Samantha M.

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Samantha M. 12 years, 2 months ago

Update on me::: Hi guys! This is an honest update as I posted to another member. After many years of confusion, disillusion & disbelief, this IS my life. Hi. I am sorry that this will probably reach you waaaay too late but I just found your question. Honestly, 12 yrs ago when I had RNY, I could have been the poster child for a successful procedure. I thought it was a Godsend & I bragged, supported & encouraged others to definitely do it. Wow, if I only had a crystal ball. Within a matter of months, I began having dizzy spells. I felt weak & was having difficulty getting my physicians to understand & diagnosis me. I was anemic. I was told that it was due to losing blood during surgery & that it would correct itself. I got worse. It was then diagnosed as iron deficiency anemia, again told it was no big deal that my iron supplement would fix it. I proceeded to passing out or near passing out episodes, depression (no one believed me or was helping FIx me). Eventually I was seen by a hematologist who gave me 45 days of IV iron & said that He restored my iron supply & that it was a one time fix. My gastric bypass surgeon & family doctor left town & new doctors assessed me as did the rest. It was fixed. Within a yr, my life was in ruins. And I was sooooo sick & depressed that I felt like I was going crazy. I couldn't work or function as a normal person. Chronic exhaustion, I eventually could not swallow & going through daily activities was near impossible. During one of my episodes of nearly passing out, I was taken to an ER out of town where I was visiting. I had a hemoglobin of 5! And a Ferritin level LESS than 1! (0 is death.) So, I was knocking at deaths door! And I had told my family for about a month that I knew I was dying. They were helpless too bc we had no answers from doctors til then. I began treatment that included several blood transfusions over the next couple years, regular IV Iron infusions that I MUST continue to have for the rest of my life. I now have scoliosis & degenerative disc disease in my spine that was never present before. What does this mean? My surgeon barely mentioned the 5% who have malabsorption issues, well I (and many many many patients) developed it. I retrieved all my medical records after I began stabilizing & there is a clear medical trail that showed it began almost immediately. My physicians within the first couple yrs completely dismissed my chronic dropping iron & ferritin stores. Please read about these before getting surgery, they are important for a functioning healthy body & mind. And RNY surgeons tell pts that RNY will decrease Ghrelin production which will lessen your appetite. Sounds great, right? Wrong! What they don't tell you is that Ghrelin is NEEDED to work with Leptin in your body to regulate appetitive & believe it or not, bone mineralization. I have known my bone issues were bc of RNY but I didn't know why until recently. And Ghrelin functioning properly can NEVER be restored. It contributes to early aging of the body as well. PLEASE please do not have RNY as I did, a wide eyes bushy tailed girl in her early 30's believing the hype & promises about this surgery. I did everything right. Took my multivitamins, exercised with a passion until I became too weak & even attended lectures with my charismatic surgeon to promote the surgery in the early months. Like I said, I was the poster girl! I believed in it. NOW, I do not. I am not bitter & jaded but I am physically injured. Like I said, I require IV Iron until the day I die, my bones are demineralizing, my body is aging prematurely, I have bouts with depression like I never had before & I have been declared disabled. I cannot work 40 hrs a week, under any cir****tances. Prior to the surgery I had worked in an ER, triaged children at a pediatric clinic & worked 24 hrs on & 48 hrs off on a 120 hrs two week pay period. I was strong & independent. RNY gastric bypass took that all from me. And my body weight fluctuates depending on my health, when I am really sick I develop anemic throat structures that don't allow me to swallow solids so I can shed 20 pounds in a month & it's miserable. When I am able to eat again, I eat! It's feast or famine but I neer go below 160. If I could do it over, I WOuLD not!!! Had I known Leptin research was developing, I would have waited. I recommend everyone read about Leptin & how to lose weight that way. There is one reputable book on te market about it, I won't mention it bc I am NOT trying to sell anything, I won't people to know I am a real human who has suffered bc of RNY. But I truly believe now that if you find out if you are Leptin Resistant, them you can lose weight the right way & forever & stay healthy! Samantha

