New to OH - 53 y.o. Going for Revision

Hello All!

I have been reading here for the past week and what a wonderful community you have!  I'd like to join, if I may.

I have a tentative surgery date for October 8, 2009 for a revision from VBG to RNY.  My original surgery was done in 1992 and was a huge success until I started gaining.  Not sure exactly went wrong, but for the past six years I have gradually added pounds until I'm now at 299 and my health has taken a nose-dive (kideneys failing from diabetes.)  I was pretty much told to lose weight or I might not see another birthday.  Of course the depression and horrible quality of life I'm experiencing right now makes me dread starting over, but I do want to keep living.  Your stories have really boosted my attitude about this and I do thank you so much for sharing.

I have to wait until my Dr. is actually inside to find out if I can have the revision because I had a hernia repair with some kind of mesh that is known to cause problems.  It seems the intestines grow through and around the mesh and so it's impossible to separate them.  Once inside, the doctor can tell exactly what the mesh was attached to, so there is hope.  The second alternative would be to just re-do the VBG by reducing the pouch and replacing/tightening the band.  I think that would also work for me because I'm much more aware of my eating habits now.  I think in the past, I just kept pushing until my pouch expanded and I learned to "eat around" my VBG.  I'd rather have the RNY, but a tune-up on my VBG would be better than nothing at all.  "Nothing at all" might be my only option if the scarring is very bad around the liver, but my health is so crummy right now that I'm willing to risk a lot.

I'm so interested in reading about all of your stories and experiences - complications, setbacks, etc.  It seems that most of you have had very good results and that does make this a little less frightening.  Are any of you over-fifty?  Co-morbidities?  Were any of you apprehensive about the revision?  I'd also like to have the consensus of what is the best protein drink available - seems there are many opinions.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading more of your posts.  What a great way to pass these weeks until my surgery!

Love to all,
Mary

I can't advise you much about revisions, but I can tell you about protein.  Get a bunch of samples of different protein drinks so you can taste them before you spend a lot on a big tub of something you might not even like.  If you have RNY, your tastes might change after surgery, so if you try a drink before surgery, that won't tell you whether or not you'll like it post-op.

You can get samples of lots of different protein drinks at www.vitalady.com.  You can also get some samples at www.unjury .com and www.chikenutrition.com.

Kelly

 Hi Mary and welcome...nice to have you here.

I am not sure of the possible reasons for failures of a VBG as I have had the RNY.  Hopefully some VBG folks will pop in and shed some light on the possibilities.

As far as protein drinks go, I like Syntha-6, pro complex and max protein (GNC).  They mix well and the taste is pretty good.  If you google "the world according to eggface", she has done some comparisons and listed some recipes for protein drinks and such that are pretty good.

Good luck on your new journey.

HI Mary
Good luck on your upcoming surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery.  I am also 53 years old.  I had a lapband 9 years (actually 2) and 3 weeks ago I finally had my revision taking out the lapband and converting to an RNY.  I am doing fine; the surgeons did it laparascopically and I am back at work since the middle of last week. 

as far as protein shakes go, i tried alot and like Unjury Vanilla & Chocolate the best.

Feel free to ask any questions. 
all the best,
maryjo

(Edited because I changed my username from Lawzilla to Mary_in_SA.  Sorry, my bad.)

Thank you Kelly, MaryJo and Mew!!!

How nice of you to respond - I feel welcome here already!

I am glad you've shared your favorite protein shakes - I will be ordering samples as you've suggested and visiting GNC, too.  Thanks for the tip about things tasting different post op.  I had never thought of that.

Back in the day...when I had my VBG...there really were no guidelines for eating.  I was told that I could eat whatever I could tolerate.  I remember the first six months I couldn't eat solid food, but I drank enough Dr. Pepper with milk to float a battleship!  I didn't lose much that first six months and I have no idea what my nutrition profile looked like, but I could tolerate a lot of what I euphamistically called a "Dr. Pepper Float."

Now I'm happy to see that there are very strict dietary guidelines along with supplements, but the very BIGGEST improvement in the past 17 years has got to be the online support!  Obviously, since PCs were very new in 1992,  we didn't have chat groups or bulletin boards.  I only remember one "support group" meeting and it was mostly a bit*h session by patients who were already gaining their weight back.  Not a lot to boost confidence there.

This website and the members who share so generously, give me a lot of confidence that I will always have someone to "talk to" or to ask questions of.  Thank you all for making this available to those who are coming behind you.  I'm looking forward to becoming more edcated in the time I have left before my revision surgery.

Thanks again and look forward to reading you here,
Mary

Mary,  my taste did change after surgery.  I was surprised.  Nothing really tasted good.  I am one month out and the shakes that I liked before surgery are starting to taste good again.  I'm so glad because I spent a lot of money on the big tubs.  I think it is wise to buy samples and see what is good after surgery.  I did like unjury before surgery, but I'm not crazy about that brand anymore.  I do want to try the unflavored unjury so I can add it to other stuff.  I have a hard time getting my protein in.  It is getting much better though.

Mary:

I went from Gastroplasty (which is a VBG without the band) to RNY in 1979. I did very well with my RNY kept the weight off until 2004...But little by little began stretching the pouch and stoma due to my own foolish eating habits...

Anyway, have you considered having the RNY with Malabsorption or a "Distal RNY"....This is known to be effective for those of us who have had RNY and problems with a stretched stoma or pouch....That distal or Extended portion of the procedure helps maintenance as it increases malabsorption...Something to think about if you're going to RNY....after what I know now I would never even consider RNY without the shortened common channel or Distal portion of the surgery...

There is also DS if that is an option for you...Personally I would never have repaired my Gastroplasty to another VBG or Gastroplasty because there is nothing saying that the staples wouldn't come apart again...

Hope you find what your looking for...

Janie

Hi and welcome, I am 53 years old and i had a revision from the VBG to the DS on 1/29/09. At 7.5 months out i have lost 110 lbs.  My VBG never worked. All it did was make my life miserable. I never knew from day to day what was going to make me throw up. I had not eaten steak in 22 years until last week. I would advise you to do your research carefully. At our age any surgery really is a bigger deal. And  especially this one since it is a revision. My taste buds and sense of smell went completely psycho after surgery.  It was horrible. Water even had a taste like a monkey's aZZ.I then had a complication that involved another weeks hospital stay. Then i had a persistant case of thrush that further screwed up my taste buds. Don't buy large quantities of protein shakes. Get a lot of samples because you will waste money if your taste buds do change. i was a little scared during the last week b4 surgery. However i knew @ 354 lbs and gaining my life was going to be short if i didn't do something.  i was already on disability. After i found a  revision surgeon that medicare approved for payment i saw this as a second chance and a gift. So I swallowed hard and went for it. The recovery was grueling but looking back 110 lbs lighter i am glad i did it.
peace mz jojo
Finally starting to  my DS