BBdoodle

Good luck

I too feel like telling people about this surgery and how easy it is if you follow your doctor's orders. A friend I work with told her girlfriend of my expierence and her friend went to my surgeon and had the sleeve surgery.. she is down 50 lbs and is 2 moths post op. What I really would like to tell people is that surgery is covered by insurance in most cases. I would love to tell people here where I work that are overweight that you can get surery and everything is paid for by our insurarnce. But then I think of how I felt when people would say to me "oh you have such a pretty face but you really would look great if you lost weight" - it was the truth but it still hurt and I don't want to hurt anyone either.

I had my gall bladder removed 10 weeks after my RNY surgery. If I knew I had gall stones PRIOR to RNY I would have had him remove the ol' gall bladder while he was in there too. I never had any gall bladder problems but one day about 6 wks post op RNY I had a really bad gall bladder attack. I had really bad pain under my rib cage for about a hour. I felt like I was having a heart attack. I call my surgeon and they told me to get a ultrasound of my gall bladder and sure enough I had lots of stones. They were there way before RNY surgery because of thier size so I had to have another surgery 10 wks after my RNY by the same surgeon. He told me that he would use the same incision site so I would not have more scars. It was nice having the my RNY surgeon remove my gall bladder because I think he is a awesome surgeon !! Also I was able to have surgery at his surgery center and skip the hospital. Are you having pains now... how long until your RNY date?

Everyone tolerates this surgery differently. If you have a good expierenced surgeon you will not have problems etc. I was back to work one week after surgery, I had no complications what so ever, the pain was minimal and that is coming from someone who cannot tolerate any pain what so ever -LOL. And I would do it again in a second. The key is to do exactly what your doctor tells you to do. Take your vitimans, drink you protien, eat what you are supposed to eat and you will be fine. After surgery I was not hungry at all and had to make an effort to eat when I was supposed to eat. You have to work with the surgery, it is not a miracle cure becuase you get out of it what you put in. Only YOU can make it a sucess !!!!

You certainly did have a rough start !!! Sending {{{{{ hugs }}}}}} your way and hope you feel better real soon. Stay strong and think positive !!!!

Its nice when you feel 100% positive about your surgeons and that they make all the information you need available to you. Learn as much as you can and ask lots of questions. The more you know the better you will feel going into this

My surgeon was totally 110% supportive !! They have a support group that meets once a week in a few different locations and times so it is easy for everyone. They have on line support as well. The staff alwasy takes your phone calls and you speak to a human. If you need to see the doctor you always get a appointment with in a couple of days. You are requierd to take a 2 1/2 hour class a week before surgery that tells you what to purchase so you have products when you are home, informs you of the hospital procedure, what to bring, then what to expect when you are home. My surgeons group is so big on education they will not perform the surgery if you do not take the classes. In the last class you sign all your hospital forms and they give you lots of great reading and a step by step guide to follow in your food plan etc. I can honestly say that I was well informed and educated and knew exactly what to expect. I could not have asked for a more informative group of surgeons. The are in NJ thou !

WOW awesome

From what my surgeon has stated you loose the most amount of weight with the RNY so that is why I choose RNY. Plus I heard soooo many people converting to RNY after they got the sleeve and band.

Are you getting your daily protein in? That is the #1 reason why you loose your hair after surgery. I have MIMIMUM 64 grams of protein a day. I try to get 90 but no less than 64 gr. I am 6 months post op and everything is good with my hair. I also take Biotin.

CHEERS !

I lost the majority of my weight 40 lbs without exercise. Surgery date 4/09/12 beginning weight 214 now 171, goal weight is 140. I was at a stand still for the past like 2 months. I have been working out like crazy for the past 2 months and my weight finally started dropping again. It was strange because my clothes that were once tight are loose but the scale did not move for a good long time. You first need to be cleared for exercise by your surgeon. I would be very specific on what exercise you want to do. At first my doctor said walking only. Then at 2 months post op he said that I can do anything I wanted. It took me a while to start jogging/running again. Everyone is different and losses in their own time and way. I thought I would be way further along than 43 lbs. at 6 months post op. but my dr. said I was doing great and that people who have less than 100 lbs to loose will loose it at a slower rate. I am eating and exercising according to plan.

