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Hello! My surgery is scheduled for 7/10. I am having the gastric bypass. I'm on the pre-op diet right now. Doing well but am so weak from this diet. Last night I could barely finish my evening meal - got nauseated and just felt terrible. This is a revision surgery. I had the VSG 2914, lost 100. Foot surgery and the covid lockdown started my regain of 80 lbs. The surgery is to fix my hernia and hopefully get rid of my acid reflux. I am hoping to lose but more importantly to maintain my weight loss. I'm currently on 3 hbp meds and 3 acid reflux meds. How do I complete the settings about my surgery, weight, etc.?

Try not to let some arbitrary numbers be the determining factor if you feel that you are successful or not in all this. I had sleeve 3.5 years ago and several things went wrong along the way to add up to my eventual regain but I honestly think the main reason I failed was because I was so upset with myself that I did not reach the goal my dr had for me that I eventually said screw it and allowed myself to gain it all back (plus some). I was so close though. I am 5’8” and got down to 168 which was 18! Pounds from his hopes for me and a relatively healthy weight that I would be thrilled to be now but I got in the way of my own progress by all or nothing thinking and I let what that scale said or didn’t say be the most important thing in life!! Try to focus on all the non scale victories along the way. I think it was only 10% of weight lost that reduces many of the comorbidities that are brought on by obesity. You are healthier already than when you started all this. Try to celebrate that and all the little victories along the way and keep your focus on the important stuff. This is your journey and you will do great if you stick to your plan and remember it is about your getting healthier and nothing else. Especially not how you compare to others. Just do you and you will be living your best life before you know it. I’m rooting for you.

Only you know the answer. Simply because you know your history with weight loss & gain & you know yourself best. You have to be ready, because it’s not easy & there’s a lot of work you have to do. If you need more time, that’s fine. As @ms.sss said, you’ll be ready when you’re ready. For me, the surgery provided an opportunity & the time to really understand my relationship with food. I regularly dieted & until the last few years, I could lose weight but as soon as I stopped the diet I returned to eating the same way I always did, for the same reasons & in the same situations. And of course I’d regain the weight I lost. With the surgery & the post surgery eating plan I slowly developed a way of eating I was comfortable with. I worked out what foods were best for me & which weren’t. I became more aware of portion size. And I learnt to recognise the situations (physical, emotional or psychologically) & behaviours that influenced my eating. Because it was a slow process, it was easy to adopt & adapt to my new eating style. Something that diets never did & I never did while dieting. I realised I saw diets as restrictive & a punishment. Now, how I eat is just how I eat. All the best whatever you choose to do.

I have read through so many posts on the topic of revision and see that people are mostly very happy to have gone through with it but a lot of them seem to be due to regain, hernias or bad GERD so my query is a bit different. My surgeon has mentioned a number of times to me about doing a revision from sleeve to bypass as following my surgery a year ago I had bad reflux. When I was released from hospital in November I was prescribed two pantomed (PPI) a day and since then GERD has become less frequent, for the last three months I am now on just one a day and I don't consider that the GERD impacts me, maybe once a week I might have a bit of gas, but the surgeon was still suggesting bypass and at my last appointment (in May) even mentioned that it would help me lose more weight, even though I was then just 5kg/11lb from the target he gave me and still only 10 months post-op. Given all the complications I had after my sleeve surgery in July last year I am very hesitant to have any further operations as I don't know if it was the medical teams fault and/or my body. If it is something that the surgeon says is needed I am torn between asking for a referral to another hospital or risking his team again in the belief that they would be extremely careful with me after everything that went wrong the year ago. So far, in just under 12 months, I have lost 47kg/103lb and am only 7kg/15lb away from my goal weight (3kg from the surgeon's target) and therefore I was wondering, from those who have gone through the revision process, if you think it is worth it? For me the only benefit I see is that I would be able to stop taking the daily pantomed, so not sure that is worth risking another surgery for. I have not had a single dumping episode and for the last few months have been able to tolerate all foods without issue so am a bit fearful that the bypass may lead to a backwards step on those fronts. If my GERD is not impacting me is there any other long-term benefit to the revision when I am still (slowly) losing weight? I don't want to go more than a few kg below my goal weight as it is not a good look on me. If there is no drastic weight loss, given so much has been achieved already, is there hair loss with the revision? Any insights would be appreciated as I have my one year check-up in a couple of weeks and I want to be prepared for when the topic is raised

I think you have absolutely got this. Forewarned is forearmed and you have definitely done your research. With regard to your two categories of successful maintainers I think there might be a crossover too. I did clean up my act AND I track everything. I regained 8lbs from my lowest weight about 9 months ago. I knew/know I was eating more than the approx 1600 calories I need to maintain (even if not eating crap) but wasn't upping my exercise. No further regain for a couple of months so I am hoping that's me done (?) Best of luck on your journey 😍 and interesting thread!

