A Million Questions

[vicarneson 2]

Hello,

I just found out my insurance will cover the surgery. I see my doctor in April. I have a million questions and I am beyond nervous and excited and scared and hopeful. I had lap band in 2011 and it failed. I had it removed a year later. Here are my questions:

1. Can I still throw up after surgery?

2. Can I still burp?

3. I have heard people can't eat Pasta, bread or salad?

4. Is it strictly liquid for 8 weeks post op?

5. What kind of a diet do you have after solid food is introduced?

6. A friend had surgery and she doesn't realize it but she does say her stomach hurts a lot ?

7. I have fibromyalgia and am concerned about the pain, anyone else in a similar situation?

8. Do you feel like your choking if you eat too much?

9. How can you drink 70 oz of Water a day and eat five small meals? I don't think I can get that much water in and eat. Your not supposed to drink for an hour before or after right? if you do 10 oz an hour its possible but isn't the stomach only 4 oz. How do you get all the water in?

10. How do you swallow medications?

11. If your stomach is so small how do you drink that much?

12. I am concerned about malnutrition and Hair loss, anyone have any experience?

13. does everyone do Protein Shakes for one meal?

14. If you do too much after permission to exercise can you rupture your stomach? Is this something you always worry about?

15. How can you avoid all the excess skin?

Ok, that's all I can think of for now! Thanks!

Edited March 15, 2017 by vicarneson

[Newme17 3,444]

47 minutes ago, vicarneson said:

Hello,

I just found out my insurance will cover the surgery. I see my doctor in April. I have a million questions and I am beyond nervous and excited and scared and hopeful. I had lap band in 2011 and it failed. I had it removed a year later. Here are my questions:

1. Can I still throw up after surgery? DO YOU WANT TO THROW UP? lol Just the way the question is worded. Some people do/some people don't.

2. Can I still burp? I don't see why not.

3. I have heard people can't eat Pasta, bread or salad? Probably best to stay away from Pasta and bread--these kinds of foods is where a lot of us gained weight from.

4. Is it strictly liquid for 8 weeks post op? No. Each surgeon has different guidelines. You'll need to check with yours.

5. What kind of a diet do you have after solid  food is introduced? Protein/veggies/ very little starch

6. A friend had surgery and she doesn't realize it but she does say her stomach hurts a lot ? She needs to get checked up on; every body is different.

7. I have fibromyalgia and am concerned about the pain, anyone else in a similar situation? Sorry, can't help ya on that one.

8. Do you feel like your choking if you eat too much? Nor this one...still pre-sleeved.

9. How can you drink 70 oz of Water a day and eat five small meals? I don't think I can get that much Water in and eat. Your not supposed to drink for an hour before or after right? if you do 10 oz an hour its possible but isn't the stomach only 4 oz. How do you get all the water in? Do your best

10. How do you swallow medications? As usual. A lot of people opt for chewable/liquid meds/vitamins.

11. If your stomach is so small how do you drink that much? Liquid passes right through

12. I am concerned about malnutrition and hair loss, anyone have any experience? Tons of people; they can give you answers on this one in regards to hair loss; or you can search "hair loss" and you'll see tons of threads about it. You won't have to worry about malnutrition so much as long as you take your supplements faithfully and eat the right foods.

13. does everyone do Protein shakes for one meal? Nope. Some get all their Protein from foods.

14. If you do too much after permission to exercise can you rupture your stomach? Is this something you always worry about? Haven't thought of it; but I'd go careful once permitted to workout. As always with anyone, STOP when any kind of discomfort starts.

15. How can you avoid all the excess skin? This is tailored to each individual's bodies. Some are old, some are young, some are super obese, some are obese. Some are white, pink, black, orange, and blue. LOL The young ones tend to bounce back better. The smaller ones tend to bounce back better. I even think skin/race plays a role too. But overall, if you end up with excess skin, there's always Spanx and plastics. Weight training can help a little too--gain some muscle, fills out your body.

Ok, that's all I can think of for now! Thanks!

Btw...I counted only 15 questions. LOL Have a blessed journey!!!

Edited March 15, 2017 by Newme17

[RickM 1,753]

I will take a crack at some of these:

1. Yes - some do frequently, particularly if they overeat. Personally, I haven't in the past six years since surgery.

2. Yes. Ingested air or gas from digestion has to get out someway - there are two routes.

3. Post op tolerances vary widely with some not able to eat some foods for varying lengths of time, and some have no issues at all with anything.

4. Depends on your surgeon's program. Mine was soft foods and liquids from the get-go.

5. Depends on surgeon's program and individual needs and inclinations. Most are Protein centric as our bodies need certain minimal amounts and can get by with little else. Some follow one of the many popular fad diets while others concentrate on learning to eat sustainably for long term maintenance and weight control.

6. No idea, but it shouldn't hurt.

7. No experience.

8. No, more like T-giving dinner after seconds, thirds and fourths, only with a small fraction of the amount. Some may experience what they call foamies or slimies when things come back up but I have never experienced this.

9: Water goes right thru; capacity of the stomach is irrelevant. Eatiing/drinking limitations are variable but usually settle out at no drinking for 30 min after a meal. Before a meal doesn't matter as the Fluid flows right thru the empty stomach, though a limitation of 15-30 minutes is often used initially to account for post surgical stomach inflammation that may impede fluid flow.

10. As before, with a sip of water. For a while it was one pill at a time with a sip rather than a handful of pills with a gulp, but that settles out over time. Some RNY oriented practices like to use chewies or gummies to avoid pills getting stuck in the stoma, which is irrelevant for sleeve patients who don't have a stoma. Some large pills may work better split or crushed for a time.

11. See Above - fluids flow right thru the empty stomach. Drinking immediately after eating may result in things coming back up.

12. With the sleeve, nutrition is largely up to the patient as there is no significant malabsorption effect. Early on, much of our nutrition other than protein comes from supplements but that decreases as our diets improve over time.

13. For a time, yes, and some do more than one. Some choose to continue using them for the long term out of convenience.

14. you aren't going to do much to damage your stomach by exercising too much/early, but you can induce incisional hernias.

15. Choose better parents and don't get fat in the first place. Seriously, it's a matter of genetics, age, and how much fat is stored where.