I had my RNY reversed on 11/3/08, and until they started the TPN again two weeks ago, I had not gained any weight, I had finally stabilized and stopped losing, but because I am still having problems with pain/nausea/vomiting after eating, I can't get my calories up.  Since the TPN, I have probably gained 5-10 pounds, not sure how real those pounds are because I spent 5 days in the hospital getting fluids pumped in, and the fluids from the TPN at home, but I'll take the gain for now and be a little relieved about it.  I hear ya, I never thought I would ever get anxious about numbers on a scale going down, a very weird situation for me too!

Laura,
Wow, 90 pounds, that would scare me too.  I think you read my story/blog, so you know that I have suffered similar issues, and still the suffering continues. I was petrified and very upset at the thought of having my RNY reversed, I had all the same fears, still do about gaining the weight back, but even though it didn't solve all of my eating problems, after the reversal I did go from eating 500 calories a day to about 800, so it helped a bit.  I also thought at times I could die from the malnutrition, and still wonder what the long term effects of all of this are going to be on my body/mind. I am having a semi-risky procedure on Tuesday that may or may not fix my problem, and I am very nervous about it because I think this is the last ditch effort, but I have to try not to focus on what am I going to do if it doesn't work, and focus on being positive it will.  Hang in there, I too have the PICC/TPN right now and I hate it, but it is helping me with the calories, it's just the inconvenience of it and the stigma that I feel about it, self-inflicted I know, but I will just feel more normal when it is gone.  Keep me updated please on your progress

Well, for those of you who know, I finally had my revision surgery from a distal RNY back to a proximal due to the inability to stop losing weight.  Surgery was fairly uneventful.  They redid my bypass and cleaned out a ton of adhesions.  Unfortunately, I still have quite a bit of pain, and have not gained an ounce of weight yet.  As of this morning I weigh a whopping 90 pounds.  I am starting to wonder if I should have just had a complete reversal.  I was afraid to do the complete reversal for fear of gaining all my weight back, but geeze, I have to do something here soon.  I was in the hospital for 8 days after surgery, had 3 units of blood, and was on TPN via a PICC line.  I felt pretty good while on the TPN, but since being home for the last 7 days am starting to feel run down again.  I know weight loss surgery saves a lot of lives, but all that has happened to me makes me wonder how many lives it takes.  I am REALLY down and could use any encouragement from ANYONE who might have had to have a revision done for the same reason I had to have one done.  I am feeling like if things don't change too, I will literally drop dead of starvation.  Okay, maybe beling a little over dramatic there, but I'm frustrated beyond belief.  


Laura
230/90/110 

 I see no one has jumped in here, so I will.  I am a little over 4 years out and I am experiencing severe anemia...both iron and B12.  I had IV infusion in December and was told at that time that it could be 6 months to a year, or possibly even longer before I would have to worry about it.  I went in earlier this week to have my labs checked early because I was feeling extreme exhaustion and was concerned that something was wrong.  Turns out my ferritin level has dropped from 168 in December down to 14 this week.  So I start my second round of IV infusion on Friday.  The hematologist believes that my body is no longer absorbing iron from ANY source (pills, food) EXCEPT the infusions.

I'm afraid I have no answers, I can only confirm that this is a really scenario that ANYone should consider when making the decision to have WLS.  The things your doctor tells you about possible complications and lifelong issues like this are not just scare tactics - they are REAL scenarios that REAL people experience.

Wish I could offer advice or answers.  sorry.

Oh well thats really good to know. I was expecting it to completely stop, like you said. I didn't think it was suppose to keep draining. I thought with the days and time it should stop and nothing should come out at all. That makes me feel more at ease. Thanks for taking the time and answering my questions and concerns.