I just wanted to know if anyone would not do it all again and why

Allllll parta my charm, Ian.

Ty for all the help i know it is what i want/need i really just wanted to know everything i can so i can keep moving ahead i do know a few people who have had it done and they all say they wish they had done it sooner i have been thing of doing it for 6 years and about 6mons ago i was sure this was for me but still reading and rereading every thing i can Ty for taking the time to post and so happy for you all that things are going well :)

It's a very good question.  Have you looked on the failed WLS board or the regrets board?

Many thanks to Ian and Ruth who put some thoughtfulness and time into their reply to your insightful question!

I had my surgery on Feb. 22, 2012 and have lost 90 pounds so far. Physically I'm doing pretty good for the last month - had some problems the first 4 months with strictures and pain but that seems to have settled down. If you are contemplating this surgery, you have to know that you may have complications - not necessarily life-threatening complications - but even "minor" complications can throw you for a loop or two.

Mentally it's been pretty hard right from the start. This is a major, life altering procedure and as Ian and Ruth have mentioned in their posts, whatever mental stuff you had before the surgery will still be there (and could get worse) after the surgery.

We are so pumped and striving to get to our surgery date in record time from our initial referal that, I think, some of us don't take the thoughtful time required to really understand what we are doing to ourselves. This is not a statement fact - just my opinion. I'm sure I'll hear about it.

I cannot say for certain that I would get this procedure done again if I could turn back the clock - even with my physcial success of weight loss. It's not just one reason that I say that - I'm still working through my own thoughts and will be for some time to come. 

There are now some long term studies being published about rny and other bariatric procedures. I would encourage everyone to search for them and read up. As Dawn mentioned in an earlier post - some rnyers have been shown to exhibit hyperinsulin reactions to even small increases in blood sugar which results in hypoglycemia. I was shocked to read that some post-ryn folks in the states have had their pancreas reduced / removed in an effort to cure this process. Studies are showing that obviously this doesn't work as such a drastic surgery as removing the pancreas results in diabetes - blood sugar needs to be regulated in other ways - but people have had this done post-rny. This does not affect everyone but does affect some.

The mechanical alteration of our stomach and intestines works in reducing our body weight. Scientists do not fully understand the chemical side of how our intestinal tract works yet and therefore, cannot fully explain that side of things. I've even read studies about how this procedure has been shown to help aleviate depression - and they don't mean just losing the weight - there is something happening chemically that they don't understand.

Sorry for such a long post - I just wanted to put a few ideas down that others might find interesting as well.
 
Please note that I am not trying to deter anyone from having this surgery! It's pretty easy for me to say anything after I've had the surgery myself. But I am trying to get people to think more and research more, before and after rny. I'm just sharing my thoughts and opinions and not stating facts for anyone to argue against.

I truly wish you all the best Cama!

Uschi

This is something I posted previously,

For me, it was between life and and early death. The possibility of the complications from surgery outweighed the cons of not having the surgery. I was 37, with diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, depression, high chloresterol, and joint pain. I walked out of surgery with only a 1/2 a water pill for high blood pressure (which I still take....it runs in my family and we now know is not entirely weight related for me). My life has changed for the better. I faced major issues that I couldn't have faced before as my head was too far into my food addiction. I do have hypoglycemia and had iron issues. The iron I was infused with, and may have to go again. The hypoglycemia is also easily managed with proper food intake and timing. Both are not life threatening issues.

I would not change anything for the world!If I carried on the way I was going, I would be dead by 50. FIFTY!! That is what they told me

As for the hypoglycemia. I will take that over diabetes any day. It is manageable. A huge learning curve, as I barely had low sugar levels previous to surgery. Eating is different, as now I eat when i'm not hungry, to avoid the lows. That's annoying. And I have to watch any type of exercise, making sure I have the proper protein/carb intake before partaking. What i'm learning is to remember that stress, fun exercise (like swimming with the kids) and even lack of sleep affects my sugars.

I would still do it all again. And I remind myself of that when I sprint up three flights of stairs without even stopping to take a breath.
 

I have NO REGRETS.

Wish I would have done it sooner!

I had some bad constipation issues but they are under control. So what! - I've lost 135 pounds!

My life has improved immensely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This tool is a huge help in losing weight. I have put a lot of work into it and continue to do so.
It's not a magic cure. I can tell you though it's a lot easier with the tool!!
I would not have been able to lose this much without it!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my RNY

It all depends on your perspective, expectations, reasons for wls.

The "bad" things are very common, but majority of them occur after two years out and at this point many patients fall out of wls circles. Some feel ashamed, other ones angry... Coming here and hear from a preop "Oh, you failed, well, you didn't do you best and didn't follow the rules, right? It's not gonna happen to me!"
I can see why these people don't come here. You probably won't hear the two sides of the story here. Wrong place.

A few common things that almost everyone should be aware of - 
- 10 pounds is not a "regain", it's normal and if you hate it - deal with it. If you don't deal with it, the 10 pounds will become 50.

 - At some point even religiously strict with vitamins people experience deficiencies. Following the rules doesn't guarantee avoiding problems. I take 3000 mg of Calcium, 50000IU of D3 and still struggle with Ca levels and lose bone. Well, my "naturally skinny" friends are in the same boat, lol.

- Around two years out majority of RnY patients are diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia

- A person, who lost over 100 pounds will never have firm and young looking body. The skin damage is DONE! accept it and enjoy your life in clothes.

- Plastic surgery HURTS like hell and leaves scars. The post wls skin is never smooth - either flab and wrinkles or SCARS!

- Most of us look older than before wls.

Now, are all these things scary/important to you? That's the matter of perspective. To me, losing the insulin dependence, sleep apnea, curing fatty liver and PCOS are way more important. I already had an ugly body and a C-section scar. Now I have an OK body and plastic scars. Woohoo! I won! My hubby is quite happy with what we've got. Would my body be a problem for a "new boyfriend"? Who knows. It all depends on person's own issues. For me it was so much about health and longevity that the "looks" were naturally accepted as nice to have bonuses. For other people life with Anemia or Hypoglycemia, 20 pounds regained and a flap on tummy make a fantastic reason for depression. Go figure.

Do you have a peer reviewed scientific study to prove that the majority of RNY'ers develop reactive hypoglycemia?

Nope, too lazy to search. I'm just spreading rumors and gossiping here.

Yes. I've posted it here many times and I'm sure I can find it again. Roslin published it last year and it showed that 81% of RNYers had reactive hypogylcaemia based on glucose tolerance testing.

ETA: here's the link to the study. My numbers were off a little, the study is from 2010 and 72% had RH and another 17% were diabetic, so 89% with blood sugar abnormalities post-op. Among those who had significant re-gain the RH prevalence was over 90%.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21184112