Upcoming my 4 Year Anniversary of WLS...and not so good

Hey everyone! I guess I am a "newbie" here, even though I used to be a regular on obesityhelp. I canceled my account a while ago and decided to come back for some support. I had an open roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery on July 9, 2004. My birthday is July 13. I am 5'8, started out weighing about 280 lbs and ended up losing and maintaining a weight loss of 100 lbs. I looked and felt great weighing 180! A little over 1 year post-surgery, I went to a doctor for a checkup and he said he thought I'd need a revision. I really do not want to go that route... Well, in Sept 06 I got married and started to gain gain gain....I gained like 10 lbs that I was trying to work off...and then got PREGNANT!!! 9 months later on Oct 15, I had my adorable baby boy, but weighed 232 post-partum. Now it's been nearly 9 mos since I've had my little guy, and I have joined Weigh****chers 2x this year already! I am about 223 lbs now and I would be happy to get to 180. Have any of you experienced or known anyone who is or has gone through a weight gain and loss after surgery?? I feel like my tummy is the size of a normal persons. There are times where I really do have a hard time eating stuff like bread and pastas... but other than that I doubt any one would ever notice anything different about me. Also, during the pregnancy I was so so so so hungry all the time. I would wake up in the middle of the night and make a sandwich cause any small snack just wouldn't do! I am so frustrated that I managed to gain HALF of the weight back. I haven't really looked into have a revision, but if the recovery is anything like what the open surgery is, then NO WAY. Well I hope everyone else here is doing well. Look forward to talking more later. Emily

Hi Emily, First of all, congratulations on the marriage and the new little one!! I think there are a lot of us who struggle with weight gain and who feel like our tool doesn't work anymore. Have you tried the 5 Day Pouch Test? http://www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html I've done it a couple of times and you know what, my pouch still does work if I follow the rules of RNY. I think a lot of us tend to eat slider foods - foods that we can digest easily and therefore we eat, eat, eat and never seem to get full. We end up grazing - sort of eating all day long so we never actually feel full, but we're eating all the time. I don't eat because I'm physically hungry, I eat because I'm emotionally hungry. I eat out of boredom, stress, happiness, sadness - you name it - I want to celebrate it or fix it with food. I also realized that I am a sugar-holic. I have to abstain from sugary foods and processed foods. It triggers a response in me that I cannot control. I started off about the same as you 5'7", 280. I had gotten down to about 163 lbs. and gained nearly 30 lbs. back. About 5-6 weeks ago I was at 192 and I said, NO MORE. I was blessed to have this surgery, I have my life back and maybe it's not so easy anymore, but who said life is easy. It's was time for me to take control. I started on the South Beach Diet and have done very well. I've lost 14 lbs. in those 5-6 weeks (I'm 178 now) and hope to get down to 165-170. I walk twice a day and people are noticing the difference. Emily, it is all within you. If you want it, take control of your eating habits. Start journaling everything you eat. Get the junk out of the house. Don't let it get any worse than it is now. You can do it!! There are a couple of us July Babies here who are checking in every day to help keep us on track, you are more than welcome to join us. Hugs, Nancy

Happy Anniversary Nancy, I am living your story. My goal weight was 155. I got down to 163 about a year ago, down from 291 when I had the surgery but have gradually gained about 25lbs over the last year. I am now at 186, and need to do somthing desperately. I am beginning to panic!! I will start posting my daily food like you do. I am starting the 5 day pouch diet today!! Michele

Hi Emily... Congrats on your marriage and new bundle of joy. I've read of many WLS follks that have gained as much as 80 lbs and lost it again post surgery. Check out the WLS grads board, you'll find a lot of folks in the same boat... loss... regain... loss again. They key is finding a program that you can consistently stick to ... not just to lose ... but maintain. The regain story after WLS is not a new one. I want to congratulate you on keeping off half of what you original lost. Focus on the positive and figure out how to push forward to make it even more positive. I've read of folks having revisions, but not with the same results of the original surgery. The long and short of it, is that you are not alone and it can be done!! All the best.. Denise

Thanks to both Nancy and Denise for your words of encouragement. I am sooo relieved that I am not the only one going through this!!! Today is Day 1 of the 5 day Pouch Test. I do exactly that, I graze all day long and NEVER feel satisfied! If I can just get my Pouch working right, then I can get this weight OFF!! I would love to be using my tool again, since I went through so much to get it! As far as emotional eating goes....at Weigh****chers my leader told us once, that before we eat we need to HALT...We need to think am I eating because I am: Hungry Angry Lonely Tired We should only be eating when we are hungry, of course! Weigh****chers has been great but I have only lost 7 lbs in 6 weeks. I know, better than nothing but I'd love to see more gone. I sometimes wonder if I am eating too much or something on WW. Maybe my pouch can't handle what WW requirements are. Well I will check back and let you know how the 5 day test works. What I want to know is: What if the test doesn't work? What if I really have stretched my pouch out? Anyone know?

One of the reasons that WW might not work is that you can eat anything as long as you stay within your point limit. I tried WW too and ended up eating cookies and ice cream and not the foods I should be eating. It was all 'legal', I stayed within my point limits, but it was not healthy. If you stick to a high protein and veggie diet, you are eating foods which stay with you longer. I bet if you ate solid white tuna from the can - no mayo - just the fish, you would feel your pouch working. If I eat something like that I can get in maybe 1/2 of the can and that's it. Try not to eat foods that slide in and out of your pouch. Please check in and let us know how you're doing. Hugs, Nancy