RNY'rs

I have lost 146 pounds in three years. I easily maintain my weight, but I also take it easy on carbs. I don't eat sweets, but then again, I don't crave them either.
DS is a good WLS, but you have to work with what you have.
To make the most of your loss, don't drink with meals, especially not carbonated drinks. Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before drinking. Don't push the envelope on the amount of food you can eat, this is where people screw it all up. They force a couple bites down when they KNOW they are full, and then make themselves uncomfortable. This gradually stretches your opening from pouch to intestines, and your intestines can hold tons of food. You will digest it, and gain.
Remember to eat protein, because this will keep you satisfied longer, then go for dense veggies. Green veggies, or raw veggies are the best. As for fruit, I don't eat much of it due to the carb count as fruit is a simple sugar. The exceptions are apples and pears.
I have what is now being called an extended RNY, with the short common channel associated with DS, so I can eat lots of fats and malabsorb it. But I can't eat many simple carbs and sugars without gaining weight.
No surgery will allow people to eat unlimited carbs and sugar. Keep that in mind. Those who post that they can eat any and everything without limits or consequences always make me go HMMMM.

I remember about a month after my RNY, I had to call in sick and was in bed all day, stopped up, nervous, sick and weak. The good news is, that passes and after a few months you actually feel normal again. Anyway, I'm 2 years and 3 months post-op. I went from 310 to 125 in 16 months. I started lifting weights in January and have gained about 10 pounds, but I'm the same size, just bulging everywhere. I went from a very tight XXXL/size 28 to a S/4-6. It takes work though. I work out every morning for about an hour. I have a little sweet stuff, but only a bite or two. Amazingly, I'm satisfied with that. Remember the no-drinking with meals rule, but at the same time try to get in lots of liquids (hard to do at 3 weeks). It's really not that hard, and the rewards will far outweigh what you have to sacrifice.

Stephanie,
Congratulations on your surgery and best wishes for continued good healing.  This has been a great, inspirational thread for me to read.  You have gotten some of the best advice in it...I'd recommend bookmarking it so you can come back to it on days when you need a little boost.  I know I will. 

I'm nearly 2 years out and have had a 10-15# regain (I fluctuate a lot)  from my lowest but I am still always at or below my surgeon's goal and won't allow myself to go higher.   The only meal that I allow myself to deviate from the no liquids-and-food rule is at breakfast because i really, really hold dear the combination of coffee and breakfast and that is a change I'm just not willing to make.   But I've completely given up sodas, 'real' sweets and most white stuff.  Limiting my intake of white flours such as breads, crackers, pastas really helps me control the carb monster who has been a demon on my back all my life and probably always will be.  

I had VBG surgery in '99 and it was NOT the right surgery for me and I regretted it within the first six months.  It took a very long time for me to get approval for RNY revision because so few surgeons (and insurance companies) want to do them.  Many insurance companies are now going to a 'once in a lifetime' exclusion where no matter who paid for the first wls...if you've had one you don't get another.  Period.  The RNY and DS are similar enough, surgically, to allow you great success at maintaining your loss if you follow your surgeon's rules so you shouldn't feel bad about your choice.

But WORK your tool...you are the only one who can do it and this may be the ONLY chance you get to improve your health and the rest of your life.  Be kind to yourself these first few months and follow all those rules. Realize you may not have a lot of energy till you hit the five month mark.  I've seen that with a lot of RNY folks on OH.   Make good changes now.  Don't regret what you can't eat, rejoice in how your health is improving.  What's more important...that big holiday meal you aren't going to be able to stuff yourself with or adding years of pleasurable living to your lifetime?

I'm sorry to preach, but being a revision patient it kind of gives me a different perspective.  I failed miserably once and my health suffered terribly.  I refuse to do that again and don't want to see anybody else make the same mistakes.   

Again, congratulations and best wishes to you!

Molly

Hi Stephanie,

I'm 4yrs & 8 months out of RNY and would do it again without question.

Starting at 284 at my lowest I've been 160 and now fluctuate 10-20lbs. (I'm back on the boards trying to get myself in check - this is my fault)

I've had 2 additional surgeries for obstruction and 1 scare (it passed) and even knowing that would still make the same decision.

