hey, newbie with a big Q

 hey guys, 
im a new one to this forum, and am considering RNY. 
I've been obese all my life, and hate the fact that ive never quite fit in. i have a lot of my fat around my tummy, so although im 14 stone,im a size 18/20. im really excited to get ahead with the weight loss, but i have a real big Q. 

I have bmi of 34. Ive been looking around on this forum, and the lowest starting weight ive found, is still 20 kg more than mine. do you think having a lower weight would make the surgery have more complications?

Whats the lowest starting weight out there? Will having a lower starting weight, reduce the chances of excess skin? or will it increase the chances of me having deficiencies or other complications? im really worried of having more side effects from the surgery. 
I dont have any medical problems apart from excess hair on my face and body, due to pcos. its more of a self-esteem thing, i want to lose weight and fit in and be able to wear anything i like and look good in it. but i dont want to jeopardise my health in the process. What do you guys think?

Has anybody 3+ years post op had any regrets about gastric surgery?

 Hello! 

Welcome to the board, first off.   My starting weight was 246 with a BMI of 42 with no health problems.  A lot of surgeons and insurance companies will not operate on people who's BMI is less than 40 unless you have a health complication.  So you might want to check into that.   

A lower weight will not put you at any greater risk of developing a complication than anyone who is bigger.  I just had surgery to correct an internal hernia and a few other problems ~ I know people who had surgeries years ago, were larger than me and have never had a problem.  There's no real way to know if you will be one of those people or not until after you have the surgery.   Even though I've had this complication ~ which I personally don't think is necessarily a direct complication of my RNY, though it upped the risk, I do not regret my WLS what so ever.  

It's actually easier for surgeons to operate on smaller people than the super morbidly obese, so being "smaller" is actually a benefit for the actual procedure going well.  

Good luck!

~Emily~

 hi neah!.
Im not a dr. or anything but i do thing that if u dont have any health complicatio now. RNY might be to much for you, cuz u have a  low BMI. so the malabsortion maybe wont worth it. if i were in your place i would look into the lap band or the VGS. they are restrictive. n i think that u  would do great with those options! do ur reserch.  n most important of all. talk to ur surgeron im sure he'll be very well imformed about this.
keep us posted
hugs!

You actucally have less complications the less you weigh... the Dr can explain, you are at less risk for many complications post-op because you are not as overweight (of course other health issues would factor in).

I was 250 when I had surgery, I had roughly 100lbs to lose... I am now 145... I went to the Dr at 288 so I had lost some weight pre-op. As for excess skin, being not as obese, younger will help... depends on your skin as well. I carried a lot of weight in my belly and still do... I still could use 30-40K worth of surgery to 'fix' my body however I look fine in clothes and decent in a bathing suit... my stomach is still my worse area and I dream to get it chopped off... the legs and arms I can live with and I would love to get the girls lifted and filled (I went from a full D to a B... a very saggy sad B).

I am 4 years out this June, I have had no regrets. Only 'complications' I have had was having my gall bladder removed, I did come up as having low ferritin (stored iron) last year at my annual PCP physical and had to start taking iron pills.... first 'deficiency' Ive showed and I was still in 'normal' range... never had to take iron prior. I am faithful about my suppliments and go and get my blood checked each year so I keep on top of things. If you have any more questions send me a message!

 Thanks for all the information guys, you've all been very insightful.

I really really really do want to get thin, and i think im going to go ahead with the surgery. Ive booked my blood tests to be done in a few weeks, and im going to put down my deposit this week... However i've just got a few more Qs..

I was wondering, how much weight did all of you guys lose? 
I want to get down to a size 10, or even 8... but not any smaller... im worried that ill get really really skinny, and start looking like skin and bones. 
Also, Do you guys have problems with eating, like a few months after the surgery? I dont want to totally lose my love for cooking, or end up feeling like eating is a chore. 

