twinRN

I am 4 days shy of 5 months post-op from my RNY. I have NO REGRETS (except not doing it sooner!). My highest weight was 217 with a BMI of 38/39. I have lost 62lbs from my highest weight and 53lbs from my surgery day weight. I am loving life. I feel good and look good!! 7 wks after surgery, my triglycerides (fat in your blood, similar to cholesterol) were normal, and my fasting blood sugar was normal. My labs were perfect!
I can eat almost anything as long as I don't eat too fast and too much. Now sweet stuff...I can have a bite or two. Like this Halloween, hard to stay away from the candy, but I could have a fun size candy bar and be fine. If I had 2 in a row (I did once), not good. My dumping is a rapid heart rate and feeling a little breathless and anxious and nausea. chicken is a little more difficult because it is not as moist as other food, but I made a chicken in the crockpot recently and with gravy, I could have 4 oz of that. Yummy.
I don't have much in the way of hanging skin issues except between my upper thighs, no so pretty, but oh well. It doesn't bother me a bunch and I will try to save to have a "leg lift" eventually. I still have my boobs and they aren't sagging too much more than they were before, lol. I'm still a D-cup although before surgery I really should have been a DD but I was in denial . My stomach isn't so bad but I had a Tummy Tuck already in 2007 so I think that has helped. I tried to upload some pics but I don't have good before and after pics because I hated my pic being taken and I haven't taken an "official" after pic yet. The after pic was on Oct. 27th. My surgeon thinks I will loose another 20-30lbs, but if I don't, I wouldn't care. I'm very happy with me right now. I was a size 18 and now I am a size 10!

I am 4 days shy of 5 months post-op from my RNY. I have NO REGRETS (except not doing it sooner!). My highest weight was 217 with a BMI of 38/39. I have lost 62lbs from my highest weight and 53lbs from my surgery day weight. I am loving life. I feel good and look good!! 7 wks after surgery, my triglycerides (fat in your blood, similar to cholesterol) were normal, and my fasting blood sugar was normal. My labs were perfect!
I can eat almost anything as long as I don't eat too fast and too much. Now sweet stuff...I can have a bite or two. Like this Halloween, hard to stay away from the candy, but I could have a fun size candy bar and be fine. If I had 2 in a row (I did once), not good. My dumping is a rapid heart rate and feeling a little breathless and anxious and nausea. chicken is a little more difficult because it is not as moist as other food, but I made a chicken in the crockpot recently and with gravy, I could have 4 oz of that. Yummy.
I don't have much in the way of hanging skin issues except between my upper thighs, no so pretty, but oh well. It doesn't bother me a bunch and I will try to save to have a "leg lift" eventually. I still have my boobs and they aren't sagging too much more than they were before, lol. I'm still a D-cup although before surgery I really should have been a DD but I was in denial . My stomach isn't so bad but I had a Tummy Tuck already in 2007 so I think that has helped. I tried to upload some pics but I don't have good before and after pics because I hated my pic being taken and I haven't taken an "official" after pic yet. The after pic was on Oct. 27th. My surgeon thinks I will loose another 20-30lbs, but if I don't, I wouldn't care. I'm very happy with me right now. I was a size 18 and now I am a size 10!

Nope, didn't lose any weight during the 6 months. I was 212.5 when I weighed in on the 1st class and went up to 217.5 then on my last class I got back down to 212.5. According to my surgeon's office though it wasn't a requirement for me to lose during the 6 months just that it probably wasn't good for me to gain.

Just got the call today from my surgeon's office....APPROVED and surgery is June 17th! It took 2 wks to the day to get approved and I have Highmark Blue Shield PPO. I am a school nurse so off for the summer, yay! Insurance covers 100% w/ no out of pocket...so blessed

So here are some things I can really notice and am adjusting to:
My knees-I can see the bones again and I actually need to sleep with a small pillow between them!
I can also feel a hip bone finally (still under fat) but it's there! sleeping on my side is actually a little uncomfortable and I change sides frequently.
Sorry this one is crude but when I sit on the toilet, I immediately notice how much of my butt is gone and it feels great to fit on the seat (and much easier to wipe).
Here's another crude one: had sex with husband for first time in a while (he's been away for work) and it felt totally different when he was on top of me because my "fopa" is GONE!!! (Aka belly).

