Please help!! I can't quit bawling.

I just got the call from a suregon I talked to. I had RNy done in 1998. I have gained back the weight. I went in to see if they could do a revision or do a DS. He had me do an upper GI barium swallow. The test showed I'm anatomically correct so there would be no reason for a revision. He said insurance would not cover a DS when everthing is fine ( I have Blue Cross). Those of you who had a revision from RNy to DS, was there any anatomically abnormalities? Or did insurance and your doc do it because of weight regain which he doen't seem to think is a good enough reason. I can't stop crying. I guess I had my hopes up. Thanks for any input.

I understand your disappointment and I too have been sitting around crying...  Believe it or not crying is good for you.  Cry and get it all out of your system and then when you stop crying you will get mad and decide to do what is right.  Atleast that is what I do... I cry and then I get it out of my system and then I start coming out of my crying mood swinging....I start fighting for me.... I too had an RNY in 2004; lost 170 lbs... but then I got settled and started to eat again I now am back up to 245 lbs....  I am trying to decide what to do... I am doing research on clinical studies and calling research schools to see if I can get into any studies.   Have you been in touch with your doctor that did your surgery?  Have you contacted any support groups in your area? So finish crying and then come up swinging for you... Fight for you...  I am also going to try the 5 day pouch test that I have been hearing about on the message boards.. Be strong and pray for guidance.... Good Luck and God is with you. Tami

HEy there Sammie! Can you get a 2nd or even 3rd opinion with the same upper GI?  I never understood how a barium swallow helped show anything other than liquid zipping through a zillion miles an hour!  Did he say what size your pouch was?  Your stoma?  Do you have co-morbids with your weight? I had all hope wiped out by 2 bariatric surgeons before I heard about Dr. Schlesinger.  He seemed to be the only one that didn't want to make me leave hating myself for what I'd done to my body! I'll bet there's some docs nearby that may take a kinder, gentler approach and help you work through the insurance criteria. Don't give up!

Joyce, what exactly is the Duodenal Switch and what are the criteria?  All I've read on this revision board is how much success people have had with a DS and I really don't know anything about it. Thanks, Sue

Hi Sue! I am far from an expert on the DS.  I'm sure one of the DS buds on this forum will jump in and give you oodles of details.  But, one site that helped me understand my Distal (aka extended Rny by Dr. Schlesinger) is at http://aboutmso.com/pp/pp-gastricbypass.cfm I'm a visual learner and liked the pictures!  .....  You can google whichever type of procedure you are interested in and find oodles of great info. DS is a great weight loss surgery!  For those who are unable to have a DS for medical reasons or can't get insurance to pay then a Revision from Rny Proximal to Distal is also a great option.  The common channel of the "Y" is the same; meaning that the malabsorption is the same.   I"m sure I've just confused you more.....I KNOW it confuses me!  Sooooo......how have you done today with your pureed stage?  You hanging in there?

I think overall I'm doing better.  I've put signs in the kitchen with nasty faces that say STOP and NO and believe it or not that has really helped.  Now I have to keep my pudding snack down to 1 small serving instead of 2.  I also started going back to the gym this week and have done 40 min twice.  All in all, with all I've read, I'm as normal as everyone else and this isn't harder for me than it is for anyone else.  This is just HARD for ALL of us.  Tomorrow I go to stage 4 foods...moist meats, low fat mayo for tuna etc.  Don't think I can have any vegetables yet though or bread/crackers.  I may try to continue with soup at lunch though.  I think I just made up my mind that I can and will do this and need to just stop and accept.  I cannot eat all I want and still be in control and lose weight. I'm looking forward to finally having more choices, but I really don't truly know how restricted I am and that makes me nervous.  It's really hard to know the degree of restriction when you're eating soup, cottage cheese, fake egg etc.  I worry that I'll just be another failure (for all my bravado) simply because I feel perfectly normal just like before the stomaphyx.  I guess time will tell.  Thanks for asking!

Did you have any trouble getting insurance to cover your revision. He said the pouch was normal for 10 years post op and the stoma was fine. Who knows

Thanks everyone. I did call another suergeon today, and they will call me back tomorrow. I want to know if it's an option they will consider before I sit through their class. What do you have to do,go to 10classes before you find one. I talked to insurance today and they didn't make it sound as though it would be that hard to be approved. So I need to find the doctor in Minnesota that will work with me and fight for it.

Sammie, I had an upper GI about a year and a half ago and the Dr. doing it asked ME what we were looking for. Everything was "normal" but I didn't believe it. The surgeon offered to bypass more intestines so I have been thinking about that since then. The reason I haven't done it is because he didn't want to do anything to the stomach, and I feel like I need more restriction. Yesterday I had an endoscopy and all I know about that is that my stoma is enlarged. I"m seeing the doctor tomorrow to discuss the details. See, I knew everything wasn't normal. So find someone with experience doing endoscopies for wls patients. If you'd like, I can let you know what I find out.

Please keep me updated........