to do an intense equitrekking adventure to Iceland because with that hip - I can't spend 8 hours a day in the saddle for a week or two anymore... it is sad to me. I had also planned to do barrel racing, drill team and other speedy events that were on hold for a bit - but i think i can see my way back to some of those goals again. It has been heart breaking to watch myself very quickly drop in capability. At times it has felt a bit sad or depressing. I am currently working on creating a life with more balance - physical fitness and identification with the inner athlete, balanced with other things in life that are still satisfying even when my body isn't quite cooperating. I thought that I would feel horrible at having one implant removed. Truth of the matter is my implants were pretty small, intended to give me that lost "upper pole" fullness so I actually don't look as mismatched as I feared. I am finding my ability to deal with this physical set back that impacts my feminity/looks so much pretty okay so far and I am happy with myself for being able to handle it. It will be alot better once the effing drain comes out, but overall I am coping pretty well with this set back.

If you can get two weeks off work you should be OK- It depends on how you are really - I was fine after my surgery - No pain or anything but you still hafta take it easy. The scar goes right through your armpit so does remove some of that skin. Talk to your surgeon and he may be able to revise the surgery to accommodate the excess skin that you are having problems with. I had my arms done at same time as breast reduction and it went great - COMPRESSION garments will help you to be protected through this time - My compression garments were from Design Veronique and they were worth their weight in gold (It was a bra and sleeve type thing) My arm skin broke my heart to be honest - After losing so much weight then having arms twice the width of anyone else because of the skin. I am soooo glad I had them done! And the Boobs - WAHOO! Love em! I did not have any Lipo with my surgery, so not sure about that... Good Luck

I had a revision from VSG to RNY in August. I remember in my 4th month I started feeling full faster too. Some have said that it was because we are completely healed at the point. I'm almost at 8 months, and I still am averaging about 750 to 800 cal per day. Similar to your dietician, my surgeon told me months ago to eat at least 900. That is challenging for me mentally and physically at the moment even though I'm passed my goal. There are a lot of people here that stay around 800 cal until goal but I'm glad you posted this so we can see other people's opinions.

I was told no soda, too. Unless of course it's gone completely flat, but why bother. One girl I know had bypass 10+ years ago and started drinking soda heavily again, then gained back the weight and could eat bigger portions. We all assumed she stretched her pouch (even her surgeon) and just needed a revision, but when they did a scan it turns out she actually dilated her esophagus. It can be surgically corrected, but it's risky and not hopeful that insurance will cover it.

just a note to inform you guys that i did not have my plastic surgery afterall. With having to pay for tests and lab work, and having a port revision done, the money just wasn't there anymore. Maybe next year. I hope anyway. It is a bummer but i believe that everything happens for a reason. Its just not my turn yet, but it will be. I have gained about 5 lbs. And i go in for a fill tomorrow, so hopefully i will start losing again. Thanks to all of you that wished me well. I wish i had done this earlier, but was just a little depressed.

No worries, Gamergirl, the dog is always hijacking attention, I'm used to it. :-) I revised from band to sleeve and I vaguely remember the runny nose at the beginning of banded life, but I managed to ignore it after a few years (oddly enough that coincided with regaining 80 lbs.). It came back/got noticeable right after surgery. I've been on Clear Liquids plus Protein shakes for almost two months (pre and post surgery - strict surgeon). Anyone else had "the signal" right from the get go? P.S. been loving your recipes, even if I never make one!

My revision was around 2 to 2.5 hours....I was just thankful that it was done in one procedure....my doctor's goal is for me to get under 200 pounds, my personal goal is 170....I believe that 170 is a reasonable goal for me....I am really hoping to reach it!

