Positive revision experiences
Please post your positive revision experiences, so that when others come to the board, we can point them to the thread.
Mine so far: Had RNY in 2003, and had an extra band put in on the stoma. It caused constant reflux, vomiting, etc. On top of that I never got to goal even though I was extremely compliant.
I lobbied for a revision and went to Dr. Greenbaum in So. Jersey for a DS. At 3.5 months I've lost 43% of the excess weight, I'm doing well, and I am no longer throwing up. The esophageal erosion can finally heal! I'm feeling fantastic now.
So come on out and show off your success!
Mine so far: Had RNY in 2003, and had an extra band put in on the stoma. It caused constant reflux, vomiting, etc. On top of that I never got to goal even though I was extremely compliant.
I lobbied for a revision and went to Dr. Greenbaum in So. Jersey for a DS. At 3.5 months I've lost 43% of the excess weight, I'm doing well, and I am no longer throwing up. The esophageal erosion can finally heal! I'm feeling fantastic now.
So come on out and show off your success!
Ms. Cal Culator
on 4/6/10 1:05 am - Tuvalu
on 4/6/10 1:05 am - Tuvalu
Got the Diet With A Choke Chain--Lap Band--in 2002...before there was much research. Did well the first year and they started with esophageal problems. Sometimes I could eat something dense like chicken, other times I'd barf up water. It kept getting worse. I started living off of protein drinks and Jamba Juice and soups...cream soups because they were more filling, if they stayed down. I regained all my weight AND still couldn't tell when a sip of water was going to stay down. My BMI never got lower than about 42. (I THOUGHT it was lower but I'm shorter than I used to be.) Finally, I was revised to the DS.
I got down to a BMI of 31. That is just under what the Individualized Formula for Estimated Weight Loss says I should have reached.
www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4111632/Individualized-formula-for-estimated-weight-loss/#33530656
Then, of course, we add in the time on steroids and a few months on the couch recovering from various surgeries and not moving at all and I'm up to a 34 again. (It's been a ROUGH year since last June!) I am not happy about that, but this is the part I can work on.
IN ANY EVENT...a bmi of 34 is better than a BMI of 42 or 52. But I'm not stopping there...I have too many cute things to wear at the lower weight!
I got down to a BMI of 31. That is just under what the Individualized Formula for Estimated Weight Loss says I should have reached.
www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4111632/Individualized-formula-for-estimated-weight-loss/#33530656
Then, of course, we add in the time on steroids and a few months on the couch recovering from various surgeries and not moving at all and I'm up to a 34 again. (It's been a ROUGH year since last June!) I am not happy about that, but this is the part I can work on.
IN ANY EVENT...a bmi of 34 is better than a BMI of 42 or 52. But I'm not stopping there...I have too many cute things to wear at the lower weight!
Keep on moving! You know, I had the same problem keeping things donw, and I gained weight living off the same type of stuff. My BMI is 31.5 right now, and I, too, am looking forward to going lower.
Hopefully the steroids will cycle out of your system completely and you'll be back on the losing streak.
Hopefully the steroids will cycle out of your system completely and you'll be back on the losing streak.
Thank you for starting this stream. I am not really getting many answers to my questions about revisions to a RNY. I hope to find additional information posted here at a later date.
I had an RNY and my opening has stretched. When I research revisions, I see a lot of bands that have been revised to RNY, but I am looking for information about where to go from RNY to something else. Or really, I'd like to keep the RNY but have it repaired.
I have read that the ROSE or Stomaphyx have not really been successful and insurance does not cover those procedures.
My insurance does not cover DS but someone suggested that there is a way to get it covered anyway if you get approved for a RNY revision. I will have to check into that, but I am not sure whether a DS is too drastic as a revision. Do you then end up with a hybrid RNY and a DS ? Or is it completely converted to a DS ?
Questions, questions, so many questions and so few answers : >
Thanks again to all who contribute to this thread ! I look forward to reading your posts.
I had an RNY and my opening has stretched. When I research revisions, I see a lot of bands that have been revised to RNY, but I am looking for information about where to go from RNY to something else. Or really, I'd like to keep the RNY but have it repaired.
I have read that the ROSE or Stomaphyx have not really been successful and insurance does not cover those procedures.
My insurance does not cover DS but someone suggested that there is a way to get it covered anyway if you get approved for a RNY revision. I will have to check into that, but I am not sure whether a DS is too drastic as a revision. Do you then end up with a hybrid RNY and a DS ? Or is it completely converted to a DS ?
Questions, questions, so many questions and so few answers : >
Thanks again to all who contribute to this thread ! I look forward to reading your posts.
