Just learned I will be getting RNY... questions

[KristieRerouted 24]

I was just told yesterday that my insurance doesn't cover my choice surgery after months of pre-op appts. Now I am scrambling to catch up. I barely looked at RNY before now, and there is SO MUCH I don't know, and so much I need to know. And some of these question could be answered by my NUT but I can't call until Monday. So I'm hoping you all can help me learn. I have several questions I am hoping you all can help me with. I'm trying to get a real world perspective instead of a bunch of websites that just say XYZ *could* happen, or you *might* need XYZ. Thanks in advance.

Dumping/digestive distress:

1. Do YOU dump?

2. What kinds of things do you dump on? For example, do you react to sorbitol (A hidden sugar)?

3. fruit has natural sugars- Can you eat fruit without distress?

4. How long did it take you to figure out what you couldn't eat without distress?

5. Are you lactose intolerant? Or are you milk intolerant?

6. Are you gluten intolerant?

7. What foods cause digestive distress (not necessariy dumping)?

Vitamins:

8. What did you take to start with?

9. Has that changed as you have gotten further out?

10. Do you know of any Vitamin company that carries a brand that is kind of an all-in-one, to minimize the number of vits I will need to take?

11. Are you struggling with any Vitamin deficiencies?

Life impact::

12. Are you happy with your RNY? (Honesty please)

13. Have you had any complications?

14. To the ladies who have been pregnant after RNY- How did the RNY affect your pregnancy? More Vitamins? "High risk"? etc.

15. Is there ANYTHING you wish you would have known (good or bad) before your RNY that you know now?

16. Is there ANYTHING that you think *I* should know that I may not discover on my own in my very limited window of time to learn about the RNY?

Again, Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answe my questions. I know there are alot but I have alot to learn and not alot of time!

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

I was just told yesterday that my insurance doesn't cover my choice surgery after months of pre-op appts. Now I am scrambling to catch up. I barely looked at RNY before now' date=' and there is SO MUCH I don't know, and so much I need to know. And some of these question could be answered by my NUT but I can't call until Monday. So I'm hoping you all can help me learn. I have several questions I am hoping you all can help me with. I'm trying to get a real world perspective instead of a bunch of websites that just say XYZ *could* happen, or you *might* need XYZ. Thanks in advance.

Dumping/digestive distress:

1. Do YOU dump?

2. What kinds of things do you dump on? For example, do you react to sorbitol (A hidden sugar)?

3. fruit has natural sugars- Can you eat fruit without distress?

4. How long did it take you to figure out what you couldn't eat without distress?

5. Are you lactose intolerant? Or are you milk intolerant?

6. Are you gluten intolerant?

7. What foods cause digestive distress (not necessariy dumping)?

Vitamins:

8. What did you take to start with?

9. Has that changed as you have gotten further out?

10. Do you know of any Vitamin company that carries a brand that is kind of an all-in-one, to minimize the number of vits I will need to take?

11. Are you struggling with any Vitamin deficiencies?

Life impact::

12. Are you happy with your RNY? (Honesty please)

13. Have you had any complications?

14. To the ladies who have been pregnant after RNY- How did the RNY affect your pregnancy? More Vitamins? "High risk"? etc.

15. Is there ANYTHING you wish you would have known (good or bad) before your RNY that you know now?

16. Is there ANYTHING that you think *I* should know that I may not discover on my own in my very limited window of time to learn about the RNY?

Again, Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answe my questions. I know there are alot but I have alot to learn and not alot of time![/quote']

So many questions!! I'm sure you're totally overwhelmed at this point with the change of plan. Were you going for band or sleeve?? I'm about 5 1/2 months out so fairly new still.

Yes I dump, the first and worst was cream of wheat, I have since discovered I can eat cream of wheat, but I either need about 1/2 a Protein shake before I eat OR I need Protein with the cream of wheat. As long as I have some protein, I do not dump. pretzels got me once,but again hadn't eaten anything else all day. On vacation I had 1/2 serving of ice cream (we'd been out parasailing and were having a heat stroke....the first pace we passed was an ice cream shop, oops!!!). Grapes made me shaky at work this week but that's the first time I've had issue with fruit, I grabbed a cheese stick and was fine. I eat grapes, apples, melons,oranges, eat frequently and hadn't had issue til now. I have no issues with milk, dairy, or gluten. If I eat something very greasy/fatty I will get queasy but it doesn't make me sick. I have not found a food that I cannot eat in moderation. I can eat bread 1/2 sandwich fills me) we eat brown rice and whole grain pastas relatively often and they don't bother me. I haven't tried white rice or white pastas. I can eat 1 slice of thin crust pizza, more and I feel like I'll explode

I was Vitamin D and B12 deficient pre-op, my D is now the highest it's ever been, I take my monthly B12 shot and don't worry a out B12. My doc has me on 2 flintstones complete daily, plus Calcium with Vitamin D.< /p>

I had a lap band that made me miserable for 3 years. I ALWAYS felt bad. I ended up with a slippage and emergency removal....with the RNY I feel awesome. I feel like me. My energy is better than its been in years, I don't vomit or have reflux, I have no pain. I wish I'd skipped the band and gone straight to RNY years ago . That said, I've been lucky. I knew what I was getting in to before and, I have total faith in my surgeon, and I'm very realistic about expectations. I've had no complication. I was back at work part time 1 1/2 weeks post-op and full time 2 weeks post-op.

