Don't know what to do...

I had the Realize band put in july of 2008, weighed 260 size 22...in nov. 2009 i got pregnant, at that point i weighed 150 and in size 7...and had 5cc of fluid in, they took 1cc of fluid out... i got up to 205 when i had my baby in aug. 2010...lost my insurance so i couldn't get my band refilled at that point, i lost 15 pounds right after i had her, i was able to eat just about anything...finally in dec. of 2011 i got my insurance back...i had gained my 15 pounds back...had to have my gallbladder removed...and got my 1cc put back in my band...that has been almost a month ago and i have lost nothing...being pregnant put me close to my old ways of eating, and it is hard to change that...i do have more restriction with the band now, but i am finding it so much harder to lose now than when i first got the band...i am going in a couple of weeks to get another fill, i am thinking about asking the dr. about changing from the band to something else...can anyone give me any advice?

will your insurance cover a revision?

It sounds like tool-wise the band worked pretty well for you initially, I'd check into the sleeve. But if you can't adjust your ways of eating for life then you might need malabsorption, in which case I'd look into the DS. But given your weight and history that doesnt' seem necessary IMO but I'm not a doc. :)

you are 2 days away !!!!!!

Whatever WLS you have, it won't matter if you don't make a committment to change the way you live. The DS and RNY are malabsorptive procedures, so there is a lot of restriction in the early post-op window, up to the first year. The regain rate for the RNY is 50%; for the DS it's 70--75%. They are very different surgeries in how they work - the RNY is a pouch with your small intestine bypassed and re-routed, attached to the pouch. The DS is your own stomach, about 70% removed, and shaped into a banana-shaped sleeve; should be noted that the portion of the stomach removed is the part that contains gherlin, the hormone that causes hunger. The intestinal tracts are 'switched' so the food/bile go down differently, meet in a new place, the common channel shortened. The VSG (Sleeve) is 'half' the DS - the sleeve portion but not the intestinal part.

The DS has a far more more liberal eating way of life, high protein and fat, very satisfyiing, because of the specific restriction of calories/fat absorbed and less tolerance for carbs; that's not how the RNY works at all. The RNY is almost like a band in how it works- a window- and then your body gets used to it, but there's no fill, no further restriction. Dumping is a horrible sickness not to be counted on to stay away from simple carbs. So if you haven't changed the way you eat - and you have to be dligent about lean protein, complex carbs and low-fat - you'll gain the weight back. And that's if the RNY actually works for you and you get to your goal.

I don't know more about you, your back story; only you know what your pre-band habits, obesity issues are. A more restrictive surgery might force your hand for awhile, but you have to use it as a time to lay down the foundation of healthy living and compliance for life. Spend the time, research, read people's surgery stories, go to the new board where there are veterans of the DS, it will be very enlightening about the DS and all the other surgeries. Many of us who had revisions are there and sharing stories. The link to the new board is in my signature below; also go to DSfacts.com. I'm speaking from my own experience, I was revised from the RNY to the DS in December. I'm now 50 years old; I had the RNY when I was 40 years old; and before that had been on every diet you can ever name, 3 major losses and regains. Surgery is a tool, we have to commit to living different. Wish you luck on your search.