Search the Community

I had a revision october 24th due to the band port leaking. I was banded december of 2004 and never reached my goal with it, wasn't able to get adjusted just right and then within the last couple months found that the port was leaking. My surgeon decided that because of the problems I had, instead of putting in another band, he would convert me to the sleeve. I am one week out and feel great. Hope you can get turned around.

I'm scheduled for a revision on June 24. I am a teacher so I have to wait till summer break. Happy to see others scheduled around the same time.

I’m a revision band to sips. Didn’t have any comorbidities. I think I’m a slower loser due to revision and if I’m honest I’m not 100% compliant. No complaints though, love my SIPS.

Hey Kasey, I'm a revision from band to sleeve as well. We don't have a pouch. We have a stomach just like before our band surgeries, it's just smaller. The portion of the stomach that remains is very muscular and there is very minimal stretching. Now, that doesn't mean that as the months pass during the first year, that you will have the same restriction you had at 2 months out. I'm 11 months out and have been able to eat about the same amounts for the last 4-5 months. I talked to my nut a couple of weeks ago about maintenance issues. She told me that my stomach was probably at maximum capacity, and the quantities that I'm consuming per meal is probably going to be the max I'll be able to consume for several years if not for the rest of my life. I have found a few ways to at more. I can drink warm liquids, and fit in more. I can stretch out my meals over 45-60 minutes and fit in much more food per meal. When I keep my meals to no more than 20-30 minutes, I can not consume as much. I can eat a lot more carbs/mushy stuff than I can dense Protein. The only time I had to adhere to the 2oz rule was early out during the healing period, and all of the post-op swelling. You're far enough out now that it's more difficult to make better choices. I've had a pretty rough week, and I've made some pretty craptastic choices, but it isn't hard to get back on track. Go back to the basics. Protein first, get off the carbs, and stick with healthy protein, veggies/fruits/whole grains. Track your food intake, and make sure you are getting in your Water. It's perfectly normal for you to be able to eat more now than you could at 2 months out. In 2-4 more months, you may or may not be able to eat an ounce or two more. If you make the best choice, being protein first, you should not have a bunch of room for carb or not so great choices. I know that's sometimes easier said than done. Don't be too alarmed that you can eat more now unless you're consuming a lot of carby stuff that is going to stall out your weight loss. I can fit in 6-8oz of mushy foods such as an entire cup of chili, or creamy broccoli cheese Soup with chunky broccoli. But, give me steak and I can only get in about 4oz with a couple bites of green Beans or salad. I can consume 3-5oz of dense protein depending on the cut and type of meat, and a few bites of veggies be it green beans, broccoli, peas mashed potatoes, and sometimes I'll eat Pasta or rice. I don't think 4oz of food at 6 months is unreasonable at all. Hang in there and if you need anything let us know.

Hello All, I had a lap band revision to VSG on Oct 14 2009. As of today I'm down 76lbs. I just was wondering if anyone else has had experiences where you have "fallen" off the wagon so to speak. ie. had sugar and carbs and ever felt like someone was shoving a hot poker from your stomach back up your throat? I am concerened because I keep reading that if you do "fall off the wagon" you can strech your pouch. It also says you're only supposed to eat 2oz at a time. This concerns me greatly as I know I can eat at least 4oz. Anyone else experiencing these things? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Kasey

Don't be afraid, but cautious and take this time to learn as much about the lap band as you can. Many newbies come here and don't realize it can take several fills before they get into the green zone. Some never researched their surgeon, complication, revision rate, and aftercare, THOSE are the most important things you need to worry about right now, your surgeon is your first defensive against complications, NOT what you really read on these boards. Many people come here when they are in trouble, or not following rules, etc, or not doing their homework on how the band works, many don't even have a post op plan of nutrition, exercise, or have a clue of what they are suppose to do, they are just waiting on fills and the band to "automatically work". I got the band because it was the safest of ALL weight loss surgeries, and it can be adjusted or removed if necessary. My band gave me my life back, and changed my life, I lost over 130 pounds with it and kept that weight off for many years, my band DID ITS job, but I also worked my band by following rules, seeing my surgeon when needed, exercise, etc.... The band just like ALL surgeries comes with risk, losing weight and getting healthy outweigh any potential complications for many people. Realizing the band is a tool, and not a miracle wand and knowing upfront what you have to do will lead you to a successful band journey... There will probably be bumps in your journey, nothing is perfect, but again don't focus on complications, focus on working your band following the rules, learning what the green zone is and staying in it throughout your banded life and you should not have many worries.... Things can happen without your fault, the band can erode, you can develop a hernia, your body my reject the band, but these things are VERY RARE.... Most of the complications with the band are preventable and not serious, and can be treated and managed as long as you follow up with your surgeon timely. Again research your surgeon, learn how the band work, go to seminars, meet others in person who is banded, seek someone to mentor you if you are feeling scared.... I've had two bands, I am almost 8 years post op, loved my old band and love my new band, I developed a hernia last year in my 7th year, had the hernia repaired, old band removed and new band put in all in one surgery and I was in good hands with a very skilled surgeon.... I would do the band over and over again, if necessary every few years as long as I don't have horrible complications and my insurance pays for it. Good luck!

