Bypassjourney

I also had sleeve to bypass revision surgery on 10/28. I was very nervous before surgery remembering the pain from the sleeve surgery. With the sleeve I had a terrible time getting in my liquids the first several days. With the bypass I had no trouble getting in liquids even on the day of surgery. In fact I was worried the surgery was not successful since I could drink so easily. At my post-op appointment this past week the PA told me it was fine and I could drink all the liquids (Water and crystal light type drinks) that I want. Let's keep in touch!!

I have made up 2-3 servings of the Protein powder shakes and stored in the refrigerator for the day. They seem to be okay. But I wouldn't go past the one day.

October 28th!!! I hope everyone has had successful surgeries this month. I can't wait to hear about it and share our support!

I am having sleeve to bypass revision this Friday, 10/28! I was sleeved in January, 2012. I had great success for the first two years. Then between bad food choices and medication that causes weight gain, I gained it all back plus some. My acid reflux is bad and I have a hernia. I wasn't scared at all before but I must admit I have some fears this time around.

I got the approval for my sleeve to bypass revision surgery from Aetna!!!! I had VSG in January, 2012. I started gaining back the weight about 1 1/2 years ago and sadly regained all I had lost. I am SO ready for this second "second chance" and feel so blessed!! The insurance coordinator at my doctor's office was very worried that we would get approved because other requests had been denied by Aetna. So I am the first one that has received the approval at their office! I will be getting all the pre-op appointments done quickly and surgery is like to be by the end of October! One thing I did not do after VSG was to develop a network of support from this community. I want to change that this time around! I need all the support I can get. VSG Surgery: 1/26/12 Highest Weight: 239.9 Lowest Weight 150.2 Height: 5'5" Bypass Surgery: Date TBD Current Weight: 236

I had the sleeve on 1/26/2012. I did lose 90 lbs. within the first year. I had absolutely NO dumping and no reflux. I figured out really quick that I could eat all the same foods as before but only less. I convinced myself that now I was "normal" and could eat what I wanted because of my restricted stomach size. WRONG!! I started regaining a couple of years out and all the weight came back quickly. I have no restriction and can eat a full size plate with no problem. I am now scheduled for a sleeve to bypass revision at the end of October. Everybody has to do what is best for them, but I have since learned after the sleeve that there are quite a few others that are also gaining back after about year two. I am beyond blessed that I get a second "second chance" with bypass. I will not mess it up this time! Stay afraid of the foods that caused the gain in the first place!!

I am almost eight months out and I pretty much eat what I want. But what I have found like one poster said, now that I just act as though a normal person would, I don't have those obsessions to eat like before. My happiness with my new body is giving me the desire NOT to eat all the snack foods. I always heard the saying "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" but when I was eating my comfort foods I thought "yeah right!" Now, I get that saying and it is so true for me.

Congratulations on hitting this milestone! You look great and are an inspiration!

Yes the pre-op is tough, but you have to realize that it is helping to ensure you have a successful surgery. I got hungry, grumpy, sad, light headed and all that. But when you think about it in that if you don't get your liver to shrink, you could be putting your life in danger during a surgery. I took a picture of myself and kept that with me at all times during the pre-op diet. When I would get discouraged, I would look at that picture and was reminded of how badly I wanted my life to change and although it was unbelievably tough, I stuck to it. I didn't care for the protein shakes that my doctor's office had. But I just chugged them down and told myself it was fuel for my body and its doctor's orders. You can do this! You have to set your mind to it.

I just read something in a book that said "Comfort zones don't have to be comfortable - they're just familiar". I think the struggle with whether to have the surgery or not can be tied to that statement in a sense. Being overweight is something we have known as our normal for years and years. Imagine your life outside that comfort zone. There are hundreds and hundreds of people on this board that are a testiment to the fact that we can have a new comfort zone.

