what do I need to know that the surgeon isn't telling me ?
I'm new here and this is my very first post. I'm scheduled for roux en y surgery on Dec. 17th. My surgeon said he doesn't need me to go on the pre-op diet (which really surprised me) so that's good I guess, but what do I need to know that the surgeon isn't telling me? Let's start from the beginning... how much pain am I going to have FOR REAL ? How long will I be in the hospital after the surgery? How much weight can I expect to lose in the first month? When can I go back to work? All my testing is done, and I see the surgeon one last time on Dec. 12th before surgery on the 17th. Give it to me straight guys....
I am 14 days post op RNY. I am very surprised that your dr doesn't have you do the pre op diet. It is good that you don't have to do that. It makes it hard doing liquids two weeks before and having to do it two weeks after surgery too. I will have to say for me these two weeks have been really tough. My dr had me stay in 2 nights. The third day in the morning they did a test to make sure that I didn't have any leaks or anything. Then once you can keep down liquids they send you home. While you are there in the hospital they will have these things on your legs to help with bloodclotting that kind of massage your legs. That night they will have you walk. That didn't affect me because of the pain meds. they will give you shots in your stomach to help with clotting as well. The hard part for me wasn't when I was in the hospital. It was when I came home that was hard. I had a lot of pain in my stomach from where they did the surgery and I threw up a lot at first. I had to go back in the hospital because I was dehydrated from throwing up and stayed one night to get rehydrated. I think trying to walk through the pain is hard after you get home. For me I had pain even with the pain meds. You will be exhausted. Your stomach will be numb they say for the first month. So you might not feel any restriction. Be careful.... You might not know you overdid it until it is too late. When you are on pain meds it wont hurt to drink liquids or anything. be sure you stick only to what your dr says you can have and measure it. This time is really delicate and you can damage your pouch. Today is the first day out of all 14 that I feel a little normal. Although I did have to nap some today because I am so exhausted all the time. From what others say though it will get better. You will be emotional and moody. It is very normal. Christmas will be hard for you. Thanksgiving was for me. If you can avoid being near everyone eating I would recommend that. The first month I would say varies from individual. Guys tend to lose real fast at firsl. There is no real determinant on what you will lose. be patient is what they keep telling me. I have only lost 7 lbs. so far. But I am hoping to lose more as I go along.
Some people go back after two weeks. For me that isn't an option. I am too exhausted to be able to do that. I will see how I feel after this third week and go from there to see if I need 3 or 4 weeks off to get adjusted. But it is up to the individual and how you feel. Don't stress the surgery part isn't the hardest part. that was easy. It is after you get home that is hard. You will do fine.
It just depends on how you feel honestly. My first week after I got home was really tough. I was very sore. I slept almost all day and still sleep off and on honestly. But everyone is for sure different. I use the Unjury shakes. I mix mine with water so I don't use milk or anything. Honestly all protein shakes taste horrible. I haven't tried one yet that I liked. I was actually just looking online to see what others I could try. I cant wait to change it to protein bars. I start week 3 tomorrow so I can at least eat eggs, cheese, tuna, and peanut butter. Cant wait..... Although everything tastes different after surgery. I cant stand coffee now and was a daily coffee drinker. I saw at Walmart they have this liquid whey protein. I thought I would maybe try this week. It is 42 grams of protein per 8oz. I figure with that much protein I could easily choke down two vs three of the powder ones. I will try to pick up one to try this week.
Everyone is different, but I can share with you my experience. I did have to do the pre-op diet. I was super morbidly obese at 344 pounds (57 BMI) and had a fatty liver. The pre-op diet is used to reduce the liver size to make the surgery safer -- especially important for people as large as myself.
The pain when I first came out of surgery was kind of bad. I mean, it wasn't the worst pain I ever felt, but I was definitely sore. It was considerably less than my c-section. I had a pain pump for the first 2 days. It worked well -- I was up and walking within a few hours of my surgery. After coming home, I was sore for a couple of weeks, but not so bad that I didn't return to work (on my feet) in two weeks. I stopped taking pain medication within 2 days of returning home.
Everyone loses weight at different rates. It's probably not a good idea to start comparing yourself to others. Most people gain weight directly after surgery due to fluids and gases that are pumped into you. I came home 8 lbs heavier than when I went in! That is usually lost within the first week. Then there is usually rather rapid weight loss and then a stall at three weeks. (Search: three week stall) People who have more to lose tend to lose faster. Men tend to lose faster. I lost 26.9 pounds in the thirty days post surgery. I had lost 22 in the two week pre-op.
Many people go back to work quickly. It depends on your type of job, if you have to lift, if you're mainly sitting, etc. I teach at a college and I went back to work two weeks after surgery. I was fine but I was very tired. I would have loved another week or even two -- but I was fine. There are some who go back sooner, but they usually have desk jobs.
Hope this helps you.
"What you eat in private, you wear in public." --- Kat
