I have a lot of questions about Bypass surgery

I am having surgery November 7th. I have a ton of questions that I would different people to answer and then we can email our stories to each other. [email protected] What should I do to prepare for the surgery? Can I drink cold water? If not why? Is it that u\you can not eat and drink at the same time cause you will fill up to soon and not get enough food? streghes the stomach? Why I am allergic to Codine and Bioxin how will this effect my surgery? Can I avoid losing hair and nails breaking? What foods can tear or scratch or hurt the healing process? What is the medical languish that allows skin removal like rashes and such? Can I avoid intestinal irritation, ulcers, hemroids? How long will I be insurgary? APROX time to lose half or all of the weight? Surgery Will you do it laposcopic or open? Is the anesthesiologist experienced with big people? We have special requirements due to the fact that fat cells retain the sedative, and since we have more fat cells. How much of the intestines are by-passed? Is it proximal or distal and what is proximal and distal? This has a lot to do with the side effects that can occur. Will I be in ICU? How long will I be in recovery? Will I get a morphine pump or some sort of pain pump? When will it come out? Where will the IV be (neck or arm)? When will it come out? (personally, the best IV that I ever had was in the neck, easy to move around, it never infiltrated and best of all it didn't hurt on bit!) Will you have a nasal tube or intubation tube? When will it come out? Will I have a catheter? When will it come out? If yes, Do I have to have a catheter( hate them). Do you prescribe a stomach binder? Some do and some don't. The support of the binder will help a lot with the pain. Hospital Stay Which hospital will you be using? What is the reputation of the hospital? How long is the hospital stay? I heard of some people not having a bowel movement for several days after surgery. Will I have to stay in the hospital until I do? I have heard some people say that they had to stay and others who didn't. What is your policy? Can my support person stay with me at the hospital? How often should I be walking as I am unable to walk much due to bad knees? Complications Have you ever had a case where the surgery had started and you couldn't complete it? What were the cir****tances? What is your mortality rate? I have heard that it is harder to detect stomach cancer and ulcers after this surgery, especially in the "unused" portion of the stomach. Do you agree? How concerned should I be about this risk? Will my hair fall out? Is there anything I can start to do now, during or after to avoid this? Like take protein pill? When will it start falling out? How much? When will it grow back? I have heard that there is a lot of diarrhea and real stinky gas after the surgery. How can I minimize this? Are the diarrhea and gas permanent or will it go away eventually? Will I vomit a lot? How will I know when to stop eating? I have heard of surgeries canceled due to the H. Pylori bacteria being present in your stomach. What is this and can I do anything to prevent it? What happens if a staple tears open? Does the food now go into the rest of the stomach or where? Miscellaneous Can I have a small glass of wine on the holidays to toast? Can I drink a lot of water every day? Spices, can I use all spices? Will vitamins like calcium form on the walls? How long will the stitchers stay in? When can I shower? How long do I need someone to stay with me? When can I resume my normal activities? Do I have a limit on how much I can carry or lift? For how long? What will the scar look like? How much should I lose and how fast? What will be my absorption rate after surgery? How much calories, nutrients, minerals, etc., percentage wise will my body absorb? 50%? 60-80%? How long till I can swim and do my PT in the swimming pool? After Surgery Care What is your after surgery diet? I've heard different diets. Are there any foods I need to stay away from? (Nuts peels, etc.) Can I never have these or is it just at first? Does you have a live support group? And when do they meet? Will I need to take the vitamins, supplements; B-12 shots for the rest of my life? I love to drink water, can I stretch out the pouch by drinking to much? What kind of exercise do you recommend after surgery and how soon can I start? What does it take to get the access skin removed by the insurance company? Has medicare ever covered excess skin removable? Medical Conditions After Surgery What about medications after surgery? I take such and such and such. Should I be OK with these? Since my absorption rate will be #%, how will that affect my dosages? Should I contact the prescribing doctor? What should I take instead? Do you have a list of what I can and cannot take? I have a lot of sinus drainage. I have heard that this will sometimes collect in the stomach and not "go down." What do you suggest to minimize this