Disappointment Again

Its been about a week since my 15 month follow up appointment and its taken me about that long to process the information I have been given . At my one year visit I had gained a few pounds. I have had no real significant weight loss since the 10 or so pounds I lost post first revision surgery . So on this visit when I had gained more weight and he asked me more questions about my eating habits how I am feeling I lost it and told him " I am back to square one , no hunger control, always hungry and gaining weight " His response " I saw this coming your last visit and would hope you could have maintained but you have not " I asked him " is this something I AM DOING  ?  am I doing this to myself ?" His response " no this is not your doing " I then asked him " are you seeing other revision patients have the same issues' His response " No , however its still early with revisions so its hard to say ?" In other words this revision surgery has failed as well .
So my doctor has been talking to another associate of his who is doing a procedure , or has done a procedure where they go in and make your pouch smaller from the inside through an endoscope. I am not 100% sure what all this involves however he asked my permission to speak to the doc more at length about me to see if its something I can do or be a candidate for . So we shall see what happens in the next few weeks or so . Is this something I would do ? Yes . I as well as the doc are concerned with long term weight regain for myself . I'll do as I always do and keep you informed .

Its been a while ....

Its now been over a year since my last revision ( from sleeve to bypass ) I would like to say I am at goal and happy with how things are going , but par for my course I am not .
At my last doc apt ( my year apt ) I found out im severely anemic and have to get Iron IV infusions.
I have had 2 infusions so far. The first one went great, only took about an hour and a half. They gave me a "test" dose to make sure I did not have a reaction to it , which I did not and things went well.
The second treatment should have only taken about an hour . I was hooked up to the IV and with in about 5-10 min began to have severe shortness of breathe, became flushed and had a very heavy chest. After a few attempts to get the nurses attention ,( They were busy talking to each other ) a patients husband yelled at them to help me and when the nurse got over to my I passed out !
They stopped the infusion and gave me an antihistamine and medrol ( a steroid ) and restarted it slowly and I was fine after that . Needless to say a scary situation ! So now my infusions instead of taking an hour will take 2-3 .

As for my weight loss etc, due to the anemia i have not been able to work out , walk or do anything, due to not having ANY energy at all . So the weight has been creeping back on slow or not so slowly!
I am also feeling like I can eat larger amounts than I should be able to again .
I am very fearful of my stomach stretched out again through no fault of my own  . I am going to be talking to my surgeon about this next time i see him . While I doubt I Could or would do anything about this , my husband would freak if i had another surgery , I have come to the conclusion that any help from WLS for me is not going to happen, The band did too much damage to me . So the very hard work on my part is about to start once i am cleared to work out . While I have always tried to be more active than before, working out has never been something I enjoyed. But its something I have come to the conclusion I will HAVE TO DO IT and continue to do it in order to not gain weight . After having 2 other failed WLS I feel as if this one has failed also . Which is hard to accept. I am not sure what is going on , but I feel as though the band caused so much damage that its just screwed up everything permanently, which is very hard to take  !

While I am not happy where i am now I do need to remember where i came from .

Before Lap band Surgery (250 Pds ) 

Dec 2014 After both revisions (190 ish pds)

Lets be Honest

The biggest loser I am not . June 10th I will have my offical yearly post op visit with my doc.
I will be the first to admit I am not where I wanted to be at a year out. I wanted to be at my goal weight or damn near close. I am not . I still have 30-40 lbs IDEALLY to lose.
I know my doc will not say anything about my weight, he rarely does. He always asks me how I FEEL. Physically I probably feel fine, feel well , feel healthier , But I am not happy where i am by any means. I have not gained weight in the last year , Lost little but at least I am not gaining .
Its the little things i guess I reach for .

Now lets be honest. I have not worked at my weight loss since around Christmas time. My son became ill and well I Just fell off the wagon . For those new to reading my blog or to weight loss surgery , 3 weight loss surgeries does not make for easy weight loss ! At ALL, EVER , PERIOD !
Money was tight for us for a very very very long time . While you do no need money to work out , it helps and it helps in order to eat healthy .
So now that things are better for us financially I am recommitting to ME . I have signed up for a food delivery service called Fixed Foods , Its Paleo and gluten free, Its very easy on my IBS stomach as well. I will be joining a bootcamp type class that is also kind of personal training and I have a gym my apartment I can use now also . Its time to get serious. I am in a position now where i COULD have a much needed tummy tuck soon , but I WONT Do it until i get the weight off !

