Had rny in 08 and have gained back

I lost about 80 -90 then I have slowly gained back and now am at 230 again. What is your experiences with revision?

I had RNY in Dec. 2007 and lost 175 lbs, I've gained back 60-65 lbs.  I am scheduled to have a revision to a DS in a week.  I am excited and nervous at the same time.  I really wanted the DS the first time around but chickened out. 

You aren't alone with weight regain with the RNY.  It seems like the body adapts to the malabsorption or we get back into old habits again or stop the exercise and the weight comes back on. 

I will know more about experiences with revisions in a month or two.

I had Lap RNY in June 2003, and just had an open DS in March of 2015.  My initial loss was 125 in 9 months after RNY, keeping it off (for the most part) for about ten years.  Then I gained very rapidly in two years, bringing me back to 251, just 12 pounds shy of my highest weight/pre-RNY weight of 263. 

I was determined to have a revision, as the pain of carrying that much weight was causing me a lot of problems.  I was exhausted all the time, and I was in way too much pain to exercise (which is how I kept the weight off for so long!)

I found Dr. Keshishian, who, I hope you've discovered by now in your research, is one of the best revision surgeons.  

As far as my revision to DS, it's been very interesting.  And not in a sarcastic or bad way.  I had to relearn how to eat protein again, and eat small portions, since my pouch had totally blown up and I could eat a lot.  I can eat sweets again after my DS, including ice cream...which is very strange when you haven't eaten sweets for 12 years! 

At four months out, I'm happy with my 55 pound weight loss.  Its been slower than after RNY, but that's okay.  I'm feeling fantastic.  The pain in my feet (and knees, hips and back!) is almost completely gone, and that right there, makes it all worth it.  

My skin (batwings and thighs) are starting to look disgusting, which is a real bummer, but whatcha gonna do?  Plastics will more than likely be in my future, once I can forget about the pain I was in after my DS.  

Good luck. Keep reading the boards and feel free to ask more questions!!

I haven't had surgery yet - most likely my date will be in late Sept. for bypass. I had a lap band for a year back in 2010/2011 but had awful problems with it from the get-go, very little weight loss, and finally it slipped and was removed - and let me tell you, I was glad to get it out of me! I never wanted it to begin with but it's all the insurance I had at the time would cover. Fast forward to now, I have better insurance that will cover bypass and that's what I'm going for at this point.

I read your comments about your fast regain after 10 years of maintaining after bypass and I just wondered if you have any ideas about why the regain? I mean, did you suddenly start eating more, or the wrong foods, etc. that would account for the regain? Regain is the thing I am most worried about after the surgery so I am just curious if you know the root cause of what happened to you? Thanks in advance if you choose to reply!

Catherine

I stopped working out 2 hours per day.  After a traumatic life experience, my life was upside down, and in addition to not exercising, I did start eating badly.  

Thanks for the reply. These are things I need to know.

Here are some suggestions before you do a revision. Good Luck!

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery?  How many meetings, classes and such did we attend?  We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success.  And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods.  Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies and fruits.  

Journaling

Get back to journaling.  This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life.  Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating.  It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband.  It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food.  Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker

Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself.  Make them realistic and small.  Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. Important vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan)

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea?  I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass.  So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer.  I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what I kept moving.  If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lift weights. When I stopped, the weight came on.  So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV.  Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing