Revising to Bypass
Hello Everyone!
So I had a realize band placed in 2009! I was 287 at my highest, dropped to 235 at my lowest, and now I am at 250. Most of my weight was lost pre-op! After busting my @$$ from January until now with a goal of losing 10 lbs, I ended up gaining 3 :( So yesterday I finally made the decision to have the band removed and start the insurance battle for a gastric bypass. I am trying not to feel discouraged or like a failure, but it is so hard. I am hoping that the bypass (which is what my NEW surgeon is recommending) does the job for me. I am scared, but I am very hopeful. I just feel the need to reach out and hopefully find someone who I can talk to along the way. I would love to hear from some of you on your experiences and hardships. I want to make sure I am making the right decision here!
Rachel
I had a lap band for about 7 years, wasn't very successful; had a lot of complications. The main complication was re-flux which was so bad that I would aspirate and then develop pneumonia. Anyhow, I finally got fed up (felt like a failure!) and had it removed. I thought it would be a huge hassle to get the insurance to pay for it to be removed, and that it would be unthinkable that they would do a bypass since I had such a bad experience/outcome with the band.
Anyhow, things could not have went smoother for me. On December 16, 2013 I had the band removed and switched to RNY (insurance paid for both). From the time I woke up my re-flux has been gone (yea, for me!). As of today, I have lost 32 pounds and I'm absolutely pleased. I started from surgery date at 227 and now down to 195. I'm now not taking b/p meds and my blood glucose levels have been fantastic.
Finally deciding to get rid of the band and having the RNY has been the best decision I've ever made. I just don't think the human body is meant to have a foreign object in it for long term (just my opionion).
I hope that your experience turns out well. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Good luck!
Jonda
I'm glad I'm not alone! I had been regurgitating my food everyday for almost 2 years!! I had my band unfilled in November and put a little saline back in in January and still i have trouble keeping even water down at times! Did you have to go back to the psych and nutritionist before u had the revision? My dr says I might. I have anthem bcbs so I'm hoping they won't give me a hassle. I am goin to wait until at least July (when I get more sick time at work) to get it done. Who knows if I'll even be approved by then though... Also how long did it take you to get back up and okay to work?8 work with children who have severe autism so that part kind of worries me. I don't want to jump back into work too soon but I will have at least 2 full weeks at my disposal. I have a million things to think about here lol
I didn't have to do the psych eval for either of my surgeries. I did see the gastric bypass nutritionist several times for the RNY (I had the surgery by 2 different md's) I have UHC and it is pretty good!
I was off work 3 weeks; I did have a respiratory complication post op. I'm a nursing instructor in 2 clinical area's, I did fine (did have a lot of fatigue post op). Actually I'm still struggling with fatigue; 3 months out:(
Hopefully you will get approved. The RNY absolutely fixed my reflux! I can't tell you how much better I feel!Take care and good luck. Anything else just ask.
Jonda
I also had the band, it was removed 12/2/13 & revision on 2/24/14 to RNY. I had no complication w/ insurance approval. It took a year for me to prove the band needed to come out - reflux, port flipping, hiatal hernia, band slipping. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would have done the RNY first time around. I'm only 3 weeks out right now but it was a good thing to get this revision!
Best of luck & if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Hi Rachel
I was in the exact same situation. I had the band done in 2007, lost maybe 50 pounds and then gained it all back again. I felt like such a failure. A lot of people knew that I had the surgery and could see nothing was happening so I felt really judged. The band was going to be my 'hope' and I figured everyway I could around using it correctly. The worst thing was knowing that I elected to have surgery for something that I was failing at.
Enter my new bariatric surgeon. HE WAS AWESOME. In a no nonsense way let me know why the band doesn't work for everyone (without taking the responsibility out of my hands or making me feel bad about it.) I did have a struggle with my insurance.
The tips I have for insurance, Get a sleep apnea test. A lot of insurance agencies will look at you more seriously if you have it (as if the myriad of other problems I had weren't enough). Also, my DR. had a peer to peer conversation with the medical director of the insurance company.
After 6 months of waiting. I finally had my surgery March 12th. I'm 7 days out. I'm so happy I did this. It is scary but exciting! If there was hope for me there is definitely hope for you! Stick with your surgeon. I wish I would have had a surgeon give me suggestions when I had the band instead of being sold on the miracle.
Shannon
