Anyone more than a year out and feedback on Dr. Baker?
I would like some completely honest, no-holds-barred feedback on the RNY more than a year out. All I am hearing here locally is that most are having extreme absortsion issures and regret it. I talked to my pain mgt dr and he said that he has about 10 patients who have had the rny and all have had many problems and they say they wouldn't do it again. And can I please get some honest feedback on Dr. Baker. Things are done so differently here than VA. In Va we could meet with the dr's before deciding who was going to do the surgeon. Evidently you can't do that in Ar. And I don't count the seminars...nothing beats one-on-one because everyone has differnt bodies, problems etc.
I was going to have my band done by Dr. Baker and thank god I didn't. Like you I haven't heard anything good about him. I don't know if I can help but you could try talking to Dr. Wellborn and see if he can do anything to help you. He did my Lap band but I know he does all kinds of weightloss surgeries. I hope everything works you okay. Do you know who does good plastic surgery and how I can get my insurance to pay for it?
The OP never said that they hadn't heard anything good about Dr. Baker (unless I missed something).
If you have "never heard anything good" about Dr. Baker, I can only conclude that you havne't been listening.
Edited to add:
Here is Dr. Baker's profile on OH where you can read reviews of him from his actual patients. He gets glowing reviews.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+p rofile+John+Baker+q.html
If you have "never heard anything good" about Dr. Baker, I can only conclude that you havne't been listening.
Edited to add:
Here is Dr. Baker's profile on OH where you can read reviews of him from his actual patients. He gets glowing reviews.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+p rofile+John+Baker+q.html
I am more than a year out and I absolutely 
LOVE my RNY. It was the best thing I have EVER done for myself. I believe it not only ENHANCED my life - it SAVED my life.
I weighed 255.4 prior to having my RNY. (I'm 5'5.)
Before my RNY, I could not walk from my truck into a store (no matter how close I parked) without getting out of breathe. I also had to walk so slowly (dragging around all that extra weight) that I was always the "last one" to get into the store (or anywhere for that matter) when I was with people. I could not shop without using the shopping cart to lean over onto to help carry some of my weight. Even then, I'd get tired quickly and need to rest or go home. Since my RNY, I not only don't CARE where I park (in the farthest spot from the store is fine), but I am the FIRST one into the store! I am NEVER out of breathe unless I am actually exercising or something. I let my daughter or son push the shopping cart lots of the time now because I don't need it as a "walker" anymore. My kids have to pull ME out of the mall now when THEY get tired - not the other way around.
Before my RNY, I had severe sleep apnea. I would stop breathing SEVERAL times per hour. My oxygen levels would fall into the 60s (no, that's not a typo - SIXTIES) during the night. The hospital where I had my sleep study done said that I had one of the worst cases of sleep apnea that they had ever seen. They said that if I came into the hospital with a oxygen level in the 60s, I would be intubated. (Ouch!) To get a decent night's sleep (and to stay alive - as sleep apnea can be fatal), I slept with a CPap machine with humidifier AND an added oxygen tank (the size of a water cooler next to my bed) every night. I don't know how much you know about sleep apnea - these devices helped me to keep breathing throughout the night. Since my RNY, I sleep well and wake up rested. I do this WITHOUT the aid of ANY machines. If memory serves, I have been off CPap (and the added oxygen, etc) since approximately 2 - 3 weeks post-op. I no longer need machines to keep my alive and rested during the night. My oxygen levels are normal.
The above are just the two most blatant examples that I can give you about how RNY has improved/saved my life. My ONLY regret with RNY is not doing it YEARS earlier. Obesity does so much damage to the body - some of which is not even reversable. (I will still need knee replacements in the future because my knees are ruined. Being skinny will help me put off knee replacements for years since they don't hurt anymore, but being skinny cannot UN-ruin my knees.)
As far as what your pain management doctor said - I honestly have trouble believing that. (I'm not doubting YOU - I'm doubting HIM.) If 10 out of 10 patients he knows have had complications, that would be very odd. What is MORE believable is that he is one of those doctors that just doesn't LIKE weight loss surgery and tries to convince his patients not to have it by saying things like that. (My old PCP was like that until he followed my results. Now he sings a different tune. He can't argue with results.)
