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I had gastritis and they later found a fistula. I had a revision from a VBG in 1998.

Most of the changes for me have been for the better. The only negative I have experienced so far is that my favorite protein shake pre-op now tastes TERRIBLE! So I have 2 pounds of it sitting in my pantry just praying it will taste good soon. Aside from that, everything tastes so much better, it's amazing. Each meal seems better than the last, which is a nice change since before I just kind of ate to live and nothing really wowed me. I've not really moved myself to full meats since my revision, so I'm not sure how I will tolerate everything well yet, but we shall see!

I lost over 20 pounds pre-op and was actually getting close to no longer qualifying for surgery and my surgeons were ecstatic! Every pound off before surgery is one pound closer to a safer surgical procedure. I had my own thoughts that maybe I didn't need to go through surgery since I was doing so well, but then I remembered I've lost 20 pounds a million other times and never kept it off myself, this tool will be essential to me keeping the weight off. Plus, I had a gastric band I really wanted out, so revising was my only hope. If someone in my life had told me that, I'd just tell them that it's a requirement for me to make my lifestyle changes now and to try to get some weight off for a safer surgical procedure. Then I'd tell them that I have multiple healthcare professionals expressing their feelings that I need the procedure to live my healthiest life and I trust they know what they are recommending to me. Ultimately, it's no one's business and you don't have to answer to anyone but your surgeon.

Ok thank you. I reached back out to my insurance company because what I was seeing was that the requirements had been revised in October and they had removed the 6 month requirement. The person I talked to looked deeper into it and told me that they hadn't received that update but could see it online? I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me. My appointment with the surgeon is Monday so I'm hoping to find out more then.

Before I had my revision I had no idea there was a thing. I thought I would eventually make it back to my original weight (1998 302) Since nothing I tried was helping. Then came an issue where I developed gastritis, followed by an EGD which confirmed I was vomiting a bit of blood and that I had a fistula. My doc sent me to the Weight loss surgeon and that is when I learned about revisions. I am happy my DR. did this for me and I plan to take full advantage of my new start!

I was originally scheduled for gastric sleeve surgery, but it got switched to a bypass due to issues found with my endoscope. I'm returning to the dietician next week to get the new plan of eating post-surgery, right before I begin the 3 week pre-op diet on November 24. My knees desperately need replacing and my surgeon said I could start getting my knees replaced 6 months after my bariatric surgery. Yesterday, I was able to get an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon in February to evaluate and make a plan. I know you will do great! I have a friend in Florida who had a gastric sleeve last December and is down about 70 lbs. When she was feeling discouraged about the restrictions during the holidays, she reminded herself, "I'm getting a sleeve for Christmans!"

Bypass or DS. If you have any GERD issue pre surgery the sleeve will make it worse. Also I have a cousin who had the sleeve surgery and now is going back for a RNY bypass.

From what I have read in med journals and on this site the sleeve revisions either are RNY bypass or DS. Personally if I would of had the sleeve and needed a revision I would choose DS. 97%+ success rate & no GERD. I asked for the sleeve initially but I had GERD issues before surgery and was denied. I had a modified RNY with my lower limb extended lower than the normal measurement. It’s working for me but I wish I could of been approved for DS.

I dont often chime in on the thread because i don't often log but I can definitely eat more years out lol, same amount as matured VSG even after revision and I don't really measure either Sorry @FluffyChix about being wide open but another question: since the GI doc said portion size won't make a dif (in keeping the pouch small for the future anyways) why can't you increase your salads/vegetables to satisfaction if you are still hungry?

I am 11 years out from rny gastric bypass and am sitting here waiting for my gastroenterologist's office to call so that I can schedule my second endoscopic dilation to fix a stricture that was diagnosed a couple of months ago. No ulceration. Just a narrowing of the gastrojejunal anastomosis with some inflammation. This is the first serious issue that I have had that has resulted from my surgery. Moral of the story, you can develop a stricture at any point post surgery, even 11 years out.

Well, Hi! I'm not sure if I've seen any of your posts, but I'm sorry you feel it is difficult to make friends on here! If you write posts with questions you're likely to get a lot of responses. For the most part people are super helpful. I agree with another poster that people tend to post a lot before surgery. I'm 8 months post gastric bypass and whole I still post, it is not as frequent as before or right after surgery. I wouldn't say I've made any friends, but there is a core group of regular posters which are always willing to share and offer advice. Keep on posting!![emoji5] Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I’m hoping that I am posting in the correct board. I am now a little over two years post op from gastric bypass and had surgery on my rotator cuff twice this year, bed bounding me pretty badly the first time and then just making it difficult to exercise and move with the revision. I’ve been having immense pain in my face and other parts of my upper body after this second surgery, not helping my cause. This has made cooking a burden, especially foods I should be eating, and I have a tendency to graze at night. That wouldn’t be so bad if I could have something like grapes, but they make me dump so quickly. Does anybody have advice on how to get back on track (after the shoulder injury and getting back on anti-anxiety meds I gained about 40 from my lowest post bypass)? What tracking programs do folks here use? My parents encouraged WW, but I’m unsure if it’s the right way to go? And seeing gastric surgeon’s office isn’t an option. 1. I moved about 200-300 miles away and 2. I lost my trust in them when my gallbladder nearly sent me into sepsis, but they refused to acknowledge there was an issue. I had to go to a well respected (serious, terrific guy!) general surgeon to get it evaluated and removed. I tried to get seen by another office at one point, but they did not want to help me as I did not have my surgery with them. Any help is deeply appreciated!

I'm late to the party here but approaching the low end of healthy BMI post bypass. My saviour is grain and seed salads. Some stores call them "ancient grains" salads - peputas, quinoa, buck eyes, lentils, almonds and such. They often have a sweet vinegarette dressing and mixed with parsley or corainder. Seeds and nuts are crazy calorie dense. A 3/4 cup salad hits 400-500 calories no sweat. I'm mindful some people don't tolerate grains well due to texture and pouch but they tend to be soft and if you eat mindfully it should be no issue. Sent from my SM-A705YN using BariatricPal mobile app