My life has completely changed for the better because of my RNY.

You will be o****ep on track and stick with your rules! HUGS!!

Hi Stephanie,

Congratulations on making it to the loser's bench! It's soooo normal to have 'buyer's remorse', but don't. Be happy with the road you have chosen; there are pluses and minus' to every type of WLS. Statistically, 80 percent of those who have RNY will lose somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of their excess weight and they will maintain that loss ten years post op. That is an outstanding result. They have found that while there is a very small percentage that suffer from some sort of 'mechanical' failure that can be addressed, most of the people that do not meet or maintain their goal have behavioral issues that are responsible. So, with that in mind, be sure that you put some things in place to help ensure and assure your long term success. Get and stay involved in a support group, get active, identify and address behavior issues ... you can do so through counseling, which is something I have done, but I have also found a program that has been very helpful to me, called the 'Beck Diet Solution' which was created by the Judith Beck and it's not a diet, but a behavior modification program that helps you learn to 'think thin.'

Remember that the odds are that you will be successful,

Barb

P.S. I have lost 100 percent of my excess weight and I am 17 months post op. I absolutely have no regrets that I had RNY and I hope that those who had other surgeries feel the same.

I will be 6 years out in Feb 09 and I have maintained my weight loss.  I choose to weigh daily, and I am still very careful about what I eat.  That being said, I don't really deprive myself either, if I want some, I will have some I will just be accountable for it and burn it off and be careful with choices for a few days after having a "treat."
I agree with the other posters, mental demons can and do sabotage any and all WLS if not dealt with.  I had my guts rearranged, not my head.  I am aware that I will battle food demons and suffer from an eating disorder until I take my last breath.  There is no "cure" there is no short cut, the surgery is a valuable tool, but I have to work it daily.

Traci
303/131

You are doing great and although it has only been a short while, you will see this as a blessing. Just give yourself a chance for this to work and don't be shy... if you need support, help, encouragement just ask. I have found support and friendship here and will be happy to give after receiving the same.

My story with no regrets....

I had my RNY surgery approximately five years ago, May 2003. Due to medication and poor health caused a serious weight gain from 1997 after having my thyroid removed. My largest weight was 335 in 2001 after the birth of my son, Gilshenan. I tried for years to get the weight off by Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, Weigh****chers, etc. Many of the weight loss drugs such as Phen-fen, Xenical, and Meridia were prescribed but I lost so little and gain twice as much. When I had knee surgery I was unfortunate to be struck with deep vein thrombosis and was prescribed with coumadin (blood thinner). This changed my body for the worse. I had gained 75 lbs in just a little over 10 months time. 

My health progressively got worse to the point that my primary care physician suggested gastric bypass as an option for me. So she worked on it for six months and even though I had shoulder surgery in April, I still had my RNY just two months later. I went from a size 34 to 24 in six months and then lost another three sizes and got down to 18W weighing 200 lbs. I fluctuated between 182 to 200 lbs for years. This year started out the same but in the last six months I lost about 70+. I currently weigh 105lbs. The last size I was wearing a six (6). I am not healthy like I want to be but I have NO regrets. I would do this all over again without any reservations. I may be underweight but my family has a better me and aren't embarrassed due to having a obese mother and wife. No matter how much I weighed, my husband always said I was beautiful so I didn't think about the surgery for him based on my looks, I did this for the ability to grow old with my husband and see my children and grandchildren get married.

I look forward to plastic surgery so that I can get rid of all this excess skin. This tool has given me longevity and I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity. Take care StephanieJoy,

I had my RNY Dec of 05.  I weighed at least 350 at my highest.  I have weighed as low as 165.  I am currently 175.  I work very hard, working out, eating what is right etc.  I DO slide back into old habits and have to buckle down and get back to basics.  Food is an addiction for me.  But, I work out cardio, strength, stretching, abs, the whole shebang twice per week and run up to 4 miles at least once per week. 

I had horrible complications in the beginning and felt a bit of what you are feeling.  But, I would do it all over again just to feel HALF as great as I feel today!!

Don't get discouraged, WORK HARD, exercise if even briefly, mind your P's and Q's and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!