Introduction

April 20, 2002

Cindy, I had a revision done. Mostly it was for a staple line

disruption, but I figured since he was going to be in there

anyway......I wanted another 100cm by-passed! I had never gotten past

the 200pound mark and needed to because of knee problems. So I got a new

pouch and a total of 170cm by-passed.

Debbie in Gig Harbor

original RNY Jan. 1999

70 cm by-passed and 1oz pouch

Dr. Weber, Seattle, WA

Revision and additional by-pass Feb. 2001

by Dr. Weber, Seattle, WA

170cm by-passed TRANSECTED pouch

Starting weight 320

lowest weight 200

current weight 208(down from 267 before revision due to SLD)

ladybostons@...

April 21, 2002

Cindy, I am in Jax (NE FL) and had my surgery in Ft. Lauderdale. Who is

your surgeon - I have played with the idea of a revision too. Amber

Introduction

Hi, I am new to this list and want to introduce myself. My name is

Cindy and I live in Florida. I had an open RNY - Proximal in Sept 2000.

I have lost about 85 lbs total (BMI 57 to 42) and have about 100 lbs to

go. I have not lost weight since 10 months post-op. I am waiting

insurance approval (at the first appeal stage) for a revision to bypass

more small bowel from " several inches " to 150 cms and will leave the

roux limb at 100 cms. Recently, my new surgeon introduced me to AMOS and

have spring-boarded to the protein list and to this list. With the help

of , I am more educated on protein and have started protein

shakes twice a day and have switched my calcium supplements to citrate.

What a help the protein shakes have been with curbing my appetite.

I have a question about those that have done revisions. Have most of the

RNY revisions been to increase the amount of bypassed small bowel or are

their many that have had more work done on your pouch? My surgeon

doesn't want to even think about touching it. I will be pushing for

another UGI to check my current size and then will go from there.

Cindy W

April 21, 2002

Dr. Overcash in Ocala, Florida (). I work at a hospital and one

afternoon he was bragging about the weight loss his patients are seeing (he

had pictures as well). I asked him what % of his patients was seeing weight

loss like this and he told me " all of them " . He also told me he is beginning

to do revision of people that only have about 80-90 lb weight loss and

that's it. (That's me). Prior to this exchange, I didn't connect there was

varying degrees of malabsorption with RNY surgery and didn't even know how I

was done other than the roux limb was 100 cms. My initial surgeon told me

the RNY surgery would take off about 100 lbs and " the rest was up to me " .

Well, at 85 lbs off (BMI 57 to 42) and I am 19 months post-op -- IT NOT GOOD

ENOUGH. I had Dr. Overcash evaluate my original surgery and he told me I got

a shi**y surgery. He feels in order to be successful you must have more

malabsorption than the " gold standard " RNY surgery produces. You must obtain

a BMI of < 27 in order to appropriately reduce your health risks. I am doing

the insurance battle now. Time will tell. Cindy

RE: Introduction

> Cindy, I am in Jax (NE FL) and had my surgery in Ft. Lauderdale. Who is

> your surgeon - I have played with the idea of a revision too. Amber

>

April 24, 2002

>I am anemic which I wasn't before the surgery, My doc has me on over

> the counter iron pills, she is checking me every three months to see if it

is

> getting better, She said that my iron level was 12 and should be in the

> 50's

Huh?!? There is some confusion by someone here. If your Hgb (hemoglobin)

is 12, you are not anemic. If your Hct (hematocrit) is 12, you are probably

not still alive. If your Hgb is supposed to be 50, you will also probably

not be alive.

Normal values for each (for women):

Hgb 12-16

Hct 37-47 (42 is the average)

Post-op women who menstruate are generally counselled to take iron as a

matter of course. Most do take over-the-counter iron pills. For me, I get

terribly constipated so had to find another resource. For years, I have had

my clients use Floridix (a natural, vegetable derivative, liquid iron) with

fabulous success. Floridix does not cause constipation... something

important for pregnant women (and everyone else, too!). I get it at health

food stores. It is kind of expensive, but worth it to me. It also tastes

like crap, but I put it in Diet V8 Splash and can't taste it in there.

, I would encourage you to question your doctor further. Ask about lab

values... what s/he wants to see as your personal norm... what you are

striving for. And much continued success!

Barbara Herrera

San Diego, CA - 41 years old

Open RNY April 5, 2001

Dr. Ellner, Alvarado Hospital, San Diego, CA

04/05/01: 344# / BMI: 63/ Body Fat: 75%

04/05/02: 172# / BMI: 31.6/ Body Fat: 28%

04/14/02: 165# / BMI: 30.2

One Year Re-Birth Day: healed of ALL co-morbs, mobile beyond every

expectation, every pre-op dream surpassed a million-fold, and smaller than

any memory.

April 24, 2002

Welcome, :

I don't know about the iron issues as others on this list do. Besides the

Floridix that Barbara recommends which is natural/vegetarian, I *think* the

people who know reommend ferrous fumarate as the type of iron to take. I

know nothing about, just what I've read on here repeatedly. At any rate, I

think I would be a goal to get that all in line before any plastics.

The first surgery I had after my RNY and a lot of weight loss was a

facelift. I had no clue that guys under 50 got them, but got nudged by a

surgeon's wife. My body was feeling all renewed and better due to the

weight loss, but I just looked like hell....like I was sick and tired. The

face lift was a huge help. It's no picnic, but it's not like your whole

trunk or whole chest or anything. It was the most painful, but only for

about a day three days out from the operation. I had fat filled into the

hollows in my cheeks which was a waste because at 4 years post-op, the face

filled back out some.

Take care and welcome.

List Moderator

Introduction

> Hi Everyone

> My name is , I am from Boston, I had RNY October, 1999, with Dr.

Shikora,

> NEMC I lost 110lbs so far, wish it was more, but I am not gaining which

is

> GREAT. I am anemic which I wasn't before the surgery, My doc has me on

over

> the counter iron pills, she is checking me every three months to see if it

is

> getting better, She said that my iron level was 12 and should be in the

> 50's. Other than that I am doing fine. Exercising three times a week,

> lifting weights two times a week. I am seriously thinking about a face

lift,

> has anyone in this group had one, I would be interested in hearing their

tale

> of woes, good or bad.

>

> Thanks

> AKA Maizee

> Boston

>

> Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

>

> Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

>

April 24, 2002

I am going in for my tt on Monday but an also interested in a facelift. The

tt is covered by insurance but the facelift would not be. What is the cost

of a facelift? I know it must matter what you have done but I was curious

about a price range.

Introduction

Hi Everyone

My name is , I am from Boston, I had RNY October, 1999, with Dr.

Shikora,

NEMC I lost 110lbs so far, wish it was more, but I am not gaining which is

GREAT. I am anemic which I wasn't before the surgery, My doc has me on over

the counter iron pills, she is checking me every three months to see if it

is

getting better, She said that my iron level was 12 and should be in the

50's. Other than that I am doing fine. Exercising three times a week,

lifting weights two times a week. I am seriously thinking about a face

lift,

has anyone in this group had one, I would be interested in hearing their

tale

of woes, good or bad.

Thanks

AKA Maizee

Boston

Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG

Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe

April 24, 2002

I suspect she is talking about her serum iron level, not her hemoglobin or

hematocrit.

Carolyn

Re: Introduction