Looking for RNY and DS 5+ year post-ops..

I'm trying to compare maintenance at the 5+ year mark.  If anyone here is 5 years or more out it would be outstanding if you could take a little time to let me know what you deal with on a day to day basis.  I'm curious about what you eat, how much you exercise and most importantly, how you think about your regimen. ie, do you feel it's a diet or is it just a normal way of life.. Thanks so much!

I'm 6 1/2 yrs out and most of my post op friends are farther out than I am. Most of us had the same doc (we all met through support group put on by our surgeon), so we all had the same surgery. Open RNY. That's all he offered when we went to him mamy years ago. His practice currently does lap RNY and the banding procedure. I hit goal at about 11 mnths out and have pretty much stayed here every since. I probably fluctuate a couple pounds here and there but don't get on a scale so can't tell you for sure. I do know I wear the same clothes I bought when I hit goal and they fit almost the same. I did drop a few more pounds last fall and have toned up abit since that first year. Day to day I am a normal person - I still eat protein forward meals and reach for protein snacks. Am I perfect? No. I do sweets, an occasional bag of cheetos (individual size bag!), a drink at a party once in a while and chips and dip when I can get away with it. Chocolate is my friend and I have been known to throw fat gram counts out the window. That said I do maintain - my meals are protein forward still. I exercise regularly. If I've had a sedentary day, my caloric intake is cut down. If I've done strenuous exercise I allow myself to have more. Either higher calorie foods like treats or more regular food. I have found the trade off and it works for me. My doc said 1200 calories per day from the one year out mark and forever after that. That's the number I use as a guide for my daily intake. I try to do 3-5 ounces of food per meal, depending on the food. I don't think about it anymore, It's habit. Like not drinking with meals or not ordering dessert. I had the surgery at 44 yrs old. My doc said with my  "advanced" age I'd ned some reconstructive surgery for my skin. I'm 50 now and my skin is fine. I dont' even qualify for plastic surgery. I think exercising before surgery -I was always athletic so had good muscle tone under my skin, helped. I drink a ton of water and my skin is well hydrated. I've done things I never in a million years thought I'd do post op and it's been so fun I can't imaging not doing these things now. I started with a 25 mile bike ride when I was about 8 months out of surgery. I finished and was so excited I went white water rafting. I loved that and started canoeing. Went on a Boundry Waters Trip in northern MN and spent 9 days hauling my gear, a canoe and paddling over 100 miles. I bought a kayak and explored inland lakes here in MN. I have a large dog I walk every day - 2 miles daily is her minimum, so it was mine too for quite a while. I have hiked the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail, ridden horses in Montana's mountains, explored Indian Ruins in Arizona and New Mexico, done some high desert hiking in northern New Mexico. I've white water rafted the Yellowstone and Maddison Rivers' in Montana, I bought a motorcycle when I had been at goal for a year and ride all summer and have now for years. I rode to Sturgis last year and put overe 1800 miles on my Harley. I mountain bike at State Parks. I go dancing with my friends almost every weekend, I shop, I go camping, I move from morning till night and run circles around people younger than me.  I've forgotten I'm a post op and have for many years. My lifestyle is normal - the burden of eating and food is no longer the only thing on my mind. I would do this again in a heartbeat to feel as good as I do now. Sorry this got so long but this is amazing and I wouldn't trade my life for anything!

Thank you so much!  All those things you speak of are the things I want to do!  In my current state of mind I find it hard to imagine 1200 calories a day and not being hungry.  I think that's my biggest concern with the RNY.  5+ years out, my stoma has stretched and I'm able to eat more so I don't feel as full after I eat.. So I fall back into my same patterns and out eat the surgery.  With the DS I believe that if I fell into the same patterns (as I expect myself to) the surgery will help with that because of the extra malabsorption.  But then again I may not fall into my old ways and I may end up like you and have a normal life.   Difficult decision.. I'm trying to come up with a list of pro's and cons (my own reasons, not the published ones.) for both surgeries and decide which ones appeal to me the most.  Thanks again!

Hi Chris, I am 8 years out. My daily maint. has really become the way I live so I dont think much about it anymore. 1 RX iron pill, 1 B12, 1 multi vitamin and 3 calcium chews per day. I eat what a "normal" person eats. Protein, veggies and a few carbs but still in small portions. I exercise at least 3 times a week, usually more. It is definitely not a diet, it is a way of life for me. I have had no complications and would do it again in a second!

How many times a day do you eat and approximately what are the portion sizes?  Do you fear that if you eat more that you will regain or stretch your pouch?

I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ex: Breakfast~ 2 scrambled eggs with some cheese thrown in, I usually use egg beaters        Lunch~ Tuna sandwich on wheat bread       Dinner~ Chicken breast, maybe a few veggies I eat a snack in between such as fruit or cheese or maybe natural peanut butter. I have found as many of us have that I need to eat something every few hours to regulate my blood sugar. As far as the pouch stretch thing, I don't really believe in that. After 8 years my pouch has NO problem letting me know when I have not chewed my food enough or when it is full. In my experience regain comes from grazing and eating around our tool, not pouch stretching.

Chris; I'm just over two years post-RNY. My mom is 9.5 years post-DS. I can tell you these things about the two of us. Me: - I exercise. I love to move, sweat and get my body going to see how far I can pu**** I was like this when I was fat as well, but because of the excess weight tended to experience a lot of injuries. - I was not a food addict prior to surgery. Did I always make the best food choices? No, but I was not the type of person that lived to eat or ate until I had to unbutton my pants. My weight was more the result of a really messed up metabolism and two morbidly obese parents. - I've always been a vitamin taker. I view it as if I want to be healthy, I need to put in a little extra effort. - Highest weight: 253 (October 2005), lowest weight: 130 (May 2007), weight removed with PS: 3 lbs., weight this morning 131. Except for when I wasn't exercising while recovering from PS, I've been maintaining 130-133 for 8 months or so. Technically with the skin removed from PS, I should probably be 127-130. - I view my life as a post-op as my lifestyle. It's not a diet. Any food that doesn't make me physically ill is OK to have in moderation. And I don't crave the foods that make me physically ill, so it's not an issue. With regard to the little amount of food I can eat, I live in a country where food is plentiful and no matter how good a meal is, I can always make or buy that meal again when I'm hungry again. There's no reason to ever gorge on anything. My mom: - Never a regular exerciser. To this day, she will sit in the car and wait for someone to back out for the closest space. - My mom was a text book food addict. At at nearly 10 years post-op, she is still a food addict. She overeats to the point of vomiting at least weekly if not more frequently. - She admitted to me this morning that she has a "one year supply stockpile" of her vitamins from days that she neglects to take them. - Highest weight: 312 (July 1998), lowest weight: 145-ish (January 2000), weight removed with various plastic surgery procedures since July 2000: 21.2 lbs., current weight: 170-ish. My point in sharing our differences is my mom would have failed with RNY. In nearly 10 years, she has never accepted the lifestyle change to live a vomit-free, healthy, strong life. I'm not saying any of this to play into the RNY vs. DS flame war that has been going on. The reason different people chose different surgeries is to deal with their individual demons, whether they be exercise or food related, that drove them to obesity. The malabsorption with DS has allowed my mom to stay within the overweight BMI instead of returning to obesity. In my opinion, success comes from patient attitude and education. I believe if one choses to view it as a lifestyle, they can live a happy, healthy, balanced life. If one choses to view the lifestyle required for post-op life as a punishment for past sins with food, they will be miserable no matter what surgery they've chosen. My RNY gave me a whole new life. So, I do everything within my power to follow the protocol so I can continue to appreciate every second of it. Best wishes as you continue to research and plan for your new life.

Thank you for your reply!  I believe it's extremely important to pick the surgery that fits your desired lifestyle! I *want* to be like you but the fact of the matter is I'm not like you at all.  I'm more like your mom.  I'd say I'm a mix between you and your mom actually.  I know with beyond a doubt that I am a food addict. Try as I might I have never been able to get it under control. I fear that I would eat through the RNY because of it.  I do exercising regularly but a lot of the time I despise it. It's only within the last year that I've started accepting that exercise can be fun. I'm not a gym goer and never will be but I do love doing things outdoors and I enjoy taking Karate. That's how I plan to get exercise, normal/fun daily activities. But I also know that I tend to quit stuff a lot.  So I can't believe that my current desire to exercise will continue throughout my life.  I suppose that's why I feel drawn to the DS. Because it gives me the ability to be myself.. be lazy.. it's a surgery that is rather resilient and will work even though I'm not working it. If I do work the DS then the results are astonishing, just like the RNY. Still, I am attracted to the RNY because of who I 'want' to be. I want to eat healthy and exercise regularly. I feel that if I chose the RNY that I would be forced to to eat right and exercise, otherwise I would have wasted money and cut my guts up for nothing.  Part of me feels like I need that sort of structure and ruling in my life.  I'm just not sure if that would be enough to force me though...  I know I've spent thousands of dollars on things that just are laid to waste...things I don't use anymore.  So the money part probably wouldn't be a motivating factor. I am hoping to hear from more DSers, like your mom, and RNYers that are that many years post-op. I'm curious to see if the success rates are the same that many years out. I know I can go read studies but there's something to be said about hearing it first hand. Again, thank you so much for your post!  I'm doing my best to avoid the DS vs RNY war!

Please for the love of GOD tell me that your mother has her bloods drawn regularly. it scares the living daylights out of me when I hear a post op (RNYer or DSer) not taking their suppliments on a regular basis. If she needs reasons to take her suppliments please have her go to www.duodenalswithc.com and read Carol's story in the "lessons learned" forum.  She decided she felt "good enough" not to take her suppliments and ended up with major issues; or have her talk to Vitalady (michelle) who had the RNY who had to spend time fixing her issues.  This may be a good lesson for you Chris...if you do not plan on taking suppliments like you insulin if you were a type 1 diabetic (assuming if you didn't you'd die), then you shouldn't ahve the RNY or the DS.  Suppliments are for LIFE.....both in terms of lenght and in terms of keeping you alive. Scott

I really don't think I'll have any problems taking the supplements.  The only problems I've ever had with taking any type of medicine is just sheer forgetfulness.  Once I get in a routine of taking them it's easy enough to continue on with it.  It's getting in that routine that's difficult..but then that's where my wife comes in. She LOVES to make sure I take my meds.  Come to think of it.. I can't remember a morning where she hasn't gone down the list, "Meds? Wallet?  Phone?  Lunch?".. lol