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Let me share my story. In December 2009, I had the lap-band, which worked great until I had to have an emergency removal in January 2013. The baNd had major slippage and needed to come out. I was supposed to have revision to bypass right then and there but my doctor did not feel it was safe because my stomach was so "angry." With the lap-band I went from 227 to about 145. I was at a size 4 and feeling great. So fast forward to May 2014, I was back at 209 and feeling horrible. I was finally approved to have the sleeve, which was done on May 13, 2014. The 2 weeks prior for the pre-op diet is went down to 200 on the day of surgery. I had the surgery and when I was released from the hospital I weighed 207, I guess cause all of the fluids. Yesterday was my 6 weeks post op and I am only at 185, Is this normal. I dont know what exactly I am supposed to expect. I was able to start walking/running at about 4 weeks and I started back at cross fit this week. Any help would be great. Since I was not able to keep the weight off after the lap-band removal I am really discouraged and feeling like this will not work. Has anyone had this happen.

Hello, I am having my revision surgery on June 12th. The past couple weeks I have been getting stuck more often and have been throwing up more than usual and with more force. I am wondering if I should just do liquids and puréed (things that will not get stuck) until my surgery to prevent things from getting worse in there. There violent throwing up/stuck spells are prob just getting things all inflamed and worse in there.I feel like I am having this surgery just in time but am afraid what the doc will find when he gets in there. I am having my surgery in Mexico with Dr. Jose Rodriguez. He placed my lap band 9 years ago so I figured he would be best to get it out. Do you guys think me sticking with liquid/ pureed food until my surgey is a good idea to give everything time to calm down in there and not cause anymore damage?

Hi everybody! I am due to have the sleeve in 2 weeks, i had the band for 6 years, removed 1 year ago.. gained most back. I am curious to hear from people who have had band to sleeve revision. If you were to compare... what would you say are the differences... in relation to eating, hair loss, skin etc. Reason i ask... i was successful with the band... minimal hair loss and no loose skin, im curious to know if ill have the same result this time around. I hope that made sense. .. sorry my brain is fried today... 1st day of optihell lol

I had lap band about 4 years ago and lost about 55 1bs. and then was just stuck. In December my band slipped and I had to have all my fluid taken out and was told that I needed it removed and revised to something else. I felt like a failure with the lap band at this point and that I did it to myself. I really didn't know what to do because I knew if I had it taken out and nothing else done that I would gain weight back really quick. I made the decision to go ahead and revise to the sleeve. I was really hesitant to tell anyone I was afraid that they would just tell me to have lap band removed and go on a diet. I finally just decided to tell all my friends the decision I made and all was so supportive. I just had the surgery two weeks ago and so I am going through that head hunger but hopefully I made the right choice.

Good luck! I have seen a lot of people have these types of revisions on here with a lot of success.

All is good. my revision went smoothly- I walked the first day- slept like a hibernating bear too. the only pain I can really complain about was the headaches I had 3 nights in a row while at the hospital. Turns out I dont get on too well with that morphine drip. Day 3 starting liquids and have been just fine. Belly is sore from bending and stretching too much once I got home. Abdominal muscles feel really worked! I have enjoyed my couch nights- just me the tree lights and junky TV. Not being dependant to drive does suck tho since I need to finish my Christmas Shopping, Also, I am wired at night- cant seem to fall asleep til like 4am. Not even tired during the day either, strange Thanks everyone,I know your positive thoughts support and prayers were key in this very pleasant experience these first 5 days, Nighty night my friends

I shared with my immediate family and in-laws that I was going to have the band surgery. My mom had hers the year before me so they were fine with it. We had only been here about 6 months when I had surgery, and I had only made 1 "friend". She wasn't as supportive because she dropped some pretty snarky comments. Anyways, when the complications with the band became too much, and I got serious about a revision, I told only my husband, and that one friend. I didn't tell my mom because she is that typical band patient that tried to blame me for my complications and unwillingness to stick to the band rules. We found out my husband was deploying during my research stage, and I decided to proceed with the revision. I told my mom and all of the comments started. We flew my in-laws to FL from WV to stay with me during my revision since my husband was deployed. I had a helluva surgery, and recovery. I lost that one friend during my recovery which wasn't a loss in the end. When I started making friends here through our spouse's club, and other volunteer opportunities, I was open and honest about my revision. It was kind of difficult to hide the fact that I was dropping 15lbs a month. I saw these women often, we were eating out socially weekly, and I needed support. Through my sharing, my friend is having sleeve surgery next week with the same surgeon that assisted on my revision, and has taken over my care since my surgeon has been deployed for the last 6.5 months. I have not received any flack from the women that I associate with now. They are beyond supportive, at first our conversations revolved around my weight loss and surgery, but now they realize that I'm fairly "normal". I tell people that genuinely want to know. I don't hide it, but I don't scream it from the rooftops. I don't tell waiters/servers in restaurants when I only eat a small portion. I think it's a personal decision, and sometimes we are guilty of giving people just enough information about our lives to be dangerous. I feel like I gave my mom the ammo she needed to blast me. I've learned over the years to not volunteer information. If you feel like people won't be supportive, don't tell them.

