Gastric Bypass Surgery, anybody with experience?

[Cinderella's slipper]

Got my surgery date--August 2! And I have a week long solo trip planned for OCtober 1-8. Hopefully I'll be fully recovered and have my new lifestyle/eating patterns well in place by then.

Good luck to you with the pre-surgical diet and your surgery. Keep us posted. If we have any chocolate lovers in this group, I found a great tasting protein powder "Designer Whey - chocolate" that I can tolerate. It mixes well with a little ice, and light chocolate soy milk and boy is it good. I found it in my local Hannafords market, and I know they have it on Amazon, but it was more expensive on Amazon.

Stay in touch,
CS

 

[anonymousegirl]

Day One of the pre-op liquid diet. 3 weeks long. I was so nervous and worried last night, thinking "this is my last bite of food for 2 plus months".

 

[twocat]

Day One of the pre-op liquid diet. 3 weeks long. I was so nervous and worried last night, thinking "this is my last bite of food for 2 plus months".

Oh, don't think of it like that!! Think of it as the first day towards a healthier, happier lifestyle.

Good luck to you!

 

[anonymousegirl]

I am a bit of a negative nellie. I'll try to think more positively.
Thanks everyone for being such cheerleaders!

 

[winniedapooh]

Hello All...I want to chime in if you don't mind... My GBS is scheduled for 7/20 and I have my pre-op tomorrow at 7AM. I am anxious, nervous, excited...glad I found this. I have been going to a GB forum. Thanks so much for starting it.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Good Luck today Winnie!!

 

[winniedapooh]

It went well. I only gained .3 pound and they did not even blink at it. I thought for sure a comment, but nothing. Well, only 8 days left...

 

[anonymousegirl]

Glad things went well for you Winnie. I started my liquid diet on Monday and somehow I have not run amok and stuffed my face with no-nos (or Ho-Hos, for that matter)
I think I am tolerating the diet because there is NO room for justification or cheating. Very restrictive but I guess it will work for me in the short run.

I started with the Bariatric Advantage powdered shakes, but hated all the flavors, so now I am using Designer Whey and skim milk. As a PP mentioned it does taste good, or at least palatable.

Going off to buy a scale . . .

 

[jbuey22]

Hello All...I want to chime in if you don't mind... My GBS is scheduled for 7/20 and I have my pre-op tomorrow at 7AM. I am anxious, nervous, excited...glad I found this. I have been going to a GB forum. Thanks so much for starting it.

Good luck Winnie I am almost 4 months Post Op and things have been going good. Just do what the doctors and nutritionists tell you to do and you will be fine! I have found now that I can eat most of what I used to but in much smaller portions. If you have any questions send me a message. I started out at 495 in December and recently weighed in at 480. Things are slowing down I have noticed with the weight loss, but I am now concentrating on working out a bit more. You really need to add excercise into the equation sooner or later.. Good luck this week, I will say a prayer for you. After surgery do your breathing exercises and get out of bed as soon as you can. Try to stay ahead of their expectations. Good luck again and please remember to chime in again.

 

[jbuey22]

Glad things went well for you Winnie. I started my liquid diet on Monday and somehow I have not run amok and stuffed my face with no-nos (or Ho-Hos, for that matter)
I think I am tolerating the diet because there is NO room for justification or cheating. Very restrictive but I guess it will work for me in the short run.

I started with the Bariatric Advantage powdered shakes, but hated all the flavors, so now I am using Designer Whey and skim milk. As a PP mentioned it does taste good, or at least palatable.

Going off to buy a scale . . .

Hang in there the liquid diet sux but it is important for a couple of reasons. The doctors need to work on your stomach and right in the way is your liver. The 3 week liquid diet shrinks the liver down making it easier to operate on and less chance for complications. I found and find that the best protein shakes are the Myoplex Light fudge or chocolate flavor. They have the best taste in my opinion. I also liked a few of the muscle milk flavors but got sick of them after awhile. After the surgery you will have to stay on the same diet for a few weeks so if you are gonna cheat, do it once and dont over do it. I actually started the liquid diet a week early so I would allow myself one or two slips the first week. I did slip up the first week twice, but got it out of my system and finished the last few weeks strong. The doctors were pleased with my liver size and I believe it is very important. Remember you got yourself into this problem by yourself, but you can get yourself out of it! It is tough, but well worth it. I believe it is the best move I have made for myself in the last 2 decades. Especially being a diabetic. Before surgery I was taking 50 units of insulin for a average meal. For those of you that dont know, that is ALOT of insulin. Now my average insulin intake is 4 units per meal. That is gonna put years on my life, I seriously believe that. You have to think the same way. The ultimate goal in all of this to to add years to your life. Please hold on and get your mind right! Get motivated and do it for yourself. I will help you in anyway I can by answering questions or whatever else I can do. It is very important to do what the doc says. Good luck and message me with any questions.
Jeff

 

[anonymousegirl]

That's good news about your significantly lower insulin intake, Jeff.

