Help deciding on a revision?

Hi all,

I was hoping I could get some advice. I had the MGB done about 4 years, and did really great in terms of weight loss. However now I deal with many digestive issues on a daily. Bloating everyday (the worst), gas, and loud digestive noises .  I had zero problems pre-surgery and these problems have really affected my quality of life. I am young and do not want to live like this forever. I eat really healthy, and have tried altering my diet (with the help of my doctors) for the last 3 years, and I believe this problem can not be fixed without surgery. 

What would you do in my situation? I could shorten my bypass ( I had somewhat of a longer bypass than others) or I was also looking into a VSG revision. I would obviously discuss this extensively with my surgeon but I would love to hear about your experiences after their WLS in regards to bloating and gas and loud gurgles. No surgeon can truly tell me how I am going to feel after surgery unless they have had it themselves so I would appreciate your replies so much! Thank you.

 

I knew a local woman who had an emergency revision from a MGB to a VSG about 5.5 years ago.  Her recovery was very rough at first, but she slowly got better.  Last I heard, she had gone from 88# at the time of the revision to the 110s and was doing very well!

Many WL surgeons are not familiar with the MGB, so you would need to obtain the surgery reports from the hospital in order for the revision surgeon to understand the original operation and take down the MGB before revising to another WLS of your choice.

Best of luck!

Yes I believe I read some of her old posts! Wish she was still active on these boards!

But yes your very right not many surgeons are familiar with the MGB, I would probably go back to my original surgeon anyways though!

Thanks Vicki!

I did find when researching WLS that the MGB did cause issues and that the RNY was developed to fix them.  Most surgeons don't do them for that reason.  You might want to look at another surgeon, one at a COE.  IF they do the major surgeries they should be able to figure out what is best for you.

Good luck with which ever surgery you get.

I had similar issues after my first surgery and like you, my quality of life sucked.  I had also regained most of the weight I lost but that was secondary to how terrible I felt.  I begged for a reversal.  I didn't care about losing weight or even gaining, I just wanted my life back.  My surgeon, who is the same surgeon that did the other person's revision, told me I couldn't be reversed but I could be revised so I wouldn't malabsorb so much.  My common channel was doubled, from 100 cc to 200 cc.  I was told not to expect to lose weight but that was fine.  I just wanted the symptoms to get better.  I lived with the gas, bloating, diarrhea and frequent accidents, not to mention the horrendous smell and I was afraid to leave the house or go out with people.  

Since my revision my life has been so much better.  The intestinal issues have been resolved.  Now I fight constipation.  I rarely have gas and when I do it smells like it used to, not like something created to battle Satan.  BUT I also overhauled my eating as well.  I cut out all sugar and gluten and I am sure that has a lot to do with my issues being resolved as well.  Before my revision it didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat, I still had the problems but they were worse with sugar and refined carbs.  Since I still have altered guts I don't want to take the risk of those problems again so it's a small price to pay.

Having a revision was the best decision for me.  Only you can decide if it is a good idea for you but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if need be.