So I got a call from my surgeons office today and I'm approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I wanted to post because during my 6 months, I looked at postings to get hope. I live in PA, and I have Highmark Blue Shield PPO. Clearly I'm totally excited but wanted to share my "stats" like I said so others can compare...
My surgeon's office submitted exactly 2 weeks ago and I got the call at 11:30am today that I'm approved! My date for surgery is June 17th!
I'm 35, 5'2" and 212lbs so that makes my BMI 38.9 and I was told that is rounded up so it is 39. My insurance is like many others...with a BMI of 40 or higher, sleeve, band or RNY is covered 100% with no out of pocket and with a BMI of 35-39, WLS is only covered w/ co-morbidities. My co-morbidities aren't all that significant, but they worked! I have high triglycerides. Normal is 150 or lower and mine at the start of the 6 months were in the 180's (they were in the 300's but I go them down w/ exercise). My only other co-morbidity is high fasting blood sugar, not diabetes. Normal fasting blood sugar should be in the 80's to 90's, but mine are anywhere from 100 to 110's. Fortunately my PCP and my surgeon gave me a diagnosis for this (yay them:). My PCP documented it as "Impaired Fasting Glucose" and my surgeon said "metabolic disorder". In all seriousness, the high fasting blood sugar is a good indicator that I would have developed type II diabetes so it should count for something. Also as an FYI, I actually gained 5lbs in the 6 months so my highest weight was 217, but I did lose that five lbs for my last weigh-in.
I'm a nurse so this all is easier for me to understand, but any questions please ask:) Anyway, I hope this is helpful to others like me that were worried the whole 6 months that they might not be approved.
Wish me luck! My identical twin goes for her RNY on 6/3 too so we get to go through the good and bad together!

So I got a call from my surgeons office today and I'm approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I wanted to post because during my 6 months, I looked at postings to get hope. I live in PA, and I have Highmark Blue Shield PPO. Clearly I'm totally excited but wanted to share my "stats" like I said so others can compare...
My surgeon's office submitted exactly 2 weeks ago and I got the call at 11:30am today that I'm approved! My date for surgery is June 17th!
I'm 35, 5'2" and 212lbs so that makes my BMI 38.9 and I was told that is rounded up so it is 39. My insurance is like many others...with a BMI of 40 or higher, sleeve, band or RNY is covered 100% with no out of pocket and with a BMI of 35-39, WLS is only covered w/ co-morbidities. My co-morbidities aren't all that significant, but they worked! I have high triglycerides. Normal is 150 or lower and mine at the start of the 6 months were in the 180's (they were in the 300's but I go them down w/ exercise). My only other co-morbidity is high fasting blood sugar, not diabetes. Normal fasting blood sugar should be in the 80's to 90's, but mine are anywhere from 100 to 110's. Fortunately my PCP and my surgeon gave me a diagnosis for this (yay them:). My PCP documented it as "Impaired Fasting Glucose" and my surgeon said "metabolic disorder". In all seriousness, the high fasting blood sugar is a good indicator that I would have developed type II diabetes so it should count for something. Also as an FYI, I actually gained 5lbs in the 6 months so my highest weight was 217, but I did lose that five lbs for my last weigh-in.
I'm a nurse so this all is easier for me to understand, but any questions please ask:) Anyway, I hope this is helpful to others like me that were worried the whole 6 months that they might not be approved.
Wish me luck! My identical twin goes for her RNY on 6/3 too so we get to go through the good and bad together!

I hope this isn't trite, but you'll need to find another constant companion. Time for a dog? A partner? A mission or Quest? This change you've made [RNY] is the impetus to further [perhaps even more meaningful] changes. Make a plan. I wish you the very best of luck and happiness in all that you pursue.

I spent three months preparing for the sleeve. After surgery was scheduled I changed my mind for several reasons 1. I have bad acid reflux and sleeve can make worse 2. Only short term data on sleeve 3. Bypass is gold standard for WLS 4. I felt I needed more than just the restriction 5. I never could get comfortable with part of my stomach being trashed. 6. I wanted the faster weight loss 7. Sleeve has higher chance of leaks due to longer staple line and that was scary to me. 8. I prayed about it and feel God lead me to get RNY vs sleeve Those are just some of my reasons but ultimately it's up to you. Talk with your doctor and do what's best for you personally.

That is so true! I didn't think about those 2 points you just brought up. Especially about lying to other overweight people. I'm not a "good liar" and tend to be an open book anyway so I will probably tell people when they ask. Thanks so much for your input and I can't wait to look as good as you!

I'm pre-op but thought I read somewhere that the loss of ghrelin produced by the part of the stomach removed can make you cold.

You look great! I'm just curioius...did you tell people you work with about the surgery or just tell them diet and exercise? I am a high school nurse and I am having mine in the summer (hopefully:) ) and can't decide what to tell co-workers. I really don't want to be judged.

This is a very sad story indeed. Seriously sounds like malpractice.
I disagree with the whole "someone I love had a very bad experience therefore this is a bad surgery to have" mentality. My grandmother died of complications following knee replacement surgery, but I would never advise that people would be better of in wheelchairs rather than getting knee replacement surgery. It just doesn't make any sense.

You are an idiot to post this here. I don't have any problem wih people posting their stories (even ones with bad outcomes), but in no way shape or form is this kind of situation common. The opposite is true. So stop trying to scare people away from LIFE SAVING surgery with your story. It would have been fine if you had told the story and left it at that. But no, you have to punctuate it at the end with your moronic advice and how you would never have weight loss surgery. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx violation of forum rules. People die from having their wisdom teeth out- should they not have surgery to alleviate their pain?
I hate trolls.
-Kendra

I'll always be bigger than my husband's skinny ass! He's like 150 pounds!