James Marusek

The following is a list of abbreviations commonly used on this board. ACL = Anterior cruciate ligament AGB = Adjustable gastric banding AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible (crossfit) AT = Aspiration Therapy BB = belly button bc = because BCBS = Blue Cross/Blue Shield BDD = Body Dysmorphic Disorder BED = Binge Eating Disorder bf = best friend BM = bowel movement BMI = Body Mass Index bp = blood pressure BPD = Borderline Personality Disorder or Biliary Pancreatic Diversion bs = blood sugar btw = by the way C25K = Couch Potato to Running 5K CBT = cognitive-behavioral therapy CC = common channel c diff = clostridium difficile cos or cuz = because CPAP = continuous positive airway pressure CRNP = certified registered nurse practitioners CT = Computed Tomography (commonly called CAT Scan) cw = current weight CXR = Chest X-Ray DDD = degenerative disc disease Dr. = doctor DS = Dumping Syndrome or Duodenal Switch EBT = Endoscopic Bariatric Therapies EGD = Esophagogastroduodenoscopy EKG = Electrocardiography ER = emergency room ESG = Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty ff = fat free f/u = follow up GB = gastric bypass GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease GI = gastrointestinal GIF = Gastric Intrinsic Factor GNC = General Nutrition Corporation store GP = general practitioner or family doctor HBP = high blood pressure hr = heart rate hw = highest weight ICU = Intensive Care Unit Idk = I don’t know IGB = intragastric balloons IF = Intrinsic Factor IMHO = in my humble (honest) opinion IMO = in my opinion IUI = Intrauterine insemination LAP Band = Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band LES = lower esophageal sphincter lol = laughing out loud LSG = Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy med = medicine MFP = my fitness pal MGB = Mini Gastric Bypass msg = message NAFLD = nonalcoholic fatty liver disease NASH = Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis nf = non fat NG = Nasogastric NP = nurse practitioner NSAIDS = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug NSV = non-Scale victory (“scale” means “weight scale”) NUT = nutritionist OA = Overeaters Anonymous omw = on my way Onederland = a magical place or destination for those trying to lose weight. It might correspond to attaining a weight in the hundreds or losing a hundred pounds. op = operation OSA = Obstructive Sleep Apnea OTC = Over the counter Oz = Australia PB = Productive Burps PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCP = Primary Care Physician PICC= Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter PM = private message (email) PMS = premenstrual syndrome POSE = Primary Obesity Surgery Endolumenal postop or post–op = post-operation or post-surgery PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitors ppl = people preop or pre-op = pre-operation or pre-surgery PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PVC = Premature ventricular contractions RA = Rheumatoid arthritis RH = reactive hypoglycemia RN = registered nurse RNY = Roux-en-Y RTD = ready to drink Rx = Prescription medicine RYGB = Roux-en-Y gastric bypass SADI-S = single anastomosis duodeno–ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy s/f or sf = sugar free SG = Sleeve gastrectomy SIPS = stomach intestinal pylorus-sparing surgery smh = shaking my head, scratching my head SO = significant other SOB = shortness of breath st = stones (a unit of weight measurement) sw = weight at surgery tmi = too much information TPN = total parenteral nutrition TT = tummy tuck TTC = trying to conceive Ty = Thank you. [but according to the urban dictionary “Ty” is also an abbreviation for “a total stud with a massive carrot”.] u = You UGI = Upper Gastrointestinal VSG = Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Vit = vitamin wks = weeks WLS = Weight Loss Surgery WOD = Workout of the Day w/o = without wt = weight

Good luck on your surgery!

Most plans advise against the use of alcohol after surgery. It's empty calories, irritates new stomach, may cause dumping syndrome. According to the instruction book I received for surgery: ----------------------------------------- Thinking about resuming your old lifestyle??? If you decide to return to pre-op behaviors of smoking cigarettes and/or drinking alcohol, you are at risk for creating bleeding ulcers - which may have to be treated by surgical intervention. ------------------------------------------ In general, I found exercise (walking) to be the best tool for relieving pain right after surgery. When you go to bed at night, I found a pillow between your legs to be helpful, especially after some of the weight comes off and it feels like your leg bone rubbing against your leg bone. The incision points can take awhile to heal. I had several small ones but the big one where most of the surgery takes place took a year to disappear.

Often when you go into the hospital for surgery, you gain several pounds while you are there because they fill your body up with fluids. It takes a week or two for you to lose this added weight. So some individuals have the perception that they are not losing weight right after surgery, My experience with RNY surgery is the weight will come off quickly. Sleeve patients tend to have a harder time because they encounter many stalls.

