Newbie with Questions - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

ScootRider · 12-03-2004, 09:52 AM

Hello All,

I have been following the threads for a few days and figured it would be ok to post. I am on the east coast so will not be able to make use of services of Dr. Callery. But I believe I have found a good Dr. at East Carolina School of Medicine.

Anyway, I have questions as you can guess by the title. A little background first....I am 43, male, computer tech, married w/children 5'6" and 275.

I am in the beginning stages of considering the Gastric Bypass and I have made an initial appointment.

Now to my questions: (i'm sure you have heard them all)

How do you (and how can I) deal with such a drastically modified diet for the rest of my life when you/I could not before??

Could someone please describe "dumping"??

Is Sugar out forever?? (seems related to dumping)

Someone posted about a "drain" they have. Is this part of the operation like on a temporary basis? The purpose?

Where are the stories of the failures??? There have to be some. I would be interested in knowing why it did not work out for some.

Lastly, I do not consider myself a chronic overeater, although I do eat until full at meals. I have ALWAYS been overweight and am getting bigger by eating somewhat "normally". I do not have any health problems common to morbidly obese people, YET. But my body is starting to give up...at this rate will be a cripple eventually.

In your opinion, would this gastric bypass be a good move for me based on the small amount of info i have given?

I would like to congratulate you all on such a brave move to change your life. I hope I can only be so strong. Thanks for the answers.

Mike

bridgetgirl · 12-03-2004, 10:10 AM

Hi Mike and welcome, I will try to respond to your questions to the best of my ability and my circumstances, everyone is different.. rsponses may differ... here we go

How do you (and how can I) deal with such a drastically modified diet for the rest of my life when you/I could not before?? : its very interesting because YOU JUST DO, some peopple have mourning for about the first 3 months, because youve lost that one thing in your life that you could turn to no matter what... FOOD! Food is the enemy, it has gotten you to this point in your life. You learn to realize that quickly as well as embrace it. Another member Phil, statrted going to OA and modifying his eating behaviors NOW, he recognized the problem and addressed it immediately, he would be a great guy to turn to about it, he's an inspiration.

Could someone please describe "dumping"?? Dumping is when you have too much fat, sugar or carbs... I get it when I drink too much milk, others dont have a problem with milk.. everybodys different....when you have WLS they bypass a great amount of your intestine, so the breakdown of foods isnt as digested as long thus pushing those things right into your system... when this happens you can rapud heartbeat, diaherrea, stomach pains, sweats, the urge to sleep... sometimes it feel like a really bad flu that lasts about 30 minutes some people dont dump at all, soem people can tolerate more amounts of sugars, fats and carbs... it has nothing to do with age, height or gender... everyone is different.. day by day you find out what you can tolerate and what you cant, same days you can tolerate one thing and then eat it again and get sick.... everyday is an interesting one I tell ya...

Is Sugar out forever?? (seems related to dumping) No..... but again everyone is diif=fferent, I can tolerate abour 15 grams of sugar before I get sick, some people dont touch it all who have had prior diabetes, some folks dont get sick at all...

Someone posted about a "drain" they have. Is this part of the operation like on a temporary basis? The purpose? Soometimes they put in a JP drain, this is not often but it does happen, usually when there a juices in the OLD stomach and that stuff has tobe drained out.... the JP tube goes into the old stomach not your new pouch

Where are the stories of the failures??? There have to be some. I would be interested in knowing why it did not work out for some. This new way of eating success depends on you! You can fail it like every other diet you have attempted as well, this surgery will you get lean/leaner and then its your responsibility to maintain it through learning new eating techniques and making healthier weating choices, many of that is enforced the firsy year-year and half with dumping and limiting the food intake... but as time goes on, you learn to adapt and can eat more and tolerate more as well....

Lastly, I do not consider myself a chronic overeater, although I do eat until full at meals. I have ALWAYS been overweight and am getting bigger by eating somewhat "normally". I do not have any health problems common to morbidly obese people, YET. But my body is starting to give up...at this rate will be a cripple eventually.

In your opinion, would this gastric bypass be a good move for me based on the small amount of info i have given? ABSOLUTELY! i was in the same boat, I had joint pain, low back pain and asthma... i didnt have sleep apnea or diabetes, although my blood pressure and sugar levels were on the up..... this has been the best thing for me, and Im sure you wouldnt have any regrest either! Good luck to you Mike and welocme to the board. Keep us posted on your thoughts and progress! happy Holidays!

Karen Wright · 12-04-2004, 07:39 AM

Bridge...I couldn't have answered those better myself!!

Good luck, Mike, on your journey!

ScootRider · 12-04-2004, 08:14 AM

Thanks a bunch for the info. I have already learned many things i did not know from this forum.

