My story… OPEN Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery (RNY) in 2002; Revision in 2016

[MxKitty 93]

I know I had a hard time finding information on others with my situation so I thought I would put my story out there and share as I move through the stages of weight loss then maintenance…

March 4, 2002 I had my original Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (OPEN they didn't have laparoscopic then). I just turned 27 years old. My starting weight was 268 pounds and I lost 136 pounds – a little more than half my starting weight. I hit 132 pounds February 1, 2003 – it took a mere 11 months. I didn’t have any real follow up care after my staples were removed so I just exercised a lot and tried to eat right (and totally got full of myself by the way..).

Slowly between moving twice out of state, getting a divorce and coming out as a lesbian to my family and trying to figure it out for myself – some of my bad habits like grazing returned. Since I couldn’t handle much food I also turned to alcohol as my “comfort” so to speak. I really don’t know why it didn’t “click” that a chocolate martini has about 500 calories EACH with no nutritional value and 3-4 of those a night 4+ days a week did me no favors. I had also pretty much quit exercising.

January 2013 I decided to get my **** together and I was 208 pounds (gasp!) so I had regained 76 pounds. I started eating better, joined the gym and even spent $5,500 on hiring a personal trainer. I was seriously invested. I lost and gained the last 15 pounds several times over 7 months. It seemed no matter how hard I worked the weight just stayed… so again I gave up and decided to just eat & do whatever I wanted too (great idea right?)…

November 2015 I quit drinking – yes totally it’s just not worth it… by now I’m sitting right at 204 pounds. I had been really having issues eating. I could eat “insert any food here” one day and be fine; two days later I’d warm up the leftovers and dump like crazy so my digestion was/is totally unpredictable and I’m hungry practically all the time… so I went to google and typed in WLS revision. That’s when I found Dr. Snow. I called his office and made an appointment to find out if I had totally screwed up my original surgery.

December 1, 2015 My first appointment with Dr. Snow. I provided the story as I’ve written it above. So during this exam we did a barium swallow test right there in the office. It was fairly fascinating to watch it on the monitor. What Dr. Snow determined was my pouch still looked great and wasn’t stretched but my stoma reduction didn't hold from the original surgery. He scheduled me for an Endoscopy to go in and confirm the stoma was enlarged. I weighed in at 204.0 in the office.

December 18, 2015 Endoscopy day – fun times! I was put under light anesthesia & Dr. Snow went in with a camera and checked out my guts. Once I started to wake up he conformed the enlarged stoma and said he would do a Endoscopic Soft Tissue Re-approximation to reduce the size of my stoma which would keep food in my pouch longer helping me feel full longer and to prevent so much dumping since the food I was consuming was falling right out of my pouch into my intestines… his office staff was to contact me with the details.

January 15, 2016 After all the holiday madness I realized the staff hadn’t reached out to me so I called the office. Dr. Snow had moved to his own practice so I was given his new contact information. I called and left a message which was returned the next day. The staff was fantastic. We talked about where I was in the process (insurance coverage) and I was told I’d get a call back once my coverage was determined.

February 2, 2016 I received a call that although my insurance does covers bariatric services they would not cover a “repeat procedure”. I was then told that if self-pay was an option it would be $4,900 for everything and my insurance would cover my follow up care… I scheduled surgery February 9, 2016. Dr. Snow called me later that afternoon and went over expectations and risks. He said I should expect to lose about 60% of what I had regained so he estimated 40-45 pounds. That would put me right about 155 and I would be very happy with that.

February 3, 2016 I started a clear liquid diet & went in for my pre-op testing (Blood draw & EKG).

February 9, 2016 I went into the hospital @ 6:30am for outpatient surgery. Dr. Snow cinched my stoma down to 1mm (yes really 1mm according to the surgery notes in my chart) and added several pleats to the inside of my pouch to make it a bit smaller since he was already in there. I didn’t find out about making the pouch smaller until the next day when I got a follow up call from a nurse who went over the surgery notes with me. I was home by 1:30pm –the hospital was a 30 minute drive one way from my house. Oh and the hospital scale said I was 196.0.

