RnYBeyhive

Oh and it’s damn near impossible for me to eat 6 times a day. That’s what my NUT wants me to do

I drink a shake for Breakfast, eat a P3 for lunch, a snack like string cheese and a clementine OR a sliced small apple and a single serving of PB, dinner is usually some kind of Protein meal. I only prep breakfast,lunch and snack

I hit a stall from week 3-4 but I believe I broke it. I’m avoiding my scale because she lies

I hit a stall from week 3-4 but I believe I broke it. I’m avoiding my scale because she lies

I hit a stall from week 3-4 but I believe I broke it. I’m avoiding my scale because she lies

Also it’s no scale November for me, I’ll weigh myself on the 1st

My 6 week appointment was on 10/30 and I’m down 36lbs since surgery on 9/17. Down 57lbs since my highest weight in May. I’ve been cleared to weight train and do whatever I want as far as exercise goes. Also I can fit a size 20 vs a size 24 preop.

I’m slowly drinking a Protein Shake a day for breakfast because I never feel like eating. I eat a P3 for lunch and a spinach salad for dinner. Salad is my favorite way to get my veggies in. The first thing I wanted on regular food was a salad lol. I’ve tried ham and cheese roll ups and apples with Peanut Butter with no problems.

I don’t have any complaints, just occasional indigestion. I feel good, I’m just trying to adjust to being back at work this week. I’ll see my surgeon a week after my 25th Birthday in January. My personal goal for that appointment is 234..we’ll see. Hope everyone is well!

I’m looking forward to having this problem,I’m currently a 44H (pushing an I cup really) 😩

I’M GOING TO THROW THE scale AWAY!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬 My scale says that I gained and it better be because my period is coming because there’s no freaking way! I’m eating more but that’s still only a lil bit of food. I can’t even hit my intake goal. Omg I hate the scale so much and I’m tempted to limit my weigh-ins to my follow up appointments. So I see the surgeon on the 30th, again in December, then a different doctor in January. So I’ll try to stay off the scale 😒

4 weeks post RNY. I’m struggling with Protein because I don’t eat more than barely twice a day. Also I just started to not have food aversions with everything so I’m waiting to try premier shakes again.

I start the day with a big cup of filtered Water with a tiny bit of juice (apple juice helps with regularity) and just try to drink throughout the day. I’m always thirsty and rarely hungry. I’m pretty close to my 64oz daily goal because I drink at least 44oz in my speedway cup lol.

I hit that 3 weeks stall and I’m bloating (Aunt Flo is sure to come) so I’m avoiding the scale until I have an appointment next week and the week after.

4 weeks post RNY. I’m struggling with Protein because I don’t eat more than barely twice a day. Also I just started to not have food aversions with everything so I’m waiting to try premier shakes again.

I start the day with a big cup of filtered Water with a tiny bit of juice (apple juice helps with regularity) and just try to drink throughout the day. I’m always thirsty and rarely hungry. I’m pretty close to my 64oz daily goal because I drink at least 44oz in my speedway cup lol.

I hit that 3 weeks stall and I’m bloating (Aunt Flo is sure to come) so I’m avoiding the scale until I have an appointment next week and the week after.

I’m looking forward to having this problem,I’m currently a 44H (pushing an I cup really) 😩

Gosh Hey give so thrilled for you, just ❤it when things go right!

@stiney358 I tried chicken earlier and was able to pass my Protein goal ! It worked out much better than seafood

3 weeks post and my intake of everything is so low that I started eating pedialyte popsicles. The sf popsicles taste gross to me now. I couldn’t even finish one yesterday. Darn changing taste buds. I’m on purées but I don’t want anything 🤢🤢🤢. SW:304 CW:275

Strained cream of potato made me dump terribly, strained cream of chicken and mushroom tasted good at first and then 🤢. I’ve had the best luck with egg drop Soup (the egg pieces are tiny). I can not hit my Protein when everything makes me want to gag smh. Thank you, I’m trying to stay strong but the idea of watery refried Beans sounds amazing right now 😭. Luckily for me I have to take my morning bunch of pills so no food yet

