Regain surgery

I was wondering see I had my surgery in 2012 and regained. Can I get another WLS if I’m on Medicaid?? Is it possible? Has it ever happened to anyone else??

Revision surgery is really dependent upon what's going on that's causing you to regain the weight. Is there something about your current WLS that's damaged or malfunctioning? What is the cause of your regain?

A few years back you complained about 30 lbs gain. And carb issues, and eating at night.

No surgery is going to fix that. Is there anything wrong with the tool you have? WLS is just a tool. But we have to use it to maintain. Revision is possible, but can be very dangerous, plus revision WLS surgery is not going to fix your eating habits and food addiction.

The good news is that losing a regain is possible. It is a hard work, and long process, but it is doable. Adapting higher proteins, moderate fat, and low carbs diet helps carbing appetite and allows to eat less and lose weight.

Make a daily menu plan and stick to it. Day after day. Moderate exercise can help in making us fit.

Good luck.

Revision bariatric surgery typically results in a lot LESS weight loss than the original surgery. Therefore, an expectation that another procedure will get you to your goal weight is wrong.

The only reason for revision surgery is to resolve a medical issue like GERD or a physician verified problem with the bariatric connections/tissue.

Proven steps to turn this around by OH members:

1. Cleaning up your pantry and fridge/freezer by throwing out junk food, candy, processed food, chips, ice cream, desserts, soda, alcohol.
2. Detoxing off of carbs is crucial.
3. Limiting artificial sweeteners as they cause sugar cravings for many people.
4. Eating dense protein first followed by non-starchy vegetables.
5. Drinking a minimum of 64 oz (or 2 litres) of water a day.
6. Weighing your food with a food scale instead of just eyeballing portion sizes.
7. Tracking every morsel that goes in your mouth with an app like MyFitnessPal.
8. Don't eat right before bedtime or in the middle of the night - break the habit.
9. Limit snacking throughout the day/evening.
10. Don't drink during meals or 30 minutes afterwards.
11. Take all of your vitamins and get complete labwork 1-2 times a year so you can modify vitamins as necessary.
12. Work with a therapist on your food addiction issues.

I am sorry to hear you are still struggling with regain. Medicaid coverage will vary, but generally it must be proven that there was a mechanical failure with your surgery, such as it not being performed correctly, or it no longer performing its intended function, for coverage to be considered. The best you can do is to contact the insurance company responsible for your Medicaid plan and ask for the details regarding revision surgeries.

That being said, before you consider a revision, have you determined the reason behind your regain? For example, right now I am not losing weight at 8 months out, so I could claim that my surgery is not performing its function. However the reason I am not losing weight is because of my frequent binging episodes. It would not make sense for me to get a revision because my binging is not related to my physical anatomy.

Good luck and I hope you find the best solution for your situation

Revision on Medicaid varies by state, so you'll want to give them a call. You would have to still be morbidly obese (100+lbs overweight) and some may require verification of failed surgery. Your ticker says you are only 70lbs overweight and you've come a long way from there, so it may be a hard sell if you cannot prove surgical malfunction. Surgeons consider WLS successful if you maintain 50% of your excess weight lost, which you have definitely done even though you want more.

Your best bet would be to call YOUR Medicaid provider, and ask. Every plan is different. I would bet they will want to know if there is a MECHANICAL failure (as other posters have said), meaning a suture line rupture, etc

After calling...if you find out they will NOT cover anything, and you need help, fighting that regain, we have lots of folks, right here, who can help you, myself included, who have lost...and kept off... significant amounts of regain

For MYSELF, I needed BRAIN and LIFESTYLE revisions...it took me a long time, to get honest, with myself, but, once I did, I got straight/healthy

As everyone suggested call your insurance and see what the criteria is to get them to pay. Unless you can prove your regain is due to medical issues with the last surgery chances are they won't. When one is on their second regain you need to look at what is going on in your head more than what is going into your mouth. I am not typing that to be mean, just 15 years of seeing what it takes to get to goal and stay there. I walk the walk as I did have regain myself. I found I had moved away from all the basics that helped me.

Again, make sure you find out there is nothing going on medically. If not, here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.