Questions for Long Term RNYers....

I am still new at this, pre op, 57 years old female with 110 lbs to lose, osteoarthritis in knees, ankles, back... 

1. What do you take for arthritis pain or bad headaches or sinus problems besides Tylenol? And does it work?

2. I have very thick hair.... will I lose a lot of hair?

3. Do you get hungry?

4. How often do you eat?

5. Do you get constipated? If so,how do you resolve it?

6. Will food taste the same after surgery? Do you still enjoy flavors?

7. I'm a teacher, how long do you expect me to be home after surgery?

8. What should I expect the first few days after surgery as to how I will feel?

1.  Other than Tylenol, I take Tramadol or Vicodin, if I can get someone to prescribe it.  Otherwise, I just suffer.

2.  Hard to say.  You might, you might not.

3.  Yes, I get hungry.

4.  I eat about every three hours.

5.  Yep.  Daily Miralax.

6.  Hard to say.  Many people find things taste odd for a while.  Right after surgery, things tasted super sweet to me.  Like, sugar free pudding was so sweet I couldn't stand it.  But after a while, things started to taste normal again.

7.  Most people seem to take off two to four weeks, as long as they have no complications.

8.  It really seems to vary from person to person.  Some people say they have very little pain and just take Tylenol after coming home from the hospital, others say they have severe pain and take prescription pain meds for a couple of weeks.  Some people have a lot of nausea and others have none. 

Thank you so much!! I am anxious to hear from others also. I've got to make a decision. Thank you again!!

 I am not a long termer but... I can still answer these.. I am almost 2 months out.

I take Tylenol, I have some Tramadol left over from surgery also, but I don't ache like I used to.

I hope I don't lose hair, but it is different for everyone.  I have thin hair, but it's dense, so I have A LOT of hair.

I don't get hungry like before, I just know it's time to eat because I can feel it, kind of empty feeling.

I eat 3 times a day, no snacks, every 4-5 hours, I supplement protein with shakes also. 

I have been constipated, I take Colace and Miralax together, twice a day if it's bad, till clear, other than that, I am pretty normal.

Food, some at least tastes different, cravings are different.  Not bad though, I found myself craving veggies I have never liked, probably because I cannot eat raw veggies yet.

I enjoy the taste of what I eat, yes. But sometimes I just don't want to eat and have to because it's time to eat. 

I luckily am not working, but. I know I would not have been able to work for at least 3 weeks because I was so tired and in pain. 

My pain was terrible, most pain meds don't work on my, I am also hypersensitive to certain things.  3 weeks my pain was gone, but mostly I had burning in my stomach muscles from where they were cut and it stabbed and burned for a few weeks.  

Good luck!!

I am 55 years old and weighed 265 pounds 2 years ago when I had RNY. I have had rheumatoid arthritis since age 20 and had a partial knee replacement in both knees and then a total replacement in the left knee in 2007. I had severe back and knee pain prior to surgeryand had been on prescription NSAIDS prior to surgery for over 30 years. Coming off them prior to surgery was a painful hell for about a month and a half but I wanted to see if I could get by without them. Rarely Tylenol will help with arthritis pain for me and I have taken short courses of steroids. I also can use tramadol or vicodin. I have not needed any of the above since losing over 140 pounds and have no back or knee pain of note. I do still get

occasional hand and finger pain but Tylenol has been fine for that.

2. I lost some hair but it was noticeable only to me. I keep it colored which seems to plump it up and make it look fuller. I also had my RNY then 5 months later had surgery on one foot then 6 months later surgery on the other foot. I lost hair each time but sdid not go bald. Now it is growing back just fine and is coming in slightly curly!

3. I don't get hungry like I did before but will feel a bit weak if I go too long between meals. I am two years out so that may change at some point.

4. I am in maintenance and below my goal weight and eat every 3 to 4 hours. In the losing stage I ate 3 meals and one bedtime snack a day.

5. I take one dose of benefiber in the morning in my coffee and a colace pill before bed and do not get constipated.

6. For the first month or two food did taste funny. Most things seemed to have a strong smell and tasted really sweet. After that my taste buds seemed to go back to normal. Actually now I enjoy tastes more because I take my time and savor the amazing flavors instead of inhaling my food like before surgery!

7. Most people seem to take two to four weeks off unless they have complications.

8. Everyone's experience is different after surgery. I had hardly any pain but have a high pain tolerance due to my ra. I didn't take anything stronger than Tylenol in the hospital or at home even though I prescription pain meds. Of course compared to knee replacement or my foot reconstruction surgeries,the RNY was nothing! Your experience may be different. But even if the pain had been severe it would still be worth it. I feel so much better now and my diabetes,high cholesterol and high blood pressure are gone. Having no back or knee pain and being able to walk four miles a day pain free us worth it all!!