I am in the looking stage, I JUST had my appt with my surgeon and he was like HOLY **** (not really his words) but he said I am above the curve, but told me he wouldn't sign off on the surgery until at least a year. he said any weight that I lose right now is bonus weight loss. That I could really work on maintaining if I wanted but If I lost more it would help with the regain if there is some. He told me to wait the year, plus the plastic surgeon said she would need my WLS surgeon and primary to sign off. So I already got the NO LOL *LE SIGH*

I agree with the others, it’s too early to make calls about what your final stabilised weight may be. Don’t make decisions based on the number on the scales. It’s not uncommon for your weight to bounce about a little before it stabilises. Bounce back regain is real for many whether that be your body resettling or you making adjustments to complement your lifestyle. And don’t forget your remaining weight resettles itself, even though the scales don’t move, so how you look now may not be how you look in a couple of months. I initially lost my curves and was sad about losing my hour glass shape. A few months on & there it was again - smaller ratios but there. Body dysmorphia comes into play too: how we. See ourselves & how others see us. I thought I’d be too thin & gaunt if I got lower than my goal but here I am 11+kgs less and I’m far from gaunt or skeletal. And like @ms.sss, people who said I was too thin many kilograms more than I am now, think I look fine now and don’t say anything. Remember your goal is not necessarily your body’s goal (new set point). Working out your maintenance isn’t always easy. It wasn’t for me. I was still adjusting to how much food I needed to eat & what I could actually physically eat & I was subconsciously ignoring where my body wanted to be. Enjoy the ride and only worry if your surgeon and doctors aren’t happy.

Thank you!!! I guess I'll just ride it out and see where it takes me. I honestly didn't think about the regain later on, so maybe it's not a bad thing if I go 10 or even 12 pounds below my goal weight. Thanks for the advice and suggestions!!! Much appreciated

Hello and welcome! Also -- congratulations!! How exciting it must be to be at that stage of seeing the weight peel off, and past the point of initial recovery, and past the point of choosing which surgery to get. I noticed that you chose to go with the sleeve as opposed to the Roux-y surgery. I think that's where I'm likely to begin, myself. I have bounced around, investigating what they call a SADI-s / Loop / SIPS surgery which has an extra component with the intestine beneath the sleeve, often done as a revision of the sleeve for those who regain weight or aren't satisfied with their results. It SEEMS to have fewer side effects than the Roux-y (full gastric) but I just don't know. I've also been given a fair amount of advice suggesting I try to find an expert to do the duodenal switch (DS) due to my BMI being in the high 50s/low 60s. I'm certainly willing to try to go that route but as someone else said -- there is usually a LOT of back and forth before committing to surgery and I'm almost 7 months into the program I'm at with my current surgeon. How long would it take me, realistically, to get this far again? WLS is such a difficult and scary commitment, and then getting on here BEFORE having a surgery has filled my brain with so many more complicated options. Its kind of hard for me to commit to big decisions and sometimes I wonder if learning more and more is making matters harder for me. I love to feel in control of what's happening with my body and try to inspect EVERY detail such as to avoid any regrets -- but sometimes staring at the water for too long makes one less likely to jump in, doesn't it? But you've DONE it! I think the sleeve is a great option and respect your choice, and am so happy that it has gone smoothly thus far. It could just be my perception, but most of the men I've seen post about their surgeries seem to indeed have a bit more gentle recovery, with fewer complications. I've seen a lot of folks caution me (this forum and others) about whether I'd be satisfied with the degree of weight loss if I were to go with a base sleeve, Roux-y, or SADI-s. This makes me really appreciate where you talked about that dark spiral and maxing out at 407. I say this as someone who feels like I understand pretty dang well what you're talking about because my max weight was 435! Being 'down' to 366 feels a heck of a lot better by comparison, and I got this far by myself, so maybe I don't need to be as concerned about satisfaction with the numbers as I do making sure I'm comfortable with the process of surgery to help me continue my weight loss journey. Please keep us in the loop as you continue on to your goal! Also - congratulations to the rest of you posting here who are inches from your goal weight or have already made it there!! No matter what surgery (or surgeries) helped you get there, you DID IT! Definitely an inspirational group of people here!

