2006RNYhere

It is strange but I get that burning sensation when I have an empty stomach and I drink Water. I have no clue why that is but mine only happens with water. I am 9.5 years out of rny and have had that problem since 2yr post op. I had it looked at and no problems leaks or ulcer. It was simply a change of ph in my intestines.

updated...Still a work in progress here as well. Started at 32/34 and those were TIGHT before surgery Nov 9th and as of right now(May 10th) I'm 20/22 on bottom and 18/20 on top and could and should go buy some smaller ones real soon.

I'm almost 1 year out of surgery and I went from a 26 to a small (top) and 8 (pants and dresses).
I'm still hoping to lose about 20 lbs and go down to a 4 size for pants and dresses.
The picture attached was taken this past February at 173 lbs and 9 months out of surgery. I went back to Texas for a vacation and posed in the exact same spot I posed for a picture at my highest weight (345 lbs) years ago.

Thanks! I'm a little over 10 months out now!

It is strange but I get that burning sensation when I have an empty stomach and I drink Water. I have no clue why that is but mine only happens with water. I am 9.5 years out of rny and have had that problem since 2yr post op. I had it looked at and no problems leaks or ulcer. It was simply a change of ph in my intestines.

It depends on what kind of work you do. Personally i would try to take a little longer if you can. But at about 2 weeks i felt capable of doing everything minus extra bending and don't lift !
The binder was on me when i came out of surgery. You can buy them also at a home medical supply store.
Also i wanted to mention you might have some serious swelling afterwards for a couple days. So dont freak about weight gain. It will come off.

I hope i can help. I had open rny. My surgeon also removed my gallbladder and i had a adrenal gland tumor and open allowed them to fully look around in there.
As for recovery time it can range from 6 weeks to 12 weeks and pain control is probably needed but it depends on your personal needs. I tried to be off of pain meds within a week. I just don't like to take pain meds.
An abdominal binder was a godsend for me it just felt like i was kept together and secure. I wore it for 4 months out of security. It was put on me before i even woke up from surgery. U will walk pretty immediately so you don't get blood clots. I was on blood thinners also.
As for the scar it doesnt bother me very much. I never really measured how long mine is. Probably about 11 inches. Let me know i can show you a picture if you want.
Hey. If they don't use a binder keep a pillow around in case you need to laugh, sneeze or cough and hold it to your tummy.
I do notice that i didn't seem to transition into eating as fast as the laparoscopic patients but i think it is because of the extra healing i was not worrying about eating. I just worried about getting in my fluids, Proteins and my Vitamins.
Good luck to you.

