So....Hi

Surgery is in 23 days, im nervous and excited mainly nervous. I am ex band which was removed 2 months ago and have gained 4 kilos but am currently on pre surgery eating plan using Optifast shakes twice a day and Protein and green veg at night for dinner (plain yog, green salad and low fat cottage cheese) as Snacks. I am finding it doable but hard to focus and feeling very emotional.

I have some worries and thoughts pre surgery and although i know everyone has their own journey and no two are exactly alike i still would like anyone if they can to field some questions please.

*pain after surgery from day 1 to 2 weeks out? (i had very little pain with insert and removal of band keyhole)

*how hard is it really to drink and what makes it so hard (the feeling that makes it hard i.e too full?)

*how hard is it to take pills if you have to?

*when transitioning through each food stage which foods will cause this dreaded dumping?

*once you have lost weight to your goal and even heading up to it can you ever eat treats or the food you used to like in small quantities?

Ok so this is all i have for now, for some reason i found joining and talking so openly about this a bit daunting. Im not sure why but i feel like getting this surgery is a bit like a dirty secret, hopefully this will change.

Nin (feeling a bit emotional)

pain after surgery from day 1 to 2 weeks out? (i had very little pain with insert and removal of band keyhole)

I had very little pain. I took no pain medicines after I left the operating room. It is important to do around 30 minutes of walking daily before surgery. It helps to manage pain (mostly from gas) and speed up the recovery process.

*how hard is it really to drink and what makes it so hard (the feeling that makes it hard i.e too full?)

After surgery, my taste buds changed significantly. I couldn't even drink the Water it the hospital because it tasted very chlorinated. I found I could tolerate flavored water so I stuck with Crystal Light after surgery.

*how hard is it to take pills if you have to?

After surgery I found that I could no longer swallow medium to large size pills. This condition lasted for around 2 months. I used pill splitters and pill crushers on my Vitamins.

*when transitioning through each food stage which foods will cause this dreaded dumping?

After RNY gastric bypass surgery the part of your stomach that process fats and sugars has been cut away. So therefore if you consume these, they can be dumped into your intestines that do not know what to do with these. Also solid foods such as steak and chicken can cause dumping. Also if you eat more than you new stomach can hold, that can lead to dumping. Think of dumping as a learning tool. Your stomach will quickly teach you what you can and cannot do.

*once you have lost weight to your goal and even heading up to it can you ever eat treats or the food you used to like in small quantities?

I have a major sweet tooth. This is how I gained so much weight. After Weight Loss phase when I transitioned into the Maintenance phase, I have to be very careful to limit my intake of sugar otherwise I will gain the weight back. Fortunately there are many alternatives such as low calorie natural sugars (stevia) and artificial sweeteners (Splenda, sugar alcohols) that satisfy my sweet tooth and many of these are being integrated into the foods that we buy in the grocery store.

pain after surgery from day 1 to 2 weeks out? (i had very little pain with insert and removal of band keyhole)

I had very little pain. I took no pain medicines after I left the operating room. It is important to do around 30 minutes of walking daily before surgery. It helps to manage pain (mostly from gas) and speed up the recovery process.

*how hard is it really to drink and what makes it so hard (the feeling that makes it hard i.e too full?)

After surgery, my taste buds changed significantly. I couldn't even drink the Water it the hospital because it tasted very chlorinated. I found I could tolerate flavored water so I stuck with Crystal Light after surgery.

*how hard is it to take pills if you have to?

After surgery I found that I could no longer swallow medium to large size pills. This condition lasted for around 2 months. I used pill splitters and pill crushers on my Vitamins.

*when transitioning through each food stage which foods will cause this dreaded dumping?

After RNY gastric bypass surgery the part of your stomach that process fats and sugars has been cut away. So therefore if you consume these, they can be dumped into your intestines that do not know what to do with these. Also solid foods such as steak and chicken can cause dumping. Also if you eat more than you new stomach can hold, that can lead to dumping. Think of dumping as a learning tool. Your stomach will quickly teach you what you can and cannot do.

