Rachel412

I have to wait a month after surgery before i can lift more than 10 pounds.

I'm only 6 days out from RNY and trying hard to figure out what works and what doesn't. Mornings seem the hardest, in terms of digestion and stomach pain. I've noticed that hot or even room temp liquids do better than cold ones... I'm finding myself dreading the first couple drinks of the day because I know they'll cause an hour or two of discomfort. Any tips or recommendations would be wonderful!

I've had no complications but I'm only 6 days out from RNY . I had my band removed in April, my surgeon refuses to do the two surgeries together because the bands create so much scar tissue on the stomach that needs to heal. The RNY surgery was much less painful than the band placement. I had a 2-day stay in the hospital when I was taking narcotics because they're fun, but since I've been home I've only had OTC liquid Tylenol and honestly, I rarely need it!

Congrats, that's awesome! You're on foods already? I'll still be on clear liquids & protein drinks at 2 weeks...

I've never heard of that so I'm not much help... Sorry. I can tell you that my surgeon strongly prefers bypass after the band instead of the sleeve because he said band and sleeve both put a lot of pressure on the stomach and if you've already had a surgery with stomach pressure, you're less likely to do well with the same type of restriction. It took me a long time to decide for sure to do bypass instead of sleeve, but I did because I really trust my surgeon.

I brought slippers, a robe, PJ pants, toiletries, and a pillow. The only things I used were the slippers, PJ pants (once they took the catheter out) and toiletries. I couldn't use the robe because of all the IV and telemetry lines. Oh and lip balm- that was ESSENTIAL!

Here's mine- for the 2 weeks before surgery.

I haven't been on this forum in years... literally. Long sad story short I had a Realize band placed in 2010. By sheer force of will I managed to lose about 80 pounds while I went through fills and waited for the band to do something. All my loss was via self-control and acting on guilt for spending so much of the family's money on the surgery. I got to 80 pounds and the program I was in told me more or less that I had lost all the weight I could expect to lose and that they wouldn't fill my band any further. I got pregnant... gained some of the weight back... had a baby... lost the weight again. I was still 200 pounds at my lowest. After years of constant port pain I decided I was done with the band (huge waste of money and time) and got into a program at a different hospital to remove the band and revise to bypass. My band was removed this past May, and my RnY date is mid-November. My weight is back up to where I was pre-band. Part of me is still worried that this surgery will be like the last and I'll regret it, too. I knew the band was a tool, not a magic pill, but I wanted it to do SOMETHING! My surgeon refuses to do straight band-to-bypass revisions. He insists on months of healing between. It's been hard to wait, but it did allow me to confirm my suspicion that the band really didn't do anything for me except drain my bank account. Curious how other "failures" like myself have navigated telling people that you're having surgery again. I only told family the first time, but they didn't keep it quiet and word got around...

Yep, that's why I'm not telling anybody this time around!

Long story short, I met with a new nutritionist at my surgical practice today and I was told that what my old nutritionist there taught me was wrong. I am to only eat Protein, veggies, and fruit. If I have dairy it has to be low fat, and I can't have nuts. I am a little mind-boggled at this point. I had previously been told to stay away from carbs as much as possible, but that nuts were a good snack and that when I have a meal I can have 4 oz. of meat, then a cup of veggies, then a 1/2 cup of carbs if I'm still hungry after that. I'm curious if anyone out there is following this way of eating at all. ETA: I was already doing what I considered to be an appropriately low-carb "diet" that was under 100g of carbs a day (my net carbs were usually way less than that).

My knees hurt a lot due to osteoarthritis. At this point I've lost 30 pounds. I was on Meloxicam before surgery, but it's an NSAID so I stopped taking it and haven't replaced it with anything else. When I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the fall, my doctor talked to me about getting banded and was saying that every pound I lost was 6 pounds off my knees, so I really was thinking that once the weight started to come off my knees and joints would feel better. But... not so much! So. Anyone have any BTDT? I'm very happy with my weight loss, I was just hoping to be in less pain by now.

I really am only using sweeteners in my Hot drinks at this point, but I'm curious what other people do. When I was doing South Beach a couple of years ago, the big fad was using agave nectar (which is yummy and I really liked). I fell pretty hard off that wagon and now that my WOE is low carb, high Protein, I'm curious what others are doing. I bought Sun Crystals- I don't like them. I've learned that anything with Stevia tastes too chemical to me, like Sweet 'n' Low. I tried Splenda this morning and that was better. What do you use?

A lot of people have hair loss weeks to a few months after surgery, seems like it's often blamed on the anesthesia. OP, I don't have any advice other than to tell you that not EVERYONE experiences hair loss after surgery- I didn't. so there is surely reason to try to avoid it, but don't assume that you'll definitely lose any hair, kwim?

It seems to go in fits & bursts for me, but it does average out to 1-2 pounds a week so I can't complain. Also I've heard you go down a size every time you lose 10% of your weight so if you're 270, you go down a size at 243, then you go down another at 219, then 198... does that make sense? Also seems to hold true for me. Plus I know that i may have lost fat but I still have all that skin and I don't really look much different. Hang in there!

I wish I could say that I couldn't eat that much, but I sure can. Even with 8.25ccs in my band, I am the only thing stopping myself from overeating. I can eat as much as I want still. But just because I can doesn't mean I should. People who talk about being stuffed after a few bites... I just can't imagine what that's like.

Yep, very normal to have no hunger after surgery. Mine came back a week post-op but everyone is different.

My surgeon's office says it's not about restriction, it's about feeling satisfied sooner after a meal and being able to go longer between meals. I say this because as much as I wish the band would stop me from eating xyz- mine won't. Kinda bums me out to tell you the truth, But no, no difference between liquids & solids for me. Also if you are experiencing reflux at night please do not go any tighter.

Yes it's normal, yes it'll go away, yes the gas is probably still in your system- I'd say expect it all to be gone about a week post-op. Congrats!

Those sound great! I love their decaf coconut sweet chai too.

Is your dad paying for the band? Do you live with him? Are you a minor? If the answer to all of these is no, you need to just tell him you're not having the surgery and then go ahead and do it anyway. if the answer to those questions is yes, he has the right to give you crap about your current weight and health.

Yes it's normal that you can eat whatever you want. I'm 7 months out from surgery and at 8.25ccs and I can still eat anything, and plenty of it. Just because you can, just because I can, doesn't mean either of us should.

Do you track your food intake every day? If you're tracking honestly and taking in a "small" amount of calories but the scale isn't budging I would get your thyroid checked.

If you can't get liquids down, even if you JUST had a fill, you're too tight. I'm glad you got an unfill!

Yeah it's all going to be self control and willpower for you in the beginning, and maybe even past that. I hope your stay in bandster hell is short and easy!