Hi @ RnYBeyhive my sweet friend, Hi all the rest,of my bypass peeps. Its me, 1 whole week post-op and ready to relate so put my Matrix Suit on in case someone starts stomping me. Only hospitalized 2 short days, he originally had said 3, did well, came home with a few medications and a 21 day supply of Lovenox. If it keeps me from strokes, if it prevents or lessen clots thrown from my legs to,my lungs, I'm Your Woman! I am a good smooth shooters although,many have said they are painful, I have not,found them so, don't even sting!
Came home on level 2, yesterday,I say my surgeon. Instead of having bruising around each trocar wound, Sunday I started to have a solid sheet of a purple veil spreading across,my tummy left to right, but around each incision I have a round circle of normal pigmentation. I have 6 wounds, 1 up between my breasts, just below my sternum, a large and medium on the right, 2 medium on the left, and one in my navel. How do I know their sizes , apart from the amount of steri-strips applied? Because yesterday he said I was doing so remarkably well he removed all the ones remaining. And each one has one or 2 black sutures down in but each is looking very well. The largest one on a bypass is where the big business- like stamplers and such went in, sleevers usually ( no absolute-each,of He,is different, each,surgeon has his/her own game plan) is on the left and thays where they pull your stomach remnant through and out. But still not inflamed or wicked bad looking. Now for the point I risk Death by Trompeling for, He Already Advanced my diet to Stage 3 at only 6 days out. Says he feel MY BODY AND ME are ready! I have 2 very-dear-to-ME. BariPals, one out 3 weeks today, the other 5 weeks yesterday and they are barely limping through on 2, one barfs every time the wind blows, bet I no longer get PM of encouragement from the one. Says I can now go to 6. 8.-ounce glasses, because I now know what I oz and 2 oz feel like in my mouth I can a little more free-style. I am still going to be cautious, I may be the Wonder Woman of the Western World, able to,progress, but Mama Got A BRAND NEW. bag and this is,and will remain, a Learning Experience. After only a 1 week vacation I can go back to my Prenatal Vitamins, good thing I didnt buy the Big Bottle my son was encouraging me to purchase. So I have now a choice between grinding up 2 pills or tossing down a prenatal. I have to grind down because no one with prosthetic teeth has the mouth muscle strength to grind, only way I have for me to not retch is to mix it with unsweetened applesauce and Musselmans is better than Motts, higher Vitamin count and I think it tastes better.
RYB, don't stock too heavy, although I am still going with Protein Shakes, only Premier and my soys do not have an underlying yuck😿 factor. And the ChrystalLightwater additives taste bitter, like you were vomiting up bile.
But I remain and shall remain your humble correspondent. And Hear Ye Hear Ye one and all!
I AM EXTREMELY GLAD I HAD IT DONE- It will,have me a life WITH I could not have had WITHOUT!🍀😛🍀😛❤

I work in a pharmacy inside of a grocery store so my fellow pharmacy techs and my pharmacists know. I didn’t have to tell them but I felt comfortable enough to share with them. I cleaned up my friends list on FB so when I got a surgery date I made a post about my journey so far. I waited well over a year after I met my surgeon to tell most people about my journey (6 days till surgery). In the past I was very vocal about being a 300lb half marathoner. So far I’ve received nothing but support with my RnY journey.

I’m looking forward to having this problem,I’m currently a 44H (pushing an I cup really) 😩

I started the process to have bariatric surgery last year when I was 23, I’ll be 24 on surgery day. Surgery was my last option, I was sold on it after a younger friend who also has PCOS experienced success with the sleeve. Honestly I finally became fed up, I shouldn’t feel this bad at this age smh. Had I known how difficult losing weight would be for me I would have pursued surgery when I was 21/22.

