James Marusek

The advantage to chili is that you can pick up the Protein from the hamburger meat and also the protein from the kidney Beans. I would find that a protein only diet may be somewhat difficult to endure. Mixing food groups adds flavor to the meal. Milk is another food that contains protein. So is fish. Tuna fish is nice. I suspect that following this diet to the tee might pose several other problems such as constipation because you would not consume fiber.

According to my discharge instructions a thiamin deficiency is characterized by pain, tingling or loss of sensation in hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy), muscle wasting with loss of function or paralysis of the lower extremities, swelling (edema), increased heart rate, lung congestion, enlarged heart related to congestive heart failure and in severe cases brain damage and death.

It is common after RNY surgery for your tastebuds to change. So when it comes to protein shakes, you might wait until after surgery to decide which brands or types to take. In other words don't stock up now. Be willing to experiment until you find one that you can tolerate.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. You might integrate him more into the process. Take him to a few bariatric surgery support group meeting. You might even see if he would be willing to stay with you when you are in the hospital. Many hospitals allow that now. Undergoing bariatric surgery can be a hard road to travel, at least for awhile. Hardship can bind two people closer together, if you work through the problems together.

My surgeon is noted for creating very small pouches. This restricts my meal size significantly even though I am 34 months post-op RNY surgery. When I spoke to my nutritionist about this issue, she recommended that I increase the number of meal. Eat small meals but eat them as much as five times a day. The problem you are experiencing may also be caused by a stricture.

For the first year after RNY surgery, my surgeon prescribed Omeprazole [Prilosec]. He did this not because prior to surgery I had severe acid reflux, but rather because it allowed my stomach to heal. I am now 34 months post-op RNY. I discontinued the use of Omeprazole after the one year mark. I no longer have problems with severe acid reflux. It may be that you are experiencing dumping syndrome since many of the symptoms overlap.

Lenny Vartanian, PhD., from the Psychology Department of the University of New South Wales in Australia and her colleagues recently analyzed the effect of stress on overeating by placing Cookies in a cluttered/clean kitchen and watching the results. According to a study involving 101 women at Cornell’s food and Brand Lab, researchers showed that when those with heightened stress levels were placed in a noisy, messy kitchen — think scattered newspapers, a stacked sink of dirty dishes, relentless telephone ringing — and they were asked to wait patiently for another person, they ate more. In fact, these women ate twice as many of the cookies left out for them as did their equally-stressed counterparts, who waited in the same kitchen, but one which was organized and quiet. Environmental chaos can induce stress. Stress then leads to a coping mechanism. In this instance, the coping mechanism was to overeat. And overeating? It’s your one-way ticket to weight gain. But what’s also worth considering are the cascade of events that led to the overeating — a cascade not relegated to just this one experiment, but one that’s applicable to the broader population. A better understanding of this could help with the diet-and-food-related issues many of us face. Stress is a condition characterized by symptoms of physical or emotional tension and anxiety. In a normal, stress-free state, we have hormones that circulate our body, catecholamines, called epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones give us the energy to perform daily tasks in a calm, consistent manner. But if we’re triggered by an unpleasant feeling or event, these catecholamine levels rise. And our bodies’ natural response is to find a way to lessen them. One coping mechanism in dealing with stress is to overeat. Eating increases another of the body’s “feel good” hormone, called serotonin, which helps to improve mood. Serotonin tempers the catecholamines, thus reducing feelings of stress. More of this article is available here. http://acsh.org/news/2016/02/12/81099/

I am 34 months post-op RNY gastric bypass. The guidelines I received was Light color finger nail polish was fine. Cannot wear dark colors into surgery. Can wear acrylic nails. I believe the reason for this requirement was because they hook up instruments to your fingers to continuously measure your oxygen level. After surgery, you will need to walk a lot. Walking makes the recovery process go smoothly. There are two points here. Some hospitals equip the bed with a trapeze bar above the bed to help you get up and on your feet. When you have stitches, getting up can be very painful, so this bar really helps. So when you check into the hospital make sure you request this, if it is not automatic. Second, it takes several hours for the anesthesia to wear off. If you try and walk during this time, you will be wobbly. My wife stayed with me in the hospital and she provided me with some help, stability and someone to walk with.

Congratulations and good luck on your upcoming surgery. Let us know if we can be of help.

Congratulations.

