Vomiting feces? That's a new one for me. And although I'm not a RN yet I have taken anatomy, physiology & I work in an ER...and frankly the only way you're going to vomit feces is if you EAT feces. Another thing to remember too is that because the RNY is the most performed type of WLS there will be more 'horror' stories and unfortunately those are the ones that get sensationalized. Same with hospitals...all they see are sick people. I had to 'correct' one of the docs I work with who told me that he's never seen a good case of WLS. I told him that he was looking at one and I also had to remind him that healthy people don't go to the ER. I know hundreds of people who've had RNY and are complication free.
One more thing to think about is that not everyone out there doing WLS is a
qualified bariatric surgeon! Think about it...there are some surgeons out there who are doing 1-2 WLS surgeries a month...things go wrong because they don't have the expertise needed...and those stories get published. Investigate your surgeon! Find out how long he's been doing WLS, how many surgeries has he done, what his complication rates are, talk to other patients...and you can do this on
www.obesityhelp.com as well as by joining a local WLS support group. Also just because the lady said they have a surgeon for you to see doesn't necessarily mean that it's the only one you can go to. Call your insurance company and ask them who is on their listing that you can go to in your area. Attend a few seminars...get a feel for the surgeons...be your own detective.
I too was scared of the RNY because a friend of mine had lots of complications following her surgery. Turns out she was/is NOT the norm. I joined OH.com and found tons of other people who'd had surgery and were just fine. She also had a different surgeon than I did and I'm so glad I chose mine. He has lower complication rates than the national average, has been a general surgeon for 25 years, a bariatric surgeon for 7 years and does a combo of stapling and hand suturing. One more thing you want to look for is how well they care for their patients post op. My friends surgeon basically did her surgery and sent her on her way...no instructions on what she should eat when, what vitamins to take, what labs to run...nada. My surgeon has a very well post op plan together with detailed instruction on vitamin intake, food intake for the different stages and specific labs to be run at 1, 3, 6, 9 & 12 months (and then annual labs after that).
If you have more questions...I'd be more than happy to answer them as best as I can!