BonnieJo

Excellent point! One of the best and easiest ways to recover quickly from surgery and prevent a lot of gas pain is to get up and walk as soon as you are allowed!

So I had my surgery two days ago and I had a major epiphany that I wanted to share with anyone that is thinking about, is going through, and is about to undergo weight loss surgery! When packing for the hospital please take a pair of headphones and a small mp3 player, cell phone, whatever to walk and listen to music, pod casts, etc.... it will be your true saving grace.
I randomly packed my large noise cancelling headphones and let me tell you.... right after surgery, when they finally decided the anesthesia had worn off and I wouldn't hurt myself getting out of bed... I put those bad boys on, put spotify on my cell phone, and jammed out to my music walking through the corridors almost dancing!!! It really was the best feeling in the world and it truly lightened my spirits.
I know this may seem odd and everyone's experiences will be different, but I would advise taking at least these with a light robe/pj pants, and small pillow. Might seem excessive.... but you'll be ever so grateful for them post-op!
Hope this helps anyone going through the process and good luck in your journeys!

I am 32 months post-op RNY surgery. I consider it to be one of the best decisions I ever made. I have written a couple short articles about it. The first one describes my experience in the "Weight Loss" phase. The second describes the "Maintenance" phase. I have also include a before and after photo at the 6 month post-op mark. I have lost additional weight since then but it is unbelievable what can happen in 6 months time.
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf
http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg

Caffeine causes dehydration and can make you hungry.

Walking is a good form of exercise almost a vital form of exercise after surgery. I walked for 30 minutes per day for the 6 months prior to surgery. In the 2 days I was in the hospital, I walked 100 lapse around the hospital floor. When I returned home I walked 30 minutes each day for the first year after surgery.
After surgery your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Don't worry, you will not die of starvation. You already have the energy that you need stored within your body. You just need to release it.
I walked every 2 hours after the operation, round the clock, when I was in the hospital. This accomplished a few things. First, it prevents blood clots from forming. Second, it helps to relieve the gas pain that you will experience after surgery. Third, walking promotes wound healing. After surgery while in the hospital, I took no pain medicine. My pain levels were at the most a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. This was because of walking. If you want to get back on your feet, first you must get back on your feet and walk.

Many people say exercise and what they are referring to is getting up and walking. Even your surgeon recommends getting up to walk as soon as you can. However, anything more than that and you risk popping staples/sutures, etc.

I hope they meant walking with "day 1 exercise" because the pain is too restrictive. Stick to walking and the more the pain starts to ease you will resume daily activities. Full exercise is only to be resumed once you are healed and there are different recommendations on when exactly that is.

I notice many posts where people talk about starting to exercise on day one. Will I really have enough energy to exercise after major surgery and getting so few calories during the first eight weeks?

I had RNY and did have a drain installed. It was removed before I left the hospital. It was the first time I had a train and I was very frightened.
Seriously it does not hurt at all! It just feels weird when they pull it out. I also had one recently for a cervical spine fusion surgery and again, no pain when they removed it. It just sort of tickled when they pulled it out.
Loose skin all depends on how much weight you have to loose. For you, because you are younger yours will bounce back better than someone like me who is 52 and lost and gained hundreds of pounds over my lifetime.
It also depends on how many times you have lost and gained. Everytime we do that, we damage our skin.
Recovery for me was not bad at all. I came home after 2 cnights in the hospital. I stopped taking pain medication the day after I came home. I felt weak for the first week only having been on Clear liquids. I began to feel much better week 2, by week 4 I felt pretty normal.
I will say that first night in the hospital was rough and I did not sleep one wink. This was because of the gas they put in your tummy. It makes you uncomfortable and it is hard to get rid of. Walking, hot packs or hot pads and when your bowels start back up gas x.
You have to keep in mind I may not be the best judge of this having had many spinal surgeries. Those recoveries take months and years and wear you down. My tolerance for pain is extremely high.

I also had RNY and had no drain. Going back to work and recovery time are different for everyone and, typically, younger patients recover faster. I was back to work 2 1/2 wks after my surgery and have felt great since.
As far as loose skin there are several factors. Being younger is definitely an advantage as you have more elasticity to your skin at younger ages. However, it depends on how much skin, how fast you lose the weight, etcs.

I had no drain either. Loose skin is definitely affected by many things including age but everyone is different. Take Week 1 to rest and walk and see how you feel week 2.

I thought that at first but once I got honest with myself and accepted that I was super morbidly obese and could die because of it, it became easier to watch. I have learned a lot from watching it.
This is the first season I will be watching post-surgery so I noticed last night that I have a different perspective already.

@@Inner Surfer Girl I did watch that too and I am always amazed at how one gets so fat by the time they are 22. She didn't get that fat without having enablers and her mom was definitely that. Her dad was too but he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't. Nikki was absolutely a beauty even as large as she was but I bet she is stunning once she is in the 200-250 area and I hope she gets there and more. I LOVED her hair.
The amount of food she ate prior to surgery was astounding to me and I even thought she was eating to much after surgery but at least she was losing. I think he said that he couldn't do the gastric bypass because her liver and heart were to enlarged and that he had to do the sleeve which can be almost as effective.
I was very happy that she was able to do more at her job and at home after surgery and I hope they do a review of her at the end of the year.
Also agreed, I don't need these people to be humiliated while we watch them shower and toilet.

I wonder if there's someplace to watch the show online for free. We don't have cable. Or even a TV. But I've always really wanted to watch it.

Congratulations! Keep on going, it will all come off if you stay the course!

That's huge! Congratulations

I stepped on the scale this morning and....boom! 51lb weight loss. I've got a long road ahead but I'm loving the progress. :D

Best of luck to you for the surgery, and to your future success!

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I hope that all goes well and you have a speedy recovery.

I'm having my surgery on the 8th of February (OMG!). I'm so excited I can barely stand it. It has been a long 9 months getting to this point. I have my nutrition class Tuesday and my husband is finally going with to one of my meetings, he's always working or in school. I'm anxious to learn what else I need to do. I've been reading and watching everything I can get my hands on (I'm a nerd what can I say) as well as talking to others who have already been through this. So I think I'm as prepared as I can be.
Good luck to all of you that are getting ready to join this special group of people that have chosen life and health over food.

Last thing: I was given something in my IV prior to being wheeled to the operating room. I vaguely remember being asked to scoot over from a gurney to the table, and that was it. I don't remember anything from the operating room itself, not even a mask being put over my face. I also remember nothing from the recovery room.
First thing: I was suddenly in my room, although I don't remember being put into the bed. I kind of remember saying that my back was hurting and being shown how to access the pain pump.
This was my first surgery ever, and in every regard it was so much easier than I expected.

I remember being rolled toward the OR and then nothing until the PA who helped with my surgery stopped by and introduced himself. I asked him if he was sure he did surgery on me because it didn't feel different! I asked him again when he visited me the next day in my hospital room. Both times he just laughed and promised they actually did the surgery. I also remember thinking he was cute and noticing the next day that he was married!

I remember this from when I had a C-Section in 1976. When I came to, I was mimicking along to the sounds of the heart monitor.

I remember them rolling me out of the room to head to surgery and being told I was about to get something to relax me in my IV. I was a goner right after that and next thing I know I was being rolled right in to my hospital room. I guess I woke up in recovery and don't remember it. I remember immediately feeling good .

Going in.....food.
Coming out......food.
Just think of the anesthesia as a nice nap. They do all the work while you get to sleep.