James Marusek

I use essential oils but I buy the oil in bulk and mix the blends myself. I do not buy Young Living essential oil because they charge so much for their product. Also I am happier experimenting on my own. I believe that trying to reduce your Vitamin requirements for bariatric surgery with essential oils is problematic. But on the other hand you lists several conditions pain, energy and menopausal symptoms that essential oils may help you. I have been using essential oils with some degree of success. So I would recommend you buy a bottle from Young Living for each of your conditions and try it. That experiment should quickly tell you whether they will work for you. And realize there are other formulations that may work even better.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, the three most important requirements are meeting your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control. During the first 8 weeks following surgery, I was limited to 2 ounces of food per meal, 3 meals per day. That is a minuscule amount of food, only 1/4 cup per meal. This volume was slowly increased over the next 1 1/2 years to 1 cup per meal. My program limited me to Full liquid stage for the first 4 weeks and the pureed stage for the next four. Then I transitioned to solids. So there is nothing in my opinion that would prevent you from slowing down your transition to pureed foods. The main reason for liquid and pureed food stage is to allow your staple lines time to heal in your stomach. So if you transition to solids too soon, that would be my concern (not weight gain because your meal volume is incredible small.) The following article describes my experience with RNY gastric bypass. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Congratulations on your weight loss thus far. Carbonated beverages and binge eating doesn't sound good. There are two phases to weight loss. These are the "Weight Loss" phase and the "Maintenance" phase. They are both equally important and require different strategies. It sounds like you are sliding into the Maintenance phase. I am 3 years post-op RNY and this the approach I am using in the "Maintenance" phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

Congratulations.

Your list of symptoms included: * Extreme fatigue * Feeling dizzy upon standing * Feeling fainting when standing up too long * Feeling weak after eating. Several individuals that undergo RNY gastric bypass surgery experience a condition called Reactive Hypoglycemia. It is a form of low blood sugar. This occurs in individuals that had diabetes prior to surgery but also in those that don't. You experience a large drop in blood sugar around from 1-3 hours after a meal. It catches some people by surprise because they faint, dropping onto the floor. But it can also be corrected by recognizing the signs of low blood sugar and reacting or by modifying the way you eat. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass This link describes some of the symptoms of the condition. http://www.weightlosssurgery.ca/before-after-surgery/reactive-hypoglycaemia-post-gastric-bypass/ If this matches some of your symptoms, you might read up on the condition using the internet. I am not sure about some of the other symptoms but you are taking quite a bit of medication (vistaril, remerom, zoloft, wellburtrin) and you may have some bad interactions happening. The most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery is to meet your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control. At 10 months post-op, this should be around 3/4 cup per meal. So back to basics, reverify that you are meeting the prescribed requirements for protein, fluids and Vitamins. This article describes my experience after RNY gastric bypass surgery. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf Life is full of trade offs. In my case I had high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea and severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery. I traded my love of food for good health. At 3 years post-op, I am content with that decision. I have been able to find some pleasure in eating again. I found mixing food groups together provided some flavor. I also found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than harder foods such as steak. I hate Protein shakes and no longer take these. But I did this by fortifying the protein that I consume in meals. "Protein First". Anyways at the end of the article, I have included some recipes if you care to try them.

We will miss you.

The main reason why I had the surgery was to cure (place into remission) several of my medical conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, severe acid reflux (GERD)). About 2 weeks after surgery all these conditions went into remission and I was off all my meds. So that was the only goal that mattered to me. I dropped weight pretty quick after surgery. The only thing that motivated me was to shop for new clothes. I would buy a pair of pants or a shirt, that I could barely fit into. You know, the kind that you have to take a deep breath to put on. One week later, those clothes would fit like a glove. That was a powerful motivator.

I would recommend against lapband. Many doctors are no longer performing this operation. The individual that I knew who had a lapband had it removed and had a revision to RNY gastric bypass. This was because the band was wearing into his stomach and it was about to rupture. That was an extremely dangerous situation. There are many forms of bariatric surgery today such as RNY gastric bypass, the gastric sleeve, duodenal switch. These are a much better choice. I would also recommend finding a bariatric surgery center of excellence in your area. This is like a one stop shop. Everything in one location. You might do an internet search to find one that is close.

