GOOD, BAD, AND THE UGLY

i'M LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FROM ANY ONE WHO HAS HAD THE SURGERY FOR TWO YEARS OR MORE. i'M LOOKING INTO THE SURGERY BUT WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT LONG TERM. i WILL HAVE IT DONE BY dr. barber AND dr lorenzo. aNYONE HAD IT DONE BY THEM? wHAT SEEMS TO BE THE AVERAGE WEIGHT LOSE. i AM 5'1/2 AND WEIGH 260 LBS. aNY ONE WHO HAD PROBLEMS OR IS SORRY THEY HAD IT DONE PLEASE ANSWER TO. tHANKS, linda

Hi Linda! Congrats on your journey! I will be 2 years postop in August and had my surgery done by Dr. Elmer Valin, in New Haven. You want to know about the good, bad and the ugly. Well, in my experience there isn't too much bad or ugly to deal with. There are some inconveniences that you get use to and aren't much of a sacrafice. For me, I deal with diaharea more often than I use to, but I'm still very regular. That's my ugly part. As far as bad, I can't think of anything in particular, except maybe that I have to remember the surgery is not done on my brain, but on my body. Sometimes my brain wants to overpower my stomach into thinking that I can eat the things and quantity I use to. I learn my lesson when I do that. Even if I indulge, though, I can't do the damage I once use to. As far as the good is concerned, I really don't think I'd have enough room on the world wide web to write it all down, so I'll give you my highlights. Physically, I can play with my kids, ride a bike, take a walk, cross my legs, feel healthy and fit. I feel like I glide now, compared to the wobble I use to have when I walked. I can see my collar bones. My fingers look slender and not like little sausages. If I sit for too long, my hiney bones hurt.....who knew I had bones down there...LOL! Emotionally, I am a new person. Life seems so much brighter. I can deal with the "little stuff" a lot better than I use to. Life is not a neccessarily a bowl of cherries, but I can deal much better now. My self esteem has skyrocketed. I have done things that I never though I could do. I started a support group and we have grown to over 100 members. I make presentations to hopsitals. I have landed a better job. This all comes from the emotional changes I've gone through. And believe it or not, it's not just the weight loss itself that has caused this change, but it's the journey of the loss. Seeing the power in myself, going after this surgery, sticking to it to the best of my ability and seeing that I truly can do what I accomplish that has made the changes. As I said, I could go on forever but I won't bore you with my details. Hope some of this helps and feel free to email me if you have any questions. MUAH!

Linda, I am two years and 8 months post op. I had my open RNY done by Mitchell S. Roslin in Manhattan, NY. I started out at 5'4.5 and I weighed 290lbs. I now weigh 130 lbs and have maintained my weight. I may flucuate sometimes by about 5 pounds but I do not let myslef go over that point. I did have one complication but it was very minor. I had a stricture that had to be dialated. It was taken care of on a out patient basis and it was not a painful procedure at all. I still suffer from time to time from dumping. My form of dumping is throwing up. It usually happens if I have tried a food I am not familiar with. It doesn't happen very often now. This surgery has allowed me to start school in the fall at the Fashion institue of technology in NY. I will be completing my education in Women's tailoring. At my previous weight of 290lbs I would have never been able to commute in to the city and walk the necessary blocks from the train station to school. I would have been physically unable and embarassed. I don't think I would have been able to complete the tailoring program either. I would have been too tired. I have had a tummy tuck and thigh lift. I do not regret for one moment that I had it done. I live a much fuller life and like Liza I really don't think there is enough room for me to write all of the good stuff. My life is no longer ruled by food. Dont' get me wrong I still fight the sugar demon from time to time but now I have a powerful weapon on my side, my pouch! It punishes me when I eat something bad. I wish you luck on your journey! Take care, Colleen