AstroGuy

Cass First off I didn't think any one else would have a Friday surgery date and the only reason my guy did it was that he was on call anyway! I went out today for the first time to a deli and the look I got from the girl at the counter was priceless. I ordered turkey and cheese. She asks what kind of bread...none thank you...mustard....no....lettuce.....no just turkey and salad. I eat about half and was fine. What is killing me the not drinking and eating thing.

I posted this in the post surgery forum but I thought I would also post this here since people may find it helpful before their surgery! Surgery date was 5/19 so almost two weeks. Thought I would update. I have to be honest, the first 3 - 4 days sucked! Nothing specific to the RNY just surgery in general (and I am a baby). Incision pain and internal stomach pain was not good. Spent 4 days in the hospital which was fine. Lots of pain meds and the nursing staff was awesome. I came hope totally scared of the new "system", i.e. digestive system. Worried I would eat to much or to fast or too hot, too cold, etc. Slowly figured how it works. Not as sensitive as I thought. Incisions still hurts but they have started to itch whis is a good sign. Had to rip off the steri-strips. Tired but getting better day by day. Absolutely no physical hunger. Which is weird. I could honestly go an entire day without eating I think. Dietician told me to concentrate on liquids. I am getting about 50 to 60 oz a day and it is really hard to get more, you just can't drink that much at a time to make it add up. Stopping 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after food is a killer. Sipping is also a little tough. I have learned that I don't have to "sip" but rather take 1 moderate drink at a time. Any more then one and I can feel it. In terms of food, while not hungry there is certainly cravings. For some reason ice cream is on my mind. I think it is sugar withdrawal! Also 3 oz of food is a lot. I feel stuffed if I eat that much. In terms of weight, I started the 2 week preop diet at 240, surgery date was 233, came home from the hospital at 255. They pumped enough IV fluid into me that I was physically bloated, it was aweful. After the first few days that came off. For the last week I've been losing about a pound a day, which is what my doctor said I would lose. I am male and have a typical beer belly which means it should be easy to lose a lot of weight up front. I can already feel the difference in my clothes. I guess that is about it. If any one has questions feel free to ask. Thanks for listening! Astro

Surgery date was 5/19 so almost two weeks. Thought I would update. I have to be honest, the first 3 - 4 days sucked! Nothing specific to the RNY just surgery in general (and I am a baby). Incision pain and internal stomach pain was not good. Spent 4 days in the hospital which was fine. Lots of pain meds and the nursing staff was awesome. I came hope totally scared of the new "system", i.e. digestive system. Worried I would eat to much or to fast or too hot, too cold, etc. Slowly figured how it works. Not as sensitive as I thought. Incisions still hurts but they have started to itch whis is a good sign. Had to rip off the steri-strips. Tired but getting better day by day. Absolutely no physical hunger. Which is weird. I could honestly go an entire day without eating I think. Dietician told me to concentrate on liquids. I am getting about 50 to 60 oz a day and it is really hard to get more, you just can't drink that much at a time to make it add up. Stopping 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after food is a killer. Sipping is also a little tough. I have learned that I don't have to "sip" but rather take 1 moderate drink at a time. Any more then one and I can feel it. In terms of food, while not hungry there is certainly cravings. For some reason ice cream is on my mind. I think it is sugar withdrawal! Also 3 oz of food is a lot. I feel stuffed if I eat that much. In terms of weight, I started the 2 week preop diet at 240, surgery date was 233, came home from the hospital at 255. They pumped enough IV fluid into me that I was physically bloated, it was aweful. After the first few days that came off. For the last week I've been losing about a pound a day, which is what my doctor said I would lose. I am male and have a typical beer belly which means it should be easy to lose a lot of weight up front. I can already feel the difference in my clothes. I guess that is about it. If any one has questions feel free to ask. Thanks for listening! Astro

I was on the protein shake diet for 6 months about a year ago. Nothing but shakes, lost 65 lbs. The ONLY way I would drink it was with ice. It was like a ice cream shake. I actually like it.

My Dr told me the scale is irrelevant for the first 2 to 3 weeks as the body heals. I know I gained 15 to 20 pounds the two day after surgery. He said the body gets a little out of wack SINCE HE TOTALLY REWIRED YOUR DIGESTIVE TRACK! HE made me laugh at that one. He told me to note weigh until i see him for follow up.