Weight loss is not necessarily slower with a revision,that is dependent on multiple factors Including your weight is at revision and how close to a proper Weight loss diet you are eating. Also a bypass has the added bonus of being malabsorbtive it isn’t just restrictive so that helps the weight to come off. I had a band to bypass revision in Jan and my weight has come off quicker than when I was first banded

Went to Mexican for lunch today and hubby suggested we share a meal. He's gained weight over the past year (especially since I give him the rest of many of my meals) and thought it couldn't hurt. I'm 4 1/2 mths sleeve revision (from lapband) and eat maybe 1/4 of any of my meals out, but don't want to share cuz then I wouldn't get a to go box. And I luv having my meal again and again (sometimes so much so that I get sick of it and toss it). I reluctantly agreed. We chose something that looked good to both of us ( a grilled steak burrito with black Beans, rice). They brought us an extra plate. So, so glad we decided to share. It was HUGE. He cut off about 1/4 of it and put it on my plate. I ate maybe 1/3 of my 1/4 burrito. And it was the 1st time I've ever seen him bring home leftovers! In the 3 yrs I've known him, he ALWAYS eats whatever he's served, even if he's stuffed 1/2 way thru. If I eat 1 bite too much I will vomit. So we talked about all the meals we could share and realized that we could also save money! So not only did we save money, hubby ate less - but we both brought home enuf leftovers for dinner! I always feel jipped if I don't get my own. Not anymore. Score....

I can't say enough about Dr. Kelly and his staff! I am NurseMichele's sleeve sister! lol Everything she said about the staff, well I say it too. Dr. Kelly surprised us with operating on us the day we got there instead of the next day. We thought that was great so we didn't need to stress another day. Being a lapband revision I had a little tougher time than the other two (I was first also). It took 1.5 hours for me including the endoscopy I had to have before they started because of the lapband. They had a little problem with my stomach because of the lapband but they took care of it fine. I had a rough time coming out of the anastasia also and started to go into to shock but they brought me out quickly. My sister was there at that point and said she got worried because I was pastie white and shivering bad. She did a good job helping out when needed and I'm glad she was there right then. I had to have a drain tube for 2.5 days but that didn't bother me, I thought it would if I had to but it didn't. By day three I think I was caught up in heeling with the other two. Cece (Dr. Kelly's wife) and Omar, the coordinator, took us to Lucerna Hotel. Beautiful! And then they took us to lunch for a nice bowl of broth and then to the board walk on Tijuana beach and we all stuck our feet in the ocean. It wasn't that warm of a day though. A bad day on the beach is better than any good day at work though. Then they took us shopping and back to the hotel. We did a LOT of walking and all of us did good. The next day they gave us pedicures compliments of the Dr.! Cece gave us each a massage and plucked our eyebrows! lol My niece and I also chose to buy the manicure. Each day we felt a little better. I'm not hungry much at all and just been drinking broth, juice and water as told. I have a little pain in the area where my tube was but it might be a gas pain from being operated on. Scale of 1 to 10 it's only a 2-3 and it is very seldom....good! Tender where the incissions were is about all. We got home Friday night. The flight was 2.5 hours and then we drove 4 hours, a little tiring though but glad to be home. Today my niece and I went garage sale-ing and then to a Vintage Fair and walked around for 3 hours and then I visited my uncle for 1.5 hours and home to rest as I have to visit my aunt in another hour. I might go to bed a little earlier than my normal time. I do feel good though. I would truly recommend Dr. Kelly and his staff. The other doctors were very nice too and obviously competent since we are all doing good. Michele was so much fun to have around with my sister, niece and myself; we had a lot of fun together; she's a hoot! Nice to have a Sleeve Sister that you care about and want to keep in contact with. Good luck to you! We will all do good I'm sure. That's my update with no sugar coating on it. I will post my progress also. Good luck to all that have this done, I'm feeling it was a good choice for me.

Hello, all I'm looking for anyone that has underwent a revisional surgery from the sleeve to the bypass.... I'm currently in the process of trying to get insurance approval which I'm not really concerned with just would like to hear some experiences with this procedure

Following. I had the VSG in 2012. I initially lost 125 lbs. I have gained 25 back. I have terrible reflux. I had an EGD on Friday and the GI doc said he expects to recommend a revision to the full bypass. I have no idea what to expect as far as eating differences, recovery time, and if it is possible to lose additional weight. My surgeon said he usually only sees a 15-20 lb additional weight loss from a revision. Thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mandi, I've gotten the impression that there aren't that many RNY's here at lapbandtalk and it's a really good question as I'm revising to RNY myself in June.

