Research and questions

RNY is a weight loss surgery that restricts intake and causes malabsorption.

It common to lose 100 pounds the first year.

That would be really nice to lose what I want in a year without having to physically kill myself in the gym to obtain it. LOL

SO GLAD I DID THE SURGERY!

I can work out so much better without the extra 100+ pounds on me.  I was always a big exerciser too.  I was the fittest fat person you've ever met.  LOL...but my weight hindered me so badly.  WLS was the best decision I've ever made.  I started a few weeks after surgery just walking the dog for 10 mins, then 20 mins, then I started leaving the dog at home because he slowed me down.  I power walked for a few weeks...then I began running.  Now I can run a 8-9 minute mile for 4 miles and I'm getting faster.  I can do real push-ups without being on my knees.  I can do real squats.  I'm coming up on 1 year post op.  My resting heart rate is usually between 45-60.

I still have extra skin on my batwings (upper arms).

Weird that they are stressing it's not WLS.  I've never heard any program phrase it that way.

Good luck. 

i was also one of the fattest fit people you could meet.  i did half marathons, and worked out with a trainer 4/5 times a week.  but RNY was the best thing i have ever done for myself.  Have dropped 70 pounds run faster and train harder.  The surgery is no joke it is weight loss surgery.  Just think of it as another tool to help you.  I lift weights which might help a bit with the skin but will not know for at least a year how the skin will fill in.

Thank you!

Yes, I'm really not all that concerned with skin. When I get my chest reduced (can't till I lose enough weight) then I'll deal with any excess skin. It's great to hear you do half marathons. Maybe I will get back into running if I could get down in weight, but I love the swimming and powerlifting way more.

That is the kooksist thing I have heard in a minute.  I have lost a buttload of weight and had zero major health issues when I had RNY in March of 2014.  I also only want a low body fat number with lean muscle to offset it.  My girlfriend is a 5'5" body builder and she is mega lean and she weigh about 145 for competition. 155 off season weight. That puts her bmi at 25.8 , NOT THAT SHE CARES.

Anyhow I think maybe they had a failure to communicate.

My life is headed exactly where I want it to head thanks to the architect and RNY. I should have done it years ago.

No, he was very, VERY clear that this was "not a weight loss surgery" rather that the weight loss was a side effect. Maybe they did it that way so that people would have more respect for the surgery? I don't know.

You don't say what your age is.  I am 57, female and mostly weighed around 200-210.  I blossomed to 238 several times after injuries.  I got hit by a car bicycling (minor hip problems for 1 year), I got carpal tunnel in both wrists that was repaired by surgery.  I believe this was caused by bicycling 3-7 K miles with poor form--not using stomach muscles to hold me up on the road bike, but putting a lot of weight on my hands.  I had a major tear in my hamstring after falling on my skates.  (I competed one year, but have skated over 30 years). I hike/backpack. I had surgery to remove a seismod bone under the ball of my foot, from running in hills at my weight.  I played baseball one year, and was voted MVP.  I love sports.  I mostly ate healthy, just huge portions.  I could eat a 2 pound container of strawberries or cherries.  I used to go on 5-6 week-long bicycle rides, including in the mountains of Colorado and North Carolina.  

The reason I ask your age, is even though you exercise, the weight will cause more injuries as you get older, and your vitals will climb a little more each year.  When I had my surgery a couple of days ago, My cholesterol was 201, my blood pressure was 116/72 and my sugar was 5.1.   

When I asked my doctor how I could eat enough to participate in the sports that I wanted to do, his answer was that I would weigh 100 pounds less, and would not have to eat or drink in the amounts that I now have to eat and drink.   

So, I would advise the surgery, based on the fact that you are getting older and it will help you become competitive in your field.  You won't be fit for someone your size, you will be able to compete with people in your age group.

Luckily I have no desire to compete except against myself. I am 40. And yeah, I know the injuries can get worse as I age which is why I want to do something BEFORE I really hurt myself. 

I don't have metabolic syndrome. I'm serious when I say, I've had every test known to man run on me, down to (now) genetic tests being done by my psychiatrist. One thing I have not had done in a while that I am going for a consult on is a sleep specialist. I don't snore, but I also don't have normal sleep cycles and have been told this could be why I am gaining weight. I sleep for a very short amount of time, got to sleep very quickly, and into REM just about as soon as I close my eyes. Stress causes me severe sleep paralysis episodes and if I don't take a clonapin before I got to sleep I quite often will not stay asleep more than 15-20 minutes intervals. The oddest thing is that I am more tired if I try and stay asleep rather than just get up when I wake up. Sometimes I am so tired that I NEED a nap, and almost always give in, but wake up feeling worse than when I went to sleep. This does not coincide with meals, it's random and been bad enough for me to pull over while on a long drive and take a nap.

Again, as for the Dr. not saying the surgery was a WLS surgery, I really think he was saying that to the group (as it was a seminar) so that he could weed out those that were there for this to be their "quick fix". He reiterated how their lifestyle would have to change, etc. Funny thing, I am already doing most if not all of what he wants people to do. I eat clean. (Basically if it has ingredients, unless I put them there, I don't touch it.) I exercise. I don't drink, smoke, or do any kind of vaping etc. I eat protein in measurements to my carbs and fat. I don't touch fast food at all (only a recent exception to this when it was an Arby's sandwich or nothing at all after 8 hours of working on someone's house and that was the first time in four years and made me sick as a dog).  I even go so far as to carry my food with me to places if I am going out with friends and they want to eat somewhere that I know only has processed fatty foods. I've stayed away from fatty foods for a very long time due to not having a gallbladder (which I lost at the age of 16 after being in a doctor prescribed diet that almost killed me). 

Any how. The Roux en Y is the one I am planning to go with because my insurer won't cover the gastric sleeve although the Dr. thinks that is the better one for me. Unfortunately no matter how much I'd like to have it, I can't afford to pay out of pocket. I know the hospital people are going to submit for that one first after I see the surgeon to see if they can't get them to make an exception because the Dr. feels it will be more medically safe and successful for me and I am less likely to suffer leakage, tears, hernias, and or blockages from scar tissue (I scar badly) since I am into Olympic and powerlifting. 

I really want to get this surgery done tomorrow to be honest, but I am still jumping through all the hoops. I honestly don't understand why they require some of the stuff they require (such as letters from family and friends and a 10 page letter from you as to why and how this surgery is going to help you), but I am trying my best to do them all.