Good morning all. 17 years ago today I was starting on a life changing journey. When I went for my surgery consult I was at my heaviest - 288lbs, currently I am now 135lbs. It took hard work and dedication to not only lose the weight but to maintain the weight loss for all these years. I eat healthy, workout and take care of myself inside and out. I get a physical annually and still take my vits/sups every day :-)

I am loving this life and so glad I made the decision to have surgery and be successful at it.

Yes, I take the supplements accordingly and the iron is spaced out. I've been fine up until the past year and all my other levels are perfect. I take bariatric specific iron and tried various types of bariatric iron to see if one would work better than another. I did a lot of research into the types and how they are absorbed etc and it hasn't made a difference.

Im vegetarian so liver isn't an option, I'm hoping the infusion helps and then I can maintain it. ?

That is super helpful! Thank you.

I am getting my first infusion Thursday.

Thank you!

So far all testing has come back negative and its being chalked up to the gastric bypass. I am looking into a few other possibilities as in the past year+ I went vegeterian and in the past year started working out really hard and pushing my body. I was reading how the hard workouts can cause low ferritin in women. So we will see!

I am fingers crossed in the meantime that insurance will cover.

Has anybody experienced low ferritin that is 5 years out or further from surgery?

I've been taking my vits/supps daily since surgery, get blood work annually and until two years ago have not had an ongoing issue with iron until now. My last physical in 2019 it was low, they had me add additional iron, did a recheck at 90 days it was improved, reduced the iron, did a recheck at 6 months and all was fine. I stopped the additional iron at that point (my multi has iron). My 2020 physical in August it was extremely low, I had been feeling sluggish, tired and issues with dizziness and that was attributed to the low ferritin. The dr had me taking iron 2 times a day on top of the multi, recheck at 90 days and it improved slightly, she then switched to 3 times a day, another recheck 90 days later (6 months) and it was slightly improved, she had me start tapering down the iron, recheck again in 90 days (9 months) and it was low so they sent me for an endo/colonscopy. Just had a follow up with the GI who said both tests came back fine as well as biopsies and they have no answer as to why and are chalking it up to the gastric bypass. She suggested I go back to the triple iron. They are looking into the cost locally of iron infusions and stated it would be a complete out of pocket cost because insurance will not cover since I am not considered anemic since its only the ferritin that is low.

Looking to see if anybody has had a similar experience and what the reason/treatment path was they followed.

Thanks!

Good morning all! Today marks 12 years since my RNY surgery! I am happier and healthier than I have ever been. It has been a completely amazing experience and crazy when I look back at how far I've come over these 12 years. I am hoping this year to get a leg lift and that will complete my transformation. I am still conscious of what I eat, take my vitamins/supps EVERY day, get annual physicals, had a bone dentist at 10 years out and exercise at least a few times a week if not more. As of this morning I am at 143 pounds which is the lightest I have been since middle school. I moved to Arizona back in January and have been even more active because of all the amazing outdoor activities here. I hope everybody is doing well on their own journeys!

I always hated my stomach... it was where I carried the majority of my weight when I was over-weight... after losing weight it was the worst of all my 'problem areas'. I went to the PS had got a pricing for everything, the surgeon I saw wouldn't do certain procedures together and laws vary by state as to how long a plastic surgeon can perform surgery (hours wise). I could only afford the stomach at the time.. the lipo/fat injections were not much more so I added those on.

After having that done both my arms/boobs bothered me.. I had a quote for just arms, just boobs and both together... surgeon did give multiple procedure discount. It was worth it to me to get it all done and take advantage of the discount so I went for it.

Thigh lift will be last.

Congrats on your 6 years out!

I cook now more than I ever did pre-op.

I went into this knowing surgery was the LAST hope, the LAST thing that could help me (mind you this was 9 years ago, there are more options these days!)... I knew if I didn't make this work, there was nothing else to turn to it. I knew I would need to completely change my life in order to make it successful... the tool the surgeon gave me allowed me to do what I needed to do in order to lose weight and keep it off.

I don't consider any food cheating.. for me I didn't go into this thinking I would never eat something again. I educated myself (and still do!) and know what food choices are better for me than others... I also try and make things at home to help cravings. You may find while you are craving TB, it may not taste as good as you remember since you have not eaten it in a while. Its amazing how you can detox your taste buds.

With that said, for me personally I found a balance between the good and not so good foods.. I try and "treat" myself once a week and keep myself in check with my body.. at 9 years out I can tell how much I weigh... I previously weighed daily but don't find I need to now, I still check in with the scale now and then if I feel like my pants are getting tight. I also find it helpful to see if wherever I am craving has an online calorie calculator.. mind you they are not accurate because it all depends on how it is prepared, but seeing the fat/salt/sugar of something can lead you to decide its not worth it, or look at other options that may be better... or decide that you want it and just not eat all of it.

Glad to hear you had success in the past and hope you continue it in the future!

It took me 1.5 years to reach goal.. during that time I weighed/measured/logged my food to keep on track. once I hit goal for 6 months after I weighed/measure/logged my food so I could make sure I could maintain my loss. I am now 9 years out...  I weigh daily... if the scale goes up 5lbs that's my trigger point to re-evaluate myself and make better food choices and make sure I have no slacked on exercise.

If you know what your old habits are you need to try and "fix" them... you didn't state what they were but if you were a stress eater, you need to figure out another way to relieve the stress besides eating - exercising, meditating, reading... etc. You have to find other healthy things to substitute whatever you have been using the food for.

I went to therapy pre-op, I also did a lot of work on myself post-op identifying behaviors and working on changing them. We all slip up now and then... as long as you realize, accept it and move on from it you will be successful.

I think most people who had WLS have a point where they look overly skinny... I look back at pictures and there is a point where I weighed a good 20-30 pounds more than I do now but my face looks sooooooo skinny.... as time passes your body will adjust and some areas that may look too skinny will fill in...

So keep going, keep feeling good... I would cut people short with the I appreciate your concern but I am under medical supervision and my surgeon says I am fine.