Just A Lil Worried

Surgery Date was on June 5th everything went great. Still drinking my liquids and trying focus on getting my boost in throughout the day.

But reading some peoples post about malobsorbtion makes me a lil worried about to every thing I need to do in order to prevent that from happening to me.

Any pointers for person in beginning stages of RNY surgery 5days post op.

How many of you had complications?

But malabsorption WILL happen. It's suppsed to happen- its inherently designed into RNY. Your intestines were bypassed to a degree specifically so you can malabsorp calories. With good comes some bad-- you will malabsorp nutrients you need- like calcium, iron, b-complex vitamins. So you take you take those supplements- for life. And get your blood work reviewed regularly- looking at the values yourself and not relying on what the doctor tells you. Look for trends yourself and advocate for yourself when you see things start looking off.

Calorie malabsorption is temporary. So lose the weight now- fast and furiously. Take the supplements and you should be fine. Don't borrow worry- yoi'll Have plenty of and when the time comes for it.

Protein, water, walk is your focus right now.

3.1 years out- zero complications.

Got it. I love all the information you replied back to me with. I have been educating my self for a year now on this surgery and I feel there is tons more to learn.

I am forever grateful for this website and for people like you that had surgery and is a success.

Thanks for your kind words and affrimation.

The biggest pointer I can think of is to closely follow the guideline handbook from where you had surgery (if the hospital didn't have an instructional guide for you to take home, then do whatever it takes to get one from a facility that does). The first few days post-op for me were spent doing little else but resting, sleeping, sipping water, sipping a protein drink, and walking. Then, a few months down the road, my mistake was not treating constipation as an ongoing problem which led to a hernia which led to bowel obstruction surgery. I feared complications-- they happened. I lived through them, have no surgery regrets, and find todays' days better than yesterdays' days.

I'm trying to figure out what's the best thing for constipation now for me... But I am following the Drs complete orders abou****er, sleep, protein, walking. I'm doing as much of that I can a day.

Thanks for your kind words and affrimation.

First, congrats on your surgery and this new life!

You are correct. It is major surgery and there can always be complications. That said, there are things you can do to prevent alot of them.

Foremost, sip, sip, sip your fluids. At first your new pouch won't accept much, but work hard on getting in all the fluids you can and constantly increasing the amount. I now get at least 100 oz a day and usually more. It will help to keep your body healthy, including keeping your bowels moving, which is REALLY important. Remember that things like protein shakes and SF popsicles count as fluid too. Keeping hydrated, especially with the warmer weather, is super important so don't slack off!

Next is to walk,walk, walk. When I had my surgery, I could only slowly walk for 3-5 minutes at a time, but I would go several times a day. It helps with the gas pain, bowels moving, circulation to keep from having blood clots and helping with not going stir crazy. Take this time to make it a habit. In the long term, exercise may not cause weight loss, but it does help with the co-morbidities and strengthening your new body. Start slow and gentle but keep at it!

Start now with keeping track of everything that goes into your mouth. This will become very important for long term weight management and accountability. I started a journal and wrote about my activities, food, thoughts and feelings and it really helped. It isn't necessary to do that, but you can log your fluids and then food into an app to keep track of how you are doing.

Once you are released by your surgeon, start taking your vitamins like it is your job, because it is! This is a lifetime commitment for your health. Whether or not your surgeon takes labs, get them drawn every 3-6 months to keep track of the numbers. My surgeon isn't very reliable with that so I get my PCP to write for the labs and I keep track of everything myself. You may need to adjust the amounts and types of vitamins you take as it goes along so that is why you need to be vigilant on the numbers.

And once you are released to more foods, focus on eating protein and kicking carbs to the curb! Many surgeons and nutritionists would have you eating mashed potatoes, crackers, and other carbs early on, but the long-term successful vets have found that eating dense protein will keep you full longer and help with avoiding cravings. If you read past posts on the RNY forums, you will see alot about that.

Finally, this is a new life for you, not a temporary fix for weight loss. You will probably lose weight pretty fast at first but it will slow down and you will even have stalls for days and weeks. It's normal. Just keep with the basics and you can be successful. It is a commitment but it can be done.

You will mal-absorb. That is how the surgery is designed to work. You need to get a handle on the facts and educate yourself on what the surgeon has done to your GI system.

Mal-absorption lasts a year or two for most people. That is why everyone loses weight at first. Take advantage of that time and focus on healthy fats, protein and low carb foods. Plenty of water. Vitamins. Nothing else. No bread, fruits, cream of wheat, oatmeal, potatoes or any other sources of sugars.

That way when the mal-absorption period ends, your tiny stomach will be ready to deal. When you are mal-absorbing, you could eat a pound of skittles a day and still lose weight (not of course that I would recommend that). It is what you eat after, that will make or break your success.

Audrey

Keep in mind that calorie malabsorption is temporary, but vitamin and mineral malabsorption is forever. I think that might be what the OP is worried about and is confusing malabsorption with malnutrition, which can definitely happen if not properly addressed with supplements.

Jen

I certainly hope that is what she is referring to. But until she clarifies, I have to assume she is not.

Audrey