LosingItForMe2011

Hey everyone that is active so far on this website. I'd love to start a thread under the Surgery Support area so I started a thread. I thought it would be nice to help each other through those "bad" days. If we can't offer exact advice we can still support one another and offer friendship to get through the day.
I haven't had my surgery yet but, I have been through WLS before so will help anyway I can. Anyone else in?

Hey at least you thought of something before they landed on the ground and moon would be showing Congrats on the need for smaller pants

Oh Lordy! LOL Well they say sexual healing

ummm jeanette.....I'm guessing it depends on "how much" there is. Small sips after surgery remember.

ummm jeanette.....I'm guessing it depends on "how much" there is. Small sips after surgery remember.

Awesome job!

You absolutely can call your health insurance and ask if the paperwork for RNY was submitted and if it has if the approval has been issued. No harm in you calling your insurance!

It's going to be here before you know it. Take the time to prep your home for your return after surgery. Try all kinds of Protein Shakes, Vitamins etc. and have them ready. Take a peek at the nutritional papers if you were given some and get the foods they recommend. Pick out a good book, chapstick and pack your bag for the hospital It will be here quick! Congrats!

Thats cool Mel!
I just ordered my Bracelet from Lauren's hope. I got a simple one figureing I'll make my own more decorative ones as I go along. Mine says:
(my name)
GASTRIC BYPASS
LATEX ALLERGY
husbands cell number.

ummm jeanette.....I'm guessing it depends on "how much" there is. Small sips after surgery remember.

Are you getting in enough liquids? You could be dehydrated. It will also make you tired or weak.

Oh and ask your surgeon about the revision if you haven't already. One of my questions for my surgeon was is the flap used on my stomach to hold the lapband in going to be undone or do you leave it there and work around it. Well it's actually released and if the scaring is bad the pouch has to be slightly bigger than for someone who never had the lapband. Because they can't cut where the scaring is. My pouch is slightly bigger than some because of that but, she was able to take down that flap so that was good news. My next question for her was.....is there more of a chance of complications for me because of the previous lapband. Her answer...just slightly so intead of a 1/2 % risk it was moved up to 1% for me. My surgery did take a bit longer than normal...I was under for I think 4 hours because she had to take the time to remove that flap. I also had to go home with a drain to make sure there was no internal bleeding...not everyone goes home with a drain.

Hi Tim, I had the lapband as well. It was put in place in 2006, revision due to a slip in 2008 and then had to have it removed in 2010 due to a really bad prolaps. I waited until 2011 to start the RNY process. mainly because I was so dang afraid of all the re-arranging that would have to happen. That's why I got the lapband in the first place. But....I knew I had to do something because I've been heavy most of my life. I had my RNY 7/2012 and I ran into a complication with the main incision. It got infected so had to be reopened. The antibiotics caused me to have an imbalance in my bowel so that the good bacteria and bad bacteria got all wacked - called CDiff. Yet another antibiotic for that...had to do a few boughts with that but, I'm feeling great. Once in a while, I feel a bit off but, it doesn't last long. I'm thankful I didn't have any major complications but, as mentioned above...the rate of complications has gone down drastically from when we had our lapbands. I was told Less than 1% of RNY patient's have complications with their surgeries. Great odds to me!
Ask all the questions you have, not one is too silly and all are important for you to understand and feel comfortable. You can ask here but, every question should be run by your own surgeon and follow the surgeons recommendations over any advice here. We all try to help but can only offer you the information we've gone through or experienced. It's helpful for sure especially when you can't get to your surgeon's office right away. YOu'll hear many of us mention you should call your own doc while we offer what we've experienced.
Congratulations on your journey with RNY and welcome to the boards. Keep us posted!

Oh I remember the days with the metal wheels on outdoor roller skates We skated for hours and hours. Sounds like fun and you'll have a great time together.

Head hunger is one of the toughest "habits" to break and to learn if it's true hunger or not. You're already doing a good thing in that when you have this feeling you drink some Water. I was told that after drinking water and allowing 20-30 minutes to pass after drinking it that if I still felt I was hungry to ask myself this question. Will and apple help kill the feeling of hunger. If the answer is yes...then eat the apple. If the answer is no...then it's head hunger. It's a weird question but, it does make you stop and think. If it's truly hunger than something healthy wil appease it but, if you're craving is more on something we shouldn't have then it's head hunger or emotional hunger. Hope this helps a bit
Congrats on the 100 pounds gone!

