Should I have RNY??

Hello everyone,

I successfully lost 30 kg more times than I can count with the support of the lap band then with gastric sleeve. Due to anxiety and untreated emotional issues I have also successfully GAINED 30 kg back each time....right now I am at my heaviest ive ever been in a while

I am overwhelmed by my weight and my surgeon suggested RNY. I will also plan on getting proper counseling, i mention the above just to give you context, i dont need to tell you what effect my weight has had on my career, relationships and self image. We know its bad.

My only fear is that I will not end up leading a normal life after this procedure. Some of my questions are :

-if you eat the right foods (small amount of rice or pasta) lean meat and veggies, coconu****er, coffee, avocado etc. ...do you lose control over your body due to dumping syndrome? (Biggest fear....i dont want to have surgery just to worry about whether or not there is a bathroom where im going constantly)

-can u take pain or cold meds when ur sick?

-do you have to go to the bathroom more often to pee?

hairloss is inevitable...has anyone managed to minimize it?

i like to run, its how i helped myself lose weight before. Will i have enough energy to exercise?

Would you say that you would live a normal life if you change your mindset towards food?

thank u!!!

first, I would try the counseling first. There may be nothing mechanically wrong with your sleeve, and if there's not, then it's not the surgery that was the problem. Your tool should still "work". And if that's the case and you revise to RNY, you're likely to have the same issue.

secondly, the majority of us do not dump. And dumping is caused by ingesting too much sugar at one time. None of those things you listed will cause dumping. And if it turns out that you dump, you can control it for the most part by severely limiting (or avoiding) sugar.

you can take most meds. The only category you aren't supposed to take are NSAIDs, which are not advised for sleeve patients, either. Sometimes your dosage on your meds will need to be adjusted, but we can take most meds.

I don't know why you'd urinate any more with RNY than you would with sleeve - or with no surgery at all. I don't urinate any more than I did pre-sugery.

hair loss isn't inevitable - but it happens to most of us. It happens to sleeve patients as well. It's supposedly due to the anesthesia and the stress (to your body) of surgery. I had very little hair loss- I barely noticed it myself, so I'm sure no one else did. And even for those who lose a lot more than I did, they're often the only ones who notice it. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen - not much you can do to minimize it. But it's temporary - it'll grow back.

people are really tired the first few weeks after surgery, really, any surgery - but yes - you'll eventually have the energy to run. Many of us run for exercise.

I definitely live a normal life. The first few weeks or months are kind of touch-and-go, but they would have been with the sleeve, too. Your food choices are somewhat restricted, and not everything sits well with your stomach. Same as what most people experience with the sleeve. But once you're past that, you can live a pretty normal life - you're just eating a lot less than you did before.

Thank you catwoman, i had hair loss from my sleeve i dont think i fully recovered...i recently had severe loss again due to iron deficiency so i took IV 3 times.

can you please tell me if strictly avoiding sugar also means avoiding certain fruit? Or does that sugar not effect you? Also, can you have coffee?

I've never dumped, so I don't know about your fruit question. Maybe someone who does dump can chime in here..

yes - I drink coffee. My surgeon has people wait six months before drinking caffeinated coffee (it seems I could have decaf fairly quickly after surgery - maybe a month or so?), but some surgeons allow it right away. And some don't want you to drink it at all. There doesn't seem to be a consensus among surgeons - but I know a lot of us drink it.

I do hope you are sincere when you say you will get counseling. The effects of weight on your "career, relationships and self image" may be real, but surgery will not fix your life.

I have gained 30 pounds dealing with my real life. I am now going to Weigh****chers and am seeing a counselor to get my life back in balance. Weight loss surgery is not magic.

I am 11 years out from RNY and believe I live a totally normal life. The only difference is that I must take vitamins and supplements forever.

Good luck. I am rooting for you.

Laura, thank you. Yes , i dont have access to professional therapists where i live but i did stumble upon better help an online therapy platform, heard of it?

anyway, can you tell me more about the vitamins? Is it once a day or do you have to have shakes and multiple pills?

I take 20 pills a day- 2 bariatric multi-vitamins, 6 calcium, 6 Vitamin D, 3 magnesium, 2 proferrin iron, and 1 vitamin C per day. I also take B-12 2 times a month.

I do not have to do shakes or protein bars. None of us do after about the six month mark (we can eat enough to get all our protein from food by them). I do sometimes do shakes or bars if I am out and about and do not want to stop for fast food.

My experience is that sugar is sugar, in terms of dumping and RH. I can have a small apple, with a tablespoon of PB, but not a large apple...but the large apple made me feel stuffed anyway, so it was not a good choice overall. For the most part, if I have fruit, it's raspberries/blackberries - not very many and not very often. I don't eat pasta or rice because besides the carb content, they don't give any protein and I try to stick to my surgeons instructions (protein first, if still hungry low starch veggies, then low sugar fruit). I rarely get to that point.

i have not lost control over my body when I dumped, but I did spend a lot of time in a fetal position on the bathroom floor. About when that wore off, the RH kicked in. It's a strong deterrent!

you can't take cold medicine with NSAIDs but there are plenty with out. I seem to have fewer colds, aches and pains now that I'm healthier so it hasn't been an issue.

i don't run, but there are lots of runners here, post RNY, some even do half marathons and marathons. I work out 4-6 times a week, trying to get myself to 7 consistently. Fortunately I think I've finally found the right mix of activities I will be able to do everyday.

vitamins - I take 2 centrum silver a day, 3 calcium chews and 1 iron pill, every other day I do a sublingual B12. I had iron and D issues preop and so far they are resolved. You will want to monitor your labs because it does seem there is variation in how people absorb--some people take a daily b12, some take 2 iron.

Almost 2 years out, think my life is completely normal, I just eat less and do more. At least once a day, I have conversations with myself about headhunger vs real hunger....and on bad days, it might be more frequent. In my mind, the head component of WLS can't be under emphasized. The battle may be won in the kitchen, but the battle plan starts in the brain. The exercise is just foundTional, not a way to off set a bad diet, I have finally learned, lol.

Sounds like you know you need to do the head work, maybe focus on that before deciding on another surgery. You might also ask your surgeon to take a look and see if there is a mechanical issue with your sleeve. If there isn't, I'm not sure if a 3rd procedure would be the way to go.

good luck with your research and decisions

Hi jen thank you. Can you clarify what you mean when you say RH? And why did that happen? Are you saying dumping might happen if for example i have slices of watermelon? And fetal position? What was painful that made you do that? Sorry for all the questions

RH is reactive hypoglycemia (blood sugar drop after eating). The two times I have dumped, I had RH after.

of the list of dumping symptoms (photo), I get everything except the 2nd and 4th on the list. Everyone's experience is different, just as everyone's body is different.

from my experience with my body and perspective, sugar is sugar, whether is a tablespoon in coffee or From eating a large apple. Your experience may be different and as catwoman pointed out, many people don't dump. I think % wise more people do not end up with dumping syndrome than do, but I can't remember where I read that so take it with a grain of salt. Regardless, i had RNY and I have dumping syndrome so I avoid the things that make me dump.

It's no different than a non-WLS who is lactose intolerant or has other (non life threatening) sensitivities.

For example, I have a friend who has an extremely severe nut allergy. It's a lot easier for me to go the no sugar/SF route than it is for her to avoid all the nuts out in the world -- the difference is, she could die and I would be in pain/uncomfortable.