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Well, I've been playing with a theory. Some people eat for taste and some more to feel full. I loved to eat before surgery but the quality of my food was not great (meaning taste was secondary to quantity). I think I am more ideal for this surgery because I still get to feel full but with a very small amount. It's really cool to eat what I did at lunch (a half of a breaded fish filet and about a tablespoon of 'fake' potato salad...made with tofu and lupini beans) and feel completely full and satisfied as if I'd just eaten 4 cheeseburgers from McDonalds. That part is pretty cool.

I'm not super active on these boards but spent a ton of time reading them over the past year while trying to decide if this was the right decision for me. I am now 3 week and 2 days post surgery (July 15th was date of surgery). And have lots of observations and opinions. My situation may be a little different than some in that I didn't do this for weight-loss. I'm overweight but not too far out there. My problem was diabetes. I was taking 80 units of insulin twice a day plus Metformin at max dose as well as Actos and Glyburide. Obviously I'm also anxious to lose some weight. I would think that my situation could make me more prone to things like depression because I'm not watching a scale (and celebrating the daily 'victories'...realizing that stalls are a bitch for those focused on weight-loss). But at this point ill just say I'd be happy to give my opinion on whatever questions you have. My two general comments to get them out there are as follows: 1) get it done at a center of excellence if at all possible. 2) for me it has been truly awesome. No insulin meds required any more and I can eat as much as I want and whatever I want. The part of this that's the 'trick' is the keyword 'want'. This surgery has a way of changing what you want out of food. For the better.

I am 3 weeks post surgery and feel like I can eat more than I should...certainly more than I expected. As an example, I just had mashed potatoes for lunch with some 'crisp bread'. I ate around a cup of mashed potatoes and then 2 of the crisp bread wafers. I'm full but not sick. Anyone else experience this ability to eat after surgery? I'm really nervous about what this means to my ability to lose and keep weight off.

Thanks all for the feedback. I've been making an effort to measure everything.

I am one week out after having surgery last Monday. The instructions my doctor gave say I should drink very small sips and about 4oz of Protein drink over a 20 minute period. Water should go equally slow. The problem is that I can greatly exceed this (I had a 12pz shake last night in about 15 minutes). It's like liquids go straight through my pouch and directly to the intestines. The concern is that I am feeling hungry most of the time (unless I constantly sip on water or something). Anyone know if this is normal?

Thank you! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.

I guess I'm just wondering if I will ever feel 'full' after I eat (when I get to solid foods).

Do you (or any 'long termer') get full after the initial phase?

So I tried to relate a similar concern in another thread...I get hungry and don't get 'full'. I'm 8 days out and allowed to eat yogurt. I can eat about a half a cup (4 oz. is most I'm willing to try at this point). Does anyone know if we really will feel 'full' when we get to more/solid foods?

Thank you for the information. It has helped me get some of the details I need to decide what I'm going to do.

Thank you for the info, it's really helpful to me. If you can answer one more question. Is it mainly just Pasta that causes the dumping or all dense carbs? What about sweets or fried foods in general. I'm asking to just get a sense of how many foods are likely to go on the 'never touch' list after I have surgery. Thank you again for the the previous response.

This is really inspiring to read for me. I'm curious that you mention dumping still happening. What foods cause you to dump? Are there any 'bad' foods you can eat? And, if you don't mind answering. How much can you eat now at a sitting?

Most threads on this forum are focused on Weight loss. This is great and I'm hoping to lose weight, but for me, the priority is diabetes. I'm wondering if anyone out there has diabetes and experience with how it improved (or didn't) with RNY. I've been dealing with out of control diabetes for 2 years (blood sugar consistently over 200) and wonder if anyone had it that bad before the surgery. I have been on maximum oral meds plus insulin injection. Was about to increase dose as doc still couldn't get me under 200. Any experienced diabetic / RNY'ers out there?

Are you type 1 or 2? I was under the impression that RNY made type 2 better.

I've been worried about missing simple things like water as well. I've read that it can take an hour to drink 6oz of water. Does this eventually get better? Meaning a year out, can a person drink 12oz of water fairly quickly?

Interesting. I have a side pain that I've asked my surgeon to look at while he's in there as well. Was wondering how much they would be able to see but it sounds like they are used to looking.

Biopsy something they did as a part of the surgery?

So this is my first post, but I've been pouring over all of the threads for weeks now. I'd like to encourage others who have gone through the process to post on this topic. I've read much from everyone on all kinds of topics (from 'it ruined my life' to 'post your happy tales'). But to hear a response to this simple question 'what's it like now that you have arrived at the other side' is invaluable to me. Hearing that you aren't hungry or crying over foods you can no longer have is helpful, as are the stories of good and bad surgery experiences. For those that are interested: I'm a 44 year old guy who is looking at the surgery more for health than weight loss. I weigh 245 now and want to get down to whatever weight will control my 'out of control' diabetes. Weight loss will be awesome, don't get me wrong, just that stepping on a scale every day and seeing losses won't motivate me. So this is more to hear about what it's like living with the surgery. Thank you for reading.