I really wish that when people post, they would not assume everyone knows what the hell is going on. This is a portion of a rather long e-mail I received this morning " she made it sound like a lot of my intestine would be removed and that's why I won't be able to absorb vitamins. Is this true? How much intestine do they take? Does mal absorption get worse over time? Is that why people lose their hair? I need answers please..."
If one person has a question like that, maybe more do. I know all do not read this Blog, but from feed back I've gotten, many do. They do NOT remove any intestine with RNY surgery...There is a by-pass surgery that does but Cooperstown doesn't do it...Fear not. They do not remove your stomach either. The stomach is double stapled and a small pouch remains at the upper part of your stomach. The pouch is connected to the middle small intestine (je junum).Bypassing the remaining portion of your stomach and a small part of your small intestines, the duodenum and the first part of the je junum. Your stomach will still secrete stomach acids which will flow down and meet the food at the "Y" that was created by the attachment of the intestine. This was explained to me by Dr. Strauss (she also drew me a picture, one I will gladly draw and any meeting, just ask) You can, however find tons of pictures on the Internet. I suggest you do that just to set your mind at ease. You will realize that it is a very small portion of reattachment, you will also read that mal absorption eventually stops for calories and most of vitamins...This is NOT a solution to Obesity, it is a tool used to fight it. Gathering as much information as possible is crucial to knowing what to expect and how it will impact your life. This is not something you decide to do haphazardly and without question. It is a life changing situation and most of us would do it again in a heart beat, so how bad could it be?
I've hurt my hand and I'm typing with one, my left and it's starting to hurt...but do your homework and don't believe all you read on the Thread...people mean well, but often dramatise to the extreme.
