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I would go back to basics: lean Protein and vegetables. Cutting out any empty carbs, alcohol, and anything that slides down easily. Not drinking while eating. It may be that the steroids and depo shot are really messing with your weight, but in that case switching to a bypass wouldn't change that unfortunately. Good luck to you. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic with my last post, I just meant that your sleeve is still there and they don't really stretch out so if it's not working you need to consider whether you are "eating around it" by eating stuff that goes down too easily meaning you don't get full. Another expensive major surgery won't fix your food choices when you already have restriction built in if you use it as intended. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Just got the Revision from a 2013 LSG to DS 10 days ago. I'm recovering well and seeing excellent results. Everything went better than expected. Just graduated to Puree stage today after four weeks of a liquid diet. The diet was satisfying and I never went hungry. Now I'm adding some new foods to my diet for this 2 week stage. In these COVID-19 times, the hospital does not allow visitors so no family could visit during my 5 day stay. I had four other required procedures that week for a total of 3 surgeries over 4 days. I've seen a lot of great, relevant information on this forum. I look forward to getting through the journey with all of you.

Yeah, the original plan was one surgery, three procedures in one day. They fixed a hernia and removed gall bladder. They had to stop there and program two corrective procedures before I could get the gastric bypass. Both surgeons took great care of me. I was glad I was able to complete the DS, especially during the same hospital stay.

Yay Rachele! Congrats on a successful revision. Thanks for keeping us posted, Sue. I'm anxious to see how you both do with your weight loss with the DS. I'm sure you will both be fine!!!! Heal up quick Rachele!!

After I had my port revision I had pretty good restriction but I could take a bite or two and it would sort of hurt but then if I waited a few minutes I could go ahead with my meal and to me was eating too much so I decided to go and get another fill. Well when I did this he moved me up to 1.6 and the rest of that day and most of the next day I couldnt hardly even swallow liquid or even saliva was uncomfortable and I was burping up acid so by the next afternoon I decided to go and get some taken out. The medical assistant went in and tried to get it and she couldnt get it out so she called the nurse in and she tried and by then she could only get like less than one cc to come back out and now I have no restriction at all. My question is has anyone experienced this? I am scared that somehow the first girl somehow punctured the tubing or something and all my saline leaked out. I am scared now because I just recently had the port revision and I dont want to have to go back in now and have something else fixed. Can anyone advise? I cant get another appt with the dr until December 20th when he is back in town.

The staples cause zero issue with an MRI, I've had one since my revision, and I also have 2 titanium steel screws in my left and have had more MRIs and Cat scans than I care to even count. With the NG tube, since our stomach is still full functioning, no actualy change in the anatomy other than size, I really don't seen an NG being an issue. Once that scope gets down there, they would realize quite quickly that you have had a partial gastrectomy. They may not know the "why" (WLS instead of cancer or ulcerative condition) you had it, but any decent ER doctor would realize you are missing 75% of your stomach. It wouldn't be a bad idea if it makes you more comfortable to get one.

Thanks for the response. My guy is on the heavy side, but unfortunately weighs less than me:eek His weight goes up and down. When I first started to look into WLS this past summer, he decided to go on Optifast. He lost 30-40 lbs, and had more to go. He told me afterwards that he went on Optifast to show me that weight can be lost without surgery. As much as I've told him that I have faced the fact that I can't do it alone, he claims it can be done. (He was furious at me when I was considering gastric bypass. But then I met a bandster at a surgeon's open house, and decided that this was the way to go). P.S. My guy has since gained all the lost optifast weight back.

You have hit on exactly why I am going to do this, too. I realistically don't think I'll ever be skinny...I'll be happy to get to 200, and I think I'll feel and look great when I get there (I'm 5-9). And I'm not scared of the procedure...I've been through much worse in a trauma situation, so I know I can handle this. What I'm scared of is the total change for the rest of my life. It isn't something we can switch on and off. I have a half-cup measure sitting on my kitchen counter and I look at it and think can I really stick with that? But I would never consider bypass, so this is like my last great hope. And I NEED to make this work. The people here are so encouraging and helpful...I know I am going to be depending on them to keep me going. They definitely understand better than my family. Which makes sense since these people have been through it. I know you can make the changes necessary to be successful with your band. It isn't a day by day decision...sometimes it's a minute by minute decision. We just have to hold on a minute at a time and it will get better. The fact that you've come this far and are ready for surgery shows that you are determined to make your life better. And those simple things you are wanting so much will come as you work with your band. (I'm talking to myself here as well as to you...I'm being banded Jan. 24). Wishing you the best procedure and recovery possible. Keep us posted. Hugs~ Emily