Samantha M. 12 years, 2 months ago

Update on me::: Hi guys! This is an honest update as I posted to another member. After many years of confusion, disillusion & disbelief, this IS my life. Hi. I am sorry that this will probably reach you waaaay too late but I just found your question. Honestly, 12 yrs ago when I had RNY, I could have been the poster child for a successful procedure. I thought it was a Godsend & I bragged, supported & encouraged others to definitely do it. Wow, if I only had a crystal ball. Within a matter of months, I began having dizzy spells. I felt weak & was having difficulty getting my physicians to understand & diagnosis me. I was anemic. I was told that it was due to losing blood during surgery & that it would correct itself. I got worse. It was then diagnosed as iron deficiency anemia, again told it was no big deal that my iron supplement would fix it. I proceeded to passing out or near passing out episodes, depression (no one believed me or was helping FIx me). Eventually I was seen by a hematologist who gave me 45 days of IV iron & said that He restored my iron supply & that it was a one time fix. My gastric bypass surgeon & family doctor left town & new doctors assessed me as did the rest. It was fixed. Within a yr, my life was in ruins. And I was sooooo sick & depressed that I felt like I was going crazy. I couldn't work or function as a normal person. Chronic exhaustion, I eventually could not swallow & going through daily activities was near impossible. During one of my episodes of nearly passing out, I was taken to an ER out of town where I was visiting. I had a hemoglobin of 5! And a Ferritin level LESS than 1! (0 is death.) So, I was knocking at deaths door! And I had told my family for about a month that I knew I was dying. They were helpless too bc we had no answers from doctors til then. I began treatment that included several blood transfusions over the next couple years, regular IV Iron infusions that I MUST continue to have for the rest of my life. I now have scoliosis & degenerative disc disease in my spine that was never present before. What does this mean? My surgeon barely mentioned the 5% who have malabsorption issues, well I (and many many many patients) developed it. I retrieved all my medical records after I began stabilizing & there is a clear medical trail that showed it began almost immediately. My physicians within the first couple yrs completely dismissed my chronic dropping iron & ferritin stores. Please read about these before getting surgery, they are important for a functioning healthy body & mind. And RNY surgeons tell pts that RNY will decrease Ghrelin production which will lessen your appetite. Sounds great, right? Wrong! What they don't tell you is that Ghrelin is NEEDED to work with Leptin in your body to regulate appetitive & believe it or not, bone mineralization. I have known my bone issues were bc of RNY but I didn't know why until recently. And Ghrelin functioning properly can NEVER be restored. It contributes to early aging of the body as well. PLEASE please do not have RNY as I did, a wide eyes bushy tailed girl in her early 30's believing the hype & promises about this surgery. I did everything right. Took my multivitamins, exercised with a passion until I became too weak & even attended lectures with my charismatic surgeon to promote the surgery in the early months. Like I said, I was the poster girl! I believed in it. NOW, I do not. I am not bitter & jaded but I am physically injured. Like I said, I require IV Iron until the day I die, my bones are demineralizing, my body is aging prematurely, I have bouts with depression like I never had before & I have been declared disabled. I cannot work 40 hrs a week, under any cir****tances. Prior to the surgery I had worked in an ER, triaged children at a pediatric clinic & worked 24 hrs on & 48 hrs off on a 120 hrs two week pay period. I was strong & independent. RNY gastric bypass took that all from me. And my body weight fluctuates depending on my health, when I am really sick I develop anemic throat structures that don't allow me to swallow solids so I can shed 20 pounds in a month & it's miserable. When I am able to eat again, I eat! It's feast or famine but I neer go below 160. If I could do it over, I WOuLD not!!! Had I known Leptin research was developing, I would have waited. I recommend everyone read about Leptin & how to lose weight that way. There is one reputable book on te market about it, I won't mention it bc I am NOT trying to sell anything, I won't people to know I am a real human who has suffered bc of RNY. But I truly believe now that if you find out if you are Leptin Resistant, them you can lose weight the right way & forever & stay healthy! Samantha