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James Marusek

Gastric Bypass Patients
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Everything posted by James Marusek

  1. James Marusek

    Calorie intake

    Prior to surgery, I gave up caffeine and carbonated beverages - my 6 diet coke per day habit. I suffered through a week of caffeine withdrawal syndrome with severe headaches and body aches. After that the headaches disappeared. If this problem in your case is caused by the same problem, then be a little patient and the headaches should go away soon after they run its course. So if you had a caffeine habit prior to surgery, this might account for your headaches as Taoz has mentioned. The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes. Just make sure you are meeting your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Comply to the meal volume given by your surgeons office. Forget calorie counting.
  2. James Marusek

    Almost 1 month out

    Congratulations on your surgery. Look at your shoulders in the two pictures. It definately is beginning to transform you.
  3. James Marusek

    Dry skin and hair

    After surgery, one of the effects was that my skin changed. It was most noticeable on my face. My skin became paper thin and developed hairline cracks. I literally looked like I was 100 years old. Now since I am old I would expect some of this but it was so dramatic, it caused me to wonder if the surgery was the wrong decision. My wife recommended that I use a product called Bio-Oil. It is available at CVS, other drugs stores, Walmart and other stores. I bought some and have been using it on my face for 5 years now. I put on a little once each morning and I am good for the day. My face is back to its normal self.
  4. James Marusek

    Step 1 Diet-Need non-milk protein sources!

    No feedback. It worked for awhile for me and then stopped working.
  5. James Marusek

    Step 1 Diet-Need non-milk protein sources!

    http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf
  6. I didn't find that loose skin was much of a problem. Most of my loose skin was below the belt, so unless I was going to a nudist colony, no one would ever see it (except my wife).
  7. James Marusek

    Step 1 Diet-Need non-milk protein sources!

    I was lactose intolerant for a couple months after surgery. I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme) powder blended with water and a half a banana blended in for flavor.
  8. James Marusek

    Is this normal?

    25g = 0.9 ounces = 1.8 tablespoons. This does not sound normal. Might want to explore with your surgeon's office the cause of the problem. In the meantime, you might increase the number of meals per day from say 3 to 5.
  9. James Marusek

    Hello from overseas

    Welcome, I had gastric bypass surgery whereas you had Mini Gastric Bypass (MGB) surgery so any advise may be a little different. Since you are 1 month post-op, exercise is important. You should be exercising every day about 30 minutes. Walking is very good exercise. You should be consuming around 75 to 90 grams of protein each day. Meals should always focus on protein first. If you are unable to meet this daily protein requirement, you need to incorporate protein shakes into your diet. Also there is a daily fluid requirement of 64-80 ounces of fluids per day. The fluid requirement is met by a combination. It is not only the water that you drink each day. But also the water you drink when you take your vitamins and medicine. It is the milk you drink. It is the fluids content of the protein shakes. It is the water component of the soups you take. It is met by flavored water such as Crystal Light. It is met by sugar free popsicles. It is met by tea and decaf coffee. It is a combination of all the fluids that you consume during the day
  10. James Marusek

    B-12 Shots

    I had B12 shots once per month for the first year after surgery. To get them you must take a doctor's script to the drug store. It is like prescription medicine. I would have my wife give me the shot in the arm each month. That is the main reason why I discontinued the shots and transitioned to daily B12 sublingual tablets. My wife is afraid of blood. So when she gave me the shot, she would instinctively turn her head away as she drove the needle into my arm.
  11. James Marusek

    Needing to Vent

    It is common to have patients get gastric bypass surgery and the surgeon repair other problems at the same time. It is important to take one step at a time and not get too wrapped up into fear. When I had my gastric bypass surgery, I had a whole slew of problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, GERD, and several other conditions. These all went away very quickly after surgery. Today is my 5 year anniversary date from my surgery and I couldn't be happier.
  12. James Marusek

    Crushing pills gag

    After my surgery, I discovered that I could no longer swallow large pills. The calcium supplements Citrical were the worst. It is like eating chalk. Fortunately this condition only lasted for about 2 months and then I was able to swallow again. I crushed the Citricals into powder and mixed them with crystal light and drank them down. It left a paste at the bottom of the glass so I had to add more crystal light and drink it down again. After around five glasses, the paste was gone. I guess you could look at it from the viewpoint that meeting the fluid requirement was not going to be a problem.
  13. James Marusek

    Same weight as pre-op

    Yes they pump your body full of fluids while in the hospital. Some people can gain 10 pounds during their hospital stay. Have to loose that weight first. Normally it goes away within the first week.
  14. James Marusek

    Drinking wine

    The effects of alcohol consumption soon after surgery can be dramatic. The effects of drinking one glass of wine might be equivalent to drinking 5 glasses of wine prior to surgery. Two months post-op is probably too soon.
  15. James Marusek

    just lost my lunch

    Kids will be kids.
  16. James Marusek

    So far so good

    I generally let my body determine my bottom weight loss. As I lost weight the rate of weight loss slows down significantly and then it just plateaus and I enter maintenance mode.
  17. James Marusek

    Pain after eating

    You are several months post op at this stage and probably in the maintenance phase. Changing dietary intake is one of the major causes of gas. Perhaps the gas pain is associated with the types of food that you are eating. In my case I know that beans cause me to produce a lot of gas. According to the internet when searching under gas pain bilateral under ribs "A feeling of discomfort or pain under your right rib cage is very often caused by excessive gas in your colon. You may feel it in different parts of your abdominal area, depending on the location of the buildup of gas, however, it usually occurs under the right rib cage." The following link identifies potential causes and treatments for this condition. https://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/pain-under-ribs/
  18. James Marusek

    Before and After

    Congratulations.
  19. James Marusek

    Before and After (photos)

    Congratulations.
  20. James Marusek

    YAY!!!

    Congratulations.
  21. James Marusek

    Male Facial Hair Loss Question

    I didn't experience any hair loss - facial or otherwise.
  22. James Marusek

    Home from my revision

    Congratulations on your surgery.
  23. James Marusek

    Partially approved... Insurance is FRUSTRATING!

    I suggest you work this problem through you surgeons office. I ran into a similar glitch. My surgery was approved but my hospital stay was not. It wasn't denied. I just was not approved. In my case the surgery had to take place first in order for the surgeon/hospital to be able to make an estimate of how long the hospital recovery process would take. After surgery, I stayed in the hospital for a couple days and it was covered.
  24. James Marusek

    Down 102 lbs!

    Congratulations.
  25. James Marusek

    Reconsidering bypass

    There have been several individuals on this board that had to have a revision from sleeve to gastric bypass because of severe acid reflux (GERD). It is generally recommended that if you have that condition you go with gastric bypass because sleeve will only make the condition worse.

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