WLS grads 5, 10, 15, 20+ years out

How is your quality of life now? Groovy. What do you eat and how much now? On an average, about 1400 calories a day, in 8-10 snack portions.  I don't eat meals. Did/do you have any complications now? Early on - dehydration, kidney stones. Later - miscarriage (I blame my nutrition) Now - Anemia, Vitamin-D deficiency, Vitamin B12 deficiency, Reactive Hypoglycemia (at times very severe, but totally random) Did you reach your weight goal and stay there? No. 

Thank you very much!! i am worried about hypoglycemia.

I am not quite 5 years out... I was 4 years out last September.   Quality of Life Now?  Amazing... I started at 270 ish,(size 28) and  the lowest I got was 158 and I stay with in 7 puonds of that consistantly... monthly water and munchies is what I blame for that. I AM HEALTHY... my labs are all fine, My colesterol is fine, I am no longer winded at the slightest exertion.  I can keep up with my husband... I walk faster, I do everything faster including get out of bed... I get attention from boys... which is still weird to me... my husband married me fat... that keeps me focused... I think he likes the attention I get more then I do... I have made huge strides in my career... HUGE... I went from an hourly employee to a director in this time, I credit that largely to the fact that I fit in differently and am no longer affraid of judgement.   I wear a size 8 or a 31 x 30 pants and medium shirts... so I am probably heavier then I look.  I am still weak to the scale... the numbers **** me off  AND YES HONESTLY WHAT I LOOK LIKE NOW IS WHAT I AM THE MOST RELIEVED ABOUT!  I didnt want to look like crap anymore... I was 29 and fat... just as much as I wanted to live longer... I wanted to be normal... shallow maybe but honest.   What do I eat?  What ever I want in small quanties... with caution... about a third of what my husband eats in volume, or less... and he's really not that big of an eater.  I pay attention to calories and make sure I get enough protien.  If I get to sugary or too fatty I am still heading for the bathroom... If I eat too fast I sneeze a dozen times... and then I generally need to excuse my self to throw up... if I eat to much... its rare,  I generally dont cause it still is very uncomfortable to over eat and I dont like being uncomfortable.  I as try to stay under 1400 to 1600 calories a day but sometimes I am more and sometimes I am less.  I can look at something and know that means its all salads for the rest of the week... and try to be smart about those kinds of decisions.  I DONT DRINK CALORIES, with the exception of WINE... I have a glass or two of wine a week, as I simply love wine.  I am not a big fan of how meat works with my body... not sure why... but I do eat meat 1 or 2 times a week and go with soy, cheeses, and nuts to get my protien up...  SEAFOOD WORKS BEST FOR ME as a protien sorce. I have seafood of some kind 3 to 5 times a week on average. HOW MUCH SPACIFICALLY?  If I were to go to Red Lobster as I did with my husband just this weekend... I can order the 1 lb of snow crab legs... no potato, no salad, and even though I would like it no gut bomb cheddar bay biscuts, if I take my time I can get all but two of the crap legs in... no butter unless I am feeling daring and stratigically near a bathroom... Generally though, a half a can of tuna with a teaspoon of miricle whip and a few cherry tomatoes will get me by for a few hours.  I still eat something... even if its a Danactive or a cheese stick ever 3 or 4 hours... if I get hungry... really hungry... WATCH OUT... I am mean and I will surely eat too fast the next meal.  Complications?  I really had none, aside of being scared to death I would screw something up...and I was very fortunate... probably because I was reasonably dilagent in how I behaved.  I had this weird thing for some time that I would get yeast infections and had a crappy imune system... I would get every cold that came by and I was the itchy and scratchy show at least every other month... but I went off the pill and got on Danactive and that seemed to solve both issues at once. I originally tried to lower carbs and take acidopholis but it never solved the problem completely.  I as well early on had this weird heart burn like thing... but it never came up it just felt like my stomach was going to catch on fire... It was completely stress related... The little purple pill was perscribed and when I would have the issue if I took it for a week or two I would be fine for months till my next stress event.  Generally now... nothing that tums cant resolve.  I have taken Perscription Prenatal vitamins since the surgery... as they were a hell of a lot less expencive and my labs have always been great.  Did I get to Goal?  In numbers, no and yes... My doctors strike goal was 180 ish... Mine was 175 originally, I was sure I would look like a wafe at 175... HA...  when I got there... I thought this is not as petite as I thought it would be... so I continued.  I dont remember exactly when weight stopped falling off but it was around 7 months out... and I recall that was around 190... I had to be a good eater and a good exerciser in order to get the rest off... and honestly I still could stand to take of 15 to 20. I go between 159 and 165 depending on when you catch me in a month.  At least when I analize the pockets of yuck I still see I think 145 is the magic number, but my doctor said 5 if I am lucky the rest will have to be surgical as it is in fact skin and left overs that simply are a postcard of what was.  This past July I delved into some work done... I got lazer lippo on my arms as it looked like my skin was elastic enough to handle that rather then a lift... I AM SO PLEASED...  It took about 2 months for the skin to snap back but for the tiny little stichless scars I can wear a tank top and not scare small children any more.   I am still adjusting to what is in the mirror, 4 years later I see a bigger girl then others see... I am diligent about staying with in a reasonable distance from my lowest... I think Atkins said  something like you should never be more then a 2 week diet away from ideal... that stuck with me... I weigh in every day still to keep my self in check.  Although the numbers still dont please me on the scale the numbers in the clothing sizes do... I may get a few more pockets Lazer Lippo-ed but I want to try to have a baby here at some point first...  If I had it all to do again... I WOULD ONLY CHANGE THAT I DIDNT DO IT SOONER... I have never hidden the fact that I had the surgery... I have always been proud that I took the chance to make my life better. I have told so many all the ups and downs, I think I have helped some to make the decision to get the surgery... I have all I can do sometime to not walk up to people who are struggling as I did and tell them all about it.  It has changed my life... And I am greatful to have had the oppertunity... I am healthy and I am fit and I look pretty damn good too!  Any questions please feel free... I will answer anything I am asked.