I've waited 20 years for this, I don't know if I can wait another 2 weeks or not! In 1985, I was the first woman promoted to the position of Senior Vice President with my former Wall Street employer. For 10 years, I had worked an average of 60 hours per week and no less than 6 days per week for this promotion. I moved when the company asked me to, so I moved four times in less than 6 years. I dedicated my life to my career, and it paid off. At this time I was a size 14-16 and continually fighting with my weight. Each and every day I woke up with my constant companion, self-loathing. Why couldn't I stay on a diet. Why couldn't I shake those 20 pounds. Why did weight keep creeping on. I second guessed myself all of the time. At the same time, I was buried in work, eating at my desk, skipping meals if work called and foregoing any type of exercise. To my surprise in 1986, I met a nice young man after being essentially dateless for years. We married about 1 year after meeting. Fast forward to 1987. Now, I've gained weight. My boss at the time, "suggested" that I lose weight - my weight was negatively effecting my career. Not the 60 hours and 6 days a week, but my weight. I spent a small fortune and traveled to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and spent almost 3 weeks at the Hilton Head Health Institute. I was taught portion control, how to pick wise foods, and exercised just about every waking moment. I had no complaints about the HHHI and I would enjoy returning. Six months later, I had lost 50 lbs, but I was not thin - Now I was a size 16. Slowly my weight crept back. Then I got a new boss. For the first time in my adult career, I did not get along with my boss. That's never good for a subordinate - even at the Executive level. Try as I might, this man disparaged everything I did. Nothing was ever good enough. At year end, I was only 117% of my sales goal, and that was not good enough. He isolated me from others in the company, and soon, I was excluded from meetings and projects. In April, 1988 I was "demoted." Stripped of my responsibilities as a Senior VP and made an office manager. The demotion was very public and at the time of our annual corporate meeting. My boss stated that I lost my job because I was overweight. No other reason, just because I was over weight. I was replaced by a fat man. By 1995, my marriage was over (my husband blamed me for being fat for losing my job - not that he worked, but it was still my fault my more than six-figure income shrank) and I never emotionally recovered from the very public demotion and humiliation I suffered. I stopped working, took all the money out of my 401K account, sued my former employer for sex-discrimination (won) and went to law school. I graduated from law school in 1999 and then passed the Nevada Bar Exam. Law school was very sedentary. I used phen-fen to lose weight and now suffer with a heart valve problem. My weight fluxiated as I tried assorted dietary aids, but never I was never able to keep the weight off. After law school, I married a wonderful man who loves me, even pudgie, and who would do anything for me. My weight kept creeping up. Now, I am simply fat. Although I am an attorney, my husband and I are no means rich. Recently, we started our own practice and that drained any money we had. It’s expensive to buy the books, computers, copiers and other infrastructure needed to support a law firm. Advertising is our biggest monthly expense, after employee payroll. There are times w e don’t pay ourselves to guarantee that our employees are paid. We believe in our office and my skills as a litigator. Eventually, we’ll have a cash reserve, but things now are tight. We even sold our house and moved into a mobile home so that we could use our home’s equity to pay bills and to help finance our office. I thank God that I am married to a man who will be a partner in building a law firm and I am grateful for my husband because I could not do all of this work on our own. We’ll succeed, but now, money is tight. About a year ago, I noticed that my heart was racing. I visited a local cardiologist