I WILL GET TO MY GOAL !! I WILL !
I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO WHERE I USE TO BE !

8 months update

Its been about 8 months since my second revision surgery ( Sleeve to RNY) . Over all i feel pretty good. At my 6 month post op visit my doc was happy with my weight loss and weight at this point , although I am not so much . He was more concerned about how I felt over all and my general well being than my weight loss. Since my band surgery nearly 10 yrs ago I have not felt this good in a long long time ( since before my band complications ) Doc would like me to loose another 20 pds in the next year I would like to loose 40 but he said with the surgeries i have had and now my body is "use" to loosing weight I would have to WORK HARD to loose the 40 . 20 would make me pretty happy at this point .
The one issue I have been fighting since surgery is MAJOR gastro issues. I do not think alot of people talk about this but what the hell i will ! Since the last surgery I have to have BM's with in 30 minutes of eating a meal, they come frequent, loose and often ! Along with that I have sever bloating, cramping and diarrhea . So i took it upon myself to see a Gastro doc . He about a month ago put me on the low FODmap diet as well as diagnosed me with IBS. Since starting the FODmap diet my symptoms are 75% better . Less frequent and urgent BM's less cramping, bloating and pain . I am also on a pro biotic ( Culterelle ) and was given a RX for Hyocsyamine a med to help with cramping and bloating after a meal . So over all, all of these things are helping a ton .

I have slacked MAJORLY on my working out and exercise since the holidays. My son had a minor health issue over the holidays and the stress got to me . I KNEW better and KNEW i should have kept working out but did not ! So Im trying to get back into it again but starting over what i did before, starting off walking and will work my way back to the Y Next month !

Over all i feel good . Weight loss wise im a bit disappointed in but I am not gaining which is good !
Its still a work in progress !

Lessons Learned : 10 years & 3 Weight Loss Surgeries

WARNING: This is meant to be a post about what I have learned over the years. I would like ALL NEWBIES Esp to just LISTEN to it , Read it , do not take offense to it . Especially if you are a revision patient. PLEASE Just listen ! 

If you have not kept up on my story are are new to my story please take a moment and read my back story . You can read about my journey here. Over the past 10 years I have been on many a weight loss support groups. Most have been online. I have learned a few things over the years . Having to have had 2 revision surgeries of not fault of mine I have learned a few lessons and I would like to share them .

Lesson 1:
Its a TOOL: No matter what weight loss surgery you choose , its a tool. Its a tool that needs to be used, used well and used right . There is NO easy way you .
I will be the first to admit my lap band ( before it tried to kill me ) was easy. 125 pounds in 10 months from a size 24 to a 4 in 10 months was easy . I did not work at it one bit .
The sleeve was harder , due to weight regain from my band it was a harder tool to use for myself.
RNY , Again A tool, not easy but its work . Im working at it daily .

Lesson 2:
MOVE YOUR ASS ! This is probably the biggest thing i want people to listen to . Recently on message boards I have heard various people saying things like " Please like im gonna work out " " I wont become addicted to working out " . " 5 years out and I never lift a finger "
Let me say this about working out , moving , being active . This is KEY with ANY weight loss surgery. I work out 3-4 times a week now , if i do not work out at the Y I walk 2 miles a night. No I am not perfect and the last 2 weeks I have not worked out due to some stressful issues in my life but I will be back at it on Monday . Do not be so aarrogant to think that working out , becoming more active is " Just not your thing and you are fine" I thought that myself. However , you may be fine now , i was fine after loosing 125 lbs .. BUT If your tool stops working and YES that does happen it happened to me TWICE You have to have something to fall back on , to help you along the way .
You do not have to go to the gym find something you like, walking , running, yoga, Pilates, dancing FIND SOMETHING and DO IT ! If your tool stops working you will THANK ME and if it does not GREAT You just created a healthy life style. Had i worked out after my lap band I may not have regained so much weight. Maybe I would have but maybe I would not have.

Lesson 3:
A more active lifestyle is not enough : I fooled myself into thinking after my lap band that I was more active, i ran errands , i was at football games school activities etc . I was more active than before my surgery so "that was enough" . Its not . Being more active is a great thing, its one of the amazing benefits of WLS. HOWEVER , its is not in my opinion enough to sustain you long term when it comes to weight loss .

