Lap-Band to Mini Gastric Bypass Revision

[knormlaver 27]

I was banded in 2006 (private pay) and thought I did fairly well going from 220lb to 150lb in the first year or so. Over the next 10 years, I had my third child and managed to maintain about a 55lb loss. I was and remain dedicated to work outs 4-5 days a week. However, I never felt like I ever found that "sweet spot" with my fills. I had to make a 14 hour round trip for fills and the surgeon I had was the least compassionate, most fat phobic person I've ever encountered. How he got into that line of work I'll never know. Unfortunately, he was the only option in near my home town at the time when Lap-band was fairly new in Canada. I spent most of the time either feeling hungry or nauseated/stuffed and if I'm honest with myself, I think a threw up at least once almost every day of that 10 years (surgically induced bulimia?) Last year things got bad with my band. It became way too tight (even when completely unfilled) and I experienced terrible reflux at night and could barely tolerate fluids. It had to be removed. Luckily another surgeon closer to my home had started to do band surgery and was willing to remove it. He said with the earlier versions of the Lap-band, they often become inflexible and too tight after a long period of time. With this surgeon, my only option was to replace it with another gastric band (Mid-band is his device of choice). I could not convert to a sleeve or bypass as this is not offered as a private pay option in the province where I reside. There is a 5-7 year waitlist for government-funded weight loss surgeries. He said he wanted to see how I did with it out and that he "had faith in" my ability to keep the weight off. Well, I think we all know what the research says about gastric band removals. Despite my best efforts to watch what I ate and maintain my exercise routine, I regained almost all of the weight. Even though I eat a healthy diet (way healthier than what I could tolerate with the band), in less than a year I found myself 10lbs shy of my highest weight. My blood sugar and blood pressure are creeping up and I'm noticing more PCOS symptoms again. So, I started researching self-pay options for gastric sleeve surgery out of province. The surgeon I consulted with feels that the MGB is the best option for me. I'm not thrilled about paying for this again along with airfare and hotel. And not only do I get the pleasure of paying for WLS twice, it's extra because revision surgery requires more OR time. But I think my health is worth it. I'm booked for September 28th and have started my 2-week pre-op liquid diet (blech!) Part of me is scared that the surgery won't work. I feel like I have the slowest metabolism in the world. This, combined with my meds that promote weight gain and my PCOS, makes it feel like the odds are against me. However, my surgeon reassures me I'll do well. I've found reading about others' successful revisions also very encouraging. Thanks for reading my story.

[Garveydanielle 6]

Best of luck to you on this revision. Can you tell me more about the mini gastric bypass? How is it different then the regular bypass?

[Michelle Ery 29]

I had revision from band to bypass.

[sharon232 3]

I also had the band back in 2007. It was the most popular option at the time and gastric bypass still had some hiccups. As a registered nurse I do alot of research before making a decision and that included the decision to transition into gastric bypass.

I am going to be 67 years old and have struggled with dieting and weight issue as long as I can remember. The band worked well until I had to have the Fluid released in 2016 when I had my breast reduction surgery. I love the outcome from a double G to a D and able to go braless relived much pain in my neck and shoulders. When the fluid had to be put back in it wasn't so easy. It took 4 months before I was at the same point as before the surgery but had problems with it. in the four months, I gained 22 lbs. I never found that sweet spot and had a lot of reflux. Finally deciding to go back to my surgeon this past March and had some testing done. I was found to have esophageal dysmotility. It is an irregular movement of the esophagus when eating related to the band and to age. I had the band removed April 24th. It was decided I was a good candidate for gastric roux y bypass but my surgeon waits 4-5 months before converting. So I spent the summer thinking I had my last meal and gained close to 40 lbs. My own doing and only has added to the weight I already had to lose and regret thinking in the way. I had to go through the requirements all over again, Psychiatry, nutritionist, cardiology, upper gi series, endoscopy. But those months also gave me the time to really soul search about this surgery as a good choice. I did a lot of research online and listened to over 100 youtube videos from people who had the surgery. The good, the bad the ugly. Not having a lot of years left to my life I would like to not be overweight for the rest of it. I've made this choice because it virtually eliminates reflux, gives me the best chance to get this weight off. I have 100 lbs to lose. Hopefully then to not be borderline diabetic, get rid of my cholesterol medication and high blood pressure medication. Living a healthy life for the rest of my life. Thank you for reading my story. I'm sure I am not unique to many other strugglers out there and how our society treats us so differently when we are overweight. I experience every single day. Is affected my business and my personal life profounding. I'm just done with it. I'm fed up of swollen feet at the end of the day and struggling to complete the stairs in our home.

[knormlaver 27]

Garveydanielle : Mini gastric bypass is similar to roux en y bypass, where the stomach size is reduced; however, the intestinal bypass itself differs in that it only has one anastomosis vs 2 two. The studies show the results are similar to traditional rny, but with fewer surgical complications and faster recovery. It's still considered a newer surgery and not all docs are doing them yet.

[knormlaver 27]

sharon232 : Thanks for sharing your story. I'm also a nurse and really thought I'd done my homework when I chose the Lap-band, but at the time it really was pretty new and the studies didn't go beyond 5 years. Hence I couldn't have predicted my problems that started mainly at the 10 year mark. I agree there is a lot of fat phobia and bigotry out there and I've really become a champion of the fat activism movement. This especially salient for me as a health care professional and a nursing instructor in the BScN program. There is a lot of judgement and prejudice that occurs in health care and I make a point to speak out against it and model respectful care to all. Everyone has their own story.