AWholeNewMama

I'm 10 days post-op RNY. Wondering if anyone else's surgeon does an open wound as part of the standard procedure. Mine does, and it's absolutely miserable. I have 6 incisions. 5 are closed with steri-strips, and the 6th is open (surgeon says this is to reduce infection). It's been really painful. On Wednesday I had my 1-week post-op visit, and the surgeon cleaned and vacuumed the wound. It was one of the worst pains I've ever experienced, and I still haven't gotten back to where I was before the visit. My whole left side aches horribly. I was so upset after the visit, I couldn't even tell my husband about it until a few hours afterward. And I feel like I spent a week recovering only to be knocked back to Day 1. I'm so frustrated. Has anyone else dealt with an open wound like this? How did you get through it?

Yes, my BMI was 43 to start. My surgeon does the open wound standard on all laparoscopic gastric bypass patients (sleeve patients and patients who get RNY done with the DaVinci robot don't get it). He's done over 3,000 surgeries at this point, so if he truly believes it decreases risk of infection, I believe him. Doesn't make it suck any less though. :/ Thanks for the input, everyone!

My drain was taken out the day after my surgery, thank goodness. At least I'm not dealing with that right now, too. That was NOT a fun procedure, for sure.

I was specifically told by my surgeon that the sleeve is not a good option for me because of my reflux. He always recommends RNY to patients with reflux/GERD.

Congrats!!

What about beverages? Does he consume a lot of juice or soda? I have to tell you, the sneaking food and eating late at night is a bit of a red flag to me. Is there anything that's stressing him out? School, or friends? Something that would cause him to overeat? If you do think it's purely related to enjoyment of Snacks, then I agree with AngryViking, the best thing to do is remove his go-to snacks and replace them with healthier options. I feel for you. My daughter is a big snacker. She would snack all afternoon between school and dinner if I let her. I finally had to make a rule where she gets ONE snack after school, and that's it until dinner. I also require that the snack involves a fruit or vegetable. That seems to help keep her full longer. I think your best bet for getting him moving more is to do activities with him. Is there an indoor track you can walk at? You said you have a YMCA, what about swim classes, or the family free swim hours? I know my local Y also has open gym time where kids can use the basketball courts. Good luck!

@@onikenbai I'm so glad to hear you finally figured it out! I agree with previous poster who said you don't sound like the giving up type. Keep on fighting, and you'll make progress. Better late than never! Good luck!

I'm pre-op, but I can tell you that I went to my surgical consult last week totally committed to the sleeve, but my surgeon changed my mind, because of all the reasons you listed. Primarily, I have GERD and have had ulcers, and he told me that the sleeve could make that worse, and it can be difficult to manage. From where I stand, I'm doing this surgery to improve my quality of life, and if I'm miserable because of GERD pain, that sort of defeats the purpose. Like you, I also think I need the dumping syndrome component/consequence of the bypass to keep me on track. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I'm pre-op, but I always have low vit. D levels. I supplement with 2,000 IU daily, per doc's orders, and I've found that it makes a huge difference in my mood.

Just a thought, but you may want to crunch the numbers here. You're a SAHM, so if you go back to work just to get a job to pay for this new insurance, you're going to have the expense of childcare, plus you'll be paying your copays OOP... I'm wondering if it might not be more cost-effective to consider paying OOP for surgery in Mexico.

My initial consult is next Wednesday, and if the timeline is anything like the last consult I had with this surgeon, my surgery will be March or April.

Hi all! New(ish) to the forum. I was here in 2012, considering a lap-band, but surgeon advised me to finish having kids before I did WLS. So here I am, done having kids, and now I'm looking at RNY. I go for my initial consult in a couple weeks, and if the timeline is anything like it was when I first saw my surgeon in 2012, I should be having my surgery in just a couple months. That said, I need to start thinking about recovery. I'm a stay-at-home mom and have 3 little kids, including a 2-year-old whom I still need to lift on occasion. For those who have done this surgery and have kids, can you please tell me: How long was it before you could lift your children? How long did you need help taking care of the kids after your surgery? How many nights did you stay in the hospital? Anything else I should know about post-op and kids? TIA!!

