Is it possible to reclaim my sleeve???

Hey all..

I have been seriously considering a revision for a while now. I am finally going to have health insurance in March and it does cover WLS and revision surgery. However, as I go back and forth with the pros and cons of doing this...I can't help but having a nagging little voice in the back of my head say "I really don't want to go through this again."

And by "this", I mean-surgery, the phases of eating, vomiting, taking time off for the whole thing....just the whole thing in a nutshell.

Well, we all know I need some therapy for my head. Thankfully, with the insurance I will be getting that as well.  But I have a close friend who shed 125 lbs in just over a year through diet and exercise and she is willing to be my guru. We're about the same height and bone structure. She went from a size 24WP to a size 6 petite. I am truly inspired by her accomplishment and I find myself really wanting to do it the "old fashioned way" too so to speak. I can actually visualize myself at her size and weight---and I like that image.

Her plan is really simple. 1800 calorie limit, protein first and low fat. LOTS of water and workout at least 3 times a week. I am joining Planet Fitness this week and I have found a water aerobics class locally. I took one before and it kicked my arse w/o hurting my joints. win win!

I am now back to 300 lbs. Very distressing emotionally and physically as I hurt all the time again-and this is on top of my psoriatic arthritis pain!!

So, my question is basically, can I get back my restriction after 4 plus years out and get to my goal? Not so much can I personally do it....but do you think it's possible in general?

I am going to schedule an appointment with the bariatric center to hopefully be scoped or the barium swallow thingee--I need to know what is going on inside of me physically. Regardless of my desire to diet and exercise, I must have all the information.

Sorry if I am rambling on, but I am so confused. I know what I want...but not how or what is the best option to get there.

Any and all feedback is so appreciated.

Thanks!
Jessica

 Hi Jessica

I think you are wise to first "find out whats going on in there".  Until you do and see if the sleeve has stretched, you really can't know what options are there for you.  

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.  I think rededicating yourself to diet and exercise is important whether you revise or not.  Good luck!

 vomiting? did/do you do that a lot?  if so, on purpose or what?  I don't understand  - I never vomited.

I used to in the beginning. If I ate something that didn't agree with me, or took that infamous one bite too many--everything would come back up.

I hate to throw up, so it has rarely ever been on purpose. The last time I ever did that was about 2 years ago. I had eaten a breaded pork chop and it really hurt about 1/2 hour after eating it. I tried to wait out the pain, but I ended up forcing myself to throw it up and got instant relief.

That kind of nausea/pain brought back memories of gallbladder attacks. I had that out in 2003, but I have struggled with phantom attacks ever since. Though not as often or severe.

I just don't want to go back to that if I don't have to.

I don't have any real solid answers as I'm still pre-op but it sounds like your headed the right direction... testing ur current sleeve I would think would be most important, to know exactly where ur starting out... and then ofcourse the drs input will be a big factor... and a friend to be ur GURU sounds like an excellent idea!!! sounds like ur headed down the right path, even tho u don't know what turns lie ahead!

Good Luck and keep us posted!!! :-)

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I am curious to find out what my tummy looks like now. I can definitely eat more that I want to at a time. I am hungry often (though, still struggling with real v head hunger) and I have gotten into some bad habits. (grazing, diet pop, driving through)

I feel like its possible to get back on track, but worried that I have messed up my tool with all the above bad habits.

One thing I have always been able to count on is the support here-and I thank everyone here for that!

Obviously, I can't speak to what restriction is like after four years.

One thing I have realized about the sleeve (through a bout of off-plan eating at Christmas) is that while the sleeve is an awesome tool, there are aspects of the diet that have also contributed a great deal to my success.

De-toxing from the processed carbs and diet soda were instrumental for me - for me, it is at least 50% of eliminating hunger.  I know this because when I added the crappy carbs back in, I got hungry again and wanted to eat all the time.

So that is a positive and a negative.  I would not have initially stuck with that protein drinks only diet if I didn't have the sleeve - but it also means that if you can make the right changes to your diet, you'll probably see a positive effect.  It is really not just the sleeve that makes the difference in being hungry and wanting to eat.

I guess that in considering a revision, I'd look really hard at where my areas of non-compliance were, what things tripped me up, and what has changed to make things go differently for me this time around.  If your exam shows that your sleeve has not changed too much, then doing the mental work is the most important thing for you.

And maybe look at a DS rather than just a sleeve re-do?  Keeping in mind that it is also possible to eat around that surgery, especially if carbs are your weakness...

  Rather than starting with invasive tests, why not go back to basics first and see what happens.
Set up an account at Myfitnesspal dot com and commit to tracking everything you eat.

Kick out the carbs, get in your protein, vitamins, fluids and exercise and see what happens.  Let your sleeve do its job.  Give it time and don't expect miracles.  You can do this and I bet your sleeve still works if you let it.

Get some help with the head hunger and the behaviors that had you put the weight back on.  You're worth it.

Good luck
 

Hello,

As I am doing pre opt. I strongly suggest you follow your instincts, gut intuition, cause it'll never fail you. Whatever you decide to do, you already know you'll get all the support you will ever need. Good luck!! :-)

Carbs make you hungery.  So, go back to basics, protein, will keep you filled up.  I had surgery 17 months ago.  i have gained 16 lbs, because of eating sugar and carbs.  I am back on protein, veggies, zero water, water, and little carbs.  Last time, I had a 8 lb gain, I lost it quick with this way of eating.  try it.