Hello my name is Dona. I am 53 years old, married going on 26 years. I have one son that is 25 years old.

I started my journey in January of this year. I was 262 lbs and miserable, so my personal Dr. approved me for for Bypass surgery.I went to 2 seminars and one support group. It took me a long time to really get serious about the surgery mentally and physically.

Anyway, I just had my Bypass Surgery on Nov. 30th of this year. I was scared, but I finally made the decision to get out of my rut that I was in. The last 2 weeks have been hard. I got through the pain and now I am starting on the Stage 3 plan. I have lost 17 lbs.

Now I have to get in the process of exercising and getting fit.

Changing mentally is the hardest part, but each day is getting better.

Thank you for letting me join this group, and I am looking forward to taking this journey with all of you here.

Edited December 15, 201510 yr by girantsgirl53

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

hi dona my name is jessica i am 24 married just 1.5 years no kids yet sadly and i am still doing the 6 month wait and up until today i was all geared up to do the sleeve until i meet my new surgeon and we had an hour long talk about the pros and cons and now i am on my journey to get bypass i would love to learn from you and how your doing with the progression thru the diffrent stages and Vitamins and all that

Thank you for the welcome.

Hi Jessica, I would be happy to talk with you about my journey. Right now I am almost 3 weeks out after my surgery. The pain is gone and now I start the mental challenge of eating right. TV, people around you, and just plain eating what you want whenever you want is hard to change!

I went to seminars and groups. I was given a manual that had everything in it about what type of surgery you want, what the stages of eating were, and what you would be eating after the surgery, etc. The Vitamins are also included in the manual and what you will take before and after the surgery because you will be taking them the rest of your life. The Vitamin regiment is going great for me. I started taking them when a surgery date was given to me (about a month before). They also will be the same vitamins after your surgery.

The manual I got really helped me, so get as much info as you can while you are waiting. Right now I am in the stage of eating small amounts of Protein like lunch meat, cottage cheese, stuff you can really chew and swallow. You will also have to get some Protein shakes. Protein is the most important thing you need for recovery, it gives you energy and helps you heal in the process.

Anyway, I hopes this helps you and any questions you have I will be happy to answer. I was overloaded with questions after I first started this journey, and wanted to know everything I could. The thing is support is very important. I was scared, but I know you can do this. I'm glad I did, because I am feel so much better about myself!

Take care, Dona

Edited December 18, 201510 yr by girantsgirl53

Dona thanks for replying I've gotten a binder from my surgeons office and it has some really cool stuff in it so far but I am hoping they give me more during my nut classes

Cool, and I am so glad you got a binder! Just let me know if you have anymore questions! Take care!

so dona my surgeon dr dovec does her insisons thry the belly button and two on the sides of the stomach for bypass, where were yours done and what did they use to seal them. also my pre-op diet is basically phase 1 of atkins its just 3 weeks of no starches with 2 days of clear liquids does this sound to leanent and should i like maybe do a more liquid ish diet. the reason for her for just the no all liquids pre surgery is because she wants us to always get protien from real food

Hi Jessica!

The way my surgery was done is the same as yours. Its called Laporascopic surgery. Basically its when they use a surgical tool and make the 2 incisions around your stomach, and then one through the belly button (I think this is where the magnifier part of the tool is). This kind of surgery is awesome and I've had it before. The healing takes less time. (I still have some wounds healing and I had my surgery on Nov. 30th.) He used surgical tape for the outside incisions and sewed up the incision near (just inside) my belly button.

Every doctor has a different pre-op diet. With my diet I had to eat up to 1200 calories a day and lose 10 lbs before surgery. It sounds like a good diet plan to me and I would definitely follow her instructions. Protein is very important before surgery to lose the weight and after your surgery, especially after because your stomach is smaller and you need energy. There should be Vitamins you will be taking along with the protein so you get all the nutrients you need. The beginning of recovery is very slow and your stomach is so small and still healing.

All of this information will be given to you by your doctor, so don't get too upset about having to know everything before your surgery. It seems to me that this group and others will be a big support for information and answers covering the whole procedure before and after.

I hope this helps you. I'm so excited for you and the new journey you will be taking. Its a life time decision both mentally and physically, and I think it is so worth it.

Thanks Dona. Well so far the info I've gotten from the surgeon is my protein goal and some basic nutrition information I really can't wait to sit down one on one with the nutritionist and game plan how to get in 80 grams of protein with 5% stomach capacity I know where theres a Will there's a way and all that also my food progression is kinda fast after surgery ill be on all foods week 5 after surgery and ill only be using protein shakes the first two weeks. So I'm thinking that I want to get syntrax nectar because the fruit flavors seem so good to me

I recently had RNY. For the plan my Nut put me on post-op, they recommend the amount of liquid and Protein, but in the very beginning, you do what you can. You will gradually increase your amounts as well as add in different textures every few weeks. I have not had any problem getting my liquids in, including protein shakes. My friends who had the sleeve have had issues consuming the liquid required. As for the protein shakes, I find them very convenient when you are out and about. My daughter, who's in college has started using them when she has no time to stop and get a meal. Not sure why you can only use them 2-weeks.

Also, when incorporating new foods, it is amazing what your body will accept and reject. At least if you have shakes, you are guaranteed to get 20-30g of protein. Good luck!

Edited December 23, 201510 yr by Dark-Horse

The reason for only protein shakes for just two weeks is my doc wants me to transition to normal food as quickly as possible so we can heal better. I think that's a novel idea but ill probably be on shakes for a bit

Very true, but your stomach takes time to heal, so you just start with broths and pudding, very small amounts, then you move to adding more along with protein shakes. It takes time to let your pouch heal, so it's a slow process.