ChunkCat

You look much trimmer and a good bit younger!! Very nice result, and you aren't even done yet!

No and I most likely won't for at least a year. My program doesn't allow caffeine for 6 months post surgery so withdrawal was just a reality I had to deal with! Dehydration is a huge risk early after surgery, it can cause kidney and bladder issues along with headaches and nausea. Also, carbonation bloats the stomach and irritates the lining of it. With a normal stomach most of us don't notice this, but with a small, healing stomach it can really irritate those sutures and create pressure and bloating. If you're surgeon said it was okay, have at it, but I wouldn't touch it, it's just not worth it.

Nope. In fact some surgeons won't do the surgery until you have an IUD placed! LOL The reason they have you stop BCP before surgery is that it can increase the risk of blood clots and the drugs given during surgery contain things which render your BCPs useless for at least a month. Most doctors require two forms of birth control, one being a barrier method. Not everyone has to do this, but I've seen it a lot.

They will, hang in there!! Mine just faded in the last two or three days and my surgery was on the 1st of Nov. I have read in several places that they usually fade between two and three weeks out, especially if you are on a PPI.

I had my 2 week follow up with my surgeon yesterday! Incisions are healing well, tummy is doing better, he cleared me to move to purees and said if I wanted to I could even try fish or eggs prepared soft since they both are relatively soft on the digestive system, though some don't do well on eggs. I had yogurt yesterday and it went down well, so last night I had some tuna fish and it was fine too!! No more awful twisting pains, just a dull ache if I eat or drink too fast. I'm so thankful I took that two weeks on fluids, I wouldn't have done as well if it was only one week. I needed the extra week to heal and let some swelling go down. I officially have lost 15 lbs since surgery. That's 29 lbs since my highest weight! The last time I lost 30 lbs was 20 years ago. I'm so amazed. I'm not losing super fast but that's okay, I'm good with slow as long as it is steady... I had enough energy to go through the grocery store yesterday!! I haven't been able to do that in a few years. It was just 45 minutes of walking and standing but it is such an improvement. I'm really grateful for all this. So glad I had the surgery...

I fully agree with you!! I have other medical conditions that have required treatment insurance has decided not to cover. Not for any good reason, just because they don't feel like it! I think one of the greatest tragedies in the US healthcare system is we let insurance companies make medical decisions that are supposed to be made by doctors and their patients. No corporate entity should be able to override my doctor when it comes to what I need for care. But, that's what you get in a capitalist society that thinks healthcare is a privilege. 🙄 If it is any consolation, there are a number of RNY patients on here who have lost an amazing amount of weight, DS levels of weight!! My doctor said that the sleeve usually takes off the weight, while the intestinal bypass in a RNY or DS is what keeps off the weight long term. You will still be getting some of that in the RNY. I wish you so much good in your journey!! Please keep us posted!

I woke up in recovery hungry. True hungry, not head hungry. I would have even eaten seafood at that point and I hate seafood as a rule. LOL I've maintained that hunger as I've been recovering. I'm just not one of those that lost it. But I am observing my team's rules of only eating 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food at a time, chewed really well, slowly. I know nerves have been cut so messages aren't getting through. I experienced this with my hysterectomy too, it took months for everything to work normally again, my bladder was confused for 6 months. I think they say it can take 3 months for your stomach signals to get back to their new normal. I woke up this morning at 7am starving!! I ate tuna fish. LOL I love that rule about asking if chicken breast will work. I find if I'm hungry a simple, unadorned protein sounds good. If it is head hunger I'm craving chips or chocolate.

I used mine right after surgery in the hospital too. The C-PAP is pushing air into your AIRWAY, not your abdomen, so it won't affect the gas pain. And after surgery you are at risk for pneumonia, so the more full your breath is, the better for preventing that. I wouldn't skip it if I were you. You can ask your doctor but I don't think they'll tell you to opt out of it. I was told to even wear it if I was sitting on the couch watching TV as narcotics can suppress respiration and they wanted me to have it on in case I fell asleep.

I switched electrolyte powders to LMNT which has a ton of sodium in it and I swear I gained 5 lbs in 3 days. Right before my first post surgery weigh in. I'm so mad! Needless to say I've decided NOT to continue taking it. But you might try that to put on a few lbs to tick your BMI over. Or like others have said, go eat out a few restaurant meals, they have enough sodium to bloat you too!

Dumping is an interesting phenomenon. I had a good friend about 20 years ago who had an old school bypass and she would dump all the time. She'd sit there with a pack of candy, eat some, breathe through the dumping symptoms, and continue to eat it! This was my first exposure to someone with weight loss surgery. I thought she was insane. She also refused to use protein powders so her hair was brittle and falling out. And she didn't take her vitamins so her calcium was low and she'd get heart palpitations. It scared me off of the surgery for a long time. I didn't want to turn out like her! I'm so glad I learned there are better ways... DS patients aren't supposed to get dumping but I drank too much water too fast once and got all the classic symptoms of dumping, including the bathroom runs. It was VERY unpleasant and I will never do it again! LOL I also had a mushroom soup the other night that turned out to have 33 carbs in it (which I didn't realize until I went to log it). Holy cow I thought I was going to die. Same symptoms. I don't have to imagine what will happen if I try to eat a piece of pie!

YAY! Congratulations!! KathyLev is right, it'll seem far away at first and then time will speed up and you'll be in the OR! The holidays will help the time go by. I wish you luck in losing the weight they want you to lose, I find it one of the dumbest requirements. We are having surgery because we can't lose the weight through conventional efforts. Why do they think having a surgery date scheduled all the sudden makes our bodies compliant?? I'm glad she didn't make you have to lose 30lbs or something...