How is your quality of life now?  Weight-wise, good.  If I hadn't had the surgery, I honestly think I'd be up to 300+ now. What do you eat and how much now?  I try to eat protein first -- grilled chicken, fish, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, eggs, etc.  I also eat salads, occasionally a slice of whole wheat bread, soups, etc.  I also eat chocolate.    A lot.  I'm working on it.  Lately I'm adding in a Nectar/water/ice shake in the mornings and that has helped me stay on track more. Did/do you have any complications now?  No complications from surgery.  In 2004 (3 years out), I was told my B12 was low and put on shots.  Last year I was told my iron was dangerously low and put on 10 weeks of IV iron infusions.  This year I've developed severe pain from what is believed to be neuropathy and have been told my iron is still low (despite daily iron pills), as is my B12 (despite the shots), Vitamin D and Calcium.  I've taken all my pills ever since surgery so this really sucks.  The neuropathy could be irreversable and right now I'm on major drugs (Neurontin) to deal with the pain, which, because they are Class C, mean I won't be able to have any more kids until I can get off them.  I'm trying to find someone in my area who has actually dealt with patients who have this and can help fix it.  My doctors seem to be concentrating only on the pain and not on stopping further damage.  I'm pretty depressed about all of this.  Did you reach your weight goal and stay there?  No.  I got down to 175, then went back up to around 185/190 for several years.  The past year or so, I've put on 20lbs.  I was on steroids and also on a progesterone-only birth control method, both of which I believe contributed to this.  I'm hopeful to get back down soon.  In the interim, I'm pretty bummed and feeling bad about myself.  :(

How is your quality of life now? Amazing!  I can do so much more than I could before surgery.  Exercise, household chores, running up and down stairs, etc...SO much easier now!  I'm AWARE of things I eat, my lifestyle, etc.  I feel "normal" when I walk into a room, instead of feeling like the biggest person in the room (like I felt before surgery).  I sleep better, too. What do you eat now and how much now? I eat much more now than I could right after surgery.  Your pouch does stretch a little bit over time.  When eating sandwiches, I can usually eat 3/4 of it, if it's farely small.  Burgers?  Rarely eat them, but usually eat about half or 2/3 at most.  I love meats and protein foods, and always have, so I am lucky that I don't have to force those foods - I just naturally enjoy them.  Tuna, chicken, turkey, pork, cottage cheese, milk, mozz. cheese sticks, apples dipped in low cal peanut butter, etc.  Those are the foods I eat the most of.  I try to stay away from fast food - it's just evil! HAHA  My biggest weaknesses are sweets and breads.  Always have been, and always will be.  I still struggle with staying away from these bad foods each and every day.  Sometimes I win that battles, sometimes I lose it.  But at least I know what my trigger foods are, and I do my best to avoid them.  When I do really want breads, I eat whole grain or Weigh****chers bagels, english muffins, etc...since they are low cal, and usually higher in fiber.  For sweets, I try to avoid them completely, or if I need something chocolate (I LOVE chocolate), I have 1% choc milk which is good for protein (but bad in carbs and sugars), or a protein bar (they are normally so sweet, just like a candy bar), or a sugar free choc pudding cup.  or sometimes a mini candy bar or a few hershey kisses.  Sometimes you just need that chocolate fix, and I just do my best to make a good decision when I need it. Did/do you have any complications now? NO!  Never had anything negative occur due to the surgery.  I've been healthy the whole time.  I take my vitamins, I try to exercise regularly (this is tough for me, but I do try), and drink my water, and eat LOTS of protein.  My surgeon couldn't be happier with me. Did you reach your weight goal and stay there? I am 16 months post op, and no, have not yet reached my goal.  I'll be honest though, I've been slacking off the past few months, so I don't think it's that I can't get to my goal, it's that I haven't been strict enough to get there.  I'm back on track again, and hopefully will get to my goal in the next 6 months.  My surgery date weight was 343.  I am now 231.  So I've lost 112 pounds.  My goal is 205.  So I still have 26 pounds to lose to get to goal.  I really need to stick with it until I get to my goal.