Dr. Baker is WONDERFUL. I believe he is the best surgeon in the state. He has done my RNY and all of my family members' RNYs (both lap and open). We have ALL done well and NONE of us have had complications.
My aunt was the first person in our family to have WLS (and the first to use Dr. Baker). She is an RN and CEO of a local hospice. She previously worked at Baptist for a short time. Knowing several people on the nursing staff there helped tremendously in making her surgery and surgeon selection. (Nurses see so much behind closed doors that we as patients do NOT see. So their recommendation carries a lot of weight with me.)
I used doctor Baker for my RNY over a year ago. I didn't want to use Dr. Baker just because my family member(s) did. So I researched SEVERAL surgeons. I researched several surgeons in Arkansas (and even some in Texas).
The top 5 reasons (that I can think of right now) as to why I chose Dr. Baker are listed below.
1) He has an extremely LOW complication/mortality rate.
2) He is THE MOST RECOMMENDED SURGEON by the nursing and hospital staff at BMC. One nurse even went so far as to say that they would "not let anyone touch me other than John W Baker".
3) I could find no malpractice suits filed against him. (Most other surgeons have at least one - some sadly have several.)
4) He doesn't try to "sell you" on weight loss surgery in general, nor does he lead you to believe that it will "fix" you. (I can't stand surgeons that advertise using before and after pictures. Such ads send the message that if you have that surgery, you will have that result. Dr. Baker flat out tells people that the surgery will not FIX you. It is only a TOOL that YOU must work to USE to get results. He NEVER implies that the surgery will just hand you the before/after photo results.)
5) He is SUPER focused on after-care. In fact, he tells his patients up-front - if you aren't going to do the aftercare, I don't need you for a patient.
You can get a consult with any surgeon. It does not commit you to using that surgeon.
Good luck.
Wen
Edited to add:
I forgot to address the "extreme absorption issues" and regret.
Most RNY surgeons bypass between 100 - 150. Dr. Baker is a conservative bypasser - so his bypasses tend to be more near 100 than 150. (I hope that makes sense - I don't know how much research you've done.)
As far as regret, I have not spoken to ONE SINGLE PERSON in real life or on the state of AR forum who has regretted this (that I can recall).
I also wanted to add another reason why I chose Dr. Baker that I forgot to add when I first posted this (and it's a big reason I chose him). When other surgeons throughout the state (and even out of state) have "botched" patients or patients who need a revision for some reason or another, they send them to Dr. Baker to fix. The fact that OTHER SURGEONS send problem patients and/or "botched" jobs to Dr. Baker to fix speaks VOLUMES to me about what other SURGEONS think of Dr. Baker's abilities.
Edited to add again:
Another thing to consider (even though you're getting RNY)...
When the REALIZE BAND was first being released to surgeons around the US, they brought surgeons from all over the country in IN GROUPS to kind of show them how to use it (that's a simple way of saying it, but I'm not going for complexity here). When bringing the surgeons in in groups, they started with the surgeons around the country who had the LOWEST complication/mortality rates to be in the FIRST group. (This makes sense. If you had a new WLS product, you would want the BEST surgeons using your product first so that word would get out how great it is. You wouldn't want f*ups using it first so that word gets around about how crappy it is. You know what I mean???) In any event, only TWO surgeons from the state of AR were invited to go to the FIRST ROUND "draft" (the intial first group of surgeons to be shown REALIZE band info). Those TWO surgeons were Dr. Gibbs and Dr. Baker. I know you're getting RNY, not lapband. But this still speaks to how good of a surgeon, in general, Dr. Baker (and Dr. Gibbs) are.
LOVE my RNY. It was the best thing I have EVER done for myself. I believe it not only ENHANCED my life - it SAVED my life. I weighed 255.4 prior to having my RNY. (I'm 5'5.)