The Greater Fool and Keatsy, I would like to call your attention to a change in the rules to this board. Two new rules have been added. These are No Flaming. This includes: Any kind of personal insult, flame, or intimidation. Responding in kind to a flame message is viewed as equally unacceptable, regardless of who started it. If you believe you are being insulted or otherwise flamed by another poster, please REPORT the post or topic rather than responding. This applies to both written text and image posting. There is no need to turn disagreements into heated arguments. Rather than letting these threads become flame wars please agree to disagree or the thread is likely to be locked. No Trolling. This includes: Creating threads for the sole purpose of causing unrest on the forums. Causing disturbances in forum threads, such as picking fights, making off-topic posts that ruin the thread, insulting other posters. Making posts designed to or likely to get inappropriate responses. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) for more information. The conversation is drifting off-topic and if it continues will fall into the realm of "flaming the board".

Some people lose hair after surgery but generally this becomes a problem when they have lost quite a bit of weight around the 5 month mark. I didn't lose any hair as a result of the surgery. Those that lost hair then reported that the hair grew back in and was finer than their original hair.

O.K. So you had sleeve surgery a little over 3 weeks ago. And the problem that you were having was a severe allergic reaction to a cat. It wasn't the flu or COVID or a cold. Problem solved, that's good! What concerns me the most is your inability to drink fluids. Your surgery was a little different than mine but your requirements should be similar at this stage. My requirements read: "Drink 64-80 ounces of water or a low calorie liquid daily (1 sippy cup every 45 minutes to 1 hour). This includes any protein supplement in liquid form. [That means that your liquid protein shake counts toward meeting the 64-80 ounce fluid requirement.] 75-90 grams of protein is required daily following surgery. Do not start your protein supplements until day 5 after surgery or until you have passed gas. If you are struggling to get all your protein in after 2 weeks from being released from the hospital, please contact the dietitians. If you find a brand of protein not on your list and it has greater than 20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of sugar, you may use it." So you are far enough out that your stomach should have recovered from the surgery and you should be meeting your daily protein and fluid requirements or at least close. So my concern is fluids. Without the fluids your body will become dehydrated. You will become weak. Signs of dehydration are: * Not peeing or having very dark yellow pee * Very dry skin * Feeling dizzy * Rapid heartbeat * Rapid breathing * Sunken eyes *Sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion or irritability *Fainting Severe dehydration is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately. So it is a little difficult for me to understand how much daily fluids you are currently taking in by your description, but if you are not meeting the fluid requirement and not even close, then you need to focus your energy here. I would also recommend you contact your surgeon's office and explain your difficulties.

If you click on your name on the left column, it will pull up your profile. Then click on the box on the upper right called "edit profile". That should allow you to edit.

I would recommend you fill in your profile. Especially what type of surgery did you have and how long ago was the surgery. The fact that you are having great difficulty meeting your fluid and protein requirements is troubling. If your surgery was in the last few weeks that would be understandable because right after surgery the body is in a major heal mode, but if you are a few months out, it is of concern. So my first recommendation for fluids is to try hot fluids, such as a warm cup of hot tea. It may go down easier. Two weeks of being sick is also troubling. Are you over the sickness and if not have you seen your general practitioner. Many sleeve patients seem to have a problem with strictures several months out and the symptoms of inability to eat and drink is the primary indicator. Also many people add flavoring to the water (such as Crystal Light) to make the water more palatable.

There are many different types of Weight Loss Surgery and I am not an expert on them all. KrissyNY did not identify the type of surgery she had [except under her biography she wrote: SIPS procedure]. The loop duodenal switch, also called the SIPS Procedure, is a modification of the standard duodenal switch operation designed to provide equivalent weight loss with less risk. SIPS stands for Stomach Intestinal Pylorus Sparing, which means that ingested food still passes through the pylorus after a SIPS procedure. So if there are any members on this board that had this type of surgery, you might speak up about the post-op meal guidelines. Otherwise stop throwing stones at each other and at the OP.

tarotcardreader and Pandemonium This site is for the benefit of bariatric patients not to wage your own personal war. This thread is now closed.

