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I had my TT (muscle repair, no lipo*) on 1/10/22. Recovery was what I expected pain wise but not time wise. For some crazy reason I thought I would bounce back in a couple of weeks - NOPE! The first week I needed help doing everything (except wiping my hiney - thank God). The drains were removed on day 8 which did not come quickly enough. I haven't had any major complications, just a minor (small hematoma) that resolved on its own. I'm still a bit tender but I can now sneeze/laugh/cough without my eyes tearing up. My scar is healing ahead of schedule (per surgeon). I tried silicone tape (week 3) but it made me itch so I just massage my scar with coconut oil daily but I do forget some days. I will be having scar revision in the future but that was always part of the plan. I have a high belly button and I also had a tattoo around my belly button. Not one of my smartest moves but what can I say, I was 20 something at the time. My surgeon does not make "T" incisions due to blood supply concerns. Also, since the entire tattoo could not be removed, I didn't want a totally distorted tattoo. So my scar at this time is higher than both he and I would prefer. The scar revision is an office procedure with local anesthesia so I didn't object. I chose to "stage" my lipo after my tummy tuck. I'm scheduled for lipo on 2/28/22. Why you may ask. I'm having multiple sites done (knees, inner thighs, saddle bags, and flanks). By doing it in "stages" the lipo of the flanks can be more "aggressive" than if I had it with the TT.

Hi Lisa! I am about the same time out until my surgery. I will be getting a revision surgery from the lap band to the RNY bypass. Sounds like you are off to a good start and already losing weight! I am trying to do WW right now, but the weight is barely moving. I would be happy to be your weight loss friend during this journey. I just bought a helpful book on Amazon called “The Big Book on Gastric Bypass” By Alex Brecher. Have you started your classes yet?

Throughout my sleeve, I used PatchMD and blood tests were always good. I now use the PatchAID multi plus since PatchMD changed their amount on a couple of the vitamins. Because I wasn't sure how the PatchAID worked, I was a little nervous but two weeks ago, I received my 6 month comprehensive blood test results (revision VSG to RNY), and everything was in range. The iron, ferritin, calcium, Vit D, A, E, Zinc, Magnesium... Etc. were all in center range. If any were low, I was planning to go to chewables but since everything checked out ok again, I'll probably still continue the patches since they are convenient. Right now my average calories is 715 calories per day and I know it is hard to eat nutritionally sound on <800 calorie diet so I think the patches have helped.

Yesterday my surgeon did my hernia repair surgery to repair a substantial Hiatal Hernia and to do a revision from Sleeve to RNY. What I found out after surgery was there wasn't actually any hernia repair completed, just the revision. I was told by the surgeon's PA that conversion from sleeve to bypass pretty much permanently resolves most potential hiatal hernia issues. Recovery and first night seemed very similar to what I underwent with the sleeve in 2015. I do believe I am more sore at a couple of the incision sites than I was the first time. The most painful was where they had placed a couple of surgical drains which were removed this morning before discharge. Relaxing at home this first day isn't really relaxing, as almost any movement, and certainly getting in and out of chars, causes significant discomfort. I'm not one to usually take serious pain meds, but I did start using the Oxycodone that was prescribed to help reduce the pain. But other than incision pain the process was flawless. The surgery center specializes in bariatric surgeries so they have the routine down very well. There were only six patients in the center yesterday, and with three nurses working each had two patients. Great responsiveness.

No direct experience, as the surgeons I am associated with primarily do the "traditional" BPD/DS, but the process would be the same. As to whether or not the sleeve is redone as part of the revision depends on the surgeon's preference and what condition the sleeve is in. The surgeon who has adopted our local support group only does the resleeve if it is needed, if there are any problems or defects with it. There were a lot of sloppy sleeves done in the early days of the VSG (say, 8-12 ago) as surgeons worked up the learning curve getting their techniques right ("twenty years of doing bypasses and they think they know how to do a sleeve...." to paraphrase one prominent surgeon.) As with any revision, count on weight loss being slower and less than with a virgin WLS (I like to think of it this way - our stomach was originally 32-64 oz capacity, and after WLS, even with some stretch and adaptation it may hold 6-8 oz,, so don't expect as big of a change the second time around.) If you are doing the revision for additional weight loss or correcting regain, try to seriously get a handle on why the first one had problems and correct those before proceeding. Good luck ...