Me too! I'm down about 17lbs from my 2 day clear liquid diet. I can't help but worrying though since it has been so easy compared to the band. I keep wondering if I'll have adequate restriction as a revision patient. What does restriction feel like to you?

Please bear in mind that I am a very happy and very successful bandit now 9 years post-op. I do not regret my band, would do it all over again and if I ever have to have it removed, I would hope to have a replacement. You shouldn't be sick unless you eat too fast. I can feel my port if Intouch it but, being a lot older than you, I have kept some fat round my middle which means it doesn't show. It has never hurt when I lie on it, When I was banded in 2006, it was a miracle surgery. And for some people, who accept that they will still have to work hard, it is just that. It was and still is for me. But over the years it has become clear that serious complications necessitating further surgery are much more common than originally thought. Some of these are avoidable by careful eating and by not keeping the band tight; unfortunately others are beyond our control. We used to be warned about band slips, leaks and about ( very rare) erosion into the stomach tissue but it turns out that a build up of scar tissue round the band (causing it to tighten) is quite common. It can be very difficult to get the right level of restriction and some people are tempted to keep it tight enough to physically limit food, in fact it was once thought this was how it should be. But this causes food to back up into the oesophagus and that risks problems such as oesophageal dysmotility which may be irreversible. It can also damage the vagus nerve. Some doctors have stopped implanting bands as they found the removal rate was unacceptably high and it was too easy not to lose enough weight. Revision from band to sleeve is not uncommon! EDITED TO REMOVE A CHUNK. This was a copy of a post I made on another site and this section referred to the other, very anti-band site. My apologies for including it. The band makes it easier by dimming hunger, but it does nothing for head hunger and, contrary to popular opinion, it does not and should not physically stop us eating. If it does it is too tight! Having said all that, I love my band, I know many successful long term bandits in real life. My own experience has been good and so has that of almost all those I actually know and have met. I know IRL around 50 banded people; all over four years out, many over 8 years. I admit I have lost touch with some but of all those I know about only two have lost their bands. One of these admits she abused her band deliberately, the other had a no -related medical condition. My own doctor tells me he has removed a very small number of bands. He didn't specify what that meant but, unlike US doctors he is salaried and has no financial incentive to perform band as opposed to other surgeries (which he also performs). He still believes banding is a good option. No surgery is perfect. I know two sleeved people whose lives are now truly miserable because of their sleeves and one bypass patient who very nearly died because of her operation and two years later is still severely affected by it.

There is a forum on Obesity help dedicated to the DS. It seems to me there are a lot more "long timers" there. I personally hate that forum, but it might be worth a quick cruise to check it out. what I am excited about are the new approaches to DS which reduce some of the nutrient deficiency risks that the traditional procedure had. I am curious why he thinks that the DS is a better option over sleeve or bypass? DS includes a sleeve (usually a larger one) and does tend to have statistically better weight loss over sleeve. It is my personal backup plan should this sleeve not continue to work for me (3.5 years since my band to sleeve revision and still going strong!)

I don't know what the major difference I will feel once I have the bypass on Thursday but am looking forward to it. As one who never did well with the band this was my only choice. It's really difficult to know which surgery to choose in the first place, initially I wanted the RNY but chickend out at the last moment. In hindsite that was a mistake but I was fortuneate not to have major complications with the band and was able to have my insurance pay for the removal and revision to RNY. At my age with my comorbs I believe the RNY really is the best solution for me. I know ahead of time that any surgery can fail in the long run but I did have different expectations from the band which were not realistic. I also know that with the RNY my diabetes II will "cured" in a short amount of time. I also know that I don't have to worry about restriction variations with RNY as it will be there from the start. Dumping syndrome occurs somewhere between 40% and 50% of the people who have RNY so its not something you can count on so you still have to be careful with your sugar/fat. Drinking before and after eating is something you have to restrict also as you're basically a self flusher now because you don't have the pyloris valve anymore. And chewing very well is important so that you don't stretch your pouch or your new stoma. Anyway I'm having RNY because I want to lose weight and I didn't with the lap band. Whatever that percentage is that doesn't lose with the band I am a part of. I'll post when I can to let people know who aren't RNYers themselves what it's like to be a bypasser and compare it to being a bander. I'm curious to know what the small pouch feels like compared to a banded pouch and what foods I can tolerate etc... So whoever can come up with the best way to decide which surgery is the best fit for each individual wins the lottery in my book because it's not always an easy thing to figure out beforehand. Good luck to all of us who are having or had WLS as it's not easy for anyone, Nancy.

