BAA624

I’m 9 years post-op and this still happens! I was in a meeting last week and it was completely silent, except for my rumbly grumbly tummy; I actually apologized to the woman sitting next to me because it was so loud! 😂

I had RNY when I was 29, and I’m 38 now. I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 20 (my mother also had it) and took Loestrin for years to regulate my cycle. After my RNY, I stopped talking the oral birth control; I started having regular periods again quite quickly actually. In 2015, I had the Paragard IUD placed, but my body expelled it after 10 months. I then started taking Yaz, and was on it for 7 years, until recently, when my husband had a vasectomy. I personally noticed over the last couple of years that my PMS symptoms increased tremendously, instead of decreasing as they do for some women on BC. I also never had one single pregnancy scare on oral contraceptives; my OB GYN knew I had RNY and said it was totally fine for me to take them for the length of time I did. I’ve been off the Yaz for close to 3 months now, and have had regular cycles again already. 😊

I thought the plastic surgeon who has done all of my skin removal surgeries was making this up lol... I had 19.2 pounds of skin removed from my abdominal and mons area! Now, contrary to what may be some people's experience, that has NEVER been reflected on the scale. Somehow, my weight actually stayed around the same, maybe slightly less. Pretty weird!

I was able to receive partial insurance coverage for the panniculectomy portion of my tummy tuck. Essentially, my plastic surgeon's office submitted everything to my insurance company (documents, photos, notes from the surgeon, etc.) and it WAS denied the first time. He's awesome though and he actually did a peer-to-peer review for me; after that, Medical Mutual did cover the panniculectomy, and I paid the additional portion out of pocket for the conversion to a full tummy tuck. My experience (though it may be quite different from others' experience) was this: my plastic surgeon told me in our first consult that he rarely does just a panniculectomy for a bariatric patient. He explained that if there were just minimal apron skin to be removed, it might be sufficient. For my case though, he was very honest and said to me 'If I just do a panniculectomy for you, you are not going to be happy with the results.' He was right and I went with the full abdominoplasty.

I agree with what others have said. My plastic surgeon did pulsed dye laser treatment for my scars after my thigh and arm lifts. We talked about microneedling but honestly, I don't know its effectiveness for improving skin laxity. I have had a standard microneedling treatment done by my dermatologist for acne scarring, but for me, I personally saw better results with the laser treatments.

Hey all: I had what I hope is my last minor skin revision on Friday of last week. I developed a pretty nasty reaction to the steritape used to cover two incisions. I’ve had this reaction before. My plastic surgeon and the CNP in his office determined it was essentially hives. I have removed the steritape and followed the office’s instructions. They called in a Medrol (prednisone) 6 day course of steroids for me. Does anyone have experience with taking short term corticosteroids after RNY? To be safe, I’m taking them with a 20mg Omeprazole and food or milk. Is there a risk of pouch irritation/ulcer for a short term course? I’m 9 years post-op.

Absolutely agree with what others on this. If the relationship is heading towards a long term commitment, I would certainly share. I met my now husband when I was about 5 years post-op. It wasn’t until we became exclusive that I shared with him about having RNY. A quick side quip: he actually saw my Bariatric vitamins on top of my refrigerator at the time (I was living in a small apartment then). He asked me about it so it was full disclosure. He also is very physically fit. He was an EMT in the military and was quite familiar with the surgery. He is incredibly supportive and was not judgmental at all! 🙂

Thank you so much for posting this! Wow. What a knowledgeable bariatric surgeon. He even said 27-29 for BMI. I really appreciated hearing him explain that ‘ideal weight’ is sometimes just not the goal for us bariatric folks. At a BMI of under 25, I think personally I would look sickly.

Thank you everyone. That’s a really good point that was made, whether or not he even looked at my records. It is certainly frustrating that doctors just seem hyper focused on one measure. I am giving thought to moseying on down the road to another doctor. And, my husband had the snip, so I was able to stop the pill and hopefully my BP continues to go back to normal. He also reminds me that BMI is not an accurate measure of total body composition. 😊

Same for me. My B12 was high in the past, and my surgeon told me to switch to even one time per week, as my body might be absorbing more than I realize from meat.

Good Morning: I just wanted to get some feedback in case anyone else has experienced this (I'm quite sure some have). My last bariatric follow-up was fine. He told me my numbers were good and to keep it up. This week, I had a visit with my new primary care doctor. My previous PCP retired after 15 years (which I was very sad about-her retirement was unexpected). I was with her before & after my RNY, and she was very knowledgeable about everything related to the surgery. When I went to the new PCP this week, after he reviewed my numbers (BP was a little high-I was told to stop taking my birth control because it can cause high blood pressure for woman over 35), he looked at my weight and advised me to lose more weight, which could help with my BP. I wanted to go on the defensive but did not. My BMI stays around 28-29, and that is after having skin removal on my entire body. I wear size 6-8 jeans and small to medium in pants. I honestly don't know where the additional weight could be lost lol. My question is: how does everyone else handle this with a medical provider when it's encountered? I wanted to tell him that I used to weigh 311 pounds, so my weight now is considerably better.

No, no diabetes medication since about three months after my surgery. I wonder if she was just cranky that day haha. 😆

Good morning everyone. I just had my yearly labs done. My numbers were pretty good but could be better. I’m curious: for folks years out from RNY, what do your A1C and lipids run? My A1C was 5.1 but my doc said it should be back under 5.0. My LDL (bad cholesterol) was 86 and she also told me it could be lower. Thanks in advance!

Hi all! I’ve been reading a few posts here and there from folks who are many years out from surgery and now I am curious too: how much of a portion in one meal are other RNYers able to eat? I’m 9 years post-op. Some days vary. Usually, I notice more that my appetite is still lower. However, I’m able to eat, say, a small turkey wrap and a small side dish, and not feel much restriction. The last time I felt stuffed was unintentional: I ate too many raw baby carrots and was miserable for hours! So basically, have others noticed with meals that over time, the restricted feeling that was so common in the beginning, just isn’t there as much?

I was just having this conversation with my sister the other day. I find it really interesting when it comes to ideas about bariatric surgery and birth control. I had the Paragard IUD when I had my RNY in September 2013. I started experiencing horrible hormonal acne three years later, and was prescribed Yaz. I had my IUD removed because the bleeding was terrible. I had never had heavy periods prior to the Paragard and when it was removed, the heavy bleeding stopped. Yaz has kept my skin blemish free for 6 years. Even as a RNY patient, it has been completely effective against pregnancy. So, for some women, there may be an increased risk of malabsorption of the BCP, but that has not been my experience. My GYN knows my surgical history and told me years ago it’s totally fine for me and my husband to continue using as our primary method of BC.