Since your wife doesn't seem to think there is a problem and neither does her surgeon, have you considered that this is your perception, and not reality?

Four and a half months out from surgery... This morning, I noticed something weird above my thigh getting out of the shower. Kind of a lump, it looked like.
I was worried for a minute then I noticed it was on the other side, too. It was my hip bone. It has never been visible before in my entire adult life.

So, I have promised to share my story with anyone who is interested. I’m not simply a bariatric surgery patient. Feel free to ask questions about what I have gone through. I am not shy about talking about my travails and have lots of experience with surgery in general. The photos I am sharing may be disturbing to some people. I am scarred and have an ileostomy. If you are squeamish, you may want to skip the photos.

Here we go… Get your popcorn, this is a very long post.

My name is Andy. I turned 52 in early July. I am single and live alone with my dog. I’ve been heavy most of my life. But, my journey is about my chronic illness and the effects it has had on me and my body.

I have Crohn’s Disease. I started having symptoms when I was 15. It got really bad when I was in the Navy, but it was in 1990 that I was first hospitalized because of it. I was, at first, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and started on medication. This seemed to help for a while, but it kept getting worse. In 1995, when my doctor said I had to start taking Prednisone again, I opted to have a radical surgery to “cure” me by removing the organ of choice for this autoimmune disease. On April 20, 1995, I had the first of three major abdominal surgeries at Northwestern University Hospital, in Illinois. I had my entire large intestine removed and an internal pouch was made out of my small intestine to take the place of my large intestine. The surgery took almost 12 hours to complete. It was done open incision; laparoscopic surgery of this type was not perfected until the early 2000s. (My youngest brother had this exact surgery performed in 2012 laparoscopically. Crohn’s disease runs in my family.) This pouch was connected to the exit and I had a loop ileostomy for three months while the internal pouch healed. Yes, I pooped into a bag hanging from my stomach for three months back then. Then, after the three months, I went back in for another surgery where they closed the ileostomy and dropped my intestine back inside. Things went well for a couple of years, then I got sick again.

I moved to California and started a new job in 2002. When I found a new gastroenterologist in southern California, he did some tests and said I did not have ulcerative colitis, but Crohn’s Disease. (The difference between these two irritable bowel diseases is ulcerative colitis only attacks the large intestine, but Crohn’s disease can attack any part of the digestive system.) This doctor started me on an infusion medication called Remicade. This was the first medication that ever really worked. I took it for about 14 years until I developed antibodies to it. I kept taking it even though it was not working because the doctor never had me tested for antibodies.

In 2014, I moved to Idaho. I found my current gastroenterologist, who is the best doctor I have ever had. He put me on Humira. This is a self-injectable medication that also worked for a while, this time about two years. When he saw that the Humira was no longer working, he ordered a blood test that would see if I had antibodies to it. This is when I found out that I had antibodies to both Humira and my previous medication, Remicade. I was then switched to Cimzia, which never worked. I just keep getting sicker and sicker. (The worst part of having Crohn’s disease is there are no outward signs that you are sick. I looked fine but felt like crap all the time. No one at work believed I was sick)

One of the side effects of my surgery in 1995 was scar tissue in my small intestines where the ileostomy was. Because of this, I periodically have small bowel obstructions that usually require hospitalization. To date, I have had 17 small bowel obstructions. These usually clear themselves while I am in the hospital, by not eating anything (NPO) and having an NG (Naso-gastral) tube inserted up my nose and down into my stomach, to remove any contents using suction.

Let’s jump ahead to last year – May 2017. I had yet another small bowel obstruction. I was hospitalized as usual, but this time it did not clear. I had been in the hospital for two weeks and then they decided I needed surgery to clear the blockage. When I was talking to the surgeon before the surgery, he said I had a 90% chance that I would come out of surgery with a permanent ileostomy. This was not the case. In this second major open abdominal surgery, the surgeon was able to remove scar tissue strictures from the outside of my small intestine and they immediately inflated and the blockage passed. I got lucky. The surgeon told me that if I had another small bowel obstruction, he would be forced to remove my internal pouch and give me a permanent ileostomy.

