JUST WANT TO KNOW
I AM NEW TO OH AND I AM INTERESTED TO KNOW IN OTHERS PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WITH RNY. I HAD MY CONSULTATION A FEW DAYS AGO AND AM HOPING TO HAVE SURGERY IN LATE MARCH EARLY APRIL. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT OTHERS EXPERIENCES HOW THEY DEALT WITH EXERCISING AND EATING AND CRAVINGS ? HOW YOU DEALT 4 WEEKS OF NOTHING BUT LIQUIDS ? AND HOW YOUR JOURNEY IS GOING ? ALONG WITH THINGS ABOUT BEFORE AND AFTER YOUR SURGERY LIKE THE THINGS YOU HAD TO DO TO QUALIFY AND HOW YOU FEEL CURRENTLY ? I AM JUST REALLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING OTHERS JOURNEY DOWN THIS ROAD IVE NEVER HAD A MAJOR SURGERY IN MY LIFE NOR HAVE A MADE THIS BIG OF A CHANGE SO I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW OTHERS HANDLED THE SURGERY. ALSO HOW DID YOUR FRIENDS FAMILY CO WORKERS ETC HELP YOU DEAL BEFORE AND AFTER ? WERE THEY SUPPORTIVE ? IF NOT HOW DID YOU HANDLE IT ?
P.S. I LOVE THE BEFORE AND AFTER SECTION THE PICS ARE VERY INSPIRATIONAL !!!
The other poster was right, reading old posts is a great idea. But I understand the need to converse as well, so I will try to answer a few of those questions.
I am in my 7th week post op. Exercising is still hard. I am a lot more active at work and walk a few times a week but I am not at the level I need to be. Getting in enough protein has been quite hard. I have not been hitting my recommended 60gg very often at all. It is my goal this week to reach at least 50 g five out of seven days.
I have cravings every now and then but nothing I can't resist. Eating something I shouldn't causes pain and it just isn't worth it. Of course, some healthy foods do that too so there is some trial and error. I had to do liquids for 2 weeks before surgery and 2 weeks after then a few soft foods like scrambled eggs. Sometimes I find myself wanting to go back to liquids because those always go down okay. I still do soups every now and then when my pouch is 'feeling grumpy' but I know it is a bad idea because the liquids just slide right through.
I was self-pay so there weren't any hoops to jump through, so to speak. My surgeon did want me to have a sleep study and start wearing my CPAP but that was easy enough. I waited a few months after I went to the information seminar to have surgery so it would be over my winter break at work. Once my surgery date got close, I did my pre-op visit with the surgeon, nutritionist, and lab work all on one day and had surgery a few days later.
Family, friends, and coworkers have all been great. I have a couple of coworkers that have had WLS as well and they have been a great help. I haven't experienced any of the negative responses some do...maybe when I have lost more weight, I will but mostly everyone just seems happy that I'm getting healthier and more active.
The only other surgery I have had is tonsil removal so I was a little nervous as well...but the pain was no problem. The hospital I was in was great and the nurses were experienced with WLS patients so everything went smoothly. I was up and showering the day after surgery and off pain meds by the time I went home the third day. They had me up and walking down the halls the day of surgery and it wasn't bad at all.
I'm down over 50 lbs (under 400 lbs now, yay!! 
) and would be down more if I was getting in my protein and exercise.
I'm sure I missed something...sorry! Feel free to send me a message if you want to know anything specific.
The more you read on OH and other reliable sources, the more you will know and the better you will feel about your decision. Sometimes reading the forums gives you a set of GREAT questions to ask at a support group or at your doctor's office!
I am coming up on 6 years out and have not had a moment of regret about my surgery. Like you, I had never had any big surgery or serious illness (lucky!). Here are a few thoughts on the topics you mentioned:
I got into doing some water exercise before my surgery. At 3 weeks out I was ok to go back, and at 6 weeks was cleared for any kind of exercise. I actually found a gym I loved (sadly have moved away from that state) but slowly gained confidence in my ability to exercise and came to enjoy it. What a feeling of success!
Eating - I went strictly by the book and followed all my dr.'s guidelines. I only had a week of full liquids after surgery, so didn't have to cope with 4 weeks as you describe but I know that people do it and manage it well. To this day, I have a protein shake for breakfast. It agrees with me and I front load my protein every day.
My qualification for surgery with the insurance company was long and slow....far slower than most people. I had to get my PCP's recommendation, participate in a 6 month dr supervised weight loss program through the hospital, psych eval, cardiac eval, attend WLS support group meetings and have documentation of that....and then found I had to see a gastroenterologist because of being positive for h pylori. Honestly this was the hardest part.
I feel great. My energy is good. I can't describe the joy to this day of being able to fit in "normal" clothes. Today I was looking at jeans but sadly the style I liked were only in sizes too big for me. (Is that a victory or what!?!?!?) I know you feel like it will never ever be "you" at that point but yes, it will be indeed.
I kept my surgery a very private matter. Only my immediate family knew - or knows now. My co workers were not close friends at the time and I worked out of the house most of the time so I didn't see the whole group all that often. I still believe that this is a very personal medical matter and chose not to share. Others take a different approach but this was what I was most comfortable with. My kids are older but were extremely supportive, and my husband was and is my greatest champion.
I have had to deal with some regain over the past year so I will caution you that the long term battle is in maintaining. But that's a whole different story!
