OMG I hope I'm making the right choice !!

I was approved today for revision surgery thru Aetna.  My date is scheduled for 5-11-09.

I just pray I'm doing the right thing w/ lab band over RNY... 

I've learned on these forums that you can talk to so many people and everyone has something different to say about each of these surgeries.  (RNY< DS
I chose lapband because of my 5 month old baby.... I did not want to chance the more serious types of surgeries but knew I had to do something.

I do not regret having done the RNY (1993).... It was a successful surgery up until about 2-3 years ago when I started drinking carbonated drinks.  Then stretched my pouch back out.

I'll keep everyone updated...   Thanks everyone for being so supportive and helpful.

Jeannie

Did carbonated beverages really stretch your pouch? I thought that was a myth? How many were you drinking a day?
Karen

Karen,

It is not a myth!!  After my RNY... I kept my weight off for 13 years...   I started drinking Diet Pepsi's because they helped me digest my food better...

Not realizing... it was stretching my stomach and allowing room for more food. 

Witin two years of drinking the sodas I gained 50% of my weight back... and within 4 years of drinking the soda's I've put on a total of 90 lbs... 

Dont get me wrong... I'm sure I've made some bad food choices along the way... but I'm positive the soda is what made my pouch stretch...   Soda's and beer...

My best advise.. Do not even try it...   Oh.... I started out drinking about 2 a day..  Now Im up to 4-6 a day....  After I have my revision... I will NEVER have another one..

Hope this helps !! 

Hello,
I'm almost a year out and besides some stalling, it didn't appear to affect me?? Odd?  But were you drinking the Diet Pepsi while you were eating, allowing the foood to be pushed through? Because I believe any beverage would facilitate weight gain in that case.  Especially beer!  What did your surgeon/doctor say?
Karen

Ten years ago I had rny surgery. I was 420ish and lost 220 lbs. Five years after the surgery I started gaining weight and currently have gained about 85 lbs. I decided to try to go for a revision. RNY to DS. I looked into the stomaphyx, lapband, and even making my pouch smaller, but basically my own research, confirmed later by doctors is that the weight loss occured by each of those procedures is pretty minimal, around 20 - 40 lbs. I'm not here to start any flame wars about what surgery is better. I will tell you that based off of all the reading and research, as well as speaking to other people who have undergone revisions that for me the choice was to have a DS. I feel that given the type of surgery I had that this really is the only choice I have to actually get to a BMI and weight that is in the normal range.

Maddie

Hello Everyone...

Been a little while since I posted...

Had my revisioin surgery 4-30-2009.... As of two weeks ago.. I have lost 25lbs..  It's really slow compared to my original RNY but at least it's going down.

As for the soda's... I found in the beginning they helped me digest my food better... not sure why/how carbonated drinks made a difference but they did.

I've also heard that about the artifical sweetners. I've recently started drinking tea w/ artifical sweetners in it.  And...  My weight loss has slowed down.... Maybe I will test this and go back to drinking jus****er.

Maddie... Did you get the DS already?  If so... How is that working for you?

Not yet. I'm scheduled for Aug. 10....I think it's like 25 days away? I'll have to look at my ticker to find out. I'm trying not to think about it.

You had a band put over your pouch, right?   My husband is considering that. I wish he wouldn't but it's his body.

Yea for Aetna though! My approval came through less than 72 hours after submission. I can take that as a good sign, right? LOL...

Keep in touch Jeannie.

Have you considered that the regain may be due to evil artificial sweetners? There's a lot of evidence supporting this. I thought that gas simply takes the route of least resistance, which would be to either belch, or pass it the other way. I can see stretching it with actual food that pushes on it and doesn't move quickly, but I can't see how gas would really do that. Have you done the cottage cheese test to see how many ounces you can eat before feeling full? Maybe the pouch isn't that big hopefully.

Just some thoughts.