Weight Gain

I had RNY in 2009 went from 360 to 199 now i'm back up to 256. The dr said the weight gain was mainly frommy loss of function of my thyroid but now they have gotten the right dose of medicine I need to regulate it. Is there any kind of surgery I can have done now? I need the help, I am so so unhappy and disappointed in myself.  Thanks for all who answer

Rhonda

How has your eating been?  Are you eating junk?  If so then all the WLS in the world won't help you.  If you have a mechanical failure like an enlarged stoma or stretched pouch you may need a revision or a different surgery but if you aren't being compliant with the post op eating now why do you think having more surgery would help you?

TY

May I ask why did you have a revision?

Rhonda,

Let's first start with the positives - you're still down over 100 lbs - also, look at the number of people on OH that have had revisions - don't loose faith and though we all need to be responsible, ignore those people who don't offer support and solutions!

Thank You oh so very much.Sittin crying because I feel like a failure. Your message uplifted me.

Hi Rhonda,

i can relate to your frustration.  I've regained and no longer very happy with myself.  I've wondered about a revision, remembering that wonderful honeymoon period after surgery , when the weight effortlessly fell off.  It was a miracle.  But the more I thought about it, and the lifestyle I've been living, I realized that I fell off the health wagon.  I went back to my bad eating habits and stress eating, after all, the further out I got, the more I tested my pouch, and the more I replaced my protein with carbs.  And here I am, back in a place I never thought I'd ever be.

Well, I've decided to get back to basics, to really test my pouch, and my ability, to live the lifestyle I promised myself back in 2006.  My first step was to get back to OH.   Then find a support group.  Next, it's time to address my eating habits.  I'm going to give my pouch a chance to show me it's still working.  I've already started water workouts, so that will get my exercise jump started.

Rhonda, I hope that you find what will help you get back to your healthy, happy place.  You are a success and you have what it takes.

Edi

Thanks for the encouragement, I've joined the weight loss program at the VA hospital. They are also setting me up with a nutritionalist.. Praying all goes well. I'm just frustrated

Thank you for what you said.  It is 100% spot on.  It was what I was trying to say to the OP but apparently I came off harsher then I intended.  As someone *****gained 100 lbs after my first WLS I certainly am not coming from a place of judgment.

I did have a revision but not because of my gain.  I was revised due to issues I was having, many of which were from my own making but I decided that if I was going to get a second chance I was going to make the most of it.

The number one thing for me was taking an honest look at myself and how I allowed myself to regain almost all the weight I lost.  I took full responsibility for me eating.  I am a compulsive overeater and refined carbs, sugar and gluten, are my drugs of choice.  Had I continued eating the way I had been my 2nd WLS would have gone the way of the first.

Like an alcoholic that receives a new liver, if they continue to drink the new liver will fail like the first one and that is the same as a revision.

Regain is what happens when we stop being conscious about what we are eating and assume that the surgery will prevent us from overeating and eating the wrong things.  The surgery is like having a hammer in your tool box.  It does nothing but sit there until you pick it up and use it to drive a nail.  

I hope that before anyone subjects themselves to more surgery they look at what they could do different this time.  Believe me when I tell you, a revision is no walk in the park.  My first surgery was laparoscopic, my revision was open.  The surgery was much riskier and the recovery was a lot longer.

It really is possible to start over again.  If things are as they should be, no mechanical failure, then just by eating protein first, not drinking with meals or 30 minutes after, getting in enough fluids and avoiding "bad" carbs with no nutritional value, should get you losing again.  It may be slower then the first time and that can be discouraging but in the end the rewards are worth it.  Not just physically but emotionally as well.

Finding support and accountability is also very valuable.  This time I committed to myself that I would not drift away from my support as I did the first time, to go out and "live life".  Yeah, for me living life was just eating the way I wanted and hiding from the scale so I could stay in denial.

I check in on OH every day and try to post when I feel I have something to offer.  At nearly 4 years out I don't have nearly the same questions and concerns that I did immediately post op but I do have some experience and I have found things that have helped me a great deal and if I can share those with others to make their road easier then it makes me feel like I can be of help.

To Rhonda, I am sorry if I made you feel bad.  Reading back I can see how it could have been taken that way.  I was short and it may have been taken as being judgmental.  Again, believe me, I'm not.  I know how humiliating it is to gain weight after losing it so publicly, having people judge me and say "Geez, she can't even keep weight off after having surgery".  I avoided my surgeon because I was afraid of his reaction, which was the worse thing because I suffered far longer then I needed to physically because I wouldn't admit that I had failed.

I think I came off as harsh because I know you can do it, without resorting to surgery.  You did it before and you are the same person, only know you have knowledge of things that don't work for you and you can use that to your advantage.

Believe me, I am a die hard food addict.  I ate uncontrollably and self destructively.  I managed to regain a lot of weight even with a very malabsorptive procedure.  I felt like a complete failure and I never would have considered a revision because I knew that it would be a waste on me.  When I saw my surgeon I begged for a reversal of my WLS because I was so sick and had so many issues and no benefits from having WLS.  He told me that it wasn't possible to reverse my procedure but he could revise it so it wouldn't be so malabsorptive.  He also suggested that I get a RNY pouch (I previously had a sleeve, which was very large).  The only reason I agreed is because I figured if I could regain 100 lbs with malabsorption then I could really do damage without it.  He cautioned me that I might not lose any weight but at that point I would have been happy not to gain any more.

So, if I can manage to make it work, anyone can.  So don't give up and give it a try.  If you would have told me 4 years ago that I could go nearly 4 years without sugar and gluten, that I could reach a normal weight and stay there for over 3 years, I would have told you you were high.  I have never been the same size for more then a few months.  So, I know it can be done.

Hello there, I too regained, I had surgery in 2010 and have returned to my old habits. I too am disappointed I eat way to many sweets now the 20 lbs I regain feel like 200 but I am struggling, and feel like a failure, but the devil is a liar. Call upon Jesus, there is power in His name. You will succeed again. So keep the faith., one day at a time. .......love you take care. Gwen