VBG to RNY - never feel full - anyone else?

Hi Everyone :)

I am so glad I found this thread.  I  had the VBG back in 1998.  I was revised to a RNY on Dec 13/2010.

I am not feeling restriction 90 % of the time.  I always just measure out 1/2 cup of food and stick with that because I'm sure I could put away a lot more.  Even if I was full, I wouldn't normally know it. 

I also get upset when I hear people say that they get full eating a thumb size portion.  I think, what the hecks wrong with me?  My surgeon said that he made a 10cc pouch so why can I eat so much?

I am also losing very slowly.  I heard that revisions lose slower than primary surgeries.  But my surgeon said that wasn't true, but here I am losing VERY slowly.

Thanks for all the posts, it's good to know that we're not alone :)

Sandi :)

Hey Sandi :)

I'm glad I made this post now too. I see I'm not alone.

If your 67 lbs is since December, you are NOT losing slow! Great job! I'm down 83 since 9/1 and my Dr is happy with my progress and expects I will continue to lose. I think it would be easier if I couldn't eat normal sized portions, darn it.

Anyway, thanks for adding your post. I was really wondering if maybe he just removed my first surgery and didn't really do the RNY (LOL!).

Have a great day,

Bobbie

Bobbie when you say u had the VBG are referring to the stomache stappling procedure? I had the stomache stapping in 1999 (vbg). I had restriction really good for the first 2 yrs. I started gaining and started having alot of pain and reflux. Come to find out the stapples and the stalastic band they put at the top of your pouch was all eroded into my stomache. With that being said a revision for weight loss was my first priority until i found out how eroded the old surgery was. Had i went on not wanting the revision the ring possibly could have caused a leak in my stomache and by the time i would have had the symptoms i could have had a whole lot of infection in my stomache and intestines. So i had a revision to RNY on Feb 24th. My surgeon said my old surgery was so eroded he had to cut and sew way more than he ever exspected to. So i was so sore and my surgery took 6 hrs. I came home 4 days later with a drain. Needless to say i ended up back in the Hospital 2 days later. I had a leak in my new puoch due to all the scar tissue and all the extra cutting and sewing from my old surgery. So i was in the hospital for a total of 28 days on antibiotic to be sure no infection set up. I had to be NPO which means nothing by mouth not even a icechip for almost 3 weeks. Now having said all that i am home the leak is healed with the grace of god. But i am one of those people who can't eat but a few bites. I also get sick atleast once a day. I have lost close to 30 pounds. I understand ur distress and ur concerns. Just a heads up i would love to be able to eat just one scrambled egg. I would love to be able to eat anything more than a few bites. I pray that ur surgery works for u and u loose all the weight u wish......God Bless Sheila

Hi Sheila,

Your ordeal sounds terrible. I'm sorry to hear that you have had such complications.

Yes, I had the same vbg that you did. My revision took 5.5 hours and I spent 4 days in the hospital as well. I did have a JP drain and a G-tube. The drain came out the day I went home and the G-tube stayed in for 7 weeks. I had no complications other than low potassium early out and still struggling with iron today.

Because of the low iron, I was suggested to see an OB/GYN about having an ablation done to stop bleeding to try and help my iron. During the testing for that, a very large cyst was found on an ovary. To make a long story short, I will be having a hysterectomy on 5/2.

We all have our ups and downs, failures and successes, and similar goals for better health (I think). It is great that we can meet here on this board to share experiences along the way.

Take care :)

Bobbie

Hi Bobbie, no no no, that 67 lbs is from my highest at one of my surgical consults.  I have lost 40 lbs since surgery.  I'm sure I'll get to goal, just not as fast as most, but oh well, I'll take it.

I too feel like my surgeon just "undid" my old VBG and left me to fend for myself, lol!

Sandi :)