Not sure if anyone remembers me since it's been a while since I posted. I finally got the surgery date for my gastric bypass! It's on March 2nd 2020. Naturally I'm super nervous I've never had major surgery.

Recently, I've been talking to some other people who have mentioned some side effects they had then nobody warned them about, such as severe diarrhea.

So, that's made me wonder, what side effects did you experience post-surgery that you wish someone had warned you about.

3 minutes ago, JRT Mom said:

I think a lot of us overweight people are insecure about our looks, but our hair was something we could take pride in and was our nicest feature. And now maybe that will be compromised. I'm not terrified that it could happen, but I'm not looking forward to it, either...

That's how I am. I'm not looking forward to it and have actually been looking into ways to lessen the effect xD

Was any one terrified of complications during the surgery? I have never had a major surgery before and the thought of complications is the only thing making me super anxious about the surgery itself

1 hour ago, skyewolfe said:

Well other than the diarrhea, and the gallstones I was warned about Hair loss as well. But really I'm just wondering if there's anything that you wish someone had warned you about before hand. I want to make sure that I'm as prepared as I can be lol

I remember having a very dry mouth for a couple of months - just had to sip water continually. I never had prolonged fatigue. I also developed lactose i tolerance. Once I stopped dairy products a lot of my gassiness and bloating resolved. I use plant based or soy products now - no big deal. I was never constipated - if anything, food passed through too quickly. I have the opposite problem with very soft, formed stools 4-5 times a day. They float, so I think there is some fat malabsorption.

Of medical complications, I did get blood clots in one leg about a week post op, even though I was up and walking almost immediately after surgery and doing 10,000 steps by day 7. That required 3 months of Xarelto medication. I recently found out that I have an ulcer at the anastamosis, even though I do not drink any alcohol, do not smoke, do not drink soda or coffee, do not take NSAIDS, or have any other risk factors. I am on medication for that and will have another scope done in a couple of months. Those are complications that everyone is told about, and which everyone hopes will not happen to them. But they have not been a big deal to treat.

I would still do surgery all over again. My new life is fantastic and I know I have substantially extended both my lifespan and my quality of life.

What I am dealing with right now that I am really upset about however, is that I just got a bill from the PA-C, who acted as first assist during my surgery. She is sending a bill through the insurance for the hiatal hernia repair that I also had done, and as an OUT OF NETWORK provider!!!!!!. First of all, I never signed a consent with her, and I chose my doctor partly because he WAS in network. I understand the role of first assist, but they are not surgeons and she should have not submitted a bill that way. So I am all over it. I will pay her a fair IN-NETWORK fee, but not for something I was not informed about nor gave consent for. So THAT is something no one told me about and which I did not expect, especially since this bill came nearly a YEAR after the surgery!

2 hours ago, skyewolfe said:

That's how I am. I'm not looking forward to it and have actually been looking into ways to lessen the effect xD

Was any one terrified of complications during the surgery? I have never had a major surgery before and the thought of complications is the only thing making me super anxious about the surgery itself

complications aren't that common, and most of the ones people get are pretty minor and easily fixable, like strictures. About 5% of bypass patients get a stricture, making it one of the most common complications. I'd hardly call something that 5% of people get "common", but that gives you some idea on how common complications are. They're not.

I think a lot of people you're listening to are remembering what bariatric surgery was like 20+ years ago, when it was fairly risky. It's just not anymore. These have come a really long way since then and have become pretty much routine surgeries. On the continuum of "not risky at all" to "super risky", they're WAY on the side of "not risky at all". They're much safer than hip replacement surgeries, for example, and they do those every day. Honestly I think my plastics were probably riskier than my RNY, as far as surgeries go.

you are at greater risk staying obese than you are having this surgery. It's when I realized that that I decided to go for it.

Complications - I had a leak when I had my gastric sleeve and was in hospital for 3 months. Had several surgeries to put in a stent (didn't work at first - had to have one stitched in place. That one ended up slipping and so had to have it restitched). My whole sleeve was a total flop, so I had the bypass. Yes, there can be complications, but despite them I went back and tried again. The main thing that I wish people knew when having complications is to make sure they have the support of family around them should everything go t i t s up. I had to fly my mum in from the UK to look after my autistic daughter. I knew there was a chance of complications, but I had absolutely zero idea of how that might impact my, my husbands, my daughter's and my mum's life. So... my advice to everyone getting surgery is to make sure you have a good support system in place should the worst happen. THAT is what I wish the surgeons office would emphasize when we sign all of those release forms.