Okay here we go. 1: Pre op stats 91kg BMI 35 2: Surgery Gastric sleeve 3: Lowest weight post surgery 48.5kg BMI 18.7 at about 18 months. 4: Maintenance weight 48.5kg. Stayed there for about 18 months when I suddenly increased to about 51kg. Realised I wasn’t absorbing my HRT med after my gall removal. Changed my meds and my weight slowly settled at around 49kg after another 18 months. The last 6 months has seen me back to 48.5 again though I was 48.2 this morning. Strange is I actually eat about 300 calories more now (last 2+ yrs) than I did when I initially stabilised. 5: Fluctuation Initially my fluctuation was exactly 1kg so 48.5 - 49.5. Weird I know. It’s been more 700 - 800g the last 18months so very narrow. 6: Methods to maintain & what worked or didn’t work. Work out a sustainable way of eating which doesn’t restrict or limit what you want to do & how you want to live your life. (I know I say this a lot but it’s worked for me.) Still be flexible with your eating style. Don’t be afraid to make changes: different foods or food types, frequency, etc. If it works & you can still maintain great. If it doesn’t drop it & try something else. I don’t enjoy traditional exercising. No gym for me, running miles or getting sweaty. Around 18 months ago I started my exercise snacking (stretches & using resistance bands) habit. Not to burn calories but to regain flexibility & to support my back. Muscle toning has been a bonus. I enjoy it, it’s easy and I do it or a variation every day. 7: How my life has changed It’s just easier in a whole lot of little ways & other things are much sweeter. Yes, I work at maintaining. I’m more aware of what I put in my mouth, its nutrient value & how much I eat but a lot of this is second nature/habit now so not as much ‘hard’ work anymore. Generally I feel more confident though I wouldn’t say I was lacking confidence before. I’m honest enough to say I’ve become more vain though I was always conscious of how I presented myself to others. It’s just a lot more. Just ask my cosmetic physican - LOL! 8: Cautionary tales & words of wisdom Always advocate for yourself. Not happy with an answer ask more questions, for more testing &/or a second opinion. Do your own research & go back with more questions. Be honest. Ask for help. Be flexible. Make the best decisions you can in the situation. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go the way you thought. Things/life happens. It’s how you pick yourself up & move forward again that matters. Find what works for you in regards to how & what you eat, what activity you do & so on. Research, cherry pick across many strategies & plans, test them out & adopt those which work for you. There is no one right way just what’s right for you. This journey isn’t a straight, flat road in one direction. There’ll be hills and valleys, rugged mountains & deep, wide rivers. There’ll be blind corners & round-abouts. You’ll face detours, delays & road works. Your destination may not be where you initially planned but it will be a wonderful, amazing & far better place to be than where you were before you started. And there will be many other fabulous destinations ahead of you.