who wanted to preform over $3,000.00 in tests. With a $1,000.00 deductible in our insurance, I did not immediately have the money for the tests. I did by the end of the year. I have a leaking heart valve, cardiac arrhythmia and an enlarged heart. After all the tests, my cardiologist agreed that my heart problems were directly related to my weight. He stated that I would be an excellent candidate for a lap band, but he does not endorse gastric bypass surgery, believing that it is too invasive. I started on a search for a surgeon to perform lap band surgery, and at the time, I did not even know what a lap band was. I attended a local seminar in Las Vegas and learned the differences in weight loss surgery. I obtained surgeon references from my CCP and cardiologist. My insurance company, of course, refused to consider weight loss surgery unless I spent 2 years under the care of a physician trying to lose weight. I am 55 years old. I don’t have 2 more years of diet failure and self-loathing in me and I opted to self-pay for lap band surgery. After reading an article about surgery and medical care provided for Americans in India, Europe and Thailand, I started an internet search for weight loss surgery outside of the U.S.. Perhaps I could save a few dollars and have a competent surgeon help me outside of the U.S.. I searched the web, researched and researched. Law school was very good at teaching me research skills. I kept researching physicians and hospitals and came upon Dr. Ariel Ortiz in Tijuana, Mexico. I never read a bad thing about him. My husband was skeptical about going to Tijuana for surgery. So was I. Tijuana? I continued to investigate Dr. Ortiz. I called physicians who provided testimonials on his web page. I researched those doctors to make sure they were legitimate physicians, not witch-doctors. I called Innamed, who makes the FDA approved U.S. lap band, and talked to them about Dr. Ortiz. I reviewed Dr. Ortiz’ CV. I traveled to Tijuana to meet Dr. Ortiz and upon meeting Dr. Ortiz, I knew my search for a surgeon, who could competently and economically help me with lap band surgery was over. I believe that I am blessed to have met Dr. Ortiz. Never in my life, have I been allowed an open invitation to question a physician about a surgical process. Dr. Ortiz offered me as much time as I needed to discuss my concerns, the surgery, his career and skills. I also learned that Dr. Ortiz proctored the prominent Las Vegas surgeon who performs lap band surgery and he proctored the surgical staff at my home town hospital in Newport Beach, CA.. I stopped searching and scheduled my surgery the very day I met Dr. Ortiz. Originally, I was going to wait until year end, 2006, to have my surgery. After my meeting with Dr. Ortiz, I scheduled Friday, October 13th, 2006, for surgery. I don’t have to be superstitious about the date. I believe I have the premier surgeon performing my lap band surgery. Now, Friday the 13th, cannot come fast enough for me. I worry that I will not pass the pre-op physical, or something else will go wrong and I won’t be able to have the surgery, so I haven’t told too many people about my surgery. I am going to burst with excitement and cannot wait to wake up after the surgery and know that I am turning the corner on my new life. I truly am very lucky. I have a husband who adores me, a successful business and a premier surgeon. I don’t need anything else. My goal: lose 150 lbs. Realistic? I don’t know. My cardiologist believes I will lose at least 100 lbs. I keep reading about people who are my size (24/26) and now they are size 12/14. Is that really possible? Or is this a dream that I’ll wake up from. I just don’t want to live the rest of my life fat. I don’t want to take the elevator at the court because I’m packing an additional 100 lbs and can’t use the stairs. When I argue with another attorney, I don’t want the adjective "fat" used to describe me. I want to walk into a store and buy "normal" size clothes. I don’t want to wear a bikini, I don’t want to be in Playboy. I just want a life freed of fat. I don’t want to be defined by fat.