1. What do you take for arthritis pain or bad headaches or sinus problems besides Tylenol? And does it work? Hopefully your pain will lessen with less weight on your joints. Tylenol occasionally (doesn't really work), Advil when I am desperate (a really bad period or migraine only, really not advised but Dr's do give them on limited basis), sinus stuff I get sprays from the Dr usually or Zyrtec/Benadryl.

2. I have very thick hair.... will I lose a lot of hair? I have thick hair too, lost from month 4-6, it was scary but it stopped abruptly and no one really noticed but me. Everyone is too busy looking at your body changes but we notice when the drain is filling :( Good news my hair came back healthier. 

3. Do you get hungry? I meal plan and stick to a schedule pretty closely but if I am off that I get hungry. Some days I look forward to my next meal (bottomless pouch days I call them) but like I said I meal plan so if it's not on the plan it's not going in my mouth... now other days I am not hungry in the slightest and have to make myself have something. Mystery of the pouch.

4. How often do you eat? I do 3 meals, 1-2 snacks (usually 1 and I drink a lot of coffee so those splashes of soy add up I kind of treat those collectively as a snack)

5. Do you get constipated? If so,how do you resolve it? Occasionally. I eat a lot of fiber though it's rarely and usually when i haven't been as good on water as I should. I usually just drink more water or eat something that tends to make me go more... tomato sauce something like that higher in natural sugars seems to do the trick.

6. Will food taste the same after surgery? Do you still enjoy flavors? Right after surgery I remember being sensitive to sweet... but a lot of what you first eat in liquid, pureed is sweet so I really was dying for savory flavors again. I think I enjoy food more now... I am more mindful, eat only really yummy stuff I love, I aim for high quality, I am selective in what I choose to use the limited real estate for instead of the starchy pre-op white carbs I used to eat. I've blogged what I've eaten for the past 8 years (link in signature)

7. I'm a teacher, how long do you expect me to be home after surgery? Healing really is hard to gauge... I could have gone back to a sit down job in 2 weeks and I had open RNY (longer recovery generally) but I took more. Active or any heavy lifting you will want more time off. You may be drained for awhile... lack of nutrients make some feel like they are in quick sand for a bit but if you are getting a lot of protein in and water you should be good to go in a few weeks.

8. What should I expect the first few days after surgery as to how I will feel? That depends too... I was walking around the hospital that evening. I felt uncomfortable but not really pain. Kidney stones... that is PAIN. Migraines... pain. Plastic surgery... PAIN. Even some cramps I've had worse pain than RNY. Now that being said... some people have lots of pain but it's generally manageable with meds.

Sending you best wishes!! Hope it is smooth sailing and you are loving life soon.

~Michelle "Shelly"
8+ years RNY
35 at time of surgery
Highest weight was 308
Lost 158

I am 19 months out... here is what I know.

I think your pain will improve with weight loss.  If you choose RNY - you can't fool with NSAIDS - period. I have taken Tylenol a few times since surgery and it was helpful.

I lost hair between 4-7 months. Everyone is different. You should probably expect to lose some.  I have long hair so it hasn't caught up but it is growing back. Only me and my hairdresser could tell - and I could not wear a pony tail because the loss was at the hairline primarily.

I get hungry. Very hungry. I was fortunate enough to not get hungry for about 5 months but it's baaaaaaack.

I eat 5-6 times a day per my doctor's plan.

I get VERY constipated from the vitamins & iron. I take 4 colace a day and drink coffee in the AM. If that doesn't work then I add Miralax.

Food did not taste the same for the first few months. Then the hunger AND my taste buds came back. I enjoy food just as much if  not more than I did before surgery. 

I was out for 2.5 weeks and wish I could have taken about 3.5 - mostly because I was exhausted. I had a hard time getting my calories in early on. My doc had me on liquids for 3 weeks post op so I had a hard time getting my strength back. This was my fault. I think ALL protein shakes are nasty so I struggled to get them down.

You will probably wonder why the heck you did this to yourself. You shouldn't get on the scale - because surprise you will probably come home from the hospital weighing up to 10 pounds MORE than when you went in. This can be a real downer. Don't weigh until your post op visit! You will likely feel tired too.  Not hungry. 

Good luck!!

I was 50 when I had open RNY I'm 65 now.

1. I have migraines , fibro, arthritis. I take aleve, for arthritis and fibro. Migraine meds are prescribed, also if my fibromyalgia gets too bad I take ultram. After my RNY I was given a liquid form of Percocet , it took all the pain away.