Has anyone on here had a revision from Sleeve to SIPS ? I have an appointment next week with a surgeon about it.. Just wondering to they make your stomach smaller again or they just do the rest of the surgery? How long to recover from this surgery? Have you lost any weight since the surgery?

Yeah I do have extra skin but it’s easy to hide under clothes. Maybe someday I will get the extra skin removed. i am still actually losing weight… I haven’t stabilized yet. My goal weight was 195 but I just kept losing. My intake that I can do seems to be more in line with the limited quantities of bypass patients rather than sleeve. But everyone is different, so who knows. i am told it is impossible to lose “too much” and that the weight loss will eventually Peter off and stop. I revised my goal weight down to 165 pounds which would put me at ten pounds more to go. the way my body seems to work is I stall for a long time, then drop a ton of weight quickly (ten pounds) …. Then stall again for a while… then drop more…. i have sensitive skin and the excess skin does cause rashes to occur. I get them under my breasts, in my midline area by my belly button and with the skin overhang in the pelvic region. They say that if you have documented skin conditions like I do then they will take care of the extra skin… but it’s recommended to wait a couple years. I think it also has to be overhanging by a certain amount. (I think I remember my pcp saying it has to hang lower than the pelvis bone)

I am a few days away and so excited and nervous all at the same time. Thank you all for sharing and keeping us updated. It helps so much for us who are waiting and have questions. My surgery is a revision from sleeve to bypass due to Hiatal Hernia which my surgeon will repair, GERD and never getting to goal with some weight gain. 2017 HW 284 I’m 5’3 LW after sleeve 194 after I juiced for three days to break the 200’s. Then two years ago I gained up to 224 and I turned vegetarian. Got down to 187. Then COVID hit. I have gained and lost the same 30 lbs for the last few years. Now my current weight is 225. My revision is set for Thursday, 2/17. I am hopeful all my efforts will get me to goal this time. I’m scared to end up the same. Wish me luck.

I am happy to hear you are seeing much success since your revision. I received notice that my biopsies came back showing Barretts Esophagus. Insurance is still denying saying that it was caused by acid reflux which was a complication caused by having VSG. As if I wanted to have Barretts Esophagus when I had VSG... ridiculous.

I have Aetna, and my revision due to GERD and esophagitis was covered and I was not required to meet any of the pre-surgical bariatric parameters like diet, psych eval etc. I also had hernia repair, but the primary reason for the revision was the GERD and esophagus damage. I did have to have all the medical tests that proved I had GERD and esophagitis. The RNY revision was medically necessary and insurance approved and covered the surgery. I have lost 60 pounds since the revision surgery which has been a very pleasant side effect of the revision. Being able to sleep without acid in my mouth has been wonderful!

I agree with trying to see a therapist, but that can be very hard to find if you didn't do your surgery with a big surgery center in the US or where you live. I've heard that places outside the US (especially Mexico, Turkey, etc) don't provide much support after surgery, and I know from experience that finding a therapist trained in weight issues can be very hard. I would try to work on things like figuring out what you are feeling when you decide to order take out. Are you tired, bored, sad, angry, lonely? If any of these things are the problem, eating take out is not the solution. If you wait until you are over tired or way too hungry to eat, you are more likely to make bad choices with what to eat. It's not hard to keep better choices on hand. Try keeping low sugar flavored Greek yogurt, tuna, protein shakes, cheese, fruit, etc on hand. I travel a lot so I eat out, but I try to choose the best possible option (high protein, low carb) and when I'm home, I make something with ground turkey or chicken like chili, taco meat, ground turkey stroganoff, etc and divide it in portions to freeze so I always have something that takes two minutes to heat up. It takes much less time than ordering take out. I don't wait after drinking to eat (my surgery center said we didn't have to) but I definitely don't drink after eating - it's painful to me, plus we were told it would just flush the food down our stomach and we'd be hungry sooner. Try to get yourself to track, even if it's only every other day. You said you've been working since May 2021 on getting this surgery. There's no second chance after this. Even if you have a revision surgery, you may not lose much weight. It's now or never.