I absolutely LOVE to pull out my historical spreadsheets! thanks for giving me an excuse to do so!!! 1. Pre op weight, BMI or measurements 2. Surgery type VSG (Sleeve) October 24, 2018 3. Lowest post op weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred 4. Maintenance weight, BMI or measurements and when it occurred Stabilized at about 115 lbs (BMI 21) around June 2020 and stayed that way for about a year or so. Unfortunately i don't have measurements for that time but i think they were similar to my lowest post op weight above. 5. Bounces (up or down) in weight, BMI or measurements and when they occurred around year 3 i averaged closer to 120 lbs (but rarely ever above 120), and have stayed that way until today (almost 6 yrs post op). This morning I weighed in at 119.4 lbs. 6. Methods used to maintain and what has/has not worked i track my food intake almost daily i weigh myself daily when i have access to scale (i also take my measurements once a month) i engage in regular exercise. i try to NOT eat to fullness (don't always succeed) if i want to eat something, i do, but i generally limit it to tastes/bites, vs full on meals. i generally ONLY eat things i really want to, and skip the stuff i deem "not worth it", as i consider it a waste of valuable stomach real estate. 7. How your life has changed (losing vs maintaining perspective) i eat carbs now lol (i avoided them like the plague during weight loss phase, and a year or so afterwards). its been a while for me know and i do notice that i am not as worried as i used to be about regaining weight. i think i've learned to trust myself in that i can make good decisions about my health and weight maintenance, and that i know i am flexible/resourceful/confident enough to make changes and adjustments WHEN things change. i guess that is it really, i am exponentially more confident than i was before: in terms of decision making, self-image, relationships, dealing with stress, all of it. I am so much more CHILL. Life is really good (plus im super HAWT, lol) 8. Words of wisdom/cautionary tales/stories of beating the odds Don't give into the angst. Don't try to do stuff that is beyond your abilities or desire. Don't compare yourself to others. Exercise. Drink water, Wear sunscreen.

@BlueParis you're looking great! I'm impressed you can stand in those shoes. I think I would end up in the hospital if I tried. And congrats on finally getting below that magical 70kg marker. I'm happy to report that after 7 weeks of very pokey weight loss in which I only lost 4 lbs total and stalled out completely for 2 of those weeks, I have now dropped 4 lbs in 4 days. I cannot begin to express how relieved I am. I know it will slow again soon enough as a pound a day isn't sustainable, but I plan to enjoy it as long as it lasts. NSV for me this week! So, I had gotten down to around 205 lbs back in 2017 through my hospital's nutrition program. Naturally, I bought some clothing back then, though unfortunately I regained steadily over the years. Because I had moved house 4 years ago, I purged most everything in my closet. This included almost all the smaller clothing, plus the remnants of my old "professional" wardrobe that was also in smaller sizes from a good 20 years ago. (I should say, I don't regret that too much as the clothing was way out of style and I never have cause to wear suits these days anyway.) But I did happen to hold onto one springy sort of dress that I guess I must have thought was too nice to get rid of, just in case it ever fit again. Well, I pulled it out of the closet the other day to wear to my daughter's special event at school and not only did it fit, it was loose. I honestly struggle to see the difference when I look at myself in the mirror sometimes, but there's no denying how clothing fits, and I know this dress never fit me loose back then like it does now.

Stretching in the sense that you mean it is exceedingly rare and only happens if someone consistently binge eats over a relatively long period of time. What does happen naturally is increased capacity. This is true for sleeve and bypass both. After 6 months or so, your stomach regains some of its elasticity and can accommodate a bit more at one sitting. This is fine and healthy. Everyone is different, and everyone's capacity at a given point post-op is different. I don't know what you were told for goals, but my program says 60-80g protein per day and 64oz minimum of water. They want my protein to be around 40% of my calories, and I generally aim for 800-1000 calories per day, but that was not strictly set and will change over time. 1200 seems to be a common goal for the later stages of weight loss, with the amount going up once you are in maintenance. 5oz per meal is reasonable, but you need to be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plus possibly a snack. My program says aim for 20-25g protein per meal, and supplement with a protein snack or shake as needed until you can get the full amount from food comfortably. By 9 months, you should be fine getting it all from food. Your brittle nails and hair loss suggest you are not getting enough protein and may not be getting enough other nutrients. You should continue to aim for around 4 oz of lean meat or fish, (or a serving of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, for example) per meal. 4oz cooked skinless chicken breast has 25g protein. Your second priority at every meal should be nonstarchy veg. If you still have room, you can have a little bit of carb (rice, potato, sweet potato, bread, etc.). A serving of fruit makes a nice dessert. An easy way to eyeball it is to take a salad plate (not dinner plate), and put a piece of meat the size and thickness of your palm on one side, and fill about 2/3 of the other side with nonstarchy veg and the remaining 1/3 with carb. Go light on the sauces and butter. If in doubt, check Amazon for bariatric cookbooks. There are several by bariatric experts, including surgeons and registered dietitians. Kristin Willard's Bariatric Meal Prep is a personal favorite, with portion sizes for different stages, and a full color photo for every recipe.