In August of 2017, this is exactly what happened. A bit after 4 am on August 21, 2017 (yes, the day of the total solar eclipse – I’ll say more about this in a minute), I went to the emergency room and was admitted about 8:30 am for yet another small bowel obstruction. I had been up all night throwing up and getting sicker, so I was exhausted by the time I got to my room. About 10 am, the nurse came in and asked if I wanted to go out to the parking lot and watch the eclipse. I was so sick and exhausted that I said no and slept through the entire event. (I live in one of the areas where people came to view the event (eastern Idaho) and I missed the entire thing because of this damn disease…) When the surgeon came in later that day, he said that he had scheduled me for surgery on Wednesday, August 23, 2017,, for the removal of my badly diseased internal pouch and give me a permanent end ileostomy. So, again, I poop into a bag.

So, on August 23, 2017, I had the third major open abdominal surgery. One thing to note here is this was the third time I had been opened up in the same place – from just above my belly button, vertically down into my groin. My wound had barely healed from the surgery in May and the surgeon was cutting me open again. This ended up being a long recovery.

There were two issues with this surgery: the first was the placement of the ileostomy. The surgeon placed it in the scar tissue from my ileostomy that I had back in 1995. This has caused issues with the seal on my bag.

The second issue was the surgical wound. While I got much better since the badly diseased part of my small intestine was surgically removed, the wound did not want to heal. I was in the hospital for over three weeks and eventually sent home on with a wound vac. This device keeps constant suction on the wound and removes any blood and body fluids from the wound, preventing infection and speeding healing. The problem with my wound this time is it was not closed properly and it took over four months for it to close enough for me to stop using the wound vac. I was able to finally return to work in January of 2018.

Back to my gastroenterologist. I went to see him in Februar 2018 for a checkup and an intestinal scope, called a sigmoidoscopy. This is basically the same as a colonoscopy, but they use a much smaller device. It is about the same size as an endoscope. When this procedure was over, he said to me that I needed to lose weight. (He basically says this every time I see him, about every three months) This time, I was sick of hearing about it so I asked him for a referral to see a dietician to help me with my weight and my eating.

About a month later, I get an unexpected call from a bariatric surgeon’s office near where I live and was invited to a seminar. I went and after the presentation, I went to ask the surgeon a couple of questions about whether or not I was a candidate based on my surgeries. She said that it was not out of the question, but she would need me to make an appointment to be sure. I was seen in late March 2018. When I met with the surgeon, she asked me to lift my shirt and show her my abdomen. She took one look at my scars and said she could do nothing for me. She referred me to a bariatric surgeon at the University of Utah, who I met with on June 29, 2018. Because I had already started the journey, according to my insurance, back in March, the doctor placed me on the fast-track to get everything done. Since June 29th, I have had 14 appointments in Salt Lake City, about 210 miles south of where I live.

During this first appointment, I also talked to the bariatric surgeon about my other issues and he referred me to a colo-rectal surgeon, also at U of U. I met with him on July 20, 2018. We discussed revision surgery on the placement of my ileostomy and the removal of internal scar tissue around my small intestines on the left side of my abdomen. He said that these things need to be done and that he would coordinate with the bariatric surgeon. The bariatric surgeon was more hesitant and needed much convincing. I finally was able to talk him into performing both sets of procedures during the same operating room visit. I was finally approved for everything and am scheduled for surgery on September 6, 2018.

In early August of this year, I was finally approved for yet another Crohn’s medication – Stelara. This, by the way, is the second most expensive medication in the United States, behind only Harvoni (which is used for hepatitis C). Stelara costs about $20,000 per dose and I have to inject one dose every two months. So far, it is working.

