Re: son's wls

[Guest guest]

> he wants to know if u

> can feel the staples in your stomach, if you dont eat when u get

> hungry do u get sick, if u have to eat every 15 minutes, and

> generally anything u can tell him to ease his fears.

Hi, Nonnie! I'm about 5 months out of surgery. That doesn't make me an expert,

but there

are a few things I can tell your son. For instance, you can't feel the staples

in your

stomach. You can't really tell that things are different in there just by

feeling. You can tell

when you eat and somewhat when you digest, but otherwise you feel normal.

You don't have to eat every 15 minutes, but you should eat every two to three

hours.

Luckily it won't be very much, especially at first. He'll be able to fill up, at

first, on a little

beef broth or yogurt. (That is, when he gets moved from liquids to pureed/soft

foods.

Your dietician will give you a structured overview of when you should be able to

progress

to certain foods and how much of them you'll be able to eat.) At first, he will

have to

remind himself to eat because he won't feel hungry. That's a good initial

side-effect of the

surgery. However, after about three to six months, his hunger will come back.

The good

thing is, it's very easily taken care of and is nothing like the hunger he feels

now. Filling up

is very easy.

It's very important to eat and get all your vitamins and protein. I discovered

this week that

I was suffering from iron deficiency, so my doc has to put me on supplements.

It's terribly

easy to lose track of vitamins, and it can be difficult to make sure you get all

the protein

you need. That's why so many of us take protein drinks. There are a great

variety of them

in many flavors, which can be found on the web.

One thing that may ease his mind is that he can probably get the surgery done

laparoscopically, which means he will be in the hospital for only four days or

so and can

be up and around within a couple of days post-surgery. Walking is one of the

activities

doctors insist on after the surgery, because you will otherwise be losing muscle

mass.

However, there is nothing about the surgery that will keep him from having a

normal life.

The one thing you both have to remember is, this is not a cure. It's a tool. It

is possible (I

know already) that you can fall into some old eating habits. (My weight loss

slowed down

over the last two weeks. Time to cut out the fries and chips!) There will be

certain things

he can no longer eat at all: probably heavily sugary things will be out for

good. (These

cause a phenomenon known as dumping, wherein the sugar does not digest in your

intestines and you feel for two or so hours like you've got the world's worst

flu.) But

there's Splenda and plenty of sugar-free foods that taste good. Klondike

" Slim-a-Bear "

bars are particularly good. (I gotta cut those down too!)

There are psychological issues to deal with, and he would do well to see a

counselor of

some kind to help him through his eating issues while getting accustomed to his

new life.

The upside is, when you get used to the new amounts and learn that your bad

eating days

are behind you, it does wonders for your self-esteem. It can literally turn your

life around

and make you feel like a brand new person. I have lost 85 pounds since January,

and I can

feel it when I walk, when I stand, when I sleep, everything! And it is a GREAT

feeling to

know you can fill up on just a little food and don't have to eat everything in

front of you.

Tell your son that there are challenges involved, but that when you overcome

them, you

end up feeling like a new man. It'll help in ways he can't even imagine yet. One

of the best

things is, you finally feel free! Free from the traps set for you by old eating

habits!

Best of luck to the both of you!

Dep

525/440/230

Open RNY, Jan. 9 '04

Dr. Millikan

Rush University Medical Center, Chicago