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@@kjkeller102 welcome, welcome, welcome you did a great job testing the waters and making your first post some peoples heartburn takes a turn for the worst PO i even know someone that had a sleeve to bypass revision due to their continuous heartburn lets not concentrate on the negatives i don't know a % of people that have heartburn problems PO people DO have those issues but.........i "think" more people (like me) don't have any gerd problems or things can be controlled with meds now that i told you the "bad" some peoples heartburn issues PO might improve a little, or are gone PO as you said everyone is different when you see the doc next month talk to him about your concerns you should have a big discussion hearing his thoughts hopefully he will assure you things will "probably" be ok/or not maybe your heartburn will be controlled by meds there are only 2 guarantees in life Death and Taxes good luck bud kathy

Hi Hoven, My date for the revision from the band to the sleeve is Monday, March 16th. My band was placed back in March of 2011. I'm using the same surgeon I used before, at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. The hospital is affiliated with New York Presbyterian. I know we'll both be in competent hands. Wishing you the best in your journey.

Got the dreaded call today. UGI showing my esophagus is in trouble due to dilation and other issues with stretched pouch, then, to complicate matters my new insurance does not cover the bariatric programs in my local town where I got my lap band and I have transferred care to the new insurance bariatric program 400 miles away. I have an appointment with the new doctor in 3 weeks. The call today came from the new clinic letting me know that the band needed to come out and revision to sleeve will be done 6 months after band removal. I did not want to hear either one of these news. So, I understand the 6 month wait due to scar tissue caused by the band and time to allow healing. My question and concern is undergoing 2 surgeries, what are my chances of getting approval for the sleeve after lap band removal? What I am hoping to hear is that revision approval (if there is such a code) includes band removal and sleeve after the six months. What I am unfortunately expecting to hear is that both removal and sleeve are two separate approvals. What if I don't meet insurance requirements to qualify for the sleeve after removal is my biggest fear! I've been successful with my weight loss and the band, however, will my BMI meet the requirements after band removal? Will I need to gain weight to meet the BMI requirements? I will be devastated if I end up with no weight loss tool of any kind. Just with a few times that I had complete unfills of the band, I started gaining weight quickly. Anyone have any ideas how all this works? All insurances companies are different and I will contact mine to get more information, but, I am afraid I will end up with nothing. Jake

Had a revision Jan 13. Lap band surgery 2006. My Doc said the Fluid has to be out, Took 3 hrs for all, 1.5 for removal of lap band. Lots of scar tissue surrounding it. 1.5 for sleeve Even tho recovery took a while from the surgery. I felt so much better with the lap band removed. It always hurt both the band and the port Good luck!

Was wondering how long it took? Doc acts like it is no big deal to remove band , and doesn't even charge more for a revision. Did they take the fill out of your band before surgery?

It's probably anxiety & nerves. I had a lapband to sleeve revision 3 weeks ago and was freaking out just before the surgery, my nerves were shot & I was crying. Once it was over, I felt so much better. I think the "relief" was so strong it helped my recovery. I was amazed how quickly it went.

Thank you all for your replies! I did meet with my surgen again and asked her to remove the band, which she has agreed to do (all in one stage if I don't have too much damage). The insurance approved the band removal and bypass revision just today (yay!). My surgery should be in about 4 weeks; I will know for sure after meeting with the surgeon one more time.

Hi everyone! First, I want to thank you all for your input and posts, it really means a lot to hear thoughts from friends that have been down this road:) I did have my appointment yesterday and all my questions were answered. Fortunately, the hospital system where I had my surgery has an online portal where you can look up any report, blood work, etc. I had a cop of my OR report with me. Ok, first, the round pouch was due to the lab band that was removed in September. The shape is different and I'm glad there are others out there like me!! Eating pizza was stupid and the look on my surgeons face was not a good one! He told me that since I only had a small amount of weight to loose, it would go slower but do not loose focus. He said he knows how easy it is to get discouraged, but do not loose focus, told me to ever push the envelope or sleeve again and DO NOT LOOSE FOCUS!!! I was also told that wording was a factor due to insurance...I was denied the revision because I was not heavy enough. It is not a plication and my stomach is at 15%....however the OR report does not indicate any percentage of stomach...should it?? I had my lab band removed in September. I went in for a simple replacement of my port and woke up to hear they had to take it out due to infection underneath the tubing. I was shocked and upset however I look at is as a blessing. I was very thin, sallow, tired and malnourished. I gained 50 lbs in 4 months and was miserable but everyone told me my eyes looked brighter and I looked healthier. I was so focused on the weight gain I did not notice it at the time but I look at pictures and realize it was true. Even today, 20 lbs thinner, I feel so incredibly healthier. It has been a long haul and the last thing I want to do is to have issues with my sleeve...etc leak!! Pizza was not good and will never again for a looooong time...lol. It is completely different from the band and I lived with that for 7 years so I got real used to being able to cheat it if I wanted. It's a totally different feeling and one that I'm trying to get used to and I will. With all the wonderful insight you all have to offer its amazing and I thank you all again for your posts. I hope what my dr told me makes sense, if not please let me know your thoughts and anything else I may need to look into????