So, to recap – on September 6, 2018, I will be having a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, performed laparoscopically (prepped for open, but he is going to attempt laparoscopically first) by Dr. Volckmann as the first procedure performed. While I am still under and after Dr. Volckmann finishes, Dr. Pickron will come in and perform a revision on the location of my permanent end ileostomy and attempt to remove as much scar tissue from my small intestines as he can. This will be performed open, through the same incision location and scar tissue that has been used now three previous times.

I am also posting photos of what I look like without clothing, with privates blocked out. Since my surgery on August 23, 2018, only my doctors have seen me this way. And the last photo is of my "surgery" haircut. I hate to deal with my hair in the hospital so I just cut it all off before I go in.

If you have made it to this point, thank you for reading my story. I have never written it all down before and as such, have never shared everything with anyone.

***Sharing a recent surgery experience*** I had my gastric bypass surgery about 1 week ago and so wanted to share some of my experiences with you. I know before I went in, I was nervous, excited, anxious and would have loved to hear about someone one else’s experience – so I am sharing mine. For what it’s worth. <3 I tried to break it down into sections so you can scan and read what you want. SURGERY/RECOVERY ROOM My surgery was scheduled for 8:15am on August 28, 2018 at the University of Iowa Hospital; we arrived at 6am to get checked in. They did all the expected procedures, weighed me, asked medical questions, did a pregnancy test, change into hospital gown, and prepped the IV. At 8:15am, wheeled back to the surgical area. Where it felt like I was the car in a Nascar pit stop.  People checking with me, setting up IV fluids, other monitors, prepping for surgery. The last thing I recall is the oxygen mask and asking me to take deep breaths. The surgery started at 9:08am and lasted until about 12pm and I was in the recovery room until about 2pm. They checked on my pain levels and nausea. I was fortunate to not have nausea, but there was significant pain. From there I was wheeled into my room and was able to see my family. Remember, you just had surgery and you are going to be VERY tired. You will be pale and do NOT worry about any of that! <3 I was still linked to the IV for fluids and pain medicine; I could push the button every 8 minutes for a dose, which did help limit the pain. They also gave me anti-nausea medicine through the IV. DRAIN I had a gastric bypass so had a drain. I understand this isn’t the case for all surgeries. I had a plastic tube in my stomach that was connected to a small bulb. Every 4 hours, a nurse would empty it and they also sent a sample of the fluids to the lab to ensure what was coming out was ok. In my case, the drain did not hurt. It was just rather weird having a plastic tube sticking out of your tummy. At one point, my drain started to leak Fluid so they just had to remove the bandages and replace and cover with more tape. (Just another reason to stick with the hospital gowns – got the stuff on their clothes not mine!  ) I will speak to the removal of the drain – since that is a question I had. When I was about to be discharged the next afternoon, they had to pull it out. There were two stitches adhering the drain to my stomach so they snipped those (no pain) and started to pull the drain out. It was minimal pain but mostly it felt really …weird… They are pulling a plastic tube out of your insides so you can imagine. Not terrible – just not something I would like to feel again. CATHETER I had a catheter after my surgery; I don’t know if this is standard for all surgeries. Every 4 hours, the nurse would empty and measure the amount of fluid. The main annoyance was trying to walk around with a long-ass tube between your legs. When they took it out, it just felt like a little pressure and it was done. It was no biggie. NURSES I want to take a moment and recognize the work of nurses. They work their asses off to take care of us and it is not a simple job. I was pretty lucky with my nurses; they were very kind and fun. I did have one that liked to complain a lot, but she was still nice to me. Please, do NOT act like a jerk to the nurses! I know you may be in pain and scared – but they are there to help you and support you. It IS ok to ask for help though. Use the call button and ask for assistance as you need. There were a couple of times I had to use mine and that is what is there for. On a side note, I do know there are a few nurses who really should leave the field. If you do come across such nurse, it is completely