Conversion not revision?
Hello.
My doctor is in the process of getting me approved to have a conversion surgery. He says it will be sent to the insurance company as a conversion not a revision. I have never really looked into the RNY surgery because back when I had my original surgery I knew that was not the type I was getting so didn't bother to look into it. Now of course I want to learn as much as possible!
I keep reading on here how people can not expect to lose the amount of weight with a second surgery as they did with their first. I had lost all the weight I needed and wanted to with my original surgery but in the last couple years have gained every pound of it back! I desperately want to lose it again and will do everything within my power to I just need the help of having some restriction which I no longer have.
If anyone has any tips, advise or information they could share with me about what to expect and how to best deal with what I will be in store for I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you so much!
Hi and welcome! It's so great to see you researching your next option in your journey as it will help you along your way to being successful. May I ask what procedure you had done the first time? You list WLS but I am curious to what one. Most often people who have a revision/conversion surgery will lose about a maximum of 20% of their excess weight. I know of one person who actually lost about 45% after a revision but she had to work at it once she got to a certain point. That meant she had to really focus on her calories and stay active. While I don't have any experience with a revision/conversion I did want to share what information I knew about from my friend's experience. For the restriction part be sure to follow all your postop rules, consistently - don't drink 30 mins prior to or after a meal and never during a meal. You really need to focus on what wasn't followed during your first procedure so you can be sure you follow it now. Figure out what your triggers are and focus on eliminating those, if possible. For me, I cannot have popcorn or crackers around or I will eat a ton of either. So, I do not have them in my house. Some friends say I am a food nazi but I just know that I can't have anything that will tempt me around.
Thank you for replying. My first surgery was Gastric Plication (where they fold the stomach and sew it to make it smaller). It was in 2011 and very new surgery at the time I was told. I lost all the weight and kept it off for about 8 years. After about the second year though I would say my 'tool' got little to no credit, it was pretty much just me doing all the work. Normal from what I heard. But for the past 2 plus years I have not been doing my part for sure but since I have zero restrictions I am not able to do the work completely on my own anymore. It's just like before I had my original surgery! Is it possible to lose with out a revision? YES of course. But NONE of us were able to at that time or we would not be part of this group correct? I'm embarrassed and disappointed in myself to say the least. But I have NO doubt if given a second chance I will not fail. Thank you again for responding! Any and all support is appreciated and needed.
You can lose all of the regained weight without any surgery if you are willing to work at it hard enough. You can lose all of the regained weight with a surgery, if you are willing to do the hard work.
RNY will give a small pouch. How small it is will depend on your surgeon. Mine was a micro-pouch, about the size of a grape. Most surgeons make the original pouch about the size of a small egg. Over time the pouch grows to its adult size of eight to twelve ounces.
The original stomach is a bit smaller than a two liter bottle of soda. It can expand to hold up to about four liters, or roughly the size of a gallon of milk. I thought of my old stomach as a two liter bottle of soda and my micropouch as the cap on that bottle.
Most people who have their second weight loss surgery lose 20 pounds. RNY gives you malabsorption which means that the food you eat does not get absorbed by the body and does not cause weight gain. The malabsorption is temporary and is gone by year three.
If you take full advantage of the restriction and malabsorption, then you can learn habits that will keep the weight off after the body is back to being able to eat and absorb like before.
I had surgery in 2007. I lost all the weight and joined weigh****chers when it started to come back in year three. I have fallen off the wagon many times and regained many times. I do go back to WW and lose it again. I have been fighting with 20 pounds of regain for the last five years and it happened one pound a month for several years.
I attend WW meetings, track my food, exercise, and weigh myself every morning. By summer I should be within about six pounds of my goal weight. And that is with hard work, but the way weigh****chers works, no food if forbidden.
Surgery alone only works once in a lifetime. If you get your revision/conversion, pair it with a solid weight loss and exercise program.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
Thank you so much for the information! As I said I am just now learning about RNY and did not know about the malabsorption portion of it! One thing I did and do not understand is why it is said that surgery alone only works once in a lifetime? With my original surgery I felt I had to work for every pound I lost after my stomach healed. I am prepared for that to be the same in this case as well. I am just hoping for some feeling of restriction from my new pouch
Thank you so much for the information! As I said I am just now learning about RNY and did not know about the malabsorption portion of it! One thing I did and do not understand is why it is said that surgery alone only works once in a lifetime? With my original surgery I felt I had to work for every pound I lost after my stomach healed. I am prepared for that to be the same in this case as well. I am just hoping for some feeling of restriction from my new pouch
because the body is smart and over the first three years, which is how long it takes for the body to figure out what happened and to work to counteract the malabsorption, it gives one the time to lose the excess wt.
after the body figured out what happened snd how to work on fixing the malabsorption by growing new villi in the intestine it is too late to fool the body again.
it is true thst most ppl we see here after revision lose about 20 pounds, mostly fluid.
