I am in no way trying to scare anyone away from surgery. Like I said, for MOST people wls works and that's TRULY a wonderful thing. For every story like mine there are at least 10 wonderful experiences, at least according to the research data.
I just don't think anyone should be alone or feel alone when/if there are complications.
I feel like I DID the work. I researched for over 6 months but never came across a study on the possible nuero consequences of bariatric surgery until I was post OP.
The one thing I loved about the surgery was how little I could eat and given the sufficient amount of protein, stay satiated.
I even remained in therapy past the approval phase of my initial surgery Juuuuuust in case
.
I am happy to say that it still takes very little to get and keep me full and I love that part of it. before the wls I didn't like to have to stop and eat because I worked hard and played even harder.

I agree. You never know what life is going to hand us. I'm immensely grateful that I've had the unwavering support of my husband and children and of course God
Grace

While for many many people the rny wls works wonderfully, however according to some studies (and my personal experience) wls just doesn't agree with our bodies. There is nothing mechanically wrong and more often than not it is NOT the fault of the surgeon.
I apologize for my lengthy story but I repost it once a year in an effort to reach out to some people who may be silently suffering the way I did. Here it goes.
PM me if you have questions
Grace
I sprouted numerous neurological problems even tho I only lost 40lbs. I was unable to eat meat, veggies , fruit and basically anything UNprocessed. without the takedown my family and my long time physician beleive I would not be here today to type this . If I had been told or had found thru my 6 months of research BEFORE I had my rny that it would have a chance to lead to ANY of these nuero and other issues not just in the short term but in the long term as well, I would have to not have any type of wls. a quick snyopsis of my story

For 3.5 years and I had 1. An inability to eat ANY veggies and fruits (maybe applesauce) 2. An inability to eat any meat aside from sandwich meat 3. Vomiting daily at the least (yes despite chewing my food well and taking small bites) 4. Injecting myself twice a week with vitamin b12 and it having NO EFFECT on how I felt 5. 2 strictures, four endoscopies and no effect on my healthy (all the docs said everything looked good and I SHOULD be able to eat what I knew I could not) 6. Joint pain (nope, never really had joint pain pre rny) 7. The beginnings of what *I know* would eventually be reactive hypoglycemia 8. Inability to do either job because of memory problems. My mental processing speed tested in the 14th percentile. Both jobs required good memory and one required quick processing speed 9. The worst depression despite a slew of anti depressant drugs I tried 10. A loss of only 40 frickin pounds, thus now I was still morbidly obese AND sicker than I had ever been in my entire life 11. Dizziness for almost 4 years consistently. It finally started going away a few months after my takedown. 12. Rotting teeth that would take upwards of about $8000.00 to repair and that was quoted when I HAD dental insurance. I used to get compliments on my teeth all the time but the vomiting and dry mouth the 8 or so additional medications I was on left me with ugly, painful and rotting teeth. 13. Seizure activity that I NEVER had pre RNY 14. Unrelenting fatigue. To give you an idea, my daily choice of activity was EITHER taking a shower OR making a simple dinner for my family. If I made the mistake of doing both or anything extra, my body would make me pay dearly and for days upon days 15. Almost 80k of medical debt and no way to pay it 16. ICE cold feet and burning sensations in my palms aka peripheral neuropathy 17. Vision problems 18. Finally pain but mainly just in my upper right back which seems to be related to eating which I sometimes try to get under control by eating soft foods like eggs,yogurt and strong cheese for a few days of each month or so

thank you soooo much Tara. I can honestly say that If not for my primary docs listening ear and really being invested in my health I may not be here today. Having him in my corner as well as husband and two children also kept me from just giving up and giving in

actually my b12 was waaaaaay over. I gave myself shots of b12 every week. when for the short time my labs were abnormal I changed my vitamins and they too came back fine and often times over the normal range as well.
My reversal plucked me from the downward spiral of health issues. I still have some Neuro damage but it's not near as bad as before and more importantly, the ailments I did suffer from were halted where they stood and didn't get any worse.
sadly there are MANY people out there that like me, do all the things and tests and whatnot and still have issues.
I wish you all the best as well

