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I have watched a lot of sleeves, in my work, and seen the increase in one stage revisions, and finally, I decided to go from Band to sleeve, on the 15 th September, so I texted the surgeon and made appointment with him, made gastroscopy appointment to check hiatal hernia and oesophagus, and spoke to surgeons rooms to book surgery. I was operated on last Tuesday 14th, and was home on the Wednesday.. Shoulder tip and back pain were my main issues but managed fine. I am still on free fluids, and have no hunger what so ever. I am managing on around 80 grams of protein, added to either soup or yoghurt and thinned down with skim milk.. Otherwise a lot of herbal teas, and one black coffee per day. And water.. So far so good.. I see surgeon on Wednesday.. I was a maladapted eater for over 18 months, and it had also given up smoking, had shocking reflux and heartburn, and basically bloody miserable with 40 pounds weight gain and as slipped band..so I feel so released, so relaxed, so new, happy.. I have been given an opportunity to do this the right way. The band was a Dream come true in 2007 for me, and I lost 65 pounds with it, but life wasn't always good.. Work lunches were a moment of panic, breakfast was hit and miss, and the reflux was a killer, sleeping with 3 pillows. Going out to dinner meant scouring the menu for a risotto or a mashed potato side dish with fish, and long haul flights meant I could not eat after for 24 hours due to restriction..plus hit and miss with travel insurance coverage on each trip.. Sometimes they would cover me, other times, not, which is scary , going to the USA, and being technically uninsured..(live in Australia) Now? One pillow..no gaviscon, so blockage, no cravings, no more weight gain, and I was a 10 coffees a day person, and now no coffee or cigarette cravings.. Weird, really weird.. But, yes, very very very happy with my decision..

RNY for me. Revision from a gastric band that had turned rogue! So at surgery was at 230lbs - down from my 260 at band surgery 9 years ago, but up from my 180ish post-band weight. i took three months to find a protein shake recipe I can stomach. Hate the protein taste in whey, and pea is even worse. My ‘forever breakfast’ shake has a shot of coffee, 50/50 vanilla and plain unsweetened whey protein, a dash of milk and 7 ice cubes blended into a slushy. In the weekend, I leave out the coffee and add a few berries for variety....

I've had delayed dumping syndrome due to too much fat from batter-fried fish. It appeared about 6 months after RNY>RNY revision. I had bloating and belly pain starting 24 hours after that meal. It lasted for several days, gradually improving. I feared bowel torsion but had bowel sounds and a BM so the clinic PA said it was delayed dumping. It happened again 3 weeks later after eating smoked fish. I had never heard of delayed dumping syndrome--it was much worse than sugar dumping and lasted longer. I've sworn off sugar so that's not a trigger and I've learned my lesson about eating excessively fatty food!

I'm sorry it hasn't worked for you. This sounds miserable. Does your surgeon have any ideas, like a revision to sleeve?

That is so exciting! I can imagine and understand that you are nervous and unsure.. but honestly having your current loose skin removed will help SO much in your day to day life. I would say it's totally worth it to go ahead and do this now and once at goal to do the revision later! Not having the painful loose skin will make it easier for you to exercise and get around which will help you get to goal.. so I say go for it! No matter what you decide or what happens, I know you can do this and it is so awesome how far you have come in your journey so far! Congrats girlie

Well had part of my revision done, Dr Alvarez couldn't do sleeve because my band had so much damage and a lot of scar tissue, now I can't wait for 4 months to go by to get sleeve done. Was disappointed to not get sleeve at same time but least I'm alive and well. 4 month wait will not kill me. Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

well my 5 month surgiversary was on the 15th! I'm a few days late, but better late than never in my book. I'm so happy that i decided to do the revision and get rid of my CRAP BAND!!! that thing was the worst, especially after it slipped. So, since 10/15 i am down 50 pounds! my blood work is great except for Vitamin D which i am working on now! I am now down 77% of my excess body weight since surgery, the lowest that i have been since college! I have so much energy, that my kids are finding it hard to keep up with me! I can eat pretty much anything that i want, which is a double edged sword! I sometimes 'want' what i shouldn't eat, but a few bites and i'm good! before it would be all or nothing! My husband and son think i'm HOT, that is so cool! I am looking forward getting the last 19 pounds off and getting to goal! that is when I am going to buy a new wardrobe! Until then, my baggy size 10 jeans will just have to do! thanks for reading and being a great support group!!! Patti