I’ve tried so many types of exercise over the years & never found one I really enjoyed & stuck with. I dislike getting hit & sweaty. I did enjoy yoga - calming & love the stretching aspect. I didn’t exercise while I was losing but around 18months ago I heard about exercise snacking which is focussed on short bursts of activity several times a day. Bought myself some resistance bands & a thick mat (for my honey back - got them from Kmart so super cheap) and began doing 5 odd minute bursts of stretches, bands, & such about 4 times a day. Added some things & dropped others in my routine. I find it very easy to incorporate into my day. Do it all at home. Usually every day. Do tend to stick to specific times (2:30pm, 4pm, 5pm, 9:15pm). Will also do a few other little things throughout the day. Like have added some feet & Achilles tendon stretches on my stairs, stretch out my hamstrings using the kitchen bench while cooking. Big thing is I’ve been sticking with it. Even if away I do a variation of the activities (I don’t take my bands with me.) Initially started to help support my back (oozing discs) & regain some flexibility & be more limber. Bonus has been toning the muscles in my arms & legs. (had to buy some new trousers as my thighs had got a little bigger (not huge just firmer I guess) & I get compliments on my toned arms - who’d have thought it. Worth giving it a go.

Hi! New here! I had VSG previously and I'm going to have the Overstitch procedure this week. If you've had this done or are thinking about it, I'd love to hear from you! I have not met my surgeon in person (phone consult) and there is a long list of medications. I'm pretty nervous about this non-invasive procedure in a way that I never was about the VSG! It could be the extensive medication list- I didn't need any prescriptions after VSG. Prilosec and Miralax daily 7 days before surgery, Zofran, Emend, and Betyl for nausea and cramping, starting the morning of surgery, and ibuprofen rx for pain. I had VSG in 2017 with no complications. I lost 115 lbs. Fast forward to 2023, 1 years after hysterectomy, I experienced about 30 lbs regain. I was having trouble losing with increased workouts and diet modifications, so I tried Mounjaro. I lost 30 pounds. I felt nauseous and fatigued the entire time I was on that, I subsisted on gingerale (I did not drink any carbonated or sugary drink before this) and cereal or saltines. I went off because I wanted a break from the side effects. I rapidly regained all that I lost and 10 more. After attempts to moderate diet again failed, I went back to my doctor. I'd read about Overstitch, but the information out there is pretty vague. Basically, I know what it is and that it's available. I can't find any decent experience reviews. My doctor expects that I can easily lose between 20 and 40 lbs. Not the significant loss of VSG, but on my small frame, that's a large amount and it would bring me to a much healthier place.

OP you have done amazingly well. I know lots of us beat ourselves up lots of the time but honestly, to drop almost half your body mass after surgery, AND then regain only 15 - 20lbs three years later, AND to have had a baby in the meantime is unbelievable. Third year regain is common - the norm actually. Trying to get back to your lowest weight ever might not work if your body has chosen a higher new set weight. It will fight you all the way. Forever. Please cut yourself some slack. It might be helpful to ask yourself what exactly you're aiming for now. Is it a goal weight/BMI? Or a state of mind where you accept and celebrate the huge changes you have made to your health and your life and now that of your baby. If you have a set goal, why is that better than where you are, and how much effort or angst do you want/need to devote to achieving it? As a general observation processed and ultra processed foods (products with ingredients you don't have in your kitchen) are what make people obese. The sooner you can ditch those the better IMO. Freshly prepared food is less likely to cause regain. I am a big fan of Dr Matthew Wiener's book A Pound of Cure. Might be worth a read!

i should also disclose that i am a grazer by necessity (and habit). its the only way i can get the amount of calories i need to maintain COMFORTABLY. i read alot on here that this way of eating is not recommended (heck even my NUT said i should be having set meals and snacks) and that its a slippery slope and is a sure path to weight regain, but its been working for ME for over 5 years, so yeah...its just what i do.

Had gastric bypass surgery in 2012. I kept everything thing off until 5 years ago. Now, I'm steadily regaining all of my weight back. I stopped following the "rules". I want to get myself back on track again.