First let me say that I know there are many out there, the majority in fact, that weight loss surgery has been wonderful for. Lives are changing all over the place for the better *because* of weight loss surgery and I could not be happier for this growing community.
My story however is different. I am posting it on here because when I tried to find answers to the issues I was having, they were few and far between.
I had a lap RNY 5 years ago by a top rated surgeon who continues to be the top surgeon in my area. I however had a very different experience from the moment they closed up my little incisions. I encountered an acute adrenal crisis and once that was treated many of the symptoms eased. I was in the hospital 5 days, the two extra days were to make sure I didn't go home to have another adrenal crisis. They send me home with the usual post op stuff and steroids for the adrenal thang. The pain I had encountered was immense. I had all 3 of my children via c-section , an ankle  surgery ,a 2 hour dental surgery,  tubal ligation and and  as a child had a tonsillectomy. None of my previous surgeries had me prepared for the pain I was feeling.
I followed the steps of post op to the letter. small portions and even smaller bites didn't keep me from vomiting, often times at least once a day. I would start back on day one clear liquids and repeat the pattern each time I had too much vomiting. I had two strictures which by themselves are not that unusual. For me, despite the small portions and smaller bites and for months living on cottage cheese and yogurt I still would vomit. Vomiting wasn't a side effect for me it was a way of life. But the doctors couldn't find anything else wrong aside from the two strictures.
I kept up with my vitamins, taking nasty tastin liquid ones when I couldn't swallow the pills and had aftercare from both my surgeon and my primary physician.
8 months after my surgery I finally felt well enough to take my dogs for a brief  geriatric paced 1 mile walk. I came home and felt fine. Then I fell asleep on my couch and began my ascent into debilitating fatigue. After my walk with the dogs and with the exception of bathroom breaks and grabbing some yogurt or cottage cheese to eat, I stayed on my couch for 1 week. My whole body felt weak and heavy. I contacted both of my doctors and some low level blood tests were taken and all the numbers and values were fine.
Over the next 16 months I began to have other issues I was assured had NOTHING to do with the RNY surgery.
I began having issues with things that were NEVER an issue before.
 list of issues:
short and long term memory problems
processing and comprehending information *(I went from performing in the top 10% in my company to the bottom 10% because everything took me more time)
more vomiting and nausea
dizziness
seizures
my feet were constantly COLD (needed a heating pad at work just to function)
carpal tunnel (manifested by making my hands hot  hot hot)
weakness ( I worked out before the surgery, held down 1 full and one part time job, a preschooler, teenager,  two German shepherds, two cats and a wonderful husband to share it all with)
Pain in my torso and my upper back (still no reason despite a myriad of tests, specialist and physical therapists
fatigue I finally had to quit work because I couldn't stay awake for more than 90 min in a row and when I did stay home I could only choose a limited number of things to do before my body would rebel. I could either make my family dinner OR  take a shower after wards I would be spent
inability to eat any fresh or frozen fruit or veggies,my stomach would not tolerate anything that took effort to digest.
Neuropathy speaks for itself
Vision problems
loss of tooth enamel and eventually teeth from vomiting so so much and vitamin deficiency despite levels that were borderline ok and taking all those supplements
depression I was taking Prozac before the surgery but this depression didn't let up, doubled my dose of Zac and tried other newer and older meds to see if they would help. they did not.
all in all I saw 12 different doctors , 3 physical therapists, and had too many scans and blood tests than I can count.
finally in 2007 I found an article that explained the possible neurological complications of weight loss surgery. the list was VAST.
My story has a better ending than some. I was able to fly to NY and have my surgery reversed. My stomach resembles something like an hour glass and it took a while for my WHOLE stomach and bypassed intestine to work but it was well worth it.  This year I got to cook Thanksgiving dinner for my family for the 1st time in years. it felt so good to be able to care for them like I used to. My life will never be the same but it's  so soooooooo much better than it was before my reversal. I'll never find the right words to express how grateful and blessed I feel to have found a surgeon that would put me back on the road to physical wellness.
I say again for many many these types of surgery yield a better life and better health but for those of us who have had a much different experience I say this, "you are not alone"
Below I have placed in some links to scientific studies. I apologize that some of the articles are not full but I don't have a subscription to these websites.
If you need someone to talk to please feel free to send me a pm or email me at [email protected]

thank you so much
Grace

http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/21/1843

http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/66/8/1025? maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=gastric+bypass&sea rchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/61/8/1185