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Advice For A Youngin



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Hey everyone! I'm 21 years old from Canada and I have been looking into having RNY gastric bypass surgery in April and I'm currently going through the social worker and nutritionist. Here in Canada we have to go through a few process before the doctor lets us go through the surgery. I have been thinking about the long the effects this surgery will provide (good and bad) my mother supporters me but my dad doesn't want me to do it. I am currently 260 lbs height of 5'6. Any advice? I also have PCOS which makes it very difficult to loose weight and a long family history of diabetes so I'm afraid. Any one have advice about not all family members agreeing with the surgery? I'm also scared to tell my friends because I don't think they would understand

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I'm only 2 months post op but as far as support and understanding, I think you need to just say screw it and do it. No one else has to walk in your shoes or live your life. Do what makes you happy!

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Yep! My husband was against it but finally realized I wasn't going to give up. My mama was another story. It's taken almost 7 months from my surgery to get her to half acknowledge anything. Of course there are risks and there are always gonna be people with opinions. The real opinion that matters however is yours. Research your heart out and decide for yourself if it's right for you. Family and friends have gradually acknowledged it was a wonderful choice. There will always be one or 2 who may not agree but that's ok too. The wonderful part of being an adult is being able to make your own choices. I can only tell you the good choice it was for me but I do encourage you to decide for yourself. Benefits versus risks should be a huge factor. I'm sure when you make up your mind and feel confident with your decision others around you will be supportive.

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I have been very fortunate. My hubby is very supportive and my mom, although worried, knows it is the best for me. They have both seen the medical issues I have suffered and want me to feel better. I've also done tons of research and have been forthcoming with the risks and the changes to expect once I have the surgery.

I haven't told too many folks outside of my family, but the few I have told have been nothing but supportive. I'm not neccessarily keeping it secret, it's just a need to know basis. And I don't think most people need to know. As long as you know what is best for you, your family will follow suit. If not, there is no lack of support on this site.

Good luck.

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When I had the band my husband was so supportive. But I have since lost him to cancer and I had to make the decision to go ahead and have bypass. It wasn't a hard decision because it was my will to live rather than die early. At 71 I feel about 39. So the moral of the story is, the decision has to be yours, live and enjoy life to the fullest, or shorten it by doing nothing.

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I'm very sorry for your loss :( and thank you very much for the advice ! Do you find after the bypass you find yourself more tired because of the malabsorption of calcium/ Vitamins?

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I'm very sorry for your loss :( and thank you very much for the advice ! Do you find after the bypass you find yourself more tired because of the malabsorption of calcium/ Vitamins?

Thank you. Actually, I recovered faster from the bypass than the band. I felt it took longer on the recovery with the band. I am tired, but then I have a dog that will start getting me up early in the mornings like 5 AM, an I am a night owl, still up till about 3 AM (I work nights). So the interrupted sleep doesn't help. So far I am finding more energy than I had before this surgery. I do take four Bariatric fusion complete Vitamin and mineral supplements per day. But if I don't get enough Protein my energy level goes down and I do notice it. I will sleep longer on one of my days off, but then I also work a 10 hour shift the day before and only get, at the most, 5 hours of sleep before I have to go back into work that day. So overall, any tiredness isn't actually caused by the bypass but from my life style. For my age, which is only a number, I feel I'm doing quite well. Time will tell though. Recently had complete set of labs and nothing was said except for my blood sugars (I'm a diabetic) and they had come down but the surgeon would rather see them normal with no insulin. So he only wants me to have Protein, nothing else :unsure: . So to answer your question I would have to say "no" but I only had bypass 2 1/2 months ago, it could happen later. I'm actually more fearful of the lack of Iron from this procedure than anything else. I have read where people have to take Iron supplements either orally, injection, and some even infusion (which is painful and long). But I wouldn't change anything, I had researched this procedure out and not sorry abit that I made this decision.

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Hey everyone! I'm 21 years old from Canada and I have been looking into having RNY gastric bypass surgery in April and I'm currently going through the social worker and nutritionist. Here in Canada we have to go through a few process before the doctor lets us go through the surgery. I have been thinking about the long the effects this surgery will provide (good and bad) my mother supporters me but my dad doesn't want me to do it. I am currently 260 lbs height of 5'6. Any advice? I also have PCOS which makes it very difficult to loose weight and a long family history of diabetes so I'm afraid. Any one have advice about not all family members agreeing with the surgery? I'm also scared to tell my friends because I don't think they would understand

It's such a personal decision. I had surgery for health reasons after trying every diet plan known to man. You really have to ask yourself if you're ready to commit to life long behavioral changes. The surgery is only the beginning.

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Hey everyone! I'm 21 years old from Canada and I have been looking into having RNY gastric bypass surgery in April and I'm currently going through the social worker and nutritionist. Here in Canada we have to go through a few process before the doctor lets us go through the surgery. I have been thinking about the long the effects this surgery will provide (good and bad) my mother supporters me but my dad doesn't want me to do it. I am currently 260 lbs height of 5'6. Any advice? I also have PCOS which makes it very difficult to loose weight and a long family history of diabetes so I'm afraid. Any one have advice about not all family members agreeing with the surgery? I'm also scared to tell my friends because I don't think they would understand

It's such a personal decision. I had surgery for health reasons after trying every diet plan known to man. You really have to ask yourself if you're ready to commit to life long behavioral changes. The surgery is only the beginning.

What kind of behavioural changes?

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

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    • ChunkCat

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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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