Upcoming Roux-en-Y

Hello all,

i am just under a week out from my surgery, been on the liquid diet for roughly 10 days so far, and can't wait to get it over with so I can start the healing process. Not sure if this is the right place or not but I was looking for tips and advice about what I should expect afterwards. I have been through many training classes and they are all fine, just looking for info from those that have been there and how it worked out for them, thanks!

It's probably easier to get good responses if you ask specific questions because not sure what you're looking for -- what to expect after surgery? What to expect 6 months later?

For me the surgery was pretty easy, outside of the anesthesia (I never do well with anesthesia). I went home the next day, my sister stayed with me one day and went home. I was driving by the time she went home because all painkillers were out of my system. I was on a gatorade only diet plan for the first week so my first cup of coffee was heaven. It's important to move around and stay hydrated - you'll hear a lot of people say walk, walk, walk, sip, sip, sip and that's a good plan for your recovery. You'll find that everyone's program has a different pre and post op requirement (for example, I never had a liquid pre-op diet).

If your program didn't have a good amount of therapy and behavioral change management, definitely look into that now -- you'll need it eventually!

Good luck with your upcoming procedure and congratulations on taking the first step!

Good to hear the surgery wasn't bad, I've had issues with anesthesia before also. I think the drinking a lot of small sips won't be much of an issue at first, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay consistent since my work tends to get crazy and I sometimes go 5-6 hrs without drinking. I was told I can keep the same liquid diet on currently on, not sure how I would do on Gatorade only, so hopefully that's not the case. How much can you drink at once now that you're all healed up? Thanks for the info!

At a week out, I'm sure you already have your phases outlined, so if it doesn't say Gatorade only, you're good. Every program is different, I haven't heard of anyone outside of my program having that particular initial diet. I can drink normal amounts, once the swelling from the surgery goes down, water/tea/coffee have not been an issue for me. I would be very dehydrated if I went 5-6 hours without drinking, I usually get about 100 oz of liquid a day.

Good to know, thank you for the info!

I'm agreed with everything PP wrote above.

I was never worried about the surgery. Mine was very early in the morning, and I felt like crap the rest of that day. But it wasn't that bad. I went home the following day. I think I gained 9, maybe 11 pounds, in surgery? They pump you full of fluids, and you retain even more while healing. I think it took a week to shed tha****er.

You likely won't be able to do more than sip fluid at first. It's gradual, until you heal and the inflammation goes down. Just make sure you drink enough. It's important for both healing and weight loss. Most people that have early problems are because they aren't drinking enough. But after a while you can drink normally. I get in 3-4 liters a day.

RNY was the smartest thing I ever did. 11 years later I'm down 260 pounds from my highest weight, and my diabetes has disappeared. My only regret is not doing it sooner.

Thanks for the information, I have tried taking a water bottle around with me everywhere to be on top of the fluids intake, that seemed to help, but if I forget it anywhere it makes for a tough day. I'm thinking about getting the 24 packs of water and keeping them around my work offices so I always have one nearby.

you MUST get your fluids in. It is NOT negotiable. Dehydration is the number one problem for new post ops.

dehydration can lead to deSth snd st the very least, end you back up in the hospital getting fluids by IV.
Good luck on your surgery!

Hey Holly!

hey grim! I was happy to see you posting again a few weeks ago! How you doing?