I found out early that foods had better flavors and taste when the foods were mixed. So I relied significantly on home-made high Protein chili and Soups. It was softer and went down easier. I would cook a pot which would last me for almost a week. It was easy to measure using measuring cups. The only problem was that as you move up in volume size, it was a little difficult to find the odd sizes such as 5/8 cup. I put some recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I am 34 months post-op RNY surgery. Here is my experience with the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

After surgery, your body undergoes many changes in time. Sure you can probably consume more than 1/2 cup at your stage but do you really want to. The "weight loss" phase is short and it is important to maximize your weight loss in this phase because before you know it you will slide into the "maintenance" phase. This program is set up to produce weight loss by meal volume control. It may not stretch your pouch but the extra volume can sure throw your body into a weight loss stall.

RNY gastric bypass program requirements will vary by surgeon. According to my program, the first 4 weeks after surgery is Full Liquid and one of the acceptable items listed was "Instant Mashed Potatoes". During week 5, the program transitioned to pureed Foods and "Mashed Potatoes" was added to the list.

Congratulations.

Congratulations and let us know if we can be of any help.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery.

How long till I can get back to a reasonable life? It won't happen overnight. It was 6 months before I reach my Happy State, when all the problems big and small seemed to disappear. As far as the bloody stool. This is not common. Here is an article about this condition. http://bariatrictimes.com/gastrointestinal-bleeding-after-roux-en-y-gastric-bypass/

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, the part of your stomach that process fats and sugars was cut away. Thus if you consumed some fats or sugars, these would be dumped into your intestines and could lead to dumping syndrome. Thus you were told no fats or sugars after surgery. But after about a year, your intestines learn to adapt and take up this function. Therefore it is possible to consume fats and sugars again. I am 34 months post op RNY. I avoid sugars like a plague. But fats on the other hand are important because they have the ability to take away hunger. So after about a year I reintroduced fats back into my diet. I drink whole milk, eat real butter, and normal cuts of meat. The guidance from my nutritionist when I reached the maintenance phase was to consume a well balanced meal with equal parts of Protein, fats and carbs but always make sure you put protein first. So if you are consuming protein shakes to gain weight, why use almond milk? Personally, I tried to use shaker cups to hand mix protein powders and didn't have much luck. It was too clumpy. Since you are over 1 year post-op, have you considered the other option: Protein Bars. I found protein bars to be a good protein source when I am away from home. Quest is a good brand and they can be purchased online. But then again, protein bars are probably more expensive than purchasing premixed protein shakes.

I don't quite understand your post. Are you saying that the only place you can post is in [bariatricPal → General Weight Loss Surgery Forum → The Lounge] and that you cannot post in the other forums?

At 6 weeks post-op it seems a little early to eat protein bars. But the process after RNY surgery is best described by experimentation. So I don't think you did any major harm. There is probably one point of clarification. Your protein requirement is a separate requirement than your meal volume requirement. After surgery, I consumed protein shakes for my protein requirement. They tasted terrible. I discovered that if I added a half a banana to the shake [and liquified it using a blender], it made the shake tolerable. The half a banana did not count against my meal volume requirement. One word of caution. Some protein bars are nothing more than glorified candy bars. So make sure if you use them, that you check the sugar content. Premier Protein Bars [Chocolate Peanut Butter] have a good amount of protein (30 grams) but they also have 8 grams of sugar. And sugar by content is listed as the fourth item in the ingredients listing. The program guidelines I was given read "We recommend a protein supplement that provides at least 20 grams of protein and less than 5 grams of sugar per serving."

I am 34 months post-op RNY gastric bypass. I take 1500 milligrams of calcium citrate spread out throughout the day. About a year ago, I thought that was too much and since I was drinking milk which contains calcium I could probably take less pills. I dropped my dosage by about a third. When I went through my annual blood tests, it showed that I was calcium deficient. [so they caught me!!!] So I am back to my required dosage rate.

The goal weight is an artificial number. During the weight loss phase you will lose weight. Eventually the weight loss will slow down and then come to a stop. You will slide into the maintenance phase. To some degree, your body will determine where your weight should be provided you stick with the requirements of the program.

Weight loss is achieved primarily through volume control rather than calorie control. But the types of foods are also limited by how far out you are after surgery. The volume of food is somewhat dependent upon the type of surgery you had. I had RNY gastric bypass and at the 7th month post op mark, the program limited me to 5 ounces (5/8 of a cup) per meal. The weight loss phase is very short. It is important to follow the program requirements if you want to maximize your weight loss during this phase. Because you will find yourself in the maintenance phase before you know it.

After surgery, your body is in a major heal mode. It is common for individuals to not meet their daily Fluid requirements during the first couple weeks after surgery. Just keep trying and you should eventually be able to get there.