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I just got revised a week ago. I did have to start all over. Had to have all tests redone, had to have NUT appointments, weight loss, psych eval. It is very frustrating. Hopefully it all works out for you.

I'm waiting to here me and my daughter for November 20 I'm doing a revision my daughter is a first time sleeve. Hope he can do us both.

Good luck! You'll do great. What is prompting your revision?

Everyone: thanks for your good wishes. They mean so much to me! Jack - to answer your questions: same surgeon doing it or someone different? I switched surgeon's after my revision surgery because my original surgeon was charging $900 for fills. My fills aren't covered by insurance. So, someone different. Are you going to keep your band or will they send it back? I'd like to keep it since I paid for it. I have heard of others keeping it and there's a thread I started awhile back on this topic if you want to search. I'll ask and see what they say. But, the hazardous waste thing makes sense to me. How is the insurance managing this if you don't mind telling? Oy vay. Who knows? Original surgery was denied after I already had it due to incompetence of insurance coordinator at surgeon's office. Revision was covered as diagnostic abdominal laprascopic. Insurance denied this upcoming one as bariatric surgery, but left a loophole in the denial. I've paid the surgeon up-front and hopefully will get reimbursed. Hospital will bill insurance. I will fight tooth and nail if denied. Who made the 'final call'.....and how long would they have let this continue? I kept pushing for it to be removed. My surgeon was just cautious about my options in the event what I was experiencing was unrelated to the band. In other words, if I had it out and symptoms continue. Seems to me, if we, the patient want the thing out for whatever reason, we have that option. Anyone think there's pressure from Inamed to keep these things place so the FDA doesn't catch on? I don't think they (doctors) ever "got" my misery -- partly my fault because one day I'll feel great and the next I'm in band-hell. That's probably because my band moves -- at least it did with the first slip. Sometimes, they'd do a barium swallow and it would be in place. I'd go get a fill -- and whoops, it's slipped. No fill. They didn't "call it" until surgeon saw evidence of a slip in an x-ray. If the delay had continued, I would have gone to Dr. Jamie Ponce in Dalton, GA -- who has probably placed more bands than anyone in the U.S. One look at a barium swallow and I would have been scheduled. (He was a second opinion Dr. on my first slip). Amanda makes a good point (would have been dead by then) which is: TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR OWN HEALTH!!! More updates as they're available! Elizabeth

Any sort of regular vomiting/inability to eat solids calls for an unfill - which may only have to be tiny. Of course any inability to drink is serious. And if you really and truly cannot eat any more than a couple of hundred calories a day, whether you're vomiting or not, you cant go on like that long term. Any sign of heartburn and reflux generally means overtightness too. Its a hard call to unfill. I really need to. I have a slight pouch dilation which my doctor was happy to just watch and see how it went, but I've started getting heartburn (particularly when I"m hungry) over the past month. We know that my band is tight but I wasnt feeling it because of the larger pouch, and that's a danger, no alarm bells ringing. I dont want to unfill, really dont want to but the stupid thing is, I know from past experience, that I will eat BETTER and probably lose weight and that the adjustment will only have to be tiny. I'm not vomiting, having no trouble eating things like bread, but it just doesnt feel "right" to me. I have a lovely new tummy after my tummy tuck, the last thing I want to do is scar it up again from a revision surgery! Unfilling is important because overtightness can lead to slippage and damage to your esophagus.

Did anyone happen to catch Oprah's show today with the segment on a woman who had an experimental brain surgery to regulate her appetite? She had electric probes attached to her brain, while she was awake and then they were attached to some pacemaker-like devices in her chest where they could regulate it. If you had a choice would you rather go through bariatric surgery or something like this? Is this WLS in our future. Will we all be revising to this one day? It seems to make sense but I doubt will be something available to us any time in the future but who knows. Nancy:confused: You can read about it at her website Oprah.com - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com

