So you woke up in hospital. There was no, or little pain and you may have thought they didn't do the op.
They did and you're on the way.
You realise that all the things you were worrying about pre op didn't need to be worried about.
Now you realise that even though you researched a lot of stuff before the op, you don't actually know what to expect and are scared.
DON'T PANIC.
Everyone goes through it.
First off, hunger. The chemical that tells your brain you are hungry is called ghrelin. It is in your lower stomach.....the bit that is no longer used. It also controls your metabolism. As it is no longer linked to your brain, you don't get the hunger signals. It is very confusing not being hungry for the first couple of months, then you get used to it.........then you love it. You will grow new ghrelin in the new stomach after a year or two. I believe that is happening to me now, one year post op. Get feelings like I may be hungry and I'm gutted.
Edit 30/03/11 I've since been told by a surgeon that you don't grow ghrelin in the new stomach....so should be hunger free forever.....yay
And the hungry feelings have gone too.
Some people still feel hungry after the op, though this may be head hunger, which I'll mention later. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much you can do about it, but live with it.
DUMPING
If you eat too much sugar or eat and drink too soon after each other, you will get dumping syndrom. It's really not nice and you only do it a couple of times.
I have only had mild symptoms a few times, where I felt light headed, sick, had palpitations in my chest and felt like I needed to poo. Lying down on the bed sorted it out.
Severe cases can cause severe stomach cramps, sweating, dizziness, vomiting, dhia....dia......dhi.....the squits and all sorts of other nastiness. Best to be avoided if possible.
You need to leave at least half an hour, some docs say more, between eating and drinking. This gets more flexible later.
Sugar consumption should be less than 5g sugar per 100g food. When you look at a food label, it will say carbohydrates 25g, of which sugars 3g. It's the of which sugars bit you are concerned with.
You can handle more sugar as you progress.
If it just puts the carbs, not the sugar on the label, avoid it.....why risk it?
You may also find you are ok on a certain food a few times, or for a few weeks, then you get ill off it. It may be the food, it may just be your body reacting to something different. It is very random. Try the same food a few days later. If the same happens again, avoid it for a few weeks.
Next thing to address is something a lot of people on here worry about.
MY BYPASS ISN'T WORKING!!
I'm 2/3/4 weeks post op and not losing weight......why isn't it working???
It IS working. Relax. Think about how much you are eating now, compared to what you ate before. There is no way you can't lose weight. Your intestine has also been shortened, so you can't absorb as many calories, therefore, less weight gain.
You lost a lot of weight quickly on your pre op diet. A lot of that weight was water. When you were in hospital, they put you on a drip and put all that water back in, so, obviously, some weight returned.
You are swollen inside, which adds to the weight.
Your body is in a state of shock. It is panicking. It's been pushed, pulled, twisted and cut. It is suddenly deprived of all that lovely food you were giving it and it's sulking.
You've gone into starvation mode and your body is sucking out everything it can from what you are eating and storing it because it doesn't know when your food level is going back to what it was.
It will get used to things and will sort itself out......give it time.
WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO EAT REAL FOOD AGAIN OR EAT OUT?
Yes you will. At my 6 month review, my surgeon told me there was no restriction on what I can eat. I do still get a small problem with crumpets, scones, french stick type of things, but it is just a feeling of heaviness.
I can manage a whole bird's eye ready meal and can just manage a small baked spud with beans.
If you eat out, ask for child portions. If they refuse, go halves on someone elses food. If you have a little off everyone's plate, they won't miss it.
Now you're wondering how long to stay off work. Most surgeons recommend 6 or 7 weeks. Many people go back sooner than that and are fine, some take longer, especially if there are complications.
Only you can judge. I will say though, don't commit too early, thinking you'll be ok by the time you start in a week.
You are exhausted and will feel tired at the least effort. You will likely feel sick and light headed just walking round the supermarket for a few weeks post op.
THE MAIN THING TO REMEMBER IS NO LIFTING FOR SIX WEEKS.
Also check with your motor insurance how long before you can drive again. Drive too early and YOU MAY NOT BE INSURED.
STICK TO YOUR DIET PLAN
Your post op diet sheet will tell you to eat 5 or 6 times a day and drink 2 litres of water.
You probably won't be able to manage all of that, but do the best you can.
Try to at least get a pint of semi skimmed milk a day.
Very few of us on here managed to eat and drink as much as we were told to. Don't start worrying if you can't manage it all. If you can't manage more than half, then contact your dietitian or surgeon.
