Considering RYN but afraid of the aftermath

Well my entire life every doctor I have been to tells me to just get active and eat my regular meals a day and I would be fine. I have blounts disease which is extreme bowing of the legs so it enables me to do much. I have a low matabilism and my doctors say I have an eating disorder because I don't take in enough. - Orthorexia Nervosa

Actually, someone who has "orthorexia nervosa" has a fixation on eating healthy foods to the point of extreme weight loss, so whoever made that diagnosis for you did not know what they were talking about.  Someone with orthorexia, like anorexia, would not be Super Morbidly Obese (SMO) (and I do  not mean to be judgmental or cruel by  using that term because I, too, started out in the SMO category with a BMI of 57 before I had my RNY).   (For anyone with a mental health background who might care, it is not a recognized disorder by the APA, and not in the current  DSM-IV or planned for inclusion in the upcoming DSM-5 because it is not only quite uncommon but has little research behind it).  It is a disorder in which people are so fixated on eating only pure, healthy food and in avoiding chemicals, preservatives or other perceived unhealthy components in foods (such as fat or sugar) that they excessively limit their food menu and often become dangerously thin.  

I am not saying that you do not have something psychological going on, but I will be honest and tell you that even with a low metabolism and being quite immobile because of your legs, you would not have reached such a weight while eating too little.  It just doesn't work that way.  (I have been a Master's degree level Licensed Professional Counselor for over 7 years,  am currently finishing my PhD in Psychology, and work part time doing pre-op WLS psych evals, so I am not someone *****plied after just doing a Google search.)

I cannot tell you whether a RNY or DS is better for you, but I can tell you that much of the info you have been given by "nurses" is pure nonsense (e.g., the B12 scare tactic) and I am VERY concerned by the quality of care that you are receiving.  Please do not let someone unnecessarily scare you out of WLS.  Yes, there are risks, but it is likely the only way you will get back a decent quality of life.

Lora

The RN said missing one or two doses of B12 could leave you paralyzed?  Um, I would report that to the surgeon.  She is either terribly uninformed or else just blatently lying to patients.  Either way, she should not be teaching a nutrition class.

B12 deficiency can cause permanent nerve damage.  You do not develop a deficiency in two days, though.

I think you should ask your surgeon to tell you the real risks and benefits of RNY.  And ask him why he allows that RN to lie to patients.

Thank you Kelly and that is first on my list.

Wow, I think that was wrong to say.  Yes we have to take supplements for the rest of our lives.  I can say for myself I had already taken a multi vitamin and a calcium so it was not much of a stretch for me to add a few more vitamins daily.  It is just a habit and you work it into your day.

For me I made sure I researched and understood everthing I was getting into.  The people on this site are tremendous in giving info and sharing their experiences.  I was actually scheduled once for my surgery and chickened out.  I then scheduled six months later. 

This has been the best decision I could have ever made.  I am down 83 lbs with no diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol.  My apnea is gone.  I was dying a slow death and I feel so alive and health now.  I shop at a whole foods store, work out now and eat to live not live to eat. 

You have to go into this with your eyes wide open.  Yes you will give some things up but actually for me it has been easy to give up.  I am not hungry for those fattening sugar foods, I just don't crave them at all.  I am hungry for real food with real nutrition. 

It is definately not the easy way out.  The first few weeks were pretty tough.  It got easier and easier every day after.  It is now the norm and I am feel I am truly embracing this gift of life and tool that has been given to me.  I now have a second chance at life.

Only you can make the decision that is best for you.  Just ask your surgeon ll of the questions that you want to know.  Go to support meetings and keep talking to everyone on this site wih your concerns and questions.  Many people are there to help you.  Just look at your life now and see where it is going and where you want to be?  Open your heart and mind and the answer will come to you. 

Best of luck!

Thank you much.......