The only other thing im worried about, is having babies in the future. obviously its not an issue right now, as im still studying, but when i do find someone and want to settle down and get pregnant, does anyone know of the implications? 
My Dr said that getting pregnant is easier when you're a healthier BMI, because you're more fertile... but what about eating for 2 people? Do you have to take extra precautions because you cant absorb all you eat? Does anyone know of anyone whos had babies after WLS? 

Hey, I personaly think that if you are unhappy and if you know what you want- go for it.! Just make sure you choose the right kind of surgary to suit you. I am pretty sure that there is less complications being smaller but im no doctor.
I also wanted to say hi as you are the first person from the uk that I have found on here so far and was wondering if you had thought any more about your surgary as I noticed that this post is from jan i think?? lol

 hey!

its good to hear from somebody from the UK! 
Im a student at the moment, and ive got some exams in march, so im basically scheduling the surgery for Mid-may, but im still unsure about which procedure to go for. 
Im leaning more towards the RNY, but sometimes i think whether it would be good to go for the VSG, as its easier to control my eating and be able to go out or eat with other people without being too fussy. 

How are you finding your VSG? Is it harder to lose weight?

Well I was originaly going to have the RNY also but I decided the VSG was much more suited to me. The VSG has the same effects as the RNY such as the amount of weight lost in the same time --- I have just had the sleeve 2 weeks ago and have lost 1 stone and 10lbs so I think it's pretty on par that way. All I have heard about the weight loss with the sleeve has been very good. You are able to eat pretty much anything without feeling the awfull effect of dumping syndrome etc and can have a normal meal when out with people even though of course very small lol. Being able to eat the same as everyone else  was very important to me, the sleeve is also safer than RNY which was def a big thing for myself. Let me know what you decide though if thats ok, it would be nice to keep in touch and see how things go etc. What hospital are you getting your surgery with?

 that sounds really interesting. 
Do you ever have days when you eat badly and pig out on junk? 
Im worried that i might sabotage myself by gorging on sweet foods sometimes... and without the dumping, i wont be able to stop. I dont want to spend all that money n get the surgery, and end up back in the same place. 
But at the same time, im worried about the RNY, it will be so difficult when going out with friends and being at work... i just cant decide what to do. 

Im going privately, as im no where near 40 bmi, and cant get onto nhs. 
Have you heard of Surgicare? Ive heard theyre reallly good, and i like their post-op aftercare package.... i live in london, so am getting the surgery done there. 

How did you find the post-op first 2 weeks? Any experiences? 
Good or bad? ...  im also worried about post-op care, because im a uni student, and my parents arent around, so i wont really have anybody to watch out for me. ive got 2 housemates, who will check in on me, but theyve obviously got their own lives... im hoping i wont need to much help after the op.

Well it is really hard to 'pig out' as the amount of food i can eat is tiney lol but yeh it would be easy enough to have chocolate etc (im not a sweetie kind of person so its easier that way for me) so i suppose if ur prone to chocolate and sweets etc it would be alot harder to stay on track. I have to say though 1 think that has helped me so much and I really rely on it is the fact that I never ever feel hungry at all which for me is fantastic! Very strange at first but such a big help lol. I guess with the RNY though you will get used to what you are able to eat etc.
Yeah ive heard of them though sont know much about them, I got mine done with Bupa they were so good. They also take care of you no extra fee for a year after.
the first week after the operation was fine- just getting used to the surgical scars and how if fel when having liquids. At nearly the end of the first week i found myself being a bit grumpy and weepy but i have been told that, that is to be expected. The second week was a bit harder as I was having to continue to have just soup and I didnt even want to eat so I had to force it down lol but apart from that it really was not as bad as i had though it would be. I had it pretty easy when i came out of the hospital as I stayed with my mum so she prepared my meals etc for me and made me eat. It is not very painfull as you are given alot of meds to take home with you but if you are not happy with the look of your wounds or if your unsure at all it is a good idea to get in contact with the hospital just to make sure. In the 2nd week i had some problem and still have a little problem with swallowing the liquids/food as when i do it feels very sore and like a crushing pain in my chest- this is due to a few little hematomas at the start of my stomach so the food is having to squeeze past but i have been told this will settle in time.