condsidering 2nd weight loss surgery Opinions Plz

i had my lapband done 2008. lost over 70lbs and was doing great. then i had a situation (trauma) that reverted me right back to building my wall of FAT!!!!
now i'm right back to my start weight if not more : ( i am considering the sleeve.
i know have a hernia from the lapband and all the vomiting i was doing.
can anyone help me out here.

thank you

Sorry you've had such a rough time.

I never had a lap band, but it seems to me that if you need a hernia repaired anyways, you might as well get the sleeve while they are in there, since so many wls patients end up having a surprise hernia repair while they are under.

I'm sure more will come along who have more experience in this than I do, but I wanted to offer my support and well wishes. We see a lot of people on this board who are revising to a sleeve from a band, and it seems like they generally do well.

Best wishes!

If it were me, Id be in a hurry to revise - the lapband scares me with all the damage it can possibly do.

And while I think the sleeve is a great tool, and I think you did great with the 70 lb weight loss, you should consider getting therapy pending any revision to deal with the trauma and the reasons you put the weight back on. Succesful weight loss and life long maintenance depend more on our emotional relationship with food than the size of our stomachs. We all know ppl who have had the band, the VSG, the by pass who have either never reached goal, or put all the weight back on.

Good luck and I hope you get the band out soon!

 I would really look at why you are gaining the weight back, the sleeve is GREAT but if you don't change the behaviors and YOUR BRAIN, it might not be successful!

There are quite a few band to sleevers here who will hopefully pipe in.

Good luck with your choice!! 

hi,

sounds like you've been having a really tough time.  i'm sorry.  i know the lapband can be really tough -- my sister has one and it seems much more difficult to deal with than the sleeve.  that said, i think a little therapy (which you may very well already be doing) to give you support in changing your food-related reaction to your trauma would be good before a second surgery.  heck, i'm still in therapy even with the sleeve!  all those food issues (and i'm an emotional eater, so i can relate!) don't change b/c of surgery, which you obviously know.  but a little support now should give you a boost when you have your revision.  i know you'll do great when you finally have it done!!!  and i'm so excited that you're here.  hang around.  i'm sure someone who knows more about revision than i do will chime in.  ((((((((((hugs))))))))

I don't know about revision, but I was surprised when my surgeon told me I had an esophageal hernia, which he repaired while doing my sleeve. No wonder I had so much acid reflux!

I was super-nauseous post-surgery and threw up alot. But now I feel great and losing weight. I am an emotional eater too, and plan to go back to therapy to help me break those bad habits of turning to food. Good luck with your decision!

i havent had a revision but alot of people do, I hope some of these people see your post and respond, I've read a couple of posts of theirs and they seem happy with the outcome, maybe search tool"revision" may find some of their posts.

good luck

On another forum I am on, there are tons of lapband to sleeve revisions. Most of them do well, just be aware that it's a more serious surgery. They have to make sure there isn't too much scar tissue from the lapband before they do the sleeve surgery.  If there is a lot of scar tissue, the doctor may suggest that you wait for 3-6 months before getting sleeved. Sometimes, though, the surgery can be done at the same time your band is removed.

I wish you all of the best. I couldn't imagine having been through getting wls and gaining the weight back. I can totally understand your wanting to get the sleeve. I agree that you should analyze your eating. The tool of the sleeve is a big help. Best of luck

I am a band to sleeve revision--I had my band done in 2008 and revised in March 2011 to VSG. I am currently 8 pounds from my goal weight, but it's gotten harder to get the weight off. On the plus side, I never got below 202 with the band and gained most of my weight back. I also had a hernia from the PB'ing with the band that the doc fixed when I revised to sleeve. The sleeve is Sooooooo much better, rarely vomit, restriction is consistent, don't wake up choking on acid...

I have lost slower than most "virgin" sleevers. This does not happen to everyone, but I was warned by my doc that it may happen. My theory is that my body was already used to eating so little and constantly throwing up that the band probably ****** up my metabolism pretty good. At the end of my hate affair with the band, I had resorted to eating slider foods as meat, eggs, salad, and most veggies came right back up, but anything fried and bad for me did not.

Good Luck! If you have any more questions, I will try to help you. I am not the revision poster child, but I'm pretty happy in my size 10/12 pants right now!