hi, new here and getting a revision to rny
hi, i'm new here and i am so excited to find people that have had revisions. i have been feeling like i was the only one for awhile now. i already have my surgery date (sep.3rd) but i was hoping to here from people that have gone from the band to rny. i would love to know how your recovery went after surgery what kind of complications if any you had and how your weight loss is going so far.
Hi,
My name is Andi. I just had a revision to rny from vbg. My surgery was 06/02/08. I would like to just like to wish you the best of luck. I unfortunately have had a lot of side effects from the surgery. Everybody is different, but my experience wasn't the greatest. I hope that you prevail and are able experience the best possible recovery.
Good luck, and God Bless
I had my band removed 12 weeks ago and the RNY done (150 cm). I had no complications other than the Actigall making me dump. I didn't realize why I was feeling so sick and nauseous and when I stopped that med and went to the hospital for a couple of bags of IV solution I felt much better.
Just be prepared because it is very common to lose weight much slower than regular RNY patients. I am 12 weeks out and have lost 30 pounds. It is very hard to not get depressed about it when others talk about losing 30 pounds in their first month. But I have come to be at peace that it is coming off and I am MUCH better off than I was with the band. Be sure to follow your DR directions about the amount you eat and how soon you eat it (follow the stages). You have to be fully committed to this before you do it or don't even bother.
I am RELIGIOUS about drinking 2 protein drinks a day and taking all 30+ vitamin and mineral supplements daily. Go to www.vitalady.com and do your research there. This is a whole new life compared to the band and you must be sure to give your body the nutrition you need. If your NUT tries to tell you that you don't need protein drinks and lots of supplements, don't listen to her! Most NUTS have probably taken a semester of nutrition classes but has not STUDIED RNY patients or their special needs. It may be her job to counsel RNY patients but this is your LIFE! Educate yourself so you know what you need to be taking.
I hope all goes smoothly for you and that you get the results you want this time around.
Lisa
Just be prepared because it is very common to lose weight much slower than regular RNY patients. I am 12 weeks out and have lost 30 pounds. It is very hard to not get depressed about it when others talk about losing 30 pounds in their first month. But I have come to be at peace that it is coming off and I am MUCH better off than I was with the band. Be sure to follow your DR directions about the amount you eat and how soon you eat it (follow the stages). You have to be fully committed to this before you do it or don't even bother.
I am RELIGIOUS about drinking 2 protein drinks a day and taking all 30+ vitamin and mineral supplements daily. Go to www.vitalady.com and do your research there. This is a whole new life compared to the band and you must be sure to give your body the nutrition you need. If your NUT tries to tell you that you don't need protein drinks and lots of supplements, don't listen to her! Most NUTS have probably taken a semester of nutrition classes but has not STUDIED RNY patients or their special needs. It may be her job to counsel RNY patients but this is your LIFE! Educate yourself so you know what you need to be taking.
I hope all goes smoothly for you and that you get the results you want this time around.
Lisa
thanks lisa. i can assure you that i am completely committed to this. i just want to lose weight and be healthy and i will do whatever it takes to get there. i am curious, are you working out? and if so what are you doing? and also why are you taking so many vitamins and supplements in a day? i know thsat you have to take a multi, calsium citrate, b-12 but i don't think i have ever heard of someone taking so many.
I usually walk on the treadmill at 3.0 miles an hour and have even started jogging a bit every 5 minutes or so at 3.2 mph. I do that for about 35 - 40 minutes. I also do Walk Away the Pounds 2 mile walk. I do one of these 4 - 5 days each week. I am actually begining to look forward to it! (I never thought I would say that!)
As for the supplements, I do take a lot because we need them. So many people think that all they need are the few that you mentioned. But that is not true! The part of our anatomy that is bypassed absorbs many nutrients! And as a result there is no way we can get what we need without additional supplementation. You need to have your bloodwork run at least twice a year. You should have it done pre-op as well, to give you a baseline. I found out I was already low in albumin (protein) and B-12 before I even had surgery! These labs are not cheap - if you are self-pay they will run over $3,000 each time! But if you can get your PCP or WL Surgeon to order them insurance should pay. After insurance it cost me about $250. It is only by monitoring these levels that you will know what you need to supplement. Your doctor may say, for example, that your iron is okay. Well, that may be true, but if it is lower than the last time you had your labs done then you are declining and need to up your supplements BEFORE you get into the below normal range. Prevent the problems before they happen! People think that they can go without some of this stuff and then suffer nutritional deficiencies and the consequences that go along with them. That does not need to happen if they will just take preventative care of themselves.
I take synthroid first thing in the morning. (That is not RNY related - just a personal medication.) An hour later I take Iron and Vitamin C. These two should always be taken together as C helps your body absorb the iron. They need to be taken alone - no other supplements within an hour before or after in order to ensure maximum absorption. At lunch I take a 30 gram serving protein drink with Dry Vitamin A, Vitamin B-12 sublingually, B Complex, Vitamin E, Calcium Citrate, Multivitamin, Dry Vitamin D-3 and Biotin. Around dinnertime I take another 30 gram protein drink, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin E, Multivitamin, Zinc, Coromega, Biotin and UpCal D. Finally at bedtime I take Vitamin C, Calcium Citrate and Biotin. Some of these pills I take more than one of, depending on the dosage. The Biotin are large so I cut them into 3 smaller pills.
