15 years later

Anyone in this community 15 or more years post op? What has been your experience?

11 Years here, and glad I did it and would do it again. Other than problems with hair loss, I have never had any big issues.

That is great! Have you been able to keep the weight off?

Yes, every single lb. Thank goodness.

Thanks for posting. I needed to hear that someone is doing great.  

Hi tscott! What kind of original surgery did you have and what kind of revision? How has it worked out?

All Best,

Layla

Welllll, I had the ryn gastric bypass in 2001. I had a revision on 2011. The original surgery worked fine, I just did not work with it. I lost 149lbs, but in 7 years I have gain almost all of it back. Pretty defeated and looking to get back on track.

Awww, I am sorry. The revision you had in 2011 got you results? Was it a true revision or just one of those endoscopy suturing/stapling etc. to tighten the stoma? If it was one of those stoma tightening surgeries, you can always get a true revision. You may want to consider a duodenal switch.

Do not feel defeated. "dust yourself off and try again"!

I had a crap band and revised to a sleeve. I've not lost a lot with my sleeve but I am certainly not where I started with my band. I am not thin but I guess I kinda feel okay with me. I can choose to do the things to lose my excess weight. We have options! It takes dedication and disciple to change. We have to want it and do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.

Take good care

Thank you so much for the encouragement!  I have to get over food being a source of comfort.  Emotional eating had a very strong hold on me.  

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track.  Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me. 

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 bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains 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?, 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, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back.  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