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Unfortunately, yes. I never had reflux before that. That is why my surgeon told me I had to get a revision. Not everyone gets reflux from sleeve but I don't know the percentage who does. Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

How long till my belly will not be Swollen? I had revision from band to bypass. Lost 16 lbs since 11/10! But not in my belly. Ugh Sent from my SM-G920T using BariatricPal mobile app

Thanks for your response! I'm revising, or I should say "adding" a DS to my sleeve. Since I had my sleeve years ago, my surgeon has disallowed caffeine. This is a big deal for me because my favorite shakes are by Click and they are loaded with caffeine! Recommendations welcome!

Bariatric Surgery doesn't change brains. We (should) all know that. I hope you are respectful and kind to your BIL. He's obviously struggling. Just keep modeling good choices and don't be judgmental. I have a coworker with a band and her "work arounds" with her band was what influenced me to go the sleeve route. She's gained weight, I've lost 95 pounds since starting this whole adventure last November. She sees my success and is talking about a band to sleeve revision. I dread her struggle she'll have if she does this since she's a full fledged food addict. But I concentrate on me. That's all I have time and energy to do right now, but whatever choices she makes I'll still support her.

@@tagyourit Welcome and congrats on surgery date! I am ex bandit myself, just freshly revised to bypass and already feel glad that I don't have band in me anymore (was never a fan of the foreign item in my body). I had the band for 9 years so it took me a while to have to guys to revise as well.

I've exceeded my surgeon's average estimated weight loss (60-70% of total excess weight) by about 50 pounds. In fact, I had exceeded it by my 3-month follow-up appointment... what can I say, I've always been an overachiever. I'm 5'2", and I had initially set my personal goal at 145, which would have still put me in the "overweight" category, but it was the lowest I could mentally wrap my mind around weighing. I revised down to 135 (right at the top of the "normal" range) once I realized that I'd easily get down to 145. Then I revised again to 125. I'm down to 116.5 at the moment, and my goal for maintenance is to stay somewhere in the range between 115 and 125.

I have been banded since nov 08, port revision in feb/08. I have PB since I had the band, had to be completely unfilled and still throw up. Finally had a gastroscope yesterday and found out there is no pouch and band is near my esophagus. I have to go for a barium swallow on wed and then back to mu surgeon. When you think there is something wrong-SEE YOUR DR. There likely is and needs to be addressed.

Sometimes if the band is left unfilled for a few weeks and they put you on a liquid diet, the band will go back to the right position. Any time you have these night time problems, get into your doctor immediately. It's dangerous! I revised to a sleeve because the band damaged my esophagus from throwing up in my sleep.

Hi all I have had Dr. Almanza for two surgeries now. I had the band in March and then did a revision to the sleeve Dec 30th. I did not get to see the new hospital, but that is fine with me. Dr. Almanza is a very qualified surgeon, and they take great care of you! The nurses are good, some don't speak enough english. And the thing I like more than anything.......ask Dr Betancourt and it will be taken care of!!!!!!!! He is there to make sure everything goes smooth and you have a wonderful experience. If you don't have his # call your coordinator, and she will call him for you. I love the new recovery house, I had a huge room!! Private bath and walk in closet, I wish I would have stayed an extra day!! I like the fact that they have the patio where you can go and enjoy the sunshine too! For all of you wondering, YES I would recommend Dr. Almanza he is great!!! His english was not the best for my first surgery but you can tell he has been studying, he is pretty fluent now! And yes he is easy to look at!

Well I have not had the surgery and can tell you as far as the lap band is concerned a lot of doctors are not doing them as much because of the complications involved if you look online here you will see soooooooo many people being revised...and most of them being revised to the sleeve..I have people I know that had gastric bypass and from what I know there is more malabsorption involve.. good luck on what you decide....the question you need to ask yourself is do you think you can do this on your own if so give yourself a year to lose the weight...Good luck

