Lap Band Issues--Possible Revision

I had Lap Band surgery back in 2008 and lost 50 lbs but then the weight gradually came back on due to multiple stressers in my life and not having the time to go back to my surgeon for follow ups.  I still ate properly but the weight still came back.  For the last 2 years Ive been having issues keeping any food down, seems to get stuck all the time.  Thinking about having a revision to gastric sleeve.  When I had my lap band surgery I was under BCBS of MA and now I have Health New England.  Anybody have any experience with dealing with HNE for revisions? Any help or advice would be helpful.

Hi there....I revised from a band to sleeve due to complications with my band. Unfortunately, I can not answer your insurance questions, but I wanted to caution you that eating poorly will lead to similar problems with your sleeve. Before you revise, I would caution you to commit to the diet and the process. Don't cheat yourself out of success.

It sounds like you may have a serious problem since you can't keep food down. That's what happened to me. One day, I woke up and nothing would go down. I had to have my band removed in an emergency surgery. Please see a dr about this because it is a very serious situation.

I wish you all the best......keep us posted on your progress.

I wouldn't have revision surgery until you're able to devote your time and attention to weight loss and to aftercare (regular visits with your surgeon). The sleeve doesn't require as much aftercare as the band in that it doesn't require fills, but you'll still have to work at weight loss - good food choices, portion control, managing emotional/stress eating, exercise, etc. Also, if you've been having eating problems for 2 long years, I think your first priority is to see your surgeon and find out what's going on with that. I highly recommend that the next time you have an eating problem (stuck, PB, sliming), stop eating and stick with a liquid diet for at least 24 hours to let everything in there calm down. If you don't do that, you'll find yourself trapped in an endless cycle of eat-problem-eat-problem...which sounds like what's been happening to you for 2 years now.

Whether HNE will cover a revision depends on the terms of your particular policy. Someone else with HNE might have a different policy and different WLS coverage. I think almost any insurance plan would require that the revision is proved to be medically necessary (because of complications) rather than desired by the patient due to disappointing weight loss. Which is another reason you need to go see your surgeon as soon as you can manage.

Whether you'll be successful and happy with the sleeve depends partly on your expectations of it. I revised to the sleeve last summer because of a medical problem that my band was aggravating, and since then I've realized that my expectations were unrealistic. I expected the sleeve to greatly reduce my physical hunger and to cause early satiety. The early satiety has happened, but my physical hunger is worse than it was even before my band surgery. It doesn't matter what I eat, or how much, because I get hungry an hour after eating, hour after hour, day after day. After managing my type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise for almost 8 years, I now have to take metformin to keep my blood sugar steady. I've become anemic (micronutrient malabsorption has been scientifically documented in sleeve patients) and had a gastric bleed and a gastric polyp apparently caused by my sleeve surgery. And I've discovered that sleeve patients can dump just like RNY patients. I'm getting better at avoiding it, but it happens not just when I eat something sweet but also if I eat so-called healthy foods with higher sugar content, like milk, yogurt, protein shakes, protein bars, and some fruits.

The good news is that I've lost the 30 lbs I had gained earlier last year, plus another 10 lbs. For that, I'm very grateful. But from my point of view, the sleeve is a lot harder to live with than my band ever was. I still have to be careful of what I eat and how I eat (can't eat dry meat, soft bread, some veggies).

Good luck!

Hi Jean - I am sorry to read about all of the problems you've experienced with your sleeve. I hope things get better.

Thanks for your kind words.

He said it's possible, but since this ferocious hunger was never a problem before my revision, and my blood glucose levels stayed in a healthy range for 8 years prior to my revision, he also says it's possible that the sleeve is the culprit.

Why are you having difficulty eating solids? Is your band slipped or too tight? It has to be either one. If it is too tight you need to get some saline removed, if it has slipped you need to get it removed asap.

If you can barely swallow your spit with the band, why on earth do you think the Sleeve will work wonders? They are both tools and both restrictive. You may have less restriction with the Sleeve and what makes you think the Sleeve will magically make you lose weight when you already can't eat solid food with your band?

Please use common sense here, and go back to basics and find out WHY you are not losing weight and get some saline removed where your band can work properly, because if you revise to the Sleeve, you WILL have to eat properly and exercise.

Jean, while I didn't have all of the problems you have experienced with VSG, I certainly can relate to the hunger.  It is annoying.  My band was so good at diminishing my hunger. 

I also had to go on Metformin after the sleeve, but it was because my periods just started going wacky.  I had always been regular, and then all of the sudden, they would come every 6-7 weeks, HOWEVER, I was having PMS symptoms the entire time my period was late.  Grrrr.  The endocrinologist that I went to said my blood sugars were good for being diabetic (and had been since losing the first 40 lbs with my band).  Her thinking was that I probably have PCOS and Metformin can help with regulating that.  So, I started taking it, and BANG, my periods come right on time again. 

That's really interesting that metformin can help menstrual problems. I hadn't heard of that, but I haven't menstruated in almost 20 years!