Rebecca805

I was 41 started at 360 had RNY and in 4 1/2 months have lost 103 lbs.
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I was 41 started at 360 had RNY and in 4 1/2 months have lost 103 lbs.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

First, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you who so kindly answered my many questions and concerns before my RNY on August 18th. And a special helping of good karma to those who helped talk me off the ledge as I drove myself bat-**** crazy while making the decision between RNY or the sleeve.
For those of you who are considering RNY, and are worried about the recovery, I can only speak for my experience but.....the recovery was so much easier than what I had been imagining. Now, surgery day and the first full day of post-op were no party, not a lot of fun. But nothing unbearable, nothing that I couldn't get through with good nurses and pain meds. I got to my room at 2:00 pm, and by 4:30 I was walking laps (slowly, slowly) around the nurses station. First full day post op I mainly felt like I was achey everywhere and coming down with the flu....not the case at all, but for the next few days I got that "flu" feeling every night around 7pm until I went to sleep; I think that's how my body reacts to being pushed to its healing limits. Never had a fever, never threw up.
Discharged after one night, which felt a little fast, but I was walking, using the bathroom, had pain under control. Truth is I slept better once I got home, by far.
Only regret so far? I wish that over the past several years as I considered weight loss surgery, I wish I had not focused so much on the horror stories floating around the Internet on WLSurgeries-gone-wrong. I wish I had attended a surgery seminar much, much sooner. I wish I had fully considered the real statistics more than the oh-no-what-ifs. But, I guess I got here as soon as I could.
I know this is my positive experience, and that some people experience bumps right away. I also recognize I will likely have bumps as I move through the years. But still, already.....I feel great about my decision. In the end, all you can do is choose the best surgical team you can possibly find, listen to every instruction they give you, and do your best (and only you know what your best is) to comply with all their directives, no excuses.
I am so glad to finally be here.
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Here's hoping that your life continues to be felled with joy and positivity.

Consider taking some nice gifts for your hospital caregivers, too. Something tells me they are gonna earn them.....

Right?! Thank goodness I saved my response . #spreadlove&positivevibes
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You do realize that when you post on here you are essentially asking for thoughts and feedback, right?
If you don't want thoughts and feedback, then post the picture on Pinterest.
NO ONE was even remotely trying to be offensive or insensitive to you. At all.
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It looks like you're a great planner, kudos to that.
And I'll chalk up your sensitivity to other opinions to be just a side effect of the pre-op diet.
Good luck, I hope everything goes smoothly for you.
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oh dear
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I don't think anyone meant any harm, they were just letting you know about their experiences and what they took.
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I took all of the above and did not use anything. I wore the same thing home I wore to surgery. You will sleep/rest most of the time.
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@@Kyn13 I'd be very surprised if your boss had any say in whether you lost your job. Usually they don't have that much power in a hospital setting. Go to HR and ask for unpaid medical leave. Don't fall prey to a bitchy boss on a power trip!

