James Marusek

How are you taking your B-12? Are you consuming sublingual tablets? There are different types of B-12. Are you taking the ones identified as methylcobalamin? Peripheral neuropathy or polyneuropathy is nerve damage that causes burning pain, numbness or tingling in hands, feet and other parts of the body. Vitamins E, B6, B12, and B1 (niacin) are essential to healthy nerve function and deficiencies can cause widespread damage to nerve tissue. The development of peripheral neuropathy after bariatric surgery can occur as the result of its absorption site in the jejunum being bypassed and inadequate nutritional supplements after surgery. About 16 percent of people who underwent bariatric surgery developed peripheral neuropathy, according to one study of more than 400 people conducted by the Mayo Clinic. Generally peripheral neuropathy is numbness at the extremities. Since you are describing numbness in the legs and truck of your body, I suspect you are dealing with something different. Generally the risk factors for developing nerve problems are: * They lost weight at a much faster pace. * They received less nutritional supplementation. * They experienced prolonged nausea and vomiting. Rather than the surgery being a direct cause of neuropathy, the associated rapid weight loss and prolonged nausea and vomiting can lead to malnutrition and neuropathy.

Well keep hanging in there. Were rooting for you. During my short life (of 67 years), I have found that adventure is a powerful force. It stays with you your entire life. So plan an adventure.

I had RNY gastric bypass 33 months ago. The directions that I received following surgery were: 0-4 weeks post-op Full liquids Weeks 5-8 post-op pureed Foods Weeks 9 and beyond Solid Foods When I hit the solid stage I found that some foods, especially meats were hard to eat by themselves. They sat heavy in my stomach for a long time. But I found that if I mixed the meats into chili or Soups, they went down a lot easier. I referred to these foods as soft foods. So if you bite into a steak soon and find that it is hard on your stomach, then you are consuming a hard food. Soft foods are as much about food preparation than the ingredients. If you want to consume chicken breast, then put it on a low boil for a few hours and add a bouillon cube. Cook it until it comes apart gently with a fork. It is now soft enough to eat. Soft foods are also produced by mixing food groups together. Make a hamburger and try to eat it. Hard food. But take the same hamburger meat and use it in chili, it is now soft on your stomach.

Generally when polyps are removed they are submitted to biopsies. "Polyps are abnormal growths of tissue that can be found in any organ that has blood vessels. They are most often found in the colon, nose, or uterus. Most polyps are noncancerous (benign). However, because polyps are due to abnormal cell growth, they can eventually become cancerous (malignant). Whether or not a polyp is cancerous can be determined with a biopsy." So I suspect that you had some polyps removed during the endoscopy.

Several people who underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery developed hypoglycemia. It is somewhat common. It doesn't seem to make any difference if they were diabetic prior to surgery or not. This is a specific type of hypoglycemia called "reactive hypoglycemia". These are a few links to this condition. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass/ http://www.weightlosssurgery.ca/before-after-surgery/reactive-hypoglycaemia-post-gastric-bypass/ http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/060415p48tip.shtml Probably the main point is that there are steps you can take to significantly minimize the effect of this condition on your body.

Generally your body will tell you when a sip of Water or Protein shake is too much. The three most important elements after surgery are fluids, protein and Vitamins. In the beginning after surgery you may find it difficult to meet the Fluid and protein requirement. This is because your stomach is in a major heal mode. So if you can't make it right from the get-go keep trying and you will get there. Good luck on your surgery. After surgery I found that I could no longer swallow medium to large vitamins and pills. It took about 2 months before I was able to again. So this is common so you might want to purchase a pill splitter and pill crusher prior to surgery. After surgery, I became lactose intolerant. Again after about 2 months this condition disappeared. The problem is that some Protein shakes have lactose. This also takes one of the options of using milk away from the equation. After surgery, I found that my taste buds changed significantly. Even water tasted bad. It tasted extremely chlorinated. So I found it hard to drink straight water. So although it is good to be prepared, sometimes in real life this does not work. Just be very open to experimentation.

Fainting, tremors and weakness can be signs of low blood sugar. Several individuals that underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery experience a type of hypoglycemia called "Reactive Hypoglycemia". Here is one link about this condition but you can search for other links on the internet. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass/

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

It is always hard right after surgery. Your body is in a major heal mode. So don't be too stressed about meeting the Fluid and Protein daily requirements. Just keep trying and eventually you should be able to get there. I didn't have a port so I can't compare to your pain levels. I stayed off the pain medicine once I left the recovery room. And my pain levels never went above a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. I found that walking, walking, walking minimize the pain and made the recovery process much smoother and quicker.

It's hard in the beginning after surgery. But it does get better. It took me around 6 months to reach my happy state when all the problems (big and small) melted away. When it comes to sleeping I found that placing a pillow between my legs helped. This becomes more important as the weight begins to drop off. I am 33 months post op RNY gastric bypass surgery. I wrote a short article that documents my experience. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Prepare as best you can for the upcoming surgery. * Make sure you have a good before photograph taken so that you can compare it with after weight. * Walk at least 30 minutes every day. It will help you with the recovery process. * If you haven't cut off caffeine do so now. When I went cold turkey on my diet Cokes, I suffered severe headaches and body aches for a week due to caffeine withdrawal. It is best you do not compound the effects of surgery with the effects of caffeine withdrawal. * I had RNY surgery and I found that I could no longer swallow medium or large size pills or Vitamins after surgery. It took 2 months to recover my ability to swallow. So if this might be a problem purchase a pill splitter and a pill crusher.

