Getting-used-to-new-me

Aye-yi-yi!!! Ladies, PLEASE!

@Beni: YAY for thrift stores! I changed my whole wardrobe about seven times until my weight stabilized. I couldn't afford that many pairs of pants and shirts without thrift stores! Also, I was pleasantly surprised at how many MORE good clothes were available in smaller sizes than I was wearing prior to surgery. I think that says something about how big most people are these days. At least about how big the men are, that shop at thrift stores. If they were all my size, there wouldn't be many clothes left in my size. In fact, I still find most of my clothes at thrift stores!

Thanks everyone for liking my sacks of potatoes visual. But to be clear, that weight loss occurred only after almost a YEAR of hard work. In my experience, only folks who have bariatric surgery realize just how much HARD WORK, (and pain and SUFFERING), this is!

@beni: I compare my weight loss to ten pound sacks of potatoes. In my case, almost TEN sacks of potatoes!

I'm glad this polling was asked. Thanks dc0520! :-) I had my RNY last year on 12/10/2013. I haven't EVER been hungry or thirsty since my surgery. But my NUT says we're supposed to eat within two hours of waking up and no more than two hours before sleep, and at least every two or three hours throughout the day. She calls it the "2-3-2". So early on after my surgery I set alarms on my smartphone to remind me to eat and drink. I get up at 5:30AM, so my first eating alarm is at 6:30AM. I also have alarms for eating at 9AM, noon, 3PM, and 6PM. Most nights I TRY to get to bed at 9PM. So I sometimes eat a little before I go to bed. Keep in mind, when I say "eat" I'm only talking about 1/4 to no more than 1 cup of food at each "mealtime". And that's mostly Protein. And I try to get at least 2 liters, or 2 quarts, of liquid, usually Water, per day. It's a good thing too. Because since our stomach acid is next to NONE now, we HAVE to stay hydrated, at least to keep the food moving through our altered systems. Since my surgery a year ago, the closest I've come to being hungry is that now my body "expects" to be fed at those times my alarms are set for. But sometimes I get caught up in my work or play, so much so, that I don't notice, or I ignore those phone alarms. So that's not hunger. At least it's not what I used to call hunger before surgery. We all have to "get used to the new me" that is each of us. It takes time. It takes help, like this online support group. And it takes reminders, like my smartphone alarms. But it's worth it!

@Bronxmerci: My complications immediately after the RNY were heart related. That kept me in the hospital for 4 days, instead of a day and a half. I was there long enough to have a few BM's. They were black. The medical staff acted like that was nothing to worry about. I never had the red, which I'm told indicates a lower GI bleed. But I kept passing black for a whole month until I was too weak to get out of bed. The second time in the hospital was for the "upper GI", in which they cauterized the bleeders. That kept me in the hospital for another three days. So I hear you on your frustration with PRACTICING medical staff! Can't live without them. Can't live with them? But since then it's been steady improvement. The heart problems, I've got a history of those, and related problems--eight co-morbidities in all, prior to the RNY. But that chapter is now closed, and those co-morbidities are gone, for the most part, thank the LORD! My advice, is to stay with ALL those supplements, even the Iron. I know, we traded our meds for supplements, and in some cases new mental health meds too. But it's worth it! I still don't recommend bariatric surgery to anyone, if there's even a small chance they can lose the weight by non-surgery means. I couldn't do it without the surgery. And if they can't, well my advice to them is to stay close to God, and do what the medical staff tell you. I'm sure all of us here are hoping the same steady improvement for you, and everyone else on this journey!

@Bronxmerci: I can really relate to your experience! I had the same thing: an upper GI bleed. (I have posted this in more detail in other threads under my user name.) This was after having complications and an extended hospital stay for the RNY surgery. I was slowly bleeding to death that first month after surgery. I kept telling my health care team that something was wrong. (At the risk of TMI, I was only passing black goo.) But no one was listening. I felt like my epitaph would read like that one on Boot Hill, "I told you I was sick!" A month after surgery, I was getting up for work like I had been for a week before, and I felt too weak to continue. I told my wife I'd call in sick. She took one look at me and said I was "cadaver yellow", in her words. She told me to lay down because she was calling 911. Within five minutes, five paramedics showed up at my house. They checked me out and told me I was going to the hospital by ambulance. My first ambulance ride. Yay. At the hospital, they did an upper GI and cauterized the upper GI bleeders. I stayed in the hospital after that too. Now I can almost laugh about it. My health care team said it put me about a month behind a normal recovery. I'm still not sure about that. It might have been more. But I'm healthy now. I don't have to take all the meds I used to. I'm not using CPAP. I'm not pre-diabetic anymore. Last September I even completed my first ever "half-century" (50 mile) bike ride--Spokefest 2014! It does get better. Even for those of us who've had complications. It will get better for you too.

It's hard to believe perfection can be improved upon. Congratulations and good health to all of us!

My surgery was last December, so next week I'll be a year out. But I'm still chicken about some things.

