Going from band to bypass

First topic message reminder :

I had a lapband nealry two years ago. I have only lost 10kg im very unhappy with my band. I eat nearly the same amount as before the band. Went and saw another surgeon to get a second opinion. He suggested in taking the band out and doing a bypass. I asked about a sleeve but he wont do one after having a band. He said there is too much scar tissue and the chance of getting a leak is 10% which is high. Not sure what to think about a bypass dont really know too much about it. Doing research at the moment. If anyone has some advice of anything at all to say about having a bypass Im all ears. Thanks for your help.

Just a update from me. I did not have my band removed on the 20th September. I had to postpone it for a couple of weeks. So Im off the have it done this Thursday 4th October feeling a little scared but I will be so glad when its removed. Since I have had all the fliud removed from my band I have had terrible heartburn. I had it a little before they emptied my band not now it just horrible. I hope it settles down when the band is removed.

Cheers Sharon

Trish I think you are very brave to swim with sharks. I think my goal is to get another tattoo. Hubby wont be happy though.lol



Cheers Sharon

HI Scott good luck with your sleeve operation .Im sure things will go fine for you. Wont be long and you will be off that veg soup. I was suprised my surgeon did not want me on optifast before the removal of my band.

Cheers Sharon

chocchook wrote:

Finally made the decision. The band is comming out. My date for removal is 20th September then I have tol wait 3 months to have the bypass. The only thing I have to do in the 3 months is to start doing some exercise and Im not allowed to put on any weight or the surgeon wont do the bypass. Little but scared but also looking forward to the new journey. Hope everyone is well.

Cheers Sharon

Good luck with it all Sharon, I've also had my band removed in April this year, bloody stupid thing, glad to see the back of it.

My Sleeve op is on 18th Sept, so just over a week away now, can't wait.

I'm on Opti Ass at the moment, its ok, it doesn't worry me having it but what I miss is eating animal protein of some sort, so bored with eating homemade veg soup but only got another week to go and I might be able to have something with a different flavour at least!

Anyway good luck

Cheers
Scott

Good on ya Sharon, you can do it, we can all do it :)



Ive made a deal with myself as soon as Ive lost 30kg in total, Im goingto pt Lincoln to go swimming with the sharks, its something ive always wanted to do, so its a big challenge for me to get there :)

HI Trish Im seeing Dr Bissell. I have found him very good. Was a little taken back when I last saw him with him saying If I put on anyweight during the 3 month wait he would not do the operation. But I can see where he is coming from. So Im going to work real hard to do the right thing.



Cheers Sharon

Hey Sharon,

What surgeon have you got? im also from Adelaide Im going through dr Game

Finally made the decision. The band is comming out. My date for removal is 20th September then I have tol wait 3 months to have the bypass. The only thing I have to do in the 3 months is to start doing some exercise and Im not allowed to put on any weight or the surgeon wont do the bypass. Little but scared but also looking forward to the new journey. Hope everyone is well.

Cheers Sharon

My srgery haas now moved to Nov 27th (doc is on a conference) I was really upset about when I was told because I was in that mind set and ready to go.... but I guess now Im ok about it, time will fly i'll have my surgery and be fine....fingerscrossed :)

hope everyone is doing well

Tigga wrote:

I went from sleeve to bypass and have never been happier. It is very different to the sleeve, but at the same time similiar.

the bypass can be scary by all accounts but I am healthy, no reflux, and full of life. and let's face it when it comes down to it we are here to enjoy as much of life as we can.

I personally say, take each day as it comes at go for it. if you can't have the sleeve and we are all not able to the bypass is great. I had mine in Feb. 12 and would not change it.

hope this helps. PM if you wish only to happy to chat.

Tigga

Tigga, would you mind sharing with me your experience of going from sleeve to bypass? I am now in the same boat due to complications and very scared. I didn't want the bypass but have no option after the sleeve was messed up.

Also did you have reflux when you had the sleeve and now it's gone?

Hope to hear from you soon x

Hi Wantabe,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I too am thinking about Gastric Bypass. I have had a band removed on the 22 June...I have to wait for things to heal before they will do Gastric Bypass...I would love for you to share your experience as I am really quite nervous about what to expect. I have an appointment on the 3rd of Oct with my specialist. So after that I really don't know what to expect.

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would add my 2cents worth in...