My only advice is to be realistic. The surgery is amazing, but it doesn't make you skinny over night. You still have to watch what you eat, avoid junk, focus on protein, and EXERCISE!!!! You can't eat candy bars while sitting on your butt and expect to lose weight even with an RNT. My doc said to expect 2-4 pounds a week in weight loss. There will be WEEKS where you work your ass off and lose nothing, there will be weeks you lose 7-8 pounds for no good reason. You will get frustrated at times. Exercise and magic creams do not prevent saggy skin, exercise will tone the underlying muscle, creams will hydrate the skin, but once you've broken the elastic fibers of the skin, there is no fixing it other then cutting it off.

I am happier than I've been in years. I still have 50 pounds to lose but my relationship with food has changed dramatically. I rarely crave junk any more, if they have something super bad at work I can eat 2-3 bites and be satisfied. Previously, I'd try not to eat it or only get a bite and would end up mad or sad and go back and eat a ton. That cycle seems to be broken. The feeling of 'I have got to have that!!!!' Is gone. I don't wake up planning a day full of food. I don't look to food for comfort although we do still focus family get togethers around meals. I feel like me, only better because I feel like my food demon no longer controls my life.

I wish you the best if luck,it's an amazing journey. There are a lot of freaky emotions that will come out to play!!!!

HW 312, pre-op (RNY) 255, current weight 204.2

[Sparklette 381]

Dumping/digestive distress:

1. Do YOU dump?

Yes I do.

2. What kinds of things do you dump on? For example, do you react to sorbitol (A hidden sugar)? I mostly dump on fats and grease.

3. fruit has natural sugars- Can you eat fruit without distress?

No problems with fruits, although I can't handle the skins on grapes and strawberries.

4. How long did it take you to figure out what you couldn't eat without distress?

There are a few months of trial and error you have to learn to eat all over again.

5. Are you lactose intolerant? Or are you milk intolerant?

no problems with milk.

6. Are you gluten intolerant?

No problem with gluten

7. What foods cause digestive distress (not necessariy dumping)?

overly processed foods will give me indigestion.

Vitamins:

8. What did you take to start with?

I take Centrum chewiables, and citricel petites

9. Has that changed as you have gotten further out?

not really

10. Do you know of any Vitamin company that carries a brand that is kind of an all-in-one, to minimize the number of vits I will need to take? Not really, I would recomend getting the sepporates, because of the limited absorption, it's best to take them at different times.

11. Are you struggling with any Vitamin deficiencies?

not as long as I take my vits

Life impact::

12. Are you happy with your RNY? (Honesty please) I am very happy with my RNY, it's changed my life completely, and I love it. I had a wonderful surgeon, and my recovery was the stuff of dreams, according to my surgeon.

13. Have you had any complications? No complications thus far.

15. Is there ANYTHING you wish you would have known (good or bad) before your RNY that you know now? I did pretty extensive research and was prepared for the surgery. I knew what to expect. Although, I didn't know quite how difficult it would be to break up with food.

16. Is there ANYTHING that you think *I* should know that I may not discover on my own in my very limited window of time to learn about the RNY?

Do all your research, ask everyone questions, break up with food. I would also recommend a therapist, Just to have an outlet. Get your family/friends on board, a strong support group is very important. Best of luck, this surgery is the best thing to have happen to me. And feel free to ask any questions.

[KristieRerouted 24]

Dumping/digestive distress:

1. Do YOU dump?

Yes I do.

2. What kinds of things do you dump on? For example' date=' do you react to sorbitol (A hidden sugar)? I mostly dump on fats and grease.

3. fruit has natural sugars- Can you eat fruit without distress?

No problems with fruits, although I can't handle the skins on grapes and strawberries.

4. How long did it take you to figure out what you couldn't eat without distress?

There are a few months of trial and error you have to learn to eat all over again.

5. Are you lactose intolerant? Or are you milk intolerant?

no problems with milk.

6. Are you gluten intolerant?

No problem with gluten

7. What foods cause digestive distress (not necessariy dumping)?

overly processed foods will give me indigestion.

Vitamins:

8. What did you take to start with?

I take Centrum chewiables, and citricel petites

9. Has that changed as you have gotten further out?

not really

10. Do you know of any Vitamin company that carries a brand that is kind of an all-in-one, to minimize the number of vits I will need to take? Not really, I would recomend getting the sepporates, because of the limited absorption, it's best to take them at different times.

11. Are you struggling with any Vitamin deficiencies?

not as long as I take my vits

Life impact::

12. Are you happy with your RNY? (Honesty please) I am very happy with my RNY, it's changed my life completely, and I love it. I had a wonderful surgeon, and my recovery was the stuff of dreams, according to my surgeon.

