My day is 9/12

Hello I just found this board thanks to a generous poster to my site. After looking at the before and after pics I was beginning to wonder if this surgery was just a girl thing. :)  I am glad to know that men do it too.  I have some anxiety, I have dropped about 17 pounds and I am on a mostly liquid protein diet to lose some more. Nothing scares me more than to wake up and instead of finding 5 little cuts I have one huge massive cut down my belly. I am also a little stressed about the risk of blood clots. My surgeon told me that most men who doe from this doe from blood clots. She is making me take blood thinner injections for 26 days after the surgery in my stomach. Any others here have this experience? I just want to get this over. I did get some sad news last week as I found out that I now am diabetic. The main reason I am doing this surgery was to prevent stuff like this.

My surgeon is one of the best in the country and the support team is also wonderful. I know I can do this and I am looking forward to all the things I have missed with my kids over the past few years.

wish me luck. :)

Jim

Best of Luck.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” 

 

Jim, Welcome to the best group of guys ever.  There's so much experience and advice in this group that no question will go unanswered.  I work with a lady that had WLS by Dr. Blackstone a couple years ago and she thinks highly of her.    I had open RNY with the "huge massive cut down my belly" and that was one of my concerns.  Good news......it gets smaller and smaller as the belly does.  Good luck and hope to hear from you often. Floyd

Hey Jim, Glad you clicked the link! Men typically reap far more health rewards from Bariatric Surgery than the Gals. We have that bad habit of dying from Obesity related illnesses where many of the women just find it harder to find “just the right dress.” That’s why all of the Retirement communities are full of quilting widow grannies, and just a few, if any dirty old men. Welcome to The Men’s Forum. Just throw out any questions or thoughts, and there’s likely to be several here with experience to share. The “Blood Thinner Shots?” Yep, pretty common. It’s not the pain it sounds like. A post from a guy out here some time back…at- http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/board_id,5479/cat_id,5 079/topic_id,1677335/a,messageboard/action,replies/#12663151

And also some “Blood-Thinner Shots” info I have at- BloodthinnerShots Hope it helps… Best Wishes- Dx

 

 

Welcome Jim! Don't worry if your doc has to go open instead of lap. I had mine open and you can't see the scar at all anymore, what with all the loose skin covering it up. Be well next week. -Dan

Hey Jim, welcome to the board.  You will not be diabetic for long.  After 10 years as a diabetic, I was no longer one 5 weeks after the surgery.  Congrats on your success so far, and please don't be a stranger.  We are here to help any way we can.  Welcome. Greg PS. My surgeon didn't have me take blood thinners.  They did have me walking as soon as I woke up though...that is the best apporach.  But listen to your surgeon.  BTW, nervous is normal at this point.  But the other side is greater than you could ever imagine.  The issue is you cannot even fathom it at this point because you probably don't remember what it feels like to be thin, to get on the scale every day and watch it go down, to run and play with your kids.  It's awesome.  All the best.

 

Thanks so much for the advice. I guess not being a Dr. I worry that the blood thinners will cause my sutures in my pouch to bleed or not heal.    My surgeon also told me she will have me out of bed walking within 4 hours after surgery and every two hours. Sleep time is from midnight to 6 AM and then it is up and walking again. She did not sugarcoat anything for me. She was to the point she told me "I give you the tool but you have to use it" If I do not change my habits within 18 months after the surgery then I will gain weight back. She told me that I need to be a walking fool.  Thanks again

Hi Jim, The "massive cut" isn't life ending. It does take longer to recover though. Yes, it's common to get blood thinner shots, mine stopped when I left the hospital though.  All my co-morbs went away in the first month or two. Once you start losing a measurable amount of weight, 40-50 pounds, yours will fade away, too. See you around, Ron

Hi, Jim: I'm not sure of your stats or how much you have to lose, but let me try to put you at ease about a couple of things. I started out at 652 lbs.  I had a paniculectomy first, where they removed a 95 lb apron of fat that hung down in front to my knees.  They did this so that, when they performed the RNY, having all that weight pressing down on the base of my spine wouldn't cause complications. On 7/25/06, I had my RNY - and it was open.  I didn't have it done laproscopically for two reasons.  First of all, when you're as big as I was (538 on the day of surgery), it makes it very difficult to do lap because of all the weight pressing down on the instruments.  The second reason, and probably the more important one, is that when they do it open, it doesn't take as long.  You're under the anesthesia (yeah, I spelled that wrong) for less time. So - I have one long scar that runs from just below my sternum to my belly button.  And I coulnd't be more proud!  I'm down below 300lbs today, 13 months give or take later.  Between the RNY and the first surgery, I've lost about 360 lbs.  Who gives a crap about a scar at that point? The other thing I want to touch on is the blood clot issue.  Most people who die from blood clots get blood clots because they are sedintary.  They don't get up and move thier ass after surgery.  My surgeon had me up and on my feet a very, very short time (Matter of an hour or two) after coming out of surgery.   No matter what ANYONE says to you, nor how bad you feel, GET UP!  Tell them you want to get up and walk, even if you're just walking to the doorway of your room and back the first trip!  Using your legs is the absolute BEST DEFENSE against DVT / blood clots.   Now, there may be other reasons particular to you that your doctor may want to give you blood thinners for, and that's okay.  After my RNY, I had atrial fibrulation brought on by the anesthetic.  I was on coumadin for a while, and then they did a cardioversion process to put my heart back in rhythm.  I'm not going to blow sunshine up your rear - it was scary.  But - I'm fine a year later. So - don't let all this stuff scare you.  Just do exactly what your surgeon tells you to do, and be agressive about getting up and moving around after the surgery.  Doesn't matter how you feel, that's the key that will help keep the clots away. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Good luck!!

Hi Jim

Welcome to the locker room, like the others said there are a great bunch of guys here. The wide range of experiences of everyone will most likely cover any questions that may come up. I have learned so much from these guys and there support is just out of this world. As far as having open surgery, I was 544 pounds when they did my RNY. My doctor told me he would try it lap but most likely he would have to switch to open, but to my and the doctor surprise all went well and he did mine lap with no problems. As far as the blood clots I had problems with them for many years before my surgery, so the installed a IVC filter in me to prevent blood clots. I did have some problems with the instillation of the filter tho, but all in all everything went well. After all the thing I went through before and after my surgery (you can read my profile) and after wondering if I made the right choice in having the surgery. Today there is no doubt in my mind by my weight loss and the way I feel I made the right choice I am in better shape than I have been in probably since high school. Best of luck to you, and if you ever have any questions just ask and I am sure someone on here will be able to help.