I have a child and I am currently 1 week post RNY. Like you I wanted a sleeve but my reflux was too bad and I wanted to avoid another possible surgery in the future to correct it or convert it since it's not just that easy as oh just get a revision. My husband and I are not planning to have more kids per say, but if after my waiting period something happens then we would be thrilled!! We had to endure trying, expensive, and frustrating fertility treatments in order to have our child and while I wouldn't change it for the world, if I had to do it over I would have had surgery first. I'm reading some misinformation on here in regards to malabsorption and by no means am I an expert and truthfully that is the exact reason I was afraid to have RNY, but truth is your body may not receive as many calories or nutrients from foods that aren't the greatest for you. That is the benefits to malabsorption. Your stomach doesn't just dump everything the second you ingest it unless in most people it's pretty unhealthy and in that case you're not receiving nutrition from something like that anyway even if you didn't have the surgery. My very good friend had RNY almost 6 years ago and while she still had issues getting pregnant she is currently pregnant with her second child in less than a year lol! Actually her children will be 1 year and 9 days apart if baby 2 stays in there that long ha ha! She had zero complications as it relates to her surgery and was substantially healthier and more readily able to carry a child because of it. The only thing that's common in terms of a normal pregnancy and RNY is having your glucose testing done differently and finding a dr that had treated and delivered babies to mothers that have had RNY just in case. Back to the malabsorption, as long. As you are eating correctly and being religious about taking your vitamins as directed by your bariatric program/surgeon you shouldn't ever be malnourished. This requires follow up blood work and specified intervals forever and reporting to your doctor if you feel off. Also eating for 2 is not healthy and it's not a thing, you literally only need 100 more calories a day when you are pregnant and that essentially an extra, healthy protein filled snack. I would not be concerned about malabsorption since there is a big difference between malabsorption and malnutrition and as long as you stick to the plan and take your supplements and get in your protein you would be fine. I know a lot of people do research into the things they want to do and their surgeries but I kind of go over board on it before doing anything and for me this was the right choice! All of the research I read about pregnancy after WLS showed significant higher numbers of healthy babies and healthy mothers with a drastic reduction in pregnancy/higher weight related complication such as GD, PreE, bed rest, etc.. I was lucky I had a healthy pregnancy and a healthy daughter and while I wasn't as big as I am now I only gained 20lbs my entire pregnancy, ate healthy, and kept active. I however was always worried and I actually switched doctors about 12ish weeks in because my weight was an issue for them and I would leave every appointment crying. You need to make the choice that's right for your life, but word of advice I don't think I will ever go back to regular vitamins you swallow even though they say 6-8 weeks after you can take pills like normal. I think it's better to have the nutrients available almost immediately for absorption by allowing them to dissolve or using chewable.

It is more important to get your fluids than your protein at this point. Try a different brand of shake. You can also get fairlife milk from grocery store and drink it instead of shakes if you just can’t tolerate them. I had no problem with the premier protein shakes pre op. Had my revision to rny last Friday and I am not able to keep premier protein down at all. I switched to syntrax and fairlife milk. Another thing is to make sure you are just slowly sipping your shakes. Like one ounce in 15 minutes or so. Go too fast and they will come back up due to lack of anywhere to go once your pouch is full. Hang in there and keep us posted.

Sometimes they can't get a nicely shaped and size sleeve on revision so ask about it. I was revised in 2011 and very happy with my sleeve!

I just had my band removed last week with Dr. Alvarez in Mexico. He said that I will be able to come back in 6 months for the VSG revision but said that some have so much damage from the band that a sleeve is impossible without leaking or other complications. So, it is possible to have so much damage of the stomach from the band to not be able to ever have the sleeve without complications. Good to find a doctor that knows what he is doing and only does the VSG when he feels comfortable there will be minimal issues. There is always a risk but good to have a very experienced surgeon to tell you the truth.