As time passes it get so much easier - I promise !

Welcome... you found a great support group here

Awesome feeling

Right after surgery I was in no mood for food, it really turned me off. As I started to heal and feel better I do get cravings (I'm 6 months post-op). If I feel like having something salty I will eat it, example a few potato chips, if I want something sweet I will have a cookie. Once I have that "taste" in my mouth I am satisfied, but that is me. Please be strong and use control, most of the time if I drank something while I was having a sweet craving it satisfied it. But everyone is different. I just don't want to see you get sick for eating something or too much of something your should not be having because it is awful when you get sick - believe me been there done that !!! I had to learn how to chew my food and when I did not chew enough...I got sick as a dog !!!

Each surgeon has their own tests they want you to have. Since I am over 50 and never had a colonoscoopy he made me have one along with my endoscopy. My surgeon also thought I may have sleep apena so I had to go to a pulmonosgist for a sleep/breathing test. He also wanted to know if I was current with my mamo's and yearly gyno exams, I was/am current so he did not have that on my check list. I had a ekg, chest x-ray and blood work as my pre-admin. testing at the hospital. I insisted on the chest x-ray because I smoked and wanted to know everything was OK. Do you have to have a colonoscopy or endoscopy done?

Old Hippe you are asking great questions and are awesome to want to know everything but don't over stress yourself either. The emotions are going to be a roller coaster for a bit right after surgery because your affair with food is over but there is still the emotional end of it. You will loose weight fast, the more you lose the more you want to workout and eat healthy. Just think of how wonderful it will be to chase your grandaughter around Make your grandaugher your focus and that will keep you on track. This surgery is a tool to make you healthy !!!

LOL... I feel the same way.. I don't want to stretch my pouch. I eat slowly and as soon as I feel comfortably full I stop. A couple of times I ate a bit more than I should have and I felt pain. I will never do that again !!! Its all about portion control... what does your nutrition guide say about ounces and size??? I would follow that.

Everyone tolerates pain differently. I cannot tolerate one ounce of pain, in other words I am a big baby. The only pain I had after surgery and when I was home was really muscle sorness. It took a good week before I could lay on my side and about a month before I could lay on my stomach. If the pain does not feel right call your doctor !!!

When you follow your post op instructions, eating schedule etc. etc. you have no problems for most people. I felt really well and had no problems either except for when I did not chew enough I got pretty sick and I was back to work in one week. Don't push it... allow yourself to heal. You are doing great !!!

There is now way to totally prevent loose skin. There are many factors that contribute ... age, size, how fast you loose etc. No cream or lotion will totally prevent loose skin. Its kind of like a rubberband.. once you stretch it beyond its point, where you get stretch marks there is no getting it back to its normal state. The older and bigger you are the less it will go back - sorry for the not so good news I keep hydrated, and I lotion my skin not that that helps with the droopy thighs or wiggly underarms I have but it just makes me feel better.

Tuna and chicken do not sit right with me, I am 6 months post op and they still don't go down right. I avoid them totally now. I was eating low fat chicken and rice soup, had a piece of chicken.. chewed, and chewed and chewed it and about 5 minutes after I swollowed I got sick. I have sworn off chicken and tuna all togehter now ,,,, I think its the texture for some reason.

WOW.. you look fantastic. Congrats on the 22... and soon you will be saying good-bye to 22 and hello 20 keep up the good work

Don't be scared.... I know... easier said than done !! I had my thyroid removed 20+ years ago and developed a weight problem ever since my thyroid went nuts. Anyway.... They do not have a clue as to how "YOU:" feel and your surgeon will keep you in the best of health. They run so many tests before suregery because they will not operate on you unless you pass all the required tests. You will be fine... thousands and thousands of people have this surgery on a daily basis.. insurance companies would not pay for it if it was not necessary believe me.. because ins. co. do not spend one red cent if it is not necessary !!!!.. this is a tool to help you get to healthy... its not easy but it is well, well worth it. You have to work with it to be successful.