WLS - Any Regrets or No Regrets

I have NO regrets for having the surgery. Okay, how long.... (kind of hard to ask my brain when going through lots of work from college in the past 4 weeks than in the past 15 years)... holy cow... just counted... 1 and a half year's surgiversary's tomorrow, surgery date was July 29th, 2008!! Had the Laproscopic RNY.  You didn't ask how much we've lost.... I think the best question is, what did I gain? Positive attitude, a 2nd chance to live life with this new tool, made more friends face to face! I gained better insight in why I had let my life go down this path, from the depression, comfort foods, and lack of self-awareness, and lack of community ties... Ok, bedtime for me.... ~Kelly

i'm 10 months out, down 116lbs. in a size 5.  i had the DS.  would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  Nutritional supplementation is vital, no matter what surgery you choose.  educate yourself.  visit all the different boards, please.  and come to our support group in Tukwila if you can make it sometimes.  2nd saturday of every month, southcenter sizzler, 3pm.

I had a DS 2 years ago, and have lost over 150 lbs. I'm at my surgeons goal weight (normal BMI) and I have some excess skin that I will likely have plastics for, which will put me at MY goal weight .

I've been able to resume any activities that I had been missing out on, and even added new ones like skiing and learning to surf.

All co-morbidities are resolved, and I no longer take any medications for them, only vitamins. My own doctor is envious of my labs, especially my cholesterol and BP readings. I have no regrets, and would have the DS annually if I had to.

  Hi Debbie!  I had a VBG in March 2003.  I ended up eating around the surgery and then started having mechanical issues with my pouch.  I had a revision to a gastric bypass and they gave me a new pouch (cut the old one out completely-plus removed the remaining stomach) in April 2009 and I have lost officially 125 lbs.  I am now a lower weight than I was after my first initial loss with the VBG (156 ish lbs).  I have never regretted either surgery because they made me who I am today.  Just have to make sure your mind is ready for the changes your body will be going thru and the dedication to the vitamins and protein necessary for healing.  The first few weeks after surgery suck.  But it's worth every second in my opinion.  

As far as teeth goes...I have to have a tooth pulled on Wed.  I always have dry mouth.  I drink a lot of water but I'm always dry.  Well, I found out from my oral surgeon that dry mouth increases the rate of decay in our mouth so we need to be extra careful and make sure we are brushing, flossing, using a fluoride rinse and also using a mouthwash that is for dry mouth...I don't recall the name off the top of my head.  I use it several times a day.  So this tooth that has to be pulled it because of decay and it's my fault for not brushing enough AND not knowing about the dry mouth thing. 

Make sure you are doing the surgery for you and not for your friends/family or society.  

Hi Debbie,
Great question! I had RNY on 12/30/08 and I've lost 149lbs... from a size 24 to as small as a size 4! I have no regrets and would do it over again in a heartbeat. This isn't failproof... if I don't eat right, exercise, or take my vitamins... I feel the consequences right away! Some days I don't want to take a handful of vits all spaced out, but I'll take them for the rest of my life because I want my teeth  bones, and overall health. I remember the months before surgery people kept running to me with these horror stories of "this person lost all their teeth, this person went bald, this person died" and I didn't let it stop me from this lifesaving surgery. Wearing a size 4, feeling confident in a bikini, there are so many reasons I'm proud of my decision. Best of luck to you!

I had my RNY on 10-27-07 and have absolutely NO regrets.  Not even in the beginning.  I'd read enough info and posts on here to know that the worst part would be the liquid and pureed stage and getting used to eating again and how different it is now.  I lost weight pretty regularly.  I did have a few stalls, but kept doing what I needed to do and got moving again.  I did lose some hair for a few months, but everyone had warned me about that - it does get better.  My hair's back to normal now.  And I kind of got slack on the vitamins for awhile and found out why you cannot do that - the vitamins are critical.  I was getting really run down, sick all the time, and looked like I was just wiped out.  But within about 4-5 weeks of getting back on a strict vitamin regimen, it turned around and I feel great again.