There are several different types of bariatric surgeries. The requirement for protein shakes will vary by the type of surgery. I had RNY and dropped 120 pounds in around 7 months. Weight loss is a function of meal volume control. Right after surgery I was limited to 2 ounces of food per meal. It was impossible for me to get in enough protein from my meals alone. Thus I began using protein shakes. I didn't like them but I drank them. And I figured ways to improve the taste. So the first comment is do not be too concerned if you fail to meet your protein and fluid requirements in the beginning. During the first few weeks your body is in a major heal mode. Just keep working towards your goals and eventually you will get there. In the following article, I discussed my approach to protein. As far as protein shakes are concerned, I found that by blending in a half a banana into the shake helped improve its taste substantially. There are many different types of protein shakes, experiment and try the various types until you find one that you can tolerate. You do not have to like them, just tolerate them. And there are many different tricks to enhance the flavor. How
I
Survived
Bariatric
Surgery


This is a very rude statement. According to the rules of this site: Posts that are forbidden include, but are not limited to, the following: Rude posts. This is a first time poster and I find the content of the OP to be rather questionable. There is an artifact left in the account that makes me believe it was lifted off the Internet. The artifact is < /span>. The <span> tag is an inline container used to mark up a part of a text, or a part of a document. In reviewing the post, I asked the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. The where an the when appears to be the Seattle, Washington area around 9 February 2019, that is the date of the SNOWMAGEDDON in 2019 that struck the Seattle Area dumping 4-8 inches of snow. To support this observation, in the article it mentions the West Side, which is part of Seattle. It mentions Richmond Hospital. There is Richmond Internal Medicine hospital located in Shoreline, WA. It mentions St. Paul's Hospital, but from my perspective this is not really a hospital but rather it is a small clinic called St. Paul's Medical Clinic in Seattle. One of the things that attracted my attention was SNOWMAGEDDON 2019. The OP said it dropped 20 cm. of snow. Who in the U.S. would say 20 cm instead of 8 inches? The whole article is overly melodramatic. The OP identifies Dr. Kantner as an Obesity Specialist. There is a Dr. Jenny Kanter who received her PhD from the University of Washington in Pathology in 2010, with a specific focus on myeloid cells inflammation in the development of diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis. Her specialty includes diabetic kidney disease. So this may be the WHO. But another thing that attracted my attention was the article opened with her diagnosis of advanced liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis can be a very serious condition. Liver fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins including collagen that occurs in most types of chronic liver diseases. Advanced liver fibrosis results in cirrhosis, liver failure, and portal hypertension and often requires a liver transplant. It can be a life ender. This is a serious medical condition. Some research seems to indicate that gastric bypass surgery can help with this condition but only sometimes. So although the OP seems focused on the bariatric surgery component, the liver fibrosis disorder is very serious complication. Another thing that bothered me was the OP description of the surgery. Gastric bypass is a complex surgery. When I had it done several years ago, I was in the hospital for 2 days after surgery. This was routine. A few years have passed since then but bringing someone home the same day of surgery seems rather unwise. Yet that is what the OP expected. The OP mentioned that the sleeve had come loose. What does that mean exactly? There can be several complications associated with sleeve surgery. So revisions may be needed sometimes, I haven't heard of a sleeve coming loose. There is a form of weight loss surgery called Lap-Band surgery. In this procedure, a bariatric surgeon places a a silicone ring with an expandable balloon around the upper part of the stomach. This creates a new, smaller stomach pouch. These bands have been known to come loose and slip and need adjustments. During the gastric sleeve operation, around 80% of the stomach is removed. The remaining section of the stomach is formed into a tube-like shape about the size and shape of a banana.

There are different types of weight loss surgery. The two that predominates are : sleeve and RNY gastric bypass. They are different types of surgery and produce different types of results. In RNY weight loss happens very quickly and almost effortlessly. In sleeve, weight loss is slower and takes quite a bit of effort to stay on track. But sleeve patients can achieve the same result in weight loss as RNY patients. But the speed of weight loss is not the main issue. The main issue is that once you achieve weight loss, keeping the regain under control. What really matters is the success of maintaining the weight loss long term 5 or 10 years down the road. THAT IS WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT! ----------------------------------------------------------- According to the rules of BariatricPal: Weight loss surgery “bashing” is absolutely prohibited. This include, but is not limited to, statements that a specific type of weight loss surgery is: Bad or wrong Easier than another type of weight loss surgery or “cheating” when someone is trying to lose weight Out of date or obsolete Doomed to failure In addition, “bashing” of individuals is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, statements that a person is: Lazy for choosing one type of weight loss surgery over another Unprepared for or undeserving of weight loss surgery because of Deserving of complications or disappointing weight loss because of their choice of weight loss surgery Please abide by these rules. _______________________________ I am locking this tread because it has deviated from the rules.

