I blogged about it here. I welcome your comments, as always.

Thanks so much for the comment and the advice! Yes, I’ll email you directly because I have probably a million questions.

I have been asking around about a good therapist who knows about RNY. So far, I haven’t heard the feedback I’m looking for. Someone on an online forum told me that O’Malley’s office has all the therapy handled but I strongly agree that I need to be talking to someone here, close by, and NOW. Besides, that casual approach doesn’t work for me. I’m the kind of person who has to have to have all the ducks in a row, ya know?

Another thing to keep in mind is that you will have 5 feet of intestine bypassed, that is the portion of intestine that absorbs the nutrition, vitamins and minerals and protein, from our food. You will need to supplement heavily with many vitamins and minerals and O’Malley does not (last time I knew) recommend the protein shakes for the duration of your life, but as a nurse and someone that has done a great deal of research, along with talking with others that are further out then I, I STRONGLY believe it is a life long supplementation process. The human body will try to normalize and absorb what it isn’t getting by growing more cilia and the remaining intestine elongating. I believe this is one of the biggest reasons for regain, even with patients that are totally committed to avoiding sugar, high carbohydrate dies. If you have any questions or would like the address of a great support group on line, just email me.

http://leoville.com/category/blog/

Anyway, your blog looks great! Good luck with it!

The article at the link does not indicate what quality of life the surgical group enjoys. Do you know any further details?

No matter. I did as you suggested and googled “bariatric surgery new england journal of medicine.” I came up with this wonderful post from junkfoodscience. Thank goodness there is someone out there in the fatosphere who can read this stuff with a critical eye and find the truth in it.

In case the link below doesn’t work, google bariatric surgery new england journal of medicine.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/src-sfs082307.php

Re fibromyalgia, yes indeed. I was misdiagnosed for 7 years, took all the wrong medications and did all the wrong things. My (male) doctor “wouldn’t let me” see a specialist. Meaning he did everything he could to dissuade me and to convince me that his treatment was the same as what any specialist would do. My conditioned worsened, which worsened my mental/emotional state, which made the fibro worse… and on and on.

Finally I insisted on a referral. I went to a rheumatologist, who immediately diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. Turns out I was a classic case. I dumped my old doctor, and only then did I realize how I had been intimidated by him, and how it had compromised my care.

I decided to be more pro-active about finding a new doctor. I asked my GYN (a nurse practitioner) for advice - how to start, what to ask, how to manage this with the HMO. She gave me a short list of female doctors in the area that her patients told her were good.

I found a good female doc and interviewed her - told her my issues and asked her what I could expect. Her care changed my life. She always listened to me, always believed me, and she never stopped looking for ways to diminish my symptoms.

When I moved to Canada, I was very concerned about finding a good doctor. I found that fibromyalgia is much more known and accepted here. My doctor, massage therapist and now this physiotherapist all understand it and know how to treat it.

I never blog about my health issues, but as I talk to you about it, I think maybe I will…

So thanks for listening, and thanks for sharing your own story. Best of luck.

I really appreciate your sharing of your experience with me here. Yes, I understand why you chose to have the hysterectomy. I even think that if I had been presented with the information/options you were give, I might have been more amenable to the idea myself. As I mentioned in previous posts though, I was presented with ONE scenario only. After my initial shock wore off, I remembered the doctor briefly mentioning a hormone treatment but she definitely presented it as non-option. The more I thought about it, the more I felt I was being “spun.” I hate that feeling of being manipulated. It really gets my undies in a bunch!

As well, I was only offered one surgical procedure–the one which would have left me castrated and very quickly subjected to the inconstancies of “surgical menopause.” I’ve not yet been offered an explanation of why my ovaries & cervix should be removed since they are healthy.

Clearly, that doctor was not the one for me and even after all this time, I have never gotten the second opinion referral I requested from my primary doctor’s office. I’ve given up on that and have sought treatment from Dr Pettle at his private clinic. When he tells me it’s time for a hysterectomy, I will listen to him.

I agree with your assessment of those women who “obey” their doctors. That is exactly the correct word to use, isn’t it? What amazes and confounds me the most is that these same women will go online and talk about it, so we know they have access to computers, but they don’t seems to take any ownership in their own health.

Sorry to hear you are suffering from fibromyalgia. That’s another one of those afflictions that women have been told for years is “all in your head.” Only now is the medical establishment beginning to accept the reality of the situation.

I wish you the best of luck in your treatment.

You’re right to be a full partner in your health care decisions, and you should certainly be the final decision-maker for any medical procedure.

It’s amazing to me that in the 21st C some women are still just obeying their doctors and not researching for themselves - esp. since it’s easier than ever to get good information.

My experience with hysterectomy was altogether positive.

I had massive - and rapidly growing - fibroids. These caused horrendous menstrual problems, which in triggered my fibromyalgia. It was a montly nightmare, and every month it lasted longer and became more severe. It was severely limiting my life.

I knew I wasn’t having children (my partner had already had a vasectomy). There was no discussion of removing my ovaries or cervix, since those were healthy. My doctor said that from the start.

I had an abdominal procedure, because the laparoscopic procedure was brand new (this was 1998) and my doctor said she didn’t have adequate experience with it. So the recovery was a bit long, but whatever, I planned for it, and I only had to go through it once.

I never considered hormonal treatments. For me, that seemed like madness. I could have the whole root of the problem removed without messing with mood swings and the other potential side effects of hormones. I was much more comfortable with surgery than hormones.

After the surgery, my doctor told me that if she had known the full size of my uterus (ultrasounds only give so much information), she would have insisted I use hormone treatments to shrink the fibroids prior to surgery. I’m glad she didn’t know!

We are each unique, and in no way do I imply that’s what’s right for me is right for you. I hope you know that.

For me, the hysterectomy was terrific. It gave me my life back. I had no emotional attachment to my uterus, I didn’t need it, and I was glad to get rid of it.

I have a friend who had the same hysterectomy (uterus only) recently in Canada. She had it done with laparoscopy - compared to mine it was a breeze. She’s also very happy to be rid of the fibroids, not to have periods any more, not to need birth control, and so forth.

Thanks again for your thoughtful response. Best of luck to you.

Just words for you to consider. Again, it’s what is best for you. Good luck.

Glad you’re feeling better! Please keep in touch. I’m not out of the woods yet and I’ll be looking to you for guidance if I have to go for the hysterectomy in a few months….