what i know now 8 years later....

I'm glad you share your struggles here on a regular basis. We need to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as weight loss surgery is concerned. Sometimes it seems to be a crap-shoot.

People need to read all of our stories, do their own research, and make the best decision for them.

I'll never know if some of my issues was caused by RNY or ..were magnified because of it...  I think I got fat and could not maintain weight loss even when I lost weight in the past because there was and still is something wrong with my system...

at least now - I can be skinny and not healthy vs. fat and not healthy... 

I think some of us may deal with some of issues.. way before WLS.. (i.e SIBO, adrenal insufficiencies, food allergies).  sure - having a few abdominal surgeries most likely made my condition worse - but I'll never know what state I would be in today if I were fat on top of everything else.. At least now - no doc can blame me being tired on me being fat... "just lose weight and you'll have more energy..." or my back pain on excessive weight... 

but- I do believe that RNY - is a barbaric procedure - removing the pyloric valve does create potential new serious issues... but so is being MO...

pick and chose your poison .. or condition...

Thanks for backing up my experience.  I know we all have different bodies and everybody tends to know all about it.  

I cant say i agree with letting your doctor tell you what is best for you either.   Doctors have their preferred techniques. Some for reasons of habit , some because they study new things, many just do what they do.  

Mine wanted to lap band me...I had to fight a bit to get the Rny...  My husbands surgeon said he would never do a lap band, would do an rny but thought the best method had developed into the sleeve.    In my husbands case he did have to wait almost a year for sleeve approval, although he was approved for rny initially.   Progress grinds slow.  There might be even better options now...

My nutrition deficiencies have been horrendous since about 5 years Post Rny... And i do and have always taken good bariatric supplements as recommended.    

I am speaking of things like such severe leg cramps i have vomited from the pain,  shakiness, nerve pain in the form of under skin tingling itchiness than just drives you nearly insane, neurological based bladder incontinence and a fun menu of more than merely inconvenient issues.   None tie to bigger disorders beyond severe malnutrition vitamin deficiency.

Now I am trying some transdermal magnesium and vitamin d.  In spite of prescription strength supplements, anything i take orally doesn't seem to make much difference in my lab work.   

I am now going to try transdermal multivitamin patches in hopes of getting these deficiencies on a track toward regaining my health.  

I will of course take credit for whatever is needed to seem like less than a fool.   I need to exercise better..( but am on my feet and up and down stairs all day at work, too tired for treadmills after that..)    I am overstressed ( bills and working with ******** can do that too.)   I do have loose creaky joints and arthrits.( Im 60 years old and have lost 100 pounds)  .....

getting old sucks, life and painful bodies suck.   I am still glad i had weight loss surgery... but just offering to those who might be in the process of obtaining it my experience with long term malbsorbtion and my RNY... Hindsight is 20 20.  You can use my experiences or not... just offering the point of view to look at the sleeve and forgoing the bypassing of the intestines...they have a longer term purpose in the body and seem worthy the save.   

Nuf said.. good luck to ALL ... suzle

I think we are all so unique that one procespdure - vitamin - mineral routine does not work for everyone.

I think we can get enough vitamins if we take the go right ones. And enough of it. Most of the time.  I can get enough of almost everything except iron and B12. I don't tolerate oral iron.. And I need weekly B12 injections. 

I had and still have some issues.  But 8 years post op - at least I know what would cause pain and why. In year 3-6 I was dealing with a lot of pain and it took a while and a few well selected docs to figure things out... And my own research. Trial and errors. 

I think Most people post op RNY gave very little to none issues as long as they really follow up with proper supplementation and good diet.  

As for your issues - if you took Rx D - it was probably D2 in oil - and not only we may have problem absorbing that - but our body needs to convert that to D3. I take 50,000 iu dry D3 2 x a week and keep my D3 in a very good 60-80 range. But when my D was low I took the same 50,000 iu dry D3 daily for 4 weeks... That got my D from 28 up to 110... Bit too high. So I waited a month...then started using it on 2 x a week schedule. So far so good. 

