James Marusek

That is a very common condition after surgery. It is really important to take a good before photograph to benchmark visually your weight loss. Otherwise, it can be hard to see. Some people carry their before photo with them on their cell phones, just to show others how much they lost. Here is my before and after at the 6 month mark.

I make a lot of chili, so I use a lot of hamburger meat. I buy it sometimes in 10 pound packages. I break it up into packages of around 3 pounds each using the foodsaver package sealer and throw them into the freezer. They will store 2 to 3 times longer in my opinion if sealed in this manner, than just wrapping them in plastic wrap. I am 3 years post-op RNY. My mindset pre-surgery was always on food. That changed after the operation. Depending on your type of surgery, your meal volume might become significantly smaller. Normally now when I go to Texas Roadhouse and order a steak, I take home most of the meal and it feeds me for 3 or 4 meals. So normally it sits in the refrigerator for less than a week and the carry-out box at the restaurant stores this just fine. So generally if your are focused on storage of meats in the freezer I think it is a good idea. Otherwise not so much so.

I made my own high Protein soups and chilis. I have included some of the recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf Secret Recipe Homemade Chili - 23 grams protein per cup Beef Pho Soup - 15 grams protein per cup Seafood Egg Drop Soup - 19 grams protein per cup chicken Egg Drop Soup - 26 grams protein per cup

Two recommendations. Cut out all caffeine and carbonated beverages now. I went cold turkey on my 6 diet coke a day habit at the beginning of the process. I suffered through a week of severe headaches and body aches from caffeine withdrawal. If you wait until the last minute to get off these just before surgery, you will combine the effects of surgery with the pain of caffeine withdrawal. Walk 30 minutes (or equivalent exercise ) every day from now on. It really helps with minimizing any pain from surgery and the recovery process.

I went through that phase too but it took quite a while to begin to like food again. The three most important things after surgery are to meet your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because you body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. So because you are having difficulty with protein, this is one area that you need to work on. So keep experimenting until you find something that you can tolerate. You don't need to like it, only tolerate it. For me that was Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) Protein powder mixed with Water using a Ninja single serving cup blender. I blended in a half a banana to give it some taste. But many individuals have different taste. There are a lot of variety out there. So keep experimenting. I was lactose intolerant after surgery so I could not drink milk. But if you are not, you could even try drinking milk that has been fortified with extra protein by adding in powdered milk.

Congratulations.

Right after surgery your body is in a major heal mode. Therefore it is common for individuals to be unable to meet their daily Fluid and Protein requirements. Just keep working toward it and you should eventually get there in a few weeks. After my RNY surgery, everything tasted different. I couldn't even drink the Water in the hospital because it tasted excessively chlorinated. Then when I got home I couldn't drink milk because I became lactose intolerant. Eventually after a couple months that condition went away. Also I lost my ability to swallow even medium size pills. So it was rough at the beginning. I used a pill splitter and pill crusher. I found that sometimes experimentation led to solutions. For example the use of hot or cold fluids. Hot tea went down easier than plain water.

Your fat cells also contain hormones and chemicals. As you lose weight, these fat cells break down and release these into your system, thus you can experience an overload of emotions. These are flushed through your kidneys and then out through your urine. So it is important to drink a lot of fluids, especially filtered Water.

There might be a connection. One condition that may cause it is called spontaneous intracranial hypotension. http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/20141022/weight-loss-surgery-may-raise-risk-of-severe-headaches-scientists-report https://www.aan.com/pressroom/home/pressrelease/1314 You might search the internet for more links.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 3 years and 1 month ago. I lost a lot of weight and have maintained the weight loss. I am happy with my surgery. The reason why I had the surgery was because of my health conditions that were getting worse as I aged. Many of these health conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, severe acid reflux (Gerd)) went into remission within two weeks after surgery and have remained there.

Last month I read Global Crisis: War, Climate Change & Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century by Geoffrey Parker. I thought it was a great history book that intertwines the effect of the last Little Ice Age with countries across the globe.

Good luck on your surgery and let us know if we can be of any help when you are on the other side.

Generally if you have severe acid reflux (Gerd) they recommend RNY gastric bypass surgery because the sleeve will generally make the condition worse.

