Is gastric bypass the right move?

[AimsLu 1]

I am 36, have a family and would like some real life honest experiences about bypass. I have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and I am on metformin, karvizide, and injecting Byetta twice a day for my diabetes. I have had a gastric band for 6 years now and successfully kept off my lost weight since the band was put in. I still have more weight to lose which may be why my diabetes isn't under control, and blood pressure still not stable. Today my specialist and gastric doctor said it would be a very good idea to have the gastric bypass to solve the problem of my diabetes. They said That it would either help a lot or cure it altogether.

I am reading bits and pieces about the benefits of losing weight etc, but who of you out there wants to share the side effects?? With the band, a side effect was acid reflux,.......so what bad side effects do I need to consider for the more permanent bypass.

The other thing I could consider is putting more fill into my band and putting MORE effort into weight loss, but I just don't know if that will kickstart weight loss again,,,,,,,enough!

I have heard examples of people getting diabetes and problems associated with it, then having bypass surgery, they drop all their weight and their diabetes goes into remission! No tablets or injections ever again?

I am still in the throws of just considering this surgery so any experiences or relative information would be appreciated!

[James Marusek 5,244]

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 30 months ago. Two days after surgery when I left the hospital I was taken off all my Type 2 diabetes meds and about a couple weeks later I was off all my high blood pressure medicines. I no longer had sleep apnea and the GERD went away. These conditions all remained in remission ever since. I lost almost 120 pound and kept the weight off.

The main reason why I choose RNY gastric surgery was to take care of my health issues. If you have GERD, they recommend this type of surgery. Also my position was that if I underwent the knife once, I did not want to repeat the process over and over again. RNY had one of the lowest revision rates.

I put my experiences with the surgery in a couple short articles. If you want to read them, here are the links.

http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

[dhrguru 1,238]

I am 36, have a family and would like some real life honest experiences about bypass. I have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and I am on metformin, karvizide, and injecting Byetta twice a day for my diabetes. I have had a gastric band for 6 years now and successfully kept off my lost weight since the band was put in. I still have more weight to lose which may be why my diabetes isn't under control, and blood pressure still not stable. Today my specialist and gastric doctor said it would be a very good idea to have the gastric bypass to solve the problem of my diabetes. They said That it would either help a lot or cure it altogether.

I am reading bits and pieces about the benefits of losing weight etc, but who of you out there wants to share the side effects?? With the band, a side effect was acid reflux,.......so what bad side effects do I need to consider for the more permanent bypass.

The other thing I could consider is putting more fill into my band and putting MORE effort into weight loss, but I just don't know if that will kickstart weight loss again,,,,,,,enough!

I have heard examples of people getting diabetes and problems associated with it, then having bypass surgery, they drop all their weight and their diabetes goes into remission! No tablets or injections ever again?

I am still in the throws of just considering this surgery so any experiences or relative information would be appreciated!

Hi, I'm 6 months post RNY. though I don't/ didn't have diabetes, knowing the effects the surgery has on blood sugars coupled with my family history of diabetes, I was interested in this surgery partly as a preventive means. My A1C is no longer pre diabetic. I'm off of my bluff pressure meds. I have No issues with reflux at all.

One thing I have read is that the longer you've had diabetes, it'll decrease the likelihood of it going totally into remission. I'm sure you'll find people that happened with and people that didn't happen with.

[beachgal2935 596]

@@AimsLu All I can do is share my experience with you as I am not a doctor or claim to be any kind of expert. I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 1999. Freaked out, was put on meds, lost weight, gained weight, different meds, lost weight, gained weight ... well you get the idea. I had a full time career, husband, 3 children, aging parents to take care of, etc. No time to take care of myself. I white knuckled my way through losing 85 lbs. in 2008 (252 lbs. down to 167 lbs.) with a restrictive low calorie diet and working out 6 days a week. Everything went into remission and I was off all my meds. It's all I did and then life threw me a few curve balls and poof my weigh began to rise again. Now it's 2013 and I'm back up to 235 lbs. Feeling embarrassed, depressed and in complete denial, I hadn't been to a doctor so needless to say I'd never gone back on my meds. November 27, 2013, the day before Thanksgiving, I woke up in the thralls of a stroke at the ripe old age of 52! When I was admitted to the ER, my A1C was 11.2 and my BP was 195/120! I was in mayo hospital for 6 days, rehab for 10 and finally on the mend at home. Then January 3, 2014, I end up back in Mayo's ER where I was diagnosed with Thalamic Pain Syndrome. A rare, debilitating nerve condition 3-5% of the people who suffer a stroke in the Thalamus of their brain end up with. Now my whole right side is affected and while it won't kill me, I will die with it because there is no cure.

