Question:
I am having surgery in feb 2007

I was wondering if anyone could pls tell me there feedback on the whole rou n y surgery, from start to finish, pain before and pain after that I can expect, any regrets, if the staples they put in your stomach desolve and if they put staples on the out side of your stomach or stitches that desolve, and what can I expect while in the hospitol, how long should I expect being off work (I am a teacher) so I am just looking from start to finish info pls help me out so I am prepared thanks dawn    — delaney7 (posted on December 17, 2007)


December 17, 2007
I had mine lapriscopic 4 years ago. I cannot tell you all the technical aspects of it but I can tell you my personal experience. I had very little pain. I was only in the hospital less than 2 days. I took 2 weeks off work only because I had my surgery out of town. I could have been back to work in a few days if I needed to. You will do fine!
   — Carlyn M.

December 17, 2007
I had laproscopic RNY on April 30, 2007. I had pain after surgery but only for a week or so. THe only bad thing after surgery was I didnt have much energy. That returned at about a month post-op. I had dissolving stitches for my surgery, so nothing to remove. Any other questions? You can email me personally at [email protected]
   — BeckiesinTexas

December 17, 2007
I had open RNY August 28, 2006 and was sore for about a week and then was just bored but when I did try and do things I became tired real quick. I was out of work 6 weeks. I did not have desk job. I am up and down all day at work and the first week back I was tired but not sore at all. I had my surgery on a Monday and I don't remember much until Wednesday. You will be very groggy and it truly helped that I was able to have one of my parents or my husband taking shifts so someone was always around (except at night) to help me and to be there to question Dr's and nurses. Please read my profile and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. I don't know what they put inside but I had staples on the outside and when they came out it was no big deal.
   — Lost4Ever

December 17, 2007
Many have "buyer's remorse" the first week or two past surgery. You can only eat liquids or a very limited amount of soft foods in low quantity. But those people are the ones that are the happiest after they've lost weight. The staples will not dissolve. My surgeon does two rows of stitches, followed by staples across the stomach. Recovery varies. Some people go back to work in a week, while others take about 2 months to recover from surgery. I had virtually no pain from my surgery, just discomfort from the gas that inflates your somach for the laproscopic procedure. I'm 19 months past surgery.
   — Dave Chambers

December 17, 2007
There is loads and loads of information available through most any reputable surgeon's office (bariatric, of course). Your surgeon and the pre-op ritual, it would seem, that you would go through (I know I did, there were very few questions to ask after I attended everything I was supposed to) via doctor's protocol for the surgery. This is not something to go into with having "done your homework" so to speak (and pardon the pun). Good Luck, Leslie
   — LuvNSummer

December 17, 2007
If you want the details of the RNY surgery, I am glad to share the details from my surgery, and since you are a teacher, would you like to watch the entire operation on your computer? My Doctor teaches LAP surgeries and last year had a RNY surgery web cast live to the medical profession. He narrates the entire process live as he is doing the surgery. There is very little blood (Maybe 3 oz.) in the entire operation. You see what he sees on the camera 95% of the time. Just so you know the staple today is like "welding" the skin together. They use buttressing material and that blends with your skin tissue and give the incisions strength. Even after the stapling is done, they follow that up with stitches that also dissolve following surgery. The hard part to watch of the RNY surgery video is the fat the Doctor has to work through. I went to surgery a lot more comfortable after I had seen the procedure. My 6 incisions are almost healed after 2 weeks. The incisions look like I got scratched by a cat. They use something like crazy glue and there are no external stitches. That "Glue" covers the wound and stops infection. Only the largest of the incisions has any pain, and that is because it is about one and one half inches long and cuts through the stomach wall muscle. Walking following the surgery in the hospital is painful, but is the secret to getting better a lot faster. Plan a long week and go back to work the following week. I had surgery on Wednesday and had a small complication so I was in the hospital until Sunday night where the rest went home Friday night. By Tuesday I was at my desk at home and Thursday I was driving to the store and walking the isles for exercise. I wished I had done this 2 or 3 years ago. I took that long to research every part of the surgery. The secret is find a surgeon that has done it a lot. My doctor has 5500 of the surgeries under his belt. 1000 would be a good starting point. Check out the hospital and the rooms. Pick your room in advance. If it is a good Bariatric hospital it will have special rooms with oversize furniture, heavy duty toilets with oversize toilet seats and a staff that know how to deal with overweight patients. Check the room out. It is the real test if they are ready to deal with overweight patients. My hospital had a couch that rolled around the room and converted to a bed and two oversize recliners. My wife was able to spend each night with me, and learned a lot about what I would need when I got home. My email address is [email protected]. If you want the video location, please email me at this address and I will tell you how to download it. --Bill Mills
   — William (Bill) wmil

