RNY Revsion to Lapband?

I am looking to get in touch with anyone that has had RNY and then a revision to lap band.  I am meeting with the surgeon this Friday to discuss the surgery. I had open RNY March 2005, lost 90 lbs and have gained about 20lbs in the last few months.  and had not lost any weight for over a year.  I am now having constant back pain and degenative bone disease in my spine and blood pressure rising again.  Has anyone had success, bad experiences?  Questions I should ask the dr?  THanks Kathryn

Hi there, No experience yet, I'm on the fast track to have a lap band over RNY.  I had RNY back in 1999 and have gained back 80lbs of the 100lbs I lost. Keep us updated, would love to hear another surgeon's take on the procedure. Lori~

Hi Kathryn, Hi Lori, I am brand new to the revision forum and just read your posts. After reading them I find myself scared, apprehensive, doubtful, etc......... I had a failed Lap Band and I'm currently waiting to get approval for a revision to RNY. What's going on?  I thought that the RNY was THE way to go for weight loss.  I've heard it referred to as the Cadillac of bariatric surgeries.   Am I on the road to something that won't offer any success?

Hi Kathryn, I am getting a revision next month to the RNY.  I really think you should check out the DS message board.  From everything I read and hear from the people who the procedure this seems to be the cadillac of bariatric surgeries.  You probably are wondering how come I am not seeking this procedure myself.  Well, I tried.  There are not as many qualified surgeons out there that performs this procedure.  Believe me I checked.  There are still some insurances that will not pay for this procedure (believe me I checked).  Also, when performing the revision it can be a far more complicated of a procedure.  The surgeon I am using for the RNY has a lot of experience with revisions, his office has been helpful, and most of all they have been very accommodating to me.  I did not have to jump a lot of hoops and hurdles to get approved.

DS is a wonderful procedure, and the vast majority of people posting on the DS board are thrilled with the results they've had - and rightfully so! BUT - what you won't find in talking to them, it tends to get glossed over or played down, is that there IS an issue for some people who have the DS with malabsorption/malnutrition concerns that aren't as prevalent with RnY because the DS bypasses a longer length of small intestine. It's documented, surgeons who perform DS routinely will tell you it's a concern. The thing each individual has to decide is whether that increased risk is something they're willing to accept or reject.  The people who opt for DS and have no probs made their "right" decision.  But you'll notice if you've been a member of OH long enough that there ARE cases of people who have long-term concerns with it who post once in a while.  Just like people who get RnY and are successful made their "right" decision - you'll see people posting with concerns once in a while - but that does NOT mean that there are necessarily "more" people having problems with RnY - it just means that they post here! Same advice when you look at RnY and its stats.  RnY "potentially" can have a number of side effects - but not every RnY candidate is going to HAVE those things happen to them.  One year post-op and I don't dump, haven't vomited, haven't had anything get stuck, my weight loss has been steady, and my labs are terrific, there's really no food that's off-limits to me if I wanted to taste it.  And I'm one of at least 5 people at my office who've had RnY with no issues - yet I'm the only one who posts on OH. It's misleading to call ANY procedure the "cadillac" over one procedure or another, because there will ALWAYS be people for whom a procedure will not work.  There is no one-cut-suits-all cure for obesity.

Hey Catherine! Your post took the words right out of my mouth...My lap band has been a joke. I am not happy about it. I too have been looking into either the RNY or the DS. RNY seemed safer, but the DS seemed to have more permanent results. 