After surgery

• Food: Basically 3 weeks later I’m on soft/moist foods. I can usually eat between 1/3c-1/2c of food and I’m happily full but not bursting at the seams. I do try and eat on the schedule otherwise I forget to eat, like today (2/29) I forgot to eat until it was 11:30 so I’ll be playing catch up all day to get in my Protein. But knowing there’s a 1/2c serving of protein ice cream I can have tonight with 20g protein I’m not freaking out. I use MyFitnessPal to track everything I eat/drink always getting protein in first. I average about 80-85 grams of protein & roughly 700-800 calories per day.
• Weight: I have dropped a little over 18 pounds.
• Follow up care: I was Dr. Snow Feb 18^th and he was happy with my progress at the time. He would like me to lose 9 pounds before our next appointment March 24^th. He also approved of me finding a local bariatric nutritionist I can work with to keep me on track.
• Insurance coverage: The office staff is going to file a claim with my insurance for the surgery on 2/9. I’m fully expecting a denial letter but that will give me a starting point to appeal and fight them on it. This wasn’t a repeat procedure it was a repair and as such should be covered so time will tell. My total out of pocket thus far including co-pays for office visits and the endoscopy is $5,161.72…

…So there it is in a nutshell. I’m attaching a scan of the brochure/pamphlet pictures that explain the revision procedure for the benefit of others wondering what can be done. I’m an open book so please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

Wow! Congrats on all of the life changes!

And congrats on making the choice once again to be healthier [emoji4]

[jj7481 363]

That's a lot for any two people to handle. Best of luck with the continued recovery and success!

[helpless 10]

Best of luck! Glad to hear u are back on track again you have come thru alot you can do this.

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[Rox50 5]

Great Job to you!!

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[Djmohr 6,965]

Glad to hear everything went well and you are back on track! Congratulations!

[Blondebutnot2dumb@gmail.co 0]

Your post is such a godsend!! I have been researching revisions from Open rny due to having same issues as you and I was getting very depressed. I live in poplar bluff and was even researching going to Mexico but was getting shot down by then due to having open rny. I plan to reach out to Dr Snow' office tomorrow to start my journey.

[MxKitty 93]

Your post is such a godsend!! I have been researching revisions from Open rny due to having same issues as you and I was getting very depressed. I live in poplar bluff and was even researching going to Mexico but was getting shot down by then due to having open rny. I plan to reach out to Dr Snow' office tomorrow to start my journey.

Please keep in touch and let me know how things go. I'm barely 1 month post-op revision and I'm down 19.2 pounds and am eating normally - normally for post-op WLS anyways... Feel free to message me

[Blondebutnot2dumb@gmail.co 0]

I'll keep you updated and thank you for sharing your story and email address!!!

[LittleDogLover 1]

want to follow! I have suspicions about my stoma!

[MxKitty 93]

I'm just posting a quick update. In 5 weeks I've dropped 24 pounds weighing in between 176-177. I'm going to a baby shower tomorrow - I'm excited/nervous about if anyone will notice the loss. I can't wait although I am a bit leery of the lunch that will be served so I'm going to pack a Water bottle and a pouch of tuna (poured into a bowl so its not top obvious).

food wise I'm on regular foods and my typical day is high Protein (90+) low carb (-100) low fat (-35) with all the Fiber I can handle. I did have a hot dog on a bun when I got caught unprepared earlier this week and have really beat myself up a about that even though I chewed thoroughly and didn't have any digestive issue.

My only complaint is Constipation (gross) hence trying to get in lots of Fiber.

Thats all for now time for bed

[Blondebutnot2dumb@gmail.co 0]

Keep up the great work and don't beat yourself up. Have you joined te group on Facebook called "BariatricEatingSupport"? They are a no nonsense group that I have found very helpful. They also have a website for Protein Drinks Vitamins and thingsfor Constipation. I have struggled always with constipation and my Dr have me a supplement called super aloe 450 two weeks ago. You take it at night and you will have bowel movement the next day. I have had at least 1 or 2 a day since. I had tried everything previously. On a more personal note for me..I finally received the paperwork from Dr Snow's office so I can schedule an appt..yeah!!!

[girl4god77 39]

Thank you for sharing. I have one question. Where did you find Protein ice cream? ◡̈

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[Djmohr 6,965]

I am so very glad you are doing so well post surgery! Congratulations!

[MxKitty 93]

Thank you for sharing. I have one question. Where did you find Protein ice cream? ◡̈

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I make it myself in my ice cream maker. I got the idea from TheWorldAccordingToEggface and I just have fun with it.

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