Alcohol ended up becoming a major obstacle to my loss. My social life involved regular beer drinking. After getting sleeved I knew I was not supposed to drink carbonated beverages, however my desire to hang out with my friends caused me to learn how to overcome that obstacle and drink beer. I think this is the major reason I never hit my weight loss goal and then gained some back. What worked for me recently was to use a time restricted feeding program along with a Keto based diet. I ate mostly Keto and only had two meals, lunch at Noon and dinner around 5-6pm. This came from, the insulin control diet programs recommended by Dr. Jason Fung. Given that my sleeve kept me from feeling really hungry it worked well and I dropped the 20 pounds I gained during the pandemic restrictions. Now I have major issues with hiatal hernia and GERD, so a revision to RNY is scheduled for tomorrow. I've decided since I have been given a second chance I am going to make the most of it. I have determined that alcohol no longer has a place in my life, and neither do snacks and slider foods.

I'm set up for surgery the day after yours. However, mine is a revision so I went through the process of having a sleeve in 2015. I too was concerned about complications. I have a family member who works at the bariatric practice and sees patients every day both before and after their surgeries. She was 100% supportive of both my decision for initial surgery and the revision which was comforting to me. I also realized that the horror stories we read online are a tiny percentage of all who have these surgeries. I believe the vast majority go smoothly and once they get past the initial discomfort of the early healing process most folks are glad to have done it.

Oh I haven't had the bypass yet, that's what I'm in the process of doing. Revising from lap band (it's removed) and now hopefully I will have the bypass in the next couple of months. We're hoping that it cures the acid issues. I'm hopeful! And thank you, catwoman!

I got lap band in 2013, and had it removed in 2021 due to developing horrible reflux. I'm in the process of revising to gastric bypass now. Lap band and sleeve are both high pressure systems that are known to cause reflux for a good amount of people. Unfortunately I wasn't aware of this when I was banded. Are you taking any PPI's to reduce stomach acid? That's fairly common after these procedures. I'd make contact with your surgeon to make them aware of what's happening.

Your body is in shock. I am 5 month post op a revision for ulcers and weight gain with my pregnancy (totally my fault). After both surgeries I didn’t really lose more than a few pounds the first month and then it just falls off. I am down 72 pounds at 5 months post op. didn’t get the not caring about food effect I did the first surgery which I like more actually because I can still eat within my diet and still lose weight. I’ve been through several stalls and I just put the scale away for a week or two, do what I am supposed too and keep losing weight :)

No, I always recommend the bypass over the sleeve because there is less gastric reflux. Also, if you follow the surgeons/dietitians instructions you will do great. I get nauseous if I eat meat without chewing thoroughly or eat too much. Or if I eat too much sugar/fat I’ll get an upset tummy. But the meat thing goes away the longer you are post surgery. I had a revision (weight gain totally my fault) and I am 5 months post op and can eat tender chicken, steak, and feel great. Just even as you can eat more don’t try to eat past being full and comfortable :)

What made you decide to get a revision?