@@Embrace Hi! Thank you so much for checking in on me. Your note before my surgery gave me great peace and comfort. I have told NO ONE but my husband, so having you and others checking on me in INVALUABLE! I have had a tough 1st week of recovery, but am beginning to feel better. My 1 week check up is tomorrow. Because I was converting a "plication" to a sleeve, my procedure lasted 5.5 hours. I think this may be the reason the Anesthesia was particularly difficult to rid from my system. Not sure if this is the cause of my blurry vision for the last 6 days, but reading online, I have found that this can be a result of anesthesia and will improve in 9-10 days. (I have been unable to read the newspaper, emails, or any of the 3 new books I bought to enjoy during my recovery phase.) Additionally, I have had severe headaches that I cannot treat with my regular migraine meds, due to the complicated revision-----my doc's fear that the strong meds (even crushed) would cause damage to my new sleeve. ENOUGH COMPLAINING THOUGH!!! I'm grateful for my supportive husband who paid the 17,500. fee to have this done and my steady improvement. I actually feel myself getting stronger each day. Remembering what you said about walking the anesthesia off, I made sure to walk a little each day but honestly I only made it to my mailbox and back, walked from one end of my house to the other.....etc. (I was quite wimpy this week) I tried to balance what you said about walking and resting my body. I have a goal of walking 30 minutes (all at one time) by Saturday of this week. I hope I am able. Your 3rd piece of invaluable advice was very helpful and something I HAD NOT considered. As soon as I can get out, I'm going to purchase tiny bowls and small plates. Thank you so much for this tip!! Something I had not expected was the weight gain in the hospital from fluids. ( I probably should have done better research and made myself aware of this bc it SHOCKED me!) I gained 11 lbs and after 6 days that was finally gone. I hope I begin steady "losing" from this point on. I practiced "going out to dinner" last night with my husband. This is a little scary at first! We went to a Tai restaurant where I was able to order a bowl of simple broth. It was divine. (After eating broth from a box all week.) Since today is 1 week out, I'm going to weigh, take measurements, etc. I'm hoping I'm on the right path and will continue to improve. Enough about me! Are you doing o.k.? Still losing? Adding new foods to your diet? Feeling good? I think your surgery was this summer so we are just a few months apart. Your wisdom and compassion came through so clearly in your message to me and I want you to know how very much I appreciate the time it took to send it. Please continue to send your valuable tips and please let me know how you are progressing.

lap band has taken what little butt and legs I had. But now I have to revise to another surgery and have no earthly idea as to what in the world I'm going to do. this is one of my biggest fears. I can't help but I'll heed all of the advice that others here are giving you. Therefore, I suppose Me and my bad knees will be trying to squat. I don't think my tooth pick legs can lose any more, Lord I hope not. Good luck to ya!

Hi, I had my band for three and a half years. I had the band to sleeve revision in one surgery, which went well. Ask your doctor how many leak tests s/he does. The disgusting swallow on Day 2 was one of mine (and it also took a while for that to go through my sleeve because of swelling). My surgeon did a leak test with blue dye during the surgery as well. Different doctors seem to have different theories and practices about leak tests. Good luck and best wishes for your surgery and a quick, uneventful recovery!

Dear stay tuned: That is frustrating, no doubt about it. Sounds like your port flipped...and it unfortunately DOES happen. My tubing kinked, and my second fill resulted in WAY too much Fluid in since they couldn't tell if it was going in or not. Once I drank Water, it was obvious it HAD gone in I had extreme pain, vomiting. This was on June 6th - also the night of my 3rd child's high school graduation -- in our home town 60 miles away. So, I ended up missing graduation and having an emergency port revision instead. It's just a memory now, and I was upset at the time, but what are you going to do? It sets us back, it's not convenient. I've managed to do very well by sticking to the band rules while awaiting for my delayed 2nd fill - which I finally had today - because it was delayed while I re-healed. Hope you can get this fixed real soon and get back in the swing of things. In a few months from now, I won't seem so bad once you're back on track. Hang in there!!!! :thumbdown:

Sounds like GERD. One of the big components of it too is having the feeling like you're going to burp but it winds up being regurgitated food/drink. Definitely get the assessment from your doctor though, they might order other tests too. I have moderate GERD/reflux going into a sleeve next month and crossing my fingers it doesn't make this any worse or I could be facing a revision too.