I started out wearing size 24 jeans and 5x tops and now wear size 4 jeans and small tops, sometimes mediums depending on how tight the small tops' sleeves are - have some extra skin there that needs a little breating room!  I've maintained between 155-160 back and forth in there ever since I hit my goal at the 8-month mark.  I started my plastic surgery journey on 10-28-09 - two years and one day after my RNY.  Just the tummy for now.  Arms and breasts will come later. 

Sometimes it's harder on my husband and family when we go out to eat and they're not sure where we can go and I'll be able to find something to eat.  I keep trying to tell them, other than fast food, all regular restaurants have something I can have - grilled chicken, salad, whatever, I just eat what I can and either leave it or take it home - depending on how good it was or how much is left.  Fast food places are totally out because they smell so disgusting to me now - my mom said it must be the grease - but they smell so terrible that I get sick feeling and can't stay near them.  Heck even driving by a couple of them on my way home can make me feel like throwing up.

So, no - no regrets.  I feel so good when I hit the gym and can actually run now on the treadmill.  It makes me feel like I'm so free and flying!!!  I love feeling this good!

My only regret is that I didnt do it years ago// my life has forever changed.  i had it october 23 2009 and have lost 50 lbs.  i was a 22-24 now i am a hot looking  12.  i am loving life and most of all living life... obesity stole my life from me and not my rny is helping to give it back.. it is hard at first and scarey but worth it..  shannon

Hi, Debbie!

Good for you for doing this kind of research!

I had my first WLS in '87 ... a VBG (an old restictive-only stomach stapling). I lost about 130, and then over the course of the next 20+ years, put it all back on. I revised to a DS in early May '09 and so far have lost almost 118 pounds. I don't regret the decision to revise to a DS for one minute.

The person your dietician was talking about no doubt neglected to take care of themselves. I haven't heard of ANYONE losing teeth because they had WLS. I have been a supplement junkie for years, so the handful of vitamins I take a couple times a day aren't a big deal to me.

Now, I have lost a lot of hair. It was right on schedule - it started dropping out at about 4 months and kept right on going until about 7 months out from surgery. I had thin hair to begin with, so I considered wearing a wig as the new growth started coming back in. I still see a *very* thin spot just above my forehead, but if you look at pictures of me from 20 years ago, you'll see that same thin spot.

And my boobs. I do miss my boobs. :) They're some of the first things to go, unfortunately.

But my blood pressure is great, my labs are fantastic, my sugar levels and cholesterol levels are enviable. I need to schedule a sleep study to see if I still need my apnea machine - I suspect not.

Regrets? Not doing it sooner. The other day a friend of mine... a man ... told me I had a great ass... ~quirky smile~ ... NOT the reason I had the surgery, but nice, nonetheless.

Good luck.

I am still a "sleeved" newbie so I can't talk about long-term. 

But, these last 3 weeks have been unbelieveable.  I was always so hungry before.  I would tell myself that I would just take a bite & then the whole thing would get inhaled.  Now, I have to remind myself to eat.  Who would have thunk? 

As far as the teeth, that person must have already had some dental issues or did not follow any nutrition advice.

You are very smart to be doing your research.  There are a lot of options out there.  Are you leaning towards any one particular surgery?

Hi Debbie,

I am only 2 weeks out. I had RNY on Feb 4th. I was also very scared of all of the horror storries that I have heard. I watched my sister go through the surgery and she just melted away to a size 10. I finally had the opportunity to get the surgery so I JUMPED ON IT! At my heaviest I was 295lbs. I am now at 275. I had just decided that the worst that could happen is that I will be in pain for a few weeks then in about a year, I will be living the life that I have wanted my whole life. It is a big decision but you have to measure the benefits against the risks and I guarantee the benefits with outweigh the risks by far! I say go for it!!!
karen :o)