Scared about Longterm RNY

Hello All, I'm new here and scheduled to get RNY in September. I've really studied it and was so excited, but now I'm getting nervous. I've recently been reading all the horror stories of RNY. Especially those who are 10+ years out. I feel like I've heard so many issues with vitamins even if they do a good job taking them, weak bones, fibromyalgia, MS, tooth decay, tingling hands and feet, and gastro issues such as ulcers or other things. But I haven't heard many people in good health 10 years out.

ive managed to totally freak myself out. Other than my weight, I'm healthy. No high bp, no diabetes, nothing. Just the occasional acid reflux. I'm only 24. I don't want to be 34 and worse off then I am now.

I thought I was making the right decision, now I'm not sure. 

12 years out and healthy as a horse.  Eat well, take your vitamins, stay involved  ...   it's not rocket science

If you keep up with your lab work, and adjust your vitamins and protein accordingly, you will not have any issues.  The key is keeping track of your numbers and correcting any downward trends before you get deficient.  I keep a spreadsheet of my yearly lab numbers so I can compare  them year to year.  It's hard to come back from severe deficiency.  It's easy to correct a downward trend.  

Most of those folks with problems take their "post- surgical recommended vitamins" and never keep track of lab work ( if they even have yearly lab work).  Many of us have to take additional vitamins other than the multi and the calcium.

Lab work is IMPORTANT!

This is the newest (2015) research article on long-term effects of Lap RNY.  It is written by researchers at NYU and Univ of Pennsylvania.  Take what you hear with a grain of salt, read the article.

http://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(15)00109-4/abstract   It is free.

It thoroughly discusses the vitamin deficiencies - so lab-work and vitamins are long-term commitments for anyone contemplating RNY.  The largest vit deficiency is for Vit D - with 89% of people having a Vit D deficiency sometime in the 10 years post-op.  I was vit D deficient pre-op, and I have had one out of 5 labs come back with my having a vit D deficiency postt-op, so I am not surprised.  I put a dropper of Vit D in my yogurt once week.

If you cannot commit to having annual labs and taking daily vitamins for the rest for your life - then don't get RNY.     

Just remember, at 24 you may not be having many comorbidities - that will likely change as you get older - and you will be looking at taking pills for your joints, your heart, your blood pressure, and perhaps even meds to keep diabetes under control.  You (along with your doctor) have to take a realistic view of your longterm health risks.

As for me - I say hell YES, I'll take the vitamins and WLS has saved my knees and got my A1C back into the normal range. 

But this is major surgery and not to be undertaken lightly.  I do not see your BMI (mine was ~48 when I had surgery), so I cannot give you more specific information.  You might want to add this info to your signature line. 

PS I think there are some people who know little aout WLS, but know 10 people who did it and will only tell you  about the people for whom it did not work. 

That's a great study. Thanks for sharing. I will be having RNY in the next 6 months and I can honestly say I've read far more success stories than not. I'm almost 44 and have a bmi of 51. I know I can't live with that for the rest of my life. Vitamins and lab work I can live with. 

I especially like to summary - I think pre-surgery, we minimize the health difficulties OM pose - I mean how wlse would we get through the day.  The summary gives a good perscpective on the real decisions were face - stay at a BMI of 50 and go downhill, slowly pr not so slowly, depending on your age. Or chose the only option with medically proven results.

I have a BMI of 46. Not good! 

This study was so helpful! It really calmed my fears.

also, I think I accidentally reported your comment to the moderator, but I thought I was writing a comment. Sorry!

I also know that if I don't lose weight labeork will still be a part of my future - and so will diabetes and cholesterol meds - and who knows what else. I'm relatively healthy right now so I want to keep it that way. 

I turned 49 this year. I had RNY almost three years ago. I will say it is the best thing I did for me. Not my family for me. 

I feel better now than I did when I was 25. I will take this life of vitamins and enjoy it.

Walking is not hard anymore. Going upstairs isn't horrible. 

Life gets better and better. 

I'm only 3 years out, so I'm still a journeyman here. I take the vitamin regimen very seriously. I got into a routine fairly quickly, and it's been no problem. It's just part of my day. 

 Like Rocky said, you have to keep on top of it and keep records of the trends. Thanks to that advice, and my keeping records, I avoided a serious iron deficiency and nipped a too high D level ( which can also cause problems ) in the bud. I noticed the trends in both, got great advice on my D level from a vet here, and adjusted my levels accordingly. 

If you keep up with your lab work, take your supplements, get enough protein, ( good, quality protein! ) and keep in touch with your surgeon-if possible, or a good PCP that understands bariatric surgery ( or both ), you'll more than likely be in a much better place 10 years down the road than people who did not taken those steps. 

I hope you've stopped reading the horror stories. They can serve as a cautionary tale, but they can also scare the living crap out of people-as is evidenced. 

If you've sacred yourself out of RNY, then so be it, but I hope you can go through with it. It's made my quality of life 100% better. The vitamins and supplements are a small price to pay for good health. Every day is easier. Walking is easier; breathing, driving, wearing clothes....SHOPPING...all easier. 

I think vitamins are a good thing to take anyway, WLS or not. I took vitamins and a couple of supplements for years before my surgery anyway, so all I had to do was add in a few more pills and some calcium chews. 

Edited for word stupidity. Allllways with the edits over here.