Discouraged. really discouraged

I'm sorry to hear about this (I don't go on OH everyday). 

I don't mean to throw another obstacle in your way, but I figure it's worth mentioning, depending on what your medication regimen is. My surgeon will NO longer do malabsortive surgeries (from what I've been told by local social media peers, more than one, in the last several years who consulted with him and switched surgeons because they wanted a rny or DS vs. a sleeve or lap band and he wouldn't do a malsborbtive wls ) who have MH diagnoses. 

The reason I've been told, is because of the fear of meds being malabsorbed. It's a tricky thing to say, because excess weight can play a part in depression, but it's not necessarily "cured" post wls due to the fact that meds can be malabsorbed and have very little therapeutic benefit, however without wls, there's the crushing depression of dealing with weight issues, as well as the potential physical issues. 

In my case, I didn't know going into my rny that I had BPD2. Even with major complications, I still managed to gain almost all my weight back due to being on such high regimen of psychotropics notorious for regain, even though I threw up the little I could eat but I craved massive amounts of food, due to the chemical induced food obsession that some psychotropics can cause. Especially meds like 60 mgs of Zyprexa, 800 mgs of Seroquel and 2000 mgs of Depakote  and 600 mgs of Zoloft a day, starting almost 7 years post rny. 

This is not my first time responding to a post of yours, I think you realize I mean well. I am in NO WAY trying to talk you out of having a gastric bypass. I am trying to tell you though that depending on your medication regimen and other medical health issues, it could pose issues for you that you really want to research more. And maybe using this time to ask other wls post operatives from newbies to grads if they have mental health issues and how effective their meds are post rny and/or DS

Again, though due to all of us being unique, that may not help too much. As I've said 3 out of 5 of us in my immediate family had rny and ALL of us had  drastically different outcomes, long term. I am very careful about not projecting my issues or anyone in my family's issues (my sister had an amazing experience 14 years ago, can eat almost anything in great quantity and kept about 95% of her excess weight off, my revised father never lost a lb post revision and I'm the rare unicorn reversed peep)

So if people with the same dna and same surgeon can vary, all of us vary, in the thousands of wls stories I've seen in the last 15 years since joining OH in October of 2001, being one of the last of my friends to have bariatric surgery (my 15th anniversary of my rny is in less than 2 weeks).

Again, I wouldn't put this out there though, without asking others how they fared if they have the rny with mh issues. It could be that your current meds aren't responsible for your weight issues, but if they ARE, this is something you need to do more research with by asking others because depending on the antipsychotics and/or mood stabilizers and some SSRIs, it does make it harder to lose weight. I'm NOT saying it's impossible, but those people if they are taking meds notorious for weight gain and lose all their excess weight are not in the majority, more like an exception and that's something you want to know NOW, not when you've waited this long and gone through the extensive process to have your rny and then find this out, after your surgery. I wouldn't be doing you any favors by not bringing it up, I'm also though saying you could be that exception, but it's worth researching more. . 

And the problem is this isn't talked about in the wls communities like it should be. Unless someone has been on a massive dose of psychotropics notorious for regain, they have NO idea of what some of us are up against. I was born a food addict, I'd crave and sneak food from toddler, teenager to adult hood. My inherent food addiction was NOTHING compared to the chemically created food addiction that those meds caused. It would been one thing if those meds had actually worked, but they didn't and they actually physically from a gastric bypass complication point, made me  sicker, physically. As my psychiatrist at the time knew I malabsorbed meds and nutrients and put me on what shouldve been considered a felonious amount of psychotropics, that and the long term nutrtional defiencies caused the irreversible short term and long term memory issues I have.

But that's not the case with everyone and people with severe untreated depression or those who don't take their meds with untreated  severe depression and/or mental health mood and personality disorders, because of fear of gaining weight. Treating Obesity with surgery will not help much, if someone has a a chemical imbalance that could lead them to a severe depression that leads to suicidal ideation because fear of getting fat and/or fatter, so they refuse to take any meds that put them at risk for weight gain. Not many both in and out of the wls community wants to have this discussion but it's really necessary not only between wls peers but the clinical medical and mental health professionals who treat patients who will prescribe psych meds and then lecture their patients about their weight, when they should know that some meds can cause more problems than they actually cure. But a lot of people are ONLY still alive regardless of their weight, because of these medications. So the choice to switch up meds, can never left to a wls preop or post op. 

That's why getting that input has to be with clinical professionals, not just wls peers. Even if there are which there is clinically trained medical and mental health professionals who ARE actually bariatric surgical patients, they aren't YOUR particular professionals and their input is needed, too. 

Please understand I said the above with VERY careful consideration. I thought about just letting this be and hoping for the best for you. Then I realized if I didn't say anything and a year from now, you're still dealing with a crushing depression but have medications that aren't working, I'd feel awful by not speaking up now, when at least you have the time, to do more research to have the best possible outcome, which may be still having a rny, but that you know the risks from a mh point of view. 

Huge Hugs... 

Hi rce884 

I just wanted to comment to you, don't be alarmed regarding the rantings of unstapled Lisa.  She is passive aggressively trying to scare you in her normal difficult to read/understand  manner. 

Read her blogs etc if you want to.  But be prepared to read most of them so you get the complete picture.  She has had some unfortunate cir****tances,  but also much of her own doing.  

Regarding your disappointment.   WLS is a long game so you need to prepare for this mentally.  You've received some good advice from previous posters.   

Hang in there 

Uh, I own being wordy. Trying to scare people out of wls? Around the time 6 years ago, right after my reversal, you'd be correct. In the last 5 years, absolutely not!!! I'm not passive aggressive, it would be super EASY for me to just dissapear from the wls community. I don't weigh enough for wls any longer, I could just go about my life and no one would be the wiser. 

You are doing not only a disservice to me, by being so disrespectful and inaccurate of describing what I'm about, that's the only reason why I am responding back to you. I don't have a problem of having starting tough dialogues both in and out of the wls communities to HELP people not hurt them. 

So do you yourself and everyone else a favor, if you haven't had serious complications and/or mental health issues or have walked in someone's else's shoes, there could've been a better way for you to say that you disagreed with me, without the insults that are SO inaccurate. And would be hurtful to me, if I didn't have to survive all the crap that I have, most of it not my fault, some a little bit. 

I am pro-wls and support those who have optimal to catastrophic outcomes... It's not fair though to ANYONE to talk about just the good things that happen with wls, especially if people have certain medical and/or mental health condtitions going into them. 

Chris, I hope you know I meant well.... Huge Hugs 

You are right to get on the boards for support.  Take what you like and leave the rest and know that we are all here for each other.  Keep doing what you are doing.  I like the saying "time is going to pass what ever I do, so why not do something to help me get to my end goal" .... you can do this!

Thank you. validation of that choice (to share my status on the OH forum) has been very positive.

and i am feeling better day by day. 

so thank you, for  your positivity!