The road back to having a life has been a long hard one but after going through an intense Pain Rehab Program at Mayo in the Summer of 2014, I knew I could manage this horrific pain I live in 24/7. I only give you this background because it's what uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure did to my life. My primary care doctor referred me to Mayo's Bariatric department in October of 2014 and I began this WLS journey. I went in wanting the sleeve and when asked why, I didn't really have an answer. I was told Mayo no longer performs the band surgery because, after much research, they've found that merely restricting food intake didn't work long term. While they still perform the sleeve, since it's only been around for about 10 years, they worry it will end up with the same results. Then they explained that RNY had been around for 50+ years and it was my best bet at sending my diabetes into remission and getting off all my meds, with the exception of my nerve meds.

They also explained the yo-yo diet syndrome. You see when you restrict your calorie intake and lose weight, your body goes into it's "fight or flight mode". It constantly fights to get back to whatever your highest weight was. For me that was 285 lbs. By having WLS it resets your body. In other words, you get a "do-over"! Now once you're body finds it's comfort zone (12-24 months post-op) that's it. You need to maintain your new weight within 5 lbs, either way. If you let it get out of control again, you'll be back on that yo-yo roller coaster ride! This really excited me. To know that I could have a second chance to get this right, I was all in!

Having RNY was hands down the BEST decision I've made for myself. I had surgery at 8 am on a Tuesday and by 6 pm the next day I was home. Took 2 pain pills on Thursday, one on Friday as a precaution and by Saturday I felt wonderful. I've had no complications and was med-free with the exception of my nerve meds and 1/4 of the cholesterol pill I once took (only because I'm a stroke victim) from the date of my surgery.

I can't exercise like a lot of people, due to my nerve condition but I walk as much as I can. I'm 54 years young now and sure I have loose skin and a few more wrinkles (I always say "fat don't crack") but I'm healthier and happier than I've been in years. I'm only 6 months post-op so I'm still on this fabulous journey!!! I wish you the best on whatever decision you make for yourself

The 1st set of pics is me at 285 lbs. & 172 lbs. and the 2nd set is me at 257 lbs. and 173 lbs.

[Ashlegal 525]

*Disclaimer: I am not in any way trying to be an a$$hole. Just offering a different POV*

Bad side effects? Could anything be as bad as the "side effects" diabetes, HBP, heart disease, the extra weight on your joints, the extra weight on your emotional health be?

Think about what any of those issues does to your body, your organs, your quality of life. Then think about what it would be like not having to deal with any of those issues for the rest of your life.

Everyone has different "complaints" (for lack of a better word) about having RNY surgery. They are not actually side effects but more like challenges they have had to overcome since having surgery. Challenges that make it hard to overcome bad habits they were so used to prior to having surgery.

What side effects are you most concerned with or have heard horror stories about? Dumping? Vitamin deficiencies? Bowel problems? hair loss? All of those and many more can be managed easily. And like I asked before, is any side effect worse than the ones you are currently experiencing due to your poor health?

[AimsLu 1]

@@James Marusek thank you for your experience, I appreciate the time u took to write me. I will be sure to read those articles!

[AimsLu 1]

@@dhrguru you are right, it's not the same for everyone so I appreciate your opinion and story. It gives me more to think about but I am leaning toward getting it done. The thought of no more tablets and injections and being in good health wins out over our control of food. Thanks again!

[AimsLu 1]

@@beachgal2935 your post made me upset! I too fear having a stroke and not being around for my husband and kids. I worry about heart disease and all the complications that come with diabetes. As I speak, my sugars are out of control even tho my diet has been exceptional and I'm taking all my meds. The dr says sometimes there's no explaination for the rise in blood readings but that doesn't sit well with me. You went thru so much all because of that, you have done really well, I'm happy you're alive and on the mend to show me the valuable lesson.

I'm seeing clearly that for the sake of "food" I shouldn't let my health and future grow dim, and that's what will happen. I'm not an obese person, here in Australia we use (kgs) and I'm 80 kgs so while I'm not BAD, I could stand to lose 15-20 more kgs. And it seems that weight is what is keeping me from being well and healthy and being taken off the list for more serious things to go wrong. You know I was put on insulin 5 months ago and for 2 months after I felt normal again, my energy had returned and my hbac1 was looking great! Now my level has started to rise again and I fear this will continue to be a never ending roller coaster. It seems to be that bypass is the answer to getting off the roller coaster......... I feel nervous going into such a life changing move but if I feel good and I get to hang around and be with my kids, then it's a small payoff.

I can't thank you enough for writing your story to send to me, it has shifted my thoughts on maybe to definitely for the surgery.