Oh I just can't drink that stuff. I don't like any whey Protein products that I can taste nothing but whey in and Isopure grape and punch were awful I wish I liked them because its thin and goes down easy but, oh lordy the after taste. Now I'm finding my body is too sensitive to whey. Have to get my protein in through solids.

Is that the only drink you're surgeon is allowing? Diet is based off of Protein grams and ounces of Fluid for most docs. Post-op most docs want you to sip all day. EAch surgeon's requirement for post-op protein is different as well. Best to ask your bariatric center/nutritionist/surgeon what they require for you.

Music - I was diagnosed with CDiff myself and I've had issues with it off and on. I even took two rounds of the antibiotic but, I HIGHLY recommend you taking a probiotic with them. The first time I wasn't told to take the probiotic. I finished the antibiotics, which tasted terrible by the way (bleck), and a week or two later the same issue started back up. They didn't re-test me...I had asked them to to make sure it was gone but, they didn't. So back on the antibiotics again this time with Probiotics called Florastor. Well......I've been off those antibiotics for I guess about 6 weeks and I'm still having issues here and there. I did notice that if I do take in too much dairy or if I have the whey based shakes for get it...I'm running to the bathroom and I can't run fast enough. I had to go home from work just last week because one day was so bad. I was hurting by the time that day ended. So back onto the florastor for me. I try to take at least 2 a day. I'm staying on them at this point but unfortunately, after a while....OTHER issues start because while it's correcting your colon...your female part because to reap havoc. (sigh) CDiff isn't fun! Mine was caused from the antibiotics they put me on for the wound infection I had. Odd how taking an antibiotic caused it so they put you on yet another antibiotic to get it back in line huh?
Sky - CDiff actually short for Clostridium difficile. CDiff is a species of Gram-positivebacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics.
Clostridia are anaerobic, spore-forming rods (bacilli).[2] C. difficile is the most serious cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and can lead to pseudomembranous colitis, a severe inflammation of the colon, often resulting from eradication of the normal gut flora by antibiotics.[3]
In a very small percentage of the adult population, C. difficile bacteria naturally reside in the gut. Other people accidentally ingest spores of the bacteria while they are patients in a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility. When the bacteria are in a colon in which the normal gut flora has been destroyed (usually after a broad-spectrum antibiotic such as clindamycin has been used), the gut becomes overrun with C. difficile. This overpopulation is harmful because the bacteria release toxins that can cause bloating and diarrhea, with abdominal pain, which may become severe. C. difficile infections are the most common cause of pseudomembranous colitis, and in rare cases this can progress to toxic megacolon, which can be life-threatening.
Latent symptoms of C. difficile infection often mimic some flu-like symptoms and can mimic disease flare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease-associated colitis.[4] Mild cases of C. difficile infection can often be cured by discontinuing the antibiotics responsible.[2] In more serious cases, oral administration of, first, oral metronidazole and — if that fails — then, second, vancomycin and if unsuccessful again, intravenous metronidazole can be used. Relapses of C. difficile AAD have been reported in up to 20% of cases.[2]

How far along from surgery are you? It sounds like you have a stricture which can happen at any point. You should definitely call your surgeon/bariatric center.

most medical insurance will approve some plastics but, the basic ones and only with documented proof the extra skin is causing medical issues such as infections, rashes etc. They pay for the skin to be removed on the tummy but, not the tuck part. That part you have to pay for. Breast implants aren't usually covered but, if there are rashes under the breasts and documented some will pay to have a reduction done. Lower body lift or butt lift.....thinking again unless medically proven with documentation that medical issues are occuring it's probably not covered.

To answer your questions...
1. I am a lap band to r n y on the 26th. Not doing well on pre diet need to know drastic measure to shrink liver by Thursday. You really need to get back to the pre-op diet your surgeon/bariatric center put you on and stick to it. It's the best you can do. The whole idea of the pre-op diet is to help shrink your liver for the safety of you during the surgery and it makes it easier for your surgeon. The easier the better...the smaller your liver the better and easier it is for your surgeon to hold it aside while working on your stomach. They have to push and hold the liver out of the way so as not to nick it and to have the best possibly access. Buckle down and stick to your pre-op diet...it's the best thing you can do for yourself. There are no drastic measures you can take....liquid diets are tough period. The liver is the first to gain fat weight and fortunately the first to lose it according to my surgeon. Stick STRICTLY to the pre-op diet.
2. Any successful converters? I had the lapband. It was removed in Jan/Feb of 2010 but, my surgeon said it was still a revision because the stomach still has the flap in it that held the lapband in place. She did say that they remove that flap and that will sometimes cause them to have to make the RNY pouch a bit bigger than they would for someone who hasn't had the lapband because of scarring. In my case she did make it slightly bigger but, I feel great and I'm losing weight.
Also all well if u take Vitamins? Vitamins are ABSOLUTELY necessary because of the malabsorption our bodies go through after RNY. We have to take a higher dose of Vitamins in order to get the right amount in our bodies because of this. Definitely buy those vitamins and try them prior to your surgery. Your surgery is close so hopefully you've gotten them already or have tried some. If not I highly recommend picking some up. My surgeon didn't require me to take them for 2-3 weeks after my surgery because she said our bodies have them stored and they can sometimes upset the pouch early after surgery for some folks. I had no issues taking mine at the 3-4 week mark and I take them daily. The hardest one to remember though is the Calcium because I can't take them in the morning with everything else. The Iron and Calcium fight for absorption so you have to take one or the other two or more hours. With Calcium your body won't absorb more than 600 mg at a time so having to take 1500 mg once again...I have to wait in between. So it's a bit harder to get all that in but, I get some calcium from milk and cheese too.
Also 1.5 weeks off of work? Need to be clear headed for work. Ok expectation My surgeon recommended 3 weeks out with a revision surgery because of the added work done to accomplish it. I ended up being out 6 weeks because I had an infection in the main incision site. Going back was still difficult because you're body is getting used to less calories and if your job is stressful...well...that doesn't help. Mine is stressful so it took a while for me to get back into the swing of things but, all set now. Everyone is different so all times back are different. Take the cues from your body and listen to them though. This is the time to take care of YOU...work will be there!
3. Worried about long term complications. Thoughts? Most people fine? There are complications for some folks just as there are for any surgery. I looked at it as...I was having more complications with being overweight at the moment and they weren't going to get any better..if anything it would get worse and a shorter life. For me the surgery was worth it. Most folks are fine. There are some postings within this board from DLCoggin that are great to read. The postings are from studies he's read about and tell of the percentage of issues etc. Worth a peek. (Sorry I can't point you to the exact postings at the moment...DL if you see this can you post the link to the thread.)
4. Really no beer ever - Go with what your surgeon/Bariatric center recommends. Mine says no carbonation. That means soda, beer anything with carbination bubbles. They say after a year out from surgeon an occassional, stressing occassional, glass of wine is ok but again that's after a year. Alcohol can and has become an issue for many RNY patients because they've replaced the comfort food with alcohol. It's really important to work on the issues of why the choice of comfort foods in the first place. Just like any habit.....they are tough to break and takes lot of mind work to accomplish conquering....but always remain a work in progress. I do know a few folks who do drink a beer here and there and have no issues. Fortunately for me, I only occassionally had a drink maybe 4 a year so I'm just choosing to not bother. Everyone is different and reacts differently to alcohol though so be careful if you choose to have it.
Good luck with your surgery!

Closest I've had was a Skinny Cow No Sugar Added Ice Cream Sandwich. It was under the sugar count and fat count limits that my surgeon/bariatric center recommends so it worked great. At least at Disney they offered this option while my hubby ate a regular Mickey Head icecream sandwich.
I don't normally choose the ice cream or sweets because I can survive without them and have really tried to limit those things.
I wouldn't recommend the full fledged sugar/fat type ice creams to anyone. It's not worth the risk of dumping or even worse...worth finding out you don't dump! Knowing you don't dump and not being fully prepared mindwise can lead to using it once again for a comfort food with the risk of over use.

I have to take blood pressure meds and GERD medicine but, the doctor and nurses told me I could cut them in forths to take them. I've been doing that and I've been fine.
I bet the choco Syrup works great though.

joeint - did your PCP refer you to a bariatric group? If so that group/surgeon will have a list of things you'll need to complete prior to the request for your surgery be submitted to your insurance. Most folks have to have 2 Psych evals, a visit with the surgeon, a WLS seminar of sorts that explains all the options, nutritionist visit so they can explain the stages of eating after WLS and also to see what you're eating now and while trying to lose weight for the surgery...usually 2 visits with them as well. After that there will be some tests such as bloodwork, chest xray, abdominal ultrasound, some folks have a sleep study and/or stress study. Each group is a tad different but, there are requirements by each insurance.Some insurances want a supervised diet from anywhere of 3 months to 6 months. Some don't require it etc. But your bariatric center/surgeon will help you with all that. Good luck and welcome to the forum/boards.

I thought I'd post the first thread to get the Buddy Threads going. I'm from Massachusetts and would love a buddy through this process if you're game