Hi All, I rarely come on the forums anymore. It seems that, once I got past the really tough times with my band to sleeve revision I just drifted away. Anyway, I realized that I will be 2 years post-revision in a couple of weeks and I should probably report in and let the newbies know about my experience. If you want to know specifics about my surgery, you can look through my profile posts - it is hard for me to remember all the details now. I had a lap band for 4 years and it sucked. I got my lap band at 215 pounds and ended up at about 195 pounds and was gaining slowly on top of that. I couldn't eat chicken (did I mention the band SUCKED?). I wanted the band out, but I was afraid I would baloon up higher than ever. For me, the sleeve was an insurance policy. I did not expect it to work because I had already been through weight loss surgery that did not work. Why would I expect anything different the second time around? I was 100% afraid to dream that it might be successful. And, of course, I was wrong The sleeve was everything the band promised and more. On surgery day I was somewhere between 195 and 200. I went to Dr Aceves and would recommend him without hesitation. Band out and sleeve in, took less than 90 minutes. No complications. Good pain management. That's when the tough stuff really started. I couldn't drink the Protein drinks because I couldn't handle the smell or taste. Because of this I barely ate or drank anything for weeks. Everything tasted so weird / bad. I was significantly fatigued for 3 months because could barely get any food in. I chewed my Vitamins and took my omeprazole like a good girl. The apex of my weight loss occured after about 9 months. I got down to about 127 pounds. Mind you, at no time was I ever "trying" to lose weight. In fact, I was "trying" to get enough quality calories in my body. Since I ate so little, I couldn't mess around with junk food - I only ate food with good nutritional value. I also found that Certain foods were just harder to eat. I craved chicken, but I had a hard time eating carrots (they stick!). I would say I didn't feel completely normal until about a year had passed. At this point I have levelled out in the 135-140 range and I am thrilled about it. It is easy for me to get down to 135 (and lower if I wanted to) by just cutting out one snack a day or quitting drinking alcohol altogether. I weigh myself maybe once a month and if I see myself creep towards 138-139, I start cutting out a couple of things and get back to my comfort zone. It has been hard in the last 6 months because my father committed suicide leaving me with a contentious legal battle with his wife. I started drinking a couple of drinks every day because of the stress. That has kept me in the upper end of my range, but it is still easy to maintain. I find as time goes by, I stopped drinking every day and only a couple of times a week - it made me less puffy :-) So, my lifestyle now: I don't exercise. Yes, I know - that's bad. I do have tons more energy and I walk more in my daily life than I ever did before, but I do not engage in regular exercise. I try. I do my best. I'm just being honest. I still have a hard time getting even 30 ounces of Fluid every day. The taste of Water changed for me the day I had surgery and I have had a terrible time replacing it. Sometimes I have fizzy water. Strangely, beer goes down very easily. I developed a Starbucks mocha habit after the first year, but I limit it to one a day and get nonfat most of the time. I also started drinking iced coffee. I eat 5-6 times a day (I limit it to 5 if I am actively trying to manage my weight). I eat protein and veggies. I just started liking sandwiches again, but find bread and rice both expand in my stomach and make me very uncomfortable after I eat them. Even now, I eat too fast sometimes and can be in terrible pain from fullness. I still can't drink after I eat. I drink as much as possible up to the point where I put food in my mouth and then no liquids for an hour or more - PAINFUL!! I could never have done this without the sleeve. I am completely happy with the result. My life isn't "normal" because I still have to think about carrying Snacks with me so I can have good choices while I am out of the house. I still have to eat slowly. I still have people in restaurants badgering me about why I didn't finish my food. The difference is that I wear size 8 jeans and size 4/6 dress. I can walk / run around Disneyland for 10 hours with my daughter without major breaks to sit down. I rode a bike with my kid just this week and it was awesome. I finally feel like I fit in with my world. The outside reflects the inside. I feel much happier now, also, because people are used to me being this size now. Before people were always making a big deal out of the wieght loss. I don't like talking about it. I hated the attention during the loss because I was very guarded about the surgery. Now I have been the same for a year and a half or so, people don't comment about it as much and I love it. My future: well, the biggest surprise for me is that my husband and I are thinking about having another baby. My daughter is 8 and I had my tubes tied 6 years ago. I scheduled my tubal reversal with a specialist in Beverly Hills at the end of March. I will be 39 in a couple of weeks, but the doc says my FSH level is that of a 25 year old and my husbands sperm count and motility is off the charts! I used to be super-fertile before my tubal (just look at me sideways, and I was knocked up!) so we will see if that is still the case in a couple of months. Also, I finally finished my Bachelors degree 21 years after I started :-) I graduate in June. My life rocks! I was already lucky to have a good man, a great child, good job, and overall good health. The sleeve and weight loss are the icing on the cake for me. I'm a lucky lady. With gratitude, Lara

I had a band to sleeve revision in June2013 and it was the BEST decision ever. My lapband kept slipping and was causing severe reflux. Since converting I've had no reflux and I've had pretty consistent weight loss which I didn't have with the band. The one thing I truly enjoy is that the sleeve feels more natural than the band ever did. Hope this helps. :-)

Hi all - I'm booked in on October 15th for a revision to an Omega loop in South Australia. Sadly its actually it's a revision of a revision :/ and I feel like a big fat failure. I had a lapband in 2007 (initially lost 35 kilos of the 50 i needed to lose) but developed very unhealthy habits). the band caused me no end of trouble with constant fills and unfills to manage severe (choking in the night) reflux and ended up gaining back nearly 30 of those. I had it removed in 2012 and had to wait 6 months for my revision to a sleeve because the band had done so much damage to my stomach. Because of that damage, my wonderful sleeve surgeon did his best but was unable to make a small, neat sleeve. I only managed to lose 13 kilos in the first few months after that surgery (and no longer have reflux which is great). For the last 6 months I've been back to the old days of panic-dieting... moving from one fad diet to another just to try and not gain. It makes me sad because I really thought that with the sleeve my days of that would finally be over. So I head towards my October surgery with cautious optimism...My surgeon thinks I'm a good candidate for the OL and that they are seeing a few people in a similar situation to me. I'd love to meet others who have had the omega loop or are going to

Hi All, Does anyone here have GERD and/or LPR (Silent Reflux) after gastric bypass surgery? If so, can you please advise: 1. How long ago you had the gastric bypass surgery (and if you had revision from sleeve to bypass)? 2. When your symptoms of GERD and/or LPR started? 3. If you have managed to treat it? I have LPR and am struggling. So other people's experiences would be appreciated. Thanks all.

