You don't know unless you ask. 13 questions.

[meyouus 415]

I am considering RNY, have questions....My cursor and Enter functions don't work on this sight, so I used spaces. 1. Did you find your long term experience to be a smooth"ish" life? 2. Has dumping ever happened to you in public? 3. Just how bad do you need hour to hour care at home post-op? 4. If so, for how long? 5. I have a desk job that requires getting up and down a lot, as well as a fair amount of walking. How long would I be out of work? 6. If the GB is a restrictive diet, how is it any different then than the Band I have now? 7. I have had my band for 6 years. Unfilled 1 yr out. My pouch can hold a large meal with little effort and I drink pop that causes no problems. Will I have the same exp with the GB? 8. I have artificial knees, and I've heard that leaks can occur in the stapling. Won't this F up my knees? If I get an infection, and don't catch it soon enough with antibiotics, it's knee revision for me. 9.What's this about "no sugar?", forever? Am I right that dumping and pain will follow sugar consumption? 10. I know I will learn my body and it's tool, but are there things other than sugar to NOT eat, ever? I know you do low carb. 11. Like was supposed to be with my band, you have to eat VERY little, or suffer/fail. HOW on Earth can a person actually "feel" full on a cup of food? Or don't you. 12. What can I expect post-op to one year in a broad picture? 13. If some odd ailment concerning the stomach comes up in far post-op life, what do you do when most of your stomach is removed? Please, please help me out, I need personal experiences to draw from, yes I know I am unique!

[Amanda R 56]

With Gastric bypass you still have your stomach inside of you and there is blood flow to it, incase you need it later for some reason. I am taking 10 days off from work. Sugar is not recommended because it causes dumping syndrome plus will prohibit weight loss. You should give up sugar now. You are able to have Splenda type products.

[meyouus 415]

Thank you Amanda. What do you mean by "...in case you need it later...?"

[meyouus 415]

_{Oops, 2 more questions I forgot. 14. Don't you have to take a LOT of Vitamins, supplements, etc. for the rest of your life? I'm worried about affording it. I live in the poverty level, money IS an issue. 15. Don't you have to have a pretty extensive round of bloodwork done every 6 months? Again, money. Just trying to set up a realistic "idea" of what I would be getting into.}

[music1618 879]

I am considering RNY' date=' have questions....My cursor and Enter functions don't work on this sight, so I used spaces.

1. Did you find your long term experience to be a smooth"ish" life?

For the most part my life was normal. I was nauseated for the first few months, but post op med helped me through that stage

2. Has dumping ever happened to you in public?

Yes my first and only time i have dumped was in public. dumping is not about having to run to the bathroom. it is this overall feeling of being sick. i felt dizzy, lightheaded, nauseated, chills and so on. i just went outside in the texas heat and it calmed down after about thirty minutes.

3. Just how bad do you need hour to hour care at home post-op?

I stayed with my parents post op as they were home all the time. I was there a week, but was up and about by day 3.

4. If so, for how long?

1 week

5. I have a desk job that requires getting up and down a lot, as well as a fair amount of walking. How long would I be out of work?

I would take at least 2 weeks off

6. If the GB is a restrictive diet, how is it any different then than the Band I have now?

I'm sorry this is a question I can not answer as I have not had the band.

7. I have had my band for 6 years. Unfilled 1 yr out. My pouch can hold a large meal with little effort and I drink pop that causes no problems. Will I have the same exp with the GB?

Again I am not sure.

8. I have artificial knees, and I've heard that leaks can occur in the stapling. Won't this F up my knees? If I get an infection, and don't catch it soon enough with antibiotics, it's knee revision for me.

This is a complication from surgery and I would suggest you talk to your surgeon about. I did not have any leaks.

9.What's this about "no sugar?", forever? Am I right that dumping and pain will follow sugar consumption?

I eat anything I want now. I am 14 months post op. the question is did I work this hard to go back to my old eating habits, but if I want a candy bar I will partake in one from time to time.

10. I know I will learn my body and it's tool, but are there things other than sugar to NOT eat, ever? I know you do low carb.

I do not eat low card. I eat Protein. Protein is my goal at every meal. Try to get as much protein in that I can. As I said before I have no restrictions on my diet, except portions. I can drink a soda, but it does hurt going down. You quickly learn you can live with out it. However if I wake up with a bad headache I will drink a few sips of a coke to help get rid of it.

11. Like was supposed to be with my band, you have to eat VERY little, or suffer/fail. HOW on Earth can a person actually "feel" full on a cup of food? Or don't you.

I was amazed that I feel full. I can eat describe it as eating thanksgiving dinner with every meal. That overstuffed feeling you have is the sensation I get when I took one too many bites.

12. What can I expect post-op to one year in a broad picture?

You can expect a roller coaster of feelings, and ups and downs. The weight does not just melt off. You have to work at it. You have to eat right, workout, log your food and work the program your doctor gives you. If you do all those things you will be successful.

13. If some odd ailment concerning the stomach comes up in far post-op life, what do you do when most of your stomach is removed?

Your stomach is still there And I have heard of people get revisions done in rare cases.

