RNY & Weight Regain

Hello Everyone, I had the mini-gastric bypass 7 1/2 years ago.  Unfortunately, in the third year I start regaining weight and had a hard time losing the weight.  I am having a revision to the RNY next month.  I am a little reluctant about this revision because I read the revision forum and many of the people seeking a revision had the RNY.  I would like to hear from people 4 years out and would like to know if they are experiencing weight gain or having a hard time keeping the weight off?  Emotionally, I cannot handle another failure.

Hi Darnell, I'm a month shy of 4 years.....but close enough, I'd say. Yes, I've regained some of my weight.  My surgery did not fail me..I just allowed bad habits to creep back in.  I have regained 40 of the 170 I lost.  I had gotten too thin and weak and purposely wanted to gain 10 lbs.....and allowed myself to continue eating too many carbs, discovered I tolerate sugar, et****il I've gotten where I'm at.  The good news is that I've stopped gaining and am back in control.  Rather than do a quick loss "time out" type program, I am going back to what I should have been doing all along....focusing on protein, cutting out bad snacking, stop eating too large or more frequent portions than I need , etc.  I am losing weight again..and it's not killing me.  I'm just trying to prove to myself that I can control this! Many people experience regain after RNY.  Some even regain all their weight to being MO again.  It's just a tool to help get the weight off, but we all have to make lifetime changes in order to keep the weight off.  RNY is not the ticket to being a skinny person who makes obese person choices and gets to be skinny...there's no such thing!   You make obese person choices, you end up obese, that's all there is to it!  (This is the little talk I've been giving myself to get turned around!)  It's just plain not possible to gain weight "for no reason", which some people insist has "happened" to them.  They are not taking responsibility or being honest with themselves.  There can be day to day fluxes due to water weight, but long term weight gain occurs due to too many calories being taken in vs. not enough being burned off...plain and simple. Now, even though I've gained some of my weight back, I do not consider myself a failure!   I am still 130 lbs. lighter than I used to be, and can still buy my clothes in the "regular stores".  In order to continue doing this, though, I am going to HAVE TO make adjustments to what I've been doing the 18 months so that I don't continue to gain.  Is it easy?  Nope.   But I woudln't say it's hard either.  Some things are difficult.....saying no to the cream puff a co-worker has placed in front of me, getting off the  couch to exercise when it's cold outside, etc.....but even those things are ALOT easier than living with all the aches, pains, ailments and heartaches of being the morbidly obese person I was 4 years ago. All I can say, is make sure you are ready to make right choices everyday for the rest of your life.  Notice I did not say "all the right choices".  We're human.  Thin people eat a piece of birthday cake, eat pizza, have an ice cream cone, and skip a work out....they just don't do it continuously to the point that they destroy their health.  We need to live like thin people! In the second year after RNY your body (usually) will be healed to the point that most people can tolerate refined sugars and fatty foods.  You'll be able to eat larger portions..although not like you used to....but you'll be able to eat frequently, so you could still consume alot in the course of a day.  You just have to be ready to choose to NOT do those things.   Good Luck.  Even though I struggle to make good choices sometimes (the stress monster gets me!), I still say RNY is the best choice I could have made for my health and my future! Kathy 313/140/183....plan to be in the 160's again & maintain! highest/lowest/today

I couldn'r have said it any better. Thanks, Kathy. You took the words right out of my mouth. It's the choices we make. I haven't made my personal goal yet. But I have lost 150 & thats what I focus on. I was beginning to slip & came back to this sight & have gotton so much advise & support that I feel back in control again. And accountable for my choices.We are the choices that we make. There isn't a support group that I can attend so you guys here are my support. I just love you all.   Brenda

Very well said!

Kathy, what a wonderful post.  You said it the best. good luck and thanks for the motavation. Koukla

Kathy, That was wonderfully said!  I am 5 years PO and lost 217lbs, I have gained 30 back in the past 2 years (I also thought I had gotten too thin and wanted to gain just a little), those darned old habits have a way of sneaking back in when you're not paying attention.  I am also trying to loose the pounds I have gained and have started eating the "way I'm supposed to" again, it has helped and I am once again on the loosers bench.  Thanks again!

I will be 4 years out one Nov 11. so again close enough.  My story is much like the others. I got down to 114 and my doctors YELLED at me for getting TO THIN!!!!!!   So I was told to eat more and let some of the 'bad foods' back in.  Well BAD HABITS came back also.   I'm a BIG time STRESS eater and I let food control me and my stress BUT I'm FINALLY getting a handle on things and gettine back on track.   STOP EATING WHEN I FEEL FULL don't take another bite then another don't push my pouch.   PUSH the plate away put the leftovers in the fridge.   NO mindless snacking. Just because the kids want/need a snack after school doesn't mean I DO.  This is a TOOL you have to make changes for life.  I'm still a work in progress not a failure.  Good Luck,  Robin

I am also 4+ years out and have gained back 36 pounds of the 116 I lost.  I am feeling such a failure.  I remember telling myself that I would never get this way again yet I see a picture of myself and I am just sick.  My emotional state is in such termoil that I feel like I am going to crash at the bottom soon.  In June of last year I had a revision because of lack of loss and they needed to go in and fix something.  Since then I have gained 23 of the 36 I have gained back.  I am so lost I do not know how to get back to the mind I had when I had my surgery. Any Advice??

All  weight loss surgeries end up being a beginning when it comes to the long term. What happens after you lose is up to you. The more intestines bypassed, the better for you, but even that won't save you from obesity. You have to learn new habits that will last you your lifetime or you will fall back into old habits.  For myself, I weigh constantly, with an eye to making sure I never get more than 2 pounds up. My thinking is that if I address 2 pounds, I won't have to deal with 25 or 50. I'm only 20 months out, but my mother is 31 years out. She lost 140 pounds and regained 16 over the 31 years. She's healthy and is now 71 years old. She feels the regain is mostly what any againg woman may gain and has been stable weight for several years. She still eats small portions, she never drinks with her meals and she avoids sugary products for the most part. I can only hope to do as well.

Hi    First, I think you should step back and realize you've hit the nail on the head when you stated: "Emotionally,  I cannot handle another failure".    It's ALL about emotions, and right now you're beating yourself up so badly for regaining.  Take a breath, then another, and get out and move; be it walking or whatever.  Ask yourself  if your current food habits are any different than  the old and dangerous food habits before  your original surgery.        Having a revision isn't the key.  Your frame of mind emotionally is.  If you lack the motivation to make the right choices, then the surgery  won't be any help.   Another operation isn't going to change what's in your head, and what rules your bad eating habits.  Do you exercise?  You don't need to answer  to me or anyone else.  Just yourself.  Really  examine if you are in denial about what you really do; food choices and exercise/movement choices.  Seek out a counselor if you can.  Our hearts rule our minds and then our hands to our mouths...    Look inward, not at the mirror.    Good Luck - more importantly, Good Health.