I have mild reflux but im not sure if its significant. I take nexium in two week intervals when I feel it coming on strong. usually about every 3- 4 months I take a two week dose and it goes away for a long while. I have actually heard that a revision or a resleeve can make the reflux worse but I suppose it depends on whats wrong in the first place. I am hoping to get a doctor that notices the first surgery wasnt done properly and I get resleeved. Yes it is a revision but kaiser didnt have to pay for it the first time and this second time would to repair. But if the doctor doesnt find anything wrong with me then there may be no hope for insurance to cover it. emme.vee - I would live to take your info from the Santa Ana doctor as soon as I can figure out how to message you.. , Thanks so much

Hi! I am doing well, starting to feel like my old self. Just really tired, not sleepy, but just fatigued. Like yesterday I did some minor cleaning and I felt exhausted lol. I am think doctors prefer sleeve because of less complications? I am not sure. But yea, so far I am happy with my revision. I will know the real deal once I start eating food again

I agree with the person that said to ask for a referral to have your anatomy looked at. If there is something wrong, that can likely be fixed. I'm Kaiser NorCal, and they generally do not do revisions due to lack of weight loss or regain. Get checked out, but don't count on it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was sleeved October 2016. I had horrible reflux daily and was on several meds. I still gagged and vomited up acid daily. I also gained back 25 pounds I had lost. I was snacking all the time because if my stomach was empty I threw up. I had my revision last Monday, September 2019. So far so good. No reflux.

I think you might have been seeing my sig repeatedly. One does not know if they will tolerate a band until they actually have one. Also, the band does not work for a good number of people and they typically revise to a sleeve or bypass in those cases. The idea is to pick a surgery type and stick with it, only when it does not work for whatever reason would you revise to a different procedure type.

I've heard that slips are caused by over eating or by vomitting a lot ... I've never had one so I have no idea. Im sorry about your predicament. Have you been able to keep the weight off during your revisions? Best of luck!

Okay I had to get my port revised on Monday and my doc said he put 5cc's in there (have 11cc band), on Monday I didn't eat had liquids on Tuesday I ate more than I thought I should have, but from Wednesday and like right now, I don't have an appetite and I notice I go a long time without eating so I try to eat a cheese stick or apple sauce if i'm not all that hungry but I know I have to eat. My QUESTION ISSSS....do sometimes your fill take a long time to set in? I was just wondering:redface:

hello, I have never done this forum thingy b4 !! but here it goes i had sleeve surgery in 2015 at Kaiser went very well .. So point is that i don't have Kaiser any more and i have to get a revision due to acid damage now!! i have IEHP insurance can anyone suggest a good bypass surgeon ???? PLEASE HELP!!

okay this is my third attempt to reply - three times a charm right? Hello all - I'm still here barely. I was banded Feb. 16, 2009 and weighed 265 lbs (5'8") and as of this past January weighed 132 lbs. I was pleased so far except I had started having horrible night coughs - along with the occasional spit up and could barely eat anything anymore. So band doc took some out and said to get upper GI/fluoro. I was feelling a little better but still had occasional throw up session and still some night coughing. Early March I had upper GI and band slipped. I almost had a heart attack. On one hand I was so relieved because I had not felt like myself in two months which I started a new job at that time and kept thinking it was the stress of the job and I couldn't hack it. I swear I had never felt so out of sorts - not myself as I did for those two months. On the other hand, what do you mean it's slipped...fix it. So they said so much of my stomach was so far up above my band they had to do revision surgery and since my port stuck out about 6 inches out of my rib cage like a gigantic alien goose egg they could fix it at that time and they would do this fast. So I thought okay, maybe for a reason would certainly explain a few things and I could get egg fixed. So I had surgery last Tuesday NIGHT (6:00 pm - no drink/water/food since midnight before and waiting all day - can you tell I am impatient ???) Woke up Tuesday night to hear "WE TOOK IT OUT." WHAT??????????? Why? It was best - your stomach needs to rest. So I ended up staying overnight in excrutiating pain - about 50 x worse than the first time around which doc says is bc maybe I was 120 lbs heavier - idk ok. I have follow up in two weeks and I am still a little bit of disbelief. I weighed 139.2 day of surgery and yesterday 152. How does that happen? I have had nothing but Clear liquids since Wed am. My stomach is swollen but I am baffled in very many ways. Now what? Am I going to have to go through this pain agan IF they get it approved by my insurance not to mention although I have insurance I still am responsible for some of the costs which include doc visits, portions of fees, hospital stays, etc... I am open to any ideas/comments/suggestions/feedback - anything. You wouldn't know it by this 'bitchpost' but I am generally a very positive person, did yoga, chants, positive thoughts etc right before the surgery all positive imagery - took supplements/vitamins that were appropriate etc... So, How's everyone else doing?