Hey everyone! Newbie here with questions :)

[DSRIGGS]

Hi butterfly and glad to have you here. I am only have awake and on my phone so I will reply tomorrow when I am awake and at my computer where I can type.

 

[Butterfly13]

Hi there. I had my DS procedure done 6/24/15.

1. My surgery was at the end of the day, so I spent two nights in hospital. Gotcha! I have to pay for 2 nights regardless if I use them or not and they WON'T refund me my money (Grrrr) but my surgeon wants to send me home the same day!
2. A little over four hours, including my gall bladder removal which was a little challenging. I'm also getting my gallbladder removed and I was told 9.5-10 hours..... Hmmmm
3. No drains, just 5 little scars. Interesting! Thanks
4. Had to check my old charts for this one. I lost 15 pounds on the pre-op diet and 10 pounds in week 1. Then it tapered down quite a bit, obviously. Congrats! I was just told that I had to lose 10% of my body weight to shrink my liver down before surgery and that is 30 lbs so I'm kind of a nervous wreck right now LOL
5. My surgeon had me on liquids, then pureed foods, and I didn't eat meat of any kind until a month out, and that was soft tuna. Wow.... this seems to be a repeated theme with everyone on here. I was told "clear liquid diet" for weeks 1-4, "pureed" for weeks 5&6 and "soft foods" for week 7&8 and wouldn't have a "regular diet" until week 9! Hmmmm! LOL
6. Nope. I used chewable bariatric vites (which were kind of gross) until I could take solid pills at about a month out. After that, I followed Vitalady's regimen. Good to know!
7. Nope. I was told to get as much protein as possible from real food. I never tolerated ready-made protein shake flavors very well, so my version was always a greek yogurt smoothie with unflavored protein powder added. Those smoothies were only mainstays in my diet very early on. Now one of those supplements my day when I am a little low on protein - like 2-3 times a week, tops. Thanks for you input!

Hope this helps, and good luck with the process!

Definitely has helped me a lot! I really appreciate it - it's nice to meet you and I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with you through our journeys!

 

[Butterfly13]

Hi butterfly and glad to have you here. I am only have awake and on my phone so I will reply tomorrow when I am awake and at my computer where I can type.

Sounds great Scott! No worries!

-Nicki

 

[Butterfly13]

Hi and welcome! So glad to see you here.

Surgery took about 3 hours. No drains, but this varies from surgeon to surgeon and sometimes from patient to patient.
Spent 3 nights in the hospital but recovery was slowed by nausea. Most people are quicker than I was.
Vitamins - forget gummies. Not only do they contain sugar, they probably won't sit well in your new sleeve. Really you don't need to worry about vitamins at all for the first 3 weeks or so because your body has stores that will tide you over. Focus on hydration and walking. Hydration sounds easy but isn't at first. Once you get going it will be important to follow your labs yourself and not count on any doctor's office employee who says they're "ok". You will need to follow the trends to make sure you aren't just at the bottom of "normal range" and about to tank. It's much easier to keep labs healthy than it is to fix them after they're really low.
Same for protein - don't worry about it for the first 3 weeks, just get in enough fluid. After that, you should gradually start eating real food. Protein drinks are ok as a supplement but should not be your main source of nutrition. one of the big advantages of the DS is the ability to eat small but otherwise normal meals, eventually.

Thank you sooooooo much for your responses! I really appreciate it Nice to meet you and looking forward to keeping in touch throughout our journeys!

-Nicki

 

[DSRIGGS]

Sounds great Scott! No worries!

-Nicki

Nice to know your name Nicki..... Don't be offended when I forget it 12 times. I am getting old and think my mind and body for that matter are 20 plus years older then my soon to be 50 actual years on this earth..

 

[Butterfly13]

1. Did you stay in the hospital overnight after surgery? If so, how long?

6 nights. They would have let me out after 4 but they had the beds and I liked the attention.
Good to know!

1. How long was your procedure - start to finish?

4 hours. I had a few complications which were resolved then there but took a little longer than usual
That seems to be the theme for what most people are saying.... I know I'm having a revision from a Lap-Band to the DS but I was told 9.5-10 hours!!!! And having gallbladder removed.

1. How long did you have drains in?

5 days. I see everyone has different answers across the board... thanks!

1. How much weight did you lose BEFORE surgery and in the 1st week after procedure?

Not much. A lot (can't say for sure as I didn't step on scale. I know I lost 30 pounds (25% of my excess weight) in the first month.
Just asking because my surgeon wants me to lose 10% of my body weight to shrink my liver down... I understand that but it's been quite the challenge! LOL

1. When did you have a REAL piece of meat for protein?

4 weeks post - ground beef.
Ahhhhh what the heck!!!! I was told "clear liquid diet" for 4 WEEKS post op, then "pureed" food for 2 weeks, then "soft foods" for 2 weeks and not a "regular diet" until week 9!!!!

1. Did your surgeon say that it was okay to have gummies for your vitamin intake?

Didn't discuss w/ him, but my guess is gummies aren't going to cut it. You will need some serious vitamins post op. Gotcha. I was concerned about the sugar content and asked 3 times in the seminar and they kept saying they were fine..... *rolling eyes* HAHA

1. Were you told to only count your "shakes as protein intake and not worry about counting the protein in real food"? IE: Make sure to have 5 protein shakes a day to equal 150g and whatever meats, etc you eat doesn't matter.

No. Shakes are great because they're liquid and probably absorb better than other sources of protein (AKA more bioavailable), but all protein counts for something. Good to know!!!