I began my WLS journey in 2015 with gastric sleeve surgery in September. My starting weight was 301, which I had managed to diet down to 285 by the time I was approved for surgery. Surgery weight was 277. Surgery was uneventful and I was back at my normal activities within a couple days. My goal weight was 185, but I only managed to lose down to 210. I believe this was because I made the mistake of continuing to drink alcohol after surgery (although less than before) and still ate too many snacks and slider type foods. Over the next several years my weight gradually increased until it settled in at about 230-235. Then the pandemic occurred and that added 20 pounds, so I was back to 255. This is when I learned what I felt was a good method to handle regain - I combined time restricted feeding with keto dieting... I only ate between Noon and 6pm, and strictly limited carbs. Doing this for a couple of months I was able to drop from 255 back to 235. I had issues with reflux before the surgery, and they continued after. They seemed to worsen as time passed. I learned not to eat at least 3 hours before bedtime, and still sometimes I'd end up sleeping in the recliner for several hours when the reflux was particularly bad. I also had developed a hiatal hernia (which a CT report said was small). Then in January of this year something changed. I started having issues where I could only eat a couple ounces of food without feeling severely overstuffed. This plus some bouts with chest pain prompted a couple of ER visits for cardiac workups. Finding no cardiac issues my doctors determined the pain was likely the hernia that had expanded. I also started experiencing symptoms that seem to be consistent with "silent reflux", such as throat, ear tube and sinus issues. I scheduled an EGD with my bariatric surgeon who found a 3cm hiatal hernia. He is going to repair it this coming Tuesday, and to prevent recurrence of the hernia as well as to resolve the GERD issues is doing a revision to RNY. I'm not happy about having to start over with the healing process, but am excited to finally lose the excess weight, correct the hernia and GERD, and get a chance to do things right the second time. So, here are some lessons learned along the way. If they can help someone else then this post is worth making: 1. Listen to your surgeon. If they recommend one procedure over another, there is a reason why. I probably should have done the RNY in the beginning but opted for the sleeve even though I had existing reflux issues. 2. Follow the dietary guidelines. They are there to assure the most successful weight loss. Unfortunately I 'taught myself' how to overcome the carbonation in beer and continued to drink it after recovery, which is a large part of the reason for lack of loss and regain. I wasn't addicted to either, but both were present in my social environment. I have now determined that alcohol and junk food are poison to my system and have resolved to be diligent in avoiding them. 3. If you do experience regain, get on it quickly. I found that time restricted feeding along with a keto eating plan worked wonders for me. I was essentially following the insulin control program established by Dr. Jason Fung. I quickly dropped close to 20 lbs using my sleeve along with this plan. 4. The sleeve, or bypass, is a tool that is given to you for life. You have a great window of opportunity the first year to lose weight and correct health problems. Make the most of it. Even though the tool is still there in later years, it becomes more difficult to lose weight after your system is fully healed and settled into normal life. It's possible, but harder. Make the most of the "one year honeymoon" window!

Hey there! Just had a revision from sleeve to bypass on February 3. I'm very curious about dumping and what one's body will and won't tolerate after surgery. What happens if you eat a few French fries? A bite of a burger? Bacon? A fat-laden keto meal? A few spoons of ice cream? A bite of pasta? An onion ring? Do you immediately feel ill and nauseous? Can you handle any fat in your diet? Any sugar? Please do share your experiences with me. I know everyone's different but also want to imagine what lies ahead. Thank you!

I'm not a revision patient - I had a "virgin" bypass - but I didn't feel restriction until I started eating solid food. That's not at all uncommon. So there's definitely a chance you might start feeling it soon...

I’m having a revision from VSG to MGB. How long should it be for optimum success?

On 1/28 I had revision surgery going from VSG to a bypass due to feeling like I did not reach the goal that I wanted and was actually starting to regain. I am 13 days post op and feel no restriction. I mean none. When I first had the vsg surgery I felt restriction immediately even during the liquid phase but now it’s so different. I’ve even tried some solids maybe to see if I’m over reacting but still nothing. Anyone else has been through this ? I’m starting to worry.

Mine was a revision, the band had apparently slipped so it was a 4 hour surgery. I had a catheter anyway but never knew it. I woke up in my own hospital bed. Felt a bit bad but could quickly get up and hobble about to the bathroom and whatever, holding onto my IV. Home the next day. Pretty awful 3 days, walk walk walk, gas exiting noisily. Day 4, the clouds parted and sunlight came through. Day 5 I felt elated and went on a 2 hour walk. Since then (I'm on day 15) it's fine. You're young and healthy so it's as certain as it can possibly be you'll be fine and it'll work well for you. WALK!

To follow up on this topic, I had my EGD today and the surgeon said he saw about a 3cm hiatal hernia. He went ahead and scheduled me for hernia repair and revision to RNY next week. I'm looking forward to resolving the hernia issues and also the GERD.