2 minutes ago, froufrou said:

Complications - I had a leak when I had my gastric sleeve and was in hospital for 3 months. Had several surgeries to put in a stent (didn't work at first - had to have one stitched in place. That one ended up slipping and so had to have it restitched). My whole sleeve was a total flop, so I had the bypass. Yes, there can be complications, but despite them I went back and tried again. The main thing that I wish people knew when having complications is to make sure they have the support of family around them should everything go t i t s up. I had to fly my mum in from the UK to look after my autistic daughter. I knew there was a chance of complications, but I had absolutely zero idea of how that might impact my, my husbands, my daughter's and my mum's life. So... my advice to everyone getting surgery is to make sure you have a good support system in place should the worst happen. THAT is what I wish the surgeons office would emphasize when we sign all of those release forms.

Thankfully my boyfriend is supportive, I have a wonderful counselor, a friend who had the surgery a year ago, plus a couple of other friends I can talk to about it. tbh, when my counselor asked me what was making me the most anxious about the surgery, my answer was "I'm afraid of dying on the operating table"

16 minutes ago, skyewolfe said:

Thankfully my boyfriend is supportive, I have a wonderful counselor, a friend who had the surgery a year ago, plus a couple of other friends I can talk to about it. tbh, when my counselor asked me what was making me the most anxious about the surgery, my answer was "I'm afraid of dying on the operating table"

Well thankfully that's extremely rare and you're more likely to die from obesity than on the operating table. That's great that you have a good support system - everyone going in to this needs that.

That's how I am. I'm not looking forward to it and have actually been looking into ways to lessen the effect xD
Was any one terrified of complications during the surgery? I have never had a major surgery before and the thought of complications is the only thing making me super anxious about the surgery itself

My surgery is coming up in 9 days and I started taking 10,000 mcg of biotin daily as soon as I knew I was going to have this surgery! It should help with hair loss and all the other good stuff that comes with malabsorption of vitamins

Just now, BadWolfGirl said:

My surgery is coming up in 9 days and I started taking 10,000 mcg of Biotin daily as soon as I knew I was going to have this surgery! It should help with Hair loss and all the other good stuff that comes with malabsorption of Vitamins

Does biotin come in chewable or anything? Because I was told after the surgery all my pills have to be chewable, liquid, dissolvable, or crushable

Does Biotin come in chewable or anything? Because I was told after the surgery all my pills have to be chewable, liquid, dissolvable, or crushable

They come in sublingual, meaning you dissolve them under your tongue. And if you know you have surgery coming, never too soon to start !

EZ Melts Biotin for Hair, Skin, Nails, 5,000 mcg, Sublingual Vitamins, Vegan, Zero Sugar, Natural Strawberry Flavor, 90 Fast Dissolve Tablets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NV5UTYI/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_3HNiEbW287PRT

Just now, BadWolfGirl said:

They come in sublingual, meaning you dissolve them under your tongue. And if you know you have surgery coming, never too soon to start !

EZ Melts Biotin for hair, Skin, Nails, 5,000 mcg, Sublingual Vitamins, Vegan, Zero Sugar, Natural strawberry Flavor, 90 Fast Dissolve Tablets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NV5UTYI/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_3HNiEbW287PRT

Thank you! I'll get some and start taking them now

Nature's Bounty has Hair, Skin and Nails gummies. It's Biotin and vitamins C and E. Right now they are buy one get one free at Walgreens.

19 minutes ago, skyewolfe said:

Does Biotin come in chewable or anything? Because I was told after the surgery all my pills have to be chewable, liquid, dissolvable, or crushable

you can actually start taking pills pretty quickly again after surgery. I was able to take all but two once I got home from the hospital (I had to wait two or three weeks before I could swallow the last two whole - they were pretty big pills in comparison to the others). I did have a chewable multivitamin the first few months, though - they wanted us to take chewable multis, but I'm not sure why since a lot of the others we could swallow normally.

be aware that some people experience facial hair growth with Biotin.

be aware that some people experience facial Hair growth with Biotin.

Acne as well! Good times lol. I haven't had any of those side effects but am on birth control and metformin for PCOS so have my hormones fairly regulated but it's a good warning for all!

I started 10,000 Biotin immediately after surgery. Didn't prevent hair loss at all, sorry to say.