Please stop by May 2008 MB!!

Hey all you May 2007...ers... I am having RNY on May 6th, 2008. We have small but gaining group started for May 2008...ers... PLEASE stop by and post your advice now that your surgery anniversaries are approaching. I bet you look back now and go "wow!" and we'd love to hear the good, the bad and the ugly of those first few weeks & months post op. I think that is my biggest fear, what will it be like right away. (those are my emotions I'm juggling)

Kristy, How nice to hear from you. You are about to embark on the biggest and most wonderful amusement park ride in your life. Right now the surgery seems like such a big obstacle. After that part is all over you can get focused on attaining the new you. I am so happy with my surgery that my wonderful wife has decided to have the same procedure. When she is approved, she will likely be having surgery around the same time as you. Just try not to think about the surgery too much and focus more on what life will be like afterwards. Use those first few months to really knock that weight off. Best wishes to all of the Maysters of 08. John

Hi and good luck! I can tell you that the year has flown by. I'm amazed by that fact the most. I remember being tired and feeling "icky" after my surgery but I had minimal problems afterward. I was able to take a few weeks off work (I had the time) and just took it easy. After a few weeks I just went back to my crazy busy schedule and managed fine. The pounds melt off and before you know it you've lost sixy, seventy etc pounds. It's amazing. What I will stress though is to get the water and protein in, something I don't always do and I've noticed when I haven't I get sluggish, sick and my system gets out of whack. It takes a few days then to get back into order which isn't good. I'm hard headed and I've learned not to do it again after this most recent fiasco. But, I am so happy I've had the operation as I am healthy, nothing aches and I am able to breath and move well. It is well worth it. The biggest thing that bothered me the most is the temporary hair loss about three months after the surgery but it eventually stopped and is growing back in. No problems since. Good luck and God bless. Keep in touch! Stacy

Kristy, Greetings from a 2007'r May 15, 2007 is my new birthday. I got something that very few people get....a second chance to live life better and fuller. The main reason I had RNY was because my diabetes was getting the best of me. I went into the preop with my pockets full of change to make sure I met the requirements from BMI and I made it. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1998 and steadily went down hill since. When it was suggested that I look at RNY for a means to cure my diabetes I said sure! anything is better than 3 needles a day and loosing my feet. When I had surgery I was 275 lbs, taking three shots of insulin a day, high BP, High Cholestorol, sleep apnea, GERD and a bad case of fleas. I had surgery on Tuesday Morning in Park Rapids Mn. Tuesday was the last day I ever needed prilosec again for 12 years of heartburn and GERD, Wednesday afternoon I took my last dose of insulin (hopefully for ever). I stoped using my CPAP while in the hospital. I was taken off my Cholestorol meds in October and finally my BP meds in December. I still take some medication for anxiety and for ADD but that is not weight related at least. I went home on Friday May 18th and Mowed the lawn on Saturday May 19th. I was up and walking in the hospital before the nurses wanted me to. and I walked pretty much non stop the entire time in the hospital. I had a little scare when they thought I might have a leak, but it was not so and I started on liquid foods on Thursday evening. I have never had any difficulty eating, and enjoy eating to this day, just not as much and I also have to watch my new addiction...ICE CREAM. A little is not bad but too much is very bad. Most of my eating complications have been self inflicted. Eating too fast or too big of a bite. I had an episode in January with getting some pizza crust stuck and that was horrible, but again it was my own fault. I called the Dr in PR and she told me to drink some pop and see if it got better and it did. On the negative side....if there really is one. I separated from my wife in July, she had RNY three years earlier and they say that 50% of WLS patients get divorces so I guess with the two of us both having WLS it added up to 100%. We get along much better as friends than we ever did as husband and wife, but the lose has been hard on me and her to, I am sure. The stress of separation was difficult to deal with and I moved in with my parent for most of the summer and fall. I didn't eat the best and if not for my mom and dad I wouldn't have ate at all. They took really good care of me and got me through the hardest parts. I am not good about taking my vitamins at all and I know I should be better about it. I find myself eating not such good choices, but being single sucks when it comes to cooking for one. I stopped drinking befor surgery and still have not started up. I find that I don't need the added calories or the negative affects of alcohol in my life right now. Post surgery pain.....None On a scale of 1-10 about a five was as bad as it got. The only real pain I had was where the trocar went in against one of my floating ribs. It felt like I had a bruised rib. I accused the Dr.s of not doing the surgery and only kicking me in the ribs so I had a little discomfort. LOL I would have this surgery again this afternoon and I tell folks that are considering it that if they have it half as easy as I did it will be a cake walk. I never really made a Weight Loss goal as my goal was regaining my health. But here are my numbers as of today: Weight 170 lbs Ht 5-10 BP 128-75 No other medical conditions. My highest wt wass 299 in 2001 and I was 275 the day of surgery. I hope that my story will put you at ease and if you would like to talk more feel free to message me and I will provide you with a phone number and an E-mail address. I am a huge advocate of this surgery and love telling my story. Kristy, I belive we are neighbors. I live in Breckenridge, MN just south of Fargo ND I would love to meet with you and others in the area and help provide support, encouragement and a laugh or three. Good Luck. Brian