I am 6 weeks out from revising band-to-sleeve. I literally measure all of my food with a 1/2 C measuring cup. In the beginning after I got my band I "eye-balled" correct portion sizes and I slowly got away from that eventually ended up over-eating again. I'm so scared of not measuring my portions. Does everybody here measure out their food? Did you only in the beginning? And if you stopped, did you regain or stop losing? It's such a pain to have to actually measure out food!

I was banded for 2 years, and revised to the sleeve in mid December. Stomach pain is gone, no vomiting, appetite control is in place, weight is coming off steadily. I wish I'd gone this way in the beginning. When I think of the money I wasted with the lapband surgery, the fills and unfills and other medical appointments trying to resolve the problems .....that's the only time I feel sick now. However, follow your own research and go into surgery confident in your decison, whatever it is. Best Wishes!

Hello! I’m scheduled for a revision on 8/8 as well! I had a VSG 18 months ago and have had terrible acid reflux and developed a hiatal hernia. I only lost about 40 lbs after my sleeve, too. I’m hoping the revision will not only take care of the acid reflux but that I’ll lose 50 more lbs! I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I hear that weight loss is much slower after a revision so I’m hoping I don’t get really frustrated. Maybe we can be surgery buddies and keep in touch! Keep us all posted on how things are going. I start my liquid diet on Monday. Good luck with everything!😊

I was banded in March 08. In that time I have lost 20lbs and have gained back 8. I have had 6 fills and they tell me there is no leak, etc. and its my fault with what I am eating, and that may be true. Yesterday, I woke up and for the first time felt restriction. I can eat small amounts and I can drink liquids, only not too much at a time. I feel the way I think I should feel. Is it possible that it was in the wrong place or the stoma was too big and now its slipped into place? Or do I have slippage and need to get a revision? I have no pain or reflux so I am tempted to leave it and see what happens. Anyone have an issue like this?

@@Rovobay We share(d) a LOT in common! I too was 324 pounds pre surgery. I was 39 years old. Had been fat most of my life. Had successfully lost weight on atkins diet, going from 310 down to 225....just to gain it all back and then some... Because I ate too much and didn't do much of anything in the form of exercise/physical activity. And I really hadn't come to the point of "Wake Up!"...this is gonna kill me if I don't do something different. Mother with diabetes, father ( not obese at all ) died at 70 of a heart attack....sisters both with obesity related issues....you get the picture. I decided enough was enough in January of 2009, spoke with my PCP (Primary care physician) and HE was the one who suggested Weightloss surgery, specifically, LAPBAND for me. He suggested a WLS surgeon in my area and I went to a seminar in Feb of 2009, then met with the surgeon's office staff and surgeon. At the time, I believe my options were only RNY or Lapband at his practice. I listened to the options and discussed with him my eating habits, and WE decided Lapband would probably be a good choice for me. I got banded in Sept 2009, and feel the band has been almost exactly as promised for me. By that, I mean after it gets properly adjusted for the individual, it does help me eat less! I used to eat TWO big plates of food at a time, at least....then be hungry and ready to eat again in a couple of hours. I used to be winded and out of breath climbing a single flight of stairs. Now, after losing 130+ pounds, I can do anything I desire. 100 mile bike rides, Half marathons, you name it. It really is a new lease on life! So for those who say you CAN'T lose a LOT of weight with lapband, I disagree...not true in my experience. And there are PLENTY of folks who've lost as much or MUCH more than I have. But I personally know of people who've had the band and are bigger 5 years post op, than they were prior to surgery. Nothing is perfect for everyone. I often attend WLS surgery support group meetings where we have band, sleeve, RnY patients, and even some revision patients. Every surgery has its success stories, and those who haven't quite met their expectations....for whatever reason. The one thing I always leave those meetings thinking about, when I hear patients who've stopped losing, and many start regaining weight, is at least mine is adjustable..... Just something to think about. Best wishes on your decision, whatever road you choose.

Did reflux cause weight regain, or was that the reason you were approved for the revision?