You don't have to push yourself into the pureed food stage. I had RNY gastric bypass 3 years ago. I was on Full liquids for the first 4 weeks, Pureed Foods for the next 4 and only in the 9th week did I transition to solids. So maybe your stomach is not quite ready and might need a little extra healing time. The three most important elements after gastric bypass surgery are meeting your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting store fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Your fluid requirement is more than just Water. It includes the water in the protein shakes, milk, the water you take to take your Vitamins, the water component of Soups, drinks like crystal light, tea or decaf coffee, etc. It is important to meet this daily requirement to keep from becoming dehydrated. Also as your fat cells are eliminated they release chemicals and hormones that are stored inside. These need to be flushed from your system, through your kidneys and expelled in your urine. Your body needs fluids to make this happen. Not sure why you are feeling anemic. Your body needs two minerals: Calcium and Iron. But if you take these at the same time or near the same time, they will not allow your body to absorb them. So time separation is very important. For me I found that I took all my iron supplements at night just before bedtime. Whereas I took my calciums spread out throughout the day. That worked best for me. Without adequate iron, you will become anemic. A lack of B12 can also make you weak and tired. If you are taking B12 as a time release capsule instead of sublingual, that might cause the weakness.

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. The reason why I choose RNY was because I had severe acid reflux (GERD). The sleeve will only make this condition worse. After surgery I have not experienced any episodes of GERD. After surgery, I found that it was difficult to consume hard foods such as meats. But I found out that if I used meat in Soups and chilis (soft foods), they went down easier. So I relied on this approach. This article will describe my experiences with RNY gastric bypass surgery and include many tips, including recipes. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

There are two phases to Weight Loss Surgery. These are the weight loss phase and the maintenance phase. After surgery, I was in a weight loss phase for around 7 months and then I slid into the maintenance phase. After RNY gastric bypass surgery, weight loss is achieved my meal volume control. The program requirements that I followed specified between months 10-12, I was limited to 6 ounces (3/4 cup) per meal, three meals per day. So the fact that you are eating 6 meals per day almost one cup per meal, may be slowing your weight loss. Also the daily Protein requirement is met by a combination of the amount of protein you obtain from meals combined with the protein from supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars). So if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals, you can begin to offload the number of protein shakes you are consuming each day and the calories they contain.

Iron deficiency and anemia are common after a gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgery, especially in women. In fact, iron deficiency can occur in more than half of women who are premenopausal who have this surgery. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=134&ContentID=108 I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. After about a year, as a result of the annual blood work, they determined that I was iron deficient. They put me on an iron supplement. There are different chemical types of iron supplements and the one they prescribed was Ferrous Sulfate. So if your supplement is a different chemistry, you may want to switch to this type for better absorption. Also iron and Calcium should not be taken at the same time. If you take them together than the iron will not be absorbed. They should be taken with at least 2 hour separation. Since I am taking calcium spread out over the entire day and because I also consume other forms of calcium such as milk, I decided to move my iron supplement to just before bedtime in order to minimize any interference between calcium and iron. This should maximize my iron absorption. If you are taking your iron supplement in the morning, you might want to shift it to just before bedtime. This is because you "don't have a good night sleep you look very pale the next day."

Congratulations.

Good luck on your surgery and check back with us when you are on the other side to let us know how it went.

One other thought. Decades ago, I was overseas and had a bad case of diarrhea. No access to medicine. I used bananas to control the diarrhea. When I began using Protein shakes, I found they tasted terrible, so to improve the taste I blended in a half a banana into each shake. I did this to improve the taste. But it may also have added the benefit to the problem you are experiencing.

I had diarrhea in the beginning because I became lactose intolerant after surgery. Some Protein shakes contain lactose. But my diarrhea began almost immediately after consuming milk, not 4 hours later. If you consume too much sugar or fats after RNY surgery it can cause diarrhea because your stomach no longer processes these and dumps them into your intestines which don't know what to do with them - therefore diarrhea.

Congratulations on your weight loss thus far. Curious. Has the lost weight affected your condition: pseudotumor cerebri?

