My RNY - WLS story (long)

goddess819 · 10-30-2008, 04:10 PM

Hi! My name is Kristy and I had the Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery on 8/3/04 so depending on when you read this I'm at least 4 years post op and I have PCOS.

First let me tell you why I chose surgery. Frankly I was at the end of my rope. I'd tried and failed so many diets since I was in junior high that I've lost count. Pretty much you name the diet & I've tried it, everything from diet pills to grapefruit juice with little results. During high school I unofficially followed the WW plan as my mom went to meetings and cooked healthy. I didn't notice a signigifant weight loss even with as active as I was. I was walking to & from school (about a mile each way) and was in drill team, marching band & PE. Not to mention that I walked or rode my bike everywhere I needed to get to. My mom was NOT at my beckon call. With all this I graduated wearing a size 16. I did not know I had PCOS at the time.

I met my husband when I was 16 and at 19 (almost 20) I went off the pill in hopes of getting pregnant shortly after our wedding (just after I turned 20). Going off the pill sent my PCOS into full swing. I rapidly gained about 75-80lbs, stoped having periods & started getting facial hair. Unfortunately it took me 2 years to get diagnosed with PCOS. At the time of diagnosis I had all the classic signs of it. I was infertile because I was not ovulating or having any periods on my own (was going on 3 years without one), had acanthosis nigricans, IR, skin tags, morbid obesity, hirsutism (facial hair), and acne. At this time WLS had never even entered my mind.

After 8 years of failed dieting & fertility treatments my health had continued to sprial downward. The most weight lost was with WW over a 2 year period I lost 34lbs and gained every pound of it back following their points plan & exercising. My body did NOT want to loose weight. I had lost 30lb with diet pills over the course of a year...typically that's lost in a month or two. I also had little success with the Atkins, South Beach, & PCOS/IR diets. You name it...I counted it at one time or another. During this time DH & I had done numerous failed fertility treatments and found that I was clomid resistant and barely even responded to injections.

Finally at 27 years old I was done. I was morbidly obese and unhealthy. I had severe obstructive sleep apnea, IR & type II diabetes, and hypertension (high blood pressure) in addition to my PCOS symptoms. You know it's bad when a physician calls you a 'medical disaster'. That's when I gave up and opted for surgery. I chose the RNY for a few reasons. I wanted the possiblity of dumping syndrome to help keep me in line. I also wanted a permanent tool. The DS (duodenal switch) was too malabsorbtive for me and the lapband was too much maintanence as I didn't want to deal with fills/unfills to find the sweet spot, the possiblity of erosion at the band site, band slippage and most of all with an average weight loss of 50-65% of excess weight lost I didn't want to go through surgery & still be fat. For me the RNY was the balance I needed.

I'm very happy with my RNY decision. I do have dumping syndrome but I know what triggers it and rarely dump anymore. I lost 110-114lbs and maintain at goal even at 4+ years out. Most importantly though I'm HEALTHY! My PCOS symptoms are GONE. Yep...gone. I went from: infertile with no periods, no ovulation, IR/diabetes, skin tags, hirsutism, elevated testosterone, AN, and obese to very FERTILE! I've been able to get pregnant 2x since surgery both the 1st month trying to conceive. I now have regular periods with ovulation, no IR or diabetes (even pregnant), no more acanthosis nigricans (AN), no new skin tags and at a normal weight with normal hormone levels. The only sign of my PCOS I have left is my hirsutism. Unfortunately once the hair is there the only way to rid myself of it is with laser removal.

For me having the RNY surgery was the best decision I've ever made for myself and if I had to would do it again. Fortunately I know how to use my tool (it's a tool & not a cure for obesity/PCOS) and will not need to do it again. It's allowed me to become the mom that I'd always dreamed of being. Even my OB/GYN (who I did all my infertility treatments with) & Endocrinologist said that had it not for my WLS & subsequent weight loss that I would have likely never gotten pregnant.

One last thing I would like to mention is that although WLS does correct a NUMBER of weight related health condition and improve PCOS there are somethings that can come back. Take my high blood pressure. It did go away, but for some reason at a weight of about 150 (I was 3 months post partum) at 2 years 3 months post op my hypertension returned. HOWEVER! It's very very easily controlled now on a low dose of medication as opposed to before when I was on 3 pills/day for it and still had 'higher than the doc wanted' blood pressures.

So...in a nutshell that's my story. If anyone has questions for me I'm happy to answer them. Remember if you're thinking about surgery do you're homework and decide which surgery is best for YOU. My surgery may not be best for everyone so research all of your options. Good luck!

terilynn112 · 10-30-2008, 04:36 PM

Very well written Kristy.

teri

italianbelle · 03-23-2009, 03:47 PM

Hello!
I am new on this site and have been diagnosed with PCOS...your journey of diets and weight loss and then rapid regain sounds so similar to what ive gone thru in the past 2 years. I am scared to death about the thought of surgery and am also at the end of my rope and am so unsure of what to do. i am hoping with the new medication and changing my lifestyle to eat better and work out as well i can lose the weight and be healthy...i have not TTC yet but want to in the next 4 years so i really want to focus my time and energy on getting healthy and feeling better before i think about having a child-i cant wait to be a mom!!...thank you so much for your story!

Chula · 03-26-2009, 01:16 PM

Thank you Kristy I decided to have the Lapband and I think it was the best for me I am happy I am a slow loser but I am on the loser's bench regardless!! thanks for your story!!!!

goddess819 · 03-26-2009, 02:23 PM

That's great Chula! The RNY is not for everyone but it was the best choice for me. I'm all for WLS no matter what form it is as long as it's the best surgery type for that person and their needs. Congrats to you as well for your weight loss!

harvey264 · 04-10-2009, 05:42 PM

Hey. I am thinking of doing the RYN... However, I have a few questions... What do you eat when your blood sugar drops what form to you take to control your sugars. Also what happens when you are preggers how did you feel, was it hard to maintain the nutrition that you are required what did you experience?

goddess819 · 04-11-2009, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harvey264

Hey. I am thinking of doing the RYN... However, I have a few questions... What do you eat when your blood sugar drops what form to you take to control your sugars. Also what happens when you are preggers how did you feel, was it hard to maintain the nutrition that you are required what did you experience?

Hi Jen! I am fortunate in that I've not had any real hypoglycemic episodes. Many times though a few sips of fruit juice or other natural sugars would be best to bring up glucose levels. I felt pretty good when I was pregnant. I can say that my 2nd pregnancy was very different than my 1st. It wasn't that hard to maintain nutrition during pregnancy as I could eat a decent amount of food at the time I got pregnant the 1st time at 16 months post op. I didn't have any nausea and it was totally complication free. My doc did do an alternate test to test me for GD (gestational diabetes) by doing a fasting level, having me eat a normal meal & then taking a 1 hr level after eating (called a 1 hr post prandial). I delivered at 39w1d via c-section due to her head being crooked & me not dilating past 5cm after 16hrs of labor. My DD weighed 6lb 3oz and was perfectly healthy. I was able to breast feed with no issues too. My 2nd pregnancy I had nausea from 5-10w, I had bleeding from 6-8w, I had hypertension that although was well controlled required me to have NSTs (non-stress tests) from 32w until delivery via repeat c-section, and I was much larger than my 1st one (belly wise) so my lower back hurt more. But I did deliver another healthy baby girl at 39w0d at 7lb 12oz. I changed my eating to eating 3 meals & 3 snacks/daily and I changed my vitamins to this: 2 prenatals, 1 super b complex & 1200mg calcium citrate daily, 1 sublingual b12 weekly. My OB treated me as any other OB patient with the exception of the GD testing.

I'm very grateful for my RNY & weight loss because had it not been for that I would not be a mom...

If you have more questions I'm more than happy to answer! GL!

Britlee · 04-20-2009, 10:03 PM

I love reading stories like these - they give me hope. I had the DS 3/24/08 and I am about to TTC. Your story sounds so much like mine. I hope I am a success like you.