I was shocked too, so however long you're in a stall be patient and still to the plan. I'm down almost 11 lbs in 1 1/2 weeks. It will come off if you are diligent. And cursing at your scale doesn't make it move, I tried it Revision 1/31/13 by Dr Cabrera and Venezuela in MX

That is crazy! I am glad that you got the revision and it is working right now. Good for you for loosing 20 pounds anyway! Excited to hear how it goes for you now! Good luck!

Hi!!! I was revised from band to bypass on May 21, 2014. Omg I love my bypass! What a difference!!! I don't feel like I'm stuck all the time, I don't throw up, I don't have to find a barroom before I eat to make sure I can run there in time.. It's awesome! I was successful with my band lost all my weight 120 pounds in 9 months, kept it off for 5 years then bam one day I couldn't keep anything down even with an unfill. So revision was my option.. My band had eroded. I can tell you the revision surgery was easier for me than the band surgery. I knew I had to get up and walk ASAP after surgery because the gas pain killed me last time so I did!! I walked within 2 hours of surgery and kept walking. I was able to go home day after surgery and my recovery was amazing. Felt awesome! I even asked my doc if he really took out the band and did the rny I felt so good!! Feel free to pm me with any questions!!! And good luck!!

I am three weeks out of VBG to RNY revision and have been on soups since Monday. I have also been having pain on left side that feels like fire sometimes other times just sharp pain. Also swelling in feet but mostly left foot. Called my dr today and he is sending me to ER for a cat scan with contrast to see if I have a leak! I asked what do you do if there is one and he said drain it but how do you stop the leak? I don't have time for this lol!

1. Dr. Michael Michel, he is a Major in the USAF, and stationed at and operates out of Eglin AFB. I've sent 2 of my close friends to him within the last month (he just returned from 7.5 month long deployment) and an "ex" friend of mine had her surgery performed by Dr. M last September. My secondary surgeon Dr. Riley, out of the same military facility, is amazing as well. Dr. R took over my care when Dr. M deployed. He's performed surgery on 2 of my friends within the last 4 months. 2. Insurance company first, PCP next, supporting letter from PCP and any other specialty physicians you may see. 3. I would imagine natural childbirth would be worse. I had a c-section (was awake for it), and the VSG was nowhere near as painful. I had a completely different recovery, and I'm not the norm therefore I can't comment on this one. I was a revision patient. Had the band first, then VSG. 4. Same as above 5. I've dropped 155lbs as of today in around a year. I started at 270 today I'm weighing in around 118lbs. My skin is wrinkly, but not sagging or flapping over. It's recovering nicely. Saw my surgeon last week, he looked at my skin, and said " considering how much you've lost, your age, and how fast you've dropped it, your skin looks amazing, I've had patients lose less, that are younger that have to have plastics. Don't do any other surgery for a minimum of 12-18 months". I moisturize like crazy. I exfoliate with a homemade sugar/salt scrub, I massage my skin. I do not wear shapers, girdles, or anything of the sort. I live in Florida, it's 99% humidity, and wearing spandex under clothes is self-induced torture. 6. Take Biotin or another hair/nail/skin supplement now, and continue taking it once you're released for meds/supplements post-op. It'll help with the regrowth. Nothing stops the shedding. I'm vain, I lost half of my hair, I chopped it off, and it's grown 4 inches in length since January. We measured the other day to find out how much growth I was actually seeing. I have new growth that is about 7" long that started coming in before the shedding stopped. For me, it last 3.5 months. It's temporary, it'll grow back. I used Folicure shampoo every other day when I started losing, and never took Biotin or other supplements on a regular basis. Interesting article: Telogen Effluvium: eMedicine Dermatology 7. I was released for alcohol at 3.5 months out. Was told to avoid wine. My surgeon doesn't forbid soda. He doesn't believe it causes sleeve stretching. It is empty calories/carbs, and if it's caffeinated, it doesn't count as a clear Fluid. I drink soda. No harm, no foul, no regain,no sleeve stretching. I'm not a beer drinker, but I drink rum/cokes and various shots on a fairly social basis. 8. Perfectly normal. Today, my 12 yr old son and I shared an order of beef fajitas with black Beans and rice at Chili's. Sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa, 8-10 tortilla chips, 3oz of fajita skirt steak cooked medium, and a huge amount of sauteed onions. I ate about 6 small bites of the rice, I skipped the beans, they put stupid pico de gallo in them, no flour tortillas. I ate about 2ounces of shredded cheese mixed with the beef, sour cream and salsa. I drank strawberry lemonade before my meal. We were in and out of the restaurant within 1 hour. We talked, laughed, and just hung out. I waited about 15 minutes after eating to take a few swigs of my lemonade because Mexican food tends to be salty. I needed to wet my whistle. I felt normal, and have for months. 9. Only puked a couple times and that was super early out. Nauseated only happened when on heavy antibiotics. Slightly dehydrated only once, but didn't require hospitalization/iv fluids. 10. Stick to your surgeon/nutritionist's post-op diet, don't reinvent the wheel, don't cheat, it's just not worth it regardless of other people's experiences, if you absolutely need to progress your diet call the medical professional that you trusted to staple off and excise 80% of your stomach and ask if there is a safe option that may get you through a horrible day, don't be negative nelly, your body needs you to be positive and encouraging it will have just took a major blow for you, be nice to it. Realize that some days might suck, you might be sore, you might not feel like doing much of anything, but the good ends up outweighing the bad 100 fold. Remember they operate on our stomachs not our heads. Our minds will beat us up if we allow it. Emotions will run high, you might be mad, angry, or feel like you're on a permanent PMS trip from hell, prepare your husband/family for this, it does get better, but it doesn't make it suck any less. Other than that, know that you are embarking on an amazing journey. You'll experience so much that it's hard to really wrap your head around all of it. Look for support when you need it, and know that whatever hurdle you may find in your path, there is probably someone else out here that's gone through or going through the same thing, don't be afraid to ask questions, have faith in yourself, your surgeon. Sorry for the ramble, run on and fragment sentences. Best wishes and keep us updated.