The Forum Rules and Guidelines state: Disrespectful and Hurtful Posts are Forbidden In addition, “bashing” of individuals is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, statements that a person is: Lazy for choosing one type of weight loss surgery over another Unprepared for or undeserving of weight loss surgery because of Deserving of complications or disappointing weight loss because of their choice of weight loss surgery This tread is now frozen.

I developed the following plan to deal with this threat. Practical Preparations for a Coronavirus Pandemic

Since you are getting closer to your surgery date, I thought it might be fitting to pass on a little advice. After surgery remember to WALK, WALK, WALK. Around the clock every 2 hours. Most of the pain from surgery is really gas pain and walking relieves that. After surgery I felt so little pain that I refused all pain medicine. It was because I WALKED, WALKED, WALKED. I had surgery in 2013 and this article summarizes my perception. How_I_Survived_Bariatric_Surgery I am 71 years old now and still kicking. Having the surgery was a major part of my continued living. Well off to the YMCA to swim a mile.

There are different approaches to Bariatric Surgery. My surgery went through a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. It was a very comprehensive program. Sort of like "the full meal deal" because it encompasses a multidisciplinary team of specialists. It includes a surgeon who specializes in bariatric surgery and a hospital specializing in bariatric surgery and a team of specialist in a variety of other fields (such as nutritionist) as support staff. There was a lot of support after surgery. So for those contemplating this type of surgery, I recommend using a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence.

According to this story, the gastric bypass surgery was done in 2007 and supposedly performed by an expert. I underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2013 and this story doesn't make much sense from my perspective. Before and after surgery, I underwent many steps. Firstly I had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to see if I was qualified for the surgery, if there were underlying psychiatric issue that drove the weight gain, they had to be remediated prior to approval for surgery. In order to qualify for the surgery, my insurance required that I undergo a six month program of weight loss and exercise. I had to attend monthly support group meetings. Then there were a variety of medical tests that were performed to detect any medical conditions that may affect the outcome. So over a year went by since I started the process before I had the surgery. I also underwent a day of classroom training prior to the surgery that included very detailed information covering almost every aspect of the surgery and what was to follow and given a 1 inch binder of material to constantly refer to. After the surgery, I lost 120 pounds over the first 7 months. It was difficult because of the extent of the requirements (food types, food volumes, vitamin, etc.) But overall I was please with the surgery. Then there was yearly follow-ups. Gastric bypass surgery requires that the individual must take many types of vitamins for the rest of their lives. If someone fails to take those, their bodies will experience Vitamin deficiencies which caused damage in multiple organs. That is known up front. Every year for the first 5 years, I underwent extensive blood work. These test measured my various vitamin levels and allowed my doctor to fine tweak the vitamin levels. Also there was a mechanism in place for a psychologist in the event that psychological problems arose post surgery. There are many people involved in this process, not just the surgeon. They included nutritionist, psychologist, support group meetings etc. In order for this surgery to work effectively, it depends upon the compliance of the patient to follow the guidelines given and seek help when problems arise.

In general gastric bypass or sleeve surgery does not limit your physical ability to consume fluids because these pass right through your system. It does constrain the amount of solid foods that you can consume. So I would recommend patience. Wait for a couple months and then consider if there is a problem. Also please do not post duplicate threads!!!!

This morning Bariatric Pal received a strange post from a first time poster. The poster after leaving a message that didn't make any sense requested members to contact them using private message. The thread appeared to originate from Russia. It appeared to be a type of honey trap enticing members to communicate by PM where they might fall prey to a spam attack. These attacks seem to be targeting a number of different types of message boards at the moment. On one of the other boards, the moderator recommended the following actions: Would members please try to recognise and ignore the spammer posts instead of replying to them. Just report them. If you mistakenly report a bona fide member, don't worry, better to be safe than sorry. What might indicate a message is Spam? 1. Profile entries sometimes have very basic spelling errors eg "Unated States" 2. Profile page shows a business link (sometimes) 3. Messages posted sometimes have what appears to be a string of nonsense letters - for example djhpownkggstr NEVER click on these to quote. Recent ones are from the Ukraine. They have been detected as infected on other sites 4. Posts with blue links placed below the message in the left lower corner of the post as you look at the screen. 5. Words in blue embedded in an otherwise plain text post - the blue words are hidden spam links that open up when you click on them - may carry malware 6 Obvious spam links from new members with little or no posting history 7. Look out for several brand new posters showing up in a thread and congratulating one another on their good advice. 8. Never open links that are posted in these thread topics: Bitcoin, travel tips, vaping, gambling, viagra etc, essay writing, smoking, cannabis in any form. 9. Be mindful that spammers usually lie about the country that they are in - the Ukranians say they are in the USA, the UK, one of them claimed to be in Mali... 10. Look for new members who join with "whole" names like JamesWilson for example, or EllaSmith, these are quite common lately 12. Look for new members who interrupt a completely unrelated thread with a first post that says "Hello! Nice to meet you!!" They are devious and malicious, and can trick both new and old members. If in doubt, report and we can check out their real location and posting history. The Russian, Ukranian and Muldovan spammers seem to be getting more numerous in targeting our social forum lately. They are producing most of the current spam, though there are some from Pakistan also posing as ordinary members who are also active. Before most of the spam of these kinds seemed to be USA based, and the change to the Russian speaking countries has happened in the past 12-18 months. Please be vigilant and report.