Revision I'm having a revision due to severe acid reflux. How much difference will there be with recovery and weight loss? Sent from my SM-J727U using BariatricPal mobile app

Im am so sad as today after a floroscopy my doctor has determined that the port that he installed in June with no fill is flipped. know I have to go back under tghe knife for a revision surgery. He said the hooks that hold it in place are upside down. Has this happend to you and what had to happen to you to fix it? How long before you went back to work? Im bummed. On a good note, I have lost 65 pounds to date and the funny thing is that since i have no restriction, its been all on my own that i have been loosing.... :laugh:

I had buyers remorse the first couple week after surgery (10 mths ago) too. Got my hunger back on day 10 and was on liquids for 4 weeks. Coulda eaten my arm. Plus my recovery was a bit rough. I'd come on here to find people who just had surgery who were running a marathon. Seemed like no one was in as much discomfort as I was. liquid Vicodin was my buddy for the first 12 days. At 4 weeks, I was feeling good again and don't regret my decision at all. While I haven't lost all my weight (10 lbs to goal. I was a band revision so started at 174, not as much to lose), I've been easily maintaining. Every morning when I weigh myself (yes, I'm an everydayer) I expect to gain a couple lbs. It's always the same. The sleeve must be working. If I worked a little harder, I could take off the last 10 lbs. I'm just enjoying not working and not gaining. The pain and hunger will subside soon and I promise u will enjoy life with ur sleeve. Hardly anyone regrets it after 6 mths or so. Good luck to u!

Congratulations on your decision to lose. I had the sleeve August 2011, and only lost 45lbs to date. I only had 100lbs to lose. My dr. Warned me that the loss would be slow, but not this slow. He wanted me to have RYN but I chose the sleeve because I didn't want to deal with malabsorption. Now, one year later my dr. Wants me to have the RYN because although my HBP did come down initially, it has gone back up. I'm now back on BP meds. And the weight has stopped coming off. In addition the high blood sugar is creeping back in. :-( Although I don't regret having WLS, I wish I had done the RYN like my dr advised. It's the most aggressive surgery and I would already be at goal. I do plann on having the revision done in October, going thru it this time will be a bit easier....I hope; I need to get at least 50lbs off. Their is always diet and exercise....and with the sleeve you will be on a diet for the rest of your life. Sent from my iPad using RNYTalk

Hello Friends, I had my original Band done by Dr. Ren at NYU in 2007. I LOVED her and that office. Unfortunately at the beginning of the year my band malfunctioned and it has a leak. It's basically like having no band at all. I haven't felt restriction in almost a year. So I have gained back 48 pounds already and it's awful!! I need to have a revision done but I just moved to LA and I need a surgeon here. I would fly back to NYU but I need an office with aftercare close by and fills/unfills...you guys know the drill. So any suggestions PLEASE!!!! I'm so desperate!

I am so sorry for your loss.. In my experience not many people can stop at 1/2 a glass..so I would be careful about that..(me I'm that person😅)...Also I am about 7 weeks out from a revision surgery and have had lots of similar thoughts...they will pass if you distract yourself long enough or drink a ton of water... Try talking with friends, family or a medical professional about your thoughts. But remember your pouch is still healing and you will be grieving and healing...transfer addiction is a slippery slope and you have been through a lot and need to take care of yourself.

http://www.smh.com/sections/services-procedures/medlib/docs_articles/Bariatric/bariatric_pdf_articles/bariatric_surgery/Spivak%20&%20Favretti%20-%20Avoiding%20Postoperative%20Complications%20with%20the%20LAP-BAND%20System.pdf In many cases, the first indication of possible erosion is an infection at the access port site. The connecting tube provides drainage of gastric content to the port site, which causes the infection. Erosion should be ruled out at the first sign of port infection. http://www.inamed.com/pdf/health/94800-12_LB_Product_Data_Sheet.pdf Erosion of the band into stomach tissue has been associated with revision surgery, after the use of gastric-irritating medications, after stomach damage and after extensive dissection or use of electrocautery, and during early experience. Symptoms of band erosion may include reduced weight loss, weight gain, access port infection, or abdominal pain. Re-operation to remove the device is required.

Mina Dina:I met with my surgeon yesterday for my consult, and I told him about my gerd, and im gonna have an scope procedure. But what he said was, that what he is seeing with sleev patients, is 4 or5 years after the sleeve the gerd is coming back, in addition to some people having it about 3 month out of sleeve surgery. Now I thi k Im leaning toward the gastric bypass. I dont want to go through surgery again with a revision. Thank u. Its funny some people with gerd improve with the sleeve. Some have worse gerd than before the sleeve. So confusing Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

I'm in Oregon and having my revision to sleeve at 12:30 tomorrow (Monday). A little nervous just took half a Xanax. Frustrated I didn't get more done. . Good luck everyone!!!!