 That, in my opinion, is absolute nonsense! Sure you have to take vitamins to avoid deficiencies but becoming paralyzed in two days sounds a bit fantastical to me. I'm not a Dr but you should definitely discuss this with your surgeon. As for other questions just be up to date on all possible complications afterward and what you must do. Be aware of any risk factors and that you and only you can make the final decision. I had a really hard time with making the decision to have RNY surgery in January 2008 but my health was so bad that I came to the conclusion that if I continued I wouldn't live much longer anyway. I have lost 138 lbs. I say have lost because I hit about a two year plateau and am now getting that final 30 lbs off. I feel like a new person and no longer have sleep apnea, threat of diabetes, blood pressure issues and I can move and walk again and am thankful every day to my wonderful surgeon Dr. David Starr for giving me this new lease on life. I feel that after surgery it's a lifelong journey but one that is very rewarding in many ways. Good luck to you whatever you decide is right for you. 

You should ask your surgeon to tell you the real risks and potential complications of RNY (along with the complication rates for each), AND ask him why he allows his nurse to give out such blatantly false and terrifying information to potential patients.  She is being extremely unethical!  

First of all, most people do not even TAKE a daily B12 supplement... It is often weekly or even monthly (in the case of injections)... And there is NO vitamin that we have to take that is going to cause ANY kind of permanent damage, let alone something as extreme as paralysis or blindness, if you miss just a couple -- or even a couple of WEEKS worth -- of doses.)  Yes, you must take a number of vitamin supplements in order to avoid potential physical problems due to vitamin deficiencies, but the paralysis and blindness stuff is complete BS.  

Personally, I would not use a surgeon who knowingly allows his staff to try to scare people like that. If he is willing to allow his staff to give out bad medical and nutritional information before you have even had surgery, how can you have any confidence that they will give you correct information AFTER you have had surgery?!?  If he is willing to overlook ethical practice in one area of his practice, he is likely willing to overlook ethical practice in other areas as well.  

Lora

I totally agree with everything Lora told you in both her posts.  First off with the supplements - Yes, it is veyr important to take your supplements daily and B12 deficiency can happen pretty quickly but it isnt gioing to happen in 2 days and it certainly wont happen to the extent of paralysis in 2 days.  I have heard of people not taking sublinguals or injections for like 6 months or longer  and ending up with some nerve damage and then continuing to ignore it and the person was hospitalized due to difficulty walking and having trouble thinking due to cognitive problems = this was from a severe b12 and B1 deficiency  = it took a year for the person to learn to rewalk and get there thinking back.  They were lucky it wasnt permanent but they didnt get completely back to normal there was some slight damage.

I had a great B12 level of 1800, way over what is absolutely needed but they recommend we have really high levels incase we have a drop.  Then I had some complications and was in the hospital for 2 months and didnt get any B12 for that time except for 1 IV bag of all different B vitamins and magnesium.  When I got out of the hospital and finally got to the surgeon about 1 month later = 3 months in all - I had dropped to 400.  So, we can drop really fast with no supplementation.  I had no damage, thank goodness and went onto daily shots for a week and then went back to my normal regime.

B12 has nothing to do with blindness - vitamin A is the only vitamin that affects our vision and you have to be severely deficient for it affect your site.  Most people dont even take vitamin A unless they develop a deficiency - I had a deficiency, took my large dose vitamin A and all was fine.  It is very rare for RNY to have severe vitamin A deficiencies - it is much more common with DS.

As far as your medical problems - what you were diagnosed with should have nothing to do with your severe weight gain - Eating too little is a cause for your low metabolism and you may have had an underlying thyroid condition but it doesnt cause that type of weight gain.  The condition you listed causes you too lose weight, so you were misdiagnosed.  By eating too little, you will find out post op, actually slow down your metabolism - so please if you have the surgery - you are going to have to make sure you can eat enough because if you dont - you wont lose enough - we go into starvation mode and our bodies shuck down and stop losing.

I wish you luck and you might want to go see an Nutritionist not related to your surgeon to get a better idea of what is going on and an Endocrinologist that has a alot of experience in weight loss and eating disorders.

And finally, please find a different surgeon and hospital - any surgeon that allows his staff to give out such horrific information preop, I wouldnt want to trust them to get me through post op and to help me out through my journey.  I wish you the best and if you ever need any help, feel free to PM me - I am always here to help.  GOOD LUCK = RBB