I had the gastric balloon trail where they insert a balloon in your abdomen and it pushes against your stomach to reduce your intake.. to cut a long story short my balloon fell into my abdomen 7mths later and had to come out. I had to wait a year for my PFI to kick in.

Well now im 11wks post op from having the gastric bypass and i'm going great. no complications and still can only eat very small amounts. I notice the sleevers can eat probably double what I can in the same or less time since surgeries. I'm glad I had the bypass cus I have a lot of weight to loose and didn't want to be able to eat everything or anything I wanted hence my choice to get the bypass.

Happy to answer any questions if you have any for me.

Trishl1976 wrote:

Im kinda in the same boat, I had my lap band taken out last year after major complications, though I did lose about 30kg, since then though it has slowly been creeping back on, i am now booked ot have a bypass on 19th October by Dr Game here in Adelaide.. Ive had many tests done on my stomach in preparation, Dr says it looks fantastic in there considering what i had been through :) Im so looking forward to having my op and getting back home, bit of a scardey cat i am :)

good luck to you all

Oh Trish, Sounds like you have been through a lot.

Try not to think about the op too much.
If you have trust and faith in your surgeon, then know you are in good hands.
Keep us posted.

Good Luck

No..you are not a scaredey cat...I think that is a pretty normal feeling considering what you are going to go through...Good luck with it all....:)

HI Guys



Im kinda in the same boat, I had my lap band taken out last year after major complications, though I did lose about 30kg, since then though it has slowly been creeping back on, i am now booked ot have a bypass on 19th October by Dr Game here in Adelaide.. Ive had many tests done on my stomach in preparation, Dr says it looks fantastic in there considering what i had been through :) Im so looking forward to having my op and getting back home, bit of a scardey cat i am :)

good luck to you all

23ros wrote:

Great hearing all the advise from everyone.

Today I finally made the phone call, and have an appointment on 13 Aug.
Found out the last time I saw him was April 2010. Ouch. Talk about being slack. I didn't realise that much time had gone by.

Something needs to be done, so step one has been taken.

Thank you everyone
Look forward to reading more posts.
Some great success stories here. Love it - very positive and uplifting.

Take care all.
Ros.

Well done and good luck with it all.

Cheers
Scott

Great hearing all the advise from everyone.

Today I finally made the phone call, and have an appointment on 13 Aug.
Found out the last time I saw him was April 2010. Ouch. Talk about being slack. I didn't realise that much time had gone by.

Something needs to be done, so step one has been taken.

Thank you everyone
Look forward to reading more posts.
Some great success stories here. Love it - very positive and uplifting.

Take care all.
Ros.

Hi suek1995,

Thanks for sharing your experience...I sound like you are doing well and things went great for you...keep posting as I will definately be following your posts.

Hi chocchook,

I had my band done by Dr Bissell and I had it removed by Dr Chisholm. I have PHC so all I have paid for is the excess at this stage. Also his consultations.

I won't go back to Dr Bissell..didn't like his bedside manner and also I only saw him once and never saw him again after surgery.

Good luck with your weight loss journey and I will look forward to reading your posts.

Hi 23ros when I went to Dr Chisholm for my second opinion he told me he would not charge to remove the lapband but he would charge me $2500 to do the bypass. I did not think this was too bad. So Im wondering how much my original surgeon will charge he did tell me if I ever needed to have amymore surgery he would not charge for this but Im not sure if that means a bypass or if it was just for the banding.

suek1995 congratulations on your bypass Im glad everything is working out for you.

I've just had a bypass, I'm in week 3 and can eat meat and veggies. I've had a couple of meals come up but I'm sure its because I didn't chew well enough. My surgeon didn't want me to do purees so it was one week of fluids then soft food and as of Wednesday I can start trying most things. Bread is okay from around 2-3 months but everyone is different in as far as what they can eat afterwards apparently. I have PHI and was around $6000 out of pocket all up after hospital pathology and radiology but it can be less depending on your health fund. I love my surgeon, Patrick Moore from Epworth Box Hill. He and his office are fantastic people to deal with. I had no leaks, infections and surprisingly was pain free post op. I was more uncomfortable from lying in the hospital bed than the surgery. Its challenging to get your head around the changes at times, my head says one thing and my body another when faced with food, but I am not hungry, barely think about food when once I was obsessed and honestly its the best thing I ever did for myself and my family. Good luck with your choice,
Cheers,

Hi 23ros,

I forgot to and in the other post that George Hopkins did my friends band to bypass in the 1 op! She hasn't had any complications what so ever other than a couple of dumpings (from over eating etc), she was done in Feb this year and is down around 45-50kg so far and is very happy with how its all going.