Before my RNY, I could not walk from my truck into a store (no matter how close I parked) without getting out of breathe. I also had to walk so slowly (dragging around all that extra weight) that I was always the "last one" to get into the store (or anywhere for that matter) when I was with people. I could not shop without using the shopping cart to lean over onto to help carry some of my weight. Even then, I'd get tired quickly and need to rest or go home. Since my RNY, I not only don't CARE where I park (in the farthest spot from the store is fine), but I am the FIRST one into the store! I am NEVER out of breathe unless I am actually exercising or something. I let my daughter or son push the shopping cart lots of the time now because I don't need it as a "walker" anymore. My kids have to pull ME out of the mall now when THEY get tired - not the other way around.
Before my RNY, I had severe sleep apnea. I would stop breathing SEVERAL times per hour. My oxygen levels would fall into the 60s (no, that's not a typo - SIXTIES) during the night. The hospital where I had my sleep study done said that I had one of the worst cases of sleep apnea that they had ever seen. They said that if I came into the hospital with a oxygen level in the 60s, I would be intubated. (Ouch!) To get a decent night's sleep (and to stay alive - as sleep apnea can be fatal), I slept with a CPap machine with humidifier AND an added oxygen tank (the size of a water cooler next to my bed) every night. I don't know how much you know about sleep apnea - these devices helped me to keep breathing throughout the night. Since my RNY, I sleep well and wake up rested. I do this WITHOUT the aid of ANY machines. If memory serves, I have been off CPap (and the added oxygen, etc) since approximately 2 - 3 weeks post-op. I no longer need machines to keep my alive and rested during the night. My oxygen levels are normal.
The above are just the two most blatant examples that I can give you about how RNY has improved/saved my life. My ONLY regret with RNY is not doing it YEARS earlier. Obesity does so much damage to the body - some of which is not even reversable. (I will still need knee replacements in the future because my knees are ruined. Being skinny will help me put off knee replacements for years since they don't hurt anymore, but being skinny cannot UN-ruin my knees.)
As far as what your pain management doctor said - I honestly have trouble believing that. (I'm not doubting YOU - I'm doubting HIM.) If 10 out of 10 patients he knows have had complications, that would be very odd. What is MORE believable is that he is one of those doctors that just doesn't LIKE weight loss surgery and tries to convince his patients not to have it by saying things like that. (My old PCP was like that until he followed my results. Now he sings a different tune. He can't argue with results.)
Dr. Baker is WONDERFUL. I believe he is the best surgeon in the state. He has done my RNY and all of my family members' RNYs (both lap and open). We have ALL done well and NONE of us have had complications.
My aunt was the first person in our family to have WLS (and the first to use Dr. Baker). She is an RN and CEO of a local hospice. She previously worked at Baptist for a short time. Knowing several people on the nursing staff there helped tremendously in making her surgery and surgeon selection. (Nurses see so much behind closed doors that we as patients do NOT see. So their recommendation carries a lot of weight with me.)
I used doctor Baker for my RNY over a year ago. I didn't want to use Dr. Baker just because my family member(s) did. So I researched SEVERAL surgeons. I researched several surgeons in Arkansas (and even some in Texas).
The top 5 reasons (that I can think of right now) as to why I chose Dr. Baker are listed below.
1) He has an extremely LOW complication/mortality rate.
2) He is THE MOST RECOMMENDED SURGEON by the nursing and hospital staff at BMC. One nurse even went so far as to say that they would "not let anyone touch me other than John W Baker".
3) I could find no malpractice suits filed against him. (Most other surgeons have at least one - some sadly have several.)
4) He doesn't try to "sell you" on weight loss surgery in general, nor does he lead you to believe that it will "fix" you. (I can't stand surgeons that advertise using before and after pictures. Such ads send the message that if you have that surgery, you will have that result. Dr. Baker flat out tells people that the surgery will not FIX you. It is only a TOOL that YOU must work to USE to get results. He NEVER implies that the surgery will just hand you the before/after photo results.)
5) He is SUPER focused on after-care. In fact, he tells his patients up-front - if you aren't going to do the aftercare, I don't need you for a patient.
You can get a consult with any surgeon. It does not commit you to using that surgeon.
Good luck.
Wen
Edited to add:
I forgot to address the "extreme absorption issues" and regret.