Congratulations on your weight loss and overcoming your problems along the way. The development of blood clots after surgery is one of the major risks associated with this surgery because the Pulmonary embolism (PE) can cause a blockage in the arteries that lead to your heart. So it is good that you survived this episode. I remember having to administer blood thinner shots every day for a week to myself after surgery to prevent this condition. But I guess giving myself the shots was nothing compared with what you went through.

Although this research is not about gastric bypass surgery, I thought it is relavant because of 1. Patients who undergo RNY gastric bypass are given a vitamin regime that they need to take for the rest of their lives. 2. Post-op they undergo blood work to show any deficiencies in vitamins annually. This is excellent monitoring regiment. Dr. J.A. Lemon from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and colleagues from several institutions, used the TGM (transgenic growth hormone) mouse model to assess the efficacy of a dietary supplement in ameliorating neuro-degenerative symptoms. Their report was published in the journal Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. The authors suggest that this supplement holds promise for the treatment of human neuro-degeneration/dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. If independent replication supports their conclusions, it possibly will be time to consider some human trials of their dietary supplement. http://acsh.org/news/2016/06/03/supplement-staves-off-alzheimers-in-mice/ As we age, our ability to manufacture vitamins declines. This happens around 70 or 80 years old. Therefore it is common to recommend vitamin supplements to the elderly.

After surgery the three most important requirements are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fats into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control. So just stick with the guidelines. In a month or so your will begin to have some options. I found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down easier than harder foods such as steak. I have wrote about my experience with RNY gastric bypass surgery and included some recipes at the end. Here is a link. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

It is common to feel fear and have apprehensions. Good luck on your upcoming surgery and let us know if we can be of any help.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Let us know if we can be of any help.

The three most important requirements after surgery are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. At the beginning right after surgery, your body is in a major healing mode, therefore it is common for individuals to not meet the protein and fluid requirements. Just keep trying and you should get there. Also it is important to get 30 minutes of walking (or equivalent) exercise in per day. After RNY surgery, I became lactose intolerant. Anytime I drank milk, within minutes my stomach hurt and I had instant smelly diarrhea. I stopped the milk and that stopped the diarrhea. Some Protein shakes contain lactose. This lactose intolerant condition does not last forever. About 2 months after surgery the condition went away and I was back to normal.

My insurance required that I enter a 6 month medically supervised weight loss and exercise program. In the program I kept a journal of what I ate and met with a nutritionist/doctor once per month and went over my diet and exercise. Monthly weigh-ins. I was also advised to go to monthly Bariatric Surgery group meetings. I received a signed form at each of these that showed I attended. I lost 20 pounds during the process, primarily by giving up my 6 diet coke a day habit. My nutritionist/doctor then wrote a letter stating my progress and this went to the surgeon's office who then wrote a letter recommending my surgery. I did not have a set weight loss requirement to qualify for insurance. Obviously gaining weight during this period would set off some alarm bells. Watching "My 600 pound life" which is a TV series about individuals undergoing bariatric surgery, those that are very heavy seem to have a set weight loss amount pre-surgery by THEIR SURGEON. I think this is because they need to prove to the surgeon that they have the capacity to lose the weight and maintain the weight loss after surgery. It may also have to do with the fact that too much fat may make it difficult to perform the operation (no working room). Some individuals who do not need this 6 month diet and exercise program to qualify for insurance undergo a liver shrink diet for the same reason.

From the time of the initial consultation until my RNY surgery, it took around 9 months. The biggest delay was with my insurance company. They required a 6 month medically supervised weight loss program consisting of diet and exercise. There was a requirement to meet with a psychologist, a pre-op extensive physical exam, a second round of pre-op examines by specialist in their respective fields for those areas they had specific concerns, almost a day of training that went into extensive detail about the surgery and post-op requirements. Then there is about a month delay in getting on the surgery schedule. So it may be hard to come up with an exact date this early on and a lot hinges on your medical insurance company requirements.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery and let us know if we can be of any help.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

During your journey you will hit a stall or two. Just make sure you are meeting your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements and also do at least 30 minutes of walking each day (or equivalent) exercise.