worst forum ever...

I was bored last night and came across a forum called failed weight loss surgery and found quite a few ppl saying they were going for a revision to a rny from sleeve and how they had a failed sleeve.

Please tell me theres a lot More successes than failures I have been very successful so far and I'm about 7 1/2 months out and my biggest fear is when I have less restriction of gaining weight back. I have always had great will power and could stick to any plan, my fav was weigh****chers but after getting to a point I plateau and start getting down and gaining back.

I know I should never have clicked on that forum!

There are tons of successes. Losing is easy, maintenance and keeping the food behaviors/habits in check is where the real work comes into play.

 I actually think it is a good thing to read that forum. While there are some that feel they have a "failed surgery", the vast majority are not VSG.  If you read carefully almost everyone that says their surgery "failed" also admit they are eating junk, not counting calories, not exercising, etc.  This surgery is only a tool - you still have to watch and monitor what you eat. There is no surgery that will just do all the work for you. You can stop losing or gain weight back with any surgery if you return to your old eating habits and dont exercise. I have great restriction with protein, but found that I can eat lots of cookies/crackers/etc - only took doing that once or twice to realize I have to stay away from those foods. If you have problems with food addiction, then see a therapist.  Learn from these people and see what not to do.  Having a smaller stomach is only 1 part of the equation.

I'm also about 7 months out, so my response is only speculation and my opinion.  Having said that, my gut is telling me that many of the folks looking for a revision from the sleeve to rny may not have made all of the lifestyle changes that are needed.  Recovering from being morbidly obese takes a lot of hard work and diligence.  The sleeve, or any WLS is a tool only.  We have to make lots of changes in how we live to sustain the weight loss.  Most of those changes are in our heads.  If we look at the sleeve as just one of the tools we use - an incredibly powerful tool, but just a tool nonetheless, then we have a better shot at success.   Going into this process thinking that WLS is the magic bullet we've all been dreaming of for years, is a recipe for failure.  I also do understand how hard this process is, and being only in my first year, I don't know what the future will bring for me.  I know as time goes on, and I'm further away from being in my 300 lb. misery, my compulsive voice will try to convince me that certain things are ok, I'm normal now, etc..  It will get harder to not give into those thoughts, but if I keep following my plan, whi*****ludes coming here often, it should be a bit easier.   

I honestly think you will find more successes than failures with VSG however anyone can fail their WLS regardless of the type.

During my losing phase I was all about compliance. I followed my surgeon/nut's plan because I was so thrilled with the results I was seeing. I LOVED seeing a loss on the scale.

Then I hit goal and floundered for a while. I wasnt seeing a loss on the scale. It was the same number (within a couple of lbs) everyday and I was a little let down. It took me a while to realize it was ok not to see a loss and seeing the same number everyday was a good thing.

Now that I've been in maintenance for over a year I will say sometimes I "catch" myself reverting back to old habits. Especially when I'm on vacation. Just last week I had a 5 lb gain because I was totally off plan. Seeing the number on the scale creep up scared the crap out of me. A week later that 5 lbs is gone.

To be successful with any WLS you HAVE to be aware of what you are doing. If not then you very well could face regain. I know most of us had WLS to regain our health and be "normal". Unfortunately those of us who have been obese most/all of our lives will never be "normal". I can/do eat all types of food including rice, pasta, potatoes, cake, chips, cookies, etc. However not everyday.

Just stay aware of what you are doing/eating and you will be fine. If you start to see your weight creep up, do something about it then. 5 lbs is much easier to lose than 10, 15, 20 or more.

BTW, my restriction is still great!! At my 2 year check up last month the doc said my sleeve is still as small as it was the day I had surgery. I can still only eat 3 oz of dense protein max with nothing else.

Hang in there! Dont let the "what if's" take over. Stay aware of what you are doing and you will be fine!!

Debby

 There is a popular misconception that WLS is "the easy way" out of weight loss and maintenance.  Even among medical professionals (who should be sued for malpractice for saying this) it is sometime sold to patients along the lines of "You can eat whatever you want and won't gain a pound".  In one of the first support group meetings I went to, a woman told us the story of her sister-in-law who was sold on a rny by being told that very thing.  She was shocked when she got home and didn't lose wight on her diet of Snickers.  I think the real failure you probably saw over and over was a failure to understand what they were signing up for with WLS and what was really involved in being successful.

I agree wholeheartedly with the other posters - the sleeve is only a tool.  The real work we have to do is learning new behavoirs, changing our mindset with relationship to food, and overcoming the mental issues that come with long term obesity.  The weight loss, while not necessarly easy, in my experience is less tortuous than those tasks.  

Even on OH i sometimes see posts from people who are looking at WLS as the easy way out.  For the most part they post once or twice and never come back.  The people who are committed and really wanting this for its life changing aspect are the oes who participate actively on OH, in their support groups, and in their own recovery from obesity.

I love what 46_11tobeme said above - I agree with him/her that people treat their surgery like a first line of defense, when it's really the second - YOU and your committment and lifestyle changes are the first.  For many of these people (not all), the surgery didn't fail them; they failed the surgery.  They stay on plan like it's a diet - a temporary thing - get to a goal weight, or near a goal weight, and let it all go!  Here comes the junk food - high-sugar carbs, maybe beer too, maybe drop the exercising and so it reverses.  And these individuals - rather than looking into themselves and their drivers and keeping a food log which would shock them, they look for another surgery to "fix it." 

It's good you clicked on that forum - it's good to know what pitfalls may be in front of you.  The more aware you are, the more responsive you can be.  

I'm not really worried about not eating right if anyone knows me knows I have high anxiety and I am a perfectionist. I still follow plan to the tee and can't eat more than about an ounce of protein. It just was the thought that ppl would spend all the money on a surgery and when it didn't work was ready to do it again with something else. I love my sleeve and the life it's given me back with my kids. I was self pay so I guess I knew if I didn't get it right the first time I wouldn't get another chance, however with that being sd there is still fear of the what if and the unknown.

If anyone is reading this I am not judging anyone on their individual success, just freaked me out a bit when ppl was talking about failed sleeves it was the same mental feeling before surgery when a lot of us thought I'll be the one person that doesn't lose a pound.

 I make a conscious effort to read the "my WLS failed" posts.

I want to know why the tool didn't work for them...and except for lap-band, which has a high intrinsic failure rate, almost all cases are ppl who weren't prepared, or didn't follow a plan, or expected it to be the solution, not a tool.  It's easy to compromise any of the surgeries - they're all relatively easy to eat around.