Question:
Has anyone who is over 400lbs. had Roux N Y and lost enough to hit their target goal?
One of the doctor's I saw yesterday informed me that at my weight I should have DS instead of RnY, because DS patients will lose more than RnY patients. I have researched having RnY for 2 years and I thought that was the surgery I really wanted because if I ate something I wasn't suppose to then I would be sick...I need that!! So I was just wondering if anyone over 400lbs who has had RnY has hit their target goal? I am also going to get a second opinion. Thank you in advantage for any information you can give me!! — Maggie M. (posted on April 15, 2004)
April 15, 2004
Our support group has hundreds of RNYers a lot heavier than 400 pounds that
got to goal. I too need the icky dumping feeling as a reminder to eat
right. One good friend was over 700 pounds with a 74 inch waist now under
190 at goal he is 6 feet tall. My surgeons group does about 30 RNYs a week
now the support group is filled with happy healthy posties
— bob-haller
April 15, 2004
I have the DS...I was 370 + lbs as a pre-op.
As for *getting sick* after eating something you shouldn't. If you need
that form of self-punishment then the DS is not for you.
We DS'ers eat normally and happily. We don't pig out. We have gotten to a
place that we are content to eat as normal people do.
"Normal" is something I have strived for all my life and after
watching a dear friend of mine with a RnY have to leave parties to go to
the bathroom and throw up... keep her teeth brushed all the time because of
the stomach acids and eat mints..etc etc etc.....well her life STILL
revolved around food.
Within 5 yrs she had regained all of her weight plus as she had to eat very
soft foods that would go down easily and she explained that her pouch had
stretched and the soft foods were always so high in caloric value.
She was very instrumental in my making the very easy choice to have my DS
surgery and retain my pyloris and not deal with a pouch nor the possible
regain issues.
There are exceptions to every rule of course and some RnYers are very happy
with their surgery. God Bless them :)
Only this time it was what NOT to eat... and making sure her stoma didn't
get clogged. Drinking Adolphs meat tenderizer in warm water..etc.
I wanted to have a surgery that would FINALLY permit me to live in peace
with food.
Issues with food are not just physical...they can also be very attached to
the emotional.
The idea of wanting to punish myself by getting sick was not an option for
me. Counseling and the DS was.
And I am happy ...no I am ecstatic at the results and the way I now relate
to food.
My pics can be seen here:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/duodenalswitch_extra/
This is NOT a DS chat site... no messaging there...just an overflow of DS
before/after pics from the main DS list.
My pics are listed under PHOTOS in an album named
Ala (Pamela)
You must JOIN this group as you would any yahoo group in order to look at
the DS pre-post op pics.
My best is with you and may you find health and contentment with whatever
surgical choice you make:)
Ala
— Pamela C.
April 15, 2004
Hi! The support group I belong to also has a LOT of folks over 400 lbs who
had a successful DS surgery. The thing with the whole getting sick is that
sure you can eat junk with the RNY, but if you do, you get sick. It sucks!
With the DS, you can eat that junk when you crave it, you DON'T get sick,
but you also don't hurt yourself by eating it. The nice thing with the DS
is that you CAN eat whatever you want - and the malabsorption and smaller
stomach is what keeps it from being hurtful. With the RNY, you CAN eat
crap, get sick, but you can still eat it. AND you can stretch your pouch
and gain the weight back. I have a friend who was just over 400, lost to
about 250 with the RNY, then gained back about 50lbs already. The DS has
the best LONG TERM results than any other WLS. Just food for thought.
GOOD LUCK!
— Amber S.
April 15, 2004
Maggie-- you've received some good advice on the differences between the
RNY and the DS and, unfortunately, some overly simplistic distinctions
between the two. First of all, the choice of surgeries should not be
decided by how much weight you have to lose (assuming that you have a BMI
over 40), but rather by how you feel you can change your relationship with
food. I lost 250 pounds in less than a year with my RNY and reached my
present weight (which is about 286 pounds lighter than my pre-op weight) in
about 15 months. For me, I knew that I would learn how to make wise
choices and that I would not repeatedly eat junk food only to have it make
me sick; in fact, I understood (at least partially) the extent of my eating
problem and knew that I would respond well to the negative conditioning
brought on by dumping. I also knew that the frequent bowel movements, need
for intense nutritional vigilence and the ability to eat relatively
anything with impugnity would not serve me well (I wanted to stop lettting
food control my life and, therefore, wasn't looking just for a way to lose
a lot a weight). For these reasons, the RNY gastric bypass was the right
choice for me.
— SteveColarossi
April 15, 2004
Hi Maggie - I weighed around 430 pounds when I had my RNY over two and a
half years ago. I now weigh around 140 and feel great so it is possible to
lose all the weight, but I admit it was a great deal of work. Now I focus
on just being a normal person since my pouch has stretched a bit and I can
eat more, but that's okay. I feel like I'm more like everyone else now. If
I really screw up and eat a lot of something I shouldn't, my pouch reminds
me and I suffer which I appreciate and need. I never want to be that 430
pound person again. Good luck to you!
— Traci H.
April 15, 2004
I started at 472 in Dec '02 and am now right around 200 (6'1"). I am
very happy with the results of my RNY and would choose the same procedure
if I had to make the choice again.
The dumping portion of the tool still works very well. I don't try and
test it, but once in a while when I forget to check a label or ask someone
whats in a dish, I am quickly reminded.
— Chris B.
