Question:
op in 3 weeks time & nervous-looking for support!!
Hi RNY lap patients!I started my 3 week pre-op diet of "mush"!!I am getting nervous still & wonder if this is the right thing to do.So many people are still against me-even health professionals!!Please can someone tell me "You're doing the right thing & you won't look back".Are RNY patients genuine when they say they would do it again in a heart beat,or are they just saying that to "save face" as its too late?I am so scared of the dumping-will it definitely happen or is it by case by case scenario?Will that area ever be normal again?Did anyone ever end up in ICU with complications?Any comments-positive or negative will help!!Thanks Paula from Sunny South Africa — paulamill (posted on March 31, 2010)
March 30, 2010
Good Morning! I had RNY almost a year ago, (Sugery date 4/23/09) and I
have lost 174 lbs so far. I WOULD do it again in a heartbeat!! I have only
"dumped" a couple of times. It is a case by case thing, but if
you do what the doc tells you to, you should be okay. I ate SF Jelly Belly
candy and my system didn't care too much for those. Haven't tried them
again. It is not a very comfortable feeling, but you do survive. Never
ended up in the ICU. Actually the only problems that I am having is hair
loss. As I said, I am almost a year out and am still loosing weight. I
lose about 2lbs per week right now. I have passed mine and my doctor's
goal about 20lbs ago. You just have to use common sense and be careful.
Like everyone says, this surgery is a tool and if you don't use it right,
it won't work for you. You have to be ready to change your life yourself.
I never eat more than 4 grams of sugar, I don't eat pasta (unless it is
whole wheat) and I don't eat bread. Like I said, these things are still
working for me today. Good Luck with your surgery!
— Vikki U.
March 31, 2010
I had the ryn on 2-23-10 and would do it all over! I wont lie the first
week was really bad and I thought I made a bad choice but after five days I
was super happy with the ryn!! I feel great physically. I do feel sad alot
but from what I hear that is not that common the support at OH is great. I
had zero support from family aside from my great husband and now they see
how much better I feel and are happy for me. It's your choice your life and
your body good luck!
— sarahthedoula
March 31, 2010
I had RNY 2/19/10.My family was not supportive of my surgery and 1 doctor
tried to discourage me. I had a minor complication after surgery.Couldn't
keep anything down, not even liquids. Finally after endoscopy,liquids went
dowm. I had to use suction all the time to keep saliva out of mouth.I still
can't eat some things I see other people posting who are same post op as
me. Dumping is definitely personal. I do it when I eat sugar free pudding.
Go figure. One thing I noticed is stuff I didn't like before surgery, I
really don't like now.I didn't like aspartame and never used these
products. Guess what almost everything they gave me post surgery had in it?
Luckily they had 1 juice with splenda. I also do not like nectar
consistency liquids or puree. Guess what you get to eat? It does take some
adjusting but it is worth it. 25lbs lost and over 20inches.
— tandalyncarter
March 31, 2010
I had RNY 6/16/09 and it was the best decision of my life. So far I've
lost 163lbs...and counting. I had no complications after surgery. I've
dumped a few times; it sucks but you get over it. I dump randomly; if I try
something and tolerate it, I try it again. Sometimes when I try it
again...I dump. Go figure! Eventually, you'll be able to eat
"normally" again, just in much, much smaller portions. As
always, it's best to follow the diet recommended by your surgeon. You can
always look to your NUT and support group for help.
Relax, you'll be fine! What others feel about your choice isn't important.
Are you happy with it? Yes? Then go for it!
— KiaSunRay
March 31, 2010
Hi Paula. I won't lie to you and I don't want to scare you. Just remember
everyone is different. I had major complications after my surgery. In fact
I had to have the rny done twice. My original surgery was Dec.28/09. I was
in for three days because of nausea. When I got home I could not keep
anything down. Four days later I was taken by ambulance back to the
hospital. I had blood clots in my stomach so they redid the surgery. From
there on it was complication after complication. I was in the hospital for
16 days. Four of those days were in ICU. I had to have blood transfusions
and ended up having 16 transfusions. I am still having problems off and on
with dumping. Since Jan./10 I have lost 59 lbs. I am considered a
lightweight. You have to make up your own mind whether to go through with
this or not. I wish you all the best.
— cuppaloopy
March 31, 2010
Hi Paula...I am just over one year out, and have hit and bypassed my
surgeon's goal weight for me. I have only 8 more pounds to go to reach my
OWN goal weight. I couldn't be happier than if I was a pig rolling in mud!