This is the first time I've visited this forum. I was looking for a place to share my story with other RNY patients, and here is where I landed. So, first off, the basics.
I had bypass surgery 6 years ago at the U of W Hospital. The surgery was straight forward and I suffered no complications.My pre surgery weight was 355. During the first year post op I shrank to 217 (which contrary to all obesity tables was thin for my build). I was 60 at the time of the surgery. During the first year, I ate whatever I could tolerate, and drank no alcohol at all.
I was pretty gruntled over the results. I tossed by CPAP, as the decrease in fat around my neck cured me of the obstructive aspect of my apnea.
I was on a low dose of blood pressure meds, and I no longer needed to continue that med, as my BP dropped with my weight loss. I never could tolerate sugar after the surgery and found I really needed to limit any carbs a couple of hours prior to doing physical activity to prevent lightheadedness--although, I continued to eat a lot of high carbo foods.
After the first year and the highly satisfactory weight loss, I started reintroducing alcohol. I had, for over twenty years, been a daily drinker-- usually a couple of cocktails in the evening with friends.
I found that alcohol after surgery was different. I got drunk much faster, sobered up much quicker and never suffered a hangover, no matter how much I consumed. This was great fun, as I'm by nature a happy drunk, pleased to make people laugh and enjoy the company of friends and alcohol together. This behavior went on and I started to gain weight. I wasn't overly alarmed by either my alcohol use or my weight gain, as I had been told that studies indicate that RNY patients suffered a 10% weight regain after reaching their highest weight loss.
Well, pressures of life mounted, I daily traded in the Stock Market, and found with the advent of the Fed's QE programs and the advent of ALGO trading, my trading strategies suffered considerably. Over the course of the next 3 years I lost $10s of Thousands of dollars in the Market. So, I sat at the computer 14 hours a day watching the evaporation of my money as it went to money heaven. It was disturbing and depressing--to say the least. My alcohol consumption increased, as my activity level decreased. In fact, I started adding a daily bottle of good
red wine with dinner to enjoy and make me feel better.
This escalated over the months. On top of my own Market disasters, our Family suffered some terrible tragedies and losses in the course of an 8 month period in 2014. My Wife, of 46 years marriage, had suffered clinical depression bouts and hospitalization a number of years ago.
With the family loss, I constantly worried about her mental health, and as she increased her wine intake (she is on Wellbutrin), I viewed it as not a bad thing, as it helped her cope with the immediate pain and depression. My weight gain continued. I found myself back on my BP meds. and, back on the CPAP machine--which I hate with a passion.
Finally, towards the end of 2015 we had a discussion about our health and what to do about it.
On Jan. 1 we both stopped drinking and started dieting. At that point I had ballooned up to 278! I was embarrassed by my weight gain and felt I had failed myself and my Wife in my presurgery promise to get healthier in order to have longer and happier life together.
So, on Jan 1. I got the Fitbit App and went on a 1500 cal. a day eating plan. I cut out alcohol, all starchy foods, most meat and very little fried food prep. I take a couple of Premier Protein drinks a day and eat a lot of raw veggie salads.
I have to say, I couldn't be happier. Since Jan. I've lost 32 pounds and have a goal to drop another 30 pounds before Fall, I've put away my CPAP machine, I sleep better and have less aches and pains in my joints.
My wife has also lost weight, although only 8 pounds, which is very visible on her, as she wasn't overly sized to begin with. I have to admit that I have an easier time with the diet, as I don't experience hunger pains, and often view eating as necessary rather than desired.
My activity level has markedly increased. I've started woodworking again (just finishing up a stunning dining room table of solid black walnut) --I had stopped for about 6 years. And I am currently building a deck on the south side of the house that I had been putting off for the last twenty years!
I wanted to share this with others in the hope that it might inspire anyone that fallen into a similar situation and despaired of regaining their health and happiness.
So, my first recommendation is the Fitbit App to monitor and track your food intake. And, to be honest, the first week of big change like this is a bit of a hurdle, but, put your head down and power through this period and you'll find it will be easier going forward. Life will get better.
Best wishes to all.

Hi i am having gastric bypass on January 13th. I have researched everything i possibly could about this surgery but im having a hard time finding information about recovery time or experiences with having the surgery performed open rather than laparascopic. Has anyone had open surgery here and can you tell me about the pain, recovery time, ect.? Thanks in advance.

You should be even more scared if you weren't scared at all.
So you wanna know about regret. I think your throwing coins into a wishing well hoping they will jump back in your hand.... Not to many people will want to answer that question.
Most people don't want to give you false hope and the others don't want you running away from the surgery.
Reality is having this surgery takes a lot of self control to maintain and be successful. I can only offer my honest opinion.
I am 9 years out as of dec 6.
Was my surgery a success ? Yes
Do i regret having surgery? Some days
Have i had any regain ? Yes
Was it hard to deal with the skinny body ? Yes, this was a very emotional thing for me personally because i felt i was happy at a heavier weight and honestly i probably would have never had the surgery but i wanted to eliminate my diabetes. Unfortunately i still have it but it is so much easier to control after the surgery.
Do i sometimes wish i would have just exercised and dieted harder instead of surgery? Absolutely
At the end of the day do i regret my lifestyle change ? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I am so much healthier now. I have self inspired motivation now.
I hope i helped and i wish you luck.

