Need To Hear From The Veterans

[canadian_girl 7]

Hi Everyone, I have been working with a surgeon and am considering bypass. I read an article today and it said that most complications show up once you are further out and that there are a lot of regrets once you have gotten through the "honeymoon period". It also stated that no one goes without complications or regrets . Can anyone comment on this for me?

[raeannr 1]

I am 8 months post op on the 11th and I had bypass and hernia repair and I had no complications and definitely no regrets! It was a very emotional week after surgery though but if you do what your told and eat slowly you will do fine! I would do over again in a heart beat IT is the best thing that I ever did for myself!

[NobodyKnowsMe 0]

I had surgery five years ago. I had a second surgery for blockage 8 months out and another one a year later. Since then I have occasional problems but have not had further surgery. I have lost and kept off 130 pounds and I have no regrets about having the surgery. I feel great, and no longer need my CPAP machine, and have no hip and knee pain. I guess this veteran would say it was worth it!

[lmb012182 61]

^{I've never experienced any regret whatsoever. I've had problems, mainly problems of my own making. I would be shocked to learn that people regret their bypass surgeries unless the surgeries were failures somehow. I would never wish to go back to the health problems I had before my surgery.}

[Amyllf2 206]

I agree. I'm a year out and no regrets. it's not always easy or fun, but it's worth it.

[Band07 374]

Hey,

I am 14 years out from my proximal gastric bypass. I do not regret it because I wanted another child really badly, and I would not trade my children for anything in the world. I have Crohn's disease for six years now, and that was NOT caused by this surgery. I also have celiac or gluten intolerance but went gluten free ten years ago without being tested.

I probably would have chosen a band type of procedure instead of the bypass because of not being able to fully absorb fat soluble Vitamins. I did gain some weight back before the Crohn's, but the Crohn's has made the extra weight go away. When I first was told about my surgery, the doc said that I only had to supplement with an Iron pill.

The truth is that with a gastric bypass, for the rest of your life you will need:

whey Protein powder

a lot of carbonyl Iron on an empty stomach or angstrom iron

Water soluble Vitamin a

water soluble Vitamin D

water soluble Vitamin e

vitamin k1 and k2...I take a regular one and not Water soluble for this

magnesium

Calcium and many others...

If I was banded, I would not be malabsorbing these nutrients. Then it would be easier to deal with my Crohn's.

If you had been banded chances are you would have lost some but not all your weight or perhaps none at all as the band is hard to perfectly adjust and most people find they are not crazy about the new feelings that come from being banded. If you were banded you would never feel "full" you would stop eating when the pain in your chest/shoulder or back told you too. If you were banded you would have many foods that refused to go through the band and you thew them up instead. If you were banded chances are you would have reflux from food being stuck in your pouch. You may spend countless nights sitting up because laying was too painful because you ate something within 3 hours of going to bed. Your band could embed deep into your stomach or perhaps decide to fuse to your liver. If you were banded food you ate yesterday with no problem may cause you pain and suffering today. AND I say all this as someone who loved my band, and lost all my weight !! But I know it's not a good option for anyone. If you were banded you would at some point need a revision. All WLS is a gamble, none is without consequences.

[Mbstas 57]

Fifteen months out, 120 pounds with no complications or regrets!

[lmb012182 61]

I am 6 years out, with no complications. I have gained a little bit of weight back, my fault, but I have zero regrets. I do not miss the pain from standing or walking, not being able to find clothes that looked nice, the way people used to dismiss me at a glance. I have two close friends who had the band and have BOTH gotten a sleeve due to complication from that. They had serious medical problems associated with the band and serious regrets as a result. I cannot imagine anyone regretting bypass. It was a lifesaver for me in more ways than one.

[Lyly 0]

No regrets. 3 years out

[Band07 374]

Im sorry you have to go through that, I hope you find the support you're looking for. My point is only that with the band you may not need a revision because of the crohns but there is about a 90% chance you would need a revision from all of the many complications that come with the band and yes it's easier to revise than a bypass but it's still another surgery and surgery is always a risk. Good luck to you.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I am 7.5 months post op. I have had zero complications and no regrets. I am 1 lb shy of losing 100 and 46 more to go.

The absolute only regret I have is not having this surgery 10 years earlier!

I had gastric bypass and am very satisfied with my choice.

[dawnstef 2]

I'm 9 years out and no regrets. I dot take the Vitamins listed above. I take a multi 2x, calcium citrate, Iron, vit d an B12.< /p>

[bcureno 0]

Hi I'm 8 years out RNY. Mostly complications I've experienced include ulcers, gastritis, gallstones and now most recently my entrance to my pouch is shrinking and causing me to vomit most of my because it can't pass into the pouch. Still no regrets, but definitely concerned

[Patk 18]

I had a bypass in 1982 and lost 120#. I didn't have any problems and didn't take any supplements or Vitamins. I was able to wear a size 10 at my wedding. Back then there was no after care with surgeon or dietician. I slowly gained 30# back. Then I gained another 70 so I'm close to where I was 30 years ago. I gained because I ate absolutely the wrong stuff and made excuses for it. Now at 63 I'm looking into a new procedure that will repair the dilated gastric outlet all done through an endoscope. No incisions at all. I don't want to die of obesity.

[sunnywillows 9]

I am one year out and had an incarcerated incisional hernia one week post op. Then had the 2nd incarcerated hernia in the same place the 2nd week post op. The surgeon said the area was looking like it was losing blood supply. He took out a couple inches of my colon and left the incision open and I left hospital with a wound vac. So three surgeries in two weeks and had esophageal spasms until I was 6 months out. I had buyers remorse for sure. But now that I'm at a good place and have lost the weight, I no longer regret having the Rny. If I had it to do over, I believe I would.