I think all the emotions you all are having are completely normal. As one post stated, this is an individual journey for each of us and we have to make the decision that is in our best interest. For me, I think the surgery has been like how they say you forget so quickly about the pains of child birth. :-) I am seven months out and down 80 lbs. The pre-op, surgery, full liquid diet, etc. seems like so long ago and I don't even think about that anymore. I'm too busy enjoying my new life with a happier attitude, more confidence, better health and just an overall better ME! I know there is a big fear of what if something happens to you during surgery or you have a complication. That is a very real fear. But try to remind yourself that most of us if we continued on the same path carrying around the extra weight would possibly end up as a statistic of death by heart disease or other issues related to being overweight. I'm no longer sitting on the sidelines watching my life pass me by...I'm living life!

Today it has been seven months since my surgery! It still doesn't seem real sometimes. People that haven't seen me in a while do not recognize me. This journey has not always been easy but it is so worth the effort. I hurt my back in June so exercising has not been happening. But I am doing better and now its time to get this body toned! I look forward to reaching my weight loss goal. As far as other aspects of my life, I am starting to see the "me" come out of my shell that I knew was hiding for all those years. My confidence level is definitely at an all time high. I have been single for two years after a very difficult divorce. I think I am ready to break down those walls and date again. Now whether that is in God's plan is yet to be seen. I am just happy with how far I have come in such a short period of time both emotionally and physically. Thanks to everyone on this site that has been so encouraging. I don't have much genuine support from family or friends so you all have helped in ways you cannot even imagine along the way!

You have done a great job and have been a big inspiration on this board! Congratulations on your success and thank you for always being so open with your story. It definitely helps others!

Everyone is right that the first few days are very hard. But....fast forward almost seven months and my life couldn't be better! All that worry, all the pain, all those emotions have been long forgotten and seem like such a long time ago. Try to spend this weekend busy getting everything in order at home and make sure you have your kitchen stocked with those liquids. I didn't have much support at home so this site was such a lifesaver to me in those last few days, as it is still a lifesaver to me now. :-) Keep us posted on how things go!

Newlife..keep us posted on how it goes. I was the same way as you with the anticipation and not nervous. It has been an amazing journey. Welcome to the loser's bench!

You look great and you are just glowing in this picture! Congratulations on your success!

Way to go!!! You are doing amazing!

I was feeling exhausted all the time as well. My doctor recommended that I take Vitamin D and it has made a world of difference in my energy level!

This one is evil...I have already had one mini-victory when my ex-husband saw me a few months ago after not seeing me in over a year. He doesn't know I had surgery. We didn't speak but the look on his face was...priceless! Now I can't wait to run into him again so he can see how even better and happy I look. The woman he cheated with sent me a text last year with their picture saying "thank you for the best gift of my life, he is a better man without you". Now she is bigger than I was and they have a baby. I wont ever stoop to her level to send her a text...but you can sure bet I have been posting new pictures to FB and leaving them as public! :-)

I have decided that dating is the hardest thing in the world regardless of your size! I am finding that the longer I go from surgery, the less I care who knows and who doesn't. I told the guy I have been seeing on our first date that I was sleeved. He asked me to pick the restaurant on our next date. Just be your true you from the beginning. Now if anyone does have all the rules of dating, feel free to write that puppy up and you will be a bazillionaire in no time! I would pay big bucks for that information! :-)

I don't know about the hotel stays either as I am local to the area. I did not have a catheter or a drain with Dr. Kim. His nurse said that because the surgery is not very long, they typically do not have to put in a catheter and she said she had only seen one time in all her years that he had to leave a drain. Dr. Kim's pre-op diet does seem to be a standard two week diet on the shakes you buy from his office. I am almost six months out and still try to have a Protein drink a few times a week. When I went in last week for my regular check-up, I bought more just because I haven't found too many others that I like and the price comes out about the same. I think the post-op diet was four weeks of liquids and then a couple weeks of mushy foods. How funny that I never thought I would live through it and now I am forgetting what it was already. :-) He gives you a ton of information in the BENDS classes about the diet. As far as which surgeon is better, we each have to make the personal decision on that with what best fit our own needs. Do your research and ask tons of questions until you feel comfortable with the surgeon you choose. In the DFW metroplex area we are very fortunate that we have multiple great doctors to choose from.