Please, please help me out, I need personal experiences to draw from, yes I know I am unique! <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> [/quote']

[music1618 879]

_{Oops' date=' 2 more questions I forgot.}

_{14. Don't you have to take a LOT of Vitamins, supplements, etc. for the rest of your life? I'm worried about affording it. I live in the poverty level, money IS an issue.}

_{Yes you have to take Vitamins the rest of your life. Depending on the ones you order will depend on cost. You also have to order Protein powders for at least 6 - 9 months. You have to get your Protein requirement in daily. I still buy Protein powder and I also have egg whites that I buy. It can be hard to meet protein requirements with food alone.}

_{15. Don't you have to have a pretty extensive round of bloodwork done every 6 months?}

_{I did my blood work at 6 months and now it is yearly.}

_{Again, money. Just trying to set up a realistic "idea" of what I would be getting into.[/sub']}

[Sparklette 381]

1. Did you find your long term experience to be a smooth"ish" life?

I'm only 4 months post op, but after the initial 2 months everything has gone back to normal.

2. Has dumping ever happened to you in public?

Yes. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been

3. Just how bad do you need hour to hour care at home post-op?

THe first few days were rough, while it isn't essencial that you have someone with you, it was really helpful, getting up and down was very painful but, I was fine to be on my own after about the second-third day.

5. I have a desk job that requires getting up and down a lot, as well as a fair amount of walking. How long would I be out of work?

I was out of work for 3 weeks, but I was working retail at the time, so it was slightly physically demanding work, but office work shouldn't be too bad.

6. If the GB is a restrictive diet, how is it any different then than the Band I have now? Gastric bypass is a combined restrictive and bypass procedure not only is your stomach stapled down, but your intestines are re-routed to absorb less food, that along with the sensitivity of the digestive track makes it a much more productive procure than the band.

7. I have had my band for 6 years. Unfilled 1 yr out. My pouch can hold a large meal with little effort and I drink pop that causes no problems. Will I have the same exp with the GB? No, I'm 4 months out and I can bearly eat 4 ounces of food at a time, and drinking pop makes me ill.

8. I have artificial knees, and I've heard that leaks can occur in the stapling. Won't this F up my knees? If I get an infection, and don't catch it soon enough with antibiotics, it's knee revision for me.

I'm really not sure.

9.What's this about "no sugar?", forever? Am I right that dumping and pain will follow sugar consumption?

Sugar is fine in small doses. my rule of thumb is that if it has more than 10g of sugar per serving then it is a no no, unless it is a Protein rich food, like milk, skim milk has 12g of sugar, but because of the Protein in it, it doesn't make me sick.

10. I know I will learn my body and it's tool, but are there things other than sugar to NOT eat, ever?I know you do low carb.

Everyone is different and can tolerate different things, I can't eat Pasta, rice or bread, because it make me ill. but some people on here can. You just have to learn what your pouch likes.

11. Like was supposed to be with my band, you have to eat VERY little, or suffer/fail. HOW on Earth can a person actually "feel" full on a cup of food? Or don't you. It's easy to feel full on a cup of food, when your stomach is the size of an egg. THe feeling of fullness is the nerves in your stomach telling you that you are at capacaty. You just need to listen to yourself, and not over eat, overeating with the pouch can be painful.

12. What can I expect post-op to one year in a broad picture?

I'll tell you when I'm there.

13. If some odd ailment concerning the stomach comes up in far post-op life, what do you do when most of your stomach is removed? Please, please help me out, I need personal experiences to draw from, yes I know I am unique!

Your stomach isn't removed. it is split, with the pouch cut down from a corner, then the lower intestines is re-routed to the pouch, while the remaining stomach is still producing acid and bile that is linked to the upper intestines to aid in digestion as the two flows meet further down the line. Having the stomach still intact does pose a risk for undetectable ulcers in that half of the stomach.

[Jeepchick42 193]

You should talk to DL. He is a wealth of knowledge on gastric bypass.

[meyouus 415]

3. Just how bad do you need hour to hour care at home post-op?

I stayed with my parents post op as they were home all the time. I was there a week, but was up and about by day 3. What kind of care is needed? All I have is my working husband. Would he have to take time off from work to "tend to me?" Except for the day of surgery, Can I at least walk to put the dog out? Hubby works till about 2:30 PM, I get up by 10:00 AM, Can I spend that time in between alone? _{Yes you have to take Vitamins the rest of your life. Depending on the ones you order will depend on cost. You also have to order Protein powders for at least 6 - 9 months. You have to get your protein requirement in daily. I still buy Protein Powder and I also have egg whites that I buy. It can be hard to meet protein requirements with food alone. How much do YOU pay a month for vitamins and supplelments? Just to get an idea. How much are the small packets of protein? I have a Magic Bullet, it oughta help. People seem to prefer Unjury. Other than Protein Shakes, I am at a loss of how to get 60-80 gms of protein in. I know all sorts of good sources in food, but everybody says the pouch is small. What, do you only eat chicken breast, for example, as your "meal?" The more you eat, the higher protein...but tummy is way smaller. HOW do you do it?}

You should talk to DL. He is a wealth of knowledge on gastric bypass.

Who is DL? Thank you all for helping a gal out. Did you guys think the GB was worth it? After all you go through. I'm that much closer to GB. The cost of after care scares me though. Oh, if anyone has Medicare, did they cover it and how much , generally, does the surgery cost? Again, thanks guys!