Wow, thanks for sharing. I can definitely see addiction transference being a risk. I come from a family of alcohol and drug addicts, but food as always been my drug of choice. Definitely something I'll keep in mind.

I think this is a great idea. I don't know how many times I've clicked on a thread in the "Recent Topics or "Trending Topics" sidebars and then realized I was inadvertently reading a thread in the Guys Room. Most forum software allows for forum unlocking based on post count or rank, but I don't know about other criteria such as gender.

This is by far the best post I've seen on BP yet! OP, thanks for giving everyone such a good laugh. I hope my anesthesiologist is as good as yours obviously was! Hope you're doing well!

I totally support your decision. This is a major surgery, and beyond that, it's a major psychological undertaking as well. I went for a consult on a Lap-Band 2.5 years ago and backed out. At the time, I wanted to have one more child, and the surgeon said he didn't recommend getting a Lap-Band before I was done having kids. But in addition to that, I don't think my head was in the game. In retrospect, I think if I had gotten the surgery back then, I'd have failed post-op. Now, I'm at the point where I feel mentally ready, plus I've gotten some new issues. My knees hurt, my cholesterol is high. It's time for me. You'll know if and when it's time for you, too.

@@JustWatchMe, as a fellow Chicagoan, I love your Lake Shore Drive cruisin' fantasy. I dream about simple stuff like taking my kids to the beach and not feeling self-conscious. Or taking them to a waterpark. Or on roller coasters.

I have the Mirena IUD and I absolutely love it. I'm on my second one. No side effects, and NO PERIODS! I know some OB/GYNs won't do IUDs for people who haven't had kids yet, but from what I've seen that's outdated info. My doc DOES do them for people who haven't had kids.

Happy to see a few Chicagoland folks here! I'm in NW Indiana, desperately clinging to "Chicago suburb" status.

I'm looking forward to being able to shop wherever I want. I'm looking forward to not always being the biggest person in the room. I'm looking forward to weighing less than my husband for the first time ever. Most of all, I'm looking forward to having more fun with my kids, playing with them, chasing them around the park without getting tired immediately, taking them on water slides or roller coasters. I'm looking forward to feeling like I'm actually living my life, not just being a bystander.

I've seen a few older posts about him, but I'm just curious if anyone currently active on the forum has had surgery by Dr. Cahill. If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.

This is funny, because I made almost this exact same post a few days back. My kids are 7, 5, and 2, and my biggest anxiety about the surgery is how I'm going to do school drop-offs and whatnot when I can't lift my 2-year-old into his carseat for 6 weeks. My mom will be staying with me for the first week, and my husband will be home from work during that time, too. After that, I think I'm going to ask one of the other moms at my son's school if she could give my son rides for a week or two. If it's anything like my gallbladder removal surgery (also laparoscopic), I'm hoping I'll be mostly back in the groove after about 3 weeks.

I'm so excited for this. How long did it take for you to feel happy with just a taste? Right now, "just a taste" is such a foreign concept to me, I'm having a hard time imagining it!

As someone who also suffers from anxiety, my advice would be to do as BitterSweet suggested and create a list of the possible complications and symptoms. I would take the extra step of dividing those complications into those that are imminently life-threatening (i.e. go to the ER immediately) or those that are more in the "cause for concern but not an emergency" category. My guess is that you'll see that the life-threatening complication column is much shorter than the cause for concern column. Also, take the time to look up the percentages of patients who experience each complication. For me, seeing the small percentages in print really helps ease my mind.

I'm okay with giving up my daily overeating habits, because I know I'll be so much happier when food is no longer my constant companion. But I am sad when I think about things like never being able to enjoy a big slice of deep dish pizza again, or eating a big dinner on a special occasion. I just keep trying to remind myself that I'm doing this so I can enjoy LIFE again, and life is so much more than food.