I would do it again in a nano-second. You see, I didn't start out on this
journey for the weight loss. I started out because of excruciating back
pain that I THOUGHT was being exacerbated by my 307+ pounds, and I figured
that if I could lose the weight, the pain would go away. I'm one of the
lucky ones. I experienced minimal post-op pain - in fact, I don't think I
used my pain pump more than once or twice. I was extremely full of energy,
even in the hospital. After surgery, I was up racing around the halls so
fast that they had to tell me to slow down several times because my heart
rate and blood pressure would go up. I never feared that I might die...I
just placed myself in the arms of the Goddess, and knew that whatever
happened, it would be alright. When I left the hospital, the only
medications I was taking were my thyroid meds and an anti-anxiety drug.
Anyways, on the way home from the hospital, I even stopped off and went
shopping for a couple of items we'd forgotten (dressings for the
incisions)....and I ended up having to go the store almost every day
because I had one incision that was draining more than expected (but
nothing to worry about). Anyways, I had my surgery on Monday, and a week
and a half later, I was back at work, having missed only 8 workdays. I was
very well prepared at home - having pre-made a lot of my "food" -
little one-ounce cups of pudding and jello, and having smooth yogurt, Taco
Bell refried beans, fat free cottage cheese, EggBeaters, broth, and
unflavored protein powder on hand, in addition to all the flavored protein
drinks. I preferred the ready-to-drink IsoPure (it's like adult koolaid,
and my favorite flavors were Grape Frost and Pineapple-Orange-Banana). I
also had a few of the Oh Yeah ready-to-drink shakes (I really loved the
vanilla, even though I'm basically a chocolate person). I hit one little
bump in the road that wasn't necessarily all due to the surgery. My back
pain was becoming more and more severe, and I was having LOTS of trouble
exercising like we're supposed to. The only thing I could comfortably do
was ride on a stationary bike, which was okay with my surgeon. But one
day, I realized that in addition to the pain, I had been doing quite a bit
of vomiting for a few days, and when I went in for my 3 month checkup, I'd
only lost maybe 5 pounds since my 2 month checkup, and I was really
depressed and crying. Lucky for me, the Physician's Assistant (who had had
the surgery herself), knew the signs and told me that she was pretty sure I
had a stricture and needed to see the Esophogastrologist for evaluation and
possible dilation. I made an appointment, and they set me up for an
outpatient procedure, and I told them I suffered from anxiety and needed to
be totally "out" or I would fight the tube going down my throat,
and they said "No Problem!" Well, from the time I entered the
prep area, to the time I was ready to leave, it was probably no more than
half an hour. The procedure itself was MAYBE 7 or 8 minutes, and I didn't
even have to change out of my street clothes. After that, I didn't vomit
anymore, and the weight loss kicked back in, and my surgeon recommended a
neurosurgeon for me to see about my back, and she got me on a schedule of
epidural pain shots, and honey, I was raring to go. I signed up at a gym,
and I began working out, and in a month or so, I was working out for 3
hours, 3 times per week. Plus, I was doing physical therapy exercises
every day. I hadn't felt so good in years! Now, though, the epidural
shots are no longer working, and I'm looking at surgery for my back.... but
that's another story. As far as the Gastric Bypass (RNY).... YES!!! I
would do it again in a heartbeat. And, just in case you're wondering, I am
56 years old. My surgery was done a year ago when I was 55. And I have
gone from a size 28 pants to a size 10 designer jeans, with a size 8
waiting in the closet!! Don't let your fear derail your desire to be
healthy and happy. I only know of two or three people who've had
SIGNIFICANT complications, and I know that one of them (a friend here in
Denver) had complications directly related to his non-compliance with the
surgeon's post-op regimen. He ate solid food way too soon, and because of
it, had a serious issue that re-hospitalized him, and then, he ate the
wrong kind of food (too fatty) and he had dumping problems and he got
dehydrated and ended back in the hospital at least two or three more times,
and even now, he continues to have a big cinnamon roll for breakfast, and
soda for lunch (which are definite no-no's according to our surgeon and
nutritionist), and he basically eats anything he wants, and I can tell,
he's going to be one of those who gain all their weight back, and look at
you like "where did all this come from? I HAD the surgery!" So,
as long as you remember, the surgery gives you a TOOL to work with, and for
the first few months, it pretty much does the work for you by limiting the
AMOUNT you can eat. But YOU'RE the one who decides what to put into it.
If you follow your surgeon and nutritionist's eating plan, you should be
fine. And, we're all here to give you support, if you need it. So, if
you're morbidly obese, with several co-morbidities (like joint pain, high
blood pressure, hyper-lipidemia, depression, etc) then this is a surgery
that is going to add years to your life, and you should definitely stop
listening to those little voices in your head that are questioning your
decision. Blessed Be, Erica
— Erica Alikchihoo
March 31, 2010
Hi Paula, I had my RNY surgery on 2/23/10. I have had no major
complications to speak of. After about a week postop I was just left with
some tenderness in the abdomen. One other complication I have had (if you
want to completely open and honest :o) is constipation. You may want to
check with your surgeon to see what he or she would recommend for that if
it happens.
