brand new member!!

Hi Guys, Matt from Chicago here. Just got my surgery date for RNY @ UIC with Dr. Joseph Vitello. I'm currently at 504 lbs and 6'1. Any input, feedback, advice, ANYTHING would be appreciated at this point. I'm pretty nervous about this procedure and hope to hear from some members who have had RNY and can give me some info form a guy's perspective. Thanks

Good Luck! The surgery itself was the least scary thing in the whole experience for me. The surgeon knows what he is doing. You will most likely be in ICU your first night post-op. You will be well cared for. You'll have medicine for the pain. I can truthfully say I have had tumbles off my bicycle as a child that were much more painful than the surgery.  One month after the surgery  you will  probably be down  30 to 60  lbs.  and be feeling  stronger than you have in a long time. My RNY was 1/29/08 so I am fairly new to all this , too. I was 436. Today I am 362. This is less than I have weighed in 5 years.  For me the hard part is getting my head changed to the idea of eating in a new way, but the new small stomach will remind me if I eat too much.--- which doesn't happen as often now as it did last month.  Hop all goes well for you. Dan

Matt, welcome to the Men's Board and congrats on your upcoming surgery.  The best advice I can give you is to follow your doctors orders, walk as soon as you can after surgery and remember to drink your water.  You have my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  You are embarking on a great journey.  And I hope the ride is everything you want it to be!!!!!!!!

Hey Matt, glad you found us.  We're very supportive...But don't pull any punches.  Ask away on the questions.  You may not get the correct answers or the ones you want to hear...but we're straight shooters here and we tell it like it is (In our minds).  Brian

Hey Matt..

Welcome to the Men's board.

There are a lot of great resouces here. Some newbies and old timers. That's one of the really cool things about this board.

I had the RNY on March 20th, 2007. Just over a year out. I've lost about 176 lbs in that time. It's amazing how much your life will change. There is a lot of work ahead of you but if you tackle it head on and make good choices your life will never be the same. Getting ready for surgery is all about learning what to expect while your under the knife & in the hospital.. and then the fun happens and you have to learn how to eat all over and make better choices this time. Remember, there are guys on here all the time asking questions and providing answers.. so if you have any questions.. don't be shy! Ask away and someone will have the answers you are looking for..

Another thing.. everyone experiences recovery from RNY differently. Some of the guys are up and at em in days like nothing ever happened and some of us took longer to recover. I took 2 weeks from work then worked a week of part time.. I had pain after surgery but some of the guys have none!

Like I said though, check out the boards.. check out the guys blogs and you'll get a variety of success stories.. but a lot of SUCCESS!

Good luck dude!

 

Steve

Greets! Welcome to the bench.

Simple, but I always suggest taking an iPod (or the like) to surgery with you. My surgeon was cool with it. I put it on as the anesthesiologist was doing his business. I drifted off to the music I love so much. Before I knew it, I was waking up in Ambulatory services. It helped calm my nerves pre-surg. Dunno if that helps you, but it can't hurt to post.
--Jake

You guys are great! Thanks to all of you. I feel a little more at ease already!

Welcome aboard Matt! Glad ya joined us! 

I'm new to the mens board also. I had open RNY in 1999 and revised in 2003 and 4. The surgery was easy and I walked pretty quickly. Learn to love protein shakes water and walking. I went off the pain meds second day home from the hospital. Walking and protein helped the healing process. My highest weight was 560 and the low was 245. I am currently 350 but will be working on that. Post any questions and I know people will answer.

Jack, I'm so glad that you finally got on here.  I'm sure that you'll enjoy it.  By the way, we can use some of your nice wholesome humor here too--like a joke of the day.  Bob