Here was my life with the band: 1. I did lose 70 pounds the first year, but that was from working out 6-7 days a week. I still fought hunger and slimed up the good foods. I ate junk most of the time. 2. I lost ALL restriction due to a leak at about a year and gained 35 pounds back almost instantly. I was self pay so no luck in getting it fixed unless I had about 5 grand. 3. My tubing broke in half and caused me extreme pain. I could not sleep for months. The doctor had to go searching for all the broken parts. It's amazing to me that this complication was never brought up before I had lapband surgery. 4. I had a slip and could barely swallow days before my revision. Luckily the exclusion was taken off my insurance so I could have my sleeve! Life with the sleeve: 1. I can eat good healthy foods! 2. I am not hungry. 3. I don't feel controlled by food, and in fact- I'm not! 4. I lost 22 pounds the first month and I am so happy! I LOVE my sleeve. I am so thankful to the wonderful peeps on this forum for helping me make the wonderful decision to have the sleeve when my band failed! I wish I could have had the sleeve instead of the band. Who knew life could be so great!

@@Trayjay33 I completely agree with you about the insurance thing. How have things been going with your RNY? It sounds like you were able to get your band removed and RNY in the same surgery which is great! My insurance company is making me do this in 2 surgeries. They still consider the revision as a whole new surgery and I have to go through the 5 month supervised physician diet, which I have been doing since April of this year. I knew their requirement, so now I really don't need to wait. I am just waiting to give my body time to heal from this removal. How has your recovery been and any problems along the way? How has your weight loss been?

Overall, RNY has been positive! With anything there can be setbacks. I developed a ulcer early out but that resolved. I had some issues with fatigue which hopefully is gone for good. The usual issues you probably see on the forums such as constipation, taking Vitamins daily and watching nutrition intake is ongoing at this point. I am 10 months out so I am still learning my body. I am not in maintenance phase yet. As far as weight loss, it's been good. I'm about 20 pounds from my goal weight. I don't know what your food vices are but I cannot tolerate any high sugary foods which is a big deal for me. I did have the revision & removal at once but I think it's great that your surgery date is coming up. At least you will be healed like you said and ready for the bypass. BTW my joint pain, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes is gone so it's been good. You will have to experience it to totally understand what I mean but I feel if people need RNY it's a great option. That's awesome! How did you develop an ulcer? What were your symptoms? Were you on any antacids prior to revision? My biggest weakness is sugar, especially ice cream. Which Calcium supplement do you take? I have been taking sublingual B12 and Vitamin D as a liquid drop. My current Multivitamin is a one a day gummy but I know that I will most likely have to switch to a chewable with the RNY. Which ones do you take? Do you have problems with constipation with RNY? I definitely don't want that to occur. I have a history of diverticulosis, with my first attack about 1.5 years ago and that was horrible! I take a Fiber gummy daily for that too. What do you do to prevent that? That is great that you are feeling better! 20 pounds to goal is awesome!!! I bet you are so excited!

That is great to hear. I'm scheduled with Dr. Aceves on May 11. Did you have a revision to sleeve or just sleeve surgery? What do you do during the three days in the hospital?

Does anyone know if Cigna will cover a revision if there is nothing wrong with it?

I had my revision on June 20, still in the full liquid diet. But anything that touches my mouth whether it be Water, Powerade zero, flavor water, Soup, etc nothing tastes the same and nothing tastes "good" is this normal. Is this how this will taste from here on out. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

I will be going in wednesday for my revision , Going through the same thing, doc wont know til he gets in there if he can do the revision in one surgery or have to watit to sleeve me til my stomach heels. Im stressed out about that part.

I just finished my last Protein drink for a while. My surgery is Wednesday, and I am supposed to be on Clear liquids all day tomorrow. Today I got very nervous. I was trying to do what I can before the surgery, but my chronic pain issues force me to stop and sit frequently. I've been mostly excited until today. Today, I remember the pain after abdominal surgeries of the past. I am having an open revision. Any suggestions for things I should take to the hospital, or what I should have at home for afterward.

I have been miserable with this band since day one .I had it in 2004...lost 35 pounds and now right back to where I started.....Up until this week I have been trying to talk myself into the sleeve but after My upper GI today...the radiologist showed me my reflux on real time and that it!! I want a revision to the RNY...no more hesitating....I want the "Gold Standard".No more quick fixes...I can't afford ulcreration or sleeve leakage and I need to lose about 125 pounds...Bypass please.

Dr. Marvin is a great doctor. He is the doctor who revised me to a sleeve from the Lap-Band. I like the fact he use to be a trauma surgeon so he has experiences when things are difficult.

Thank you. I had lots of problems with my band too. First band I had eroded. The second was working great and then the port flipped and the tube starting pushing out on my skin. I had a port revision to fix that and then shortly after that it slipped. So, now I'm going with the sleeve. I wish the sleeve would have been available when my first band failed.