Most RNY surgeons bypass between 100 - 150. Dr. Baker is a conservative bypasser - so his bypasses tend to be more near 100 than 150. (I hope that makes sense - I don't know how much research you've done.)
As far as regret, I have not spoken to ONE SINGLE PERSON in real life or on the state of AR forum who has regretted this (that I can recall).
I also wanted to add another reason why I chose Dr. Baker that I forgot to add when I first posted this (and it's a big reason I chose him). When other surgeons throughout the state (and even out of state) have "botched" patients or patients who need a revision for some reason or another, they send them to Dr. Baker to fix. The fact that OTHER SURGEONS send problem patients and/or "botched" jobs to Dr. Baker to fix speaks VOLUMES to me about what other SURGEONS think of Dr. Baker's abilities.
Edited to add again:
Another thing to consider (even though you're getting RNY)...
When the REALIZE BAND was first being released to surgeons around the US, they brought surgeons from all over the country in IN GROUPS to kind of show them how to use it (that's a simple way of saying it, but I'm not going for complexity here). When bringing the surgeons in in groups, they started with the surgeons around the country who had the LOWEST complication/mortality rates to be in the FIRST group. (This makes sense. If you had a new WLS product, you would want the BEST surgeons using your product first so that word would get out how great it is. You wouldn't want f*ups using it first so that word gets around about how crappy it is. You know what I mean???) In any event, only TWO surgeons from the state of AR were invited to go to the FIRST ROUND "draft" (the intial first group of surgeons to be shown REALIZE band info). Those TWO surgeons were Dr. Gibbs and Dr. Baker. I know you're getting RNY, not lapband. But this still speaks to how good of a surgeon, in general, Dr. Baker (and Dr. Gibbs) are.
Hi there,
I don't know where people have gotten the idea that Dr Baker isn't a good doctor, that's just CRAZY talk if you ask me, and I'm a Gibbs' patient!!!!
If I hadn't met Gibbs, Baker would have been my choice, hands down. I run the post op support group here in LR and see many patients of different doctors, and know of the different offices and their staffs. Baker is the president of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons and is extremely committed to the care of morbidly obese citizens. His pre and post care is excellent, and eventhough he is strict, he's that way for a reason.
There's no earthly reason why you can't go and talk one on one to any doctor here in AR. We're not THAT backwards here!
Good luck on your journey
I don't know where people have gotten the idea that Dr Baker isn't a good doctor, that's just CRAZY talk if you ask me, and I'm a Gibbs' patient!!!!
If I hadn't met Gibbs, Baker would have been my choice, hands down. I run the post op support group here in LR and see many patients of different doctors, and know of the different offices and their staffs. Baker is the president of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons and is extremely committed to the care of morbidly obese citizens. His pre and post care is excellent, and eventhough he is strict, he's that way for a reason.
There's no earthly reason why you can't go and talk one on one to any doctor here in AR. We're not THAT backwards here!
Good luck on your journey
Susan
Hi, I'm just over a year out from Open RNY with Dr Baker. He is very strict but also very caring and wonderful Dr. The first time I met him, I was 400 pounds (400 exactly). He made me cry, but that was not his intention. You know the saying, the truth hurts, well Dr Baker was truthful with me, and yeah it hurt. I saw him again before surgery so he could see how I was doing on my pre-op liquid diet. He was happy with my progress so far and decided that I was committed enough that I would make a great post-op. That is one of his concerns, how dedicated a person will be after surgery because it is very important after surgery to follow all the rules. And that is mainly for your benefit, not his.
He was right there by me when I woke up from surgery. He came and saw me every day I was in the hospital. He was very proud of how well I was doing, as far as walking up and down the halls (they wanted me up like every hour or so walking just a little bit, to help with not getting clots and also to help with healing and such) well I was walking like every 15 minutes and was walking all around the floor, not just the hall. I had hardly any post-op pain.
I was on a CPAP machine setting at 14, 02 oxygen at night and as needed during the day (and used it a lot during the day to), I could hardly walk, walked slowly, held onto walls or carts in the stores, and was hunched over because my back couldn't carry my upper weight. I couldn't breathe (I have COPD, Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, no cure, 4th leading cause of death in the world, and my weight made it worse, and I am only 30). I take a handful of medications, but since surgery have stopped some of them. I had no trouble with blood pressure, diabetes or my heart. Actually, even at 400 with lung disease, all my Dr's were very surprised by the factr that my heart was strong and in excellent shape and health.