I had the sleeve almost 10 years ago, and yes, it does get bigger. However, I still can’t eat near what I used to eat in a sitting. For example, I can eat 3 pieces of pizza now. I used to be able to 5-7. It happened over time, though. I second those who recommend therapy. I am about to have revision to RNY, and I have been in therapy for several months to help me be successful this time around. In my case, because I didn’t truly deal with the reasons I eat, I regained almost of the weight. Best wishes to you!!

For me, I initially set my goal weight to 200 because it had been so many years since I was even close to that weight, so I thought it would be good. As I got closer to it, I moved the goal weight to 195. Now that I'm just about there, I'm thinking about moving it one more time to 190. I feel like that's attainable for me, I look healthy and a lot thinner but still have my curves, and it allows me to have a little bit of regain room and still stay under 200. Everyone has their own reasons that make sense to them why they choose the goal weight they choose. And it's not set in stone. It can always be changed. So think about what you're wanting. A certain size clothing, a certain weight, a certain goal...then try to see what initial weight you need to be to get there. And then adjust accordingly.

When people choose a goal weight, many of us choose a weight we’d attained in the past & were ‘happy’ at. Others choose a weight they think might be okay for them. Others use BMI or readjust their goal as they progress. Most surgeons tend to recommend a weight that sits within the statistical weight loss range. You can choose any number as your goal weight but it doesn’t truely mean anything. You really don’t get to choose your final weight. It depends upon factors like your new set point (which is the main one), your lifestyle & lifestyle choices, when your calorie intake & activity levels align, age, health & medications. You end up where you end up. You can start maintenance early but you can’t easily force your body not to be in maintenance to lose more weight if it doesn’t want to (your set point). As you can see in my profile, my final weight is 11kgs less than my goal (which was the low weight I usually attained over the years of losing & regaining, it met the stats & my surgeon endorsed it). Before surgery, I would never expected to be this weight. I mean I was 12 when I last weighed that & was almost 54 when I had surgery. I would have thought too thin, skeletal, etc. I’m not. I certainly didn’t intentionally work at getting here, it was where my body wanted me to be & where my calories, my body’s needs & activity level aligned. This means it’s easier to maintain. I still work at it but never feel like I’m ‘dieting ‘ or missing out on anything. Let your body tell you when. You’ll likely find you naturally slip into maintenance. PS - Congratulations on your weight loss. Fabulous!

Ideally, maintenance is achieved when you are living the lifestyle (in terms of intake and movement) that you can foreseeably do for the "rest if your life"...even more ideally, is if you can adjust your lifestyle as your circumstances change... when u get to goal weight, you can start upping ur calories until weight loss stops. you may find you go under ur goal weight by a bit, but more likely than not, you will regain a few lbs until you stabilize (at, below, or over goal weight...u won't know until u know, unfortunately). lots of us on here worried about losing too much weight...unless u have medical conditions, this worry doesn't last long lol. i got to about 20 lbs below goal weight at my lowest. regained about 10 of those extra lbs within a year. and while i thought i was too small when i was at actual goal, i don't think that anymore, even weighing 10 lbs less. long story short, if u can leave the worry at the door, do it. Unless u are sick or your med team is worried, just enjoy the ride! you look awesome, you look like u must awesome. bask in your awesomeness!

I completely understand your frustration, in the last 8 weeks I've lost and regained the same two pounds. I'm 9 months in..so very close to your timeframe. I read in my bariatric clinic handbook to contact the clinic if weight loss stops longer than 4-5 weeks. I have an appointment next week at which time I will be asking for answers. Like you, I am always at a calorie deficit, I watch every single calorie, fat, sugar and carb gram sticking to my 800 calories a day, 80 protein grams, 50 net carbs a day. My labs are "perfect"... So yeah I do understand, I'm sorry you're going through this, especially for longer than I have. What did your doctor recommend/say? As far as being cold, there are numerous posts here on the forum with other WLS patients discussing being cold all the time - do a search to find them. In fact, as I type this I have a heating pad on my back and an electric blanket on in front - its 56°F here too cold!!! Before surgery I would have been fine, I kept my heat on during the winter at 55° and was comfortable where as everyone else was chilly. So, its completely normal. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt in 76° sunshine the other day and was still chilly. So rest assured your being cold is completely normal! Let us know what your doctor said and keep us updated!