Hi Wendy, I just went through the same argument myself and also posted a topic about it. I had a band that did not work as I thought it would so I was faced with either gain my weight back and have nothing to show for that stupid band or have a revision surgery. I fought with myself for a few days because I was also told that the sleeve might not be a good choice for me since I was unsuccessful with the band but I just could not imagine having the RNY knowing that I want to have children in the near future (even though they say it would be fine). Also I personally know several people that had the bypass and some were successful and some were not. I decided that the RNY would be my last resort since the sleeve can easily be changed to the RNY. Once you have the bypass, that's it. Most doctors won't even atempt to reverse it so I wanted to have the sleeve so that I can try to have a somewhat normal life after the weight loss and not have to worry about dumping syndrome or Vitamin deficiencies (as bad). After scouring these pages and lots of advice from people on here, friends, and family, I made my decision to go with the sleeve. I was sleeved on 4/6 after only a short wait because my current insurance did not require me to do anything. So far I am really happy with my decision. The first few days after surgery were hell but it gets better everyday. Only you can decide what decision is best so research and make an educated choice. Good luck and best wishes! Monica

Hi PJ, Yes, you can do it! I have copied my post from the other forum for you about my experience this past Monday. You will do great! Hi Everybody, Did it! Done it! My surgery was on Monday and it went so smooth! Dr. Ortiz is the bomb! Had an awesome experience! I am a revision... so, I had my band removed and the sleeve done at the same time. The doctor said I had alot of scar tissue around the band and a tiny hernia...but, they fixed all that. The IV was the hardest part of the whole process. For being a big girl... I have tiny veins and they are hard to find and hit! Ended up getting poked 5 times before they got it...but, if that is the worst... then I consider myself very very lucky! I was in OR for about an hour and a half... pretty groggy when I came out... my friend, Stacy had two heads for awhile. Smile! Got up about three time to go to the restroom... had a little nausea, but the nurse gave me something for that right away and haven't had any other problems with that again. Woke up at about 6:00am Tuesday and read and relaxed until I was discharged at about 10:30 am. No pain, no gas... felt good! The drain was the most uncomfortable part, which felt like I had a stitch in my side (like you get when you run alot). Got back to the Marriott (great hotel) and took a taxi up to WalMart for a walk around, and then walked back to the hotel. Had some Water and chicken broth for dinner and as long as I sip slowly... no problems. On Wednesday... back to the clinic to have my drain checked... all good. Went to the dentist and had my teeth cleaned and then back to the hotel for a nap. Broth and hot tea for dinner and called it a night. Today... got my drain out...yeah! Two days ahead of schedule! Just relaxing and resting today. Tomorrow... head back across the border and will have two days in San Diego before I fly back home on Sunday. Thinking about going to the Zoo and doing a little shopping! Overall, I am sooo glad that I had this done and very excited about getting to onederland! Dr. Ortiz and Obesity Control Center is the absolute greatest and I highly recommend him to any and all! Thank you to everybody that sent me your thoughts and prayers and I am ready to get this journey started! Cheers, Dottie

I'm having a revision surgery on 9/18 but I had my band removed in 2015. Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

My dr is both a lapband and sleeve surgeon and we discussed the pros and cons of each. The reasons that I'm sticking with the band are: It worked amazingly well for me until the leak. I lost 130% of my excess weight and maintained without issue for 3 years. I had no real adverse affects with the band The sleeve and it's side effects on me personally are unknown Revision to a sleeve would entail two operations - one to remove the band, and then a future second operation to revise to a sleeve My insurance will completely cover the band replacement but I would have to pay out of pocket for a sleeve revision So after weighing all that up, I've decided to get a full band replacement. I love the lapband, and it's been very good to me for a very long time. So I'm sticking with it.

I had my surgery 6/21/17. During my pre-op diet I had one protein shake in the morning with my vitamins one protein shake for lunch and a lean dinner. Also, keep your mind busy and keep productive, you should be fine. I'm now finishing my phase one and tomorrow going to a nutrition class and transitioning to phase two. I'm excited to finally have some kind of soft foods. Anyhow, I wish you the best of luck on your new journey, and New Life. Band to RY revision: 6/21/17 HW: 210 Pre-op: 194 SW: 190 CW: 176 GW: 120 Sent from my LG-K540 using BariatricPal mobile app

Considering sleeve to bypass revision primarily for severe GERd. Regained 30lbs of 90lb loss so that’s not the issue, but on multiple meds for reflux. Anyone had revision for that reason and was it worth it?