****This is a Warning **** The Rules of this Site are located at the lower left corner of the page and are called Forum Rules. These Rules state: Disrespectful and Hurtful Posts are Forbidden Weight loss surgery “bashing” is absolutely prohibited. This include, but is not limited to, statements that a specific type of weight loss surgery is: Bad or wrong Easier than another type of weight loss surgery or “cheating” when someone is trying to lose weight Out of date or obsolete Doomed to failure In addition, “bashing” of individuals is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, statements that a person is: Lazy for choosing one type of weight loss surgery over another Unprepared for or undeserving of weight loss surgery because of Deserving of complications or disappointing weight loss because of their choice of weight loss surgery Violations of these rules and consequences will be determined at the sole discretion of BariatricPal and based on individual situations. They may include, but are not limited to, the following: Editing or removal of the offensive post(s) Warning from BariatricPal staff or Forum Hosts to avoid such posts in the future Temporary suspension of membership Permanent removal of the member’s account These guidelines do NOT forbid disagreement and candid discussions on BariatricPal. Members may discuss and defend their points of view in respectful manners. Please feel free to contact BariatricPal with any questions about these guidelines. Additional BariatricPal Posting Guidelines Be polite. Rudeness is not tolerated and can lead to post removal or account suspension. All members have the right to express their opinions and are encouraged to do so while maintaining a courteous tone. Posts that are forbidden include, but are not limited to, the following: Rude posts

I came across a rather interesting study this morning: Using mouthwash after exercising could negatively impact the cardiovascular benefits of working out, particularly lowering blood pressure. The findings, published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine and led by researchers at the University of Plymouth in England, detail how using mouthwash after working out can prevent your body from reaching — and staying — in a low blood pressure range for a period of time post-exercise. Exercise has long been known to reduce blood pressure, though how exactly blood pressure levels stay low for hours after exercise has been a source of much debate. For the study, which focused on the role of oral bacteria in reducing blood pressure following exercise, 23 healthy adults were asked to run on the treadmill for two 30 minute sessions. After working out, participants were monitored for two hours. [Some of the adults used a placebo mouthwash and others an antibacterial mouthwash immediately after the workout.] “These results show that the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise was diminished by more than 60 percent over the first hour of recovery, and totally abolished two hours after exercise when participants were given the antibacterial mouthwash.” The findings show how important oral bacteria are to opening the body’s blood vessels. “These findings show that nitrite synthesis by oral bacteria is hugely important in kick-starting how our bodies react to exercise over the first period of recovery, promoting lower blood pressure and greater muscle oxygenation,” he said. “In effect, it’s like oral bacteria are the ‘key’ to opening up the blood vessels. If they are removed, nitrite can’t be produced and the vessels remain in their current state." Source: Using mouthwash after exercise has this bizarre effect on blood pressure, study claims I guess the take-away is do not use antibacterial mouthwash after exercise. Allow your body to absorb the positive effects of the workout.

I tend to avoid pain medication whenever possible. But sometimes there is a need, especially after a major surgery. I have noticed over the last 68 years of my short life that the government tends to avoid punishing the guilty but rather passes overly restrictive laws that punishes everyone including the innocent. It is just what they do! Anyways I read this article and thought it might explain why the next time you go into surgery and seek pain medication but instead they supply you with a harpist. What is afoot! http://acsh.org/news/2016/10/07/gonna-throw-away-your-used-narcotics-10270 It is a bit of humor but sadly it is also reality.

I used soups and chilis quite a bit after my RNY gastric bypass surgery. I fortified them with protein and that allowed me to quickly reduce my reliance on protein shakes. I put some of the recipes at the end of the following article. How 
I
 Survived
 Bariatric 
Surgery