Question:
where to find info in long term post-ops

i have looked and looked and can only find info in 5 years out on wls post-ops and that was not much info. i want to know 10, 15 or even 20 years from now if i my bosy will be okay. what health problems will come up. if any one knows where to look please let me know thanks    — Rebecca73 (posted on October 7, 2004)

October 7, 2004
The medical field has advanced so much in these procedures (as well as other fields) that I don't know how much stock I would put into information that is available on the surgery 10+ years out. Any problems for those who had it years ago might have been addressed and are non-issues today. It's such a different surgery than even 5 years ago. You don't mention which WLS you are looking into, but some procedures have only been in existance for a few years - there just might not be people out there 10+ years post. Having said that, before my WLS I did find an article on the Mayo Clinic website - the results of a small scale study. I hope this helps.
   — Yolanda J.

October 7, 2004
Yolanda is correct. From the research I have done myself, all I can find is things about people who had their surgery 10+ years out having revisions to the newer procedures. Sorry I could not be of more help!
   — MagickalMom

October 7, 2004
What kind of surgery are you considering? The current form of the RNY hasn't been in existence for 15 or 20 years, and some of the problems that you'll find w/ the old version have been resolved. There just isn't alot of long term info on the RNY (or the DS, or the lap band). Some problems like anemia and osteoporosis are know risks. It will be interesting in 20 years to see the stats on the procedures that are being done today.
   — mom2jtx3

October 7, 2004
Rebecca, A great place to check out is the Grads list over on Yahoo - here's the link: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG/ It is mostly RNY post-ops, but there are a few DS post-ops, and quite a few VBG post-ops there. Lap-Band, of course, is newer, so not many long-termers out there for that. Be sure to talk to folks who are veterans of ALL of the forms of WLS - make sure you know what your options are, and that you're 1000% satisfied that the surgery you pursue is the right one for you. A couple of good resources are: http://www.gr-ds.com/generalinformation/comparison.html http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/m-surgerytypes.phtml Some people recover like surgery was nothing more than an inconvenience on the calendar of life's busy schedule. Others are totally blown away at how MAJOR major surgery can be. I went into it convinced that it would be on par with my emergency c-section from hell, and was totally blown away at what a walk in the park my open BPD/DS was. Of course, how skilled and experienced your surgeon is has a lot to do with stuff! Blessings, dina
   — Dina McBride

October 7, 2004
Sadly many of us wouldnt be here at all without WLS. I am currently waiting for a AMA study from Schauers group. It shows a 40 year old MOs life expectancy is 15 years less because of the weight. As soon as I can I will post it somewhere. These are sobering numbers:(
   — bob-haller

October 7, 2004
Since my doc has been doing WLS since the 60's, even some of the now "bad" ones were done here at one point. I'm 10 yrs out, some of my buddies are further. What kinds of questions did you have? As Dina said, the Grad list is a place you can go to see. Unfortunately you cannot speak, but members like Dina or me will ask questions for you to generate answers. Many of the people I know in real life do not have or use computers. (?) I know, but there it is. So, I have known people who had the experimental lapbands in 1991 (but they weren't lap, they were OPEN bands), people who had JIB, reversed it, had horizontal stapling (yeah, I hadn't heard of it, either), then VBG, then RNY, sometimes more than one! So, there are so many choices available these days! Knowing your eating style is a big help in going in. I didn't have all these choices or info 10 yrs ago. I suspect I would've made the wrong choice for me if I had been choosing to KEEP my eating style intact. But as it was, I had very little choice, only 2 options, and I did make the right choice. Watch the Grad list. Watch as many of us see our surgeries fail out from under us and revise. Please note that we DO revise. I kept the same surgery (distal RNY), but just had a repair.
   — vitalady

October 7, 2004
Oops, forgot to be specific. I know people who actually had early RNY in the earlyu 80's. And some who had variations of it, more like BPD or loop gastric bypass. And of course, the various bands and staplings that they revised later. There are some commonalities, yes. Calcium and iron are risks that need to be addressed strenuously. A surprising number of us are obese AND low in these elements pre-op, but no one notices, unless a very pro-active person insists upon being tested before they ever commit.
   — vitalady

October 8, 2004
Rebecca, as the others have said, the surgeries of 20 years ago are different from the ones 5 years ago, and unfortunately there is not much scientific research on long term affects of this surgery. There are some stats on how much weight is loss and how long it is kept off in RNY'ers but as for health complications, the jury is still out. We do know that if we do not keep up with our vitamins, and supplements like calcium, B-12 and iron, we will develop osteoporosis and other problems. And we know if we do not stick to the rules, we can and will gain our weight back. Other than that, those of us just a few years out, like me, look to those 5-10 years out as our guides thru this process. Go to the grad list mentioned below and lurk and learn. As Michelle said, you cannot post if you are not 1 year or longer post-op but you can learn alot by just reading. Also, Michelle Curran is wonderfully supportive, helpful and knowledgeable if you want to ask her questions. She has always been a great resource and generous in her responses.
   — Cindy R.