A lot of people on here post that they are bored of the liquid diet and are trying things from the next stage or two. I DON'T RECOMMEND IT!!
You may get away with it a few times, but you will likely come a cropper AND IT HURTS.
You are put on liquids, then liquidised and mashed for a reason. You have scar tissue that is swollen on the tube that carries food to your stomach. Large or more solid food may get jammed there or may even damage the scar. It may also damage the pouch, which because it is stretched skin, is very thin. It may even stretch your pouch, defeating the object of having the op. You've been through so much, why risk going back to hospital?
It will likely at the least make you vomit.....and that hurts.
The stages are short though and while boring will be over with soon.
It's really not worth the risk.
If you haven't already, ask your GP to refer you to a gym. Some areas do half price/reduced membership. I got 3 months free, then £14 a month for a year after.
Also, if you don't qualify for free medication, get yourself an NHS pre pay prescription card. £104 a year and don't pay for prescriptions. You will go through a lot of medication the first few months and will also need to change ones that don't agree with you. The card pays for itself in a few weeks. Can order it online. You can even use it before you get the card delivered. They give you an ID number you can give to the chemist.
Make sure for the first week or too to get all your medication in liquid form. Tablets hurt straight after the op. Your hospital should give you a couple of weeks worth, then get the rest from your GP. Unfortunately, some doctors don't give liquid, and some meds can't be gotten in liquid form
You can get dalivit liquid vitamins from the chemist.
You may feel sick after the op, this may also come and go for a long time after the op. You can get a variety of anti sickness pills.....ask your GP.
Antacids are a topic of contention. Most of us get told we have to take them for six months, some surgeons say just one month.
THEY ARE VITAL THOUGH.
You are producing too much stomach acid for your new stomach to manage and NEED these meds.
I took mine for six months, and still take one once or twice a month if I get indigestion.
You will probably at some point get head hunger. It's a nightmare. You want to eat, even though you don't feel hungry, or don't feel satisfied after eating.
There's not much you can do about it, but ride it out.
You could try spacing your food out more, or eat smaller amounts, but more often. Try to keep as busy as possible, so you don't think about it.
It will come and go.
You WILL experience plateaus. They are heart breaking. You get months of very rapid weight loss and are hopping on the scales 3 or 4 times a day 'cos you just can't believe how fast it's going........then BAM! plateau.
It may be a week or two, it may be several weeks, but you will get them. Suddenly you are getting on the scales out of desperation, not fun. You think you have broken something, that the bypass is over. It isn't.
Your body needs time to recover. It needs to regroup and reassign the important bits. Now is the ideal time to get the tape measure out, as even though the weight isn't going, the inches still are.
Nothing you can do but sit it out. Maybe exercise a bit more, but not much.
DO NOT eat less thinking it will kickstart it. You need to eat at least 3 times a day to keep the metabolism working. Sometimes adding an extra snack in the day helps it along, but there really isn't much you can do.
My worst plateau was 7 or 8 weeks and only lost 3 pounds. The scales even go up and down a couple of pounds.
It is heart breaking, but try not to despair.
Wind/noises
Your belly is going to make some strange noises. At first I thought it was hunger, but it isn't. It's where your insides have been all turned round and is perfectly natural. Sort of gurgling, growling noises like you haven't eaten for a week. Can be heard across the room!
You may also get wind. I rarely farted for a couple of years pre op, but fart like a trooper now. Really loud, really often and really smelly. Being a bloke I can laugh it off, but I even disgust myself sometimes.
Get used to it.
You could try charcoal tablets to absorb the smell, but they turn your poo black.
Edit 30/03/11 Well, it turns out the smell is caused by the massive amount of lentils I have in my homemade lentil soup....didn't have any for a couple of weeks and it went away.....had the soup and it started.
You will also likely need laxatives to poo often.....discuss this with your GP.
It's also normal to be constantly worried about how much you're eating.....too much or too little. Even a year on I'm convinced I'm eating too much, and thought that all the way through.
Another common thing is your head not catching up with your weight loss. A year in and I still think of myself as big. I see my reflection sometimes and am shocked. My brain doesn't see what my eyes are seeing. It's getting better now, but I'm still not fully caught up.
I've been big to huge for about 35 years and it's taking time to adjust.
I stare with amazement at my skinny little arms and legs sometimes.
Whew! That's it for now.....I'm exhausted. I'll add more if I think of anything.
Enjoy the weight loss and the comments from your friends. It's a hell of a ride.