AdvancedMom - My revision surgery took 3 hrs I had a realize band placed in 2009 never worked for me. I would recommend the 2 step procedure - first have the band removed then wait until the stomach has a chance to get it's shape back so that the vertical sleeve can be done correctly. At my 10 day follow up my stomach is so mis- shapen it doesn't even look like I had gastric sleeve surgery - it's shape like an hour glass. I can drink 14 oz of liquid in one setting and have stomach pangs. The dr left too much stomach because he eyeballed the amount he took off due to the shape of the stomach. I am not happy about this whole issue I need to lose 100lbs. I go back to dr on the 23rd and will ask him to correct his mess - don't know how that will go over.

I just started my new job a little over 90 days ago. My company is huge (over 4,000 employees in 130 countries). They are a Self-funded Insurance with a third party administrator. We use MultiPlan as our provider and Allied Benefit as the administrator. (At least I think this is how it goes....lol) In my Offer Package was a copy of the "Medical Benefits Plan Schedule of Covered Expenses". On this sheet, the coverage reads: "Surgery or treatment for MORBID OBESITY only if the covered person is twice his/her ideal weight or greater than 100 lbs overweight and suffers from documented seperate conditions (i.e., severe diabetes, mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular complications, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertriglyceridemia, amenorrhea, hypercholesterolemia, degenerative joint disease, & athralgia of other weight bearing joints which are aggravated by morbid obesity). This must be documented by objective evidence provided by the physician who is treating the covered person for the condition that is aggravated by morbid obesity. This does not include gastric bypass surgery (i.e., "stomach stapling")." In-Network: 100% ($25 co-pay if outpatient) :tongue: Well, I recieved another copy of this stated coverage in my New Employee Orientation....so I ASSUMED that Lap Band would be covered. So I started my journey. (Now keep in mind, this is all x2 since my DH was planning on having surgery with me.) I began researching the area doctors, and found this site. I saw my PC and told him I wanted the surgery - he agreed and approves of the procedure and sends out the referral. $25 I asked him for current blood work - he sent me. $?? I sought out a psychiatrist for the Evaluation - found one, had her 3 required visits and "passed" the evaluation. $75 Now I have completed the "hoops" for the surgeon and was waiting for my appt. with him. So, now I am sitting at work daydreaming about the surgery and think that I will be nice and try to keep the ball rolling at the unbelievable pace that it is and send a note over to the surgeons office (as I was told I could do to help expedite the paperwork) that says my insurance doesn't require the diet history/supervised diet. :wink: I decide to send a copy of this "Schedule of Covered Expenses" along with the letter. I go to the website the website that I can print my coverage info from and print a copy of the schedule that is posted on their website and get the shock of my life when I re-read it and find out the VERY LAST SENTENCE in the coverage has changed!!!! Instead of reading that gastric bypass is the only thing not covered, it now reads: "Note the term "treatment" does not include any surgical procedures - see General Limitation, item #17". #17 - This policy does not pay for instruction or activities for weight reduction or weight control, including charges for Vitamins, diet supplements, or physical fitness programs even if the services are performed or prescribed by a Physician; for any surgery performed for the purpose of weight reduction. WOW!!! What a shocker!!! The page that says no surgery is covered says Revised 1/06 on the bottom - the other pages I have don't have anything written on the bottom! So, first things first - I head straight to my HR department. They have no idea, so I am walking them through the details step by step. They tell me they will get back with me. :wink: She comes back a little while later and tells me that she called someone (within the company) and was told that they would reimburse me for my costs of preparing for the surgery, but that surgery isn't covered. The page printed from the internet is correct :eek:!!!! I called the insurance company and talked to a lady who was very helpful - she told me that I could send a letter to the medical review board and that I needed: 1 - Letter from surgeon 2 - Current and reccomended weight 3 - CPT codes and the fee for each procedure 4 - 6 month supervised diet They didn't even ask about BMI, co-morbidities, etc. My head is just spinning!! Is this a positive sign or a so-called death sentence?? I don't know what to do. I don't want to take the reimbursement and then them say "well, since we reimbursed you, it was like you agreeing that there is no surgery" or something screwed up like that. Sorry for making this so long, but I am just on a roller coaster about all this. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't even know if I should try. :frown:

The seminar should be a toned down sales presentation for the medical procedures available. Everyone involved is either a caregiver, patient in need of WLS, or a patient that successfully went through the process. I've been through three "first" consultations. Once with a family member, once for myself, and once for a revision. Doctors are always very considerate.

