Question:
I AM 7 WKS POST OP, RNY..IS THERE ANY ONE SO NEW THAT IS MAJORLY DOWN?

I find it difficult to walk my one mile+ sometime.I am at work F/T now.It takes all my go to walk to my car after 8 hrs.PCP put me on antibiotic, for bladder infection. I have been taking 2 anti-depressants before surgery. The protein drinks seem like added calories,difficult to consume. PROTIDRINK is ok. Since surgery I have lost barely 17 lbs. Since Sept 08, the total weight lost is a little over 50 lbs. I here this is the"magic or honey moon phase" after RNY to loose most of the weight" I am scared about a failure again. I need energy, and much needed motivation. THANK YOU for your support!    — nana2one (posted on July 2, 2009)

July 2, 2009
I was down for a long time. I wanted fast results. I wanted to be thin "now" I started out as what they call a lite weight. My energy didn't return as quickly as most. I didn't feel like exercising. I hit a plateau around 6 months that lasted around 3 months. I thought that was it for me. I was stuck at 160. Then I had to have my gall bladder out and dropped 20 more. I was stuck there for 3 more months. Then I started dropping again and it hasn't stopped. I am at 118 now at 19 months out. I think I am stabalizing now. This journey has a different route for every one. Be patient and follow the plan. You WILL get there. Try to find things to keep your mind busy. And remember the window of opportunity is 18 months so you have a long time. I still eat on a little 6" plate. I still eat what I'm supposed to. Take my supplements. Get in my fluids and protein. Hang in there, and Good luck!
   — lesleigh07

July 2, 2009
First of all, congratulations on losing 50 lbs. You're an inspiration to me. I haven't started yet - still waiting for the obligatory seminar at the hospital in August. I need to lose about 100 lbs. so I'm very impressed that you're lost that much weight! It's a slow process. Remember how long it took us to put it on? Think about this - losing it slowing gives your skin a chance to adjust on its own and you might have a lot less extra skin in the end than someone who lost the weight real quickly. There's a book I've been reading that I'd like to recommend to you. There are parts that you can probably skip since you already had surgery, but there are some good insights into the psychological impact of the weight loss. It's The REAL Skinny On Weight Loss Surgery: An Indispensable Guide to What You Can REALLY Expect!! by Julie M. Janeway, Karen J. Sparks, and Randal S. Baker, M.D., F.A.C.S.
   — Gail T.

July 3, 2009
I had my surgery on May 18, 2009. Since then I have lost 34 lbs. I started walking just at Wal-Mart and HEB about 5 days after surgery and I would get so out of breath and tired and couldn't finish shopping. So at my one month I had heard a lot of people saying they work out at the gym and walk 3 miles a day.So I just felt if they had surgery and can walk and work-out, then to see success I should be doing the same thing.This is the main "KEY" everyone is different. Just because you can't walk a mile doesn't mean that you will fail. Keep your head up and do what you can. I find most of my energy comes in the morning time.So if at all possible get up an extra 45 minutes early and walk at that time. I have found great success in doing this instead of trying to go when i get off, because like you it takes all i can to get to the car after my 8 hour shift everyday.For me energy comes and goes.You will do just great, don't give up. No one said it would be easy but at the end Success will be yours and ours.
   — mriles

July 3, 2009
Hi Deb....I hope I can be of help to you here. I am 56, and had my RNY on March 2. I started out in October at 307, attending my surgeon's support groups and informational seminars. I was seeing both my PCP and my surgeon's registered dietician, and had put myself on an eating plan similar to what I would be on after the surgery. I was jumping through all my insurance companies "hoops" to get this done. My biggest problem though, was the exercise. I have severe lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar arthritis, and something called spondylithisias (where one of the vertebrae is tipped forward a bit) - and all those conspire to make walking excruciating. It only got worse after the surgery, until I was having to use a handicapped cart at the market, and use a walker to get from my bedroom to the bathroom at night, or I wouldn't make it. I saw 3 doctors who just kinda blew me off. I went to physical therapy that left me hurting worse then when I walked in the door. When I had the surgery, I was down to 281. The surgery went quite well, and I had no complications until I started having food get "stuck" at about 4 weeks out, and my body went into starvation mode where it was holding onto all the weight it could because I wasn't getting either the nutrition I needed, or the exercise to keep my metabolism up so that my body WOULDN'T think I was starving. I went to see my surgeon, sobbing, because the weight wasn't coming off....and told him about my back pain and difficulty walking, and asked him if I could substitute stationary bike riding for the walking, and he said "Of course you can! We just need to keep you moving and get your cardio up. And I also want you to see two of my colleagues - one, to get your stricture fixed and one of to get your back fixed." And he gave me her name. She was the cutest little thing I'd ever seen, looked about 13 years old, but she outlined a plan for me like the other doctors never did. First, a series of epidural pain shots, then if they worked, Physical Therapy with a specialist named Aldo, then if that worked, we could try a membership to a gym where I could get in all the cardio I needed. Then we would wait for 6 months to see how the weight loss affected the pain level...and then discuss the applicability of a minimally invasive procedure called the X-Stop, where spacers are inserted between the "fins" on the back of my spine (under local anesthesia in a day surgery center), to keep my spine in a neutral or slightly forward position - which opens up the spinal canal and relieves the pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves coming off of it and going down my legs. I also am taking medication for Bi-Polar Type 2, and for anxiety attacks.... but since the surgery, I have had nothing like that. Even for a long time before the surgery. But my surgeon says that they will not take you off your psych meds until at least one year after surgery, because a lot of people DO get depressed sooner or later. Anyways, within 24 hours of the pain shot, I was virtually pain free, and spent 2 weeks at 24 Hour Fitness exercising with my daughter. When I got home from visiting her, I bought my own two-year membership, and the more I work out on the bike, the rowing machine, the "arm bike" and the strength training machines, the better I feel, both emotionally and physically. The pain shot began to wear off a few weeks ago, so I had another one last Friday, but this one seems only about 50% as effective as the last one. But hey, I'll take it. The weight is coming off again, and I'm shrinking out of clothes like mad. So, my advice is, if you can't walk, buy (or rent, or borrow) a stationary bike that you can put in front of your TV, and then ride while you watch your shows. Or put a book in front of you and ride while you read. Or, if you can afford it, join a gym and start out slow, but increase your efforts steadily. At least once a week, up the resistance a notch, or ride for 15 minutes instead of 10. Or even 12 minutes instead of 10. When I started out, I would end 10 minutes at level one in tears. Now, I'm doing 30 minutes at level 6, and 10 minutes of the rowing machine, and 10 minutes on the arm bike. You can do it. We're all hear rooting for you! If you need to talk privately, you can email me at [email protected]. All the best, Erica
   — Erica Alikchihoo

July 3, 2009
I'm pretty down too. I am 2 weeks post op and I too want to be healthy NOW. Don't really have any answers. Just wanted you to know you're not alone. A friend of mine told me that when you break an addiction depression is very common. I'm already on an antidepressant but I am considering calling my shrink to see what she thinks. Don't give up! I won't either and you're not alone!!
   — petnurse98