I had gastric sleeve in Mexico in 2008. It was a good experience and I lost over 80 pounds in less than a year and reached my goal weight. My sleeve was wonderful and it was a good decision for me. I kept the weight off with ease until 2014 when I tore my right rotator cuff at work, was put on steroid treatments for almost a year until the insurance would allow surgery. While on steroids and following the first rotator cuff surgery, I tore the left rotator cuff in 2 places ( starting a powerwasher) which required an additional year of steroid treatments and more surgery. In the process or healing the left side, I tore the right rotator cuff again which caused more steroids and physical therapy and another surgery. In physical therapy they caused damage to the nerve in my left elbow which required the nerve in my elbow to be moved into the muscle. This was a very painful surgery and was difficult to overcome, hence more steroids, Gabapentin and pain meds for nerve pain. Needless to say, 2015 thru 2018 was difficult and I began to put on weight ten pounds here and there that I could not take off. No matter what I did, the weight sticks to my mid section and thighs. After trying for several years, I had just given up the battle. I had regained all of my weight by 2020 and am now able to eat just as much as always. I developed a cough in 2012 that my doctors said was asthma. Meds rarely help it. The heavier I get the worse it gets. I am starting to developed sleep apnea and rather than being put on a breathing machine at night, I am determined to get the weight off and then see where I am with sleeping issues. I contacted my doctor in Mexico and requested information on the sleeve revision and they also discussed the Bypass with me. I was accepted to have either one and due to an out of state job I am on at the time, I am tentatively scheduled for revision surgery in mid August. I have until the end of July to pay the difference and elect to have the bypass if that is what I choose to do. I am looking for information on both and looking for surgery buddies that may be having bypass or sleeve revision surgery in August that may want to share information or may have suggestions to help me decide which surgery to elect to have. My surgeon recommended the bypass or the min-bypass as the best option for me at my age and indicated that I would lose more weight with the bypass than the revision. I was recommended to visit this site to see others experiences and suggestions. Anyone out here have any information they want to share?

Hey Warren, I'm presuming because they would only look at fixing the opening if they did feel it was contributing to the pain and other issues I'm having 'downstream'. This would not be a true revision in the sense of reducing the size of the pouch. My insurance company also only pays for 1 bariatric surgery in your 'lifetime'. They would only pass for the revision of opening if it were medically necessitated, and they would not consider 'failure to lose weight' or a 'weight regain' as medically necessary. My GI wanted me to talk to the bariatric surgeon who specializes in revisions. The surgeon does not think what is happening to me is 'dumping due to widened opening'. He said it doesn't sound like dumping to him and if that happened to everyone whose opening widened, everyone would be having "dumping" issues after a couple of years. He did point out that both the upper and lower GI I had done do not look at the inside of the pouch so if there is a hernia that is causing the on again/off again pain and on rare occasions bleeding (looks like coffee grounds), then the GI doctor would not know as they never 'scope' the pouch for a routine upper/lower GI. He also indicated that depending on the scope size a GI doctor uses, it doesn't go through every single space that we have (due to us having been um "modified"?) so it would take a doctor who uses an extra long scope. That last part I must confess I do not understand at all. He does have me scheduled right now for a laparoscopic investigatory procedure to take a look inside my pouch and see if there is scar tissue or a hernia that needs to be addressed. He also gave me prescription acid reflux meds and said if i got better after 'taking' them, I could cancel the procedure in 2 weeks. What he fails to understand and I've tried telling his office, I can go a month with no pain. Then I go back to back days in extreme pain. Have not been able to tie it to specific food, time of day I'm eating, etc. My right side starts with a stabby/cramping pain (closest I can compare if it feels like the pain I used to get when I ovulated or that 'stitch in your side' type feeling. It often goes downhill from there. I have tried to get it figured out now for 2 years but taking ANY medicine and 'not having an episode in the next 2 weeks' does NOT give me a definitive answer as I do not have this pain all the time, it is just enough to be frustrating and has lasted LONG enough to be concerning. The 'coffee ground' type bleeding that I have observed is one and off for the past 3 months (maybe it started a while ago but now I know what to 'look for'. I don't like going under anesthesia but I'm probably going to keep that procedure scheduled as I have no guarantee that ANY medicine given for the next 2 weeks has 'fixed' any issue. I wonder if anyone else has ever had their opening revised but not their pouch out of curiosity.