I'm approved but not sure what to do!

Short story.....I had the lapband Oct 2009 and I am happy to report that lost 47lbs.  However that is not what I had surgery for.  I expected to lose alot more.  Don't get me wrong I am proud of every pound I lost because I will tell you I have had to fight for every pound...I've exercised like I never have before, I have learned to eat healthy and I have learned there is no easy way to do this and that possibly having the lapband has taught me that its even harder to do WITH help of the band as I haven't been as successful with it as others.  Of course I feel like I am a failure and it scares me.  I am not like the typical bander that I know, they lost over 90+ lbs effortlessly.  NOT ME!  I am 16month outs and am already yo-yoing with the 47lbs that I did manage to lose.  Fills are not an option...I am at my limit...if I get anymore I cannot even swallow my own spit and if I have any taken out I can eat a Whopper.  If I have to hear...just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD again I am going to lose my mind.  I remind myself often that if I had the willpower to do this on my own I would not have needed the band.  With that said, I have seen a doctor about a revision. I am approved for the RNY.  But I am kinda scared because I only have 40lbs left that I want to lose and I am afraid that I will lose MORE then that and not look healthy.  Has anyone had this fear?  Is it even a valid fear?  I also ask myself what makes the RNY any different?  If I failed at the Lapband why would I succeed with this?    BTW...I am 5'4 and I weigh 199.5. 

i am also a person that only lost 60 pounds on the lapband. i also was schedule to take out the bad and do the bypass.  a week before my surgery the insurance doesnt want to pay for it... they denied me twice. i am mad as hell. the doctor said that he will call the insurance company and tell them that i need the surgery do to complications with the band and my asophycus... i call the office every week and find out on the results of the call to the insurance company  first was the doctor was out sick for two weeks.  i called again yesterday and now the excuse is that the doctor is always in surgery.. i understand that he is a top doctor and that he is very busy but i am one of his patients and they should understand my part...  im very disapointed in the doctor as of this point he is an amazing physician......ive gained all my weight back,,,,

I had RNY in 2005, lost all my excess weight, then gained it all back.

Now I'm looking into the DS and it looks promising to me, thought it isn't something you mess around with nutritionally. Dealing with nutrition is something I'm already doing anyway with my RNY. I figure, what's the difference?

I can't say what your experience will be like, but I do know that it's common for RNYers to regain some weight two years out. Apparently your body gets used to very little calories and gets better at storing those calories as fat.

From what I've learned about DS there is a lot of malabsorption that goes on, which means more weight loss and longer maintainance of the weight loss. There is also some hormonal things that happen that enable people to have stable insulin levels. Many diabetics are cured with this surgery.

I don't have diabetes, but I've always suffered from hypoglycemia and I've got some insulin resistance going on as well. One of the biggest issues I'm having with my RNY, aside from the fact that I'm morbidly obese again, is reactive hypoglycemia. I eat something that makes my blood sugar spike because everything you eat enters the intestines very rapidly. So my glucose spikes, my body pumps out extra insulin to deal with it, too much glucose is removed, and my blood sugar crashes.

And I mean CRASHES.

It's scary. I get suddenly weak, I shake violently, my vision goes funky and sometimes I get close to passing out, I sweat...it's awful. And scary. I don't know what foods trigger this in me. It's sort of random. And it's something that can happen hours after you've eaten.

With the DS, you keep the valve in your stomach that lets the food enter the intestines gradually, and you don't get those blood sugar spikes and crashes. The form of dumping the DSers get is gas and loose stools. But that can be controlled pretty easily from what I've learned.

Your decision is your decision, but I would study the other options first before I make a final choice if I were you.

Best of luck,

Lynda

I would also advise reading about the other surgeries available, tho ins. doesn't always cover the sleeve or DS. Myself if I were to revise, which I hope someday I can, I'd personlly go for the sleeve since it doesn't malabsorb but works the way the band is SUPPOSED to. Even if you go with the RNY you can always up your calories to gain if you should lose too much. Wouldn't it be awful to HAVE to eat a little ice cream daily to maintain weight. Best of luck to you whatever your decision.

Me too! Same story as yours. Lapband for 7 yrs. lost 100 lbs. with loads of pain and vomiting, revised to 2nd band due to slip 2.5 yrs ago, I have regained 50 lbs. and I'm sick and tired of chasing a good fill with my band. I'm either wide open or in pain and vomiting. I've made 50 trips to my fill doctor, 3 hrs. away! My dr. is applying to have me revised to the sleeve.

I wouldn't worry about losing too much honestly....from what I've seen and read there are loads of rny patients who have regained 50 lbs. or more with no problem, my sister is one of them.

I think I"m going with the sleeve due to the malabsorbancy issues.

You can email me if you like and we can talk.