And it's really nice to meet you and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions! Looking forward to keeping in touch throughout our journeys!

Good luck and welcome!

 

[southernlady]

4. I was told to lose 30 lbs before surgery but I understand I need to shrink my liver down

IF it was to shrink the liver, then you would need to be on that diet for monthS not weeks. It helps to make the liver less slippery but shrinking...not so much.

Honestly mine was a textbook surgery and I ate normal pre-op so my liver was just as fatty going into surgery as it always has been.

Personally I think surgeons use it as a compliance test.

 

[Butterfly13]

That was too many questions at once. I got confused but I was a crapband to DS revision in early February

Sorry if that was question overload for you! How has the revision been going for you?
Nice to meet you! And I'm looking forward to keeping in touch throughout our journeys

-Nicki

 

[Butterfly13]

Welcome @Butterfly13! I was not a revision, but a Virgin DS so I cannot speak as to the revision experience but here goes:

1. I was in the hospital overnight.
2. About 5 hours
3. No drains
4. My surgeon required a 10% weight loss before he would operate. For me as I was above 300 pounds that meant I had to lose 30. I was 330 in his office and 292 the day of surgery. I lost about 10-12 the first week after surgery not counting the slight rebound due to all the fluids that are pumped into you in the hospital. But I agree with Scott (@DSRIGGS) this is a marathon not a sprint and NOT what you should be focusing on the first week out of surgery.
5. I believe it was about the 4th of July (I had surgery April 20th) before I had a piece of real meat on my plate. I of course ate meat that had been pureed before that, but I think that was the first time I had it "whole" as it were.
6. No my surgeon was not on board with gummies. He was on board with chewable vitamins, but I smiled and nodded my head (practice this skill you'll need it) and stuck with my multi-vitamin.
7. Yes. Again I nodded my head and smiled and worked in real food as I could. I still supplement with shakes, but quite frankly I had this surgery so that I could EAT not drink my protein. Steak, bacon, chicken etc. OH and cheese glorious cheese!

Again, welcome to the board! Your location says Washington and it's good to see another Washingtonian here! There are a few of us around.

Nice to meet you! I'm assuming you had the surgery in Seattle? PM if you want to compare surgeons and whatnot....sounds like we have very similar requirements... just a few variations! Looking forward to continue talking to you!

-Nicki

 

[Butterfly13]

Wow I am shocked at the number of people with a one night hospital stay. In my mind that is not enough time. My Dr's standard was the day/night of surgery and then 2 more nights for sure. If needed more. My feelings in that regard is that you need the fluids as it is very hard to stay hydrated that early on. I feel it is probably negligence by a Dr to discharge somebody that quickly after this kind of surgery. Sure a knee surgery or back surgery is tough, but they don't involve your digestive system so sure you can go home quickly with those and "deal with the pain". The IV fluids were an absolute necessity for me because I wasn't getting down much in way of liquids at all for the first week.

I am a registered nurse and I work on the medical/surgical units and what you said were my thoughts exactly..... seems pretty extreme to just let someone go home after such an intense surgery...... I appreciate your input! Good to know I'm not the only one thinking this way LOL

 

[Butterfly13]

1. Four nights after virgin DS surgery. this the standard stay in Mexicali to make sure everyone was well enough to travel. (i was)
2. I think it was about 3-4 hours
3. one drain, 2-3 days
4. i was not required to lose any weight but i was to be on atkins-like diet for 10 days-2 weeks and clears for 5 days. lost 12#
5. I was permitted meats a month out but i still struggle with dense protein 4.5 months out. (this is not usual)
6. No. vites were to be taken about 4 weeks but i started with centrum at 2.5 weeks and was up to all by 4 weeks (iron a little later). I follow VitaLady.
7. No, that's weird. I am not yet able to eat enough protein so need shakes (Premier Protein RTD).

And welcome!

Thank you for all of your info! VERY helpful and it is very nice to meet you

-Nicki

 

[Larra]

Did your potential surgeon really tell you your surgery would take 9-10 hours?? this is extreme, and even for a revision from lap band, and I've only ever heard of this in a rare patient with serious complications. Even RNY to DS revisions, which are MUCH more complicated than from lap band, can be done faster than that (in experienced hands). Who is your surgeon? It is so very important to make sure you have an experienced DS surgeon, and that he/she is doing a real DS.

 

[johndean]

Dave, 48 years old, Los Angeles. 3 years now, I made the decision of having bariatric surgery as I had the BMI greater than 40.. I contacted (edited by admin)in February, and till the end of April I had my bariatric surgery scheduled in Mexico, as the prices were almost half of the price I would have paid in US.

The surgery was successful, I'm more than happy with the decision I've made eben if I was a bit confused then. Now the results are talking by themselves.. People from (edited by Admin)found for me some of the best packages so I could choose one according to my fundings and needs. They explained me in detail each procedure so I could choose by myself. Even when I had my surgery they were there asking about me and about my condition. I would like to thank also the surgeon for its professionalism, patience, kindness. After 3 years, I see myself happy with my body, living a new life. Thank you (edited by Admin)for this great opportunity.

Admin note: this is the third time he has tried this. I've de-registered him and put his account under "discouraged".

 

[Clematis]

Beware, Nicki. The poster above is a shill trying to drive people to that surgery company for a fee -- he has never had WLS surgery.

 

[Marquis Mark]

Agreed. And a very transparent shill, too. "Thank you (edited by admin)for this great opportunity!" Wow, that is just how real people talk!

Mark, I edited your post to avoid giving that company any exposure.