April 15, 2004
<b>My pre-op wt was 400 lbs, It's now my 16th month, I have loss
exactly 200 lbs so far, My goal wt is 160-150 lbs, I have plastic surgery
next to remove excess skin. which will help me get closer to my goal wt.
how much he'll remove, who knows, LOL anyhow I'm very happy with my Open
rny, I had no complications and enjoyed my wl journey, If you follow the
wls program and do what your dr says do, and put all yourself into your wl
journey you will be a success. Good Luck to you.</b>
— B4real
April 15, 2004
Most people are extremely happy with their choice for the first 2-3 years.
Then, if regain is going to happen, it'll start happening... you won't find
one or two year post-ops dealing with that yet. If you want a real world
sense of which way to go, look for long-term post-ops of each procedure,
see how stable their weight is, how their eating quality is, and what side
effects they are still dealing with. Good luck to you!
— mmagruder
April 15, 2004
I had the DS- not just because I had more weight to lose, but because I've
met too many RnY postops who, despite following their doc's instructions
and eating correctly, still gained all or most of their weight back. Not to
mention, I was/am not a big eater, and see no reason to be punished if I
want a chocolate malt or a dove bar. I don't eat those things often, but I
didn't do anything to get fat (and no, I'm not delusional or in denial-
lots of folks over the years have made the comment I came to hate-
"Gee, you don't eat that much, or even that much sugar, you shouldn't
be so fat- have you seen your doctor?" Gee, NO, I just thought I'd
live with ugly clothes, being judged a greedy pig by strangers and living a
lif elimited by where I'd fit! NOT!!). I don't subscribe to
the,"Dumping is a tool" theory- its a punishment, and there's no
guarantee that 1) you'll dump at all or 2) that you'll dump only w/sugary
stuff- I had a friend who dumped horribly on rice, all fruit, and bread. No
thank you.
And that crap about frequent bowel movements and stinky gas? Sorry to
disillusion those who believe otherwise- but I have 2 BMs most days,
usually in the AM, and my gas is no worse than it was preop... not to
mention that I have an RnY coworker who can clear a room AND public
bathroom in a heartbeat, so its not JUST a DS thing. And she has days she's
in the bathroom constantly, too- doesn't sound like there's a
"clear" advantage in the extretory dept for either procedure. I
say, do your research- don't talk to folks who are totally biased (cuz
their answer is always going to be that their procedure is best- I'd worry
if you talked to someone at goal who said, "Yeah, my procedure works
great, but I wouldn't do it again..."). Read research on Medscape,
here at ObesityHelp.com, at www.duodenalswitch.com- and MAKE UP YOUR OWN
MIND!!!
And whatever you choose, I wish you the very best luck on your Journey!
— Liane F.
April 15, 2004
— Sandra S.
April 15, 2004
I started at 382 lbs and had rny. Now one year post op I have lost 160 lbs
and the doc wants me to loose another 40lbs. I think it is do able with
rny. Good Luck
— Jodie S.
April 15, 2004
Like some others have said, the issue is which surgery's post-op life do
you feel you can work with best for the rest of your life? Either surgery
can and will produce the total desired results, as long as your goal is
realistic, as long as you do your part. I started at 442 and lost 247 lbs
in 13 months. I am 5 lbs under my goal weight of 200 lbs. 200 lbs is a
weight that I and my surgeon agreed was a good weight for me with 180
possibly being the max lowest. At 200 people keep telling me I am skinny
and the bones are sticking out from the hips on up. I do have thunder
thighs, so that's where the higher weight comes from. It appears that I
must have denser bones that weigh more, because no one can believe I weigh
195.
<p>For me personally the RNY was the right decision. I am on a Yahoo
group for people over 400 lbs and we've had DS versus RNY debates at times.
However, one of the DS people has admitted that the RNY may be
"better" than she thought. She was told she would not lose all
her weight etc. with an RNY yet she comments that I have been more
successful than she had with her DS, yet she has done wonderfully. It
comes down to what each of us does with the surgery we choose. In my
opinion, none of the mainstream surgeries are better than one another.
It's which one is right for you. So if you have been researching the RNY
and are comfortable with that post-op life then it is the RIGHT surgery for
you. For me the DS had more risks of problems than the RNY. I am very
pleased with my choice and the life of a post-op RNY.
— zoedogcbr
April 15, 2004
Good luck... with whatever choice you make -- its really about how you do
things, less about your surgery. I would suggest, however, that some of us
RnY patients eat just as normally as anyone else. The "my surgery
type is better than yours" is getting pretty thick in here. Bottom
line: how you treat the tool you have is directed related to how well it
will work. I reached my goal with ease.
— Lisa C.
April 16, 2004
I'd like to interject...I have a question... Would those post-op RNY'ers
(that some mention)who made goal, who have eaten correctly to maintain and
followed all their dr's instructions, including exercise, and Did NOT have
a physical malfunction with their surgery, that have THEN gone on and
gained back all their weight, please identify themselves? I'd like to have
some conversations with them...since I don't know any of them. Thanks.
— LMCLILLY
April 16, 2004
One thing about the RNY: It may not make you "sick" to eat the
wrong thing. I've seen stats indicating 25 to 30 percent of RNYers do not
"dump" from eating sweets or fatty foods. I dunno how solid that
statistic is, but I know I don't dump and never have (almost 23 months
post-op). So, you cannot count on the surgery "making you sick"
to "control" you, especially in the long run. Nevertheless, I
actually shot below goal, though I "only" had 130 pounds to lose.
— Suzy C.
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