Great question.  11 yrs out here and still have no idea.  Would like to hear from others too.

JA

Thanks so much for posting, this is exactly what I needed to read.

I am really struggling to make the decision at the moment. I'm glad to hear you are doing well. 

I had a stricture right after surgery and threw up for about a month before having it fixed (didn't know I had one till later).  I was several malnourished and my b vitamins were very low.  I had foot drop as a result, and permanent peripheral neuropathy.  My extremities also tingle. My right hand/arm is the worse.  Sometimes it feels like it is on fire, or being *****ed while at others it is so incredibly cold that I am freezing to death.  My feet also do it.  At other times, like this week, its my legs.  I haven't been able to sleep at night without putting on sweater tights and a thick winter pajama top because I am so cold and my legs ache so much.  I had to take a very hot bath last night and wrap my legs up in a thick furry blanket just to get to sleep.  

You need to get your lab levels checked immediately and take the necessary supplements.  I have never stopped taking my supplements but nothing I have done has reversed the problem.  maybe if you get treatment in time, it won't be permanent.  This can lead to serious trouble.  I would NOT wait.

Hi Coogar1, I had my RNY in December 2004. 

I have also had a few endoscopies and they revealed similar results.  However, the bypass doesn't seem to be a permanent revision of the stomach, from what I can tell.  I am not a doctor and I'm certainly no expert.  It scared me, because I thought I'd gain all my weight back, would have to depend entirely on my own willpower, etc.  Well, it's not true.  First of all, your stomach/pouch is forever changed by the surgery, even though it sorta seems to heals up from the surgery.  There is much less stomach acid, which reduces digestion in the stomach.  Again, I AM NOT AN EXPERT and THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL THEORY COMBINED WITH INFORMATION FROM MY DOCTORS. 

If you go back to what you learned when you had your surgery, it WILL STILL WORK!  Go back to drinking tons of water every day, eating numerous small meals per day, protein forward, and all the things you did following your surgery, and you will be pleased.  Make sure you're taking your vitamins and seek supervision of your physician.  And if you're like me, you're going to dump forever unless you stop eating the wrong stuff!  That's the great/terrible thing about gastric bypass.  It forces you to eat healthy!  Or at least to NOT eat unhealthy.

I had two pretty serious lung diseases and was treated with a lot of Prednisone (UGH) whi*****reases your appetite beyond belief.  I ate like food was going out of style.  And I gained about 60 pounds the first time, then another 25 the second time - talk about depressing!  But now I have been gradually losing weight and it hasn't really been that hard, and I have never successfully dieted in my entire life (duh - the reason I had to have RNY).  You can do it!  Do it gradually, do what you know, and your body will help you! 

Hi

I recently after 10 years at goal faced a regain due to emotional stress and eating.  Yep, thought I had it licked. These back to basics really helped me and I thought I would share.  I

Here are some steps I hope will help you. They helped me...  Also, be sure and join the Back On Track Together group link in my signature area.  

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery?  How many meetings, classes and such did we attend?  We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success.  And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods.  Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies and fruits.  

Journaling

Get back to journaling.  This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life.  Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating.  It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband.  It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food.  Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker

Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself.  Make them realistic and small.  Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat​, ​calories, and sugar. Important vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan)

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea?  I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass.  So I was either pushing to be diabetic or get cancer.  I found once I started carrying a bottle of water around 24/7 (yes had one at my bedside) I lost the cravings for the sugar and I KNOW those artificial sweeteners are not good for me. Look I am old and if you add up all the artificial sweeteners I have consumed I am sure I am at the rat in the lab getting cancer threshold

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what I kept moving.  If I could not go to the gym I would walk. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lift weights. When I stopped, the weight came on.  So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV.  Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group.

Keep me posted on how you are doing