CHANGES 5 years out RNY

Gosh how differnt everything in my life is now since i had RNY,,,For the better.   I get a small glimpse of myself sometimes when i see pictures from long ago.  I honestly barely remember those days.  I went from a size 22 snug to and 8-10 .  My taste buds changed altogether.   I loved sweets so much and now a small amount and i am done. I am one of the lucky ones where sugar makes me sick ...I call that a blessing actually.

My thinking changed , everything has changed for the better...Yet some days I am sad and cant figure out why ..  I think i got so used to using food as comfort,,, That is one thing that MUST change when you have this surgery. You have to find something to takes its place.

Do any of you feel this too or am i just a horse of a different color???

S~

Shirley, you are not different, I find myself dealing with the same emotions and that feeling of being "lost" sometimes.  I tend to go through the "oh heck what did I do to myself" to "wow I'm happy and amazed".

One thing we never hear going into surgery is how long term living will be.  It sure isn't easy I'll say that.  Once the high of losing extremely quickly and reaching a goal or when the body decides this is where you'll be, the glimmer and shine, the wow's leave us then we get to the point of "what's next".

This is one reason why I feel OH and/or local support groups are so important.  Being around others that get it sure keeps things in perspective.

You are so right..  We never, Or I NEVER heard about what happens long term out ,,,What exactly or somewhat will take place.  I am not complaining, I just wish I knew where to get answers for so many things that I dont know.. MY surgeon was/is a wonderful surgeon,,,but that is just it.  He knows surgery and not alot about long term bariatric care.

Like since I had surgery, is the only difference now is that it takes less to fill me. DO i absorb fat and calories now ,ALL OF THEM or only some of them.  I know I do vits etc but what about food wise.

I would like to know a site that has all these answers. Is there one, if so someone please share.

Shirley

I have been asking these questions for a long time now. I have even tried to google but no one seems to know... so frustarting.

I had my distal rny 2/05. i have lost 170 lbs but had a post op "surprise "pregnancy just 9 months after my RNY. ( no one warned me that loosing weight would restore my fertility) but...that definatly slowed my weight loss. now I am pregnant again.. I have gained weight the past few months before I was pregannt and so in frutstration tried to get answers on how many calories a day i should have, what amount of fat and so forth do i absorb. I just want to know.

since my surgery was distal. I always could eat..almost a normal meal .

I can eat sugar and so forth.. sure makes it hard to loose weight. even now..

anyway if you ever find any info out.. please send it along.. would just love to know what point we start to absorb and how much. more long term data is needed.

Tricia

Tricia, are you the same Tricia from the Feb05 yahoo support group?  I haven't posted on that board in a long time, congrats on your babies.

yup thats me.. been away for years now.. but i am back..sigh.. need to get some more weight off.. was totally motivated and got myself pregnant...again.. oh boy!!

but I am reading and learning and even though I am pregnant. I am going to make the changes I need to be healthy now..and after this LAST baby :-)

How are you?>

That's so weird, I just made a post on the RNY board about those same things. I told a newbie I would feel like a success if 5 years have passed and I'm still thin and healthy, and here you are. And I do have those same feelings about the void in my life. For instance, I made homemade ice cream for July 4th with some peach cobbler. Everybody was by the pool eating it, and I was running in and out of the house serving it. I get sick on stuff like that, and worry that I'll get huge if I eat it anyway, but sometimes ... wouldn't it be great to just sit on the porch and eat a real sundae??? Of course, after it's over I'm always glad I didn't eat it, but still.

I'm 3 years out in August. I am maintaining my weight well. Sometimes I eat, and then am so full no way can I eat more...but the URGE comes to eat more!  I am trying to be careful not to push the point. As for sweets, I lost the taste for them. So my cravings are for aweful things, like spam, or cheap pot pies! I just refuse to have it in the house, or I will eat it.

I have bought the single serving spam pouch, ate it, and then didn't have to worry about leftovers calling my name! But generally, I keep that stuff out of the kitchen.

I do have the feeling sometimes that I am left out, but it generally comes from family and friends have a couple drinks at gatherings. Sweet drinks are out, as they don't taste good. I don't want the sugar of some mixed ones with fruit juices, and beer bloats the heck out of me!  So I sit with my 1 Michelob Ultra and sip. "  sigh"  I remember the glow.........

I think we become so focused on getting to whatever goal we made the point of everything, that when we get there, we don't know what to do next! I try to make plans for things I want to do, to keep looking forward. Next month is a cruise with my Mother, in October I want to go to Chicago with my sister on her business trip. I look forward to milestones in my granddaughter's life. And I live for visits from my daughter who lives out of state.  I beleive looking forward, and finding ways to do that, helps when we reach goal. Just never forget where we were, so we don't end back up there.

i am not 5 years out - - only 15 months or so - but, i am laready feeling some of what you are talking about -

once we reach goal - then what?

kf

 This is a support group I also go to : [email protected].  Many of the people there are 10+ years out. You will find much information on there.  What I've learned from these ladies is the importance of keeping up with good vitamins, ( vitamins is not a place to skimp on) keeping copies of your labs and checking them yourselves, and the importance of supplementing with protein for the rest of your life.

They have walked the path, and have made mistakes. Every day I read about someone with a vitamin deficiency and its because they were not serious about their vitamins. or someone malnourished and having issues because they assumed they could eat enough p rotein....not, you just can't absorb it. or someone who thinks that they can open the pandoras box of sugar and not think its going to cause them problems...or someone who doesn't think exercise for the rest of their lives means them.

I can't say I've been sad about losing food.  I've learned that I run to food for comfort and I was a food addict. But I watch so closely now...actually I am more obsessed with what I eat now.  I just don't buy the junk...out of sight, out of mind. 

These ladies at the protein group also teach me that maintaining is hard...and that is why I come here every day, like Dana said, for support and accountability. Like an alcoholic, I love food, and I need to keep a tight reign on it!  So thankful for all of you, for your encouragement and friendship!!