I was denied twice through UHC. I hired Lindstrom Obesity Advocacy in May. FINALLY AFTER MANY MONTHS MY REVISION SURGERY HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!!! THANK YOU WALTER & KELLEY LINDSTROM, Lindstrom Obesity Advocacy, FOR NOT GIVING UP AND FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. 2016 is going to be a year of wonderful changes in my life!

I was just approved for revision from band to sleeve. I've never had a problem with GERD or reflux (except when the band is too tight). Reading this thread is making me a little bit afraid of the sleeve! Yikes. I don't want to have that kind of problem all the time.

i had surgery on the 28th...believe it or not on my birthday. i was a revision from a band. im doing pretty good, having a hard time getting fluids in, but i had the same problem with the band

OK, so I started my pre-op on 12/14/12, my LB surgery was 12/28/12. I've lost a total of 45 lbs so far since 12/14/12. Well, I saw my PCP on Monday 5/6. I had not seen him since February 6th. The first words out of his mouth were, you only lost. 8 lbs. since I last saw you, that's not very much. I wanted to cry, here I am thinking wow, I've lost 45 lbs in 5 months, that's pretty good or so I thought. Mind you, my band is not working because my port flipped and I'm going for revision surgery, Fri., May 10th. Anyway, I was kind of feeling down because of my primary care physician's remarks. I have no feeling of restriction or the sweet spot since my port flipped. My surgeon said he will give me a fill on Friday after he corrects the port. Just curious, am I over reacting by my PCP's comments

After almost a week of researching and talking to my dr's nurse, I think I'm about 98% sure I'm going to revise to a sleeve (last week I was in the ER with a herniated band - totally unfilled). I'd prefer to wait until after my upcoming Alaskan cruise (3 weeks from today) so I don't have to be on a liquid diet and that fits perfectly with my nurses recommendations. She said if I want to have the revision all in 1 surgery (take out my band and replace with the sleeve at the same time), I have to wait for at least 6 weeks for the inflammation to go down, otherwise I will have to wait between the time they take it out and the time they replace it with the sleeve. But until then, I can actually feel everything that I eat. With an unfilled band, I can actually FEEL my band for the first time ever. No pain, I can just feel it. Even Soup. I've done much research on this and found that most people who have had a slipped band and replaced it with another band, have problems with the placement in the future. I'm tired of driving the 6 hr round trip journey for tweaks of my band anyway (not to mention the $160 for every adjustment). I want something permanent. Now, if I could just get a little more support. My husband is very supportive, however my mom, sister, and best friend think I should just leave it out and do it on my own. While I only have about 30 lbs to goal and I could probably (eventually do it on my own) I know I could never keep it off forever. I don't want to risk it to find out. Medicare will pay for a revision now (even tho my bmi is only 27) because of complications. I don't think they'd pay if I gained a few lbs back having it completely taken out. I know myself. In a few years, I'd be 250 again. Never again! So wish me luck! I'll still be on this board till the actual revision (no actual date yet), and will probably check in from time to time to see how everyone doing! Marci

Hey everyone getting at the end of all my testing (pre op stuff for revision ) my doctors office is summit everything on th 5 th of october . I am just wondering how everybody eles insurance process went ? I have united health care ... But and story will help ... Starting to worry that after all this work I will not get approved

In Northern Kentucky Getting sleeved 12/28/15 by Dr. Trace Curry!! So nervous, it's a band to sleeve revision and I know it can have additional complications