Hello, everyone. My name is Nicole and I just found this forum website from a Google search. This is my first post, my introduction.
I am 32 years old, I am a mom of three (12, 9, 7) and I am engaged to an amazing man. We live in Greensboro, NC. I had my RNY on July 30, 2007 and just this past week was the first I'd experienced any type of problems. I will get into that more here in a little bit.
I had my RNY, as I stated above, in 2007, and I went into the surgery room weighing 257 lbs. My highest recorded weight was 315 lbs, and my lowest was 128 lbs. Right now I am hovering around 160 lbs. Since my RNY I have gone through a 12 year relationship/10 year marriage that was rather abusive, as well as a separation from that marriage, a new (and amazing) relationship, two moves (from PA to VA and then VA to NC), three knee surgeries, an emergency gall bladder removal surgery and just this past week an emergency perforated stomach ulcer surgery.
Like I said above, this last week's incident was the first problem since having my surgery (aside from the occasional "dumping", vomiting, dehydration, etc.) and it was VERY scary. I was admitted to the local hospital, with what I thought was a heart attack because of the symptoms I was displaying, only to find that a ruptured ulcer produced a perforated stomach. I spent 7 days in the hospital, having gotten out just yesterday. My "pouch" was repaired, however I am back on the DYS 1 diet of pureed and soft foods, and I am being set up with a bariatric surgeon and his team (one that works with the surgeons who worked on my stomach last week) in the next 2 weeks because there is a good chance that I will have to have a revision done. I am on some medications right now, to continue the healing process, but the surgeons think that there is going to be no option other than the revision.
Um, let's see ..... I truly have strayed from the "RNY way of life" with all of the craziness and stress that has gone on in my life, but after this past week I know that I have to get back in line. As I said above, in 2010 I had gotten down to 128 lbs (around a size 4) and while I really enjoyed it I just crept back up after the first knee surgery. It's going to be a while before I can get back into the gym, but that's my last worry right now. I just want to get better.
I hope to meet a lot of nice people here, to offer advice and to get advice. Just because I'm 5 years post-op it doesn't mean I know it all, and I never claim to. I am posting two pictures along with this post - the first is my highest and lowest weights (2006 and then 2010) and then myself and my children, back in August, at my current size.
I hope that everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving week and weekend.
Nicole