If I dont see a better weight loss in approx. 3mths., I will consider having revision surgery by another surgeon and I will let everyone know my surgeon's name and location so your surgery won't be a waste as well. This is something you would want done right the first time. I can tell you that I'm in the Carolinas. But I'm going to cut out eating the slider foods, eat healthy and try to workout more to see if I loose some more. Ill keep you posted. Thanks.

I went from band to sleeve same day with not even an unfill. After 7 years of living tight with the band, my esophagus had also dilated so when you look at my xrays you see a nice size pouch on top of what is supposed to be my "sleeve." I was told this shouldn't impact my weight loss but I have never ever felt like a "sleeved" patient. I have no restriction and I've actually gained 9 lbs since my surgery 16 months ago I don't really feel like it stores food though, I don't ever have any reflux or heart burn which I did have before surgery almost daily so I guess that is one of the few positives that came from my revision. I also don't get stuck or throw up anymore but I'm more less fighting a battle without a tool and believe me it sucks! I'm 28lbs from my goal weight but that is only because of the success from my band and my own hard work and dedication to keeping it off, honestly the sleeve has never done one thing to assist in my weight loss.

I want to share that this is so important. Most people have less restriction as time goes on. I got sick with the flu/fever and was SO HUNGRY I felt like I could eat endlessly. i felt so sick I was just eating whatever.. cold Cereal, a piece of bread, whatever. anyway, as soon as I went back to eating properly...voila... it was like the sleeve worked again! I am 3 years from my revision so I am simply sharing this experience so you realize you are not alone, this is true of MANY of us. I mostly want to comment on the final paragraph though. Isn't it just a joy, blessing and pleasure to be able to eat salads, raw veggies, steak etc - you know, normal food - without fear of getting stuck, eyes watering, horrible puking? I LOVE having a smaller, less hungry tummy that seems to function pretty close to the way a normal stomach should work. For me, the sleeve is what I had hoped the band would be, but just didn't work that way for me. For the first time in decades, I feel normal.

Okay, so I have a better idea now. It is not that she can only eat mushy, but just in general she has major food intolerances. There are probably people here who have much more experience with this, but about a year ago (which would have been 2 years post revision to sleeve) I went through a time when I couldn't eat due to no appetite. I didn't puke, it was just that everything made me naseaus. I thought it was a physical problem, but it actually turned out to be more emotional in nature, and once I STOPPED eating, getting restarted was a challenge. It is like once the tummy is used to undereating, you become prone to eating less and less. It is ironically much like overeating.... so what started as an emotional upset became a physical issue for me. Since I didn't have a mecanical reason for my issue, i had to "work at it" and did recover and and am doing awesome now. Okay, DGL Licorice is a soothing herbal remedy you can buy at Vitamin Shoppe etc for about 10 bucks. They are these big tablets that you bite into a couple of pieces (meaning, a few crunches) and then tuck between your lip and gum and just slowly let it melt. It coats your throat, and tummy in a soothing way. It doesn't instantly fix things, but it just calms things down... I used them 1-2 a day when i was feeling naseaus. over time, it made a huge difference and I keep them on hand even now. the other thing I did was find the circumstances/food that I could tolerate and started by carefully eating those. In my case, the key to the root cause of my problems were that I could eat fairly well if I was out with friends, it was being home alone when I simply could not eat. Well, I started going out more so I could get some food in every day. In your wife's case, perhaps just very gently eating the things that seem more appealing. If toasted waffles work i will speculate that crackers perhaps with a bit of cheese or Peanut Butter might work? I think toasted bread, crackers and stuff has a texture that is likely easier than raw bread type products. I suspect raw veggies are hard to eat. Maybe soft fish is edible? I would also seriously try to find a palatable Protein drink or make homemade smoothies. sometimes people can drink more nutrition and calories than they can eat. Example might be a greek yogurt, fruit based drink with perhaps a bit of unflavored Protein powder in. If she can tolerate peanut butter, that adds fats and calories too. Warning: in my early months peanut butter made me sick because it is so rich, so go easy at first. Has she tried Protein Bars? i avoid them in general because for me they go down too easy (but they helped me when i was struggling with eating). I wonder if she finds a wonderful tasting one she can kind of slowly munch on them? They often are very dense in calories and carbs in addition to the protein. I hope others with food intolerances pipe in with ideas!