After one week liquid, I have lost around 8lbs, maybe a bit more. I am trying to avoid jumping on the scale every day. I have my primary care physican pre-op Thursday and my surgeon pre-op later that day. And it is my 49th birthday. Shooting for 89 candles someday.

Now if I can just figure out how to get candles in my shake

 

[winniedapooh]

Finished buying all of the "stuff" I may need over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I begin my liquid diet for 1 day and then surgery...still anxious, nervous, and excited... However, now I feel ready!! I think I got all of the food cravings out of my system over the past month, lol...bad, bad, bad...the past week I have been eating normal and healthy. I have gotten different Isopure drinks and been trying them. So far I really dislike Peach Mango and like Grape Frost!!! Will check in at the end of the week after I am on the losers bench...thanks all!

 

[Baileymouse]

All the best to you, Winnie!

I had RNY gastric bypass in June, 2003. In October, 2003, I went to Disney. I was down to a 20W from a 28W, and at the end of that visit I gave all of my summer clothes to another DIS member who was staying on site. By Jan, 2005, I was down to a 14-16 and entered the Disney half marathon.

I never had many problems eating at Disney. Everyone was extremely accommodating, let me share with DH, or let me have smaller portions. Since we stay in DVC rooms, we always had a fridge for bringing stuff back to the room. Just remember the most important thing: stay hydrated!!! Bring a water bottle and refill it constantly! Also, most surgeons don't prescribe enough of a vitamin regimen.

I did wind up severely anemic and vitamin deficient 5 years out. RNYers don't absorb some things, and you have to be careful. There's a woman named Michelle Curran who goes by the name Vitalady. She sells vitamins but will always give advice to those who don't buy from her, and will make suggestions based on surgical type. She had an ERNY, which is much more severe malabsorption-wise than a typical RNY.

I actually had a weird hybrid RNY/VBG. My surgeon put a prolene mesh band around the stoma as a permanent ring. It caused many problems for me, and I couldn't eat normally. As time went on it got worse. In Dec. 2009 I revised to the duodenal switch, had the ring excised out, and I feel like a million bucks.

I am a 10 dress, 12 pants, happy, healthy, and looking forward to getting back to Disney. I wish you all the success in the world!

 

[anonymousegirl]

Thinking of Winnie today as she should be havinng her procedure today.

Good luck Winnie!!

and Baileymouse,
congrats on a successful new life.

I'm in the pre-op liquid stage in prep for August 2 and I've lost ten pounds in one week. and yet I am still worried that it won't be enough when i go in for my pre-op appointment on Thursday.

 

[Baileymouse]

I'm sure you'll be fine, anonymouse girl. My original surgeon didn't require weight loss, but if you gained he'd throw you out of the program. He didn't want anyone binging. When I went for the revision, even though I wasn't heavy, they required a bit of loss to make sure that the liver wasn't fatty. 10 days of a liquid diet, I think I lost 8, and he was fine with that.

You'll be amazed by the changes.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I'm sure you'll be fine, anonymouse girl. My original surgeon didn't require weight loss, but if you gained he'd throw you out of the program. He didn't want anyone binging. When I went for the revision, even though I wasn't heavy, they required a bit of loss to make sure that the liver wasn't fatty. 10 days of a liquid diet, I think I lost 8, and he was fine with that.

You'll be amazed by the changes.

10 days would be nice. For the same reason (shrinking the liver) my guy requires 21 days. I'm losing about a pound a day and of course all the naysayers in my life are trying to tell me I should just do this liquid diet and lose all my excess weight. They just don't get it. I need manditory life style changes and simply losong the weight is not going to change my eating habit.

 

[winniedapooh]

I am done and on the mend...not quite into feeling like I want to do research for our next trip yet, lol, but not opposed either. Uneventful surgery and a hopefully uneventful recovery...thanks for all of your good wishes!

 

[littlelamb70]

I am done and on the mend...not quite into feeling like I want to do research for our next trip yet, lol, but not opposed either. Uneventful surgery and a hopefully uneventful recovery...thanks for all of your good wishes!

Hi Winnie! I had the RNY GBP 4 weeks ago and just wanted to say best wishes for a speedy and uneventful recovery!

 

[winniedapooh]

Hi littlelamb...thanks so much. A week yesterday and down 14 pounds. I do not have any hunger at all, just the dreaded head hunger, lol! I can not wait to eat a piece of chicken. I made it through Sunday morning bacon too, lol!

 

[anonymousegirl]

Good to hear from you Winnie. Congrats on a success first week. Next Tuesday for me!