Question:
need to know what adverse of the Bypass and Duodenal switch surgeries!!!

I know all the perks, but I am so worried about the things that are going to make me feel "buyers remorse" post-op and lifelong....some examples of things I have heard are.... gastric bypass - has a higher rate of regain, adverse reactions to certain foods post-op. both require taking alot of pills (vitamins and minerals) DS- I'vd heard has terrible bowel smell that never goes away, I have been attending the surgeons support group for one whole year now!!! I hear all the glory stories of the surgeries, but I'm curious about those of you who do not attend the meetings and why? Are you having health issues? If so, what are they? Are you feeling like the suport groups are a waste of time?    — greta2mom (posted on March 8, 2010)

March 8, 2010
Hi Kelly: Sure you have heard (and know by now) that the more you get informed the more questions you will have! All of us postops have been there, done that and if you are stuck with the "what if's" you will never walk over to the other side to see that yes it really is worth it on the other end. I am now 10 weeks post op RNY, down over 50# (an average of 5.5#/week) and would never consider going backwards. Yes, the diet is still limited and can get boring, but the nice thing is that you DON'T want to eat all the other stuff you see (cakes, cookies) and all the other sweets that use to be my temptation. Anyway, another poster here on the forum boards led me to this site and it is fantastic: http://www.asbs.org/. You will find a gazillion good answers to FAQs here, and this particular link leads you to a *.pdf file that answers your very question about the postop concerns for WLS -- and specifically addresses that question in the context of whatever surgery you might be considering: http://www.asbs.org/html/pdf/asbs_bspc.pdf Good luck to you--hope you join us soon! ~Trish
   — momeego

March 8, 2010
Everyone must certainly consider all aspects of WLS, the good and bad alike. I'm sure you know the surgical risks, if not refer to the first page of each surgery type forum here on OH. WLS is a LIFELONG commitment. I've been fortunate that since my RNY I haven't had any serious setbacks. I have no more gas now than before surgery, no strictures, etc. I will say the first 6 months were the hardest at adapting to my new eating plan as far as dense protein was concerned but since that time I have had no food issues. Overall, I think you will get as many answers as there are people. WLS is just a tool and as soon as you stop following the rules of whatever type of surgery you have, your chances of re-gain are higher. None of them are a guarantee that you will lose 100% of your excess weight and never gain it back. Your success still depends on YOU and what you put into it. You are forever changed internally with RNY or DS so you have to take supplements for the rest of your life, not just for a little while. Make sure you truly understand this part as there are many folks who return here 1-2 yrs after their surgery lamenting over permanent physical damage due to deficiencies because they didn't have the money or memory, etc to take their vitamins every day. Eating more does not replace the absorptive sections of bypass surgeries. In other words you can overeat but not get nutrients from overeating. WLS is not a diet plan. It's a TREATMENT for a serious health condition that has not responded positively to other methods. YOU have to make the healthy food choices and learn to eat proper portions. YOU have to learn control because the surgery is on your digestive track, not your brain. I think support groups are great, this one included. Who better to share this lifelong journey with than with people who know exactly what I am experiencing? Good luck to you in whatever you decide.
   — Arkin10

March 9, 2010
HI KELLY I'M POST OP RNY 1 YEAR .WHEN YOU DECIDE ON ANY PROCEDURE YOU'RE GONNA FIND ADVANTAGES AND DIS ADVANTAGES . YOU WILL SACRIFICE NO MATTER WHAT YOU DECIDE . I EVEN HAD DAYS IN THE BEGINNING WHERE I SECOND GUESSED MYSELF . AS I APPROACH MY ONE YEAR SURGAVIRSORY I'M HEAR TO TELL YOU IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I'VE MADE IN MY LIFE . I'VE LOST 190 LBS. I TAKE NO MORE MEDICATIONS FOR CONDITIONS I HAD PRE-SURGERY . I DON'T NEED MY C-PAP MACHINE AS MY SLEEP APNEA HAS DISAPPEARED . I CAN RUN UP 5 FLOORS OF STAIRS AND NOT BREAK A SWEAT . I GUESS I'M TRYING TO SAY MY HEALTH HAS IMPROVED . INVESTIGATE ALL METHODS OF WLS. NO MATTER WHAT SURGERY YOU HAVE WEIGHT LOSS IS ONLY A PART OF YOUR RESULTS . BEFORE MY SURGERY I WAS SLOWLY DYING . TODAY I'M REALLY LIVING .DO IT FOR YOURSELF YOU'LL NEVER REGRET IT ..........ROGER COTE .
   — ROGER COTE

March 9, 2010
I decided,on DS,and I have not regreted my decision! There is nothing,I can,t have,but I eat only smaller amounts of carbs.I do not dump,get things stuck,and we don,t absorb fat,like other surgeries! Feel free to check out my profile,I,ve lost 75 pounds since Dec 24th 09! Oh yea, loving my DS!
   — rebecca W.

March 10, 2010
Hi Kelly....I am one year post-op lap RNY, and I'm 4 pounds below my surgeon's goal for me. I would actually like to lose another 6 pounds to get to my own goal. At any rate, I specifically CHOSE the RNY because of the "adverse reactions". I WANTED to have the threat of "dumping syndrome" if I ate the wrong foods or too much of anything. I understood that I would have to take supplements for the rest of my life, and I don't think that's a bad thing. I was taking vitamins before surgery anyways. Yes, I got a stricture at about 6 weeks out, but it wasn't a horrible thing. It started out with not being able to keep my meals down, and I would throw up at least two times per day. The fix (having it dilated) took all of about 10 minutes from being wheeled into the treatment room to waking up and finding myself back in my little cubicle. After an hour and drinking some juice and eating a graham cracker, I was sent home feeling just fine. I still occasionally get "stuck" -- most likely from taking bites that are too big and not chewing them enough -- and have to throw up, but like I say, it's not a big deal. I haven't "dumped" yet, but I believe that's because I have been very careful NOT to eat the foods that typically cause dumping, which were the very foods that got me here in the first place. I DO have a problem with lots of gurgles and noises from my stomach, but it's more comical than anything else. And, yes....I do have a problem with "smelly gas". But, I had that problem before, too, just not to the same extent. And I found out from someone here on this board about a pill called "Devrom" that is also known as the "internal deoderant" - you still pass gas, but it doesn't stink anymore. I don't know how it works, and I do know that it's expensive, but I only take it when I'm going to be out for any length of time, and even then, only when I will be in amongst people. Another issue that I had was one that I've had for years, and that disappeared after surgery. For probably the past 15 years, I'd been having GUT pain - you know, NOT stomach, but the area from the stomach down - your intestines and stuff. I'd had barium swallows, barium enemas, upper and lower GI tests, and even an MRI to figure out where the pain was coming from. Well they never found anything. But, when I went onto my Pre-op diet, which required that I quit drinking coffee completely, I realized at about 4 weeks out that the pain in my gut was gone. Of course, it took me having a few coffees and having the pain come roaring back before I realized that the coffee was what was causing the pain. So, figuring that it was the CAFFIENE in the coffee that caused it, I picked up some de-caf instant coffee, and was drinking it. The pain came back again. So now, I'm off of all coffee products - which is a shame, because I love it. And I recently began drinking Crystal Light "Metabolism" and "Focus" and "Energy" - which all contain caffiene, and now I'm having pain (not serious pain, but pain nonetheless) in the area of my pouch....so, I'm going off of all Crystal Light that contains caffiene, too. It's a trial and error kind of thing. I have learned to listen to my body a lot faster than I ever listened to it before, and it serves me well giving timely information. Once you make your decision, you'll feel pretty good about it, I think. I did the same thing you're doing, and attended the post-op and pre-op support groups for 6 months before having my surgery, and I learned a LOT from the people who attended. Good and bad, I learned, and using all that I learned, I made my decision. Even with the little bumps in the road, I would do it all over again in a nano-second.
   — Erica Alikchihoo

March 10, 2010
Finding LONG TERM answers is the problem...I started researching my RNY 7-8 years ago (6 years PO now) Back then I couldn't find ANY long term RNY PO's because the surgery was too new and it still is considering that finding anyone over 20 years PO is like looking for a unicorn! Other surgeries are even newer than RNY...With that in mind, Many surgeons/docs have NO IDEA what long term health or weight loss success is really going to be. Many surgeons lose track of their long term PO's and regular docs have NO IDEA that anything is even wrong when our vitamin levels begin to drop, or until something goes terribly wrong...This is my experience at 6 years PO. I lost enough weight to make and keep myself quite happy. Weight isssues are still there...With ANY of the surgeries you have to follow the basic rules and make changes that last or you will gain weight back, It's that simple as far as weight goes...It's still a struggle for me to walk passed the bakery section...Often I go to the bakery section first...so that if I do grab something I shouldn't take home even if it's for my family and not me (temptations), by the time I get to the register to pay, I feel so guilty walking around with cupcakes (an example) in my cart, I usually can go put them back! LOL (notice I said usually) It happens! Then I have to try to avoid the temptation if they make it home with me and that can be sooooo hard! Especially years later when everything becomes more normal and lax! You MUST always work on your head if you want to keep your weight off! That is with all surgeries...The amount of vitamins I take now is NOT near the piddly amt I took the first 4 years PO...I have to take not only Iron, B-12, calcium and a super high dose bariatric multi vitamin daily....I have to take SUPER high doses of Vit D, Vit A, Vit E, Iron, B-12 separately as well and probably need injections now because the B-12 sublinguals are not being absorbed anymore despite my increasing it to absurb amts...I have to take zinc because all that calcium depletes zinc...I have to take copper and Vit C to help absorb the iron since the extra zinc depletes copper which helps iron absorb! Plus I need to take selenium... Oh yeah...It gets confusing as heck! I HAD TO STUDY vitamins! I have to have labs for all those different vitamins every 6 mos to insure my levels are up or I begin to feel bad, lose hair, get dizzy, even gain weight when my vits are off...etc! Support groups for me is a waste of time because there are rarely long termers in those live groups...I'm done learning all the aches of pains and new issues...I come to OH and look for the long termers so I can ask questions that pertain to those long term problems which are usually vitamins and becoming lax with snacking and overeating... sugar... alcohol... laziness.. Hope that helps you look deeper into ALL the issues...Maintaining your weight/food/eating is half the trouble long term...Health and nutrition is the other half and many only focus only the eating part and years later cannot understand why taking regular people or GAWD forbid, "KIDS VITAMINS"(!!!!) has slowly done absolutely NOTHING for their nutritional needs long term. My suggestion is this...whatever surgery you get, FOCUS on IT...ONLY IT! Learn from long termers and stay in SOME kind of support group whether you have issues or not! It helps keep you in check and on track...Plus you can always learn new things/products/recipes/ideas etc from new PO's too.
   — .Anita R.