My name is
Doreen. In July, 2002 i had a Roux-n-Y with Vertical
Banded Gastroplasty (2 WLS procedures in one) and had such severe
health complications that i had to be reversed in Sept, 2004. I have
not only gained my life back, but i am so happy and blessed to be
alive. I am only 27 yrs. old and i made an attempt to take my own
life because of the hell i was going through. I vomited nearly 10
times a day for over 2 yrs. and the list of complications and
deficiencies i experienced is endless. I was told that i would be
placed on a feeding tube for the rest of my life. I was only 27 and
living like i was a 95 yr. old woman. I know that my suffering was
not in vain. It produced a fighting spirit and growth of character
in me for which i do not regret. The only thing i truly regret is
the boards and surgeons who mislead people into having WLS by not
being upfront about the negative side to it and the vast array of
complications which can and do occur on a daily basis. I only heard
positive things prior to surgery and i researched it for two long
years. You never know what category you'll fall into so my motto is:
Caveat Emptor, in other words, Buyer Beware. God bless all who are
suffering.
Doreen's profile from OH (they have taken
it down off the main site)
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Personal Comments
I had the gastric bypass surgery on July 15, 2002
and my health has deteriorated to such a point that it is
medically necessary for a reversal. Since there are only a
handful, literally, of surgeons in the U.S. who do a reversal,
I found an angel of a surgeon to do mine. He is willing to
take on anyone who is desperate and in need of help due to the
health complications of gastric bypass surgery and told me to
personally send them his way as there is such a miniscule
number of surgeons who do the takedown. I am appalled at the
lies surgeons tell that they will reverse you if health
complications arise, but the moment they do, they bum rush you
out of their office and throw you off as a headcase. People
need to know that this surgery has a downside and it's bigger
than you think and are aware of since there are so many
"cheerleaders" advocating surgery, most of which, ironically,
are only a few months out themselves or even pre-ops who
haven't even had surgery yet.
I am only 26 years old
and it was suggested that I go on a feeding tube for the rest
of my life. A feeding tube at 26? Are they kidding.
I
would trade obesity in a heartbeat than have gone through the
last 26 months of suffering and pain that I have endured at
the sake of being accepted by a society which has a cruel and
corrupt vision of what beauty entails. I will never again fall
prey to the media hype and people's warped view of what beauty
is because if my suffering has taught me anything, it's taught
me that the body is just a shell containing the heart which is
inside. That is the true self, not the outward appearance. It
is not worth it to be skinny, if you die in the process of
getting there.
Here is just a "BRIEF" summary of my
health complications which has made the hospital my second
home: tingling and numbness in fingertips and feet, burning
sensations running from my shoulders to my fingertips,
freezing toes and fingertips and entire body to the point
where I've worn gloves to bed, pain in hands and arms no
matter what position I put them in, Aspirated pneumonia (vomit
entered my lungs and I stopped breathing and was taken by
ambulance to the hospital), vomiting for the last 26 months
sometimes up to 10 times a day (including liquids),
Dehydration three times, Low Potassium two times, stricture
and total of 4 endoscopies, lightheadedness, dizziness,
blacking out and having to hold onto walls to regain vision,
blurred vision and poor eyesight, heart palpitations, blood in
vomit, headaches, hot and cold flashes, cold sweats, extreme
depression to the point where I wanted to take my life, easily
bruised and inability for bruises and cuts to heal, fatigue,
acne, constant irritability, extreme mood swings, protein
malnourishment, unexplained pains and spasms in body,
sensitivity to light, paleness, irregular menstrual cycle,
swollen lymph glands, lung pain, constant sore throat due to
constant vomiting, heaviness and pressure in head and over
eyes, pressure and itching in ears, weakness and zoning out.
After finding an angel who helped me find out that I
am not alone in this ever increasing sect of patients
experiencing gastric bypass problems, I was fortunate to have
found a surgeon in my area who took me on as my own
disgraceful surgeon threw me out as a head case. I have never,
and I repeat never, been as sick when I was obese, as I am now
as a thin person after gastric bypass. I am so pale, people
say I look 120 pounds.
My collar bones stick out so
much that I look anorexic. If this is what society deems as
beautiful, society can have it and all the cheerleaders of
this surgery, including the celebrities exalting it as the
cure-all for fat, need to face reality that there is a
downside to this surgery, it can be for some very dangerous,
and you don't know whether or not you will fall into that
category until you have it done, and then it's too late when
your own surgeon throws you out of his office and refuses to
fix what he's done to you.
I am so disgusted with the
media advertisements, celebrity exaltations, and people so
brainwashed by the media and Hollywood fads about this surgery
because in all reality, this surgery does not always have a
happy ending. The statistics on the long term outcomes are
being hidden, and there are tons even thousands of people
desperate for reversals due to complications.
I am in
contact with someone who is helping scores of people find
doctors to reverse them, the only problem is that there are
only about 4 or 5 in the U.S.A. who do them, and if anyone,
and I mean anyone needs help I will personally help them as I
have a doctor who works in the NY/NJ region who told me to
send anyone desperate for a reversal as he takes on any case
other surgeons have thrown away. He is appalled how surgeons
tell their patients they'll reverse them should problems
arise, then they throw them out when problems do arise and
refuse to reverse them. Beware, all newbies to gastric bypass
surgery.
This is a very invasive procedure and the
risks are greater to have it reversed than the initial
procedure. You are taking a big chance with your life by
consenting to this surgery and you have no idea if you'll fall
into the category of those who get severely sick and are
literally dying from it.
Malnourishment not only
affects you physically but emotionally as well, to such an
extent that some, admittedly myself, have been so depressed
due to the alteration in brain chemicals, that we've
considered or attempted to take our own lives.
I never
had so many health problems before surgery as I do now, and
don't all surgeons give the usual speech that your health and
quality of life will greatly improve after surgery???
Picture this before you decide if WLS is for you :
Going into the bathroom nearly 10 times a day, kneeling on the
floor, vomiting what feels like your organs up, even liquids,
having the water splash up and strike you in the face, having
vomit come out of your nose, and then to put a cherry on top
of this wonderful sundae, having the mucus from your stomach
be so thick that it hangs from your mouth and you have to pull
it out at the end of your vomiting session because it is too
thick to just fall out into the bowl.
This is no joke and no pun intended. This is humiliating,
degrading, and reality and sometimes too hard for the
cheerleaders of this surgery to hear or even consider. But
this is mine and thousands of others daily reality.
I am only
26 years old. I live like I am 90. I have been hospitalized
and been stuck with I.V.'s so much it makes me sick. Thank God
for my family and friends and loved ones who are supporting me
through this difficult time. My reversal is scheduled for
October 21st, 2004. I will finally be at peace and able to
start living again, because I can say in all seriousness, I've
been dead the last 2 years of my young life. So much time
wasted, so much financial ruin, but most importantly, I will
never have the health and normal anatomy I once had. God has
been merciful to me to put the people in my life that I was
destined to cross paths with to find the help I needed.
I
thank all who have helped me and I will personally go out of
my way to help all those in search of the help they so
desperately need.
I believe that suffering
produces character and growth of spirit and if anything has
been gained, it is the realization that my worth is not
defined by the numbers on the scale. That my heart is the real
me, not the body which is the veil over it. If someone doesn't
like me, then they can keep walking. I am me. I am a good
person. And I am a better person for letting people know the
cons of the surgery.
Lots of people will fool you into
thinking all is rosy and dandy and fine, but some of these
people are the people who fail to say how many times their
vomiting a day because they simply override it because they
feel their good looking thin appearance outweighs the cons.
But is not our health and vitality the most important thing?
When the health goes down, the spirit sinks and we need an
unconquerable spirit to carry on in our troubled world.
Without that, we don't have a fighting chance. God bless all
who read this. I wish you all the best. My advice is to never
push this surgery on anyone, it is a personal decision and if
I could say anything more, it is to seriously weight the pros
and the cons and then make your decision. Talk to people who
have had a good experience and talk to those who have had a
negative experience, get both sides of the story because you
cannot predict what category you'll fall into and you might be
up for the fight of your life. Sincerely, Doreen V, of NJ
10/24/04 UPDATE
I was fortunate enough to have my
gastric bypass reversal nearly three and a half weeks ago. It
was scheduled for Oct. 21st but I had to have it earlier on an
emergency basis. The night before surgery, my blood pressure
dropped to 72 over 47 and I passed out and awoke with I.V.
wires all around me in a dark room because it was the middle
of the night at the hospital. I am happy and most grateful to
say that I have never felt better in my life. I am able to eat
without vomiting, I am able to drink with my meals, and I
finally have color back in my face and normal blood pressure.
I am so grateful to my surgeon for taking me on as a desperate
case when my own original surgeon refused to help me. I am
healthier now than I have ever been and I don't regret the
reversal for one minute. It saved my life. I no longer support
gastric bypass surgery. It may have helped me to lose over 165
lbs. but at what cost? I could have died had it not been for
my reversal. If I could turn back time, I wish I would have
tried harder to lose weight on my own and not have taken such
a drastic measure and followed all the hype of celebrities
exalting their before and after transformations which
undoubtedly, was brought upon by personal trainers, chefs,
plastic surgery, in addition to gastric bypass...most things
no average commoner can afford. I do not believe I will gain
the weight back, not because I don't have it in me to do it,
but because I choose not to...by making healthier choices with
my meals and by choosing alternative activities to engage in
so that I do not sit idly in the house with my mind
preoccupied on food. I, in fact, have lost some weight since
having the reversal so if your doctor tells you you'll gain
all the weight back and triple that, don't believe it. I'm not
saying it can't happen, but it is purely your choice. After
all the suffering I've endured on account of getting my
insides ripped apart twice, i'd rather maintain my weight loss
than have gone through it all in vain. God bless all who read
this and all who are suffering. There is hope and my advice to
any of you is to really think hard before signing that consent
form. You could be signing your life away.
Photos
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| Before Surgery |
when I was so ill and had
malnutrition |
Now I feel a lot better since
my take-down (reversal) |
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