Confused about excess weight....

 I'm new here :o)  I am seeing my surgeon on May 7th but in doing my research, I have a question about something that is bothering me.  I hate to bring this up.... I can't believe I'm saying it BUT, here goes...  I'm thinking RNY is the surgery for me because I have familial hyperlipidemia and Type 1 diabetes.  I believe that with RNY you lose 65-70% of your excess weight to be considered sucessful. If this is accurate and I have estimated my excess weight correctly, I will weigh about 145 or 150 when I'm done.  I'm 5'2 and 209lbs.  Is that right?  Thats a lot of weight to lose when you are thinking "oh my gosh.... look how hard this is going to be... it's going to take forever to diet". But, with the risk of surgery... Dare I say.... Is it worth the risk for 50lbs?  Don't hunt me down and hurt me LOL  I need this for my health. My mother died a year ago.  I know I can't do it on my own... especially with the diabetes.  But is there hope to lose more than this?  I was hoping the lightweights might be better to ask. I hope this makes sense and doesnt sound horrible. :(  Any advice or thoughts? TIA

 I'm afraid that people will be like "wow, you had surgery just to lose 50lbs!"  Ugh...

I went i to surgery at 188.  My thinking was I'd been gaining 15 or more lbs a year despite dieting for months every year also.  No one can tell you what to do but the risk of surgery, the risk of complications from diabetes, the risk or becoming more obese and the unhappiness you have to be experiencing to be looking into wls, in the first place.  Chances are you 50lbs will turn into more but all of these things you have to weigh in order to make a decision.  We see questions on the main board all the time as to why people with less than 100lbs to lose bother with wls.  here's the answer, someone who weighs 300lbs at one point had 50lbs to lose.  Also at 5'2, I'm not sure why you think losing your excess weight will leave you at 150lbs.  I mean if that is your choice that is terrific, but  there's nothing written in stone that you have to stop loss there.

I think many LWs who get the RNY loose 100% of their excess weight--it's the maintenance that's the hard part. :)

--gina

 My surgeon explained it to me this way, that statistic is an average of people at about 10 years out.  Some people do really well and maintain their weight loss while others gain back most or all of their excess weight.   Have you researched DUodenal Switch?  Another thing my surgeon said is that DS is the most powerful tool available today in the WLS arena.  It truly changes the way you metabolize your food.  It doesn't address Type I diabetes per se  because nothing can replace the pancreas, but it is the best for high triglycerides and he recommends it for patients with familial hypercholesteremia.  My insurance company doesn't pay for DS plus I have severe GERD so RNY was my best choice.  I am very pleased with it.

The only problem is if a person asks a surgeon who doesn't know anything about the DS except what was taught about the old BPD 10 years ago, they're going to get mostly misinformation or down right lies about it. You and I lucked up and went to surgeons that perform all the WLSs. I'm so glad to see Dr Simper's patients doing well. :) Anyway, a great place for research on the DS is www.dsfacts.com . There's a list of vetted DS surgeons there as well. I wouldn't trust the list on Obesity Help as there are a lot of "bait and don't switch" surgeons here.

--gina
 

Many lightweights lose 100% of excess weight.  I am 4'11" and would have been thrilled to get to 140.  I was and did but kept going.  I ended up losing 100% of my excess weight and so far have kept it off.  Maintainance is harder that the weight loss was.  It is a life long journey and requires life time changes, but it certainly gives you a leg up and a tool for the rest of your life. 

Noone but you can decide if surgery is right for you.  It was my last chance to get healthy and at 63 now I am off all meds, blood pressure is normal for the first time in at least 30 yrs, cholesteral is ok, no more sleep apnea, no diabetes (I was only borderline).  I love my RNY.

While no weight loss surgery will put your diabetes in remission...the DS is worth considering. Esp since the DS way of eating is more friendly to diabetics than any other.

Most diabetics I know, type 1's and 2's prefer to eat very low carb similar to what Dr. Richard Bernstein advocates.

While I am not a type 1, I do and did have genetic high cholesterol...here is what my PCP found on my last visit:

And while he doesn't draw much blood work during this event, he did do my basics of a1c, lipid profile, thyroid.

Weighed in at 125.9 (DRESSED in long jeans and wearing shoes).

He is pleased a*****h with our progress.

Got my abbreviated lab work back.
A1c pre-op was 8.2, last time in Jan 2012 was 5.9, this time it WAS 5.4!!!
Lipid profile pre-op was over 220 (no meds), now it's 179 also on no meds.
Thyroid is in range.

And I eat full fat anything...cheese, butter, milk, etc. Also eat plenty of bacon and add bacon grease while cooking my veggies (Southerner, remember?)

I LOVE MY DS!!!!

I am 5'4", weighed 124 this morning. I started at 203. I have lost every bit of my excess weight.

One thing about the RNY...there is evidence that reactive hypoglycemia becomes a REAL issue later on down the road...and as a diabetic, RH is nothing to mess with.

See my blog here for articles on RH, May 20th 2011, & May 26th, 2011 entries.

Liz

My surgery weight was 205....I bounce between 147-149 right now and have been a
slow loser. I think this may be due to my lipedema (I am now a size 8 yet am still just
barely an overweight BMI). I lost a good amount presurgery as well (almost 30 pounds)
.....the moral to this story is when I think that I have "only" lost 55 pounds post surgery,
I could find this demoralizing. YET, I can run, hike, now have a blood pressure of 100/60
(after being diagnosed with hypertension at age 27!!!), and am now what many would
consider a thin person. Was surgery worth it.....YES! A 100% YES. I could NEVER have
done this without surgery (and I was a professional dieter). Without surgery I would have
kept gaining weight and that was just unacceptable to me as I fear I would have become disabled. Plus, if my weight loss was this slow WITH surgery, I think I needed the surgery.
Many, many lightweights lose 100% of excess weight. But, for those that do not, we are
still a pretty, happy bunch. Good luck with your decision.

This is a great board and there are no haters here.

Blessings,

Jennifer

 Hi, I had the sleeve so can't speak to the RNY, but I can tell you that this doesn't sound like you're doing this for the 50 pounds but to help with your health problems. In your situation, I would think that shedding any amount of pounds would help with renewing your health.

I chose surgery to feel better about myself, but also in hopes of avoiding the heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and Altzheimers that my parents suffered.   Best decision I ever made. I wish I had not waited until I was 59 to do it!