Question:
Please help I am off track..

I had surgery Feb 2003. I was 301 lbs and now weight 226 lbs. I did get down to 211 lbs. I am so offtrack. I want to lose more with all my heart but I just can't do the right things. I am able to eat everything with no side effect (most of the time). I still eat too fast. Can the doctor do any other kind of surgery to help me ? (other than a brain transplant) I welcome all suggestions.    — Sharon V. (posted on May 6, 2005)

May 6, 2005
Sharon, if you find that surgery let me know. I've gained 20 lbs since November and I haven't changed the way I do things, I just keep gaining. I'm going to start South Beach before I am in a looney bin! Good luck.
   — Kath442

May 6, 2005
Some people have revisions done as you may have stretched your pouch due to overeating. You may want to talk to your doctor about that. There is a Yahoo group called "OSSG Off Track" that you may want to join. It's a group just for people like you that have gotten off track and need some support and advice on getting back on track. Just go to Yahoo groups and do a search for it. You can do it, just think about your health and think about how miserable you were when you were at 301 lbs. Do you want to be back there again?? Just keep that in mind. Think about how much more energy you have now as when you were at 301 lbs. Do you want to give that up?? Maybe write down some pros and cons to gaining your weight back and put them on the refrigerator so you see them all the time. Lynn H.
   — lharp66

May 6, 2005
Being "off track" is such a common problem after the first couple of years after surgery that there are a raft of Yahoo groups you could join. The one Lynn mentions is http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG_Off_track/ There's plenty of discussion along those lines at the "Grad OSSG" group, too: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG/ The feasibility of revisions is the focus of http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/WLSrevisionsupport and its predecessor, http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG-Revision As you can see from this list, you're not alone. Best of luck.
   — Kay B.

May 6, 2005
I am 11 yrs post op and went through a time of regain. My surgeon refused to do a revision and instead grilled me on daily living and food. Yep. old habits were back, grazing, eating the wrong foods etc. She showed me that since I had the rny, even if she did a longer bypass for a revision, chances are I would only lose another 15% of my excess wt. It was because the remaing intestine already adapted well to the surgery, which is why we don't keep on losing fast after the 1st year, for the most part the malabsorption is not there any more and our appetites do come back. She told me to follow the rules that were set out by our bariatric program...eat protein first, then veggies then carbs if we have room, no more than 4 eating events daily, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, drink lots of water, take the supplements. When I do this the weight does come off. It is not worth it to me to have another surgery to a distal when I may only lose about 15 lbs. She checked my mechanics first to be sure I did not staple line disruption and that my pouch was intact. The rest is up to me, to deal with the head hunger and the *hand in mouth* disease that I have always had... There are online groups to help, at yahoo there is a Back on Track group that have experienced regain and are working to get the regained wt off. come on over and join us. Subscribe: [email protected]
   — vt_rita

May 7, 2005
My first question is have you been doctoring regularly since your surgery? Many people must have counseling on an ongoing basis. Are you involved with a support group? Sometimes the biggest mistake we can make is thinking that the surgery will fix everything when 80% of it can be mental. I would encourage you to join support group lists as mentioned above. Get counseling. This is hard work but you are worth it! Chris
   — rinnchris

May 9, 2005
There are some surgeons that will do revisions to either extend your limb more or make your pouch smaller or both. I would encourage you to do everything else possible first though because the risk of complications and death goes up dramatically on revisions!!! It sounds to me like you relied on the surgery to do all the work for you. You never changed anything on your own. You must take some responsibility on yourself. This has to be a lifestyle change. It is not a cinderella pill. Therefore, if you don't change anything about your habbits, no revision will ever get you to your goals permanently. I would suggest getting involed with a good support group, getting back on track, and possibly even getting some private counseling on how you can overcome your habbits and get on to a new lifestyle that will give you the best results with your tool. Hope that helps, Sherry
   — wealthgvr

May 9, 2005
I wanted to drop you a line to tell you to seriously think about lifestyle changes, etc... before a re-do. The reason for this is that yesterday I experienced my first dumping ordeal for 5 hours!! I just converted from a VBG to a RNY because I had a leak in my staple line. If I would have known how crappy the dumping thing was going to make me feel, no way would I have had the re-do. And unfortunately now no one in my family will either (especially since they watched me puke for 5 hours since we were having a mother's day bbq. Not cool. We all will sabatoge ourselves at one point or another. Try to focus and keep in touch. You are much stronger than you think. Gina
   — gina B.