My surgeon to be is also Dr. Enochs. There is a support group in Cary started by Dr. Tammie Moore. She is the pshycologist that I had to see as part of the approval process. I have BCBS and I am very nervous too about approval. I just cannot believe that they will approve the Gastric Bypass and hesistant about the Lapband. I have to have a sleep study before they submit my paperwork, so I am hoping to have the surgery asap because I am finish with all of my other appointments. If I am not approved I don't know what else to do. I have also been to Jenny Craig in Cary. Please keep me posted.

As we all go for our one-year followups, what things did we learn? Here's a summary of mine: My appointment went well. Dr. is very happy with things. I’m at 221 on his scale (218 on mine), which is up a few from the 218 I was at on his scale in July. No surprise, as I've been gradually creeping up since November 1, when I stopped jogging outdoors and switched to elliptical. Plus, the holidays. We talked a lot about the mental issues, the need to not be fixated on the number, the physical changes, etc. He says I’m a model patient, for what that’s worth. He says that it’s largely a head game from here, which I know. He asked about how much I’m eating, which we went over, and he cautioned me about eating to the point of being full. He said that while my sleeve will never stretch out to the old stomach, if I repeatedly eat to full, I will condition it to stretch more. Good lesson. He also cautioned me that I am now in a lifelong fight with my body, which wants to get back up to 362 lbs. He told me that I should not be surprised that in 5 years, I will have gained 40 lbs., although he also said that I’m doing so well, and seem to have the right attitude, plus my age and gender, that I may not. He said that should I gain the weight, we can then talk about bypass but, interestingly enough, he also said, “By then, they will have figured out that much of this is hormone-related, and maybe they’ll treat that way then.” Go to support groups, keep exercising, blah, blah, blah. How about everyone else?

The band can stay in for lie, but there is always the option of removing it, which was a comfrot to me when I was first considering it...as opposed to gastric bypass, which disrupts your body's normal functions, and would be very difficult to reverse. Now, after almost 4 months, I think I"d be nuts to have it removed. I call it my "brake." Good luck at the dr.'s!

I was just wondering if I will go through a 2nd round of hair loss with the revision surgery? I had some hair loss after the band- it wasnt that bad actually. It was like post-partum hair loss for me. But was just curious if revision-ers have to go through a 2nd round of hair loss?

My surgeon told us about the 1 band that he had leak (of the 200 surgeries he's done). It wouldn't hold saline. They attempted to fix the leak without removing it, but literally couldn't find the leak, even after inserting dye. Eventually they did a revision & replaced the band with a new one that held the saline. It's the only band he's ever removed... and he replaced it the same day. I didn't ask if they found the leak once it was out, lol. Sorry I don't have any first hand knowledge.

SLEEVE TO BYPASS REVISION. I apologize in advance if this is not where I post this at. I have been sleeved for 21 days now....and now I may have to have the bypass within 2 weeks. I never had actual GERD before but have had GERD ever since the surgery. I don't have any vomiting at night like others have mentioned...but it restricts me from now getting any food but cottage cheese in and only about 20 ounces of water. I'm not talking like the tiny acid I used to get with eating a whole pizza and then laying down ...I'm talking like punch you in the stomach pain & sizzling noises all day long in my throat. I boil acid all day long. It's not excruciating...Its just not good on a sleeve and I'm scared It will eat through my staples or hurt my small pouch even more. I was 270 day of surgery and weighed this morning at 238. I'm losing weight like a champ but it's because my intake is super low. I saw my surgeon on Friday and he raised my Nexium but said that if in 2 weeks I was still having the Gerd that he was going to do a sleeve to bypass revision. Has anyone had a sleeve to bypass revision? If so I would love to hear about your experience. Good or bad. I've googled many posts but can't get straight forward answers. How was the pain? Did you have complications? And how is your quality of life now? Tia

Sarabeth3569 - I had sleeve on Dec 21, 2012. I am probably going to be going through revision to bypass. Can you tell me how your process has been, struggles, non struggles, good days, bad days, etc... I was about 289 lbs when I had Sleeve done. I got down to 189. Then I got pregnant and Jumped up to 233. Now I'm back to 210, and I can't get my sleeve into gear. I'm eating way more than I should be able to, and I would like to get back into gear with all of this. It would be awesome to have an email friend.

thanks everyone. just wanted to make sure it was standard operating procedure (no pun intended). i originally planned on bypass surgery, and there was a litany of pre-op tests, but i guess that's because it's a more involved procedure. thanks a lot!

I called to tell them I do not want the gastric bypass and she said the wrong form went out to me. I have an appointment to see if I am medically necesary on Friday Apri 7.

Actually I had 4 operations in one day...The bypass, the lapband, the cosmetic & some liposuction. I was in the operation theatre for 9 hours ! I know a lot of Greek people that hv done lap band. I am a member to a similar forum called www.eatingdisorders.gr ! Relly usefull, as i had many help from people !