problem? About the Doctor How many operations have you performed? Have you performed the surgery on anyone my size? Were they successful? Do you have any malpractice suits? A PRE-OPS GET-READY LIST (I suggest you review this list with your doctor and buy very small amounts) Groceries Sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast (personally not something that I would use however) Sustical, Ensure, Boost, etc. (ask your doctor about this, not all want you on these as they are loaded with sugar. Also not something I would use) Water Herb Tea (non-caffeinated) fat free canned chicken or beef broth Soup (stay with the simple ingredient ones) creamed soups (be careful with tomato soup. lots of sugar) bouillon (you'll want to water this down as the salt will knock your socks off!) rice or soy milk (nonfat) (only if lactose intolerant) sugar free Jell-O Mashed potatoes (you can thin this with chicken broth) Smooth, no sugar added yogurts (read the label!! Non fat is NOT sugar free!!)) Gatorade (again, may have too much sugar) Sugar free Kool-aid, Crystal lite, Diet Snapple, Diet Iced Botanicals Fruit juices cut half with water -- non-pulp grape, apple, Cranberry, etc. applesauce (check the label for sugar content!) sugar free popsicles Hot cereal (oatmeal, rice, grits, cream of wheat etc.) Baking potatoes (this will probably be ok around 3 weeks post op) Fresh fruit (can be pureed) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Store or Drug store (again I stress this point, REVIEW THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR!) Protein supplements (eg: Designer Whey or Carb Solutions Check the label for sugar!) Citrate of Magnesia (your doctor may require this to "clean you out' before surgery) Liquid pain reliever (children's liquid tylenol) Liquid, Chewable, Spray or Powder Multivitamin (Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Centrum Chewable) Vitamin E Oil (if you put it on your scar, it will heal faster and not look as bad) Zinc to prevent hair loss (common side effect but in my opinion, nothing helps with the hair loss. HAIR LOSS HAPPENS ) Calcium citrate Chewable or liquid Iron Chewable or spray Ginseng to improve the smell of passing gas Chewable, sublingual or liquid B-12 Department Store antibacterial soap ice cube trays for freezing right size portions of the puree stuff Blender - I think one of those hand held ones are wonderful zip lock bags (to store frozen ice cubes) shot glass for measuring or those little cups you get salad dressing in Play tea set (helps portion control) camera (gotta have those before and after images. Be sure to take your measurements too!) seafood fork and baby spoons (helps you take smaller bites) chopsticks too! anything to slow down your eating a journal to keep your pictures in, and to chart your weight loss. Stuff for Hospital Clip on fan for bedside toothbrush/toothpaste (should be supplied by the hospital) deodorant (should be supplied by the hospital) Lotion (should be supplied by the hospital) Moisturizing lip gloss (be careful with these as they are petroleum based and flammable, if you are on oxygen this may not be a good idea, check first!) powder (should be supplied by the hospital) shampoo (should be supplied by the hospital) brush hair clips, rubber bands, bandana or hat (you won't be able to wash your hair so whatever it takes to get it out of the way) nightgowns (could be difficult to use with the IV's you will have so you may just decide to use the hospital designer gowns robe slippers comfy pillows (don't be afraid to bring your own!) watch or travel clock walkman or cd player (drowns out hospital noises) stuffed animal to brace against your tummy (hey, it works for some people) make up writing paper (pre-address the envelopes!) Books, magazines, cross-stitch, puzzles, etc. (but you'll probably never even pick them up) Stomach Binder (if they don't provide it, check with your surgeon.) Comfortable clothes to go home in. (or just go home in your robe on nightie...why not? list of phone numbers (you may be bored to tears and want to talk!) chances are, if you are of menstruating age, that you will get your period in the hospital. So be prepared! Take panties, pads, tampax etc. They will have pads, but nothing for you to put them in, no pins, belts etc. x. Fabreeze or some air freshener, a scented candle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Hospital Will I be able to sleep on my stomach? Will there be leakage? A recliner (very few can sleep in a bed at first ) Rent or borrow if you don't have one...it won't be forever, just for a week or two. lots and lots of support! Someone to walk the dog back scratcher

Hey Toni, That is alot of questions you have there. Way too many to even start answering here. I'm currently almost 16 months post op and down 187 pounds. If you want to sit down sometime before your surgery and talk, I'd be happy to accomodate. Just let me know. Stephanie

Please call me and we can talk 453 5830