Gastric Bypass Surgery Support Group
Gastric bypass (GBP) is any of a group of similar operative procedures used to treat morbid obesity, a condition which arises from severe accumulation of excess weight in the form of fatty tissue, and the health problems ("co-morbidities") which result. If you are considering gastric bypass or have had it, join the community where we share our experiences and find support.
I've seen a lot of posts recently by new comers with the same questions. I thought that i would start a thread where we might be able to answer most of the hot topics.
1) Weight Loss - many of you have posted that in the first weeks post op you are feeling like you're not losing. This is totally NORMAL!!! Do not be discouraged - even though I was. You feel like "Yep! It's not going to work for me!" but truly, it will. in those first 4 weeks or so, your body is SO out of whack - you're poor little pouch is tender and so are the rest of your guts. Try not to freak about not drinking and eating enough - that will come. Try to stay off the scale - HA! What do i know - i weighed ALL the time. But know that you are FAR FAR too early to say "this is not working" . Your journey is just started - at 3 or 4 weeks out you are still healing. Give it time and just do your best with protein shakes, vitamins, and water!
2) Plateaus - We ALL have them. Sometimes they are weeks, others months. Many shorter ones are just about your body catching a breath. Longer ones could require a close look at what you're eating and how much you're moving. As LCAT always says it's a good chance to work on head stuff. But just remember that when you've hit a plateau that you have lost so much weight. I would average it out - by the end of my weight loss I averaged about 2 lbs a week. But lots of that came off in the first 6 mos. That means I had a lots of weeks with no loss, or just 1lb.
3) Hunger - this is different for all of us. Some of never feel hungry again. Some of us feel hungry the first week. But all of us need to learn to listen to our bodies and figure out if our body needs nutrition or if our heart needs attention. Most would say that if you are hungry in the first weeks that this would be "head hunger". You are more than likely mourning your old relationship with food and wondering where your old friend is. Again, this is when your pouch is strongest and the BEST time to work on those head issues. When you start to get further out and you get hungry it can be hard to figure out if it is head hunger, or real hunger. The key to this is to stick to meal times - whatever your plan calls for (although I find the 3 meals a day plans confusing) but anyway - if you have ate your meals and gotten in your protein, it's probably head hunger. You will be able to eat more. but that could vary depending on the food (like you could eat a big pile of salad, but only a 1/4 cup of pasta).
So, hopefully these are some helpful tips to recent hot topics - perhaps other veterans will add there thoughts too.
Good Luck,
Rochelle
1) Weight Loss - many of you have posted that in the first weeks post op you are feeling like you're not losing. This is totally NORMAL!!! Do not be discouraged - even though I was. You feel like "Yep! It's not going to work for me!" but truly, it will. in those first 4 weeks or so, your body is SO out of whack - you're poor little pouch is tender and so are the rest of your guts. Try not to freak about not drinking and eating enough - that will come. Try to stay off the scale - HA! What do i know - i weighed ALL the time. But know that you are FAR FAR too early to say "this is not working" . Your journey is just started - at 3 or 4 weeks out you are still healing. Give it time and just do your best with protein shakes, vitamins, and water!
2) Plateaus - We ALL have them. Sometimes they are weeks, others months. Many shorter ones are just about your body catching a breath. Longer ones could require a close look at what you're eating and how much you're moving. As LCAT always says it's a good chance to work on head stuff. But just remember that when you've hit a plateau that you have lost so much weight. I would average it out - by the end of my weight loss I averaged about 2 lbs a week. But lots of that came off in the first 6 mos. That means I had a lots of weeks with no loss, or just 1lb.
3) Hunger - this is different for all of us. Some of never feel hungry again. Some of us feel hungry the first week. But all of us need to learn to listen to our bodies and figure out if our body needs nutrition or if our heart needs attention. Most would say that if you are hungry in the first weeks that this would be "head hunger". You are more than likely mourning your old relationship with food and wondering where your old friend is. Again, this is when your pouch is strongest and the BEST time to work on those head issues. When you start to get further out and you get hungry it can be hard to figure out if it is head hunger, or real hunger. The key to this is to stick to meal times - whatever your plan calls for (although I find the 3 meals a day plans confusing) but anyway - if you have ate your meals and gotten in your protein, it's probably head hunger. You will be able to eat more. but that could vary depending on the food (like you could eat a big pile of salad, but only a 1/4 cup of pasta).
So, hopefully these are some helpful tips to recent hot topics - perhaps other veterans will add there thoughts too.
Good Luck,
Rochelle
I only weigh 1 x per month... I know this is outside the norm for many, but I find that it takes the pressure off of me and I am able to focus on the many (MANY!) other positive changes my body is going thru... Also, it may mean I never see a stall. Not that I won't have one, but if it lasts less than a month, I'll never really get hung up on it! :)
1. What hurt the most after surgery, the insicions or your new pouch?
2. How long does the pain last?
3. How long was it before you could start exersizing ( besides walking)?
4. How is the Q pain pump administred? Is it through my IV or is it a seperate insicion? ( scared to death of needles)
5. Was the tube that goes down your throat out before you woke up?
6. What should I expect during my hospital stay? Will I have a catherter? Does it hurt?
7. Do you really loose your hair? If yes, does the loss stop eventually?
8. Do you regret having Gastric bypass? If yes, why?
9. When did you go back to work? My Dr. said if all goes well he will release me at one week.
This is just the tip of the iceburg of all the questions and concerns I have.
Melissa
2. How long does the pain last? The pain was not that bad after surgery. I only used pain meds for 1 day and then switched to Tylenol.
3. How long was it before you could start exersizing ( besides walking)? Every Dr. is different. My Dr. ok'd exercise around 2 weeks after surgery but siad don't do anything that will hurt the abdomen.
4. How is the Q pain pump administred? Is it through my IV or is it a seperate insicion? ( scared to death of needles) Pain pump is through your IV.
5. Was the tube that goes down your throat out before you woke up? Yes!
6. What should I expect during my hospital stay? Will I have a catherter? Does it hurt? I didn't have a catheter.
7. Do you really loose your hair? If yes, does the loss stop eventually? I've started losing my hair and I'm around 4 months out now. It's really only thinning out. Yes I've heard it will stop eventually. Important to take my vitamins and get the recommeded protein to help with hair loss.
8. Do you regret having Gastric bypass? If yes, why? No! Best thing I've done for myself!
9. When did you go back to work? My Dr. said if all goes well he will release me at one week. I went back to work after 4 weeks. Everyone is different though. Some go back after a week or two.
Hope this helps!
Cindy
Great post rdb74!
Stall
Might as well get used to stalls now. You will be having them a lot. Water, protein, calories, vitamins, rest, moving, etc. ya da ya da. Work your program and it will work for you.
Some good questions to ponder during a stall are:
What was going on in my life when I was last at this weight or clothing size?
What weighty memories are associated with this weight or clothing size?
What am I afraid to let go of? What am I hanging on to?
What is going on in my life that I am not wanting to look at?
What
1. old attitudes,
2. old beliefs, or
3. old thought patterns
am I resisting releasing?
What is it about succeeding with this that scares me to death?
What emotions am I stuffing my face with?
Stalls or plateaus are always good times to do the head work in our journeys. The whoosh fairy always comes sooner when our heads and hearts are "lighter"! Our bodies will reflect our new lightness!