Should I convert my sleeve to the gastric bypass?

 I'm 2 months out and already feeling your frustration. And while many responses here are chiming on the  fact that you said you "eat whatever...and have no control over carbs", I noticed that you loss approximately 55 pounds. Which says to me at some point you did try to follow the diet guidelines and that's how you lost the weight you did. I suspect that once your weight started to slow , there was less incentive to stay on track. Thus came the RETURN to old eating habits. You're gonna get a lot of responses about "get your head right", "your sleeve didn't fail you" , "you have to have will power" blah blah. But in the end, you chose the surgery because trying to do all those things before  your surgery, just didn't work. And when you realized that  following the surgery guidelines still doesn't get you anywhere you need to be, unfortunately it is easy to fall back. I'm sorry, but if seeing a therapist and nutritionist were such great problem solvers post-surgical, then it would be problem solvers before surgery and you wouldn't need it. 

I think Drs, healthcare professionals, and yes even us patients, need to be more upfront and vocal about the fact that for many people, WLS of any kind just may not fully resolve longterm obesity. Yes you hear how common failure is AFTER an initial amount of major weight is loss, but rarely do you hear about those that struggle to get to goal. And that's a major disservice. I'm learning that those of us who voice concerns about our slow weight loss during the first months are often "yelled at" as being stupid wimps who can't make this thing work. My stand is if we paid $30k for anything less than a major surgery, and didn't get the results we were sold (let's be real that WLS has no become a big marketing ploy with DRs) then everyone would be up in arms to help us get it right! I mean women can pay $10k for fake boobies and if one of them is lopsided, droopy or whatever, rarely does anyone blame the patient-instead it's the surgeon's fault.

Okay that's my vent for the day. I just had to say "I feel your pain" before everyone else cause you more. If i had a vote, i'd tell you to research DS for all the reasons that others listed. 

Best wishes to you in whatever you choose! 

I followed this site for only a few weeks before getting my sleeve, and I saw it repeatedly stated that the sleeve is just a tool and you will have to make the choices to eat the right things in the right quantity for the rest of your life or the weight won't stay off (or come off).

I'm not sure how anybody could miss that memo.

I do think it would be easy to ignore it and focus on the posts that talk about only being able to swallow a few spoons of food, foamies, etc.  But even then, people are warned that this doesn't usually last and eventually you will be able to eat what you want in most cases.

My surgeon told me that in my case (since I started out with a goal of losing 80 pounds) the sleeve would take the weight off, what happened after that was totally up to me. My PCP told me that weight loss surgery of any type only worked if the patient was fully committed, and told me that one of his patients who had a gastric bypass never lost his weight at all--he just drank shakes all day long and his caloric intake stayed the same.

I do think it's possible to go into this having read all of the facts and experiences and still think you can handle it, and having a rude awakening when you find out you can't, but to say it hasn't been acknowledged is strange to me.

The reason why counseling and such may help AFTER the sleeve when they didn't before is because the sleeve removes the hunger issue and leaves only the emotional issues. It CAN make a difference.  But MANY of our successful vets have posted time and again that they couldn't have lost their weight and kept it off without counseling and/or group meetings.

Good luck!

 
From the Movie Benjamin Button:
Benjamin Button: [Voice over; letter to his daughter] For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. 
You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it.
I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Its never too late to start all over Jenn!

I don't know if your less than stellar weight loss is cuz of YOU or cuz YOUR surgeon. Im thinkin it can't ALL be you.  Do you have a copy of your med records? if not look into gettin a copy (pathology report % & dimensions of exised stomach ) and a copy of your leak test (radiology) to see if your sleeve is anatomically correct.

With your follow up surg visits ...3, 6 month post op visits...and your annual...what did your surgeon & nut say about your poor weight loss? 

Maybe take a look at these posts I wrote to other VSGrs contemplatin a revision from VSG (links below).....
Do the two tests.....tools available to us... would be the most telling if its YOU!! Can do both in 5 days!  
Check your restriction (5DPT) and
capacity (CCT)..to see exactly where you are at.  If its YOU or if its sumthin up with your sleeve...capacity/restriction. 

maybe you DO need malabsorption! Can eat a crapload of calories n absorb just a fraction of em! You'd be surprised how many peeps do give VSG a shot but it doesn't work for em!!  Mostly ALL revisions from VSG go DS, a couplea of REsleeves...but I don't read of many VSGrs that go RNY by CHOICE. They're usually FORCED into it because of some medical problem like ulcers, bile disorders (DBR), Barretts or whatever. 

If I had my ruthers I'd check out DS vs. RNY. Ya got the stomach already. I could never give up my pyloric valve. That is MY dealbreaker. With both RNY n DS you must take a crapload of vit$ n min$ everyday cuz of malabsorption...ya MUST be able to AFFORD DS not only in daily vits n mins, lab work (4 first year, and 1 every 6 months I think) for life, cuz if ya don't the consequences can be dire. DS would give ya the dramatic results you seek..but Jenn ya must take it serious!
Nothin remotely close to VSG...the way we sleeve n leave... DIY n ***** about the last 10 pounds, re-gain!

Check out the DS Forum talk to em...much improved! Also check out dsfacts.com  for surgeons that specialize in DS n revisions. Wouldn't hurt to consult w/ some surgeons!  I betcha ya qualify too.  Chin up Jenn...the answers will come, they always do!!


http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4559122/Has-anyone-eve r-had-their-sleeve-made-smaller/#37790639
  
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/4568027/Stomach-Streac hing/#37863514

I agree with some previous posts - you need to work with a therapist to get your carb/food addiction issues under control.  There is no surgery that will defeat all food addiction issues - you will find a way to eat around a sleeve, RNY, DS or any procedure if you don't get your head in the game.

I'm sorry you have struggled - I think that if you do get your "head" issues under control, you can still use the restriction that your sleeve procedure has given you to succeed.  You can get back to basics, eating protein first and filling in with veggies... but therapy should be your first step in my opinion.

Good luck!