Longterm Complications??

I am curious for those of you that have had surgery 5 yrs ago and longer and what some long term complications might be?....I was reading a complications site and alot of people said they were getting mulitple ulcers, chronic pancreatitis, some had septic intestines and they had to have mulitiple feets worth removed. I am still deciding as to wheather or not to still have the surgery...I am 31 and I already have high blood pressure and have had it for about 10 years, Im pre-diabetic, I have gall stones and a fatty liver..... and heart disease runs in my family big time....I dont want to end up with that and die from that....Im also worried about losing to much weight...alot of people on that site said that they could hardly eat anything and were in pain all the time....One woman had been 240 lbs and is now 90 lbs... Any and all feed back would be greatly appreciated!...Thanks!

I had surgery July 2006 and have nothing like you have said. I'm sure there are some who have had complications but I have not. I have no regain to speak of (flux between 125 and 130..goal of 125)..I was 240 diabetic, high blood pressure..heart disease runs in my family as well. I was 47 when I decided to go for surgery and just before I turned 48 I had it..My dad had a heart attack at 49 so I was sure I was headed there too..

My lab work comes back great each and every time. I take my vitamins religiously. I drink a gallon of water a day. I eat 100-130 grams of protein a day and 1500-1800 calories a day. I also walk about 2 miles a day too. I have had a slight decrease in bone mass but hey, I'm 53..it's to be expected..

The complications you speak of are low in numbers/percentages. Talk to your surgeon and see what his numbers are like..Check his stats. You should trust your surgeon with your life because that is exactly what you are doing..While there are complications in all surgeries, you have to weigh a few things:

1) Will you be compliant and do what you are suppose to do for the rest of your life and NOT fail your surgery? Vitamins, water, protein..walking, exercise..stay away from your trigger foods?

2) Are you serious enough about surgery that anything you must give up for life, you're willing to give up? Some can't eat beef, some can't eat pork, some can't eat chicken..You may end up lactose intolerant.

3) The complications can happen but the risk has to be worth taking..

Dawn, you are doing GREAT kudos! Can you give us a example of what you eat on a day? What are your rules of succes? (visavis the carbs/sugars/alcohol/drinking/gym time etc etc)

 

keep up the good work!

You can see an example of what I eat on the accountabiltiy threads each day. I eat ALOT and I stay active but I don't have a gym membership..you really have to figure out your own tolerances..it's not magic but it's individual.

I take in over 100 grams of protein a day and try and stay under that for carbs. But I generally will give myself some leeway if the carbs are vegetative..not bread/pasta/rice. IE: I keep those to a minimum. I also drink about a gallon of water a day and I always wait at least 30 minutes after finishing eating before I drink anything..

Thanks Dawn! will have a look at those accountability threads for ideas!

and good to see that one can still be succesful even if you moderately eat SOME carbs!

thanks so much, I can use the inspiration today

I had RNY in Aug. 2006 and so far, so good. I haven't had any real complications except for a small ulcer at my incision site. I'm a whole lot healthier at 50 than I was at 40. As for losing too much weight, that's not something most of us worry about. If you're not really heavy now, you might tend to get too small, at least for a while. My top weight was around 350. I dropped down to about 130, to the surprise of my doctor and everybody else, including me. That was really too skinny for me, but I did jump back up to around 145 after about 2-1/2 years, which is a better weight for me. Most of us have to be careful or we'll end up heavy again. I struggled with the decision to have RNY for a long time. It's a hard decision and you're doing the right think to ask questions and give it a lot of thought. Good luck to you.

Hi wanda

same question to you!

kudos for doing so well after so many years! you are an example! Can you give us a example of what you eat on a day? What are your rules of succes? (visavis the carbs/sugars/alcohol/drinking/gym time etc etc)

 

keep up the good work!

Hi! I think I just answered your post on the Grads forum. I'm trying to follow WW to get rid of a few pounds, which pretty much amounts to making good food choices most of the time. I'm way far from perfect. Here's a typical day for me (but a newbie probably couldn't handle this):

Breakfast - egg beaters and 1 slice double-fiber wheat bread
Snack - grapes
Lunch - leftovers from the night before, or a salad with FF dressing
Snack - fruit or light popcorn
Supper - I love to cook and make a lot of WW recipes. Usually lean meat with a vegetable and 1/4 to 1/2 of a roasted red potato. I love pasta but try to use wheat and limit it to once a week.

I exercise a pretty good bit, but haven't been to a gym in a long time. I have a treadmill and use it most days, and I walk my dogs. I don't do it often enough, but yoga and resistance exercises with weights make a big difference. I can see results from that a lot more than walking or jogging.

Carbs/sugar - I'm still a dumper. I do indulge in a cookie every now and then, but it's rare and it's just one. I refuse to completely give up potatoes, but I try to limit to 1/2 of a potato at the most. I don't touch mac & cheese (patting myself on the back here because it's hard). I don't eat birthday cakes. Pasta is always wheat and it's very limited. I eat double-fiber wheat bread but try to avoid white bread.

Drinking? I don't drink any alcohol, if that's what you mean. I don'****ch the clock after I eat anymore, to wait 30 minutes, but I think I pretty much wait that long before I drink anything, or come close to it.

 RNY in 2003....8.5 yrs post op.  My health is the best it has ever been. The only issue I have dealt with, brought about by my own doing, is that my iron tanked so low that functioning as a normal human being was difficult until we figured out the reason. 8 iron infusions later and being 100% compliant with my supplements, I am better than ever.  No regrets here.

Hello,

I was wondering if you could expound on your low iron diagnosis (e.g. symptoms, corrective action, etc).

I was recently diagnosed with low ferratin (stored iron); I believe it was a 6 and it should be a 13 or 15. 

I am cold all the time and often exhausted.

My doctor advised to take 325mg of iron for 90 days and then retest the iron the iron levels.  If it is not up, he is recommending an iron infusion and a visit to the hematologist.

Thank you in advance.