StacysMom
on 4/8/10 6:14 am, edited 4/8/10 9:31 am
on 4/8/10 6:14 am, edited 4/8/10 9:31 am
The revision from RNY to DS is actually a "conversion" to an entirely new type of surgery. It has more of a metabolic effect to keep the weight off and works differently than the RNY. There are only a handful of surgeons around the world who have the skill to do this conversion, which involves taking down the pouch of the RNY, converting it back into a working stomach again (with your pyloric valve) and then cutting away the greater curvature of it to construct the "sleeve" stomach of the DS, which will allow you to absorb different nutrients than with the pouch. Another added benefit is that the greater curvature of the stomach is where the majority of "grehlin" (the hunger hormone) is produced - and this is an added benefit that you did not have with the RNY.
The "hybrid" surgery of which you speak is called the "ERNY" (Extended RNY) which is basically a more drastic version of the RNY which you already have. The surgeon traditionally leaves the pouch in its stretched-out shape (because even when they go in and tighten it, it always stretches out again), and shortens the "common channel" - where the food meets the digestive juices, which adds more malabsorption - hence the comparison to the DS.
The success of the DS over the long term is well documented (and is the top of all the various weight loss surgery types). The ERNY has had mixed results, which appear to depend on how long the common channel is made and the person's individual metabolism and eating issues. Usually the shorter the common channel, the more successful - but, the more vitamin, mineral and protein deficiencies the person has resulting from it. And, there are differences between the DS and the ERNY in which supplements the person must take to prevent these deficiencies (because of the pouch vs. the sleeve and where the intestines are rerouted in the different surgeries).
The ERNY seems to be the most successful for those needing to lose around 50 lbs or so (give or take), with a common channel left at 100-200 cm long. I've read where one person reported an 80 lb loss, but she also reported that when the surgeon opened her up, he found that she was barely bypassed to begin with, so her result was similar to that of a "virgin" RNY.
I posted a several studies out of bariatric journals which compare the successes and failures of the different types of revisions about a year or so ago. Perhaps you can find them on this board if you look under my previous posts. I think you would click on "latest posts" and then go back through the pages until you find the ones from late 2008 or early 2009.
Best of luck in your research. Be sure and do your own research and don't go by what some doctor or other patient tells you. Doctors many times have a hidden agenda which is $$$ and not patient based. And, what works for one person may not work for you. Get your answers in advance and not after you've had your surgery. I've seen too many people come one here and run to get the surgery that others (doctors, patients, shills) are touting ... before they see the results - and then two years later, I've seen the same exact people coming BACK onto the revisions board looking to get cut open yet again for a "better" cure when the first one didn't work! Read and watch before making any decisions.
The "hybrid" surgery of which you speak is called the "ERNY" (Extended RNY) which is basically a more drastic version of the RNY which you already have. The surgeon traditionally leaves the pouch in its stretched-out shape (because even when they go in and tighten it, it always stretches out again), and shortens the "common channel" - where the food meets the digestive juices, which adds more malabsorption - hence the comparison to the DS.
The success of the DS over the long term is well documented (and is the top of all the various weight loss surgery types). The ERNY has had mixed results, which appear to depend on how long the common channel is made and the person's individual metabolism and eating issues. Usually the shorter the common channel, the more successful - but, the more vitamin, mineral and protein deficiencies the person has resulting from it. And, there are differences between the DS and the ERNY in which supplements the person must take to prevent these deficiencies (because of the pouch vs. the sleeve and where the intestines are rerouted in the different surgeries).
The ERNY seems to be the most successful for those needing to lose around 50 lbs or so (give or take), with a common channel left at 100-200 cm long. I've read where one person reported an 80 lb loss, but she also reported that when the surgeon opened her up, he found that she was barely bypassed to begin with, so her result was similar to that of a "virgin" RNY.
I posted a several studies out of bariatric journals which compare the successes and failures of the different types of revisions about a year or so ago. Perhaps you can find them on this board if you look under my previous posts. I think you would click on "latest posts" and then go back through the pages until you find the ones from late 2008 or early 2009.
Best of luck in your research. Be sure and do your own research and don't go by what some doctor or other patient tells you. Doctors many times have a hidden agenda which is $$$ and not patient based. And, what works for one person may not work for you. Get your answers in advance and not after you've had your surgery. I've seen too many people come one here and run to get the surgery that others (doctors, patients, shills) are touting ... before they see the results - and then two years later, I've seen the same exact people coming BACK onto the revisions board looking to get cut open yet again for a "better" cure when the first one didn't work! Read and watch before making any decisions.
My RNY to DS revision was a complete take-down and conversion. It's amazing how much more "normal" I feel now. I spent 6.5 years regurgitating all my food, and damaged the esophagus.
Consult with an experienced RNY to DS revision surgeon, and they can tell you exactly what you will have done. I'm glad I did it, I never thought it would be available to me. When I first consulted with Dr. Greenbaum I was interested in just removing the extra ring on the stoma, but he explained the entire revision and showed me that it would work. He was right, and I'm a happy broad.
Consult with an experienced RNY to DS revision surgeon, and they can tell you exactly what you will have done. I'm glad I did it, I never thought it would be available to me. When I first consulted with Dr. Greenbaum I was interested in just removing the extra ring on the stoma, but he explained the entire revision and showed me that it would work. He was right, and I'm a happy broad.
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