Congratulations! I know your mind is probably racing right now! This journey is SO worth it!!

I was at Forest Park with Dr. Kim in January. I think you will be pleased. How was the facility? Nurses? The facility is top notch. I was told that 85% of their total "business" is bariatric surgery so the staff and nurses were very informed on what I needed. I did have a nurse for one shift that wasn't too helpful and seemed like I was a bother, but you could have that anywhere. How long were you there? I was there two nights but only because I couldn't even hold Water down the first day and was running a slight fever. What type of pain control was used? I had the IV pump the first night for pain medicine. The next day they took it out but gave me liquid pain meds every 4-6 hours as I needed it. Was Dr Kim good at getting the gas out? I don't really have anything to compare this to, but I think all was fine. I did alot of walking like they said and it seemed to help. Was a family member able to stay at all times with you? Their rooms are really nice! They do have some rooms that literally have a seperate area cornered off for your family inside your room. But even the regular patient rooms are big enough for someone to stay with you. Any tips on things to bring with me? I used my robe and house slippers the most since I got up so much to walk and go to the bathroom. I stayed in the hospital gowns so as not get my gowns dirty. If you do a search of previous posts on this forum, Lil Diva has posted a list of what to bring. It was very helpful! I saw Dr. Kim at my consultation and then the day of surgery but other than that, I haven't seen him since. The hospital doctors saw me while I was in the hospital. I have seen David the PA at all my follow up appointments. Some people have been bothered by that but I am fine with. If you prefer to see Dr. Kim for the follow-up, you can specifically ask and they will schedule you with him. It just takes longer to get an appointment that way. One thing I will mention is that they told me to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. They called me back to get started on the pre-op procedures at 9:30 a.m. and had me hooked up to the saline IV by 10 a.m. I did not go back to surgery until 4:30 p.m.!! Yep, I was his 13th surgery that day. The nurse in pre-op told me that unless you are Dr. Kim's first patient at 5 a.m. then be prepared to wait. Its not like I was going anywhere anyhow, but by the time I got to surgery, the anticipation of the day had my nerves all kinds of frazzled! Let me know if you have any more questions. I know your minds are on overload right now with all the questions, excitement, reservations, etc. It's ALL worth it over here on the loser's bench!!

I was really struggling with that food "break up". I go to a psychologist and for me personally, it has helped a lot. He compared my relationship with food to a previous unhealthy relationship I had in my marriage. I would say I was fed up with him and would want to seperate, only for me to get sad a few days later and feel like I couldn't live without him. The same with a diet. I would get fed up with my food addiction and vow to break up with it. Only to get sad later and reconcile with my unhealthy eating. He ended up leaving for someone else. At first I was completely devastated. But as time went on and I started to heal emotionally, I could see just how very toxic that relationship had been and I probably would have kept going back had he not found someone else. I relate this to how now that I have had surgery, my break up is final. I am facing some long buried emotions and it isn't always easy. But the weight of the world is literally being lifted off my shoulders both physically and mentally. Carla, your post was great and something we can all identify with. Thanks for taking the time to post.

I haven't had any issues with ambien related to the surgery. But I too have gotten up and ate things in the middle of the night and don't remember until I find the trash in the morning! That hasn't happened often. What was happening often is I was getting on facebook and posting random messages on friend's walls. That's worse than drunk texting!! Thank goodness I get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and usually saw that I posted it and deleted it before they were awake. Oh my! I started putting my phone across the room on the dresser before I go to bed and it seems to have stopped now. My doctor suggested I try melatonin a few nights a week rather than taking ambien as often. I haven't tried that yet but will soon.