Started this process and was on the waiting list by mid-october 2011. Have been waiting for my number to come up since. I am getting my surgery through military routes and was assured everyone on the list goes in the order they signed up in. Got my date, March 19th. They then continued to schedule out to April 3rd. Went and picked up all my pre-op liquid diet stuff. Got a call 2 days later saying they were moving me to April 9th. When I asked about the dates on April 3rd I was told no surgeries were being done on that day. Later she revised herself and said no openings are available on that day. On the April 3rd date, they scheduled the person that has been one behind me on the list since October and a girl that has been on the list since December! I am willing to bet that girl is an officers wife and am really p.o.'ed at this system right now. I was assured everyone will go in the appropriate order and then find out it is a rule of thumb that is really led by convenience. I know it is only a week, and I am almost certain there is a reason for it, but I am just soooooo annoyed by being lied to. I am also now very nervous about the honesty of parts of my team Please pray for me. I have put off graduate school for a year to get this surgery and just can't put it off any more. Thanks for listening to my rant. I tried to get this out on a FB page that I am part of and the moderator attempted to belittle my negativity. I left the group because that did not seem to be the "support" group it pretended to be. I am working hard at getting some weight off pre-op. I am excited to start my life. I have so many things I have put on hold. The good news is, I got my bloodwork done and other than my Iron being a hair low, the fish oil I have been taking since September completely leveled out my cholesterol problem! I am going to take this extra time and make use of it by getting some home projects done.

So, I get a call the other day from Park Nicollet Clinics Bariatric clinic. The lady tells me they are in a partnership with the state of MN, a local paper and local tv channel for an ad campaign starting in October to endorse getting healthy. They wanted to do a write up on some of the success stories for lap band in the Twin Cities. She then tells me my name was the first to come up as one of their "Star" patients and would make a good story.:biggrin: They ask me if I would be willing to do a phone interview with a reporter or two for about an hour and maybe have my pic taken for an article or two. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. While I know I have been doing very well with the lb and my exercise, it's nice to hear your doctors office giving out respect as well. :biggrin: Of course, I agreed to it. I want to educate as many people as possible. Marketing person calls me back to verify that I am good to go and sets up appt. for interview for yesterday at 3. I was on the phone for almost an hour discussing everything that I have accomplished so far. Even did some history on me to give everyone an idea of what I went through before and after. I even put a plug in for LBT, hope it gets in the article as this place has been a HUGE resource for me. I'll see the article beforehand and will get a chance to make some revisions if needed. If LBT does not get in, I will make sure to put it in. Once the article comes out, I'll post it in the Magazine section. Just thought I would share this as I am looking forward to seeing some positive media attention given to the LB instead of all the negative stuff that gets said. More on this later.

Welcome! This is one of the best places to find information and get support for whatever stage you are in your journey. I lived in J-ville for the last 10 years, but I am in Tampa now. However, I will still be having my surgery with Dr. Webb at North Florida Surgeons. You are so not alone here. You might wanna check on the band to sleeve revision forum on this website and maybe look up LilMissDiva and Tiffykins. They are both very successful revisions.

You had one removed and revised the same day Sent from my SM-N910P using the BariatricPal App

It could be insurance thing but my doctor also did if my stomach looked "angry" he wouldn't do revision. Just had two week post op visit I'm down 16 Better than going up! Sent from my XT1254 using the BariatricPal App

