My RNY Revision
Someone wrote to me about my revision and I didn't respond to the e-mail. I thought that I could quickly find the thread but, alas, I can't.
I had my original RNY on 11-14-2000. I started out at 571 lbs and got down to about 330 when I started to regain some of the weight. I was concerned about this and asked my surgeon about it. He said that there's a normal 15% regain of the total amount of weight lost. I had trouble accepting that but figured he knew what he was talking about since he was the president of the society of bariatric surgeons when he did my RNY.
I have a few chronic medical conditions along with my mental problem. I am on full occupational disability from the Fed gov't due to manic-depression. Anywho, in the summer of 2004 my primary sent me to be scoped because of some concerns other than the RNY. During the scope, the dr noted that I had a staple line disruption; the net result was as if I'd never had the RNY.
I then pursued getting a revision. Unfortunately, the surgeon who did the original RNY no longer accepted my ins. Most other drs who do the RNY would only do revisions for their own patients. It took me a few months but I did find a sugeon at U of Penn and I had the revision RNY done on 01-21-05. I think I was back up to 421 at that time. My ins did cover it because it was medically necessary and I met all of the requirements for surgery.
The primary problem I had after that RNY was mental. I was losing weight but not as quickly as someone on that surgeon's staff thought I should. I'm often not rational and didn't realize that my anti-depressant meds were not working well. Maybe the staff at the surgeon's office was just trying to counsel me but, in my state of mind, I rejected them and never went back there. I lost only 40 lbs following that RNY. I eventually regained about 10 lbs. My shrink wouldn't change the antidepressants until 9 mos post-op. Part of the reason for that is that I was already taking the max dosage for that antidepressant. I had to be weaned off of it and started on a new one. I had to go to an outpatient treatment facility daily for evaluation.
I eventually lost some of the weight when I started going to a gym and swimming. I had to give that up when I started getting sores on my legs and couldn't use a public pool by law. I healed a couple times and again had the same problem. I think I had a reaction to the chemicals in the pool..
This year I got the Beck's Diet Solution and lost 50 lbs between the end of Jan and mid May. Then I celebrated in the worst way by having some of my addictive foods and I haven't been abstinate from them since then. Yeah, I' a food addict and I've known that for only about 30 years. I'm addicted to refined white flour, sugar, and most salty snacks and ice cream. I also have Kay Sheppard's book, Food Addiction--The Body Knows. Yeah, I know I'm a food addict and I also know that I can break this addiction if I can only be free from it for a few days--that's how long it takes to get out of my system. I thought I gained weight over the summer but found that I actually lost a couple pounds. I'm now within 4 lbs of my lowest weight since my original RNY.
I guess I'll get back with the program when I really need to. I may have some psychological need for either the food or the weight. I'm certainly in no place to self-analyze. And, I'm not about to start talk therapy until we start having an income other than my pension and my wife's unemployment. Heck, what's the motivation when I'm still losing weight? I do see my primary and my shrink on a regular basis.
I had my original RNY on 11-14-2000. I started out at 571 lbs and got down to about 330 when I started to regain some of the weight. I was concerned about this and asked my surgeon about it. He said that there's a normal 15% regain of the total amount of weight lost. I had trouble accepting that but figured he knew what he was talking about since he was the president of the society of bariatric surgeons when he did my RNY.
I have a few chronic medical conditions along with my mental problem. I am on full occupational disability from the Fed gov't due to manic-depression. Anywho, in the summer of 2004 my primary sent me to be scoped because of some concerns other than the RNY. During the scope, the dr noted that I had a staple line disruption; the net result was as if I'd never had the RNY.
I then pursued getting a revision. Unfortunately, the surgeon who did the original RNY no longer accepted my ins. Most other drs who do the RNY would only do revisions for their own patients. It took me a few months but I did find a sugeon at U of Penn and I had the revision RNY done on 01-21-05. I think I was back up to 421 at that time. My ins did cover it because it was medically necessary and I met all of the requirements for surgery.
The primary problem I had after that RNY was mental. I was losing weight but not as quickly as someone on that surgeon's staff thought I should. I'm often not rational and didn't realize that my anti-depressant meds were not working well. Maybe the staff at the surgeon's office was just trying to counsel me but, in my state of mind, I rejected them and never went back there. I lost only 40 lbs following that RNY. I eventually regained about 10 lbs. My shrink wouldn't change the antidepressants until 9 mos post-op. Part of the reason for that is that I was already taking the max dosage for that antidepressant. I had to be weaned off of it and started on a new one. I had to go to an outpatient treatment facility daily for evaluation.
I eventually lost some of the weight when I started going to a gym and swimming. I had to give that up when I started getting sores on my legs and couldn't use a public pool by law. I healed a couple times and again had the same problem. I think I had a reaction to the chemicals in the pool..
This year I got the Beck's Diet Solution and lost 50 lbs between the end of Jan and mid May. Then I celebrated in the worst way by having some of my addictive foods and I haven't been abstinate from them since then. Yeah, I' a food addict and I've known that for only about 30 years. I'm addicted to refined white flour, sugar, and most salty snacks and ice cream. I also have Kay Sheppard's book, Food Addiction--The Body Knows. Yeah, I know I'm a food addict and I also know that I can break this addiction if I can only be free from it for a few days--that's how long it takes to get out of my system. I thought I gained weight over the summer but found that I actually lost a couple pounds. I'm now within 4 lbs of my lowest weight since my original RNY.
I guess I'll get back with the program when I really need to. I may have some psychological need for either the food or the weight. I'm certainly in no place to self-analyze. And, I'm not about to start talk therapy until we start having an income other than my pension and my wife's unemployment. Heck, what's the motivation when I'm still losing weight? I do see my primary and my shrink on a regular basis.
Most Active
Recent Topics