So, here are a few things I wish I had known before I had my surgery (I was sleeved 5/23/16):
The gas...oh my goodness, the gas. It hurts, it stinks, and sometimes you can't trust a fart. Lovely.
Surgery doesn't make it easier to lose weight. It actually makes it more complicated! Protein, carbs, sugar, fat...It's all scientific now. If I don't get my protein, I hold Fluid and don't lose weight. If I eat sugar, I don't lose weight. If I don't get all my Water for the day, I feel hungry, tired, and--you guessed it--I don't lose weight. I even landed in the ER getting 4 bags of fluid and a CT scan to check for complications. And my insurance got a bill for $7,000. After the one they got for $29,000 just a month previous...more on that later...
Mood swings from hell will descend upon you, and you will be powerless over it at first. Now, I am learning that I tend to cry right before a stall breaks. Fat stores hormones that have to go somewhere when the fat goes...extra PMS? Yes, please! NOT. Yes ladies, your period may go completely haywire for a while. FUN...
Speaking of stalls...the weight won't always come off in a predictable pattern. It may not come off as fast as you want it to. If you stick to your plan, you will lose weight, but along the way you will stall. You may not lose anything for a while, even though you're doing everything right. You will get concerned, you may think the surgery isn't working, but if you stick to your plan the weight will come off. On it's own schedule, though, not yours. The human body is incredibly complex and very good at learning how to NOT starve. Some people believe in starvation mode, some don't, but don't test it. You don't want to get sick and malnourished. You may need to exercise more and log your food to make sure you haven't slipped up, but the stall will break. Eventually...
You will become acutely aware that people who know you had the surgery are watching you. Watching what you eat, when you eat it, and how much of it you eat. Watching to see if you lose weight, and if you don't lose weight FAST, everybody has an opinion about whether or not you should have had the surgery and if it will work, and you may hear horror stories about somebody's friend/sister/brother/cousin/coworker who had the surgery and gained all the weight back. Or never lost it at all. Stick to your plan, and remember why you made the decision to have surgery. Be ready to avoid toxic people as necessary. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. So be careful who you tell. If you are married, consider your spouse's feelings. Talk about it. You will need them on your side if at all possible. If they aren't, it could be problematic. Be ready to have hard conversations and make decisions based on those conversations. You may learn things about your relationship that you never knew, which can be good or bad.
You will have regrets. Mostly in the beginning, but be ready to wonder what in the hell you were thinking when you had this surgery. It's hard! There is an overwhelming temptation to believe that this was supposed to be easier. It's not. It's effective, but it's a lot of work and it takes a lot of self-discipline.
People may judge you and say that you took "the easy way out". See the previous paragraph. And then see the second paragraph. You may have to educate a few people. Or tell them to get lost, your choice.
If you didn't already know it, you may find out that you have a serious problem with food. Get that fixed, and do it before you waste a lot of time and heartache. Go to therapy. The surgery will NOT fix your brain. I cannot stress this enough! You will find out that food is the glue that holds our lives together. We Celebrate with it, we mourn with it, we reward ourselves with it, and sometimes our social lives revolve around it. All of that has to change. Food is fuel. Period. You will not enjoy eating out for a while, if ever. The portions are RIDICULOUS, and most of it is nothing you should be eating anyway. "I'll just have a small salad..." No, you won't, not for a while. You won't be able to eat raw vegetables for a long time, and never before your doctor clears it. It's the last step. And it may be never for certain foods. BECAUSE...
Your taste will change. What your stomach can tolerate will (obviously) change for a long time, and maybe forever in some aspects. You may hate what you once loved and love what you once hated. Go with it. And get over your addiction to caffeine, because that has to go, too. Not forever, but your surgeon will have an opinion about when it's okay again.
If you smoke, a reputable surgeon will not do weight loss surgery on you. They will most likely test you for nicotine, so don't cheat, just quit. You won't heal as well and it's just plain bad for you.
You will have no vices for a long time. Because...you can't drink alcohol either! Not for a LONG time. Just look that one up, because I quit drinking a long time ago and I don't even care about this part. Except: you may trade old addictions for new ones. You may need therapy to fix this. If food was a coping mechanism for you, you had better have a plan for new coping skills. BECAUSE...
This is stressful as hell, if you hadn't figured that out. You hair may come out. Be ready. Biotin is rumored to help, but it isn't a sure thing.
You will need to take Vitamins for the rest of your life. Don't be cheap and skimp on this one. You need bariatric vitamins. Deficiencies can set you back in significant ways. It's not worth it. Take your vitamins.
Now. If you're still reading this, you may think I am one hell of a "Negative Nelly". Nope! I am a realist. You should be scared. You should think long and hard before you have weight loss surgery. If you even qualify for surgery, you've cleared a significant obstacle. If your insurance covers it, that's another significant obstacle out of the way. Soooo...If you have a surgeon willing to do it, and you can get insurance to pay for it (or if you can make it happen as self-pay) DO IT. If you still want to have weight loss surgery despite knowing how much it can suck, then you will probably do well. BECAUSE...
IT'S WORTH IT. All of it.

@@Justgotsleeved You can drink all day long - just take small sips. There's no waiting necessary until you're eating food. Walk to help with the discomfort. Be sure to take pain meds, anti nausea and your PPI if prescribed. Try using a heating pad. Also - many find it more comfortable sleeping in a recliner for a few days post-op. You will be grateful to have had surgery - especially when you're health improves! Stay strong!

The scale can go up if you haven't pooped! Pay little attention to it fluctuating - as everyone said - it can vary throughout a day! My weight went up 3lbs while I was sleeping last night! Sent from my KFFOWI using the BariatricPal App

I also had gastric bypass in February. I also have had 1-2 dumping experiences and it has really made me examine everything I eat. The episodes weren't awful just really uncomfortable to me. The surgeon recommended that I go with the bypass due to the amount of weight I have to lose, and I am happy that I did because in 4 and 1/2 months I have lost 101 lbs!
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Please call your doctors office in the morning. At 2 weeks for me everything made me nauseous as well and the Dr. prescribed Zofran for me. Dehydration will earn you another trip to the hospital. I wish you well. It will get better!
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I was 41 started at 360 had RNY and in 4 1/2 months have lost 103 lbs.
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Down 210. Congrats !!

Please call your doctors office in the morning. At 2 weeks for me everything made me nauseous as well and the Dr. prescribed Zofran for me. Dehydration will earn you another trip to the hospital. I wish you well. It will get better!
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I was 41 started at 360 had RNY and in 4 1/2 months have lost 103 lbs.
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I've been HOVERING at 230-233 for quite a while (week and a half). Dying to hit the 220's. I take my weight loss in "decades" - in the 50's, 40's, 30's- because there are so many day to day fluctuations.
Well, today I hit 229.9! I was GOING to take a picture of the scale... Until I realized holding the phone to snap it would have added a couple of ounces!!!!

I wish I had known how easy the surgery and recovery would be. It was my first surgery so I had no idea what it would be like.

105 lbs down for me!!
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I agree, I wouldn't advise it. You just had major surgery with re routing of your intestines etc. I would call the surgeons office and get their opinion.
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105 lbs down for me!!
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