Obesity Surgery WP Blog

Hi everyone. I’m a newbie and glad to be here. I live in Westchester county
New York. I have gone to one weight loss seminar to date. But this
particular surgeon has a long waiting list and it takes almost 6 monts to
get everything done before you are scheduled for surgery. I am so ready to
do this. My sister in law had gastric bypass 1 year ago and is looking and
feeling great. I have severe arthrits in my knees which may result in a
knee replacement in the near future. My ortho is encouraging me to do the
surgery in hopes to advert having the knees replaced.
Anyone out there who lives in New York willing to encourage me. I’m loking
at alot of surgeons right now.
Debbie
Peekskill NY

Hi all,
Had a meeting with one of our posties last night. Tried to email her this
morning but her email didn’t work. Must have wrote it wrong. Anyway, it was
so nice to meet one of our group face to face. I can understand why live
support groups do so well.
But I did do a bad thing. Joe had a burger, and I stole a large bite of his
dill pickle. Bad thing to do. It had a tough skin and it wouldn’t chew well,
and there it sat for the rest of the night, and most of this morning. I won
t do that again.
I do, however, recommend if you have the chance, meet your fellow pre and
post ops here from the group. It was a really nice time.
Nona
LAP RnY 12/5/3
299/229/?

As some of you may know, I work for my WLS surgeon. The other day we were
discussing pre and postop costs/expenses. One doc asked how much did I think we
saved on our food bills, preop vs post. My reply was that for the first 6
months or so, there is no doubt a tremendous savings, though I never figured an
actual percentage.
But IMHO, while we may save some $$$ on the actual quantity or amount of food we
buy, I find that I probably spend as much because I won’t eat crap! I buy high
quality food now. I may not eat much but what I eat must taste good, look good
and smell good. Space is limited and I won’t fill it with garbage!
And then there is the extra money I spend now on vitamins and protein. (we
won’t even talk about my clothing expenses!)
So, what do you guys/gals think? I think that at 5 plus years out, that I
probably spend darn near the same amount on food as I did preop. Ok, maybe a
little less, maybe a 25% savings? I just guessing now but that would be my best
guestimate.
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My wls course has been remarkably good over the past 5-1/2 years…but
I just ran into a bump in the road.
Thursday afternoon I ate a little too much, and had that I-want-to-
puke-and-get-it-over-with feeling through the evening. In the middle
of the evening I felt dizzy and my vision darkened whilst on the
crapper. I assumed it dehydration so I drank plenty of fluids, and
went to bed as usual.
A bit after midnight Friday morning I woke up and went to pee, and
next thing I knew I was laying on the bathroom floor. After some
hesitation I took myself to the emergency room, where they diagnosed
gastrointestinal bleeding and admitted me to the hospital. They did an
endoscopy at noon Friday and found an ulcer near the wls anastomosis
and evidence of Barretts esophagus. They pumped me full of fluids and
stuck for blood samples every few hours, until they discharged me late
this afternoon. It was a pretty unpleasant couple of days! (And I
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Positive changes after weight loss surgery. Do you have more to add?
The seatbelt buckle no longer painfully jabs into my buttocks/hip.
I no longer have to hold my arms uncomfortably across my chest
during a plane flight or feel embarassed sitting next to
someone on a plane or theater from my body partially
occupying their seat space.
I no longer have “bowel” or “bladder” accidents which were a
common occurance pre-op.
No more “depends” for me…. and my underware no longer smells of
urine from leaks with every cough or laugh. Personal hygiene is
a breeze now along with tying my shoes.
My calves & feet no longer throb after being on them all day.
No more inner thigh rashes or split seams on pants between my
thighs.
I own long sleeves & a jacket!!!!! I’m not “hot” all the time
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Can totally relate, Joe. Last month I was at a party and I heard a woman say
“Who is that cute girl?”. I was shocked to realize she meant me!
It’s the little things that mean so much, huh?
Mari

Well, I am officially a post-op.. I just had my first dumping
episode, and OMG!!!! I hope never again… Is this usally caused by
eating to fast? I am bad about that… Karen

Hi everybody!!
I am finally back home. I came home yesterday.I thougth it was kinda
funny that I had my wls on “FAT TUESDAY” LOL I’ve been doing good.
Tuesday after I woke, I had to have been in the most pain I’ve been in
in my life…lol But it was all good once to medicine finally started
to kick in. I was up and walking Tuesday night. I had my swallow test
the next day and everything was fine. Started liquids…why didn’t
someone tell me that my mouth would be so DRY…LOL I think I would
have sold my first born for some ice chips that first night. But
everyone says I am progressing well. I’ve only needed my pain meds
once today, that pain is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I
think I am letting myself go to long with out eating, because I find
that I get dizzy and nasueous(SP) but am fine after i have some broth.
My mom was a GODSEND, I couldn’t have done it without her. I came
home yesterday and started on broth and water and gatorade. Today I
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Hi Michelle -
Jenelle’s post is good . . . AND it is common, at about 6-8 months post-op, to
be able to eat more. One of the tricks, IMO, is not to. One of my doc’s
“rules” is low volume (we’re supposed to eat 1-1.5 oz meals) until we hit goal.
I *can* eat much more, depending on how soft the food is, but I rarely eat more
than 1/4-1/2 cup of even really soft foods.
And, are you transected? If not, then there is a possibility of Staple Line
Disruption. BUt if transected, no worries. Just bread, and increased volume
over time, prolly.
How much dense protein can you eat?
RAchel
From: Jenelle Michet
Subject: Re: 6 months Post-op
Hey Michelle!
I’m 10 months out and have seen my pattern of losing change the last few months.
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Hi Folks:
This is my first post. I’m reading and researching like crazy. My current
problem: Dr Turnquest or Dr. Leggett?
I’m a high risk patient with diastolic dysfunction, right sided heart
failure, COPD, and diabetes. I’m interested in hearing your experiences with
either
of these two docs. My final decision will be based on what the doctors
actually had to say to me when I saw them, but I’d like to hear how some of you
who
are far out from your surgeries are doing with your loss,etc. as well as how
all of you did during and after your surgery.
I’m 297 and my BMI is 47. I’ve lost 46 lb. on my own in the last six months,
but it’s too little too late,…