The vitamins that are fat soluable need to be taken in a DRY form because we now malabsorb some fat and thus we cannot absorb those vitamins correctly. The only place I have found them yet is at Vitalady.com. The B-12 might have to be taken from an injection depending on where your levels are and how well you absorb the pills. But B-12 cannot be taken orally as we no longer have the intrinsic factor in our pouch to absorb that. Calcium must always be Citrate and NOT carbonate. Coromega is a fish oil that we can absorb easily. Regular fish oil capsules will not work for us anymore. The Biotin is actually called "Hair, Skin and Nails Biotin" and so far I have not had any real trouble with hair loss or brittle nails. The Biotin and Coromega are optional but I think they truly do help. UpCal D is a powdered Calcium with Vitamin D (which should always be taken together). I add it to my protein drinks but some people like it so much they just dump a scoopful in their mouths! Protein drinks are necessary to stop our intestines from growing in length again. And even though it would be nice to absorb all the protein we need from food, we can't eat enough to do that. Protein is digested in your stomach and then absorbed in the upper instine, and on. Since we not longer have the stomach acids to digest the protein, it travels through our intestines as it digests which means there is less available for absorption. At one egg for breakfast, 1/2 cup of meat at lunch, etc... we generally can't eat enough protein to get what we need.
Anyway, I know this is a LOT of information and I am still learning. Please do yourself a favor and invest some good hours into researching all of this stuff I am telling you. Join OSSG_Grads on yahoo groups and read through their archives. Spend some time at vitalady.com and even call Don and Michelle on the phone. They are experts and can tell you everything you need to know. You need to know what you are in for and you need to learn it for yourself. That way you can stand up to your NUT or others when they tell you it is not all necessary.
I hope this helps...
Lisa
As for the supplements, I do take a lot because we need them. So many people think that all they need are the few that you mentioned. But that is not true! The part of our anatomy that is bypassed absorbs many nutrients! And as a result there is no way we can get what we need without additional supplementation. You need to have your bloodwork run at least twice a year. You should have it done pre-op as well, to give you a baseline. I found out I was already low in albumin (protein) and B-12 before I even had surgery! These labs are not cheap - if you are self-pay they will run over $3,000 each time! But if you can get your PCP or WL Surgeon to order them insurance should pay. After insurance it cost me about $250. It is only by monitoring these levels that you will know what you need to supplement. Your doctor may say, for example, that your iron is okay. Well, that may be true, but if it is lower than the last time you had your labs done then you are declining and need to up your supplements BEFORE you get into the below normal range. Prevent the problems before they happen! People think that they can go without some of this stuff and then suffer nutritional deficiencies and the consequences that go along with them. That does not need to happen if they will just take preventative care of themselves.
I take synthroid first thing in the morning. (That is not RNY related - just a personal medication.) An hour later I take Iron and Vitamin C. These two should always be taken together as C helps your body absorb the iron. They need to be taken alone - no other supplements within an hour before or after in order to ensure maximum absorption. At lunch I take a 30 gram serving protein drink with Dry Vitamin A, Vitamin B-12 sublingually, B Complex, Vitamin E, Calcium Citrate, Multivitamin, Dry Vitamin D-3 and Biotin. Around dinnertime I take another 30 gram protein drink, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin E, Multivitamin, Zinc, Coromega, Biotin and UpCal D. Finally at bedtime I take Vitamin C, Calcium Citrate and Biotin. Some of these pills I take more than one of, depending on the dosage. The Biotin are large so I cut them into 3 smaller pills.
The vitamins that are fat soluable need to be taken in a DRY form because we now malabsorb some fat and thus we cannot absorb those vitamins correctly. The only place I have found them yet is at Vitalady.com. The B-12 might have to be taken from an injection depending on where your levels are and how well you absorb the pills. But B-12 cannot be taken orally as we no longer have the intrinsic factor in our pouch to absorb that. Calcium must always be Citrate and NOT carbonate. Coromega is a fish oil that we can absorb easily. Regular fish oil capsules will not work for us anymore. The Biotin is actually called "Hair, Skin and Nails Biotin" and so far I have not had any real trouble with hair loss or brittle nails. The Biotin and Coromega are optional but I think they truly do help. UpCal D is a powdered Calcium with Vitamin D (which should always be taken together). I add it to my protein drinks but some people like it so much they just dump a scoopful in their mouths! Protein drinks are necessary to stop our intestines from growing in length again. And even though it would be nice to absorb all the protein we need from food, we can't eat enough to do that. Protein is digested in your stomach and then absorbed in the upper instine, and on. Since we not longer have the stomach acids to digest the protein, it travels through our intestines as it digests which means there is less available for absorption. At one egg for breakfast, 1/2 cup of meat at lunch, etc... we generally can't eat enough protein to get what we need.
Anyway, I know this is a LOT of information and I am still learning. Please do yourself a favor and invest some good hours into researching all of this stuff I am telling you. Join OSSG_Grads on yahoo groups and read through their archives. Spend some time at vitalady.com and even call Don and Michelle on the phone. They are experts and can tell you everything you need to know. You need to know what you are in for and you need to learn it for yourself. That way you can stand up to your NUT or others when they tell you it is not all necessary.
I hope this helps...
Lisa
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