December 17, 2007
I had my surgery July 19, 2007. I was in the hospital for four days, most people go home after 3 but I had some problems. I was on bedrest the first day due to nausea and dizzyness. I had alot of pain when trying to eat or drink anything, the first week is pretty painful. My doctor puts you on a pain pump in the hospital it goes right to your incision and you can use it every so many minutes they had to take me off of that though casue the medication used I could not tolerate mad me very sick. I was out of work a total of 6 weeks, everybody is different a friend of mine had hers done the week before and was back to work in less than 4 weeks. Take it slow and expect to be out longer and if you feel well enough go back sooner. I also was admitted for dehydration two weeks after surgery so be sure to drink as much as you can. I ended up on some meds due to an ulceration in the pouch area I am still taking that medication and will be for several more months. I was hospitalized 2x for severe stomach pain the second time it ended up being a hernia and I had to have another surgery. The sticthes used just disolve, and the pain gets easier with each day. Like I said a week ago I had the second surgery and this week I can make it through the day without any pain medication I still take one at night to sleep comfortable it was the same with the first surgery to. Its exciting and you will lose alot of weight. I have lost 61 pounds so far and my cousin and my friend who had thiers very close to mine have lost about the same and are both doing very well. I am the only one that has had all of the problems I explained so everybody is different. Just be patient, and it will be hard at first the first two weeks is the hardest. I dont know what kind of diet your doctor uses as a guide line I have heard some people say 3 weeks liquid, 3 weeks next stage and so forth. Mine doctor did 3 days for each stage which is a big difference than 3 weeks, I cant imagine being on liquids only for 3 weeks. So that will play into how you feel and do.
   — Cindy A.

December 17, 2007
I had absolutely no complications from surgery and no pain, well except directly after surgery---gas pain---the ONLY way to get rid of it is get up and walk, every time you feel a bit of pain get up and walk trust me the pain will go away immediately! I had my surgery at 8 a.m. one day and was released back home the next day at about 10 a.m. I had laproscopic RNY. I was able to do most things on my own, except drive (for the first 5 days) and bend over (for about 2 weeks). Otherwise I had no one here but myself and after school and on weekends my 12 yr old daughter. I slept alot, but that's me anytime I have anesthesia. I walked when I could and rested as much as my body told me to. I had the "normal regret" (the one where you go "what in the _ell did I do to myself?!?!") about 2 weeks after surgery, but everyone goes through that lol. Staples don't dissolve. I had no staples on the outside of my stomach. I have 5 tiny scars, and they used 1 dissolving stitch in each area. They dissolve after about 2 weeks. I used neosporin on them about 2 or 3 times a day and they are awesome looking (hey, I'm proud of my tiny scars and have showed some people them!). I don't have a job, but I could have probably gone back after 5 days I felt normal at that point but still swollen. Since your a teacher, the only thing you might have to deal with is being tired at first. Good luck, God bless and contact me if you have any other questions!
   — crystalsno