appropriate to advocate for yourself and get a reassignment. When my grandmother was in the hospital many years ago, I had to do this because of her negligence and the way she spoke to my grandma. ***Long story short: Be nice, ask for help, and advocate for yourself. PAIN I am known for sugar coating anything (just ask my kids, lol) Yes, you will have pain. You will also have medicine to assist you with this. Be honest with your caretakers about your pain level. If the medicine is not helping you – it is ok to discuss other options! It is your body! I developed an allergy to the pain medicine and became itchy ALL over! Since the allergy wasn’t dangerous, they reconciled this by simply giving me Benadryl. The second day, they started to wean me off the IV pain pump and gave me the same pain pills I would have at home. *PRO TIP: Take the pain pills (and any other ones) as prescribed, even if it means waking up from slumber to take them! For example, I was to take mine every 4 hours. I set multiple alarms on my cell phone to alert me to take them – even overnight. That way the pain meds remain in your system and you don’t wake up in immense pain! It is well worth it, I promise! NAUSEA I was relatively lucky with this and didn’t suffer with it too badly. I know some folks really have difficulties with this. I did have anti-nausea meds in my IV for a while and they sent me home with anti-nausea pills for home. The only time I did have a terrible moment of nausea was the evening of the surgery.,,but we had some interesting weather. We actually had a Tornado warning so all patients had to come outside their rooms. I had to go from laying down to sitting up ramrod straight in a chair. I thought for sure I was going to get sick – but I was able to hold it in. I couldn’t bear to get sick in front of all the other patients and upset them or cause more work for the nurses. After the warning was over, I got to go back in my room and lay down and l felt so much better. WALKING When I was in the hospital (and after I got home) I got up to walk about every 2 hours and it *significantly* helped with any gas pain. It was also just good to get out of the room and see other people. Yes, I am talking about overnight. In fact, my most fun walks were at 12am, 2am, and 4am because the overnight nurses were really sweet and funny. I know you will be tired and sleep is very hard to get at the hospital, but it will make you feel better to walk for a few minutes. <3 HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT This is just my experience, but the hospital was not exactly a relaxing place. No surprise to most people.  There is constant noise: beeping from other rooms, people talking, some people have tv’s, etc. I recommend earplugs or headphones to help with the noise. You also will have folks coming into your room at all hours interrupting you sleep - to do different things (checking IV’s, vitals, catheter, pump, housekeeping) COMING HOME I was very happy to be able to come home. I was able to come home the afternoon after my surgery. They will get the meds you need and go over your discharge notes and instructions. (Do as they say!) I HIGHLY recommend bringing a pillow or having the person driving you home bring a pillow. It helps you hold your stomach from all the bouncing from the car ride. My ride home was a little rough. The roads in Iowa are not especially great so it did hurt. Just be prepared for that with a pillow and pain meds and you will be ok. <3 DIET Be sure to follow whatever diet your doctor/nutritionist. I know that different programs/hospitals have different protocols – so follow what you are given. Do NOT cheat immediately after your surgery! It is not worth it to possibly harm yourself. <3 WHAT TAKE TO HOSPITAL This is a question I see often and researched much as well. I will just list the items I found useful: • Comfy Robe (used for walks and as a blanket; it was much softer than the hospital blanket) • Slippers • Ponytail holders • Face wash wipes • hair Brush • Toothbrush • Toothpaste • Phone and charger • Headphones • Comfy clothes to go home in (I wore a cotton dress. I didn’t want pants to touch my incisions) • Extra undergarments • Deodorant • Biotine (My mouth was SO dry! And it was heavenly when I could have ice chips!) • I did not wear the PJ’s I brought. I wore the hospital gown and was thankful I did due to a couple of drain leaks! **************************************************************** Well, that was my experience. Hope you found it helpful. If you have any questions – let me know and I am happy to answer! Best of luck to you! Stefanie <3

NEW UPDATE: Frustr8's very sleepy today. Probably from nausea meds. They have had her up and walking and sipping fluids. So far, so good!