You should be even more scared if you weren't scared at all.
So you wanna know about regret. I think your throwing coins into a wishing well hoping they will jump back in your hand.... Not to many people will want to answer that question.
Most people don't want to give you false hope and the others don't want you running away from the surgery.
Reality is having this surgery takes a lot of self control to maintain and be successful. I can only offer my honest opinion.
I am 9 years out as of dec 6.
Was my surgery a success ? Yes
Do i regret having surgery? Some days
Have i had any regain ? Yes
Was it hard to deal with the skinny body ? Yes, this was a very emotional thing for me personally because i felt i was happy at a heavier weight and honestly i probably would have never had the surgery but i wanted to eliminate my diabetes. Unfortunately i still have it but it is so much easier to control after the surgery.
Do i sometimes wish i would have just exercised and dieted harder instead of surgery? Absolutely
At the end of the day do i regret my lifestyle change ? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I am so much healthier now. I have self inspired motivation now.
I hope i helped and i wish you luck.

You should be even more scared if you weren't scared at all.
So you wanna know about regret. I think your throwing coins into a wishing well hoping they will jump back in your hand.... Not to many people will want to answer that question.
Most people don't want to give you false hope and the others don't want you running away from the surgery.
Reality is having this surgery takes a lot of self control to maintain and be successful. I can only offer my honest opinion.
I am 9 years out as of dec 6.
Was my surgery a success ? Yes
Do i regret having surgery? Some days
Have i had any regain ? Yes
Was it hard to deal with the skinny body ? Yes, this was a very emotional thing for me personally because i felt i was happy at a heavier weight and honestly i probably would have never had the surgery but i wanted to eliminate my diabetes. Unfortunately i still have it but it is so much easier to control after the surgery.
Do i sometimes wish i would have just exercised and dieted harder instead of surgery? Absolutely
At the end of the day do i regret my lifestyle change ? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I am so much healthier now. I have self inspired motivation now.
I hope i helped and i wish you luck.

You should be even more scared if you weren't scared at all.
So you wanna know about regret. I think your throwing coins into a wishing well hoping they will jump back in your hand.... Not to many people will want to answer that question.
Most people don't want to give you false hope and the others don't want you running away from the surgery.
Reality is having this surgery takes a lot of self control to maintain and be successful. I can only offer my honest opinion.
I am 9 years out as of dec 6.
Was my surgery a success ? Yes
Do i regret having surgery? Some days
Have i had any regain ? Yes
Was it hard to deal with the skinny body ? Yes, this was a very emotional thing for me personally because i felt i was happy at a heavier weight and honestly i probably would have never had the surgery but i wanted to eliminate my diabetes. Unfortunately i still have it but it is so much easier to control after the surgery.
Do i sometimes wish i would have just exercised and dieted harder instead of surgery? Absolutely
At the end of the day do i regret my lifestyle change ? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I am so much healthier now. I have self inspired motivation now.
I hope i helped and i wish you luck.

You should be even more scared if you weren't scared at all.
So you wanna know about regret. I think your throwing coins into a wishing well hoping they will jump back in your hand.... Not to many people will want to answer that question.
Most people don't want to give you false hope and the others don't want you running away from the surgery.
Reality is having this surgery takes a lot of self control to maintain and be successful. I can only offer my honest opinion.
I am 9 years out as of dec 6.
Was my surgery a success ? Yes
Do i regret having surgery? Some days
Have i had any regain ? Yes
Was it hard to deal with the skinny body ? Yes, this was a very emotional thing for me personally because i felt i was happy at a heavier weight and honestly i probably would have never had the surgery but i wanted to eliminate my diabetes. Unfortunately i still have it but it is so much easier to control after the surgery.
Do i sometimes wish i would have just exercised and dieted harder instead of surgery? Absolutely
At the end of the day do i regret my lifestyle change ? ABSOLUTELY NOT, I am so much healthier now. I have self inspired motivation now.
I hope i helped and i wish you luck.

Background:
I'm 30. My surgery is next Friday (12/18/15), I'm on the pre op diet and doing just fine. I'm 5'6. Highest weight was 265, currently 250.
I'm going through the pre op jitters, I think. I've researched this for so long and have been 100% sure of this but I'm suddenly super nervous! "What if's" are killing me!!
So, those who are on the other side, it's totally worth it, right?? All the recovery, all the changes??
I know something's got to give. I can't continue on slowly marching up the scale. But change is scary! My stomach and intestines have been in this configuration for 30 years now!
I never thought I would be scared of changing from someone huge to someone small (or smaller). I didn't realize how much I hide behind all my fluff.
So, I know this has been asked a thousand times, but I need to hear it. Any regrets having this done??

Congrats on the surgery date! You'll do great on the liquid diet. I can't be much help on what to make... my 2-week pre-op diet consisted of 3 Protein shakes per day, broth and sugar free popsicles, so not very festive.
My one bit of advice, when things get stressful, just remind yourself why you're on the liquid diet: #1 get your body ready for surgery and most importantly #2 get your head ready for the post-op diet.

Came across this article on FB today. It was exactly what I needed to see. I've gotten comfortable with the fact that I can still indulge in small amounts and not see any weight gain or experience dumping. Well, that's NOT a good thing for someone like me, because it will simply continue and then eventually I will see regain. I don't want to waste all the hard work I have put in and everything I've endured to take my health back into my own hands.
Having said that, some parts of this surgery might strike chords. Please remember that I didn't write it LOL so don't attack me if something makes you feel some type of way, especially that last header/paragraph. That's a sentence we all probably will take issue with, but please try to keep things in context...
http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/05/not-what-you-want-to-hear-bariatric-nos/
Don’t eat bread! That latte has 35g sugar! No macaroni salad. NO tortillas. No rice.
It won’t last without change
There is no delicate way to say this. We have always set ourselves apart from other bariatric groups in that we don’t look the other way while post ops continue to eat the bad carbs. We try and bring them back to the bariatric reality. We coax you to knock off the Pasta, rice, tortillas or bread and often people get mad or try and justify it. For years we’ve watched people blow through this surgery and they all have the same story. Everyone thinks they are ‘Different’, that they can handle the bad carbs and the sugar (they don’t get sick!) and ‘because they have lost 100 pounds in 7 months they must be doing something right’.
The first hundred pounds is the surgery
Hate to keep making the same point, but your surgery did it, not you. Remember that you are not driving the car for the first year. Eating the same foods that grew you to 300 pounds, but in smaller amounts is not a good long term plan as eventually you will be able to eat larger portions. Ask yourself why eating the same bad carbs would be a good plan. No doctor has advised you to eat the same way post op as you did pre op. Post ops pick this up somewhere, latch on to it and defend it, often to the bitter end of a total regain.
No one fights for broccoli carbs!
It’s not that the bagel will kill you, it’s that these carbs make you hungry. They rapidly turn to glucose and burn… poof, gone, #Lookingformore. They don’t give you any nutrients. They don’t create a feeling of satiety or lasting fullness. The empty carbs work against what you are trying to achieve. If you were arguing for eating salad or green bean carbs, more power to you… but people are trying to hang on to foods without value. If this big argument was for VEGETABLES… well it wouldn’t be a debate as vegetables didn’t make us fat, it was those ‘other’ carbs. Did you ever meet an obese vegetarian and wonder ‘HUH?’… how’d they get obese if they are vegetarian? Same deal… its not the vegetables, its the other stuff… the carbs… the potatoes, bread, macaroni, rice, tortillas and sugar!
Square peg… round hole
Stop looking for slightly better substitutes for bad choices and find new healthier foods to love instead. We keep trying to force that square peg into that round hole. Stop EATING crackers and chips… don’t find ones that you can justify because they have fewer carbs. Enough with the terrible fishy Shirataki tofu noodles. Learn to live without bread and Pasta so it will not call your name. We aren’t changing the behavior or trend if we continue eating them, just slightly shifting it. Before long you’ve got your hand back in the Doritos bag & fork in the Mac and cheese.
Look It’s Protein Cheesecake!
Don’t add Protein to muffins and convince yourself they’re good for you. Stop with the Starbucks Creme Brûlée Lattes because ‘they’re your one indulgence’; they have 500 calories and thin people don’t even drink them. Stay the heck out of Wendy’s. I read an article the other day touting all the ‘good choices’ in fast food restaurants. How about stay out of them. That’s the best choice of all! Why go to the place where you know there is danger. Before you know it, oops… there are fries in your bag!
You know people gain back weight, right?
In our first month of new Facebook Support group I have cried for new members who have gained back all their weight. I am not immune either after fourteen years, three bariatric books and knowing better. When life hit the fan, I comforted my bruises in the way I knew best and it has taken me ten months to lose fifty pounds of it. People are having revisions, a lovely sounding word for a second serious body damaging operation. What will change? Unless there is major change along with that new surgery, won’t it have the same result?
Step away from the bagel!
Own that there was and maybe still is something wrong with your food picker! Use surgery as an opportunity to change, not cheat. I used be bothered by the ‘word on the street’ that we were the carb or food police, but am now proud of it. If you want to promote the virtues of Everything in Moderation while eating half a Subway, there are plenty of groups that will help you do it. If you want to eat right and learn new behaviors to make the feeling of slipping on those skinny jeans last… we have a support group that’s a healthier fit.
Bariatric Surgery IS the easy way out
It’s a personal food cop that is always with us, that helps us push away from the table. We make it hard when we don’t live by the bariatric rules we’ve been given. There is nothing harder then gaining weight back after surgery. There is nothing better than losing it a second time. Control is empowering.
If you need to pick up and start losing again… If you need to work off a regain… it’s not too late and your pouch works just fine if you choose the right foods. Clean those lethal carbs from your life and go back to Bariatric Eating – protein first and lots of fresh salad and vegetables. We’ve got the support for you to make that change!

If you have been following me you know that I was waiting for a surgery date. I got a call on August 27-and have a set date! October 12 at 1 p.m, and I have to be at the hospital by 11 a.m that morning. Since I've been having so many issues with this clinic, when I told my dad, he said that I needed to call them and double check that this is scheduled for the Bypass and not the Gastric Sleeve. When I called and spoke with the receptionist, she said that she saw I was scheduled for the gastric sleeve surgery, which she said right away "that's not right is it?" and I told her no that it's not, and that I spoke with a nurse yesterday who put a note on my account that said I was supposed to have the bypass not the sleeve.
I have been having so many issues with this clinic, that it is slowly making the trust and faith that I have in my surgeon diminish. They've been giving me the run around for the last 2 months and just making me extremely stressed.
I will be making an appointment with my surgeon to tell him all the crap that I have gone through the last 2 months, to make sure that he is aware of what's going on in his clinic and to make sure that he is still comfortable doing the bypass.
That's all for now ya'll!

I have no intention on picking it up again. I'm kinda content now days. But... Miss it sometimes.

I'm still on my Clear Liquids post-op until I see the surgeon for my follow up on Tuesday. For dinner tonight I had vegetable broth and added some old bay. Being born in MD, old bay is good on a lot of stuff! It was so good, and satisfying, like having crab soup...well without the crab, or vegetables, or anything else. But it was definitely better than plain old broth!

I happen to run across this on my surgeon's website and wanted to share.
This is for people who have had weight regain after bypass. It appears that this is less invasive than another revision surgery, but can reduce the size of pouch and outlet. Hopefully, we all will have ZERO problems forever and be compliant, and never have to go this route, but... it can happen and we need to know what options are out there for help if it does. Read on
There is also a great animation video on the right to see how it can fix this problem.
http://apolloendo.com/procedures/outlet-pouch-reduction/

Great job on your new lifestyle. Dont be so hard on yourself. I use my surgiversary for my own personal celebration. It was the day i cared for my self. I actually call mine my selfish-anniversary lol

I smoked for 18. It's been hard quitting for surgery, however I feel so much better. Keep up the good work

Honestly I can say that I have not developed any new bad habits, mostly good ones.
I quit smoking 28 years ago and would never go back. The thing is, I gained 70lbs after quitting! Now the lbs are coming off thank goodness!

I was a 30 year smoker. I quit about a year and a half before my surgery. I still want to smoke, all the time. I don't, but I honestly do. I have a friend who had bypass, and she claims it kept her weight down. I believe it, I gained 50 lbs after I stopped smoking. I am hopeful I will continue to remain smoke free. I have found a freedom I never really understood, until now. But...if it's a donut or a cig, I'm probably going to go for the cigarette. lol Just being honest.