Yes, that's a big difference!! LOL You should be getting a shake about every 3 hours. I had to really keep on top of mine or I'd end the evening having to chug two! It gets you into the habit of eating 5 times a day, which you'll need after surgery. Good luck! Hope today is better than yesterday!

Miralax is what I take when I get worried. Some vets take it daily. I haven't had to do that but I do know it is very important not to get backed up. I usually take a dose or two and then wait, sometimes it takes hours to kick in but it always kicks in. LOL If Miralax doesn't work you could try Milk of Magnesia, it is a stimulant to the bowels so it'll move things along, you just don't want to take it long term to rely on bowel function.

I'm one week post op and have been having the oddest stomach spasms when I try to consume anything other than water (and it happens with water sometimes too). It feels like my stomach bunches up into a fist and tries to somersault within my belly. It provokes a wave of sharp pain and nausea and is very unpleasant. I mentioned this to the doc when I was in the hospital and he gave me a med that worked some for the smaller ones, but it has stopped working (he warned it might). I can usually drink water but anything heavier like a protein drink, a strained soup, a protein broth, or even jello provokes this odd cramping sensation. Sometimes it even happens when I'm not eating or drinking at all (in the middle of the night). Has anyone else had this happen early post op? I'm still on liquids and my surgeon said it is okay for me to focus on hydration right now instead of protein so I've been hitting my hydration goals everyday, but getting very little protein beyond what is in lactose free milk. I'm starting to wonder if my stomach will ever let me progress my diet beyond water. LOL

Things are still very swollen inside at the moment, so sometimes it can feel like fluid backs up. I'm two weeks out and still get a bloated feeling from drinking fluids sometimes! But the awful twisting pains have eased a lot, now I'm more likely to just get this dull ache. Good luck with the protein drinks, I can get them down now!!

@BoilerBob Glad to hear things are continuing to go well! I get the gurgling from water sometimes too, I have no clue when it goes away. LOL @ChipB How are the gas pains feeling now? Are you in the hospital for another night or did they send you home? @ZeeGee Yay!!! So happy to see your post! Rest well and keep up that sipping and walking, you'll feel so much better for it.

How many shakes are you supposed to have a day? My plan was 5 shakes, nothing else but water, tea, coffee, nut milks. Keeping hydrated helped me a lot. The hunger is real! Some of it is your body being hungry, some of it is head hunger. Head hunger is a trip! It gets easier with every day that passes, but the first few days can be pretty rough. Some plans allow for strained soups and such, so it is worth asking the nurse about!

Yup! You've got to walk it out. Walk as much and as often as you can. Gas-x sometimes helps a little for some but walking and time are the only cure. 💚I'm two weeks post op.

Odds are you will be fine!! There can be awful complications with any weight loss surgery (or any surgery at all for that matter) but those are in the minority of cases, and even then, most of them are caught in time and correctable. Pretty much all of us have a "WTF did I just do to myself!?" moment. I had the DS and 3 days post op it hit me that I had irrevocably altered my stomach and intestines permanently, for life, no going back. I knew that pre-op and thought a lot about it before deciding to do it, but post op it hit me in a whole new way... And then I reminded myself that I altered my body because the way it was was in fact KILLING ME. Drastic times call for drastic measures and all that. Once I remembered that I calmed down... Remember your why. Orient yourself to your goal. And stay off of Tiktok for a while!! 😂

Good luck to you both!! I'll be sending good juju for a smooth, boring surgery and recovery! ❤️

I had the switch too! Nov. 1st. How are you feeling?? I should be able to finally move from fluids to purees tomorrow when I see my surgeon for my 2 week post op appointment. I can't wait! I'm so tired of liquids, though I do think they help the healing process...

Have they tested you for bile reflux? The treatment for this is a bit different and it is possible to have bile reflux after an RNY. Talk to your doctor about this, they will probably want to do some GI imaging or an endoscopy to figure out what is going on. There are meds that will work for this but you have to get the right diagnosis first. Good luck!!

Good luck ZeeGee, you can do it!!! It’s worth it!!! Keep us posted!

Why don’t you just stick with shakes, broths, blended soups, yogurt, and sugar free pudding?? Not everyone can handle the purées texture. I’m sure your surgeon will work with you if you can’t stomach it. I can’t imagine why you couldn’t just do liquids…

Yay! Great job!! Make sure to get that water in, it will prevent headaches and keep you out of the hospital. Good for you getting shakes in, I can just barely get one in 2 weeks out! LOL Glad your pain is well controlled. I'm doing good, thanks! Hoping to move to purees Thursday after I see the surgeon at my follow up. Pain is greatly reduced and soreness is starting to fade. Incisions had an allergic reaction to the glue but the cream they prescribed calmed it down fast. They look great now! Still getting my water in. Had to change my electrolyte formula because the one I was taking had a lot of magnesium in it and was sending me straight to the bathroom with awful diarrhea every time I took it! LOL I found a new one that is working much better now. I weirdly feel like I have more energy now than I did before surgery and I'm not sure how that's possible. I have chronic fatigue syndrome so any boost in energy is VERY welcome. I'm sleeping better too. I hear some people do really well in ketosis, I guess I'm one of them. I'm really thankful for that. I've never been able to get my body to go into ketosis before! So glad I had this surgery...