After surgery, I quickly found out that I was lactose intolerant. The Protein Powder that I used was Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Cream). This powder has no lactose and I mixed it with Water. After about 2 months I discovered that I was no longer lactose intolerant and was able to consume dairy products again.

The key is to keep experimenting until you can find something you can tolerate. I hate Protein shakes but after a while I found out that if I blended in a half a banana, it would make it tolerable. As time went on, I was eventually able to transition to using Protein Bars. I found that Quest bars had a lot of varieties and filled the bill especially when I was up and about town. I am 33 months post-op RNY surgery and as my meal volume increased, I was able to transition from 3 Protein Shakes a day, down to 2, down to 1 and then eventually 0. I did this by consuming high protein meals. Your daily protein requirement is met by the amount of protein you obtain from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars) and the amount of protein you obtain from meals.

Sorry I can't think of anything. Perhaps if her college is not too far away, you might invite her to attend a Bariatric Surgery Support Group Meeting. Drag her along. It might give her a window into your world and someday in the future she might climb through the same window on her own.

Stay calm! Stalls are a common occurance. Just remember to meet your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements and walk around 30 minutes each day and then let the magic happen.

Not my sense of smell but it altered my taste dramatically. I remember the first time I tasted ketchup after surgery, it tasted like strong hot sauce.

Good luck on your surgery tomorrow. Check back with us when you are on the other side and let us know how the surgery went and if you experience any problems.

Congratulations on your surgery. In the beginning it is rough. Every day for me it got easier. I finally reach my "happy state" about the 6 month post-op mark when all the problems seemed to melt away. There is a lot of experimentation in the beginning. If something doesn't work try and figure out something that does.

Prior to surgery, I never really looked at myself. I generally took the photographs so I was rarely in any of them. When I saw myself in the mirror it was always a straight on shot so being obese was not that evident. Now to the point, many people do not really look at themselves prior to surgery and then after surgery do not have anything to compare to so they become oblivious to the amount of the weight they lose. So it is very important to take a good before photo prior to the surgery, so that you have something to compare your weight loss with other than the bathroom scale. Here is my before photo and then one taken 6 months after the surgery. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg I tried to duplicate the exact same pose the best I could. Don't pass up this opportunity, you will find it important after surgery.

850 calories per day sounds on the high side, so what are you eating?

Congratulations.

It might be due to your carbohydrate intake after surgery. You might be reducing your fatty acids but not your triglycerides if your body is producing too much glycerol. Glycerol is produced from carbohydrates. http://www.zoeharcombe.com/the-knowledge/weight-gain-is-about-fat-stored/

The approach after RNY gastric bypass surgery is to control the volume of food per meal and is not focused on calories. As your food volume goes up, your calories will likewise go up. As you near the end of the "Weight Loss" phase and begin to transition into the "Maintenance" phase your body will automatically transition between these phases and the rate of weight loss will dramatically slow down. One option that you have is controlling content of the food that you eat. Your daily Protein requirement is a combination of the protein that you obtain from supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars) combined with the amount of protein from your meals. If you concentrate on consuming high protein meals (and you track and monitor your protein intake) then you can reduce your reliance on protein supplements and the calories contained in those supplements. This will allow you to optimize your weight loss. Over time I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, down to 1 and then finally down to 0 (when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal).

It is doable. You will need someone to bring you home from the hospital. Try and prepare prior to surgery as much as possible. Have a pill crusher and pill splitter. Get an electric blender such as a Ninja blender with a single serving cup if you used powdered Protein shakes. After you leave the hospital you will need to go to the pharmacy and pick up some prescriptions so you will need someone to take you. If you have RNY gastric bypass surgery, the three most important elements immediately after surgery is meeting your daily protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary. Also it is important to have around 30 minutes of exercise per day, walking is good. Your taste buds may change after surgery. So therefore you do not want to invest in buying too much food or protein supplements before surgery. But you should have at least one container of Protein shake powder on hand that you can tolerate, to start you off with.

"I'm currently unemployed and I answered an ad for a job, it turned out to be for Herbalife. I have nothing to lose by trying it and everything to gain." So was the job offer legit? Was this just a way to bring you into the door to try their product? Do you have to use their product in order to be employed by this company? Doesn't sound on the up and up. I suspect that since you haven't lost any weight within the past six months, that you may have transitioned for the "Weight Loss" phase to the "Maintenance" phase. This article describes my experience in the "Maintenance" phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf Your back and knee pain may have precluded you from obtaining the benefits of exercise and this might account for some of the missing weight loss. This is unfortunate. There are many forms of exercise. For me walking was the simplest. But there are Aquatic exercise that is very low-impact. And other forms for even those bound in a wheel chair. I believe your physical therapist holds the key.