My CPAP settings are now at 8, I will never get off of it, as I had Sleep Apnea even when I was a skinny child. But everyone is confident it will go down another notch or two. I still have COPD, it is uncurable (emphysema is part of COPD, but I have the chronic bronchitis part of it). I do not need my 02 during the day (only at night with my CPAP). I run everywhere, I can hop, jump, stand on the couch, dance, wiggle, shake my booty! I go to stores all the time. I am not embarrased to be the fattest girl in wal mart (which is how I always felt). My depression is better (but I had it before I became overweight, so it isn't going anywhere). I can wear a seat belt. I don't drive, but I am no longer trying to find rides around town, I walk EVERYWHERE!!
I just saw Dr. Baker for my one year post op, and then again the next day at the Walk from Obesity. I am on track, doing great, following the rules. I have lost almost 200 pounds in 1 year.!!
The only thing that has not gotten better, and actually has become worse is my back, shoulder and hip pain/problems. I am on way more pain medications then before surgery ( 10/500 hydrocodone 4x daily and 10mg methadone 2x daily). This is what 400 pounds did to my body. I hurt yeah, but I am in physical therapy to fix the damage the weight did to my bones, muscles and joints. Surgery fixed my weight problem, now I am fixing the damage the weight did to my body. I have a lot of flab and fat pockets and hanging skin on parts of my body. I make jokes about it, because it does not sadden me to see that I have saddlebags on my thighs, or bat wings on my arms. I would rather have hanging skin I can hide under clothes than fat that doesn't hide no matter how big of a shirt you buy. I was in a 4x/5x shirt and 34w pants, now I wear XL shirt and 20 pants.
Dr Baker has been a great support! He is one of the best surgeons in this state, and in my opinion probably one of the best in the surrounding states as well. I don't think he has lost any patients from his surgical abilities. If he thinks that there is even the slightest chance you won't make it, he won't do it. If he thinks you won't follow the post-op rules, he won't do it. He doesn't care about the money, yeah I am sure money is nice, but he cares about YOU! If I had to do it over again, YEAH! And with Dr Baker again. I would have done it sooner though, I would have quit smoking years earlier so as to not delay my surgery as long as I did. But I am glad I had it done. I may even be able to go back to work again one day.
He was right there by me when I woke up from surgery. He came and saw me every day I was in the hospital. He was very proud of how well I was doing, as far as walking up and down the halls (they wanted me up like every hour or so walking just a little bit, to help with not getting clots and also to help with healing and such) well I was walking like every 15 minutes and was walking all around the floor, not just the hall. I had hardly any post-op pain.
I was on a CPAP machine setting at 14, 02 oxygen at night and as needed during the day (and used it a lot during the day to), I could hardly walk, walked slowly, held onto walls or carts in the stores, and was hunched over because my back couldn't carry my upper weight. I couldn't breathe (I have COPD, Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease, no cure, 4th leading cause of death in the world, and my weight made it worse, and I am only 30). I take a handful of medications, but since surgery have stopped some of them. I had no trouble with blood pressure, diabetes or my heart. Actually, even at 400 with lung disease, all my Dr's were very surprised by the factr that my heart was strong and in excellent shape and health.
My CPAP settings are now at 8, I will never get off of it, as I had Sleep Apnea even when I was a skinny child. But everyone is confident it will go down another notch or two. I still have COPD, it is uncurable (emphysema is part of COPD, but I have the chronic bronchitis part of it). I do not need my 02 during the day (only at night with my CPAP). I run everywhere, I can hop, jump, stand on the couch, dance, wiggle, shake my booty! I go to stores all the time. I am not embarrased to be the fattest girl in wal mart (which is how I always felt). My depression is better (but I had it before I became overweight, so it isn't going anywhere). I can wear a seat belt. I don't drive, but I am no longer trying to find rides around town, I walk EVERYWHERE!!