I made it. Surgery on Friday and out of the hospital today. Feeling mixed right now. Not hungry, not nauseous. My belly is really distended and bloated. It is making me uncomfortable at this point. Getting the liquids in is tough and getting the food down equally as difficult. Doctors and staff was incredible. You know you have the right nurses when they do a little happy dance for passing gas and a big dance (with high fives) when you actually go! When I feel better I try to right a better description of my experience. Here we go.

You do not have to tell him anything. In fact all he needs to know is that you are going out on medical leave. FMLA does protect you from being fired for leaving. The company doesn't have to pay you but they cannot fire you. Depending on the company, if you carry short term disability you have to tell them when you apply for it but they CANNOT tell him specifics. FMLA and HIPA cover this. I didn't tell my boss and we are pretty close.

So are you going sleeve or bypass. For me if is going to do it, I wanted an one an done, go all the way. That way I don't have to go back. It turns out that there were medical reasons my doctor wanted me to go bypass (mainly reflux). Banding is relatively minor compared to sleeve and sleeve is less the bypass but I figure while they have me out I would give myself the best chance!

Check with your doctor but I bet he says no. But that is up to him.

I have to be on pureed food before I can leave the hospital. He wants to make sure I can tolerate protein before discharge.

Surgery is Friday. Still nervous as heck. I am starving on the pre-surgery diet (which is strange since I was on it for a year and didn't think it was a big deal). I am scared of the change, scared of the result if if doesn't work. I am educated on what is going on, I've seen the people that have been transformed, surgeon is very confident, dietician (who I've known for 3 years now) is confident, wife is confident. Everyone is positive but I am still worried. I just fear the day that I wake up and think "What the hell did I do?" I won't back down because I know the alternative is not good. In my head I know it is the right thing. I am a confident person on the outside but am filled with self doubt. Is this a bad decision? Am I asking for to much? Should I just leave well enough alone. I am sure that this is normal but that doesn't make those feelings go away. Rant over. Thanks all Astro.

My surgery is Friday and I am almost totally freaked. I am confident that I will lose the weight. My biggest concern is that I will be miserable afterwards. I will miss eating alot or feel like a freak for not eating. My sister had a sleeve and she said both of those are not issues after you get used to it. Still freaking. Ed

My surgery is Friday!!!! I had several pre-ops. The first was with the surgeon. We discuss exactly what was going to go on. He wanted to make sure he understood what was going to happen from my perspective. I then asked several questions. I had a list on my phone. Gall bladder removal? 25% of people have to go back for follow up procedures. The largest cause is gall bladder removal. I asked if he planned on removal. He said unless I had a history of gall stones he did not plan removal it but would put me on a med for gall stones for six months to prevent that. I was good with the answer. Would I be intubated and would I wake up intubated? Yes and no, not normally. Unless there was a problem I would wake up with a scratchy throat but no tube. Cathator tube. I will have a cathator for the day of and night of the surgery. I will also need a drainage tube that will drain from you midsection. What did he see as my final weight. Because the weight is in my belly he expected that the final weight loss would be around 80% of excess weight or about 165 to 170 ish. I said surgeons would fight to have me cause there is a huge chance of success and little risk on the surgery. I asked him how he knew how much stomach to remove and where to put the bypass onto the intestine. He was very specific on that answer which beyond typing in a note!! The important thing is had wasn't guessing or using experience. He had specific distance and landmarks. I am having an awful time this year with seasonal allergies and I wanted to make sure there weren't any concerns. There is not. At that appointment I also spoke to the dietician about the first to weeks post surgery. I also had an "appointment" with the surgical nurse to get a history on me (allergies, meds, etc). I then had an in-face appointment with anesthesia doc. He did a history and talked about what would happen (I made sure he knew I wanted lots of happy meds prior). We also talked about pre-surgery antiseptic wipe down. This was new for me, and I have had several surgeries. Shower night before, wipe down, clean sheets, then a wipe down at hospital. Ready to go!

Do you have an option for another surgical office, not just another surgeon in the same practice? I don't think you would be starting over. All the files and history could be transferred. Also try talking to the surgeon. I did this for another surgery I had that was administratively screwed up. The doctor had no clue what was going on in the office part. He was not happy as it was costing him money and not getting to the OR faster. The office completely changed after that. They were on the insurance and follow up appointments. Made a difference. Good luck.

Mine is May 19th. It is a Friday which is actually good timing, the doctor is on call that weekend anyway and hospitals are generally much less busy on the weekends!