Iron - I needed infusions... Then I got tested for food allergies and since I eliminated foods I am allergic to - my ferritin is stable... No more anemia... 

Gut Pain to a point of crying - got that one - in the past it was because I was eating food that aggravated my IBS. So I restricted my diet and not only I rarely deal with severe gut pain - but I also lost the rest of my regain... And I am back to my goal weight. And size. 

It is a lot of work, but it can be done. It require a lot of work on my part.  But the alternative is not an option. 

I do hope you can find what is best for you - supplements and diet.  Those 2 go hand in hand not only to maintain weight loss but to get good quality of life. 

I can't blame it all on my RNY.... I know my gut was messed up before WLS. If it weren't - I would have not need for WLS... 

I am 3 years post surgery and have thought the same things. I am 52 and doing fine but have started to think about aging. With the RNY, I have definitely limited myself as far as pain meds and the vitamin deficiencies. I may not have any problems 20 years from now, but it is something to really consider. My vitamin levels are good and I've had no problems. And I have no pain in my joints thanks to losing 100 pounds! But who knows what aging will look like for us. I very rarely have headaches....less that 10 in 3 years. Don't get me wrong...I'm very grateful for my surgery! It is just something to think about before surgery RNY v. Sleeve. If you can get the same results with the sleeve and not have the vitamin deficiency or pain med issue, it is something to check into. I was informed that the sleeve wasn't as effective as far as weight loss. My surgeon favored the RYN. Maybe I didn't research enough. Who knows. But the important thing is being informed, research, and fully understand the long term affects of all the options.

20/20 hindsight is always perfect. As Grim said it is not so simplistic a choice. There are issues with botn surgeries. The long term stats on the sleeve are yet to be written.

Recently due to surgeries I found out a good pain medication I wouldn't have thought of...5 mg valium. Low dose and works. I had oxy for immediate post surgery, but i was amazed how well the valium worked after that.

Good Luck and congrats on 8 years

Good to know. Thanks!!

Well done..You look fantastic.

The first surgeon I saw ONLY did VSG. The second recommended the RNY for me because of my diabetes. He said (and I'd heard it from my present and 1 other PCP) that RNY would put the diabetes in immediate remission while with VSG there was a chance it would go into remission, though maybe not initially and not permanently.

My liver was/is close to cirrhosis. They're still accessing the damage. The diagnosis is Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, possible cirrhosis or hepatitis - caused by my obesity and aggravated by the many, many meds I was on. I now take 2 meds (RX) a day - one for anxiety and the other temporarily for the prevention of GERD. I do not touch non prescription painkillers, and no longer buy them, to keep temptation at bay. I have always had a high pain tolerance, but I'm in fear of my migraines returning, which luckily, 3 months out and I haven't had one since I quit smoking last November.

I was very well informed prior to surgery, thanks to my surgeon and his staff, the nutritionist, my very involved PCP, internet research and even this forum. I decided that without the surgery, I would die. So, I did it. Little did I know at the time, how accurate that was and how close I was to needing a liver transplant. Which, as a 44 year old, super morbidly obese smoker with Type II diabetes, asthma, hbp, arthritis, etc - it was unlikely I would have been seen as a good candidate for transplant surgery. 

You are your own best advocate. You get out of this what you put in.

I'm sorry you have had so many issues. I know that even though I now have anemia and have to get vitamin shots, in addition to my supplements, living to my 60s will be a blessing. And LIVING until then... not just SURVIVING will make all obstacles worthwhile.

The diabetes issue is so huge and i get it about the rny and that.   G

lad you are on the track to recovery.  Be well and my prayers are with you.   

Have been looking at the transdermal supplements and are going to try them.   Maybe those will be a key to avoiding deficiencies.