Questions on surgery

Hello everyone-I am relatively new to the board but have read and gained alot of knowledge from many of your responses so thanks in advance for all of your help.

My concern(s) are these:  I will be having surgery in about a month.  I have not lost much weight through this whole process (about 22 lbs) and thus I am still pretty large (about 385#). Much of this is due to a very bad metabolism( since  I have been morbidly obese since earlychildhood! ) and some is due to bad food choices (brought up on mom's potatoes & gravy, etc.)  so my question  is if there is  any one else on the board has been as large as me and  who has had RNY surgery and if so how was your outcome? Was your recovery time more difficult than normal? or what should I be watching out for?  Just wondering -  I am very confident in my choice of surgeon  but I feel so huge compared to most everyone else. I am looking forward to wiping out that awful phrase "morbidly obese"!!  Thanks again to all of you!

Hi. Just wanted to welcome you to the board.

I would think that the post-op period would be determined by how severe your comorbitities are as well as if you have open bypass or laparoscopic surgery. Everybody's surgery is unique so I don't think there is one pat answer.  Hang on and someone other than me will be able to give you a better idea.

Good Luck.

Hello  pennygirl and many thanks for your reply!  I am having open RNY because my surgeon of choice prefers this way for a number of reasons and I also have to have my gall bladder out.  I am very confident of his abilities and like him very much.  It just seemed like I carry most ofmy weight in my abdoment esp lower area that I panic a bit and think I might be about the largest person on earth at times!! Exercising is difficult for me to do but I do work everyday and walk there when I can.  Hopefully all of those things which I find so difficult to do now will eventually become much more do-able!! I thank all of you who have responded to my inquiries-It gives me alot more reassurance and I hope soon to be among you successfull guys (and girls) and look forward to the day that I, too, can reassure others and let them know just how much this surgery can do for us! Thanks again & good to meet you, Molly (Mary)

Since you speak about being labeled morbidly obese, I am going to assume that your BMI is in the 40 to 49 range.  I would guess that most of the people here were at least at a BMI in this range prior to surgery, I have met some people that were in the 50's or 60's.  In March of this year my BMI was 44 and I am currently at a BMI of 31, with a total over 110 pounds lost since March with my surgery being in April. 

WLS is a great tool, but it is a tool not a miracle.  It is up to you to follow the diet and exercise set up by your surgeon.  It is the combination of the surgery, diet, exercise and your new outlook on life that is when the miracle occurs.  I have felt so much more in control of my health since I made the decision to have this surgery.

I had started walking prior to my surgery and during the first two weeks post op had myself up to 2-3 miles a day in 2 or 3 walks.   I had not difficulty walking post op and I think it was partly because of my pre-surgery walking.  I found the recovery much easier than I expected.

Good luck with your journey

Jim 

Hey Jim - Hello and nice to meet you!  I am not entirely sure what my BMI is but I believe it to be well above 50 - more in the low 60's maybe (just a guess) so yes I definitely fit the morbidly obese category.  You have done exactly what needs to be done in order for the surgery to work and be successfull and for that I congratulate you-You deserve success-you earned it! As I mentioned in a previous post, exercise is difficult for me-I can walk a bit but have some issues with ? corns or calluses which recur on the bottom of my left foot and get painful and I have to have them sliced off (not a pleasant occurrence!) anyway, I agree with your walking  and do try and do what I can because my surgeon also recommended it and said it would greatly speed my healing time post-op also.

I am not quite where you are just yet in my journey.  Some days, I seem to mourn the loss of some of my favorite foods and wonder if I will really care all that much after surgery. It's hard to change one's lifetime of poor eating choices in 6-8 months time but slowly I am realizing that food isn't in control of my life-I am!!! (it's a hard one though and I am a stubborn Irish lass!! LOL!

Thanks for your encouraging words - This board has been so supportive and helpful.  I look forward to helping others, too.  Thanks again.  Molly (Mary)

Welcome!!! You are not alone!! Many of us started with the label of morbidly obese or in my case I was considered super morbidly obese. I started my journey at 437lbs 1yr ago & by surgery I was down to 397. I am just about 9 months post-op & have lost about 155lbs. If you put your mind to it & follow the rules you can do this!!

As fas as recovery is concerned for me I had my surgery on Oct 22nd & 2 weeks later I was back to work. I was a little tired the first couple of days but it wasn't bad. I have a desk job so it was easy enough for me to rest if I needed to.

Good luck!!! You can definitely do this - heck, if I can anyone can!!!

Cece

Cece- Thanks for the note of encouragement and  for the welcome! I guess I just am having a bit of pre-surgery jitters (surgery date Aug. 20th)-Sometimes I feel like I am the biggest person on this earth! Don't get me wrong -I have alot of support for having decided to have surgery from my family and several of my coworkers-I know I can't compare myself to others, either, but it sure helps to hear others like yourself who started out weighing more than most and are /and have been so successful.  Your stats are terrific!! Thanks again for giving me a boost.  I may need you again to give me a good swift kick in my butt the closer I get to surgery LOL!   I also have a desk job waiting for me so hopefully, I can get back sooner  than the 4-6weeks of anticipated recovery time. I will keep you posted! Thanks again! Molly P. (Mary)

You're welcome!!! What you are going through is perfectly normal. I was worried too when I decided to do this. Everyone I seemed to read about seemed so "small" compared to me - how was I going to do this?!! I found a few stories on the boards (main & BMI over 50 mostly) that gave me the courage to do this - people who were bigger than me & who accomplished more than I had to... Amy Williams was one person! She has been through a lot - even got on to MTV's True Life - her sotry is amazing! There were several other folks too but I can't remember their names off the top of my head!! So never feel like you're alone - many have done this & succeeded under worse conditions... it is a god-send!!! The people on this NY Board are awesome too!! Everyone is so full of encouragement & will help any time you ask!!!

Good luck and yes, I will be happy to kick your butt anytime you need it!!! :-)

Cece