rny revision to ds

Has anyone had revision from rny to ds

What were your challenges? 

How was your weight journey?

Recovery time?

Issues etc

I am looking at doing a revision from rny to ds 

Carmen, I looked at some of your past posts and saw that you originally had a sleeve, which was later revised to RNY. And now you want revision to DS. This is the first time I've seen someone with this particular history and I suspect this may complicate your situation.

    Revision from RNY to DS is a very complex and higher risk surgery in any cir****tance. It requires taking apart the entire RNY, returning everything to the starting anatomy, and THEN doing the entire DS. In your case much of your stomach is already gone because you had the sleeve done in the past. I have no idea whether or not this will be possible, and can only recommend that you contact a couple of the best and most experienced DS surgeons who do RNY to DS revisions and see what they say. Only a few DS surgeons do this type of revision because it's so difficult. In your area (assuming you're still near the surgeon who did your RNY) the best bet is Dr. Simper. Others would be Dr. Ara Keshishian and Dr. John Rabkin in CA, both of whom do a lot of RNY to DS revisions.

To me, the saddest part of your situation is that it would have been so much easier to revise from sleeve to DS in the first place, as the sleeve is part of the DS. I realize you may have had your reasons. I hope it will be possible for you to get your DS.

Larra

Yes Sleeve was my only option the first time due to insurance purposes 

Second time- RNY was my only option with that insurance - my surgeon wanted to do DS. 

Now - I have an option o revise RNY or DS. 

I hope some revisions will chime in.

The only thing I have picked up from past posts by revision people is that weight loss
might be a little slower that starting with a DS but it will still be consistent.

Good luck with this. It is a crime when your choices are limited by insurance but I know
it is sometimes the only way to get any help at all.

Pete

Hey Carmen!!!

You sound like a good, nice, decent person from all of your posts.  I can only wish the best for you, but just because someone says they can do a procedure for you does not mean you should have it done.

Have you been truly honest with yourself and searched your soul?  

I've been following your journey.  It seems you had really bad times and got into the habit of eating sugar and carbs compulsively.  You then said your sleeve failed you, your espohogas ulcerated, you had terrible acid reflux which could not be controlled with PPI's and your doc said your only option was to revise your sleeved stomach to a pouch and bypass "RNY".  This would cure your acid and your almost complete regain with the sleeve.

After having RNY - these are really life threatening surgeries - you have kids, a family - right?  Well after having RNY, you said your nutritionist said a maximum of 200 to 300 calories even up to a year post-op.  You claimed not only to be taking in 200 to 300 calories but also burning 1000 to 1200 calories at least 5x's a week.  (how did you get the energy for all that movement?).  So, okay this does not add up because you were able to lose weight prior to WLS without a problem - just regaining.  You wondered if you had some metabolic issue, a hormonal issue?  You put that out here on the forums . . .  did your doc check for that?  Even still a slow loser, metabolic issues, whatever - if you were in a third world country consuming 200- 300 calories  per day for a year somewhere along that year before death you'd reach "skinny" expecially if you were burning 1200 calories per day.

So now, sorry if I am being hurtful.  You are a beautiful woman, a God fearing woman, a wonderful soul.  I only want to see you  to "check yourself before you wreck yourself" (that was a big phrase sometime ago just meaning to slow down, evaluate what you are doing etc.).  Anyways, now you want your pouch taken down and converted into an itsy bitsy sleeve I suppose - even if possible, you had a terrible time with acid reflux and out eating your sleeved stomach - it will be a million times worse!!!  And dangerous. I too fear that your surgeon will not be able to deliver what he/she is promising you.  There is no conversion from Sleeve to RNY to a Sleeve with Duodenal Switch.  Are you wanting a poorer quality life?  Because I think you will just be getting a very distal gastric bypass and you are not compliant enough to work that surgery well like say Vitalady (if you are going to go through this I suggest you mimic her until you find how your body works best with so much bypass).

I understand that you have experienced great trauma in your life and that you suffer from what seems like clinical depression???  Mood medications and antidepressants can be a huge culprit in weight gain, I am not sure why - could be less activity, sleeping more, eating more - lots of people develop diabetes 2 due to the weight gain.  Have you checked this out?  Have you checked all the reasons that you have gained the weight and have had 2 seemingly failed surgeries behind you?  I say seemingly because I believe if you focused on healing, loving yourself, and doing what is healthy and loving that you will need no more WL surgeries and if you did after all the work then, your mind and heart would be in the right place for success.  You would be able to treat yourself, with love, respect, and care.

Insurance can approve transplants, it does not mean you should undergo heart, kidney, lung transplants just because this can be done when our bodies works fine as they are and even has the potential to improve on its own- you'd find a mad scientist curious enough to do this somewhere in the world.  A man's hands!

Just look inside yourself Carmen - most answers do not come from an external source - even God is within us!!!  Trust yourself.  Be honest with yourself.  Try getting a good therapist (if you can't afford, there are many research studies that will give you free therapy in exchange for your simple participation - sometimes you need only fill out a questionnaire) , logging your food, going to support groups (OA, FAA is free), reading self-help books, working on the trauma, exercising, helping others, living life etc.!

Oh, it is strange too that your hiatal hernia was not repaired when it was known to exist prior to the RNY possibly before the sleeve.  This I am sure was the source of your acid reflux.  A repair would have more than likely fixed it. The bypass would have been for the regain.  Oy, good luck!!!

I pray you safe and happy no matter what you do.  

Best,

Leila

Hello. I haven't posted in a looooooooong time on here. But your story sounds a bit like mine. I had a lapband in '04. Went from 265 to 147 in a year. I was thrilled...yet I was pretty much getting nothing. No nutrients because I was vomiting almost anything (when you give a single woman the "gift" of being thin after obesity for most of her life, she learns not to complain, lol). The minute they would do a slight unfill, I would start putting on weight. My breath was starting to stink and my teeth were getting yellow. After about 3 years I had a slippage and they had to put in a new band. Continued with puking. I realized my skin was turning grayish and my hair was falling out. But dammit I was thin :). A year later they did an upper GI and saw my esophagus and pouch were extremely dilated, and band was starting to erode. It had to come out. Dr would only do a revision to RNY so that is what I chose. From the time they did the upper GI and did a total unfill of the band, to revision to RNY was about 4 months. Insurance was being difficult. In the 4 months of being totally unfilled I gained 40 lbs. I was diligently eating alllll the protein I was told to eat, no carbs, water ect but I think the shock of my body being able to absorb food again was it. I was "eating right" and exercising.

After the RNY revision I was so excited to think of losing weight again. I lost a total of 5 lbs from my 40lb regain. Again, did all the eating right, ect. My RNY was about 5 years ago. I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, and was getting more and more depressed, feeling like a failure. I begged my doctor to do something to help. Went to nutrition counseling for a year...no loss but found out I was doing everything by the book. I begged him for help again. I went on 18mos of Phentermine at full strength (37.5 mg) I lost 15 lbs and kept it off for a year...I was also jittery and an emotional mess from the side effects. The doctor said I needed to wean off so I did. Immediately gained my 15 lbs back. I was getting desperate. I begged him for a revision, any revision and he told me I was the problem, there were no more surgeries and insurance wouldn't cover it anyway. I looked into the DS and there is a highly credited surgeon 2 hours away who wouldn't take my insurance (I wouldn't have qualified with my BMI anyway which was 31). They said he would do it for the price of 50K. Ummm...yeah, not having that money lying around in the near future. I started to look into the Mexico options. I spoke to several surgeons and gave them all my info about my past and forwarded the OR reports from the surgeries. Several of them said they could do a revision to DS but it was going to be a higher risk. I was desperate, getting tired constantly and no energy. Most of all I felt like a failure and a bad parent for not being able to lose the weight on my own. So I booked my revision to DS in Mexico, kissed my husband and kids goodbye, and got on a plane for Mexico alone.

During the surgery, the new doctor found that my RNY was never done properly. They did not shorten the channel, or intestines (sorry can't remember the exact wording) enough for a decent malabsorbion. He described my RNY functioning at 20% instead of the 100% I had expected. They actually spent an extra hour in surgery trying to "find" things from the RNY that were not in the right places. I need to pay extra for the anesthesia and OR time, but in a way am thankful to know this. It wasn't just ALL in my head. I WAS doing what I was supposed to with my RNY.

Anyway, I've been back from Mexico for 5 days with my revision to DS and already down 10 lbs. Still in the pureed/liquid phase. Also, down a total of $12,000 dollars total from my revision cost, traveling expenses and extra OR expenses. But, it was better than paying 50K to do it local. I now feel a sense of peace with myself and am glad I made this decision. I realize my story isn't typical by any means, and may look into finding a lawyer for my RNY mess. But I wanted to share and say to the people who seem a little judgmental about this all, it is possible that surgery is the failure. Every word the OP said about the Lapband, I have lived through. And now with my 3rd and last revision, I just wish that more surgeons in the US could offer this procedure and make it more affordable for self-paying people. It's sad that Americans need to travel abroad to get help like this. If anyone wants to message me, feel free or use michi6114aol.com. I hope my story helps someone :)

I am in much the same situation and would love to know what surgeon you used in Mexico.  I have been reading about all the surgeons but the information is overwhelming.  Thanks, Jamie

I just had a revision from RNY you to Duodendal Switch on September 17,2014 my challenges are that your taste buds are altered it can be very hard to find foods that taste good that you are able to keep down I have noticed that most everything seems to sit in my chest and cause me discomfort other than that I'm already down 42lbs in one month and counting I think the weightloss is more rapid that with my previous RNY I also have barely hungry at all but feel thirsty constantly if you think of any specific questions I'm more than happy to try to answer them.

Thanks everyone for replying and being transparent. 

I have tried everything years of therapy,  new nurtionit.. New plans, new shakes, exercise programs, even moved to a local more therapeutic city where exercise is highly promoted .. now with severe back pain I can't do no exercise and almost completely non functional besides work.. medicated daily.. hard not to get depressed..i have been encouraging myself with others and fellowship at church and doing some soul searching.. did I give up yes.. After I felt there was no weight loss went into my old habits.. see what happens with my approval and I'll go from there ..

Thanks for sharing everyone 

I am a currently contemplating a revision. To DS. If you don't mind sharing, how are you doing with the DS further out? How much have you lost?, how is your health? Any complications?