Hello to everyone. My name as u can see is Yiannis. I used to weight 192 kgs(abt 427 lbs). On the 18th of January, i had my lap band surgery. Also, i did a gastric bypass and a cosmetic surgery as my tummy was quite...big ! Till today I have lost 55 kilos(abt 122 lbs) and every week i am loosing some weight. I am very happy that i did that surgery, because i am already starting feeling much better ! Best regards Yiannis

I'm not sure about the beautiful young lady that passed away in vidor. However, I can tell you that this is not the first problem with the Medical center in this area. Me and my soon to be husband were looking at homes and we found a nice realator in the area. We found a house but it had major problems and we just decided to wait for a while. We did not her from her but I heard she had gastric bybass and was in the hospital. I ran into her daughter and asked her how her mom was doing and she said that she died. This wa a couple of weeks later. I have heard of other storeis similar to this. But I knew this person. Maybe the young lady had gastric bypass. I am considering surgery but I thought the lapband was safe. I know your body may react differently and that probleems could arise but I didn't think it was major. This is scary. I'm considering Dr. ortix in mexico.

Welcome Ndipilato, glad you decided to join our group. I understand your worries about the bypass as I am currently doing my liquid diet to have the bypass in a week and a half, I am actually happy with my choice only because I know my body and my self, and I am ready for this. I also am a yoyo dieter, and too have been a heavy person since I was real young. I am ready for this change and this to be the end of obesity for me. I need this to be and that is why I am putting my full head into it. I hope that you get your decision from the insurance company soon and you are happy with the sleeve. The reason I decided on the bypass was because I had the band back in 2010 and it did not work for me, something happen with the band and made a year of hell for me, so I had it taken out in 2011 and was so discouraged that I didn't have a revision done which I should have and I know that now but because of everything I had gone through I didn't trust something else. So I joined weight watchers thinking that I could do that, and went to meetings and everything I lost maybe 10lbs in 5 months. I have a super bad thyroid that I take meds for and I just think that with that issue it hinders me in losing weight. I went to my doctor to ask about bypass and when he said that if I got the sleeve and that didn't work then I could always get the bypass after right then I was like no way, I am having the bypass I am not going to have a surgery knowing that there is one more that i can get and jeopardize my weight loss with that knowing there was something else I could do. I am all set, so that is why I made my choice!!! Well Welcome and good luck!!!

I am 2 years post Lap Band with 90 lbs weightloss. I am happy with my success, but have suffered with horrible acid reflux and terrible restiction, and lack of sleep many nights due to aspirating. I am trying to get a revision approved with insurance. Dr. thinks lap has slipped. Would really appreciate response about your experience with revisions. My Dr. states that newly improved stitching methods have been developed to prevent slippage. What do you think? Thanks so much! Bullit

Thats cool Margo My one friend who had GBP about 5+ years ago told me she wished she had the option at that time to have the band. She IS doing wonderful with the bypass btw.

My doctors office has support groups once or twice a month, I don't go to them because they are mostly bypass/sleeve patients. I also feel out of place with them, it's very uncomfortable. To me it's a different journey with the band compared to the bypass or sleeve and we need different support. Just like when I went to my pre-op "class" I was the only band patient there, and some of the things they went over had nothing to do with me and I was getting confused with what I had to do and what suppliments I'd have to take. The people giving the class seemed to just assume everyone was getting the bypass or sleeve. I had to ask a million questions only to be told, "oh that doesn't concern you, you're getting a band, this is for bypass/sleeve patients" it was very frustrating. I could be wrong but most of the time it seems like its more of a struggle for band patients. My boyfriends sister had the bypass almost 3yrs ago, and lost most of her weight within the first few months without doing anything, but she also regrets getting it done. She has alot of health issues since her surgery, she said if she could do it all over she would have gotten a band instead. It may sound catty or ignorant but I'm just being honest, I kinda get uncomfortable and maybe even a little annoyed when I hear about how much weight they've lost in only a few months with no effort. I understand they are more at risk and some suffer from Vitamin deficiency and malabsorbtion but like seriously, I'm still working my ass off even after surgery to lose weight! Now I'm just complaining lol.. Anyway, this is what I chose and how I wanted to do it, but I feel the support groups should cater to all WLS patients and separate bands from bypass/sleeve patients as we have different needs.