Many insurance policies are similar in their requirements for eligibility for Bariatric Surgery. According to my insurance policy: • Surgical treatment of obesity (bariatric surgery) is covered only if: - eligible enrollee is 18 of age or over - clinical records support a body mass index of 40 or greater (or 35-40 when there is at least one co-morbidity related to obesity). Applicable co-morbid conditions include the following: • Type II diabetes mellitus (by American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria). • Refractory hypertension (defined as blood pressure of 140 mmHg systolic and or 90 mmHg diastolic) despite medical treatment with maximal dose of three antihypertensive medications. • Refractory hyperlipidemia (acceptable levels of lipids unachievable with diet and maximum doses of lipid lowering medications). • Obesity–induced cardiomyopathy. • Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea. • Severe arthopathy of the spine and or weight bearing joints (when obesity prohibits appropriate surgical management of joint dysfunction treatable but for obesity. So I tend to agree with @Seagull. You may have sleep apnea and not really know it. I did. My wife is a light sleeper and my snoring for years kept her awake at night. This was one of the conditions corrected by my RNY gastric bypass surgery, along with my high blood pressure, diabetes and GERD.

As I lost weight after surgery, I also lost the fat in my legs. As a result, I found that when I slept on my side, the bones in my knees would rub together and this was uncomfortable. This was an easy fix for me, I just slipped a pillow between my legs at night and all was well. I don't know your exact problem. Before surgery, I found it difficult to sleep on my back but after surgery this condition changed for the better. Also I found out that never, ever eat before bedtime. Digesting food in a horizontal position can cause major discomfort.

I had RNY gastric bypass 3 years ago. I was in the hospital for 2 days. I walked every 2 hours around the clock. I passed gas which was an important requirement in order to return home. I had constant care. I was given Water to sip or ice shavings. Your experiences do not seem like the normal care given for this operation.

I don't know the answer to your question. But I suspect your insurance company has a file established and they are waiting for the last bit of compliance forms in order to generate an approval letter. I do not think it will start over unless the process drags on for over a year. Dealing with insurance companies was the most painful part of the process. Even when I got the acceptance letter, I was informed that I needed another approval. This one defined how many days stay in the hospital I would be approved for. I contacted my bariatric surgery team and they seemed to indicate this was more of a formality. After all how can you predict how many days you will be in the hospital if you run into a complication.

I had RNY gastric bypass 3 years ago. According to my program, instant mashed potatoes were good to eat from the beginning. Real mashed potatoes were O.K. in the pureed stage beginning at week 5. Whole wheat Pasta becomes an option beginning at month 7. The weight loss phase is such a short time and then you will slide into the maintenance phase. So you need to maximize the weight loss during this initial phase. So some foods such as bread and pasta is best off the menu until you transition into the maintenance phase.

After RNY surgery I found that I could no longer swallow medium to large size capsules. So I split them or crushed them. About 2 months I found out that I could swallow them again. So experiment. If you gag, then it is too soon.

Those instructions sound confusing to me. After surgery, there are three daily requirements that are important. These are Protein, fluids and Vitamins. food is less important because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. It is also important to walk 30 minutes every day (or equivalent exercise). Right after surgery your body will be in a major heal mode. So it may be difficult to meet your protein and Fluid requirements. Keep striving towards those minimum daily requirements and you will eventually be able to get there. Your daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein you obtain from meals combined with the protein from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). But at the beginning your meal volume will be so low you will need to rely on supplements. Otherwise your body will scavenger protein from your muscles, such as your heart muscle, your hair and you will become weak. That is why the focus is protein. Fluids are also important. As your body destroys fat cells, it releases chemicals and hormones stored in the cells. These need to be flushed through your kidneys and expelled in your urine. So you need to stay hydrated. But fluids are more than just Water. It includes milk, the water you drink with your vitamins, the water you use in making your protein shakes, tea, decaf coffee, the water component in Soups. So generally it is not difficult to meet this requirement. But it is an important one. So 64 ounces per day of liquid sounds like a good minimum. 60 grams of protein per day might be a little on the low side especially if you are active.

I started out at 3 Protein shakes a day after surgery. As my meal volume increase, I concentrated on eating high protein meals and as a result was able to reduce this down to 2 per day, then 1 per day and at a year and a half, to completely take myself off Protein Shakes. But in the beginning you need to supplement your protein, otherwise your body will pull stored protein from your muscles *such as your heart muscle", your hair (which will begin to fall out) and you will loose all your energy. And that is not good. I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) powder blended with Water and a half a banana. I used a Ninja blender with a single serving cup to blend it. You do not have to like the Protein shake only tolerate it. There are many, many choices out there on protein shakes. I became lactose intolerant after surgery so I could not drink milk (which is a good source of protein), so I had to pick a type that was lactose free and blend it with water. If you have other food allergies, you may have to select one based on your personal needs. This article describes the approach I used after surgery. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf