What They Don't Tell You About Gastric Bypass Surgery

I'm a few months out from my Gastric Bypass surgery and some interesting things have occurred to me. I won't say no one told me any of these things, but perhaps I wasn't listening or didn't process some or all of it. So, I am going to address some things that maybe you don't know or thought you could ignore.

1. Food/ Sugar Addiction: This was a BIG one for me, as I had been told by various people that I would be starting over from scratch. Boy, was I naive; people actually had me believing that after surgery I would never want junk food again, that the only way I would crave sweets or chips or pizza other garbage would be if I slipped up and had some. To that I must respectfully say WRONG! I cannot speak for everyone, but food had a tighter grip on me than that. Although I knew I could not have that sugary, salty, unhealthy death on a plate that I had come to know and love, I wanted it from the moment I woke up from surgery. I was heartbroken. I had convinced myself, with the help of others that my life long battle with food was over; it was only getting more interesting. Here I am, nearly 4 months after surgery, and I STILL have power struggles about food.

So, be aware, if you were addicted to food or sugar before weight loss surgery, the addiction will not magically vanish just because you had surgery. The mental part of changing your life is much more difficult than any of the physical. Surgery cannot change the way you are hardwired. You will need to be diligent and careful. Food addicts are just like any other addict; you need your fix! Weight loss surgery is a great tool, but it is up to you to use it wisely. My advice is to seek counseling to get to the root of your issues with food prior to having the surgery; success will come much easier that way. 

2. Required Intake: I wish I had understood how difficult it would be to drink all the fluids I was supposed to, not to mention the daily diet of vitamins and supplements. I nearly have to plan my entire day around fluids and supplements.

3. Feeling Left Out: I wish I had known how heart-wrenching and isolating it would be to live purely on liquids while everyone around me was going about their regular lives, eating, drinking and living as they pleased. Bless my poor husband who tried to eat in secret, so as not to offend me. 

4. Jackson-Pratt drain: Having to live my life with this little clear bulb at the end of a rubber tube protruding from my stomach was one of the most uncomfortable things for me. It collected red, slimy gunk that I was supposed to empty, measure and record periodically throughout the day and the stench was almost unbearable. I have significant issues with the outside world being exposed to my insides and this whole ordeal just nauseated me. Not to mention I had to sleep in a recliner, because every time I tried to lay down it would get wadded up and tug at my insides. It also tugged at my insides when I would get up to walk. I ended up fashioning a sling that went around my neck to cradle this thing so I could lead a somewhat normal life. Then, on what I thought would be a great day, the doctor pulled it out. PAIN! It was brief, but it still hurt! It felt like it had attached itself to my insides and then got ripped out, which I guess is essentially what happened. 

5. It's NOT Easy: I kept telling myself that this was not the easy way to lose weight, but on some level, I must have thought it was. Because I was irritated to learn how much work it is to STILL count calories, exercise, and watch what I eat. My life still revolves around my weight and food, but it has been magnified. Weight loss has never come easy for me, but I guess I thought that would change after I had surgery. I'm not saying I regret my decision or that the surgery isn't effective; I'm just saying it takes hard work and determination. 

6. Weight Loss Surgery is Still Controversial: There are topics I have always refrained from discussing, because I am uncomfortable with the level of confrontation and passion that ensue: politics, religion, abortion, and sexual orientation. I would now like to add weight loss surgery to that list. When I began to tell people what I was planning, I was flooded with opinions, positive and negative. I wish I would have just kept it to myself. Even now, months later, I am cautious about telling people that I had gastric bypass surgery.

7. How Much Have You Lost? I never thought I would tire of people noticing that I had lost weight, but I feel like I need to call a monthly meeting to update everyone at the same time so I don't have to repeat myself over and over. In addition, the constant inquisition about my weight loss adds to the pressure I already put on myself and when the scale doesn't move, it really stings. I know people mean well and they are excited for me, but sometimes I wish I could avoid the topic of my weight.

8. Let's Go Do Something: I was once the queen of the couch potatoes and I reveled in my title. But now that I have started to lose some weight and gain some confidence, I want to get out and do stuff. However, I am surrounded by people who are content to just watch life happen on TV. It's really depressing and lonely to have gone your whole life hiding in the shadows and when the day finally comes that you don't want to hide anymore, you are standing alone. 

9. Small Children Don't Understand: While I do not have children of my own, my 2 1/2 nephew lives with me and he may as well be mine. I didn't realize how troubling it would be for me to tell him I could not pick him up or how it would break his tiny heart each time I refused to scoop him up in my arms. I was able to compromise and let him sit on my lap, which seemed to make it a little easier on him. 

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Weight loss surgery is a huge deal; you are changing your life forever! So, don't be afraid to ask questions. Here are a few to get you started:

1. Am I a good candidate for weight loss surgery?
2. Which weight loss surgery would be most effective/ beneficial for me?
3. How long before I can return to school, work, etc.?
4. What will my physical restrictions be (limited lifting, etc.)? And for how long?
5. How soon can I resume taking care of my household duties, children?
6. How long before I can have sex (don't look at me like that; it's a legitimate question)? 
7. What kind of pain medication will I be going home with?
8. What supplements do you recommend I take and how much of each one? 
9. How often will you be checking my blood vitamin levels for deficiencies? Can I be tested more often if I wish? Will I be receiving a copy of the results?
10. How small will my pouch be? 
11. What kind of exercise do you recommend and when can I start?
12. Should I adjust my medications after surgery?Will surgery impact the absorption rate or effectiveness of them?
13. Is it possible for my pouch to stretch back out? If so, how can I prevent it?
14. How do I prevent or combat diarrhea, vomiting or gas?
15. What do you think is a realistic goal weight for me to achieve and maintain?
16. How much weight loss per week/month is normal or average? 
17. I know plateaus are inevitable, how can I decrease them?
18. How long can I expect weight loss to continue after surgery? Will it ever again become very difficult or impossible to lose weight?
19. How hard will I have to work to maintain my weight loss in 2-3 years?

