Does anyone regret having gastric bypass surgery

PINKYLEIGH1013
on 9/10/10 2:53 am
Thank you. I am nervous over the whole procedure because of the "what ifs"  
I will check out the revisiion boards. I am new to the site.
Elizabeth N.
on 9/10/10 10:01 am - Burlington County, NJ
Please consult with Dr. William Peters in Scranton. 570-969-2527.
blueyezndevilsh
on 9/10/10 3:24 am
My only regret is that I didnt do it sooner!! This is my before and after. Im 9 months out from RNY.

beforenafterface.jpg
Paul C.
on 9/10/10 3:24 am - Cumming, GA
I have had a number of post op issues and don't have any regrets.  However; I went into this well informed about what life after surgery would be like for the procedure to be effective and the possible complications.  If someone isn't fully committed to the life long changes and the severity of some of these changes then I could see were they might regret it.  The same holds true if someone is not fully informed about possible complications or the raye at which the weight will come off.   In my opinion from what I have read those who openly regret having surgery fit in to these groups.

If you are prepared and comply then you will succeed if you don't well then you will be miserable.

Through all my problems I have maintained one thought.  I will have a longer healthier life and really who wouldn't want that?
Paul C.
First 5K 9/27/20 46:32 - 11 weeks post op  (PR 28:55 8/15/11)
First 10K 7/04/2011 1:03      
      First 15K 9/18/2011 1:37
First Half Marathon 10/02/2011 2:27:44 (
PR 2:24:35)   
First Half Ironman 9/30/12 7:32:04
debo10
on 9/10/10 3:29 am - Huntsville, AL
Paul C, I think you are probably right; and well said.
Debbie    
pre surgery weight 324***    
Kerry J.
on 9/10/10 3:42 am - Santa Clara, UT
Pretty much everyone *****sponds to your post will be pretty short timers from their RNY or Gastric Bypass. And while their responses are a valuable resource, I'm sure you realize that the surgery is for life, so you will want to try and see what people who have lived with it long term have to say. There are a few who post here who have had and report good results and that they love or like their RNY; I am not one of them.

I had my stomach stapled off and turned into a pouch back in 1980, it was an early version of what today is called RNY. The main difference is that these days, the pouch is completely cut away from the stomach so it's separated; my pouch was just stapled off. Other than that, the way my pouch and stoma worked was the same and the amount of small bowel bypassed was about the same. I had all the same pouch problems; dumping on anything sweet, or with milk in it, followed by a reactive hypoglycemic reaction and of course the food sticking if I ate anything fibrous or failed to chew my food to mush.

Even with those problems, it did help me lose most of my excess weight and at the time I felt like it was a good choice and that losing the weight was worth the pouch crap I had to put up with. If you had asked me about it when I was 1, 2, 3 or even 10 years out, I think I would have told you it was a wise choice for me. Even today, if I had to choose between being Morbid Obese or RNY I would choose RNY. 

The problem is that you can have RNY done and still be Morbid Obese a few years down the road when you learn ways to eat around the pouch. This is a particularly bad problem if you have the same pouch problems I had in that I couldn't eat dense proteins or fibrous veggies because you learn to eat soft carb foods to satisfy your hunger and they are very difficult to control the portions to the point you can control your weight.

I was able to control my weight for about 15 years, but it was not easy, I had to exercise every day and I was always on a diet; I did every diet that came down the pike, but I did keep the weight off. The real trouble came when I got sick and couldn't exercise for a year and that was the end of my weight control. I started gaining and ended up weighing the same as I did when I had the bypass done in 1980. I was Morbid Obese and I had the gastric bypass; I also had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and gout; I was a mess and I was miserable.

In the spring of 2008, I decided I had to really get serious about losing the excess weight and I knew another diet wasn't going to do it; I also knew I hated that damn pouch, so there was no way in hell I was going to do more of that. I looked into Lap Band ~ and when I discovered what a disaster it was for so many people I knew that wasn't the answer. I found this web site and started asking questions and looking for something; anything that could help me. I thank God every day, I found out about the DS and found a surgeon who could revise me to DS. It has been and absolute godsend; I never would have believe I could ever have this quality of life again. I love, love, love my DS, it is just fantastic.

So, to answer your question, yes, I regret having gastric bypass, I think the RNY is a horrible surgery and that it should be not be done because there are surgeries available now that are far more effective and let you have a much better quality of life and eating. IMO there is no valid reason for getting RNYed unless you have severe GERD which cannot be treated any other way.

If you don't need malabsorption, then the VSG is a far superior surgery option to RNY, if you need or want malabsorption like I do, the the DS is the only way to go. 

This opinion comes from living with gastric bypass for 28 years and the DS for 2 years and from reading and studying everything I can find about WLS. To my way of thinking, there is no other WLS that should be considered other than VSG or DS, the others are a waste of time and money and are dangerous and barbaric.

Kerry

nphelps4565
on 9/10/10 6:02 am - Belleville, MI
Kerry, I always appreciate your wisdom and the fact that you are more than willing to share it with others.  Just wanted to say thanks :)
Nicole
                                            Julie R. is my Angel

    
vervetoloose
on 9/10/10 3:44 am
I have had no complications and have had no regrets what-so-ever. RNY has given me my life back. As some have mentioned they wished they had it sooner- I suppose this is one thing I might have done. Only problem is that my life allows me to devote the time and energy to ME now- getting and staying healthy. If my kids had been younger it may have been harder to concentrate/spend the time and money on supplements exercise etc related to WLS.
            

" Oh you who love clear edges more than anything...........watch the edges that blurr."
 
WASaBubbleButt
on 9/10/10 4:03 am - Mexico
I didn't have bypass but a sleeve. You know, the weight loss is about the same and the sleeve is the safest surgery type long term. No maintenance, no hassles.

Previously Midwesterngirl

The band got me to goal, the sleeve will keep me there.

See  my blog for newbies: 
http://wasabubblebutt.blogspot.com/
So Blessed!
on 9/10/10 4:09 am

I'll be 6 years out in November. 

The only time I had problems keepinganything down was whan I was a new post op and I swallowed too much food or water.  Then I would spit up a little bit.
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