December 17, 2007
Hi Dawn, when I was ready to have surgery, I searched so many blogs on here to find someone who had a detailed description of their entire surgery and could never find one. I found short descriptions and some did help. So after my surgery 4 weeks ago, I did a very detailed blog of everything that happened to me from the time I went in that morning to when I went home - and have kept the blog going. You can go in and read that and I hope it helps you out. I wrote it a few days after surgery, not sure of the exact date but my postings are dated so it shouldn't be hard to find it. Just remember, everyone heals differently but I'm hoping my details can give someone else some perspective that I could never get. Good luck and congratulations!!!
   — itzmetami

December 17, 2007
Hi Dawn, thanks for writing. I would strongly recommend that you purchase a few books to read and research for your surgery. I bought one book (you can look on amazon.com) from a doctors perspective, and it was great information to know and consider. Then I bought one book from a personal perspective which also helped. You can get stories that are horrible, and stories that are great. The more research you do on your know, the more you prepare for what may or may not happen. Just always keep in mind that obesity is a head issue with a body consequence. If you don't deal with the head, the body will not follow. Losing weight will ALWAYS be about diet and exercise, if you choose to not exercise, don't blame your body for not losing weight. Don't blame your surgeon because you won't change. If you are not willing to change, don't do the surgery because it will most likely fail you if you don't change. It happens every day, someone has surgery and won't change habits, won't drink water, won't do this or that recommended by their surgeon, and then whine and complain that they don't lose weight. You have about 1 year to 18 months to really reap benefits from your surgery. It is called the honeymoon period. But it will fail you if you don't exercise along with your diet. You will still lose some, but it could be the difference from half the weight you hope to lose and then gain some, or all the weight you hope to lose, maybe more, and weight stability. If you are having an open procedure, the staples never desolve, but stitches usually do. Pain is very personal, some have a lot, but I had a lap procedure, and didn't have a lot of pain at all. I was miserable for a while, but just a while. I took 6 weeks off work to work on my eating habits, and in 2 weeks was walking 2 miles a day(yes it was hard), and by 6 weeks I was walking 5 miles a day, 2.5 miles in the morning and 2.5 miles in the evening. I did this for a year and took off all my weight with diet, water and exercise. It was like a full time job with no pay, but I am almost 4 years out now, and I have not been able to exercise for about 18 months or so, but still have all my weight loss in tact and doing fine (other than I miss my exercise). As a teacher, you know how to research, so I challenge you to do that and know what you are in for. Surgery can have complications. Even though I consider myself a success story, I have had some type of surgery every year since my bypass. I needed some gyn surgery, and did have a tt, both in the first 2 years, but last year I had scar tissue that caused an obstructed bowel. Very painful recovery, and very much bypass related. I had my gallbladder taken out because it was full of stones. Also bypass related. You need to know the facts about what can happen down the road and factor that in to your decision. I don't freak out when these things happen because I know it is part of the deal with the surgery I choose, but I can't tell you how many people freak out because "stuff" happens. They expect to be the perfect result, but probably only about 5 percent of all surgerys are fully complication free over a lifetime. We all go through stuff, and we are mostly older when we have surgery, which adds to the pot of complications. I have no regrets about my surgery, would do it again, but I knew what I was up against when I got started and keep moving forward. I encourage you to do the same. Take care. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

December 24, 2007
Dawn, I am 13 months out and have lost 117 pounds. I haven't had any problems whatsoever. When they came to get me to walk several hours after my surgery, I had no problems. When I went home three days later, I took no pain meds at all. My sister had it six months before me and had more problems with the pain. I really think it's because I've given birth and she hadn't. She did have to have her gall bladder removed 7 months after the surgery, but other than that, neither one of us had any problems and all is going great!! Good luck!!
   — LisaDD1

December 27, 2007
Hello, I just had my rny surgery on 12.13.07- today is my 2 week anniversary!! I had no pain, just an uncomfortable feeling- like someone had kicked me in my upper abdomen and took my breath away. My hospital stay was only overnight and I am doing great!! I am walking and eating soft foods with no problems whatsoever!! I took off for 3 weeks, just to be on the safe side, because you do get tired pretty easily after the surgery. Good luck and feel free to email me anytime:)) Happy New Year!!
   — boleszc1




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