I relied so heavily on this forum and others in the months leading up to my procedure that I promised myself I would provide a 12 month update, FAQ and experience summary for others planning the same thing for the same reasons. I recently posted this to Reddit and bariatricpal rounds out the plan. My story is positive – overwhelmingly positive – but I think most importantly my story is not emotional. I don’t have a psychological problem with food. I was never tormented or made to suffer for my weight (beyond finding flights uncomfortable and shirts being too short). I made this choice on statistical grounds – it would extend my life on average and go a long way to improving my diabetes. I wanted to provide a vanilla story to remind everyone this pretty survivable and the majority of people have non-descript and unexciting recoveries. My lift is pretty much the same - I just eat a lot less, dont shoot insulin and hopefully will live longer. Forums tend to have an over representation of negative outcomes - that makes perfect sense and it's absolutely fine for people to use them to get some reassurance and communicate with people in the same situation. For everyone else - just remember you're less likely to jump on a forum and tell your story if nothing went wrong or it wasn't any different from other people and as a result it can seem like a higher proportion of people are suffering than maybe is the case. I was a lower-BMI diabetic, not quite type 1 or type 2, but insulin dependent nonetheless. My BMI was 31, my surgeryweight was 126kg (277lbs) and I’m 196cm tall (6’5). I was diagnosed at 100kg (220lbs) but assumed type 1 as I wasn’t visually overweight. However in the 5 years since diagnosis I’ve continued to produce some insulin suggesting I’m not a pure type 1 or 2 - but closer to type 2. I gained 26kg in a year after diagnosis once i started on insulin. I’m broad shouldered/chesty with skinny legs - like an apple jammed on some chopsticks. Maybe like the fat Mr Incredible. My intention for having the bypass was not solely weight loss – I suspected that my diabetes was closer to type 2. I suspected the improvements people see immediately in diabetes management post bypass may apply to me. It was a gamble that paid off, My decision making process was quite straight forward – I had a young daughter at the time (now have a son too) and had lost my father to a heart attack when I was 7. He was fit and not diabetic but had a heart condition. I new statistically I was due for a similar fate carrying excess weight plus diabetes onboard. This was the best way to knock out one of those (the weight side) and hopefully improve the diabetes. I went from 126kg to 83kg (180lb), my BMI is low end of healthy. My biggest positive is my immediate cessation of insulin shots and a current HBA1c of 5.8 with oral meds only. It took about 6 months to get to my goal weight of 90kg. I'm still slowly losing and need to stop. Lead-up and Prep I was not obese to look at visually. The majority of healthcare professionals I spoke to did not think surgery, let alone Gastric Bypass, was necessary. In the end – my PCP, endo and surgeon all agreed that, while not essential, bypass was a prudent decision with potentially long-term benefits. The surgeon did not want me to bother with a gastric sleeve – if the endgame was diabetes improvement then the gold standard was a bypass. In Australia you need to be over 35 BMI or over 30 with a comorbidity to be eligible. I had slightly elevated Blood Pressure - that plus the diabetes made me eligible. I paid $2000 out of pocket, my private health insurance paid the rest. No psych required, I had a few meetings with a nutritionist and everything was greenlit. From first enquiry to surgery was four months. The fee I paid includes lifetime consults with the surgeon. I did not need a pre-op diet as i was not that overweight and my liver was not a concern. Surgery My procedure was in June 2018. My anaesthetic recovery was rough, but otherwise the process was fine. The most discomfort was immediately in the 12 hours following – in part due to surgical site pain but mostly because the bed could not accommodate my height so I was forever crossing my legs or scrunching them up, only to have a nurse slap them and wake me up for fear of DVT. Nurses kept promising to find a bed extender - eventually I lashed out in a post-anaesthetic haze at a nurse who slapped my feet - she took the end off the bed with a flourish. My feet shot out, I cried in relief, apologised profusely and slept for eight hours. Day two was stiff and sore but i was mobile, able to shower and sipping fine. I went home the morning of day three. I had PHENOMENAL life ruining headaches from day two. I went home with some serious opiates because I lived 90 minuts from my surgeon and couldn’t drive to get a script if they hit again. On day four my dietician cleared me for coffee and it immediately wiped out the headache – turns out I’d been in caffeine withdrawal. So I really recommend you taper that off in advance if you have a problem with coffee like i do. If you're diabetic then buy a freestyle libre glucose monitor for the procedure if you dont have a CGM. They want hourly blood glucoses, instead of being woken and pin pricked every hour I could just show them how to use the scanner and they'd take it while i slept. I had some minor aches 6 weeks out and one of the surgery sites oozed a little clear fluid. It subsided immediately. I was home for two weeks. I could have gone back at one week. I'm an accountant though and my starting weight was comparatively low so i was mobile quick. I completely understand if you're starting form a heavier weight then you should plan to take the full time. Food/Eating The normal progression of foods was fine and unremarkable from what is described on most forms. I graduated to solids a little earlier than I should have. I cheated like mad and was feeling fine, it was only when I snuck a tiny piece of casserole beef and vomited violently did I start to behave myself. I was vomiting once or twice a week from eating too much or too fast. Savoury ricotta bake, hearty soups and coconut water were my saviors. The vomiting subsided, 18 months out I vomit maybe once every two or three months and only when I do something stupid. My problem before surgery was eating very fast and taking large bites – that has been hard to deal with post surgery. In fact I tend to still eat large bites and then sit unable to eat for extended periods. I was very sensitive