What's life like 4-5 years post-op?

vsg put my type II diabetes into remission the day after I had the procedure. It has been normal ever since.

my type II diabetes went into remission the day after my VSG. It has been normal ever since then

At  my consultation, my doctor recommended that I have bypass over vsg.  I too was diabetic, not well controlled.  for this reason he wanted me to have the bypass.  When they do the bypass it does something (not sure what) so that your diabetes is greatly helped.  I had surgery on a thursday. I left the hospital 4 days later not taking any more meds for my diabetes. all my sugar levels were normal.  It was a miracle surgery for me.  I am almost 8 months out of surgery, have lost 60 lbs.  I was not a typical weight loss surgery patient because I did not have 100 plus pounds to lose, but had diabetes that was out of control.  I also wanted the vsg, but as a diabetic he said rny was better.  I believe he was right.

Good luck, whatever surgery you do I am sure it will help and you will eventually feel great!

P

I am 4+ years out from my revision, nearly 12 years since my first WLS.

I have gotten used to my new normal and it is no longer a big issue in my life.  Having had the experience of not following instructions after my first surgery and paying the price for it, I now am very careful to follow the directions I need to do to keep healthy.  I cannot let myself forget I've had surgery.  Most days I don't feel any different then before and it would be easy, like it was last time, to put the surgery behind me and forget about the upkeep.

I'm not going to say I am wildly happy or unhappy I had surgery.  It has been a major change in my lifestyle, a change that was necessary for me to regain my health.  I would have needed to make those changes anyway and the surgery has given me a tool to be able to do that when nothing else in the world worked before.

Losing weight was fairly easy for me in the past, although as I got older it got harder but the real challenge has always been keeping it off.  This is the only time in my life that I have been the same size for several years so I know that having WLS has been of benefit to me.  But nothing would help me if I didn't address my eating issues that brought me to the operating table.  I find it funny that, for me anyway, I have a problem that originates in my mind and behavior and the best help I have gotten has been to address it by altering my anatomy.

Congratulations to a fellow Canadian.  I had surgery March 2010.  I am near what I want to weigh, which is less than the % that is the doctor's expectation, but have been sloppy on some eating.  I love desserts and although I usually make them from things like almond flour, etc. so there is high protein and no bad carbs, I still know better.  Working on that.   I eat small amounts; stay under 1 cup per serving and avoid pasta, bread, rice, etc. most the time.  My choice.  I attempt to stay with the proteins, meats, eggs, cheese, nuts, etc. and some veggie, and then maybe fruit, but not much of that because of sugars.  Sorry, computer is for some reason choosing or not choosing bold highlights....  Anyways, if you go to your doctor armed with the reason you want a different type of surgery, you may persuade him.  My brother had vsg in Alberta; I had rny in BC.  I would look at DS as well and if you come up with good logic and reasons, you may be able to convince your doctor to go for what you really want.  However, barring that, I would take any gastric bypass offered if it means you don't have to pay for it....it is so darned expensive!!!  Oh, but I would not have a band!!!!!   Take care.

thank you!

can I ask why your brother got the sleeve and not rny? Also how are you feeling and doing with the rny...any issues? absorption or other?

congrats on your journey. Sounds like you are doing well and also very 'real' about things.

I was rather surprised he got the sleeve, as he is diabetic and RNY usually eliminates that.  I tried to explain the differences to him, but truthfully, I don`t think he listened or read up on the surgeries much, just that I told him to push for the (any) surgery as he has always struggled weight wise as well.  The doctor in Alberta recommended sleeve, so that`s what he went for.  I do notice when talking to him that he does what a lot of people do......just keep trying the same stuff he ate before rather than adapting to new food as I have.  What do I mean by that.....well, I still don`t eat rice, potatoes, breads, etc. I try and like Shirataki noodles and try or adapt recipes so that white processed stuff is not in the recipe.  He tells me bread doesn`t go down well and when I suggest he just doesn`t eat it but rather fill up on proteins you can almost hear the ears closing.  He is eating a lot more than I did at the same months out and says he gets the foamies quite often.  I suggested he eat less, go for less fat items, ditch the carbs, as things to try to eliminate them but he doesn`t seem to want to do that.  I know his weight loss since surgery 4 months ago is only about 25 lbs, whereas I believe I was closer to 60 at that time.

I don`t have any issues particularly.  I do try to eat high proteins and veggies with little or no carbs taken in.  I must admit I do occasionally eat a bit of bread, like I have about a quarter of a naan with some vegetarian Indian food today, but this is not a regular thing.  Last night was 1 small chicken thigh, baked, with some roasted squash, carrot and beets.  Less than one cup is my standard meal size.  At this far out, you do absorb most your calories, so you need to pay more attention to them than during the first year.  I have only dumped once, when someone made me a protein shake......and put a bunch of ice cream in it. I unfortunately tried sweets and that is my downfall.  However, I do try to make things like apple cobbler or crisp with sugar substitute and make the topping out of coconut flour or almond flour and butter, spices.  So still try to keep it healthier.  My go to dessert is Source yoghurt as it`s so low calorie; I usually add a small amount of nuts and maybe some coconut and maybe some chia seeds or something of that type to bulk it up a bit.

At about a year out I got hypoglycemia for a while but that passed; I have no GERD, which I had before.  Never had diabetes, was borderline high blood pressure.  None of that now.  I do drink at least one protein shake a day for the past while as I found I was foraging for stuff I didn`t need.  This  has helped with in between nibbling.  For the first year I never even wanted much food or would forget to eat, but now I do eat more.  I also notice that if I miss breakfast like I did yesterday that I really didn`t need it as much as I thought....so was I eating out of habit?  And perhaps I can then eat less at breakfast than I have been.  Interesting thought.

Anyways, I have made this longer than I expected, but hope it helps you.    One last thing....if I had an option now I would go DS as that seems to be a surgery that encompasses  the best of each procedure and the results seem really good, both weight wise, vitamin wise and food wise (in the fact you can eat more than on RNY and less chance to gain the weight back or get foamies or vomit from overeating, etc), or so it seems from posts I have read.......Oh, and I am SO GLAD I had this surgery!!!!

RNY a 12 years ago. I'm very happy with the results but I do experience dumping still. Mornings can be a challenge especially. I'm familiar with many public restrooms!  The "rules" remain the same for life. 

8 years out RNY happy as a clam most days. Maintaining my 150+ pound weight loss. This past year's labs I was a little low in iron/ferritin, had a couple of infusions (iv iron called injectafer, no biggie) and it brings me back up to snuff for most of the year. I enjoy my post op life (you can read about it, see what I've eaten the past 8 years, blog link below) Best decision I ever made.

Best wishes in your research!

Michelle "Shelly"

Hello.  I'm 5+ years post-op from RNY.  It was definitely one of the best decisions I made for my health.  I was very successful with my wl program.  I surpassed my goal in 9 months losing more than 130 lbs.  I've done well maintaining thus far.  I've regained maybe around 15 pounds which I'm ok with.  I feel more comfortable at this weight.  I did lose a great deal of hair.  That was devastating!  It didn't start to regain for nearly three years.  I stuck to my program of vits, protein and exercise religiously, and still do.  Water intake was my challenge and still is.  I get my labs done to stay on top of program.  I still stick with small portions and refrain from overeating.  It's real important to not allow yourself to slip back to the old habits that leads to wls.  Take advanttage of those first 18 months and lose as much as you can because there no doubt will be regain, and it's harder to take it off again or discipline yourself to eat like you did in the beginning after your procedure.

I wish you well in your wl journey!..........Keep it moving!

JJ