Hi Everyone, I'm...

Hi everyone!, I would like to share this with y'all........ In 1997, I had a VBG (Vertical Banded Gastroplasty) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At that time they were not doing the Gastric By-Pass or the Lapband on the East Coast so I had to settle for this. At the time of the surgery I weighed 528lbs. and was so near deaeth's door it was ridiculous! I had the surgery in May of that year and was let out of hospital 5 days after. In the first two weks I lost 50lbs. And it continued. Within a year and a half I had lost 260lbs. and then plateaued. Thinking that was as far as I could get or maybe this was what my "normal weight" was I maintained this for about 5 years. I could not eat meat, rice, pasta, fresh veggies or fruits and even though at first I had cravings for these foods, one mouthful and I would be vomitting and nauseous for a couple of hours. The biggest problem I had was no follow up after my surgery. I had no one to answer my questions no advise on what was "normal" what to expect so I was on my own. I lost most of my hair, the feeling in my right leg, was freezing constantly no matter the room temp, had to have my teeth re-enamelled due to contant erosion from acids from vomitting. I was happy though becasue I was in control and half my size. One day about five years after my surgery I had a craving for rice soooo bad that I just had to have a bite. To my surprise I did not get sick. So I had some more. Then I tried an apple which I could never tolerate. I could eat it without getting sick. Soon I could eat all the foods I could never eat without getting sick but the weight started to come back. I had a barium swallow test done to see if there was a problem with the staple line but they did not find anything. Slowly but surely the weight kept creeping back. Meanwhile I had moved to the USA and was in Nursing School and consulted a bariatric specialist there. His opinion was that the procedure that was done on me should have never been done becasue someone my size would never be able to lose all the weight that I had to lose. He suggested that I should have the Gastric By-Pass. Shortly after this consult I had immigration issues and decided that I would move back to Canada. I saw the surgeon who initially did the VBG 6 years previous. He agreed that I should have the Gastric Bypass. that was 2003 and I am still waiting! I waited till September 2006 in Nova Scotia and have been waiting here in Edmonton since then. Last week I finally had my appointment with the Weight Wise Clinic. I was referred to the WWC in March of 2007. When I went for my consult when they found out I had a previous surgery they said I did not qualify for this program! I was told by the nurse that I would have to go back to Nova Scotia to see the doctor there (who by the way has retired). I asked if there was any other options and was told no. Needless to say I was devastated. I got a call from the nurse the next day who said I could see Dr. Sharma who is the director of the program. He said he would refer me to Dr. Davies to see if he would do a revision. Does anyone now of anyone who has had a revision operation with this doctor here in Edmonton? I would love to talk to someone who has had it done or who is in the same boat as me. Please reply

Hello Geri, I too had VBG 13 yrs ago - done by Dr. Davey (the Dr your being referred to). Mine also failed. I was considered a lightweight at the time I had 100 lbs to lose, lost about 65 then stopped and over 13 yrs put almost all back on. I decided to seek a revision and conversion to RNY gastric bypass. Dr. Davey did the revision on me April 4/2007, 13 months ago. The entire process took about 1 yr - seeing Dr Davey, then the dietician then being approved once again. You must be able to prove to him and his dietician that you will chg your eating habits, lose some weight and just be in the right frame of mind! Quite simple - a lot of hoops to jump through to be approved - or forget it. Wanting a revision is totally diff from having a first WLS, you must PROVE to Dr Davey that you can and will suceed at this a second time around. I have lost almost all the weight again. Its diff this time and I feel great! The hosp has a support grp that is instrumental to my success, we meet once a month at the hosp and have an online forum to chat on whenever needed. For extra advice and support I would suggest joining this grp - especially if you are in Edmonton. Go to this website, creat a username for yourself and join - this forum will give you ALL the info you need about the local Alberta doctors doing these surgeries. Only 4 in AB and Dr Davey is the only one doing VBG revision to RNY. My name is Cindymx74 on the forum. Message me here if more info is needed. Good Luck Cindy