Lesson 4:
It wont happen to me : Newbies espically seem to be very smug when it comes to "weight regain". Its almost funny to hear people say " I am doing just fine Im 3 months out " that's amazing but listen to your elders ! Listen to those who have gone before you and tell you things like " eating a hamburger at 5 weeks out is NOT OK "
I am a model patient, I was a model patient with my band . IF I can regain weight anyone can .
If my band and sleeve failed anyone's can .

Lesson 5:
Its work : ALL weight loss surgeries are work . You have to work . You have to be diligent in  your plan in order for it to work . I am not saying you have to be perfect all the time, lord knows I am not but this is a lifestyle change you HAVE TO Change your life style !

I hope this all makes sense. I was prompted to do this post after seeing so many people be so smug to newbies about their journies. I get everyone's journey is different, but in my opinion people have to be honest with them selves and others for them to know what they will get them selves into .

Update

I am not even sure when my last update was. Not much has changed with me. Depending on the day that either upsets me or I am ok with it . Weight wise I still have 42 pounds to loose. The weight is coming off SLOW SLOW SLOW. BUT its not coming ON and I am maintaining. I am still working out , when I feel like it . I get chronic migraines and my botox ( treatment for migraines ) has worn of so the last month I have been in not the best shape mentally or physically . BUT I get the botox Wednesday so that's good.
I can say this , after 3 weight loss surgeries i have NEVER worked THIS hard to keep it off as I do now. On my good weeks I am at the YMCA doing Yoga, body pump, cardio funk and zumba 6 days a week . On a bad week I walk around my block 3 times a week .  BUT I also feel way better than i Have in a long long long time . Its a process. I have a feeling my vitamin and mineral levels are probably messed up ( blood work next week ) which may have something to do with my weight loss being so slow . So we shall see . I have to remind myself its not even been 6 months since my surgery .

Ya Gotta WORK !

Its been about 4 months since my sleeve to bypass surgery . While it seems like a long long time ago it really has not been that long. I have learned a few things along the way , from this surgery and my others.
First the #1 question I get asked is " Since you have had the lap band, sleeve and now RNY which surgery is best and which is best for me " . While surgery and which surgery to get is a totally personal choice I can say this to people .. First off NEVER GET THE LAP BAND ( I dont like to tell people what NOT to do but this is one i will stand by . DO NOT GET THE BAND ! ) Second off its hard for me to answer this question as to what I like the best. The lap band was "easy" the weight came off with no effort on my part. We all know now the damage it caused so "easy " is not a word I would contiune to use with it . The sleeve .. did i like it ? That is hard to answer also . I will say this , IF I had the sleeve FIRST I think I would have liked it . Its hard for me to tell you if the sleeve is "good or worked" because it never really worked the way it should have for me due to damage from my band. Now how do I like Bypass ? I like it . Its probably as "Normal" as I have felt in a long long time , there is no pain when eating, no joint aches or muscles aches , no vomitting , no getting stuck no throwing up . That being said, it is hard for me to say if bypass would have worked the same for me if i had it the second time or even the first time around. Of the 3 surgeries I am happiest at this point with the bypass.

NOW my progress... Weight loss wise its been slow. REAL Slow.  Its been about 35-40 pounds total so far since my sleeve to bypass. I am currently 183 and my docs office states I was 190 when I had surgery but that's not right I had gained some weight between my surgery and the pre op visit.  Now I have lost WAY more inches than pounds. I was in size 18/20 when i had surgery and am currently in a 12-14 depending on the brand. I just started taking my measurments. Another big change is ..

I am working out !! That's right , Mrs I hate to work out , dont like it never did it . I joined the Y last month and go 3-4 times a week , I actually half way ENJOY it ! Did you faint ?

 

I have been going to body pump , body combat and cardio funk classes ! I will even go and walk on the treadmill BEFORE a class ! ( did you faint again ? LOL) 

Even with the working out I am not loosing as much as I would like. I have a goal to have 25 pounds lost before Christmas. I would like to have ALL of the 40 or so pounds that i have left off before my one year anniversary .  If I get there I get there, but I know I am doing EVERYTHING I can to help myself. I feel better than I have in years now . I eat better and am enjoying myself for the first time in a long time ! So the moral of the story ? Who ever says weight loss surgery is the "Easy " way out has not seen my big ass at the gym working out ! Its ROUGH and HARD . I would have LOVED to have taken the "easy way out " instead of this way !! 

Here is a current picture of me. I had to take it to "See" the changes, while they are small I see them .