vli1127
I had VBG done 6-97 and had lost about 150 lbs. Never did get below 200lbs. I have regained about 50 lbs as of 2-01 and am looking into a revision to RNY.
3-22-01 I have consult appt with Dr. Coster in Grinnell, IA on April 12. Will see what happens. I rechecked my insurance booklet and bypass is still covered. YIPEE!!
4-12-01 Had consult with Dr. Coster. He does not recommend transecting, but will bypass 120cm instead of usual proximal 100cm due to my history of VBG and starting wt before that procedure. He said if he had done the RNY on me at 364, he would have bypassed 150cm. Now awaiting insurance approval.
5-19-01 Gosh, I didn't realize I hadn't been on here to update. About 3 weeks ago I got the approval and scheduled my surgery for RNY. June 29 is the date.
6-21-01 Had pre-op stuff done today. Labwork, incentive spirometer instruction, anesthesia consult, interview. Met a gal who had RNY 2 weeks ago and she was my escort around the place. It was fun visiting with someone who just went through it and knew the ropes.
6-26-01 I am nervous and scared. Surgery is Friday. I have an angel, at least I think I still do. She just hasn't posted it anywhere yet.
7-3-01 Just got home today after surgery on Friday. It lasted about 1 1/2 to 2hrs. Got to keep a perfectly healthy gallbladder, darn. I had some bloody stools yesterday and today, but dr. said that was normal. I had a 4 oz protein shake when I got home and am drinking my water. Clips came out today before discharge too, thought they would stay in a while longer. Have follow up next Thurs, will post wt loss then and start counting down. I don't want to get glued to the scale at home.
7-8-01 Please don't look at weight history below. That was when I had the VBG. I emailed someone on this site and they supposedly deleted it, but it is still there.
7-13-01 I had 2 wk appt with Dr. yesterday and am down 4 lbs from my consult wt of 281. But 18lbs down from my physical wt with my PCP done 1 week prior to surgery of 295. That is the wt (295) i am going by. Wight to day 277.
7-26-01 I am very discouraged and ticked off. I haven't lost a pound since my 2 wk appt. I am so glad I went through this body rearranging surgery again. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8-9-01 Well, according to doc I have only lost 12 lbs since consult. That wt is lower than wt at day of physical which was 1 week prior to surgery. He had me go to Radiology for an Upper GI to check pouch and staple line. Will post results.
8-15-01 I called office today and there isn't any pouch problem or staple line disruption. Slight reflux. So who knows what to do now. Guess I will wait and see what the wt loss is.
10-24-01 3 month check up today with labs. Won't know lab results for a few days. I have lost total of 56 lbs so far. I am walking 60 minutes a day 6-7 days per week and feel pretty good. Down to 18-20 top and 20-22 pants.
12-20-01 6 month check up. 73 lbs down. Doc says wt loss is fine for revision and to expect to lose another 60+ lbs. That would put me around 162, I just can't imagine.
6-29-02 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME! Gosh I guess I should have updated when I had my last checkup in Mid May. My wt on the docs scale was 196, which means I am down 99 lbs. But, he has me 14 lbs less for beginning wt because of the wt from consult, not surgery date. I am stuck at this wt, in fact I fluctuate up and down about 5 lbs. My scale it is 187-192 (I alsways need to add about 10 lbs for doc scale). Unfortunately, I have gotten into snacking and wine, so that explains the stalled wt loss. I am now wearing size M-L top and size 16 bottom.
8-14-02 Had appt with surgeon and wt was 194. So down 101 lbs according to my scale. I also have an incisional hernia. He will send info for hernia repair and panni to insurance company. Had to pull out the apron skin so the nurse could take several pics UGH.
9-13-02 Well insurance company is still waiting for letter of medical necessity from docs office. Called docs office and they said they faxed in. Go figure, I am the middle man.
10-25-02 I got approved finally last week for hernia repair and panniculectomy. My date is November 15 and I am petrified.
11-22-02 I got back today from hernia/panni/tubal ligation. What an experience. I did not go in to surgery until 2pm on Tues and was in my room by 4:30. The nurses were not supposed to get me up for 24 hrs which is unusual for surgery and I got up that night. I bled like a stuck pig, just dripping. My hgb went from 12.1 to 7.1 so I got 3 units of blood on Wed. Hgb to 10.6 after the units. Yesterday my hgb was 9.8. Still oozing but not too bad. Putting out around 50-75 cc blood daily in drains. I was then in bed from around 8pm Tues night until Thurs a.m. with my head of bed at a 30 degree angle the whole time.
As far as the pain, I only hurt in the rt ovarian area for about 4 hours after surgery. Then the incisional pain was more just
burning. I had a morphine PCA which I did not use much except first few hours and am on darvocet now.
The binder is a pain in the butt cause it keeps riding up or rolling and he wants it snug and low. Going to check into spandex or lycra bike shorts and sport bra before drains and staples come out on Wednesday.
12-11-02 WT 185 Down a total of 179 lbs YAHOO. All the staples are our as well as the drains (they came out a couple of weeks ago). Steri strips still in place, slightly swollen, but doc released me from his care for both WLS and PS. Just need to have annual labwork with PCP.
6-29-03 Well, here it is 2 years out. I recovered from the panni/hernia fine and am pleased with pannie results. I have an anchor incision that healed nicely. However, above my new belly button, I look 5 months pregnant still and I thought that was what the hernia was. I should go back to surgeon and have him check it out. My PCP has looked at it and says it is not a hernia and can't explain it.
I am up about 15 lbs to 199 again because I am eating all the time. Plus, alcohol consumption has increased big time. I know what I have to do. Unfortunately this surgery does not get rid of the food demons. It is a quick solution to wt loss, but not the long term results.
7-3-06 Long time no see. Here I am five years out now. My wt is up even further than the last post. I am about 210 now and have joined WW. At the time of the previous posting I had gotten back down to about 185 following South Beach. I no longer have a problem with alcohol because I am in a 12 step program now. I am still very glad I had this surgery though because 25-30 lbs is a heck of a lot more managable to get off than 185 lbs.
7-7-07 Year six now and I am still about 210 pounds. I guess I didn't accomplish much from the previous year. I still continue to exercise on a regular basis but the eating is still a problem. I can eat anything in any amount. I do best with low carb eating when I do lose weight though. I take many vitamins and my labs are good. I still am glad that I had this surgery despite having to still struggle with the weight.
1-24-09 I finally kicked it into gear in May 08. I had regained up to 230 and finally said enough was enough. I started low carbing and continued my exercising as I have. Today I weigh 167, lower than my lowest following surgery back in 01'
4-11-09 I have been going to TOPS now for over a year and when I weighed last week, I hit 164!!! That is 200 total pounds off from my heaviest just before the VBG, holy cow. The avatar pic is me finishing the half-marathon in Oct. 09 walking. I did it in just a few minutes over 3 hours. I tried uploading a more current pic at my current wt. but it was too big.
5-26-12 Regained the weight I lost back in 09. Weighed in at 230.6 again on Monday. Restarting LC woe. Been exercising, never gave that up. But, have had my knees scoped which has put a damper on that.
1-13-14 Up to 268 and started back on LC Jan. 2. WLS isn't the answer.
10/24/17 Wt. 241. Up and down the scale over the past few years. Tried low carb, keto etc. Finally gave up and returned to Overeaters Anonymous about a month and a half ago. Again, WLS isn't necessarily the answer because for me, I eat for many reasons that are not related to hunger. I can eat full meals now and I suspect my stomach is stretched back to normal size. I am having annual iron infusions now since my iron and ferritin levels drop very low. That is a side effect of the bypass, long term.