I don't think there's much to learn from this 4 year old blog. It's pretty obvious that one should get rid of their psychological problems before having surgery. Not only do they stand to mess up (counteract) their surgery but complicate any revision if possible. It takes willpower to transition to that, I just find it easy given the health problems I have and the desire to be healthy again drowning out any voices of wanting to eat crap. One has to treat the addition like life and death and take control of it, not to mention change their mindset about food as something of comfort to something only essential for survival. It's not easy for many people, which is why they go down the road of eating crap early on post-op and wind up screwing up their WLS. Hell, how often do we see alcoholics on the verge of their liver being cirrhotic not stop? Sometimes people are just too far gone to help, and certainly some of those people are here, they won't learn, and they're destined for failure. Addicts also tend to lash out when people confront them with the harsh reality of life decisions.

Thanks! My current surgeon is actually in Bryan. Its about an hour from Houston depending on what part of town you live in. His name is Dr. John Mason. I just love him. I weighed 183 the day of my surgery. I don't think your weight matters if you are doing revision. Which doctor at True Results did you use? I can give you Dr. Mason's number if you'd like. I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon.

There are actually not more compilations with the bypass than the sleeve, this is incorrect. Also, the sleeve is 100% non-reversible, because parts of your anatomy end up in the waste. The bypass is actually reversible in certain situations, the reversal is tough and has it's own complications, but it is possible and does happen. Honestly, I'm really happy that I didn't go with the sleeve (I was a band revision and my surgeon *will not* do band to sleeve due to the increased staple line failure risk) I'm over a year with my bypass and I still am so very happy with it. To each their own, just, make sure you are basing your decision on facts, not feelings. Good luck! The bypass will prevent GERD, the sleeve has a chance of causing it or making it much, much worse. Stick with the facts and figures over feelings... because feelings associated with things we don't know much about... are generally not accurate. I was afraid of the bypass too at one point, because I had the wrong information. I got the band. I really wish I had just gotten the bypass from the get go and not waste so much money on 2 surgeries only because I was afraid of something based on the wrong information. My personal experience here. Good luck with whatever you chose to do!

On the pre-op diet front, that depends upon the surgeon - many of us do no diet at all other than the day before to empty the GI tract. If you are talking to the same surgeon who did your original surgery, and he normally imposes such diets then you will likely be told to do it again, though one can make a good case that since you are at a reasonable goal weight you don't need to "shrink the liver", assuming that is the rationale that they use for the diet. All you can do is ask. When contemplating a revision, it is always a good idea to get a second (or even third) opinion, as these surgeries are often more complex and their causes more variable. If the cause is a shaping or other structural issue with your sleeve (which can have a big influence on GERD problems) then it may be better to correct the problem with the sleeve rather than replace it. As the sleeve is still relatively new to most bariatric surgeons, they may not really know how to correct a problem with a sleeve and prefer to stick within their comfort zone by converting it to a bypass, which they tend to know very well. A good starting place to look for second opinions on something like this is in the DS community - look for a surgeon who is experienced with the DS, since as that uses the sleeve as its basis, they tend to be more experienced with them than most, and tend to be more comfortable in correcting them when needed. The practice that did my sleeve had been doing them for around twenty years, and that was seven years ago - most bariatric practices at that time had only been doing them for a year or two at best.

This is going to depend on your surgeon (and maybe insurance) but, my revision from Band to Bypass required a minimum 2 week pre-op diet.

