Questions and such prior to surgery

Ok I'm obviously very new to all this, but hoping for some realistic answers from people who have already been through it.

So here it goes....

i have my surgery for gastric bypass scheduled for the end of the month but was curious about such things as: how much weight did other people lose per month on average? Will wearing a surgical garment afterward really keep my skin tighter? What about weight regain does that happen to everyone?  How bad will my pain post op really be? 

Hello angel91e,

We are excited for you!! Congratulations.  Here are some links to information you may find helpful:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/photographing-your-weigh t-loss-surgery-journey/

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/weight-loss-surgery-hosp tial-stay-what-to-pack/

http://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/four-on-the-floor-self-c are-after-weight-loss-surgery/

We can't wait to hear from you post-op!

If you have not done so already, please be sure and post this on the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery Forum (RNY) to reach out to those that are having the same surgery as you.

How much weight people lose per month depends on a number of things, mostly how heavy they started to begin with.  Someone who started at 400 pounds may lose 40 pounds the first couple of months whereas someone who started at only 250 may only lose 15-20. There is no "average", especially since many of us have metabolic issues.

No, wearing a binder won't do anything to help your skin.  Either it has enough elasticity to "snap back" or it doesn't.  Anyone who claims that it helped them is just blowing smoke because they have no way to know what their skin would have looked like without using the binder!  (The same goes for stories of things helping with hair loss, BTW).

No, regain doesn't happen to everyone.  If you are diligent about what you eat and how much you move, you do have some control over your weight. Some people do, however, get down to a weight that is too low and their body may respond by trying to return to a healthier weight (and it make take an extremely limited number of calories or a very significant amount of exercise to try to force it to stay at the low weight).  

How much pain people have varies widely and no one can tell you what to expect. A few have very little pain, even the first couple of days; a few have what they perceive as significant pain for several weeks; many people have pain requiring pain meds for about a week. No matter what your pain level is the first day or two, you will have access to strong painkillers in the hospital. They might not completely take the pain away, but will make you comfortable.

Lora

My DS was the first surgery I'd even had, and it was done open. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I'd prepared myself for. 18 months later I had a laparoscopic hernia repair and that hurt like the devil!