I have done TONS of research and been on these forums for months and I have't heard anything at all about VSG causing a build-up of scar tissue. I've heard a LOT of lap-band patients having trouble with scar tissue from their bands when revising to VSG. I don't think you'll have to be a "gym rat" to maintain your weight loss, but regular exercise is a requirement for maintained weight loss no matter how you lose the weight. I lost 90 pounds "on my own" a few years ago and stopping regular exercise contributed greatly to my regain. As for stretching the sleeve, it will relax and expand some by about a year out, but it can never be back to anything remotely resembling your old, full-sized stomach.

My insurance won't cover plastic surgery after weight loss at all. I looked into it years ago when I lost over 90 pounds "on my own" and then again when I was researching whether they would cover my WLS. I had plastics after my initial weight loss back in 2011 and paid for it out of pocket in Mexico. Luckily everything has held up well through my weight regain and re-loss, so I don't think I will need any revisions, but if I do, I'm prepared to go back to Mexico again. No way I could afford US prices out of pocket!

It is hard when you see so many people post how quickly they are losing. I had revision surgery 2/4 - no pre-op diet and have only lost 11 pounds. I'm starting to get scared to face the scale and keep thinking I should stay off Bariartic Pal so as not to get frustrated reading about everyone's success but at the same time I need it to see I'm not alone

I had my surgery with A Lighter Me and Dr. Elias Ortiz. There were a few things that I was not happy about, though are not necessarily related to the surgery itself. Dr. Ortiz was somewhat arrogant, in my opinion. He was assisted by Dr. Morales, who was an absolute sweetheart. Dr. Morales made the 'house call' to the hotel once we were released from the hospital. I had a room mate in my hospital room. Not intentionally, actually. She was picked up at the airport at the same time as me. We went from the airport to the hospital for the initial check-up, EKG, and blood tests. Then, we were taken to the hotel. The next day, we were picked up together. I believe that it was just a mis-belief by the A Lighter Me staff that she and I were 'friends' and were there 'together'. So, when they asked if we wanted a room together, we both felt like it was either each other or a stranger, we agreed to it. Of course, that all changed when we realized that nobody else had a room mate (aside from those who had a 'support person' along with them). Neither of us did. My room mate in the hospital was getting a different surgery than mine. Mine was VSG and hers was a revision of some sort OR a bypass. There was a lot of discussion with her around it. And she discussed some of it with me. First problem showed itself when Dr. Ortiz and team spoke 'unfiltered' with her in front of me, including her current weight and other personal details. Not cool. But then, if they thought we were 'friends' . . . Good for her, she called them on discussing her personal details too publicly. Even though they brought us to the hospital early on that Sunday morning, and even though they told us we would be first in surgery that day, we were not. And because neither of us had eaten since the early evening before, that was a long time to be waiting. They took her to surgery before me, but not until late afternoon. And so it follows that she came back first. Here's the problem that irks me the most: When I woke up after surgery, I was in her hospital bed and she was in mine!! Prior to surgery that day, she had been under her covers whereas I had only lounged on top of mine!!! And yes, I freaked out!! I was NOT impressed. IN. THE. LEAST! In fact., I was furious! Not at HER! She had as much control of it as I did - none! I was angry with the staff for putting us back in the wrong beds! And, yes, I really questioned Dr. Ortiz when he came to our room due to my outburst as to whether I got the surgery I was supposed to get, and that made her question him in the same manner about the surgery she got! I was not impressed. Yes, the staff, once they understood what the issue was (language barrier), changed the bedding and such. AND they moved my room mate to another room of her own. Good gawd!! Really?? As I said, these things are not necessarily related to the surgery itself, but to the overall experience. I have had no complications, no pain, no illness or anything related to my surgery. I did very well with the ice chips at the hospital. With tea and broth at the hotel. And I walked to WalMart (twice) from the hotel. I felt absolutely fine. It was six months yesterday since my surgery and I have lost only 47 pounds in that time. So, I am very disappointed with that. Others who I met at the hospital in Tijuana at that same timeframe have lost in excess of 90 pounds. So . . .

