Do you have regrets?

So I just read a somewhat scary post. I realize that some of the things were poor care but it made me wonder. I haven't seen too many posters who are 3 or more years out. Anyone out there who is more than 5 years out who have experiences to share good or bad please let me know. I would like to have an idea of the long term effect it had on you. Also please include if any of this is self imposed (not taking vitamins or following dr's orders. Would you do it again still? Thanks for your help. Original post I'm referring to... I wish I never had WLS

I will probably have to have IV iron infusion every 6-8 months from now on.  I am over five years post-op.  I took iron and all my other supplements consistently.   My PCP was only checking hemoglobin, which always looked normal.  My iron storage (ferritin)  became depleted at about two years post-op.  I had such a difficult time getting a diagnosis.  I see a Hematologist to treat it now.  She says that she sees more and more post-op coming in.   The infusions are not so bad.  I have tried many oral irons and combinations of them. Now do I regret having the surgery???  No.  I have lost 185lbs!  When my iron is okay I have tons of energy.  I can and do exercise.  I've been able to go back to school and get my degree.  I still drink a protein shake everyday and take my vitamins consistently.  Good luck!

Hi! I will be 8 years out in December and regrets? NONE. I have had a basically complication free 8 years thus far. I had one issue at 4 years. I thought I was like everyone else so I stopped taking my vitamins and became anemic and malnourished. I got back on my iron and other supplements and have been fine ever since. I went back to poor eating and gained back 50 pounds over 2 years. I am now back on track and getting that off. Down 11 pounds now. I have no regrets. My pouch still controls overeating just as it is supposed to after all this time. This is not EASY. It is a life long committment and hard work but it is oh so worth it! Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!

I thought I would reply for the poster referrenced since she may not realize  that her post is being questioned elsewhere. You statement: " I realize that some of the things were poor care" was addressed by the poster and you are harboring a misconception in her case.  Her reply on the original thread was as follows: "Well, I hate to put more negativity on this thread, but in reality I have been 97% PERFECT with my vitamins and supplements for the whole SIX years!  I take bariatric vitamins, and I STILL drink protein drinks!  I even take additional supplements besides the calcium, sublingual B-12, etc!  I take all kinds of health food stuff that keep me from getting colds, flu, etc. My blood work has been PERFECT every year and so these complications are from the surgery itself, NOT because I wasn't compliant with the rules! " You CAN do everything right and still have problems.  If anyone thinks otherwise they are kidding themselves. Take care, Carla

You Go Girlfriend!!!!  I am 2 yrs. and 3months out and I have done everything they say to do...I know life is not perfect even if you do everything right.  So my thinking is - it isn't  the surgery but what about all the stuff I put my body through before I decided to change my life style.  I'm sure this has some baring on what the future will hold.  Take care.

Thank you for your reply. I was not questioning HER or her post. I was questioning the long term feelings and thoughts of people who have had the surgery. I did however go back and read her direct reply and I saw that she was compliant. I didn't feel as though it was necessary to revise or add here since it wasn't an attack but an information seeking question. It was kind of you however to look to her better interest and to be sure she was represented. She's a very nice lady. Best of luck!

I don't have anything to add, I just wanted to say I read that post and it shook me up.  I worry about the long term issues too.   I think it is important to be aware of what can happen.  It is so important to follow the rules and to realize that sometimes it is out of your control.  No matter how good you are **** sitll can happen.   Also realize that you may be fine.  I am not going to worry (too much) about what could happen.  I take risks everyday, WLS was a calculated risk, all of my dreams have come true because of this surgery, it was a risk worth taking. 

I too have read the other post and found it fascinating. One that everyone should take the time to read. I believe that no matter how good you are you still can have problems. But that is also true in real life with out WLS. My grandmother didn't drink, smoke or eat bad food and she got cancer and died young and in pain. My point is be afraid of not complying to what the Drs. recommend but also do your research. Realize that many Drs have many different ideas about what you should and shouldn't be doing. Being 100% compliant with your Dr. may not be the same as recommended by another Dr. Best example I know a lot of people take children's vitamins as per their Dr. For my Dr. that doesn't give me enough of my daily vitamins. I don't condone one Dr. over another I just recommend that you do the best you can and understand what this surgery has really done to your anatomy. d

I would do it again in a second!  In fact, I want to do it again.  I am 5 years out and didn't have any complications.  I did have endless complications from a different surgery, which led to weight gain, then led to depression and non-compliance on my part.  So now I'm not in a great place again and would love to be able to do this again, or get a revision.  Unfortunatley, it's very hard to convince insurance to pay twice.....    Regardless, it had a huge, positive impact on my life and my family's life. 

I will admit to being very ambivalent about RNY.  I have had a lot of health issues post-op that I did not have pre-op so it has been a long climb towards better health.  I never reached goal and have had a 30 pound bounce back.  Not fun.  I am extremely compliant with my supplements (protein, vitamins, and minerals) and I do extensive lab work every 6 months as part of responsibliy monitoring my supplementation program (15 + vials of blood each major draw).  I have excellent lab reports as a result of my emphasis on not missing any of my huge array of supplements.  As a now 58 year old woman I never expected to get THIN, but I never got even close to normal BMI.  I am still considered obese.  I am still struggling with health issues.  I do have a problem with reactive hypoglycemia and it is not fun, I do have some issues with numbness in my left foot (not a B vite or copper deficiency), I am still on a lot of medication to try to rid my body of angioedema (internal itiching) that came about as a result of how my body reacted to the RNY, and with the regain of weight my fibromyalgia has increased in pain.  I am one of the fortunate in that iron supplementation with Tender Iron (iron carbonyl from Vitalady) works very well for me so I have avoided the anemic issues.  I am lucky in that I chose to learn from those before me who took the wrong calcium and in the wrong amounts and I still have good bone density because I monitor my Vitamin D, PTH, Calcium levels and have an annual Dexa Scan.  So far I have not had a return of diabetes or high blood pressure or sleep apnea.  I do not have an issue with constipation because I learned early on that a magnesium deficiency can cause issues with the bowels so I supplement heavily to keep my levels up and my bowels moving.  I have done my research and I continue to do research so that I can responsibily take care of this body - obese or not.  I recently watched a PBS special called FAT (available via Amazon) and I realized that I am one of those people who just has to work MUCH harder than some to not gain weight.  I have no idea if I can lose weight at all, so far the answer is no.  My hypoglycemia problems force me to get at least 1700 calories a day minimum and some days more.  I have NEVER gone back to the sugar and chocolate mortal enemy that I had as a pre-op.  I vowed to myself that I would not cross over that line and I never have.   I keep my carb count low.  I exercise as much as physicaly possible.  I should be thinner. The reason why I am ambivalent is if I am unsuccessful in stopping the pound creepage I will be back where I started and have all the post-op effects to deal with too.  Now that sounds like a bunch of fun, NOT!!!   What amazed me most about that person's post is the level of negativity in many of the responding posts.  I find people like that to just be obnoxious, insensitive jerks and most certainly not worthy of my time.  Just because they have had a good ride does not mean that all of us do.  It also does not mean that we are doing something wrong.  The end result is people like me rarely post on OH because of the intolerance to our personal truth.  I have news for each of them and that is not everyone has a perfect ending and if they don't it does not mean that they are the reason.  Sometimes genetics wins the battle, sometimes the surgery itself was not done properly, and sometimes serious health issues result from the surgery.  It is a crap shoot and some of us catch more than our share.