Another Newbie

Hi, all!
I'm  2 months out from laparascopic RNY.  I had some problems with the surgery initially, but things are going well now.  I still seem weak ... am having trouble building back my strength and stamina.  Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Vanessa

How much weight have you lost?  Glad to hear things are going better!

Phyllis

Hi Vanessa,

Congratulations on your surgery. I have to admit it took me a couple of months to get my legs under me after I had my surgery. Some folks seem to bounce right back and other need a little more time. If it's any consolation, things started to get better when I was a couple of months out. Make sure that you are getting all of the protein and supplements in. It really does help. 

Hang in there.

this is alittle scarey. does lots of people have trouble bouncing back? i have very little downtime in my life and an nervous anyway.
realistically what am i looking at with both types of surgery
deb

Deb,

It's really hard to say how you will bounce back. I would strongly urge you to look at the long term effects and benefits of each surgery type when you make your decision and let the 'bounce back' recovery time from surgery play a more minor role in your decision making process. To be honest, even with the sluggish recovery I had, it wasn't bad enough to keep me from doing it again. I was more tired than I wish had been, but I was able to be functional... You can read my blog to get an idea of how it impacted me. 

When you talk about 'both types of surgery' I am assuming that you mean RNY vs LapBand. There are a number of different types of surgery and they basically break down into two categories: Restrictive only and Restrictive/Mal-absorbtive. There are several types of Restrictive and several ltypes of Mal-absorbtive.

Please feel free to ask questions about what frightens you... I don't know that we'll have answers, but many of us have been there and dealt with the fear and concerns I'm sure that you are feeling. It's a big step in many, many ways. That said, I'm so glad I did it and would do it again. 

 

i went to the 3 1/2 hour education session that was required yesterday hoping to have a clearer idea of what i wanted to do but to be honest, i am even more confused. i understand how the surgeries are done now and all the technical stuff. much more about what i can eat and not. feel better knowing i can still have 'sweet' stuff, just artifically sweetened. wasnt sure i could go through life with nothing sweet again. will still really miss chocolate. the bounce back still worries me. i am in school right now and need to go to work as soon as i am out. i have an internship 3 days a week now. i can easily see missing 2 weeks since i am sure i can get some of the 'book' work done here but 4 weeks is a long time. oh well, it will be awhile it seems before they will know anything and get all the pretest sceduleded.
thanks for listening
deb

I imagine you'll be able to be back at school within 2 to 3 weeks, but you'll probably tire easily.

You probably should know that most people who have RNY are initially carb and fat sensitive, but many become less sensitive over time. I'm 2.5 years out and to be honest, I can eat just about anything I want. This is and can be a double-edged sword. For me, the surgery helped me strip off the excess weight and it is helping me keep it off, but because I can eat anything I want to eat, I'm having to learn to identify and manage my food trigger. To be honest, it wasn't really something I started having to really 'manage' until I was about 1.5 years out. During the first year, it was all about getting the weight off. During the next 3 to 6 months I thought I had this weight thing whipped and that I'd never have to worry about it again. Now, I don't obsess about it, but I have to stay aware and accountable to make sure that my weight stays in a 'safe and healthy' range. It is and sometimes I do gain a few pounds, I am much more aware now if I can a few pounds and am able to make a few 'corrections' and get it back off fairly easily. Generally, if my weight goes up, it's because I'm consuming too many carbs. When I flip it over and make sure that I get in plenty of protein, the excess weight comes right off. 

If you haven't gone to the RNY and LapBand forums, you might want to visit them. Realize that people often tend to have bias towards the surgery that they have selected, but you may gain new insight to the lifestyles with the different surgery types.

thanks barbara. you have been so much help. i am leaning more and more toward the rny because i am really the type to go by and get the milkshake on the way home. and you make life sound okay. thanks deb

hi i had surgery week before you i am getting back to feeling normal but eating normal might not never get back 2 normal and i am ok with that i lost 51 lb after wls and 9 lbs before  so i love what i lost and dont care to go back to that eating again but hope you all the luck in getting better