I WOULD do it again if given the choice. All of my Dr.'s were for it, my
PCP and my Endocrinologist. I topped out at 378 lbs when I started my
journey. I lost 20 lbs before surgery and am now down to 313 only 5 weeks
out. The biggest thing I heard before and can now say for sure to do is
"listen to your dr. and follow the plan set out for you to the tee and
you will have great success." I was morbidly obese, was on 5
different blood pressure meds, 3 different diabetes meds plus insulin, 2
different cholesterol meds, and 1 thyroid med. I am now only on two blood
pressure meds and my thyroid med.
My only 2 instances of dumping were due to me not thinking about what I was
putting on my meat to moisten it. Sometimes you just don't know how your
body will react until it happens. Just watch the sugar content for sure.
Overall I believe you will be happy you went forward. The nay-sayers
probably have no idea what you are going through to have made this
decision. I find it difficult to believe that health professionals are
against it. I presume these are health professionals you know, not
necessarily ones you are seeing for treatment. Stay strong and remember
you have people on here ready to help you in your journey. Good luck and
God bless you.
Bob Young
— Robert Young
March 31, 2010
Hi and congrats the decision to have surgery! I am almost 2 years out and
feel so good!! In fact, I feel many things I hadn't felt before
.....energenitic,sexy, "normal". I wish i had done this years
ago! decades! I was scared too and had some second guessing...it sounds so
terrible the dumping etc, but beleive me, after you reach goal, life goes
back to normal...its just a new normal! I still do not eat white flour and
monitor my sugar intake. I count calories and make healthy choices. Sure
you can go back to the old way of life, but hwy? why risk regain? Anything
we do in this life is able to fail. we can cheat on about anything, but
doing so would be silly and unhealthy. This is a life change, int he
beginning its the amount of food and chewing and waiting. Now, for me, its
about the choices I make. Take your "no hunger" period to relearn
food nutrition. Eat what you need to survive, not for pleasure. This is
what most people refer to as hard..It doesn't always stay that way. I eat
things that are tasty, but i don't need to eat half the box, etc, and only
once in a while. you;ll see...a year from now you will wonder what all the
fuss was about..lol Best of luck to you and hang in there!! hugs n god
Bless, Kim
— gpcmist
April 1, 2010
Paula,
Congratulations on making it this far. I personally believe that having
my RNY done not only saved my life but also gave me the tools to make my
life better not only for myself but for my family as well. I would have
surgery again in an instant. Granted I had no complications immediately
after and have only had to deal with true "dumping syndrome" a
few times and each time it was because I took a chance on eating something
I knew could produce bad results (ex. a bite of key lime pie, a sip of
soda, etc.). Having had surgery quite a while ago (5 years)I can now eat
an almost normal size meal (roughly kid sized is just right)and most people
who didn't know me before surgery assume I've always been thin and are
shocked when I tell them about it and show them pictures. Even people who
have known me all along forget I had surgery, so eventually you'll get to a
point where you don't think about it any longer and you just do what you do
out of habit just hopefully those habits have changed for the better. For
instance I now always eat my protein first out of habit and I eat very
slowly and chew A LOT. I also make different food choices out of habit than
I would have before surgery. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that
yes, you will be normal again but it'll be a new normal, hopefully a
happier, healthier normal. I did have some complications, just a couple of
months ago actually that nearly killed me and landed me in the ICU for
several days on a ventilator and I had two surgeries and almost a month of
recovery. Apparently, I had one of those long term complications that 1%
have where my staples on my stomach didn't hold and my intestine ended up
backing up into my stomach...luckily I had a wonderful surgeon who fixed
me. Even after going through that and having a nice new scar that goes
from breastbone to pelvic bone I would still have the WLS. Don't fear
dumping because more than likely it will happen, and it will suck
completely, but you'll get over it and learn what you can and can't eat and
you'll instinctively start avoiding those things you can't. But the true
test of whether this is right for you is if you feel in your heart that it
is, pray, meditate or do whatever you do when you make tough decisions and
make sure it is really what you want because ultimately it is you that will
have to live with the outcome both good and bad. You might also want to
rethink your surgeon if you're not getting any support there. I wish you
luck and if you ever have any questions or want to chat feel free to
contact me anytime. I still remember how worried I was pre-surgery and I
felt like I had a new question every minute. Take care.
Elizabeth Clark, Lap-RNY 12/28/05
— elizabethc03
April 1, 2010
Hey being nervous is understandable but you should be excited to do this
because it will save your life and increase the quality of your life. I had
Lap Band on October 22nd, 2009. In a little over five months I have lost
110 lbs. and I feel great! This was by far the best and biggest decision I
have made. Now the world is mine and everything is better without all the
extra weight. Enjoy the moment and live happy!
— postalmoose
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