Revision Failed....HELP

Hi Everyone, Happy New Year....

I had revision band surgery July 08....due to slippage. I have not lost one single pound. I am stuck at 205-209 from 260 pounds. I had my first surgery April 07. What the heck is going on here. I know that I am not doing what I did before....that is a given. I have this band filled to 9.75 and I feel minimally restriction. I know that I am eating around the band. But truth be told I am so sick and tired of dieting. I have been fat since I was 11 and I am 53 years old now. I want a magic bullet, I want someone to wave their magic wand and make me skinny. OK so it's magical thinking....but I want that.

When Oprah talked about her weight gain.....and her frustrations....I understood how she feels....with all her work on herself, physical, spiritually, and her diet and exercise crew she still gained the weight back.

Then I was watching the Biggest Loser and a man on there had gastric bypass and gained all his weight back....400 pounds.

What the heck is going on here.....I want so badly to be thin, not to have to think all the time about food and what to eat what not to eat, to fit into normal regular off the rack clothes. I hate this.....it's like  a merry go round and I can't get off. Stuck in the twig ht zone.

I know I am feeling sorry for myself....well maybe I am. But I am so sick and tired of trying everything and anything to lose this weight. I am such a success in all areas of my life but this....and I am so darn mad at myself.

I know that its alot my fault....I will eat and do what I need to do for myself for a week and then comes the weekend and I blow it all on ice cream and cake. Boy am I really feeling sorry for myself.....LOL

I have to laugh at myself for what I just wrote above....whew...it felt good to vent and get that out. OK....now that I have vomited out all my pains and woes....its time to take a deep breath and move forward. Baby steps. I need to make an appointment with my surgeon and let them know how I feel and what I am doing. I know that they too are frustrated with me as well. I need to get to support groups and get involved with other like minded people. I have remained isolated and in my own head for some time now.....and I am not very good company when I am in this space.

Wow, you've read this far....you are a good friend to listen to me vent. I feel better....I know I have to put action into my plan....not be in my head so much. There is more to me than what I weight on the scale. I have to admit that I am a food addict and I need to take steps to address that. Feeling sorry for myself is only adding to my pity party.

Does anyone else feel this way......what have you done to move forward. I am open for all suggestions.....thanks a million times for letting me vent....

Hugs Susan

The same thing happened to me. I had my first band in 2006 and due to a leak, I had it replaced in 2007. With the first band I lost about 35 pounds. After the revision I did not lose one pound. My surgeon did advise me about the failure rate for a second band, but I thought I would beat the odds; I did not. I felt just like you did because even with the band filled to capacity, I NEVER felt any restriction.  In June of 2008 I had the second band removed and had RNY. To date, I have lost 73 pounds. I could not be happier with the revision.

My band slipped Easter Sunday last year, although it didn't show up on the test...
My doctor did not want to "fix" the band because he said that there was a high probability that it would slip again.  I had to have my band out in emergency surgery on 8/20 when I couldn't even keep water down.
At my doctor's recommendation and much research, I had a revision to RNY on 9/22.  It was best thing I could have done.  I lost back all of the weight I gained when my band was empty and have lost 37 pounds since the RNY.
This isn't your fault!  Maybe your surgery is failing you instead of you failing.  Maybe you should think about a revision to RNY or one of the other surgeries.  Good luck and let me know what you decide to do.

Hi,

I am currently seeking a revision from rny to the DS. The DS is providing some wonderful and long term weight loss results. You all might want to come over to the DS board and ask a few questions. The eating lifestyle seems to be much better overall and easier to live with. Many DS'ers say they chose the DS because they were tired of dieting. I am so impressed with what I see and maybe you might be too.

You also might want to check out these links for more info.

www.dsfacts.com

http://www.duodenalswitch.com/


Charmed

I was banded Sept 2006 and the first 14 months were great and I lost over 100 lbs.  Then by January 2008 I was entering band hell.   I was vomitting 12 times a week, some days not even my coffee would go down.  Some junk food would get through, some good food would get through, but nothing in order to eat healthy and stay on track.  Needless to say the scale went up 50 lbs by the time I went in for my revision after being unfilled. 

I had my RNY revision on 10/28 and have lost 55 pounds as of today and feel great.  I am almost 2 lbs below my lowest with my band and feeling so much better.  I have only gotten sick once since I came home from the hospital and that was when I tried to eat spaghetti.  Not a good choice.   Other than that I have no issues, even eating red meats (lean) have been good. 

I wish you all the best. 

Hi Susan,
I have band failure this past May 2008.  My doctor explained to me that there is a very high failure rate with a second band revision.  I'm looking to schedule my RNY anytime in the near future (waiting for insurance).

I completely understand your personal frustrations because that is what happened to me before I had slippage and the band was removed.  I am personally not convinced that the band as any more than a 50% success rate (lost weight).  After research I believe that the reason is due to metabolic failure.  Go to your doctor's office and have your metabolism rate check.  This will tell you right away if your bodies metabolism has adjusted to the small amount that you eat and your metabolism has slowed way down and now the probability of your continued weight loss is significantly less.

Hope I was helpful.  Best wishes.

 Hi Nancy,

This may explain why some revisioners loose slower or faster then others.....the metabolism slowing down makes sense and it helps to put a reason to it!  

Thanks for sharing!

K Hi there I am over here cause I am scared I may have to do the second stage of my wls.  So I have been peeking here and on the DS.  I have two quesrions... first what is a ERNY, I havent herd of this one.  Also how do they test your metabolism, and if it show its slowed what can they do?

Thanks Linda

 Hi Linda,

ERNY is Extended RNY.  This is where they give you more bypassed intestine for greater malabsorption.  The distal rny is usually a cc of 100 to 150 cm long and an Extend rny is usually from 100 to 50 cm long.  They shorten the common channel.  My CC is 75 cm.  The intestinal portion is much like the DS.  I also checked into the DS but with the higher complication risk involved with revising from a RNY to a DS I chose the ERNY.  If it had been my original wls I probably would have opted for the DS.  But since it is the shorter CC that attributes to much of the long term success I felt the ERNY was the right revision for me.

I am not sure how they test your metabolism.  I did not have mine checked prior to surgery.  I can tell you that the weight loss seems a bit slower then when I had my original RNY in 2001 but then again your memory has a way of playing tricks on you....  ;-)  It could also be that I did not have as much to loose this time around.  My doctor said I will have a very powerful tool and that my body will not be able to overcome the malabsorption part this time if I commit to staying away from simple carbs.  My 1st rny was very proximal.  Hardly any intestine was bypassed.  I am happy with my revision so far.  I feel much better, have more energy, some of my health issues have already been alleviated and I am now only 25 lbs from my goal.

I wish you much luck.  If you have any further questions feel free to pm me.

There is a machine (I'm not sure what it is called) but you literally blow through a tube, through your mouth, for 10 minutes.  Then a report is printed out and it shows you (and your doctor) if your metabolism rate is normal, fast, slow, etc.  You can sometimes get this same test done at a gym or weight loss program.

As far as "what they can do about it"?  I would think the answer would be to exercise and try and speed up your metabolism.  I'm not sure if there is anything that the doctor can do about it.  I think it just tells them what to expect.

Hope this helps.