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on 7/18/19 3:40 pm - WI
First of all...congrats on your sobriety. We "old timers" on this site spend a lot of time trying to warn people about transfer addictions and to stay away from alcohol.
Have you had an endoscopy to see if your original surgery is intact? That would be my next move if I were you. If your original surgery is working, then there is no need for a revision and you CAN lose weight on your own. I have a friend on this site that recently lost over 50 pounds and she is more than 15 years out from surgery.
Unfortunately there are not any good revisions to RNY. Most of the surgeries that tighten the stoma fail and the average weight loss is about 20 pounds. If you have a stretched stoma, I would go ahead with the surgery to fix it, but know that if you don't carefully measure every bite of food, it will fail almost immediately. You will have to learn to be a strict rule follower.
As for food: Eat dense protein first, then non starchy veggies. Dense protein fills you up. Stay away from carbs, don't drink your calories (only zero calorie drinks), don't drink with your meals or for 30 minutes after, get a good food scale and measure your food. You should not be eating more that 1 to 1/12 cups of food per meal...that is the TOTAL volume. We obese people have a really skewed view of what a portion size should look like. If you are eyeballing your portions, I can guarantee that you are over eating.
Eat by the clock. Don't eat between meal times. If you are hungry...ignore it. Nothing bad will happen to you if you force yourself to wait until your next scheduled meal. Stop chasing the full feeling. You will never feel that sense of fullness that you had before surgery. Your anatomy has changed. Stop depending on restriction to keep you from eating. Your stomach has been lying to you for decades, telling you that it's hungry when it's not. You need to get your head back in charge and take your stomach out of the equation. Eat what you measure out and then stop eating.
Sometimes stomach acid mimics hunger, a PPI might help. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a gurgling stomach is a sign of hunger. It's not. We all have noisy stomachs after WLS. That never goes away for some of us.
I would suggest finding a good therapist and stop trying to find a weight loss program to lose the weight. There is a reason you choose to overeat. There is a reason you turned to alcohol. Until you figure out why you are self sabotaging you won't lose weight. Find someone who specialized in eating disorders. Many of us add a therapist to out WLS team. I believe that you don't get to be 200 pounds overweight without having disordered eating. You are worth the emotional work and the expense to figure things out.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
HW 270 SW 236 GW 160 CW 145 (15 pounds below goal!)
VBG Aug. 7, 1986, Revised to RNY Nov. 18, 2010
I had RNY done January 5th 2009. It could not have went better. I had ZERO complications. I lost around 190 lbs. I was 374 and got as low as 185. I wound up having some major issues with alcohol use after the weight loss. I actually wound up going to two rehabs and six detoxes during a 3 year period. I have not had a drink in 5 years...but since I stopped drinking I haven't stopped eating. I am now around 300lbs which is still 74 less then my highest weight. I have tried many things, nutritionist, dietician, Weigh****chers, many calorie counting apps, intermittent fasting and therapy. The surgery did not fail me, I failed the surgery. I have been trying to lose weight for the past 5 years. I have omitted wheat, flour and sugar at times. I always go back to eating. I have tried meditation and prayer. I don't really know much about revision surgery but what I have read has not seemed promising. StomaphyX and Transoral (sic?) I am not really sure where to turn. I have tried OA as well as Grey Sheet Anonymous. I have not given up but I have to admit my hope is fading. My feeling is that my stoma has stretched, the reason I feel this way is because I still get some feeling of restriction but it does not last long. I'm sure it has stretched somewhat naturally but mostly because of my overeating. I can't look back and what could have been. I am asking for advice. I am a 58 year old male. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I look forward to any and all responses.
Kevin
If your going to pee with the puppies you can't run with the big dogs....
sw 373 cw 185 goal 185
Hi! I had my sleeve done by Dr John Dietrick. He's a very good surgeon. His office staff is great as well. He also does the GB too.
Yes, I have my band still. It hasn't had any fluid in it since 2015 though. My surgeon is fairly confident that he'll be able to do both surgeries at one time. The idea of two bouts under anesthesia, two hospital stays and two recoveries was the reason I sought out a second opinion, but I think my surgeon is fairly unique in this approach. In his experience, it's also a bit safer from an insurance perspective to get the revision approved at the same time as the revision. As he put it, 100% of insurances will pay to have a band removed, but then you're back to square one, with potentially no revision in your future. I'm also on a very tight timeline. I have to have everything done no later than 12/31 or I can't have it done at all, due to finances and I'll just be stuck with chronic GERD and gastritis. I was hoping to hear back this week, but no such luck. Fingers crossed for next week:)
I've heard a lot of stories of people having scarring and other complications from their bands. So it's definitely a possibility.
When you talk to a surgeon about getting a DS, you should see if they can get a copy of your post-op report from the band report. That may have some details about the state of your stomach and anything seen during that procedure. Your surgeon may also want to do some pre-op imaging to see if they can identify any scarring or problems that could cause complications with a DS.
Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!
Coverage for revisions varies a lot. Call the customer service number on the back of your insurance card and ask what your plan covers-- that's the only way you'll know for sure.
That said, lots of people have addressed regain of 75lb or more without a revision by going "back to basics." If there's nothing mechanically wrong with your WLS, that would probably be a good first step.
Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!
I am wanting to get a revision. Has anyone had luck getting insurance to cover it? I am so disappointed with myself I have gained 75 lbs back.
Hi all - I'm mostly lurking (and now posting) over on the DS boards, but wanted to ask a question here.
I'm hoping to have DS (or possibly SIPS) done and I'm worried about issues from having the lap band for 7 years. I had it removed in 2009 and don't have a lot of issues, but do sometimes have phantom band feelings and wonder how much damage could be going on in there - and if it will be a problem doing the DS.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks!
Jen
You almost a copy of me, I'm 13 years post-op and I started regaigning weigth after 5 years when my reflux started, tomorrow I'm gonna have my revision, VSG to SADI-S (loop DS) on pre-op they have found my reflux is due an hiatus hernia, so they will correct my hernia and do the SADI-S.
I'm from Spain so I can't help you with doctors.
I had my band removed Dec 2017 and the tubing of mine was in my liver as well. I don't remember being told about that in my consult, but that was in 2008. I am trying to get a revision to bypass, my surgeon wanted me to wait at least 3-6 months before considering my for a revision. He wanted the time for my liver to heal completely.
