Pre-surgery RNY questions

I think you got a lot of great advice already. The one thing I know with the sleeve is that you have to take vitamin B the rest of your life. When I was researching which surgery to have, the surgeon told me this. I'm also in Ontario so if you need any more support or help just message me. Good luck

You'll actually need to take a variety of supplements for life, not just B. The ASMBS recommends 200% RDA of most vitamins and minerals, plus additional iron and calcium. :)

Hi Lori,

Thankfully, I'm ok with taking vitamins/supplements, since I'm already in the habit (though obviously I will need to change the quantities and type as required).

Thanks so much for your offer of support -- it means a lot to me!!

Seconding the comment to not overstock on anything. Your tastes may change. I loved the Premier Protein shakes before surgery but can only tolerate the chocolate ones now. I bought the Unjury chicken broth protein powder which is not sweet. I also had an aversion to sweet things post op. You can add greek yogurt pretty soon after surgery, once your doctor puts you on pureed foods, and the light and fit greek yogurt was a staple for me. TheWorldAccordingToEggface has a great blog for foods once you get onto pureed and then solid foods.

You need a ride home. Once home you need someone to support you and remind you to drink water or other liquids. I used protein shakes heavily the first couple of weeks.

i cooked up a bunch of pureed foods and feoxe them in ice cube containers. I tossed them all out about six months later, never used any of them. Your tastes may change, did I mention that? ;)

I was certain that I would be the one exception and would not lose weight. I did not believe anyone who laughed and said yes, you will. We all have tried so many diets and failed that most of us cannot believe that something will finally work. I am 18 months out from rny and I have lost 114 pounds. Guess what? It worked! It will for you, too.

Follow your surgeon's plan, check in often and good luck!

Oh my gosh, you crack me up with your sense of humour! Thank you for starting my day with a laugh. :)

I have never even heard of Unjury chicken broth protein powder -- thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

I'll add TheWorldAccordingToEggface onto my reading list. It sounds like it will be an awesome resource.

Congratulations on your amazing results! I think I'm the most nervous about the off-chance of getting the sleeve, because my specialist told me that my body does not process food normally, and the sleeve doesn't result in malabsorption. I'm determined to make it work, regardless of which procedure I end up with.

Thanks for your good wishes! :)

I was such a diet failure that I wasnt sure that RNY would work for me, but I had few options left for a healthly life. When I lost the first 25 and got under 250, I thought - WOW- maybe this will work!!! And it did. I am at my dream goal weight of 165 (lowest I was in high school 40+ years ago) and on my way back down to 145 - my not even in my dreams goal.

I had 2 nights in hosp with RNY - and had surgery 8 am on day 1, so I was in decent shape when I was discharged. Try to get that second night in Hosp so you are in better shape - find somewhere for your son to stay while you are in hosp. Also, make sure you have an emergency back-up, while your son may help with minor matters - if you have a real emergency, you will need real adult help to get to ER, etc.

Good luck

Wow, Sharon, I'm so excited for you! Those are awesome results! :)

Thank you for the tip about getting a back up...it's a very good point.

Good morning, i see you have already received a lot of great information from our friends on here already. I just want to address one thing that I didn't see covered. The surgeon doesn't get to decide what surgery you get, they can recommend which one they think is best for you. If you want RNY that's what you plan for. The only reason not to get it would be if something is wrong with your health that may make it more dangerous. I had RNY open back in 2003. They didn't do laparoscopic at that time because Insurance Companies considered it experimental. My younger daughter had RNY a little over a year ago. She was going thru the process to have RNY, her job changed insurance companies during that time. Suddenly, her Surgeon wasn't covered. They referred her to an area Surgeon who took her insurance. When she received her approval from the insurance it was for the Sleeve. She works in Benefits, therefore she reads everything including the fine print :) She called her Surgeons office and spoke with the Nurse. She said: Oh, didn't anyone tell you that our doctor only does the Sleeve? So, my daughter told them that she doesn't want to settle for the Sleeve. She called her old Surgeon, he worked it out with the new Surgeon. The old Surgeon would do the RNY and the new Surgeon would see that he got paid from the insurance company. Our friend Yvonne had the Sleeve about 6 months before my daughter had RNY, she hasn't lost anywhere near the weight my daughter has. Don't worry about not losing the weight, it's almost impossible to not lose weight after the surgery. Your taste buds will likely change after the surgery, so don't buy a lot of anything. Getting samples is a great idea! Before RNY I had Type 2 Diabetes, Sleep Apnea and High Blood Pressure. Now all of those problems are gone. Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Thank you, Judi!

So glad all of those problems are gone. :) I appreciate your good wishes.

Question 1: No, the sleeve is only a restrictive procedure. I live in the States and if you sign for an RNY, that's the surgery you get. The only change that can be made surgically is converting from a laparoscopic procedure to an open procedure but you also sign permission for this change. If the plan is RNY, why would they switch to a sleeve?

Question 2's answer is how independent is your teenage son. Is he capable of cooking meals for himself? I not, you might want to have some easy meals for him, i.e. frozen dinners or you will be up cooking for him. Also, it depends on the nutrition plan of your clinic. I way over-planned. Do have plenty of sugar-free jello & popsicles, chicken broth (I had Unjury chicken soup but it was a nuisance, you couldn't heat it past lukewarm or it would lump up and was gross). Also, plenty of water. Tiny P doesn't like really, really cold water so where you keep water may be an issue. I've heard some bariatric patients are the opposite. You won't know until after surgery.

I really like Premier Protein Shakes, my favorite is caramel, I enjoy the vanilla, peaches and cream and cookies and cream. But you might prefer chocolate. I hated the strawberries and cream. Bananas and cream is ok. Premier also seems to have some better stats. I also like Syntrax Nectar Protein Powders to make smoothies with. Other suggestions for protein stuff is above. My basic recipe is 1 scoop of protein powder, unsweetened cashew or almond milk, plain fat-free yogurt Torani's sugar-free syrups (o calories) and ice. If you do like a cappuccino or caramel macchiato flavor protein powders, I put a tsp or so of decaf instant coffee in it. I will also but some PB Fit or PB2 in a chocolate or vanilla protein powder smoothie. You might want to get some collagen peptides which is high in protein, mixes well with most things including hot or cold and it is truly flavorless (I also tried "Isopure" unflavored protein powder and it was gross and far from flavorless) to mix in decaf coffee or chicken broth, bouillion or whatever tickles your fancy. If you like smoothies, a nutrininja IQ or nutribullet lean or RX would be a good suggestion.

Don't worry about losing weight, you will. Everyone worries about that. I told my friends & family I'd be the one idiot who failed at every weight loss plan including weight loss surgery. Since my highest weight, I've lost 115 lbs & 63 lbs since surgery 5 months ago.