RNY to DS revisions are very difficult and there are very few surgeons in the entire country that are qualified to do them. You have to take down the original RNY completely before you perform the DS revision. I have never heard of someone's "pouch being too short" to do a revision.

It sounds like the doctor does not want to do the very complicated DS revision. They will try to talk you into a Distal RNY instead, telling you that it's "almost the same" as DS. It is NOT. You will have to be very compliant with vitamin supplementation because deficiencies are common with Distal RNY, as is chronic diarrhea.

If you have had the tests to see if your pouch is intact and functioning properly and you don't have a mechanical malfunction of the original surgery, you can still lose regain. There are many people on this site who have reached goal years after surgery without revision. It will not be easy, but it can be done. If your pouch is working fine, you can go back to basics and eat like you did right after surgery. Protein first, and very low carbs.

If you must have a revision then make sure you find a reputable surgeon with lots of experience doing RNY to DS revisions. This is a VERY complicated surgery and should be taken seriously. You may have to travel pretty far to get it done correctly.

Has anyone either been told you couldn't get the duodenal switch due to your pouch not be long enough? And if you would still be able to get the rny revision? I had my egd done and he said my pouch is measuring 5cm and should be 7cm. Di I'm quite upset because i really wanted the ds. Wondering if I should do a second opinion with another doctor.

What Julie said about insurance, especially Tricare. Call them and if they do say they pay for revisions I'd have them send you something in writing verifying that. Policies change all of the time and can be misinterpreted even by a companies own agent.

Do you know if you've got anything mechanically wrong up in there? Like a stretched stoma or some such that would support your request for a revision? And do you have any idea what you'd be revising to? As Julie also said, revision options are limited after an RnY. You've basically got the Distal RnY which is a scary bad surgery in my opinion. Or you've got the stoma-tightening type surgeries like the ROSE procedure which basically produce an average loss of about 30 pounds. And I guess I shouldn't forget Band-over-Bypass.

In the end though, no matter how many revisions a person has, we are always going to get to a point where we have to face down that regain monster. Regains happen with ALL surgeries, even with the DS. Eventually we are back the starting point: calories in vs. calories out.

Good luck to you in finding your insurance coverage and making your decision. You're in a tough spot for sure and I wish you the best.

I had a gastric bypass in 2009 (starting weight was 330 and lost down to 150). 10 years later and several illnesses as well as chronic pain (and let's face it... LIFE) and I'm almost 30 pounds heavier than my surgery sw.

Question: I had CareFirst for my original surgery. I am now with TriCare Select. Does anyone know if TriCare would cover the revision even though they have a "1 surgery rule"?

I have a consult with a surgeon (I'm in Augusta, GA) and they are going to do the legwork on the insurance; however, I'm trying to find out if someone has had this situation before I get my hopes up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would work with your surgeon's office and getting them to make the case that the revision is medically necessary. They really need to know all of the side effects and complications you're experiencing ****pt a list on my phone since it was easy to forget about all the little things I have just learned to live with over the years that were not normal). Make sure they understand how miserable you are, how it's affecting your life, emphasize how your current tool isn't working as designed and that you need a solution to the issues and complications you are experiencing. They should be your advocate and help with your insurance company.

I had the same insurance requirement and I had similar issues with frequent stuck, vomiting and GERD. Year after year I would go in and they would run tests, confirm I didn't have a slip or any mechanical issues so I figured there was no chance to revise. I finally gave up and had just had them empty my band, even though that did not resolve my issues. I went back after 3 years since I was still having issues stuck issues daily and really pushed for them to help me. I made it clear I wasn't going anywhere and that I wasn't going to just deal with these issues for the rest of my life. They helped me pursue a revision and when my insurance initially denied it they did a "peer to peer" with my insurance company and it got approved.

Good Luck!