RNY/RYGB Surgery Soon

The sleeve is every bit as invasive as the RNY EXCEPT you will not have the malabsorption ...   

All of us have to have the same commitment to health, diet, vitamins etc.

Good luck with your surgery!

Hi, Sin Kim, did you consider the sleeve or the bypass? 

The sleeve was not that common when I had my surgery (back in 2004)  but knowing what I know now, for me - I would still have chosen RNY.  At this stage, if I had a BMI more than a 40 I would go for RNY, more than 50 I would choose the DS.

Everyone I know with a VSG maintains on around 1000-1300 calories per day (with the exception of those who exercise like athletes) - I maintain on around 1500-1800 calories per day with daily exercise, which I find easier for me. 

Hi, honorable3161, thanks for the reply. I considered the sleeve as well but my surgeon stated I would get "more bang for my buck" with the RNY. I was concerned about the redirecting of organs versus just cutting it and pulling it out...saw there is more research in favor of RNY than the sleeve. Congrats on your journey and hope you lose that 75 easily and can move forward with doing the surgery. 

The hardest part for me was the weeks before surgery.  Afterwards it was so easy that I wondered why I did so much worrying before.  My PCP said the worst part would be the bowel prep before and he was right.

I felt great as soon as I woke up and was walking the halls a few hours afterward.  I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on the following Monday, but could have gone back sooner.

All the years of being hungry and struggling with diet and exercise were over.  I had no hunger, was full of energy and felt better everyday.  I never want to go back to being obese.

Hi, White Dove, thanks for the reply. Congrats on the surgery and speedy recovery! Hearing that gives me great hope. Which procedure did you have done? I do not plan on going back to work that soon, the two weeks will give me enough time to recuperate, as well as, enjoy some time away from work...its been a hectic few months. smile. 

For me the biggest change with food is that I feel like I have a stop button now. Before the surgery, I was almost always the first one done eating and usually with a clean plate. I never understood how my friends knew when to stop, but now I do. Sometimes I stop after a few bites and sometimes after 1/2  a cup or so, but now I know when to stop and don't do it just because I ran out of food.

I know that I am only five months out so some of this will change, but I am working hard to listen to my body now while food isn't "calling me" like it used to. We had bags of mini candy bars at work leftover from a training and they are actually being stored in my office now, because I don't even notice them. It isn't that I am using my willpower not to eat the candy, it's that I really don't even remember that it's there. This might not make sense to some people, but in the past I would have been super aware of having candy in my office and would have been making and breaking deals with myself about how I would only have one or two at a time.

I got bronchitis they day before my surgery, so did need two full weeks to get  back to work. It also took me about a month to get energy back and a couple of months not to feel like my brain was moving a little slower, but I have felt better than normal for the last two months. I was keeping my hair long too in case it started falling out (so I could just pull it into a ponytail), but that just meant there were really long hairs clogging up my bru**** is still falling out, but I got a cute new cut and am having fun styling it to match my new shaped face.

Again, I know that I'm in a honeymoon phase, but I am having so much fun with giving away old clothes, getting a few new pieces (from thrift stores) to shore up my wardrobe, finding healthy things that I like to eat, and just primping and taking care of myself in general. I am sorry that I waited as long as I did to have this surgery, but am also really proud of myself for not waiting even longer.

Hi, Nickeliz, thank you for the reply. Thanks for sharing your story, its very helpful. In a previous response I mentioned fear and regret and seeing that as a theme for several people but the end results have been no regret in having the procedure(s) and questioning why they waited so long. I'm feeling a lot better after reading so many replies and looking forward to the next step, but no the actual surgery because me no like pain. :) Congrats on your surgery and recovery! 

I never had any nervous or anxious feelings, only excitement. But as for your second question it was many things. One...I hit rock bottom and truly wanted change. Two, I realized that I, and I alone, would be accountable for how I lived my life and what I put in my body and how I exercised. Three, I realized I needed HELP to address head on the habits and conditioning I'd had since birth with portions, emotional eating and celebratory eating. So I pay to see a therapist several times a month pre-op and every 2-3 weeks post-op. I keep the photo that was my Rick bottom as the so,e picture in an album on my phone and I keep my 3x shirt, size 28 jeans and 48DD bra tacked at the back of my closet so when I walk in every morning and every night, those VERY visual reminders are there for me. 

I think your nerves are pretty normal. You worry about the what if's, the complications, and of course all the things you are told you can never have again. I actually kept weighing in my mind if this would be the right surgery. I was morning the loss of having a slice of birthday cake at my daughters party before I even had the surgery. Yep, I am being honest. I was thinking about all the foods I could never have again, it was hard to think of losing the love affair with all those good foods. Then I worried about once I do it there is no going back. After spending a 6 weeks this summer with my parents to help them out after my dad had surgery, I saw my future as a diabetic. My mother has so many complications and it then I decided, can I do without some things so I can walk around the store or have my feet burning with neuropathy. Did I want to shoot up with insulin many times a day and risk dieing young or going blind?

Well, I decided I wanted a quality life to live out and went ahead and did the surgery. I even had serious complications. I fell in that rare percentage of risks. There were times in those first few weeks laying in the hospital wondering if I had made the right choice. As the days passed and I began to feel better, I can honestly tell you, I would do it all over again. Even if it meant I had to have the same complications again. Why, because I feel so much better already. My energy level has returned, my positive attitude has come back, I don't feel hopeless about weight loss and gripping about being fat and ugly the rest of my life.

Yes, my weight loss is slower because of my complications, but the 38 pounds I have lost so far is more than I had been able to use on all the various diets I had tried over the past 5 years. The biggest advantage, my sugar levels are in check and I no longer on the meds I had to take before the surgery.

I wish you good luck in the future and I hope you make the right decision for yourself and you feel good about it.

Robyn