Would You Do It Again?

For the most part regain is up to you.  I would agree 75% regain SOME weight but not a huge amount.  Some do regain a huge amount but that really is choice.

The magical lifestyle change is very simple.  it comes down to white carbs.  Flour, sugar, rice, pasta, and potatoes.  Don't eat those foods again and regain will not be an issue.  For those that go back to old habits, no wls will work.

Any time someone asks if this surgery is worth it, if the potential for regain is always there, I respond like this:

if you had a single chance to have the most intense passionate relationship where you are head over heels in love, but it may be a short lived love... Would you choose to experience it? Or would you say why bother, I'll be alone in the end anyway? 

WLS is, IMO, that very thing. An opportunity to love yourself in a new way that you never could imagine. And it could last a life time, like that relationship-- IF you put the work in.

yes, I'd do it again- but will work damn hard to never have to.

I would do it again and again every other month to feel as good as I do right now...  Best decision for my health I've EVER made for myself in my life!  

I had surgery 8 months ago and I have lost 150 pounds. I feel so much better and am off all medication. Yes there have been issues...Hair loss, reaction to certain food, but this was my last hope. I was unable to loose the weight with out this surgery. If you can change your lifestyle with out surgery then do it. I couldn't, so yes  I would do it all again. Good luck.

I would do it all over again for all the same reasons already stated. and then some!!!!

Your statistics are faulty. GERD is more a problem with VSG not RNY. People often do gain back a percentage but that does not mean most of them gain it all back, and much better long term statistics than diet alone.

That being said, I would do it again, and do it again and do it again. I had a good life before, but I was slowly killing myself, I have so much more energy and health on my side now.

If you would have asked me 6 years ago I would have said NO! without a doubt.  In fact I went to my surgeon and begged for a reversal.  I had a DS in 2002 and by 2010 I was so sick I could not function.  I had no quality of life.  I felt that WLS was the worse mistake of my life.  It wasn't just that I had regained most of the weight.  There are worse things in life then being fat and I was living it.

My surgeon told me he couldn't reverse it but he could revise it to eliminate a lot of my issues.  He told me at that time I might not lose any weight.  I don't know if he said that because I had failed so miserably the first time that he had no hope for me but I honestly didn't care.  I just wanted my life back.

I decided that if I was going to have a revision I was going to make the most of it and not make the same mistakes I did the first time.  This time I did what I was told instead of thinking I was special and didn't need to change my eating or watch my vitamin levels.

Now, 6 years later I can say that I would do it again, only I would have been better educated the first time.

WLS may not be perfect but right now it is the best treatment out there for morbid obesity.  It is a drastic treatment but there is no other treatment out there that even comes close to helping morbidly obese people.  

If you had cancer and were told that you could try a treatment that only had about a 5% success rate at 5 years out or a treatment that may have a 50% success rate at 5 years out which would you choose?  I may not like 50% but it's a hell of a lot better than 5%.

And the good thing is there are things that are in our control to make that rate even higher.

There is a lot of work to do before surgery to prepare for the changes and a lot more after surgery to make it work for you but it is worth it for the benefits you can get.

BTW, count me as one that had their GERD completely cured by the RNY.  I had a sleeve the first time and my GERD was so severe I was taking several PPI's a day and still waking up choking on acid.  I have not taken a PPI since 3 months post op from my revision.  For that alone it's been worth it.

You had a DS, a sleeve, and an RNY? Or is there a typo in here somewhere?! Hehe. I'd like to know more about your complications, if you could elaborate? If I'm not being too nosy, I'm just so thankful to the OP for this thread, so many great stories in one place! It was what I needed too, after all my surgery is creeping up on me after it taking over 8 months to prepare now things are moving along... sheesh!

I had a sleeve as part of the DS.  It was actually very big and I never felt any restriction, which meant I ate a lot, which aggravated my other issues.

Short story, I had a blind loop which lead to SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).  That happens to some people who have had intestinal surgery.  I had constant diarrhea and the bacterial caused toxins to be released in my blood which caused all kinds of problems.  Not to mention the problems just from so much malabsoption.

The revision fixed the blind loop and my surgeon lengthened my common channel from 100 cc to 200 cc so I didn't malabsorb as much.  He also revised the sleeve into a RNY pouch, of sorts.  Actually he removed my stomach entirely except the pouch part.  

The day I had the revision was the last day I had that diarrhea.  The recovery from the toxins in my bloodstream took a lot longer but I am happy to say that today I am healthier then I can remember, mainly because I am very protective of my health having lost it for so long.  I am diligent about vitamins and labs and taking care of myself.  

I had the vsg in 2011 went from 310 to 250 now back up to 290 and on my way to get the ds... I would still do it all again. I've learned so much about how everything around me and myself included sabotages everything about my eating.... so even with the weight gain and another surgery around the corner(hopefully) YES!