questions

I am looking at a revision from lapband to sleeve or alternative. I am looking at Dr Valenzula at Mexico Bariatric. I would love input from those with experience in Mexico with revisions. Does any one know any information or can you tell me about your experiences. I am also wanting to know if reflux is better or worse following sleeve and does it really curb hunger cravings. It seems I am hungry all the time. Do you still get stuck feelings or difficulty with proteins

GERD is actually a contraindication for VSG and VSG can make reflux and GERD worse.  You would probably be better off with RNY, but it's best to talk with a surgeon.  

I revised from lap band to RNY because I had GERD from the band. The surgeon said VSG could make it worse. 

I also had severe GERD that was keeping me up at night coughing and vomiting.  I was on SEVEN different meds for it.  Went to see a foregut surgeon after all else failed and my gastroenterologist recommended surgery.  The foregut surgeon said Gastric Bypass RNY would fix me, and it DID.  He also told me that the sleeve would make my GERD worse (if that were humanly possible.)  Consider Bypass instead.

I was counseled strongly against being converted from my band to sleeve as well due to reflux. When I say strongly, I mean, my surgeon said that he refused to sleeve me because it would make my reflux worse and my quality of life after 6.5 years with my band was already like living in a bad dream. I was converted to a rny in may and could not be happier. I feel more normal than I ever could with any restrictive procedure . There is no more getting stuck, zero reflux, I can eat at a restaurant with no fear of having to grab a napkin to regurgitate a stuck piece of food into or get up and quickly try to find a bathroom and pray that nobody notices I'm vomiting in the stall next to them. 

i love this reply!  I'm getting revision from band to RNY on Jan 23rd - my biggest fear is coming out of this surgery and still having the possibility of food getting stuck - and having to go and throw up in public.

Thank you - you have set my mind at ease :)

I had revision from sleeve to bypass due to severe Gerd

GmDiana

I also revised to rny, same reasons as everyone else.  my advice on revisions is to ask how many revisions he has done.  Be clear you want to know about his revision experience not just bariatric experience.  My surgeon did hundreds, one I talked to had done 4.  What my surgeon said is it takes experience.  He can tell just by looking whether or not the scar tissue from the band would be too thick for the staples to hold.  This comes from experience.  He told me if the scarring was too bad he could do a sleeve (because they cut around the scar tissue) or they would remove the band and I'd have to come back months later to do the revision once the scar tissue had broken down.  I was lucky, not too much scarring and I got my surgery in one procedure.  

Rny has curbed hunger, no stuck feelings with rny at all.  Totally different.  Like being normal with a smaller stomach.  You get full, not stuck,  hunger apparently does come back after a year or so for most with any bariatric surgery. But small frequent meals fix that.