to sugar post-op and frequently had dumping. That subsided in a month with changes in eating, changes in my appetite and better food/liquid rules. I currently only get dumping in the morning, and only if I eat something sugary. I do get nauseous easily in the morning too – it’s something I’m working with my nutritionist on to find out why. Otherwise I can eat whatever I want within reason. I don’t drink soda, but had quit it before my procedure. Milky protein makes me nauseous too (any type of creamy protein really) so I use a water protein additive from costpricesupplements. This helps me hit 2L fluids daily. I can eat about a cup and a half food. Liquidy foods – stews, soups, casseroles – I can eat a lot more than that. Tougher foods like steak or dry chicken much less. I gulp liquids. I had a sensitive stomach before the surgery and took Metamucil religiously to keep my gut regular. I have not had any issues post op with flatulence but have had looser bowels. Metamucil still helps – but no worse or in any way less manageable than pre-op. Diabetes I went off insulin immediately after my surgery. It wasn’t a cure – I’m still diabetic – but metformin and trajenta keep me in an aggressively managed hba1c. I have a so-so diet – I eat too much sugary junk food and carbs. I could go without diabetic meds I believe but my diet would be depressing so ive truck a compromise. On this basis alone this was the best decision I could have made for my physical wellbeing. My blood pressure is fine, my cholesterol is non-existent and I'm able to even job a moderate distance without discomfort. Random observations • I’m cold. So cold. It’s 35 degree outside where I am (90’s Fahrenheit) but as soon as I go into any office I need a sweater. I really became dependant on sweaters, long johns and socks this last winter. Im not cooler in summer – just as hot and bothered as before. Maybe a better way to describe it is that I feel the temperature more in general, like I lost my insulation. • I am too skinny. Clothes don’t fit that great – most men this tall have a bit more chest/gut on them. Australia has limited/no tall clothing ranges domestically so I’m importing loads of stuff from the UK/USA. i still think i look fat when i look in the mirror. • My bum is bony and I need cushions to sit comfortably. I also had a cyst on a butt cheek I didn’t know about – now im so bony there I’ll need to get it removed so I can sit on kitchen chairs comfortably again. • I gained about 1.5” of penis length. It was a welcome addition. I needed to learn how to be more gentle and patient using it. With a young family and little sleep it's yet to be fully road tested – but I’ll be ready when we start to sleep again. • I have a little loose skin. nothing dramatic. mostly around the gut and love handles. • I am very sensitive to meds and drugs. I'm not much of a drinker but i like weed edibles - what would give me a mild buzz before gets me quite high now. I sober up quicker now too. I take xanax on flights to help sleep - i take a quarter of the dose now. • I drink red wine socially and now cannot really get drunk. I sober up quite fast but get a mild buzz pretty quickly too. • Dumping sucks but it should not be a discouraging factor. Its not life ruining – anyone who’s had a hypo as a diabetic it’s a bit like that with some gastro thrown in. It resolves pretty fast (30ish minutes for me) and is a self-reinforcing feedback loop for shitty food behaviours. For this reason alone I consider the bypass as the better choice for me. • I’ve lost a fair bit of muscle tone and will need to somehow up my protein and start some weight training to recover it. This needs to be balanced with not losing for further weight. • I have to remind myself to eat. Not just because of low appetite, but because once my pouch shrinks for a day then eating again can be uncomfortable and time consuming. As long as I eat fairly frequently my pouch is all good and I can eat quite a lot pretty fast – forget about it for 2 or 4 hours and I’ll need to take some time to eat a bit and get my appetite back. • I was hungry for 33 years and bordered on a pathological inability to waste food. I ate my meal and anything my wife or kid didn’t eat. I’d eat a meal out, go home and have a sandwich. We ate at bars and pubs because the servings were larger. I would eat until I was very uncomfortable if the portion was large enough. Now I still can’t bring myself to leave food – so I have this silly aversion to ordering anything more than something off the appetisers list. I don’t like asking for to-go containers (it’s an Australian thing – it’s really stupid because we pay so much for food out we should keep every bloody morsel) but have started to now order what I actually want instead of what I think I can finish. It’s funny – I went from ordering what I thought would be the biggest portion so I didn’t feel hungry (instead of what I thought looked good) to ordering what I thought I could finish and not waste. Regrets? None to speak of specifically. In a very minor way travel is less fun. I looooove travelling to southeast asia and the USA and love eating all the different things. My appetite is so low now, and eating can be so inconvenient, that I don’t get to eat anywhere near as much variety when I travel. I was recently in SE Asia and looking forward to a huge array of currys. I ate only two in five days as I had no appetite at all. I just need to travel differently now - actually plan to stop for meals instead of just charging all over a city and snacking on the way. I wish id been more sensitive to my wife's emotional processing of the scenario. She's gone from having the tall, chubby guy that was the physical build she was attracted to, to having a skinny beanpole. This was while she was having our second kid and all the very natural weight gain associated. She's not overweight and is, objectively i reckon, absolutely gorgeous but definitely feels marginalised by the process and is quick to colour me as vain or obsessed with my image now I am buying new clothes. I think i could have been more mindful of what I said or did. She was overwhelmingly supportive though and agrees this was worthwhile. Closing thoughts If you are considering this process and maybe you're on the margins of eligibility my experience would say go for it. my hope here was to give a vanilla experience to the mix, unique only in my taking the more permanent bypass on despite my lower starting weight. Sent from my SM-A705YN using BariatricPal mobile app