2. I'm a hairdresser, I have very thick hair. A month prior to my surgery I started taking multivitamins and using Nioxin for visibly thinning hair. Shampoo and conditioner. I always left the conditioner in, I only used a small amt and never rinsed it out, I would just towel dry my hair which removed any excess then blow dried as usual. If I ever lost a hair I sure as heck didn't know it. My husband who was losing his hair started using my nioxin back then and 14 yrs later still uses it. 

3.i got " head hungry" after surgery. I lived on homemade broth and liquid protein for 4 weeks post op. I missed chewing. I was never hungry. I did avoid commercials and food magazines. I then went on to puréed food, etc etc.I never actually experienced true hunger, but I would get nervous if I didn't eat. So I was and am careful to get enough protein.

4. I ate 6x a day. Realize those meals were either, liquid , puréed, or soft. Even when I went on solid food a meal may have been a hard boiled egg . I never paid attention to veggies or fruits , I took vitamins and minerals  2x a day. I still do.

5. Miralax

6. To me food is food it tasted the same, except sugar is of course a nono, but even Splenda was really sweet!!

7. I took 3 months off because I could. But I could have gone back to work in 5 weeks.

8. As I said my surgery was open , also it was 14 yrs ago. I felt like I wa**** by a truck! But I made the nurses get me up on my feet ASAP. I knew the quicker I started to move the better off I would be. I use my morphine drip and never passed up a medication , I learned from this site to stay ahead of the pain. Be kind to yourself after surgery, go slow, take it easy. Everyone experiences pain differently , the surgery has changed a lot in the 14 yrs since I had mine. I'm sure you will do well.

1) either Tramadol or Vicodin if the pain is that bad.  I had both knees replaced (I am now 52 and had them both replaced last year)  because I got VERY little relief from the pain in my knees even after losing 190 pounds, and I had been taking both meds for almost 2 years and I was afraid I was getting hooked on the Vicodin.

2) no one can tell you how much hair you will lose.  Some lose very little (a very few lucky people lose none) and some people lose a significant amount (I lost literally half of mine), and a very few unfortunate people lose so much they turn to wigs until the hair grows back in.

3) I do not get physically hungry, but I can feel when it has been too long between meals and my blood sugar begins to drop.  At that point, I have to eat IMMEDIATELY or I get nauseous,dizzy,very rapid heart rate, and once I even started to pass out.

4) I eat 6 or 7 times a day (the 7th is a very small snack right before bed so that I don't wake up shaky)

5) not unless I am taking narcotic pain meds.  I take a dose of Benefiber each morning and that (combined with eating a moderate amount of fat) keeps the problem away.

6) Yes.  Things tasted very sweet and very salty to me for several months after surgery, but by 6 months out everything tasted as it always did.  The only permanent change is that I am sensitive to the taste of the grease in fried foods (including the very rare doughnut). I think that is a good thing, though, and I think most people would be aware of it if they stopped eating fried foods for over a year.

7) I wouldn't even venture to guess since it depends on whether your surgery is lap or open, how much pain you have, how quickly you heal, and whether you have any complications.  

8) No one can tell you for sure.  MOST people have incision and muscle pain, especially when getting in and out of bed, and some have a lot of pain from the leftover gas inside the abdominal cavity if they had lap surgery. How much pain, though, is relative.  You may have a higher or lower threshold for pain than most people.

Lora

Good thread!  With the "everyone is different" and "it depends" caveats, here are my thoughts:

1)  I haven't had any pain yet but if i did I would go to my PCP and ask for a RX pain med

2)  I have thin hair and I did lose a lot.  I wear wigs now.  I get lots of compliments on them so I am still wearing them.

3)  After about 6 months my hunger returned.  Both physical hunger and head hunger.

4)  I eat 4 meals plus a snack.  I use myfitnesspal.com to track everything.    (HW 294, SW 286, CW 132, 5 feet 6)

5)  I was taking 4 Colace daily and Miralax twice weekly and still getting backed up.  Now I take RX called Linzess and it has been a miracle cure.

6)  For he first 6 months my taste buds changed significantly.  I always enjoy everything I eat.  I do not eat foods I do not like simply because they are healthy.  I put a lot of time and effort into finding foods I like that meet my dietary goals and do not uspet my tummy.   Eggface (posted above) website is a fave of mine for food ideas.

7)  I planned for 3 weeks off (accountant) which would have been fine.  However I had unexpected complications and was out for 3 months.  This is considered rare though, so please don't let that discourage you. 

8)  For about 10 days I was on pain meds and my abdomen was very sore.  It was hard to get up and down, and I slept in my recliner.   I was very fatigued for about 3 months but I think that was from being in the hospital so much.  Again don't let that worry you, it may be that you would only feel tired for about a month.

I never had one ounce of buyers remorse. I am so thankful for a second chance!  Being a thinner person has been fantastic.  Bst wishes to you!