why did you decide on revision sx?

Hi everyone,

I guess Im a newbie to these boards again seeing as how its been 6 years since Ive been here. I will hit my 6 yr anniversary in Feb. of my GB surgery and have gained back all my weight and then some. I never achieved my goal but got to a weight where I was content.
I cant eat anywhere near as much as I could but I went through a really bad relationship/breakup and old habits snuck back in. Ive gone back to basics, but it leaves me feeling hungry all the time so Im sure my pouch has stretched.

So my questions being with- why did you/are you having revision surgery? was it difficult to qualify for it? Are you glad you did it? Any suggestions as far as looking into it? Did you get any bad responses from loved ones when you told them what you were doing?

Im just starting my journey with this idea right now, so any and all information is appreciated.

Thank you!! 

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

I too had GB about 6 years ago and am considering a revision.  I havent gained too much back and I am so afraid of gaining it all back. I had to go back on the blood pressure medicine and recently got the prescription strength increased (not happy)  I was considering getting the Lap Band because it can be continuously adjusted but after reading some of the forums it doesnt seem like that is an good option for GB revisions. Hopefully we can share information.


Thanks and Good Luck
Chyna

I had RNY in 2003. The doctor added in a permanent ring on the stoma to prevent over eating. For me, it caused real problems, since I couldn't keep down anything dense and threw everything up.  I wound up eating carbs and starting serious regain - went from 175 up to 220. I went becaues of the esophageal erosion. I'm looking forward to eating real food without vomiting.

Sarah if you don't each much and have regained even over your pre-op weight, it sounds like you need to consult with some metabolic experts.  Sounds like your surgery has failed you.

  I  revised to a DS.  Had lapband for 5 yrs

I got tired of choking all the time, even water would pb back!!

soooo after having several edg's to see what was the matter , all looked great, just decided I had  enough! by the grace of god, had a gallbladder attack, it was removed emergency, but that surgeon punctured tubing, So he did me a favor,,

AS a ds I am only three weeks out, and LOVE this !

I can eat!  anything !

be it tiny bites at the moment, no dumping, no strangulation going on, no pb, no fluids coming back,,, I even take my vitamins with a full swallow and it stays down,,, this is why I did my revision, and what I told family and work.... of course at work they all saw me running for the bathroom lots LOL!     

I started to look at revisions after waiting for the band to work for three years and realising that it wasn't going to happen. I can remember feeling disappointed about it - it had seemed the answer to prayers when I had it, and it worked much better for my DH. For me though it had taken ages to get to any sort of restriction, and then went to over restricted in the blink of an eye. It was just a lot of titting around for 20lbs lost.

In the meantime my diabetes had been accelerating, and I was aware that my eyesight was failing. I couldnt face the thought of being blind, and decided that I couldnt wait any longer. I had heard of RNY before banding, but it sounded scary. I heard of DS by accident (can't even remember how) and was struck by how it cures diabetes in 98% of people. RNY 'only' cures 80%, so it was a question of maths in the end.

In the UK very few people qualify for wls for free. We are sent on diets instead. So I took out a loan and paid for it. I lost weight quickly early on and have steadied off now (much to the surgeon's relief), and my diabetes is history. I am rarely hungry, eat as much as I like, and only have to restrict carbs when I want to lose weight. There are downsides, like every surgery I guess, but it has been ten times better than the first surgery and definitely worth the trouble and expense.

Sal

I had a distal RNY in 1999. I was SMO at 430 pounds. I lost to 210 (my lowest weight was 201, but I maintained at 210), but I never achieve goal either. Around 4 years out my mom suddenly passed away and I fell into a year long grief period wherein I gave up and just ate whatever made me feel better. I ate anything and everything. After about 18 months and recovering from the grief I decided that I would get back to basics and eat the way I had been for the four years prior, but I still gained weight. I went on Weigh****chers and even though I followed it to the letter and rarely ever cheated I lost only 5 pounds in six months and that was after I dropped to the lowest number of points. My weight kept creeping up no matter what I did to lose weight  when I hit 295 I knew I had to do something. I had been thinking about a revision, but at the time did not know that I could revise to a DS. My girlfriend Cindy called me up and said that she was looking into a revision to DS. I went with her to her appointment and learned that Stomaphyx, ROSE procedure, even Lap band over RNY revealed only limited weight loss (between 20 and 30 pounds and usually quickly regained). The surgeon was honest and said that DS was really the best option, but even then due to metabolic resistance reaching a normal BMI might not be fully realized. Even though I knew this I decided to revise from an RNY to a DS. I have not told a lot of people that I revised. Most just know that I had to have some abdominal surgery. I really didn't want to have to explain my decision to anyone, especially to my sister or father.

My revision hasn't been easy. I've had several complications, which had me in and out of the hospital for almost 30 days and nearly 5 months post op I still have problems with a stomach leak, a fistula and may be facing another operation to fix said leak.  My weight loss is not significantly fast, but I've lost almost 70 pounds and when I figured out my EWL I'm over 40%. So I think I might be right on target. 

I'm not ready to say "I love my DS" or that I'm thrilled that I revised and I'm not in a place where I can say I'm glad I did it. I'm at a place where I'm just dealing with it and learning to live with it. When asked "was it worth it?" my usual reply is "ask me when I'm 150 pounds".  I'm glad I have lost weight, but it hasn't been easy.   I don't know if I will ever be in a place where I can say it was worth it, but then again, maybe I will be at some point.

As for qualifying for DS after RNY I had no problems getting approved. My paperwork was submitted on a Friday and I had an approval on a Tuesday. I have Aetna insurance.