Another paper I need input

I am writting a 8-10 page paper on the plus side of WLS.....I would like to use solid information from people that I know have been there....I don't want to read numbers that someone found....SO I was thinking can you please let me know about what you have been through to back WLS...

1. What complications did you have before surgery? I know I was a diabetic. stuff like that....

2. Do you feel better now?

3. Anything major happen to you since surgery?

4. How is your health now?

Thank you in advance.....

Crystal

Hi crystal, Ill try and help. 1. I too was diabetic on oral meds i no longer have to take. I was having blood pressure issues and had to take oral meds for that i no longer have to take and was having bladder control issues which i was taking meds for i no longer have to take 2. I feel much much better now i am like 9 weeks out by the way May 15, 2007 3. i did get a major UTI and have kidney stones but i had those problems prior to WLS 4. my overall health is wonderful i no longer smoke i quit in march for the surgery with chantix, I dont feel extremely tired or anything im rather fortunate in that respect i think I seem to be bouncing back rather quickly I am 6 feet tall and started out at 338 and i now weigh or should say 3 days ago i weighed 262 lol but i was told being i was tall it would drop off quickly........i have never heard why that seems to be the case. hope my answers helped lovie i used to write papers for an english course i was taking so i can relate lol. Good luck to you sweetie they seem a little testy on the boards lately hugz kat

1. What complications did you have before surgery? I know I was a diabetic. stuff like that.... I was diabetic, on insulin, sleep apnea, 3 blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, back pain, 2 depression meds, no energy, slept alot, couldn't walk even a block.

2. Do you feel better now?  OMG yes!!! I can walk over 3 miles at a time, I work out 3 days a week +, I have lost 56 pounds

3. Anything major happen to you since surgery? I became a new person!!! 4. How is your health now? I am off all insulin, BP meds, depression meds. My cholesterol is 133 !!! No more back pain.  I am still having issues with being a bit tired..but working on that. I think my health has improved 100% .... I was maxed out on all my meds....so not much else they could do for me. And now....woohoo.  What are you doing a paper for??

Please keep in mind that many complications do not show up right away after wls.  So, your last question may get far different results in another six months or a year.  That said... 1.  Type 2 Diabetes controlled (barely) by oral medication, high blood pressure, atrial fibrulation, heel spur, shoulder strain, pericarditis, aching joints, tendonitis. 2.  Better than the year leading up to wls.  See 4. 3.  I assume you mean medically, see number 4. 4.   I have added anemia and gastritis to my problems. Diabetes is resolved, so is hypertension.  I still have bouts of pericarditis, a-fib has returned since surgery and is now controlled with medication.  Standard treatment for pericarditis is NSAIDs, wls prevents me from taking them without a serious risk of ulcers.  Heel spur is still a problem, shoulder is not.  Tendonitis is in thumbs, no change. I hope this is useful.

I think it is interesting that we forget to address the emotional issues that come along with WLS.   I think everybody could attest to the physical improvement that WLS has experienced, but how about the emotional issues.  Have we REALLY changed?  What have we done to deal with the mind/body connection.  I am 3 years out, and still have a problem with the perception that I am still morbidly obese.  I wear a size 6, and at times, find myself looking at bigger clothes.  How about our relationships?  WLS has definitely changed mine.   Not all for the bad, but an example, me and my husband had to change our dating habits.  We used to eat out, now I cannot stand to eat in restaurants, so we have had to change those things.  Not only did I have to change my relationship with food, but my entire family had to change.  In the beginning, we do this because we take control of our own life, and that is what we say, but eventually, we have to let others back in, and that is hard, because it is not always safe.  An example for me, is that I eat the SAME food every breakfast and lunch, because that is safe for me.  It is hard to do lunch meetings or go out to breakfast with my family when you are stuck in your safe zone.  WLS surgery is only successful for the long term if we are prepared to make the necessary changes to our emotional health as well as our physical well being.  Please do not forget that, because the physical part of losing the weight is easy, we just eat less.  But keeping it off by changing our long term relationship with food is the hardest part.  If activity patterns are not changed, or good eating habits developed, then in 1-2 years when you can eat more normal, the weight will come back.  That is my soap box, and hope it helps you to look at another part of the WLS journey.   Carol

I have also chosen to do a research paper on WLS for school. It has to be 2000-2500 words. I can't beleive the infomation that i am finding out as I am researching. Good luck in finding valid information. There are so many opinions out there that it is hard to sort through.

1.  The complications I had before surgery were sleep apnea with restless legs syndrome being a major cause of my inability to stay asleep.  I suffered from coronary artery disese and had 3 heart attacks within 8 years.  I had reactive airway disease, facet joint arthritis, which made it impossible for me to even stand upright for more than around 45 seconds without having excruciating pain in my back;  achilles tendonitis, constant pain in all of my weight bearing joints, depression and generalized anxiety,  skin infections from hydradenitis superativa (a chronic infection of the apocrine sweat glands), pinched and trapped nerves in my hands and elbows,  and I had almost no energy or ambition.  Those are just the physical issues I dealt with. 2. Since my Lap-RNY in October 2004, the difference in how I feel cannot be measured or described in words, but I will try.   The first 50 or so pounds that melted away made a huge difference in my mobility, and my pain was more manageable.  I could breathe better, and actually stand up in the shower long enough to get clean.  The next 50 pounds of loss created what I call medical miracles.  I consider myself normal now.  My whole person has changed. 3.  I have not had any major complications from my surgery as of yet.  I am fully aware that some complications can appear later on down the road, and I have done my homework and know what to watch out for. I consider a complication as something unexpected and not a normal event with WLS, or when a normal comlication becomes acute or extreme, so I don't count the normal hair loss, changes in bowel habits, or dumping syndrome, as these are all normal consequences post-WLS. 4.  In self-evaluating my health now, I would say this:  my heart disease is genetic.  It runs in my family and for generations, has striken nearly every family member at a young age...late 20's to mid 30's.   I continue to be treated prophylactically with Plavix, Atenolol, and Crestor.  My cholesterol is down to the low 80's, from the high 200's pre-op.  I never had high blood pressure but taking BP meds is a preventive measure, so I take the Atenolol.  The Crestor controls my LDL, but the fact that I can no longer eat the fats plays a major role in keeping those numbers in check. Let's just say my cardiologist is pleased and so am I.  I have a history of episodic SVT and that continues but I am being monitored.  Before surgery and losing 115 pounds so far, I was getting steroid injections every 8 weeks in my back.  I haven't had an injection since March.  When it came time to have one, I decided to forego it this time because my pain is so very manageable with my pain meds, without breakthrough pain  It's awesome.  I still have sleep issues and have some meds for that but I don't take them regularly.  I no longer need respiratory meds but I do keep an inhaler handy.  I no longer need any depression or anxiety meds.  You'd be surprised what losing just 50 pounds at first, did for my mental state.  Praise God.  I have virtually NO skin issues anymore, but the scarring from all of the previous infections and cysts remain.  I am considering plastic surgery since many of those scars are in the areas that are now left-over skin. I know this was a long post but I wanted to address your questions as thoroughly as possible. I didn't get into the mental an emotional issues because that would require several more paragraphs.  Suffice it to say that I have been re-created, and that I gave my medical issues to the doctors and surgeons, but turned over my mental and emotional health to Jesus, the Great Physician and Wonderful Counselor. I hope this has helped you.  Let me know how your paper turns out. KathyG.