13. Have you had any complications? No complications thus far.

15. Is there ANYTHING you wish you would have known (good or bad) before your RNY that you know now? I did pretty extensive research and was prepared for the surgery. I knew what to expect. Although, I didn't know quite how difficult it would be to break up with food.

16. Is there ANYTHING that you think *I* should know that I may not discover on my own in my very limited window of time to learn about the RNY?

Do all your research, ask everyone questions, break up with food. I would also recommend a therapist, Just to have an outlet. Get your family/friends on board, a strong support group is very important. Best of luck, this surgery is the best thing to have happen to me. And feel free to ask any questions. [/quote']

Thank you for all your answers! I had already expected a very different relationship with food, RNY just adds new dimensions (dumping, malabsorbtion) that I hadn't expected. I have a lot of support for the sleeve... not sure how they will react to RNY.... its pretty overwhelming to plan for one thing for over a year then in the last stretch of the process (last appt is @ the end of the month) have it all turned upside down. I feel like I'll never learn enough in time. Thank you so much for your help!

[KristieRerouted 24]

So many questions!! I'm sure you're totally overwhelmed at this point with the change of plan. Were you going for band or sleeve?? I'm about 5 1/2 months out so fairly new still.

Yes I dump' date=' the first and worst was cream of wheat, I have since discovered I can eat cream of wheat, but I either need about 1/2 a Protein shake before I eat OR I need Protein with the cream of wheat. As long as I have some protein, I do not dump. pretzels got me once,but again hadn't eaten anything else all day. On vacation I had 1/2 serving of ice cream (we'd been out parasailing and were having a heat stroke....the first pace we passed was an ice cream shop, oops!!!). Grapes made me shaky at work this week but that's the first time I've had issue with fruit, I grabbed a cheese stick and was fine. I eat grapes, apples, melons,oranges, eat frequently and hadn't had issue til now. I have no issues with milk, dairy, or gluten. If I eat something very greasy/fatty I will get queasy but it doesn't make me sick. I have not found a food that I cannot eat in moderation. I can eat bread 1/2 sandwich fills me) we eat brown rice and whole grain pastas relatively often and they don't bother me. I haven't tried white rice or white pastas. I can eat 1 slice of thin crust pizza, more and I feel like I'll explode

I was Vitamin D and B12 deficient pre-op, my D is now the highest it's ever been, I take my monthly B12 shot and don't worry a out B12. My doc has me on 2 flintstones complete daily, plus Calcium with Vitamin D.

I had a lap band that made me miserable for 3 years. I ALWAYS felt bad. I ended up with a slippage and emergency removal....with the RNY I feel awesome. I feel like me. My energy is better than its been in years, I don't vomit or have reflux, I have no pain. I wish I'd skipped the band and gone straight to RNY years ago . That said, I've been lucky. I knew what I was getting in to before and, I have total faith in my surgeon, and I'm very realistic about expectations. I've had no complication. I was back at work part time 1 1/2 weeks post-op and full time 2 weeks post-op.

My only advice is to be realistic. The surgery is amazing, but it doesn't make you skinny over night. You still have to watch what you eat, avoid junk, focus on protein, and EXERCISE!!!! You can't eat candy bars while sitting on your butt and expect to lose weight even with an RNT. My doc said to expect 2-4 pounds a week in weight loss. There will be WEEKS where you work your ass off and lose nothing, there will be weeks you lose 7-8 pounds for no good reason. You will get frustrated at times. Exercise and magic creams do not prevent saggy skin, exercise will tone the underlying muscle, creams will hydrate the skin, but once you've broken the elastic fibers of the skin, there is no fixing it other then cutting it off.

I am happier than I've been in years. I still have 50 pounds to lose but my relationship with food has changed dramatically. I rarely crave junk any more, if they have something super bad at work I can eat 2-3 bites and be satisfied. Previously, I'd try not to eat it or only get a bite and would end up mad or sad and go back and eat a ton. That cycle seems to be broken. The feeling of 'I have got to have that!!!!' Is gone. I don't wake up planning a day full of food. I don't look to food for comfort although we do still focus family get togethers around meals. I feel like me, only better because I feel like my food demon no longer controls my life.

I wish you the best if luck,it's an amazing journey. There are a lot of freaky emotions that will come out to play!!!!

HW 312, pre-op (RNY) 255, current weight 204.2[/quote']

Yes, very overwhelming! I had planned to be sleeved, but it turns out my ins doesn't cover it. Thank you for all your answers they have been very, very helpful.

[Sparklette 381]

Thank you for all your answers! I had already expected a very different relationship with food' date=' RNY just adds new dimensions (dumping, malabsorbtion) that I hadn't expected. I have a lot of support for the sleeve... not sure how they will react to RNY.... its pretty overwhelming to plan for one thing for over a year then in the last stretch of the process (last appt is @ the end of the month) have it all turned upside down. I feel like I'll never learn enough in time. Thank you so much for your help![/quote']

It does sound overwhelming. I knew I was going to get the bypass from day one. I had over a year to research and prepare. I cant imagine cramming it all in to short time period.