*once you have lost weight to your goal and even heading up to it can you ever eat treats or the food you used to like in small quantities?

I have a major sweet tooth. This is how I gained so much weight. After Weight Loss phase when I transitioned into the Maintenance phase, I have to be very careful to limit my intake of sugar otherwise I will gain the weight back. Fortunately there are many alternatives such as low calorie natural sugars (stevia) and artificial sweeteners (Splenda, sugar alcohols) that satisfy my sweet tooth and many of these are being integrated into the foods that we buy in the grocery store.

Thank you so much this was very informative.

@Ninni

So....Hi

Surgery is in 23 days, im nervous and excited mainly nervous. I am ex band which was removed 2 months ago and have gained 4 kilos but am currently on pre surgery eating plan using Optifast shakes twice a day and Protein and green veg at night for dinner (plain yog, green salad and low fat cottage cheese) as Snacks. I am finding it doable but hard to focus and feeling very emotional.

I have some worries and thoughts pre surgery and although i know everyone has their own journey and no two are exactly alike i still would like anyone if they can to field some questions please.

*pain after surgery from day 1 to 2 weeks out? (i had very little pain with insert and removal of band keyhole)

Honestly I did not have alot of pain, I would describe having my bypass as alot of discomfort that first 5 days post op. This was due to the gas they use to expand your abdominal wall so they can get at your stomach and intestines. It feels sort of like your stomach is expanded and it is not easy to get it out but it will happen. The best thing to do is walk alot, sip alot of Water, when you are sitting or laying use a hot pack or heating pad as it is comforting. As your bowels start to work again, this discomfort can become a bit stronger so taking gas x really helped me.

I had surgery on monday, in hospital 2 nights went home on wed. Thursday was the last day I took pain medications. I walked laps around my house constantly and thought it really helped.

*how hard is it really to drink and what makes it so hard (the feeling that makes it hard i.e too full?). The thing that makes drinking harder is simply your pouch is swollen and raw. If you gulp it is painful. Small sips of room temp water was the way to go for me. And you can only sip a tiny medicine cup ful before your tummy feels full. The good news is, it empties rather quickly so to get your allotment of fluids you need to sip literally all day long.

For me, cold water makes my stomach seize up so even now, two years later I prefer room temp water and I can drink it like crazy.

*how hard is it to take pills if you have to?

In the beginning the pills you take need to be smaller than a pencil eraser. This is because the stoma is quite swollen and anything bigger can get really stuck. So, if you take meds larger than that, you need to either get the liquid version, use a chewable, break them in half or crush them. The worst for me was when they had me still taking Nexium for the first 30 days. I would have to open the capsule and pour the medication out and then swallow the insides which tasted horrible. I was happy when we stopped that medication.

The good news is, after a couple of months the swelling goes down and most meds are easily swallowable.

*when transitioning through each food stage which foods will cause this dreaded dumping?

For me....NONE. Only 30% of RNY folks actually get dumping. If it were to happen it would be foods too high in fat or sugar. I have had a mild case of dumping when i eat too much of something like that. In addition, after the first year many people who had dumping no longer dump. The body adjusts.... From reading thousands of posts the last couple of years, it is really trial and error and you will figure out quickly which foods cause it for you.

*once you have lost weight to your goal and even heading up to it can you ever eat treats or the food you used to like in small quantities? Yes, for me I could probably eat anything with the exception of eggs. You have to be very careful because this is a slippery slope. My guilty pleasure is dark chocolate. I love it and have to be very careful not to eat too much of it. But the short answer is you can pretty much eat anything....that doesnt mean you should. The surgery gives you a tool for weight loss, you decide what you put in to it. This is the head game......down the road, 1 year out or like me 2 years out, suddenly I can eat alot more than I could early on. So if i ate crap I would gain weight.