I realize not everyone here lives in the northern hemisphere. But I do. As such, it's winter here. I'm having trouble finding exercises, and sometimes the motivation to do them. I believe this topic will be interesting for all of us, regardless whether snow is on the ground now where you live. I mention here some things I do for aerobic exercise, and some I do for strength training. I'm interested in what you do too. Aerobic exercise is pretty boring indoors, but here's what I do: I bought a used, inexpensive bicycle trainer from craigslist, and moved my road bike indoors, and mounted it in the bike trainer. I also purchased an inexpensive set of aero bars and mounted them on my handlebars, so I could spare my sore wrists while I ride. I turn the screen to YouTube vids of cross country bike rides. Or in a pinch I watch movies or TV episodes while I ride. I try to get in at least 10 minutes continuous each day. I look forward to getting out on the road with my bike. After all it IS a ROAD BIKE! I also have a treadmill, upon which I placed some cut pieces of rigid foam insulation as a desk, across the treadmill handles. Upon that I have placed my old laptop. While I walk, I can use my laptop for internet, computer games, videos, and movies and TV episodes. It's a bit like patting your head while rubbing your stomach. But if you start out slow, you'll get used to it. Strength training indoors is pretty boring too. But I usually do strength work with dumbbells, or body-weight (like push-ups), for resistance. You can find a multitude of strength training exercise ideas on the internet. And it helps to do this to music, or even watching something on the screen. I have more info on these things I do, and will gladly expound if given the chance! Feel free to message me if you like. Here's the link for the aero bars: http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Triathlon-Aero-Trial-Handlebar/dp/B00EOA7QIG/ Here's a photo of my "treadmill desk" set up: So how do you get in your exercise indoors?

It's great to have an extra bedroom to convert into a workout room. We converted an unused bedroom into an office/workout/music room. My wife and I share the office desk, with our newer laptop computers and printer set-up. We take turns on the treadmill desk I mentioned in that earlier post. And I have my guitars in the same area as my side of the office desk. The guitars spend most of their time out of their cases, so I'll practice them! I've been hesitant to practice jumping exercises, like with a jump rope or with jumping-jacks. I'm still worried my insides won't like it. Have you had any problems doing jumping exercises? I encourage you to start the conversation about getting your treadmill back. At least you'll finally find out where your friendship with her is.

Thanks luvin-life and filmgal! Yes, kudos to all of us who make an effort to exercise during these cold days and nights!

Layknee is right about everything here in her comment. And even though this is a sleevers thread, this is true from my experience as one who had an RNY last year. (My wife just had sleeve surgery last Tuesday, 11/25/14. So I'm pointing her to this and the other sleavers threads.) Life gets better. It REALLY does.

They'll at least notice something different about you. Just wait until you're closer to your weight goal and your co-workers take you aside and ask if you have CANCER, because EVERYONE knows only cancer patients lose that much weight!!! That's happened to me SEVERAL times. Oh well . . . Regardless what they notice or think, the main thing is you, and your health, right?

@@layknee and misstvb: My experience is similar. (You can read about it in my posts by clicking on my username.) I still can't recommend bariatric surgery to anyone. But all is better now. Although I'm still getting used to my new "altered-human" status.

@brennyjill: I had a similar experience. I still can't in good conscience recommend bariatric surgery to anyone. (You can read about it in my posts by clicking my username.) But all is better now. And with nrhannon, I thank God you're still with us!

That'll do it alright. I noticed after my RNY that I don't feel hungry or thirsty, compared to before the surgery. So I had to set alarms on my smartphone to remind me to eat every two or three hours and drink Water at least at the same intervals. With those alarms I get enough to eat and to drink. But even now, after almost eleven months, it's not yet a habit, I still need to be reminded sometimes. Also, my co-workers like to tease me when my phone alarms go off. They usually make some lame remark like "it's feeding time again!"

If you had high blood pressure prior to surgery and are still taking meds for it, you might want to talk with your doctor about the light-headedness. That was one of my problems. But that was one of the meds I was able to quit taking after my RNY!

I'm almost eleven months out. I had my RNY on 12/10/13. I've lost 93 pounds so far. My weight loss has really slowed down. But that's okay since I've lost all I planned to, and more, as my ticker below shows. I'm still eating like I'm supposed to. I'm still exercising too. I don't have much flab. But I DO have more wrinkles. LOTS MORE. I think this is okay though since I'm in my late 50's. The MOST important thing to me is that SEVEN of the EIGHT co-morbidities I had are GONE! Prior osteo-arthritis damage hasn't repaired itself. But the arthritis pain is almost all gone too. I hope that helps someone who reads this.

Both worked for me: milk of magnesia and gas-x. But watch out for milk of magnesia trading you the gas relief for diarrhea cramps.

Then I would do it. Depending on your beliefs of course, you may want to try it for a day to see how it goes before you go for two days.

What does your doctor say?

I don't know if this is an NSV or an SV, but I'd like everyone to Celebrate with me, by knowing that I completed the Spokefest Half-Century (50 mile bike ride in Spokane County WA) on September 7th! That was a huge accomplishment for me. It started out as "friendly" competition with two co-workers (who haven't had bariatric surgery and are 13 and 17 years younger than me) and myself, riding bikes during our lunch hour, at the beginning of last summer. Since then we each individually rode the Hiawatha Trail (in the north Idaho panhandle and Montana Bitterroot Mountains), one of us has been downhill mountain biking at the ski resorts nearby, and I rode around Lake Washington, both ways, once south and once north, the weekend before Spokefest. Then all three of us did the Spokefest Half-Century together. We didn't do it for time or a public placing. We did it as a personal victory. Since then I've also been riding from my home in to my office on in Spokane WA, a distance of 17 miles. So far I'm up to about 15 - 17 miles an hour by bicycle! We still bike during our lunch hour, or run, or walk. I'm simply amazed at the health improvements, (FINALLY!), that this decision to have the gastric bypass has given me!

@@breehuskins You will be there! Just keep up the good work!