Hey Sabrina, and welcome to VST. You've had a heck of a journey thus far. As for my band complications, I had a flipped port from early on, and it caused a lot of pain and discomfort. The tubing was actually tugging on my stomach in addition to all the other wonderful "band" issues. So, I was able to revise to the sleeve. As for your concerns, I was not released to drink alcohol until my 3.5-4 month post-op mark. I have a glass of wine a couple times a week. It doesn't get me drunk faster unless I drink it quickly, then the drunk wears off, and I maintain a nice relaxed feeling. I'm 7 months out, and I indulge in a soda once a week, once every other week. It takes me 2-3 days to drink a soda because I don't drink it all the time. Some doctors are absolutely against them. Mine happens to believe that they are just wasted calories and that it will not stretch out the remaining. We do not have a pouch like RNY or band patients so it's a little different. My post-op diet for the sleeve revision was 2 weeks clears 2 weeks full liquids (I did a week doc progressed me to mushies) I did mushies for awhile with some soft Proteins for 2-3 weeks then onto regular food. You'll need to stick to the post-op diet because healing of the staple line is completely different than with your band surgery. Food particles, seeds, and chunks of stuff can get in your staple line causing infection, irritation and lead to a leak. I had a leak 2 days post-op revision, and it wasn't fun at all. I was in ICU for 5 days, on a ventilator, and had a slim chance of survival. The leak was successfully repaired, but I was on a pic lin in my arm being force fed 1800 calories a day through a TPN bag for over 2 weeks. I didn't have anything to eat or drink for 22 days. NOTHING no ice chips, no Water, nothing at all. Just my opinion, I think 6 weeks out is way too early to consume alcohol. Your stomach has been traumatized, and will still technically be healing. I've heard people talk about stomach burning, but wine (Riesling) hasn't bothered me at all. Keep us posted on your journey, and I'll be looking for updates.

I don't know whether to laugh, cry or raise my fists to the heavens. My story is I had a lapband in 2009 in Australia which never worked. I have/had Type 2 diabetes so my Irish diabetes doc referred me in 2016 to Irish Bariatric Doc to look at having revision surgery. Long waiting list (Ireland only does 150 bariatric surgeries on the public list, a year) , but I finally got at appointment with him in Feb 2018 (two and a half hour drive to see him) and he suggested revision to sleeve and put me on waiting list for surgery (I even have that letter that says I am on the waiting list for SURGERY in capital letters!!) In the meantime, I try again with lapband although fills bring on reflux. I hear about the EU cross-border directive (EU law says any EU citizen can get needed medical treatment and home state reimburses cost) and think yippee. At June appointment with Irish Bariatric Doc's junior team member I ask them to write referral for overseas and they say no they don't do that. Disappointed I do bit more research and discover if I'm already on waiting list I can use that as my paperwork. Because Irish medical system is so bureaucratic they make it seem like you really need prior referral from your Irish doc (even though EU law doesn't require it) I google Irish Bariatric Doc's email and email him directly to ask if he will sign prior approval application. He rings because email got garbled and I should send it again. On phone, he cryptically replies he doesn't think overseas surgery is "best way forward for service" (what the hell, does that mean? I can tell you what it sounds like: "I don't want to lose all my patients and funding for our research projects to overseas because its quicker and cheaper"). But he never replies to my email request. So I give that option up and decide to have the surgery and just put in the paperwork for reimbursement and hope it works because I fulfil all the EU law requirements even if the Irish want to make things hard. The Belgium experience goes off without a hitch ONE MONTH LATER (up yours waiting list) and my diabetes instantly resolves, I am 16 kilos down and counting. Loving getting thinner, can move more easily etc, helloooooo better health. Didn't bother telling Irish Bariatric Doc because he never got back to me. I put in a Freedom of Information request to get all my medical records from Irish Bariatric Doc so I can show I needed to have the surgery and I was already on waiting list etc etc etc. They give them to me, lots of lovely referral letters and discussions about lapband not working and reflux problems etc and being referred for sleeve etc. So, today I get a letter from Irish Bariatric Doc to say he is not going to fill in the prior authorisation form because he doesn't even know whether I need surgery, I'm on waiting list to see bariatric surgeon for appointment to discuss but that's a very long list, and let's talk about it at our next appointment (which will be June 2019). What. The. Hell? Seriously. I don't know whether to laugh uproariously or spit in rage. AYAAA! Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

Nonono... this is a surgery for patients who had bypass and failed due to stretching their pouch. It's a revision surgery. It's not a primary surgery.

