WLS'rs- Why do you do this to yourselves?

LOL!!! Well I'll take being a slave to my supplements any day over living with the damn pouch. as for supplements go, hows your B12 levels these days?

The facts are that both RNY and DS need yearly labs to make sure we don't become malnourished in some area; that's why I get labs done every 6 months for the first two years and then yearly after that. You would be wise to do the same thing as you could have some severe malnutrition yourself.

Anyone who gets WLS should have labs done at least yearly to make sure they aren't getting some kind of malnutrition. Why is it you don't know this? 

It's true I haven't had the DS for a year yet; but I knew a lot more about the DS before I got the revision than you know about RNY two years down the road. You need to bone up on what you've done to yourself. I had it for 28 years, I kept the weight of for 15 years, I know about RNY and it sucks. That's why I went looking for something else and I didn't just take my surgeons word for what I should do. Had I done that; I would have saved myself $25,000.00 and had a revision to RNY at home, instead of traveling 650 miles to San Francisco and spending $40,000.00 to get the revision to DS. I knew damn well what I was doing and I'm oh so grateful I was able to discover the DS and find a surgeon that had the skills to fix my screwed up guts.

Look, you're stuck with RNY now, so deal with it. You made your choice and now you get to live with the consequences of your choice. I really hope it works out well for you, I really do, I wouldn't want anyone to have to suffer with obesity. I just know from experience what you're in for and what your chances are of being successful. I really hope you can do it and enjoy a long and happy life, I did for about 15 years; it was hard work, but worth the effort. The DS just makes life that much more enjoyable because I don't have to deal with the damn pouch.

Kerry  

Hopefully my results will be as good as the thee people who have 8,9 and 10 years out who inspired me to get the surgery.  They are all still at goal as am I.  I've been at goal for over a year and am very happy with my result.   I did the research, chose my surgey and like it.  I am glad that you like yours.

I am sorry that your RNY did not work for you and I believe that what are saying about your experience is accurate.  I am also glad that you found a solution that has worked.  It just was not the right solution for me for several reasons.  I feel very good about the choice I made and I'd do it again.

I do not have a lifetime history of obesity.  I became obese because of medication and poor eating in my 20's and 30's.  I was not SMO.  My BMI was right at 40.  I also take medication that needs to be absorobed in my jejenum, so I needed to keep that.  RNY keeps it, DS bypasses it.  Also, I did not want the added malabsoption.  Again, because I was not heavy all my life, enjoy being active and don't mind giving up the junk food I felt that I didn't need the DS.  I feel like RNY gave me the boost I needed.  I think that DS is a great option.  I just didn't want it.

I pretty much eat like you do.  Protein first, fat and complex carbs.  I don't feel like I am in prison at all.  I don't eat the crap processed foods because I feel better without them.  I feel healthier and more alert.  I am so glad that they are out of my life and I hope that  never go down that road again.  I think of them as an addiction, not a treat.  Fat or thin, they make me feel like crap.  But that is just me.

I am also not a huge exerciser.  I am just active.

Regardless, in response to lifestyle, which was what I was posting about, mine is not that different from the original posters.

And I think that the DS thing does get so agressive that you turn people off instead of educating them, which is a shame because it is definately a great procedure for some. 

Sounds like you have an excellent attitude and are working your RNY very well. I did the same thing for about 15 years; but my success with the RNY was due to my strict diet and commitment to daily exercise and had little to do with the RNY. The RNY did get me started and helped me lose the weight, but that's it, and for me; that's the message people need to glean from my RNY experiences. RNY is not a long term solution for keeping the weight off, it is a help in losing the excess weight initially.

All to often, people (even I was one of these back in 1980) get RNY done because "their surgeon" told them it was best for them. They do this without really understanding what the long term consequences and commitments are. 

I really do hope your RNY works for you and you're able to keep the weight off for the rest of your life; I wouldn't want anyone to have to live their life obese.

You didn't mention any pouch problems and maybe you're one of the lucky ones that doesn't have any pouch problems, I was not so lucky. For me, it was a nightmare; not being able to have a cold glass of milk really sucked, getting food stuck if I forgot to chew it to mush, dumping and not really knowing what was causing the dumping was a real downer. All of this, really made it more difficult to keep the weight off and I ended up eating foods like pizza because it didn't make me dump or get stuck. IMO there is nothing good about having a pouch instead of a stomach.

People need to understand that this can very easily happen to them as well if they get RNY.

Kerry

I have been lucky and not had any pouch problems and I can pretty much eat anything I want except ice cream and scambled eggs.  I think that the advantage that the RNY will give me for life is that I can control my food intake and I will retain a certain level of malabsoprtion.  I totally believe that you did have pouch problems and I know people who have.   I also know darned well that I can gain the weight back.  My surgeon made that clear from day one.  But, I believe that people with DS can gain weight back too.  My understanding is that it is not a free pass to eat as much as you want whenever you want.

I find that I feel so much better eating 65 grams of protein a day.  I am much less tired, I don't get so moody and I don't get sick as much.  I am starting to think that my body really did  not process simple carbs well at all.   That is what I mean about eating to feel good.  I don't miss them and still do enjoy a few M&Ms once in a while.  The difference now is that I eat 8 or so and not a one pound bag.

I am glad that things have worked out for you and I hope that you are feeling good too.

I know what you mean about feeling good if you eat your protein; I try to eat around 200 grams a day. I eat that much because I'm working out a lot and my goal now isn't to lose weight, but to gain muscle and endurance. And, I'm happy to report, it's working!

I feel great; haven't felt this good since I was in my 30's here's a couple of things I've been doing lately:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/myoh/photos/479797/Fish-Me/First-Solo-in-a-Helicopter/#photo

http://www.obesityhelp.com/myoh/photos/507856/Fish-Me/Lake-Powell-July-2009/#photo

Kerry 

I just got back from 2 months in China and thw worst part was not being able to get enough potein every day.  They just do not serve it the way we do here.  I think that I lost a lot of muscle mass, so I am really trying to get back up to 80 or 90 grams and have been lifting weights 4 times a week to get it back.

What's the best way to find a surgeon who does DS?

Go to www.dsfacts.com for all kinds of DS info and for DS Surgeons, check this page: 

http://www.dsfacts.com/duodenal-switch-surgeons.html

Kerry

Thank you, Kerry. I was unexpectedly taken away from my computer last evening and I appreciate your helping her out.

I'll try to get to some of the other posts in due time.

Rock

You're in luck - the surgeon you have listed (O'Malley) does it!