Her band was removed because of complications after a car accident overseas (she couldn't eat or drink because the band had moved and rolled apparently) so it was removed and the bypass performed in the one op.

You will love the bypass, my friend says it the best thing she's ever done, she can eat anything unlike the band where you couldn't eat bread, meat, salad etc, I would happy to have either the bypass or sleeve, they both work similar and you can eat the same things apparently - her hubby had the sleeve done in August last year and is down around 70kg so far - both are very happy with the way its all turned out for them.

Cheers
Scott

23ros,
I totally agree that this is a wonderful support group...I have learnt so much and even on my down days I come here and things seem better.
My surgeon won't do removal of band and RY Bypass in one operation. He said it is because of scar tissue and not knowing if there will be leaks. Also study shows people who have a virgin RY Bypass will lose weight faster that an ex bandid. So they leave it for a while between operations. Good luck with everything and please share your weight loss journey with us when you can...:)

I really have to go back to my Surgeon - I go to Dr Hopkins in Brisbane (Gorgeous George)
Note to self: Make appointment tomorrow.

I love this site - so a Big Thank you to those who pour our their hearts on this site, because as overweight people, only others in the same boat can understand our dilemmas.

kity1_kat: I have noticed that your band was removed first before doing the RY Bypass?
Some doctors remove band and do the RY at the same time, and others, like yourself, get the band removed, and go back about 3 months later for the RY.
Is that for the scar tissue to heal?

I was banded back in Oct 2007. Have stabilised with losing 40kg- which has waivered up and down 10kg ovet the past few years.
But I am sick of not eating much and not losing weight. Mainly because I can't eat meat or even a basic salad. Can't digest even lettuce, onion carrot anything!!.....So if I am eating bugger all, why is the weight still there?? 142kg
Fed up with throwing up everyday. I chew, chew chew, swallow, and about 10 minutes later, up it comes or I get pain.
Haven't been back to my surgeon for a long time now, because I don't want a fill.
But I know the time has come where I do have to go back and get the band removed.
A wharfie would be proud of my belching...lol

So with the Bypass will I finally be able to eat some salad and meat - ohhhh meat. (I eat some now, but for the flavour before it comes back up)

I have read with great interest the different scenarios with Sleeve verses RY Bypass.

What approx costs are there with Private Cover, and getting the Bypass??

Oh Dear - I know a lot of questions, but talking to those who have been there done that is really good.
('')
Thanks in advance guys.

I thought I would just add to this chat. My story is exactly like all of you girls. I had my band in for nearly 3 years. Got to the point where I was putting weight on and couldn't tighten any more. I went to Dr Chisholm at Flinders and he told me the same thing about scar tissue etc. On the 22 June I had my band removed. Loving food again...no more slop. No vomiting or pain. Gaining weight rapidly but I have to wait 3 months. Time isn't going fast enough but I guess 1 month has gone allready. I am going for the RY Gastric Bypass option. I have fears that it won't work because I really feel that NOTHING will work for me.

Hi I still have not been back to see my original surgeon. I am hoping to go in the next few weeks. I had a fall a while ago and I cant travel in the car for a long period. Due to pain in my hip. I live 2hrs away from the surgeon. I have made the decision though to go with the bypass. Must say I would kill for an apple just to take a big bite of one would be wonderful. Good luck with your decision

chocchook wrote:

I had a lapband nealry two years ago. I have only lost 10kg im very unhappy with my band. I eat nearly the same amount as before the band. Went and saw another surgeon to get a second opinion. He suggested in taking the band out and doing a bypass. I asked about a sleeve but he wont do one after having a band. He said there is too much scar tissue and the chance of getting a leak is 10% which is high. Not sure what to think about a bypass dont really know too much about it. Doing research at the moment. If anyone has some advice of anything at all to say about having a bypass Im all ears. Thanks for your help.

Hi Chocchook
Just wondering what your solution was?
Did you go Sleeve or Roux Y Bypass?
I too am in a similar predicament and have to go back to my surgeon and after doing research, still undecided.
All I know is I have to get ring of the Lapband.
I can't eat basic foods, and no weight loss for a long long time, and I still have a hell of a lot to lose.
I would love a chicken salad, or even a little steak, or a lamp chop, or a .......Oh woe is me. lol lol

Hope all is well with you.