Yes I do feel like a different person. You will cross over and I'll be here to welcome you. Alecia

Hi Debra: Please don't take hypoglycemia lightly... see my post from about a month ago: Almost 20 months post op and I'm down a net, 105. I'm headed in the right direction, but not without drama. This weekend I had a serious wake up call. I literally passed out on the floor and hit my head and scared my daughter to hyperventilating tears. It all started with a candy bar someone had offered me at my daughter's basketball game on Saturday. Mentally, I knew I couldn't and shouldn't have it. Like the sugar junky I am, I took it. It made me sleepy. No problem, I went to bed when I got home. After about two hours of slumber, I had no sense of time. The clock registered 6:30... I thought it was 6:30 am. I heard my daughter in the kitchen and went to see why she was up so early on what I thought was Sunday morning (it was still actually Saturday afternoon). I saw her standing in the kitchen in her jeans. I assumed she went to bed without putting on her pajamas. I asked her why she wasn't in bed and why doesn't she have her pajamas on. The girl looked at me as if I was crazy. She said mom, it's only 6:30. Okay, now that I know what time it really is, I'm still feeling tired, so I turn to go back to bed. I never make it. Somewhere between my bedroom and the hardwood floor in the hallway I collapsed. I awoke to the sound of my daughter screaming into the phone with emergency 911. I don't know how long I had been laying there with blood coming from my head. I was able to get up and calm my daughter down. The emergency folks came and determined that my blood sugar was low. It registered 59. The question is how can my blood sugar be low when I ate a candy bar just 2 hours before. I call my doctor's emergency line and they've informed me that my blood sugar was probably below 30, but by the time the 911 folks arrived it had adjusted itself upward. The candy bar took me on a sugar rollercoaster ride. It took me high and dropped me LOW! The moral of this long story is to follow instructions... even though I don't dump in the traditional manner, my body does have a negative reaction to sugar. I have been scared straight... and I am now on the full compliance train. It's sad I had to hit the floor to get there... However, I am a first class passenger. All the best... Denise

CONGRATULATIONS LARRY WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. I HAD MY R N X SURGERY MARCH 1996 ,AND I AM STILL DOING GREAT . I LOST 130 POUNDS. MY HEALTH IMPROVED ,AND SO DID MY SELF ESTEEM. ALTHOUGH I AM GETING A LITTLER OLDER NOW[ 10 YEARS DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE ] I STILL GET UP AT 5:00 AM AND AM GOING FULL SPEED AHEAD UNTIL NIGHTFALL. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GOD BLESS LILLIAN

Hi Everybody, I'm now 3 years post-op and doing wonderful. I was 310(pre-op) and now standing steady at 170. I unfortuately have 4 herniated disc in my lower back and had to have a steroid injection(ouch) and I did gain 4 lbs from that(that scared me--I kept thinking where is this going to stop). It finally leveled out and I lost those 4 lbs. I did have a few complications(plural effusion)(severe anemia-iron infusion)(dialated 3 times)(developed an bleeding ulcer)(hair loss)(severe constiption). Through all of this, I would do it all again, to be able to feel and enjoy life everyday. IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!!! I'm in the Medical Field(Cardiology)and I talk alot to my patients about the RNY and the pros and cons. As you all know it is NOT a QUICK FIX. I was willing to take the risk and to be able to give someone else HOPE for a better quality of life. Thanks all for listening to me rattle on. Have a Great Day!!!!!! Patricia

It has been three years since I was too big to do anything without my lower back killing me and my sweating like I just got out of the pool. I FEEL GREAT!! Some of my accomplishments are: rollerblading up to 15 miles in a day, walking around three Disney parks, walking up five flights of stairs, or anything else I want to do without feeling like I was going to faint. I would advise anyone thinking about having the surgery to do it. It is a lifesaver and I feel like I was reborn on July 26, 2002. I want to thank everyone who supported me and helped me through it all. God bless everybody!!!