I just saw Dr. Baker for my one year post op, and then again the next day at the Walk from Obesity. I am on track, doing great, following the rules. I have lost almost 200 pounds in 1 year.!!
The only thing that has not gotten better, and actually has become worse is my back, shoulder and hip pain/problems. I am on way more pain medications then before surgery ( 10/500 hydrocodone 4x daily and 10mg methadone 2x daily). This is what 400 pounds did to my body. I hurt yeah, but I am in physical therapy to fix the damage the weight did to my bones, muscles and joints. Surgery fixed my weight problem, now I am fixing the damage the weight did to my body. I have a lot of flab and fat pockets and hanging skin on parts of my body. I make jokes about it, because it does not sadden me to see that I have saddlebags on my thighs, or bat wings on my arms. I would rather have hanging skin I can hide under clothes than fat that doesn't hide no matter how big of a shirt you buy. I was in a 4x/5x shirt and 34w pants, now I wear XL shirt and 20 pants.
Dr Baker has been a great support! He is one of the best surgeons in this state, and in my opinion probably one of the best in the surrounding states as well. I don't think he has lost any patients from his surgical abilities. If he thinks that there is even the slightest chance you won't make it, he won't do it. If he thinks you won't follow the post-op rules, he won't do it. He doesn't care about the money, yeah I am sure money is nice, but he cares about YOU! If I had to do it over again, YEAH! And with Dr Baker again. I would have done it sooner though, I would have quit smoking years earlier so as to not delay my surgery as long as I did. But I am glad I had it done. I may even be able to go back to work again one day.
Weight 5 Years Ago (2002): 275.0 -- 50.3 BMI
Pre-Consult (7/05/07): 400.12 pounds -- 73.2 BMI
Surgery Day (8/15/07): 369.8 -- 67.6 BMI
Past Weight (09/30/08): 205.0 -- 37.5 BMI
Current Weight (01/08/09): 190.0 -- 34.7 BMI
Check Out My Profile for Pics & Blog
Pre-Consult (7/05/07): 400.12 pounds -- 73.2 BMI
Surgery Day (8/15/07): 369.8 -- 67.6 BMI
Past Weight (09/30/08): 205.0 -- 37.5 BMI
Current Weight (01/08/09): 190.0 -- 34.7 BMI
Check Out My Profile for Pics & Blog
Wanted to add that the only bad things I have had since surgery, is that I am cold, all the time. I never seem to get warm. Even in summer, I am sleeping under several blankets.
If I skip on certain vitamins I have some terrible side effects (like forgetting my iron for a few days causes my restless legs syndrome to come back in full force and even affects my arms as well). My vitamin D level is way below what it should be and is almost non existance, so I will be having to take a million times the recommended amount to get it back up to par.
For 3 weeks after surgery I cried all the time, my hormones went crazy and everything made me cry, even happy things. If I eat to fast or don't chew enough or take big bite food sometimes gets stuck and I have to make myself throw up to get it out or either lay down in misery and wait for it to go down on its own (guess which one I would rather do?).
I did lose some hair, which happens to almost every one. It wasn't alot, but now my hair is thinner than what it was.
I have to make myself eat, even at 1 year, I don't get hungry. It can be hard to try to fit in 3 meals and a snack, plus 64oz of liquids. I only eat 2 meals a day and 1 snack, and don't always get all my liquids in but I get the minimum. I get 52gms of protein in through protein powder daily and hope I get the rest through foods.
My taste buds change all the time, one day I can eat chicken and it agrees with me and have no trouble eating, the next day, yuck.
Now these are not something only I have trouble with, many post ops cry after surgery, many are cold, many have trouble finding food that they can eat. Most will lose hair, but most will only lose a little, a rare few (and I do mean RARE FEW) will lose a lot, and I have known of 1 or 2 on the boards (RNY board included) that have shaved their heads to help their hair grow back normal and even, but that is very rare.
And the WORST SIDE EFFECT OF ALL!!!!!!!