Limited Mobility Exercises

I cannot fathom the idea of being an overweight person at a gym. Not only do I live with agoraphobia and explicit self-consciousness , but the mere thought of sitting near someone else's bodily fluids makes me queasy. And I am a 15 year veteran of the medical field! Additionally, the equipment is poorly designed for the larger variety of people and like most people, if something is uncomfortable, I have little difficulty talking myself out of it. So, I had to come up with some fitness routines that do not require any special equipment and can be comfortably done. Since getting on and off the floor is an ordeal in and of itself, I'd rather stand or sit during my workout. So here is what I've come up with.

Wall Push-ups - Find a large and empty wall and stand about 3 feet in front of it, hands outstretched, facing the wall. Lean your body towards the wall with your hands touching the wall. Push your body back, with your hands until you are once again in a standing position. Keep repeating the same two positions, keeping an even rhythm up and back, for as many times as you can without feeling any pain in your muscles or back.

Chair Crunches - Sit on your chair as you normally would. Brace your hands on either side of the chair and gently lift yourself slightly up from the chair. Keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, and lift your thighs up off of the chair and hold them in that position for five seconds. Slowly release and lower them back to the chair. Do this exercise 10 times for two repetitions.

Seated Leg Lifts - Sit in your chair, extend one leg out straight in front of you and hold for two seconds. Then raise it up as high as you can, and hold it again for two seconds. Repeat with each leg 15 times.

Chair Arm Lifts -  Sit in your chair with your legs crossed and your feet on the seat. Then place your hands on the armrests, suck in your gut and raise yourself a few inches above the seat, using your belly muscles and hands. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat five times.

Sitting Spinal Stretch - This enhances both flexibility and muscle strength. Sit tall in your chair, and stretch your arms toward the ceiling. Put your left hand on the desk, grab the back of the chair with your right hand and twist to the right. Hold for 10 seconds. Release and raise your arms toward the ceiling again. Then repeat the twist going the other way. Hold for 10 seconds.

If you are also having problems with traditional workouts, try some of these exercises. Remember, no matter how slow you go, you're still doing laps around everyone who's just sitting on the couch. ;)

How I Survived the 1st Week

Get Up: Though it will be uncomfortable at first, move as much as you can. Do slow, mini laps around your coffee table; do yoga on the couch; or just get up and stretch. You know what they say, “a body at rest tends to stay at rest, while a body in motion tends to stay in motion.” I also found that a bit of walking helped with the gas bubbles. J

Mood Swings: Prepare yourself and the family. No, there really isn’t a reason why you’re crying, does there need to be? You’ve just gone through a major, life altering surgery. It’s understandable that your hormones might be a little out of whack.  Don’t worry, this too shall pass. You’ll be your normal, happy self again shortly.

Small Sips: It became immediately evident that the smaller sips I took, the easier it was to get my fluids.

Burps Are Our Friends: With such a tiny pouch and the constant need to force liquids, there will be air swallowed. Air is agony. No matter how lady-like you want to be or how well-mannered you were raised, embrace the burp.

This Was Not A Mistake: This decision was made, for valid reasons, while you were in your right mind. This has been a long process and coming to this decision did not happen on a whim. Even if you temporarily wonder if you made a huge mistake, just hang in there. You’ll remember why you chose this path and things will get better. I promise.

Head Hunger: It sucks, but it’s still there. You’re starving! You want cookies, candy, chips, pizza, you name it! But as soon as you sip some protein, you’re stuffed and you know you can’t have any of that stuff anyway. You’re not going crazy; it’s all a part of your big divorce with food. This love-hate relationship is why you’re here. Go ahead and mourn it. Just remind yourself that there’s a reason you did this.

In another week or so, you’ll be feeling much better. Weight will start falling off, even if it feels like it’s moving at a snail’s pace, when you add it up you’ll be surprised. And after years of NOT seeing any results, despite your best weight loss efforts, when you start seeing progress; it’s a beautiful thing. 

My Pre Weight Loss Surgery Checklist

I’m a planner, I can’t help it. I just feel more in control when things are clearly spelled out for me. April 16th is fast approaching and my thoughts are so scattered. So, for my own sanity, I had to draw up a list of things to do prior to my surgery.  Feel free to borrow this list if you like. I’m happy to help. J

My Checklist

□      Pack phone with favorite music

□      Deep clean house so it doesn't completely fall apart while I'm down

□      Secure sitters or relative caregivers for children

□      Buy post-op supplies (sugar-free popsicles, jell-o, drink mixes, protein powders, broth, bouillon, soups, etc.)

□      Locate living will and healthcare surrogate documents and discussed with family

□      Put in for medical leave/short-term disability at work

□      Start journal or video diary

□      Take measurements

□      Take 'before' photos

□      Record specific long-term and short-term goals

□      Pack hospital bag