Hey Brian! Thanks so much for your story...I truly hope mine is a cake walk as well. I figure I have a purty high tolerance for pain and have endured worse things and come out smoothly. Yes! We certainly are neighbors...about 45min.'s apart actually. And my co-worker had RNY 3-yrs. ago in Park Rapids as well. She literally had a 2-wk time period b/t going in and asking for surgery before she had it!! I've got less than 3-weeks to go! I can hardly believe it. Next week is my last week of "real" eating before starting the liquid pre-op diet. Then it's puree for me!

I never had to do the liquid diet. I know that Meritcare requires it, but Dr Smith said he wanted me strong and healthy going into surgery and worry about losing weight after wards. Good Luck, you are in good hands. Brian

Kristy, Small but gaining? You are going the wrong way! You should all be big and losing! Sorry, couldn't resist. I went and posted a "hello" over in May '08. Not advice so much as waxing nostalgic. My first few weeks were pretty uneventful. Worst problem was my blood pressure actually went a little too low and I quit all meds for a while. Then it went up a little and I went back on some meds but just 1/2 a pill a day instead of the 4 I had been taking. Other than that it was just walk, walk, walk. The food was interesting. Seemed like some things that I liked at first I couldn't stand later. And the reverse was also true. Now I'm settled down to being able to eat anything I want and just not wanting all the bad stuff. For example, my daughter bought some of those French-fried onions for a green bean casserole and I munched a few. Made me sick as a dog, as does most any brown food these days. Tried a couple of my son's French Fries at the restaurant a week ago - same effect. The nice thing is that I wasn't craving these foods at the time, I was just curious. Once the curiosity is satisfied, the nausea gives me an incentive to NOT DO THAT AGAIN. On the other hand, most colorful foods are great! I have no problem with things that are green, red, orange, yellow and come from a farm. Also no problems eating most meats or fish except that steaks can be a little challenging if I don't cut them into teeny, tiny pieces. I had a piece of chicken get stuck in my pouch and had to go to the ER. Now everything gets cut up real small and chewed practically to paste. I travel for my job and need a week's worth of clothes that fit so I ended up buying new clothes every 3-4 weeks after surgery. Didn't make sense to buy a lot of clothes for yard work and chores after spending all that on dress clothes and a few times I ended up out in the yard in dress clothes mowing the lawn or pulling weeds. My neighbors joked that I was the best dressed gardener they'd ever seen! So my first weeks and months post-op were a little bumpy but in hindsight were nothing compared to the accumulated pain of day-to-day life before the surgery. You will find a lot of variations on this story here and I encourage you to connect with some of the other May '07 folks. They are a great bunch. Although I'm a bit of a prodigal son and don't post as often as I should, the folks here are truly my second family. Best wishes for your journey. I'll have to check in on you in the May08 board from time to time. -- T.Rob