I am so extremely upset that this band has NOT DONE what it is advertised to do. It is supposed to make you feel full off of a small amount of food-NOT!  Pre-surgery, I thought I had to bear the agony of embarrassment and shame, but NOW, is a whole 'nother ball of wax. I now am at the bottom of the barrel. I can't even look some folks in the face when I see them-you know, the ones that told me this surgery would not work! I am really upset. Oh and it’s not talk about all those advertisements that speak about the band, and make it seem so promising.  I have had numerous fills and am currently at my max fill, and I still do not have restriction no matter what I eat. I had this surgery because diets do not work for me. I needed to "feel full", and thought this was my answer. Pre surgery, I would always stop eating once I felt full, but the problem was that I never felt full. I thought the band was the answer to my problem. Now, seventeen thousand dollars later, I am back to dieting alone. I can say that the band does prevent me from having to eat 6 meals to feel full, but I still do not feel full on one large plate of food. I still feel the need for seconds and thirds at meal time. I still feel like eating wayyy more than my co-workers and family members when we go out to eat together. This only drives me to eat even more. Once I leave the meeting or the dinner date with family. I am soo hungry and frustrated from watching co[workers or family members eat their small portions and making their comments by saying "I am so full; I cannot eat another bite." I want to say to them, "Hey, that should be me talking. I should be the one saying that I am full after eating only half of my plate of food. After all, I am the one who had weightloss surgery! "' It seems that all the doctors and nurses do is put it all back on me; which only drives my shame even further. My port has partially detached and is now flipped. I have only lost 29 pounds and it has been nearly two years since my surgery-well, actually it has been since early 2006-more like a year and a half I guess. Seems like years.... Today I am super sensitive, because a co-worker commented on my lap band failure. He said he heard that I was going to have it removed due to it failing. First of all, I never talk to anyone at work regarding my sturggles with the band-especially not about my thoughts on removing it. That is a conversation that I have only had with my husband and best friend, both of which have no contact with anyone from my place of employment. So, now my suspicions are true...People at work are talking about my failure. My failure is evident. I knew it was evident, but now I have confirmation. I immediately I ran to the OH website to look into some help from anyone who will listen. So, Catherine, "tag your it!" Catherine, thanks for listening to all of my frustration. Hopefully my frustrations have shown you that YOU are not alone either.  I feel your pain and hope that your frustrations will end soon too! This weight loss journey is crazy. I thought it was crazy pre-surgery, but now, after surgery it is even more crazy. I guess we have to hang in there until we find what will work for our bodies. I wish you the best of luck and appreciate your candidness in your posting. I no longer feel alone in this fight to be healthy! God bless!  Sincerely, RH To anyone else reading this reply that I have made to Catherine..... I am very happy to see that there is are other options. Can you recommend anyone specific that I can talk to about this? Are there doctors in  Washington that you may recommend? I have a lot of weight to lose. I started out at 372 and now weight 343. I do not want to die of obesity. I still have too much life to live-I am only 35. I also would like to start a family. My weight has prevented me and my husband from pregnancy. Do you know of anyone who has gotten pregnant after the DS?

 

Thanks for your help! RH

I just had to reply to RHH because your pain is so apparent and I have been in your situation. I still feel the reproaching looks after my failed RNY. I have been through three....count them....THREE...weight loss procedures. I had an RNY in 1992, lost from 310 to 240 and slowly regained to 320 over a few years. My humiliation was so horrible, I never told anyone about the previous surgery after regaining and moving to a new town. I had a revision similar to a DS one year ago...just the bowel portion, not the RNY pouch, which was stretched out a lot. I was just too scared to have the risky revision on my pouch. Some people are better candidates for this, depending on many  factors, but I was not. I lost 70lbs after 11 months and was down to 230. Now, I might have settled for that and maybe lost more, though my weight was stabilizing. When stomaphyx came around the corner, I thought I would jump while still in my best malabsorption phase with the DS. So far, after 2.5 weeks I am down almost 2 sizes. I ate some pureed spagetti yesterday and could only eat 3 bites, I hadn't liquified it enough. So this is working for me so far and I am thrilled. I also learned to become a daily exerciser in the last four years. So, there are many paths to sucess, everyone is individual, especially in the condition of there anatomy, lifestyle, eating problems, etc. (By the way, I did not tell anyone about the Stomaphyx, so unless they visit this website they won't know. I am too sensitive about my past failures)

I had the LapBand placed on my RNY pouch last November. I haven't lost one pound. I am exactly the same weight. I do feel a bit more restriction, but not a lot to lose weight obviously. I am at an adequate fill level, but I honestly think I need more intestine bypassed...but that worries me because I already have iron absorbancy issues from my RNY.

I was at a nursing care conference last April. This class was nursing care of the Bariatric Patient. The bariatric surgeon said he believes the Duodenal Switch will become the gold standard in the future, if they can figure out now to avoid protein malnutrition. I had a failed RNY (only lost 70 regained 80) I had a bowel revision to DS and lost 70lbs eating the same amount of food I gained weight on the year before. I then had Stomaphyx to give me more restriction to my existing RNY pouch and am losing again. They say the restriction helps you lose the weight and the malabsorption helps you keep it off. I know many people are opposed to the DS, but it is an option for those who find the other surgeries are not a good fit. I know people who have had revisions to DS from RNY, from VBG, from lapband. You can look to the Duodenal Switch board for more info. I have heard of some getting lapbands over their stoma to make it smaller. This surgeon said the lapbands tend to be easy to put in but get into problems over time...erosion of the esophagus, slippage, inadequate weight loss. I have a friend who loves hers. So, each person is unique and it is nice there are so many options out there to get a custom fit.

sopralto , I want to say Hi and thank you for all the help you give the revision wannabees.  I hope your Stomafx helps your journey.  Since my RNY was taken down completely, then I was given the DS, I've had absolutely no problems, lost everything I needed to and couldn't be happier with my DS. 

Thanks for letting the peeps know there are more options out there for them.

I try to help all the revision patients who contact me for info on the DS but sometimes I get overwhelmed with so many who need help.