HapBird · 12-04-2004, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridgetgirl

............. Another member Phil, statrted going to OA and modifying his eating behaviors NOW, he recognized the problem and addressed it immediately, he would be a great guy to turn to about it, he's an inspiration................
Someone posted about a "drain" they have. Is this part of the operation like on a temporary basis? The purpose? Soometimes they put in a JP drain, this is not often but it does happen, usually when there a juices in the OLD stomach and that stuff has tobe drained out.... the JP tube goes into the old stomach not your new pouch..............

Bridget, you're making me BLUSH!!! Thanks!

As was made abundantly clear during our preop support group sessions in Dr. Callery's practice, the surgery gives you a valuable tool to use in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. By having a stomach too small to stuff with plates and plates full of food, you've got built-in portion control. It is great up to a point - but if you don't address the reasons for overeating, you run the risk of finding ways to defeat the surgery - by 'grazing' all day long on high-calorie, high-fat, unhealthy foods. So find a program that you like that will help you learn what it is that's going on in your head (therapist or Overeaters Anonymous or Recovery, Inc., whatever) so you can learn to deal with these issues.

As for drains - I had a Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain installed at the end of my surgery due to some complications they had in extricating the surgical instruments. The drain is a thin plastic tube that comes out of your chest and drains off fluids around the places that were stapled and sutured. It empties into a plastic bulb that you pin to your underwear and empty daily. The purpose of it is to make sure that there are not any leaks in the digestive tract - we're warned to look for signs of fluid that looks like the color of something we drank, or for signs of it looking like saliva, which indicate a problem. I had my drain in for about 10 days after the surgery. It was uncomfortable, and the incision where it came out of my chest got infected, which caused the only significant pain of the whole experience.

There's another device that's sometimes used - a gastrostomy tube. Here's what it says on Dr. Callery's website about this:
A gastrostomy tube is inserted through the left upper abdominal wall into the lower stomach in about 10% of patients. The tube is a safety device that allows stomach juices to escape if the juices can't drain easily into the small intestine. Most patients don't need the tube, and the decision to place the tube is made at the time of surgery based on how loose or tight the tissues are where the small bowel is attached to the Roux limb. The gastrostomy can cause complications, and it is inconvenient and uncomfortable, so we do not use it routinely. If a gastrostomy tube is inserted, it can easily be removed in the office 2 weeks or so after surgery. Click here for full info.

Feel free to post more questions, or email any of us for more info. We're here for you!

Phil

TabFox · 12-05-2004, 08:48 AM

I had the JP drain, but they removed it before I was discharged from the hospital. My husband, on the other hand, had a JP drain AND a gastrostomy tube. They removed the JP before discharge, but he had to keep the G-tube in for 5 weeks. He just had it removed last week. It wasn't extremely painful, but more of an inconvenience. I wouldn't let the fear of a drain stop me from having surgery. The surgery is major and it's just one of the things that can go along with it.
As far as dumping is concerned, I've never experienced it, but from what I understand, it's horrible.
Because of the major changes in your system, it's like learning all over again how and what to eat. It took me 6 months before I could eat chicken, but my husband has no problem with it at just over 1 month.
I always told my friends and family that the surgery is the easy part and maybe accounts for 10% of the changes....the biggie is the emotional changes we go through. Once the surgery is done, there's no turning back, and it's hard because as a society, we celebrate with food. Most everything is centered around food and we have no choice but to say "no."
My first difficult time (emotionally) was about 2 weeks post-op. We went to a family reunion where there were tables and tables of home-cooked food. I took a small cup of yogurt with me. I wanted so bad to just have a taste. Anyway, I ate my yogurt, went and sat in my van and cried for about 10 minutes. After that and a long talk with myself, I was fine.
Some people can get away with, or have just a bite of junk food, but I can't. I don't have that kind of self control. I have a very addictive personality and I would be the first one to take one bite, then another, then another and slide right back into those old habits, so I totally avoid junk food.
Anyway, you'll find a wealth of information here and probably answers to any question you have. These ladies and gentlemen have helped me through so much.

Tabitha
Open 5/26/04
321/207/180-ish

Davey · 12-05-2004, 04:06 PM

Does anyone know if the use of the drain tube has decreased? The reaon I ask is because Dr. Potts said that they have been doing what I believe he called a double stich or something like that. He continued to say that there has not been any leakage in the last year because of that. Does anyone have any knowledge of this.

Thanks,

David

bridgetgirl · 12-06-2004, 10:10 AM

the double stitch is regarding sewing up your old and new pouches, the drain tube is used to get rid of gastric juices that are still in the old pouch, has nothing to do with stitching n stuff ..... hope this helps ya.