Sleeved in 2012 but having bypass 11/21 due to GERD and hiatal hernia hw 364 pw 354 lw 206 mw 216.

I ate every damn thing I possibly could that I knew I’d be missing. Which wasn’t much I was sleeved in 2012 and getting ready for bypass next week. But I put a dent in my list prior to my previous op phase starting lol. Enjoy

Thank you for the post op update that’s encouraging I’m having bypass 11/21

I’m having gastric bypass on 11/21 and I’m nervous because of all the health issues I’ve developed since being sleeved 7 years ago (kept weight off), but now the GERD and hernia are prompting this surgery. Best wishes to you!!

Hi and good luck, best wishes to you! I was set on going with the sleeve, but my bariatric surgeon recommended the RNY due to my acid reflux and I've already read where folk are having revisions from the sleeve due to developing or worsening reflux issues. That was my main reason and I'm getting fine with it.

You got this, first just share it with hubby and get your game plan together. Have all your facts ready so when you decide to tell your family you can help ease their minds. When they see you excited, they most likely will be excited. Express how you know they may be scared and you may feel that way sometimes too but you see this as a new journey and would love to have them walk beside you! I have told my core family and this time I that's all I'm telling. I was unbanded in 2012 due to erosion so I've been battling this decision within myself all these years in between. My hubby is FULLY onboard and very supportive. So hubby knows, my son knows, my mother-in-law knows, my sister knows and my two nieces. (My sis and one niece have had surgery Bypass and Sleeve) but it was after i was orginally banded in 2009. I was the first in my family. You got this, I got my Pom Pom's Up for you

Hello to all you wonderful knowledgeable people, 14 months ago I had a mini gastric bypass, my starting weight was 249lb and I am now down to 128. I have been incredibly happy with the results and have had a pretty easy time of it. My dress size has gone from a UK 22 to a UK 6 trousers and 10 top. You may well be wondering so what's my problem... the thing is I am not losing any more weight and have probably sat at around 128 since the end of August, I still exercise regularly try and choose a healthy option, although a few too many glasses of wine have crept in. I suppose I just wondered is this simply a long stall or does your body eventually stop at the weight it is happy with. Please give any possible suggestion as to what to do next as I would ideally get down to 123 Many thanks Podgey

You're a male, right? To be 3 weeks PO and already eating things like beef sticks and jerky are not optimal. That is very new from surgery. At that time, I was only on soft foods stage, which a beef stick is not. I think if you're a dude, 100g is fine. Most are in a range from 80-100g per their docs. There is not usually a HUGE problem with protein malabsorption for RNYs and you had VSG, so even less issues. My surgeon said that the new bypasses don't have nearly as much malabsorption as previously believed...maybe 10%. But of course, there are outliers in all of us. Some of your stair stepping might be aggravated by the salt content in your food (beef sticks). But stairsteps are totes norm.

I'm having SADI-S procedure next week laparoscopically. I've been advised that I will have "drains" placed. Of course I will ask my doctor what this means, but can any laypeople interpret what this is and why I need it?

You really wont know until after surgery. But they type of testing might matter. If its not physical/endurance in nature you could be just fine. I was revise from VSG to RNY in july. VSG was a bit more of lengthy recovery than I anticipated, RNY (in comparison) was a breeze. *Your mileage may vary*

I had my bypass Jan,2017 and I never had a dumping problem, just try not to eat a lot and it's hard to do but eat a little at a time. I lost 60 to 70 pounds and I feel wonderful and looks great !!! People I worked with that I haven't seen in 15 yrs didn't even know who I was and I get that from people who was around me at the time I was larger. I don't use fat because that a bad word for others to feel good and to make you feel bad. I had the surgery for my health, I became a diabetic and had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. And now I'm free !!! So, go for it and do it for yourself, not for how someone feels about you because all of us large or small is beautiful.