Just wanted to share my weight loss struggle! I had the lap band in 2009 lost about 60 pounds in 1 year. Everyday was a struggle, and for about 2 years I never found true restriction and would only lose weight by not eating and/or throwing up...Alot of foods just would not go down at all. I pretty much gained back all of the weight and accepted that I was a lap band failure. I know a few people who failed with the band, it happens, but what's not ok is giving up. I can only speak for myself, and the lap band was not the best tool for ME. I can honestly say, I have never been more pleased with my results with the gastric sleeve. I can actually eat dense protein now without feeling stuck or throwing up, I actually can eat anything/everything in small portions and stay satisfiried. I am 8 months post op and have lost more than 80 pounds since June, In total from my heaviest its 102lbs! I'm not tryna bash the lap band, I just want those who are still struggling for years to know that there is still hope! You may want to look into getting a revision to the gastric sleeve. Congrats to those who have reached their goals with the band. Goodluck to u all...Below is my weight loss video...Dr.David Buchin is the doctor you would want to see if u live in NY and are interested in the sleeve

I understand the pain, people will look at u as if ur a failure, its ok though, show them that with patience, u will get there Insurance did cover my revision..QUICK TIP: If ur lookin to get a revision, some insurance companies make u do a 6 month supervised weight loss program. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS! I WAS LIKE THE HELL WITH THIS! LMAO I SPENT ALL THESE YEARS STUGGLING WITH THIS DAMN BAND N YALL GONNA ASK ME FOR ANOTHER 6 MONTHS? I CALLED MY LAP BAND DOC N ASKED THEM TO FAX ALL MY DOCUMENTS TO MY NEW DOCTOR AND I HAD MY NEW DOCTOR FAX ALL MY PAST LAP BAND DOCUMENTED VISITS TO MY INSURANCE COMPANY N THATS WAY MORE THAN 6 MONTHS ,THAT COVERED LIKE 2 YEARS...I WAS APPROVED RIGHT AWAY...JUST THOUGHT I THROW THAT TIP OUT THERE...SORRY TO WRITE IN CAPS IM JUST STRESSIN THE IMPORTANCE OF APPEALING IF THEY TRY TO THROW THAT AT U GUYS

I see ur big day is right behind mines. I think we all have our fears be it the initial WLS or revision. Wishing u much success becoming a sleever we will both be on the losing team racing towards a normal BMI soon.

there are virtually no dumping with the sleeve and its extremly rare, no malabsorb with the sleeve, no puking, no limit of size food to a point that one eats, or great restriction. Yer band is in there just as long as somone who started at 400 pounds. If you had to have it remove, and didnt want weight gain again you would still have to do a revision surgery. You still have the same odds of typical LB problems popping up as any of the others with more weight to lose. JMO, but I think you have subjected yourself to the same issues you didnt want t have, down the road. JMO, no offense intended. Sandy

I had VSG in Aug 2017. Dr says I’ll need to have revision due to acid reflux/Barrett’s, etc......Does anyone know what the preop for revision surgery is? Do you still have to do 2 week liquid, etc.....? Just gathering info to make an informed decision. Thx!

I am assuming you are only a few weeks out from surgery (sorry couldn’t see your surgery date anywhere), in which case I felt weak and dizzy until I was able to eat between 600 to 700 calories a day, but I was told by my doctor not to exercise, except for walking, until the 3 month mark. Your body is still healing and just needs time. As you can eat more, it should get better. The only advice I can give is to track everything you are eating, if you aren’t already, to make sure you are getting enough protein, hitting your water target and taking your vitamins. Good luck and look forward to hearing about your revision journey.

Any meat as long as it's moist. If it's dry use salad dressing or mayo Michelle Post op revision band to bypass 9-28-17 Sw 276 Day of surgery 252 Cw 248 Goal Healthy BMI 154.

I not only had gallbladder issues,but also a stricture that was an. 100% blockage. I had to have emergency surgery to do a revision rny and have my gallbladder removed. One more night in the hospital and I get to go home.

I choose the RNY b/c out of the 3 options is the one w/more research, w/more wt loss chances and I would say w/more positive outcomes . I rather have WLS once (RNY) than have the lap-band and have to revise it later....And sleeve vs RNY well again research is the top reason, second reason is that the RNY is reversible if you want it in the future. Good luck in your decision