I'm sorry you have to go through all of this. Have you had a barium swallow done to see if the band has slipped? I had left rib pain, mostly after I ate, and extreme left shoulder pain (I've had since the moment I work up from surgery 2 years ago). I did the swallow and my band has slipped, not much, but enough to cause pain. I went in and had it un-filled (I wasn't even very full because of fear of being stuck) but I still have the shoulder pain. The rib pain is gone, but my stomach hurts every time I eat something solid. My doctor said that the shoulder pain was caused by either the diaphragm or the band pushing on the vagus nerve which makes my shoulder hurt. He said that despite being completely un-filled, I'm still having issues and it's time to take the band out. I would be opting for a revision surgery since I am just one of those people who can't have the band in but still need to lose weight, however I have to wait a year because of insurance having a rule of needing to be enrolled for 24 months prior to bariatric surgery. You might have to bite the bullet and go somewhere else and pay the money to get it taken care of. I'm guessing your insurance won't cover anything? A lot of insurance now will cover bariatrics. Might be something to look into if you haven't already. Unfortunately, places go out of business or the hospitals have to close and then you're stuck with having to find a different place. I feel for you.

Insurance denied me so I am having to do self pay as well. My surgeon thankfully feels confident that he can do it all in 1 surgery. Getting revision completed March 3rd!!

I had the lapband 5 years ago it slipped at some point had surgery to fix it, about 6 months ago I had surgery to remove it. My surgeon didn't do revisions in one surgery she liked to allow your insides to heal... I've ballooned back to my starting weight. I am looking into doing gastric bypass but so very scared of complications that could arise I know surgery is always a risk but already having 3 surgeries due to the Crapband, I am worried about all the scar tissue or issues that could arise... I have an almost 2 year old that I need to be here for =( please tell me someone else has had multiple surgeries and came out fine and still is fine!

I had RNY gastric bypass in 2002. I lost almost 100 lbs, but never reached my goal weight. Started having absorption issues almost immediately. My surgeon left town within 6 months of my surgery, without referring to another doctor. We did not have any other local bariatric surgeons. My PCP did his best, but was inexperienced with WLS patients. I was not absorbing Iron and having all sorts of problems from palpitations, dizziness, passing out, inability to swallow. I was hospitalized several times and given blood transfusions due to Iron deficiency Anemia. It was a nightmare. Long story short, I found a hematologist about 6 yrs post-op (during a hospitalization) and have had IV iron infusions a few times a year and it maintains my iron stores. But, the rest of the weight never came off. I had a child in 2010 and I have regained weight (not near my starting weight though). I have found a bariatric specialty clinic and have an appointment next week to discuss revisions. I am interested only in the lap band (band over bypass). If anyone has any experience with this, PLEASE comment. Thanks!

Good Morning Sleevers!! I have a question regarding the ability to eat without effort 4 oz. of food. I feel that I can easily eat more but, stop myself at that point. My surgery date was 9 Feb 15, so, I am about 2 1/2 weeks out. I started soft foods 1 week after surgery (fish, tuna, green beans). I guess each Surgeon is different. My surgery was completely pain-free and, though I am off work for 6 weeks, I could have gone to work the same week. I am losing fine (hit a stall now but, not too worried) but I am concerned that if I am able to eat so much now, in a month I will be eating a much larger portion. Also, it takes me about 5-10 minutes to eat meal. I have forced myself to slow down to minimum of 20 minutes. I can drink 32 oz of Water in about 5-10 minutes too. I can't eat salads yet. Sorry for the long post!! My actual question is: Are you or were you able to eat so much 2 1/2 weeks out or, is this due to my having a revision? Let me give an sample of a days worth of food: 1st meal: Protein shake 11 oz. mixed in my decaf coffee about 10 oz. 30 minutes later: water, water, water 2nd meal: 1 scrambled egg with 1 oz. of chicken and laughing cow wedge water 3rd Meal: 4 oz. grilled chicken breast w laughing cow wedge or chicken salad w light mayo 30 minutes later: water, water, water 32-40 oz. 4th Meal: 4 oz. grilled chicken breast, 4 green Beans water w Crystal Lite 5th meal: Protein Shake or string cheese with 1 slice of budding turkey wrapped around water, water, water

Received my approval for my revision from Band to RNY, so excited. Just waiting on the call to schedule my surgery. Jumping for joy

Welcome! There is a band to sleeve revision forum here you may want to check out. I revised 3 years ago and have been successful with the sleeve.

Thank you ladies for being so positive. They said they would only repair the hernia i have. They said it wasnt necessary to take out the band and do revision to bypass. But that doesn't make sense to me since the band caused the hernia in the first place.

Than you for posting that. I am planning a revision and was turning more to rny then started questioning my thoughts.