Complications -anyone?

I worry about two things - complications/death and excess skin.  Today I will ask about post op complications!

i have been doing quite a lot of reading and starting to freak myself out with testimonies, experiences that I am finding online ( not just on this website).  I was hoping if people wouldn't mind sharing their complications, and if they know of anyone who has died as a result if this surgery? This is a total downer of a topic, but I am looking for real experiences and all complications - mild or serious.  

Are there many members here who had surgery maybe 7-10 years ago?

I had surgery dec 18 no complications, my sister had surgery 4 yr ago, no complications, my son 2 ypr ago, no complications

I had a minor complication a GIANT painful ulcer that took forever to resolve and that I am not sure it is gone. Lots of pain and vomiting and gastroscopes.

Pretty Minor- I know of 2 deaths out of Guelph one a older fellow who died as result of complications from a DVT post op while he was travelling and a younger lady who decided to take smoking back up post op and I am unsure of the 100% cause of her dimise I believe Audrey mentioned about a bleeding ulcer/pouch from smoking ??

I didn't have ANY complications when I had my RNY. 

I don't know anyone who has died from complications of wls. There was a couple people that passed away but not from wls. 

Try not to freak out about stuff. Concentrate on the positive things for the future.

The excess skin can be dealt with, if need be, after you have hit goal and maintained that weight for 1year. I just had my excess skin removed, 7lbs of it!! Some of it may be covered by OHIP. My panni was covered but I upgraded to a tummy tuck and breast lift.

There are a few great people here that have been here for 7+yrs, and had wls

There are a few people on the boards who had surgery more than a few years ago - hopefully they will chime in. I know three people who have had RNY ranging from 1-3 years ago, none with complications (although two have had regain from not following a healthy eating plan) I had surgery last fall with zero complications :) there are thousands of people who have nothing go wrong who you'll never hear from. Generally people post on the internet when they are looking for advice or support for a problem. But don't forget about all those complication-free people who are just out living life :)

I am 4 years out and yes I had complications. It took nearly 2 years for them to find the problem. Now that it has been taken care of I feel great. Even during those 2 years I still kept exercising and running. When needed I go to emergency and they would look after me and they were great. I get asked all the time would I do it again knowing what I went through and I say HELL YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Worth it. 

Hi there :-)

im dawn and I had my rny surgery 7.5 years ago.   

I had had one minor complication during my surgery.  I had an artery where I shouldn't have had one.   So I lost a little more blood than most (a cup maybe).  Nothing major.  Pretty typical recovery all in all.  

Since surgery I have become osteopenic.  I developed iron deficiency anemia (low ferritin levels).   I battle anemia constantly bit manage to have still completed half marathons for the last five years.  

I have reactive hypoglycemia.   When I eat too much sugar, I can pass out.   Totally manageable once I figured it out.  I am low in vitamin d as well. 

At 7.5 years out, every day is a struggle.  I still have a terrible sweet tooth.  I'm still a binge eater.    I battle with food most days.   

I have very screwed up eating issues and body image.  I have a good amount of excess skin that is ugly despite exercising.  I'm also 43.  I have decided now it's time for plastics.  

At my heaviest I was 290 lbs.  I got to around 140 lbs.  regain has been hard mentally.   At one point up to 167 lbs and it freaked me out. I'm around 150-153 most days still trying to get back to my goal. Much harder to lose now.

I wouldn't change things in terms of having Wls.  BESt thing I have done.  I would have done a few things differently though in hindsight.  

Feel free to add me or

message me if I can help you in your journey!

dawn

Hi Diminishing Dawn! Thank you for your reply.  I appreciate your honesty and will definitely add you as a friend :)

And! A big thank you to all that replied.  I hope more people chime in with their experiences. Big or small, I want to hear them all :)

After my RNY last March I had two minor complications that felt pretty major to me, in the moment:

1. Constipation issues: this was partly my fault. I didn't pay attention to the last time I went before surgery (became constipated while on Opti). I hadn't gone for at least 4 days before surgery. That coupled with the effect of the anesthetic on my body was very bad. I still hadn't gone 5 days after surgery and ended up in the ER to get help to make my bowels move. It was an awful, painful, terrible experience that I would wish on no one! If I was to do it all over again, I would be sure my bowels moved the day before surgery!!

2. Incision infection: I ended up with an infection in my camera hole incision. It made me feel very sick and dragged out. Made me feel like I couldn't eat/drink anything. So, I felt like I was "behind" schedule moving through the food stages post-op. 

By the time I reached 4-5 weeks post-op, I was feeling pretty good. I have some people close to me that had no complications that felt the same way around 2-3 weeks post-op. So, even though my complications weren't really serious in the grand scheme of things....they did effect me and they sucked!

I had my surgery a year ago along with 2 friends. I have had zero complications. One friend had a bad infection in one of her incisions that took a long time to heal partly because she has lupus. She is feeling so much better now and is the healthiest and most active I have seen her in over 10 years. My other gf got an ulcer and was in the hospital a couple of days but it was from going off Prevacid and eating spicy foods and drinking the occasional Caesar. I know of one person who passed away from a twisted bowel and she didn't listen to her body (she was a nurse) and by the time she sought help it was too late. Rule of thumb is you can't be too safe and should get things checked out if they don't seem right. There can be complications with any surgeries including dental but in my opinion there are a lot more complications associated with being overweight that can lead to death as we'll. I am so glad I had this surgery. My only regret is that I didn't have it sooner. Good luck.