Put on a size 16 jeans yesterday that haven’t fit in years. I pulled them out of the back of my closet just to see if they fit but wasn’t expecting them to. I was shocked when they went over my hips and I could actually zip them. Lap band 10/2007 revised to RNY 12/22/2017 HW 270 SW 263 CW 251

Actually I have had adequate followup care. Minor adjustments to the band, food changes etc. I have had the band going on 4 years, this isn't like I just got it last week. Last year I had symptoms where I felt like someone was pulling on my throat, so I went to a surgeon that specialized in the band and after all the tests they decided it was my Gallbladder and it needed to be removed. So I told the surgeon I didn't think that was what it was but because it had a lot of stones in it taking it out was probably the best thing to do. But I also told him to check the band and check the fill line because the discomfort I was feeling was just that, a pulling sensation. When he removed the gallbladder he found that a section of cavity fat and flopped onto the cable and was indeed pulling the fill line, so he repositioned the cable and also added a stitch to the backside of the band (one had apparently come loose somehow). After that I had minor pains but I just assumed it was the stitch healing. I waited 6 months and got another small fill and everything was fine. Three weeks ago I started getting sharp pains when I twisted my body, I feel like I have something gripping my chest right behind my breast bone. I have seen the surgeon, he wants to do a endoscopy and then a exploratory lapriscopy to check the inside and outside of the area and maybe remove scar tissue and shorten the fill line. My thing is, how many surgeries do I want to have and complications before it is too much? I am not getting younger. This pain is currently barely tolerable. I am taking two nexium a day right now. I can't find a doctor in the area that takes my insurance and does the band, even though I live 15 minutes from Washington DC! Sure there are surgeons around that do t, but none seem to be in the United Healthecare EPO plan (In network doctors only). The current surgeon I am going to was in network and was covered for my regular checkups and maintenance but is now out of network. I did get my insurance to give me a GAP coverage for him to perform the two listed proceedues. Since I couldn't find a doctor within 30 miles and niether could the insurance company. But After 3 surgeries for this, I am beginning to question if it is worth it to have another. The pain I am having right now is not fun, I love the weight loss I have had, but is it worth this? Everyday I wait for help is another that convinces me getting a revision would be worth it. Do I want to get one, right now yes. But maybe it is just a desire to get help for the pain. If I wasn't in pain, or discomfort, I wouldn't want to get it removed. Fear is a powerful thing. I also know where the band is and I know where the pain is, and they are both in the same spot. I was right about the last complication, I am probably right about this one. Naturally I am not an expert surgeon, but I know when something is wrong, pain says so. My family wants me to get it removed, they don't like me staying up all night because it hurts to laydown, hurts to situp, can't sleep from worry: eat foods other than salads and Soups because it hurts. I loved the band when I got it, still love what it has done for me. Didn't like getting a new port put in because the first was too big. Hated getting my gallbladder removed because fatty tissue was pulling on the fill line. Don't want to go in and get another surgery to see what is going on on the outside, maybe fix a line issue, or something, and then have to go back again for some other possible complication. I am reaching out to help myself decide what my limit is for weightloss to pain/discomfort. Where do the surgeries end? That is why I am considering a reversion.

Are you saying you think your sleeve is "stretched" and needs revision? Just wondering if you knew how that happened- do you feel you stuffed it? Otherwise, not sure how a revision would help. Not being snarky, I am really curious as to why somoeone would seek a revision.

Well, let's not let the topic go down a rabbit hole, I am not the originator of this thread, it is she who is claiming the sleeve has failed and is seeking a revision. My input was purely theoretical, and I gave my reasons. Clearly, just wanting to feel like a newb post-op again isn't grounds for having a revision done.

I am at the lower end now. I too am getting a revision from the band to the sleeve. I am tired of the up and down both physically and mentally. I do not want to gain the weight I have lost back. I also don't want to continue with the yo yo dieting. I understand you completely; before I got the band I was up and down 40 pounds. I am not sure how quickly we will loose due to the lower BMI, I just know I am ready. I wish you well; my surgery is August 17, 2018.