X-Post: For anyone considering wls--reply from the main board
Below is a reply I wrote for a poster on the main board that I'd like to share here for anyone considering wls. First, congratulations and continued prayers for your successful remission!!! I am a vet of RNY surgery going on 3 years. I cannot speak to your concerns regarding your blind stomach and not being able to easily test it, but I can give you some first-hand experience on what you could expect as far as RNY successes.
I also had pretty significant GERD and was taking Protonix daily, with little relief. My other co-morbs were insulin-dependent diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea (with a CPAP machine at night), joint/back/foot pain, and just being so God-awful tired!!! I had my RNY surgery in April of 2010. By one month post-op, I was off my GERD, cholesterol and high blood pressure meds. By 3 months, my insulin began to be tapered off and Metformin stopped. By 6 months, I had energy, had lost about 100 lbs, and was significantly smaller. My feet stopped hurting so badly. My knees got stronger as I walked and as my exercise progressed (little by little) my body didn't hurt anymore. I stopped sweating in the dead of winter (now I'm freezing! LOL). Those were my physical changes.
Now, onto an issue I don't feel is discussed nearly enough--your head issues. They operate on our bodies when doing any type of surgery, but not our brains. This was, by far, the most challenging issue to conquer, and its an on-going battle. I suggest anyone that is seriously considering any type of wls to get in to see a therapist or psychologist. One that you are comfortable with and one that will assist you in getting through these type of obstacles. For me, I had a very unhealthy relationship with food--I used it as a drug. It soothed me, made me feel good, even if for a short time, and everything was okay after I ate. After you take that aspect of the relationship away, you are left floundering, acting out, aggressive, emotional, not really knowing what to do or how to cope. I never felt my emotions, just buried them and stuffed them away with every bite I would take. You really need to develop a healthy relationship with food, to live, as nourishment, and not a drug. Its not like a drug like cigerettes, alcohol, or cocaine--you can live without them---you HAVE to eat. Very tough to do on your own and in my opinion, if you don't change your head and the way you cope with stressors, you will not be successful with long-term weight loss and living a healthy life. (stepping off my soap-box now!!! LOL)
I would suggest taking your concerns to your specialists---these are the experts. After you do that, you can make an educated decision on what wls you would like to pursue.
Here is my before/after photos just to give you an idea of what kinds of changes have happened to me:
Before:
After:
After:
Mallisa
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Kenyatta
I am not 180 now (that was my goal weight, duh I should change that!) I am 145 now and 6' tall (a size 4/sm). I NEVER expected to get this small (gasp!). I usually range between 145-155. I don't let myself get beyond that range up or down. Right now I'm on the low end of it because I just got over the horrific stomach virus going around (lasted 3 days!) and I'm trying to still get over the nausea!
Mallisa