My periods are normal and on time every month for the first time in 5+ years. Yeah I hate it, normal period, cramps. Having to buy pads and tampons and midol. And this is no joke, this I think is by far the worst thing I have hated since I had surgery. I never liked my periods before, what few I did have, and I hate them now. But atleast they are normal, which means that if I should want a child one day, I am only 30, I know I will be able to. I just have to find some booty first (haha), after I am married of course, cause I am a good girl and my mother would kill me if I had a child out of wedlock (even at 30 she still will put me over her knee and break the wooden spoon on my butt, just now she doesn't have to use a big decorative one, she can use the small one) *smiles*
If I skip on certain vitamins I have some terrible side effects (like forgetting my iron for a few days causes my restless legs syndrome to come back in full force and even affects my arms as well). My vitamin D level is way below what it should be and is almost non existance, so I will be having to take a million times the recommended amount to get it back up to par.
For 3 weeks after surgery I cried all the time, my hormones went crazy and everything made me cry, even happy things. If I eat to fast or don't chew enough or take big bite food sometimes gets stuck and I have to make myself throw up to get it out or either lay down in misery and wait for it to go down on its own (guess which one I would rather do?).
I did lose some hair, which happens to almost every one. It wasn't alot, but now my hair is thinner than what it was.
I have to make myself eat, even at 1 year, I don't get hungry. It can be hard to try to fit in 3 meals and a snack, plus 64oz of liquids. I only eat 2 meals a day and 1 snack, and don't always get all my liquids in but I get the minimum. I get 52gms of protein in through protein powder daily and hope I get the rest through foods.
My taste buds change all the time, one day I can eat chicken and it agrees with me and have no trouble eating, the next day, yuck.
Now these are not something only I have trouble with, many post ops cry after surgery, many are cold, many have trouble finding food that they can eat. Most will lose hair, but most will only lose a little, a rare few (and I do mean RARE FEW) will lose a lot, and I have known of 1 or 2 on the boards (RNY board included) that have shaved their heads to help their hair grow back normal and even, but that is very rare.
And the WORST SIDE EFFECT OF ALL!!!!!!!
My periods are normal and on time every month for the first time in 5+ years. Yeah I hate it, normal period, cramps. Having to buy pads and tampons and midol. And this is no joke, this I think is by far the worst thing I have hated since I had surgery. I never liked my periods before, what few I did have, and I hate them now. But atleast they are normal, which means that if I should want a child one day, I am only 30, I know I will be able to. I just have to find some booty first (haha), after I am married of course, cause I am a good girl and my mother would kill me if I had a child out of wedlock (even at 30 she still will put me over her knee and break the wooden spoon on my butt, just now she doesn't have to use a big decorative one, she can use the small one) *smiles*
Weight 5 Years Ago (2002): 275.0 -- 50.3 BMI
Pre-Consult (7/05/07): 400.12 pounds -- 73.2 BMI
Surgery Day (8/15/07): 369.8 -- 67.6 BMI
Past Weight (09/30/08): 205.0 -- 37.5 BMI
Current Weight (01/08/09): 190.0 -- 34.7 BMI
Check Out My Profile for Pics & Blog
Pre-Consult (7/05/07): 400.12 pounds -- 73.2 BMI
Surgery Day (8/15/07): 369.8 -- 67.6 BMI
Past Weight (09/30/08): 205.0 -- 37.5 BMI
Current Weight (01/08/09): 190.0 -- 34.7 BMI
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I LOVE Dr. Baker! He did my lap band in July. My rheumatologist recommended him and actually told me that he were having the surgery that he wouldn't let anyone else touch him. I have heard that line so many times! I have also heard from several nurses at the hospital that he was the best there is! One lady told me "Dr. Baker makes no mistakes. Other doctors bring their mistakes to him to fix!" At first during our office visits, he was very serious and stern...not mean or unfriendly but wanting to make sure I knew the risks and the committment it would take! Every time I see him now he is so sweet and caring. I can't imagine using any one else!! I think we are even related...my dad's mother was a Wilder and my dad has those same beautiful blue eyes that Dr. Baker has... so I am taking my "Wilder" family geneology to him on my next visit! Good luck in making your decision!!
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Roller Weight Loss Center Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Tulsa
Stargazer Lily · 2 replies · 4325 views
Stargazer Lily · 2 replies · 4325 views
