James Marusek

Constipation can be a difficult problem after surgery. After several months after surgery I developed this complication. After trying several stool softeners that gave me no relief, I finally resorted to inserting a glycerin suppository up my rear end every three days. Obviously I did not want to make this fix a permanent thing. I stumbled onto a simple fix. I found that if I ate an apple before I retired for the night, I would have a good BM the next morning. The trick is that you must also eat the skin of the apple. This approach has worked for me for over a year. Constipation can be brought on by a lack of fluids, so make sure that you are meeting the requirements in this department. Other suggestions on past threads for this problem are: Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears Aerobic Magnesium 07 Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups bran Cereal 1 ¼ cups milk 1 egg ½ tablespoon applesauce optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips Bake 400° F for 22 minutes

Constipation can be a difficult problem after surgery. After several months after surgery I developed this complication. After trying several stool softeners that gave me no relief, I finally resorted to inserting a glycerin suppository up my rear end every three days. Obviously I did not want to make this fix a permanent thing. I stumbled onto a simple fix. I found that if I ate an apple before I retired for the night, I would have a good BM the next morning. The trick is that you must also eat the skin of the apple. This approach has worked for me for over a year. Constipation can be brought on by a lack of fluids, so make sure that you are meeting the requirements in this department. Other suggestions on past threads for this problem are: Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears Aerobic Magnesium 07 Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups bran Cereal 1 ¼ cups milk 1 egg ½ tablespoon applesauce optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips Bake 400° F for 22 minutes

I had a RNY about 2 years ago. After 7 months I hit my bottom weight and was stable for over 6 months. Then I got a stomach flu and lost a pound a day for about a week. In the end I lost about 10 pounds below my bottom weight. I decided to try and maintain this lower weight and so far I have been successful. So there might be a sunny side to the stomach flu if you are in the maintenance phase.

Let's see, your UGI said that you did not have acid reflux. So there is a strong possibility what you are experiencing is a stricture, which generally is a fairly simple fix. Sounds like a quick fix and also a lot less painful that trying to do a sleeve to RNY revision.

This does not sound normal. Nor does it sound like GERD. Some people have an intolerance for cold drinks after surgery. So you might try something warm liquid like tea. It sounds like it might be a Stenosis/Stricture - a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice. This is most common in procedures that rearrange your digestive system such as gastric bypass surgery (up to 8% of patients) and duodenal switch surgery and results from a build-up of scar tissue between your intestine and your reduced stomach or at an intestine-to-intestine connection (anastomosis). The primary symptom is almost always vomiting, and it is usually treated by inserting and inflating a balloon to stretch the connection between the stomach and intestine. GERD and older age increase the risk of strictures. So this may be something you should consult with your medical staff about.

I think you need to go back to basics. Always eat your Protein first at meals. Make sure you meet your Fluid, protein and Vitamin requirements. According to my nutritionist, most individuals that gain weight back after surgery are due to grazing (snacking). Your case is probably an exception. I am 2 years post-op from RNY. My weight loss is stable. I do graze but I graze on fats. Fats take away hunger. I have a cup of coffee in the morning with a giant scope of home made real whip cream. I make it myself so I exclude sugar. I strictly stay away from sugar and use low calorie sweeteners such as Stevia and no calorie artificial sweeteners such as Splenda. I also use sugar alcohol found in Atkin's treats. But that is the method I have found that works for me. You might also have to go back to measuring the volume of food for each meal to lower your portion size.

Several people who have had gastric bypass surgery develop hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This is independent of whether they had diabetes before surgery or were not diabetic. Hypoglycemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low blood glucose (blood sugar) levels, usually less than 70 mg/dl. The signs of hypoglycemia are: Shakiness Nervousness or anxiety Sweating, chills and clamminess Irritability or impatience Confusion, including delirium Rapid/fast heartbeat Lightheadedness or dizziness Hunger and nausea Sleepiness Blurred/impaired vision Tingling or numbness in the lips or tongue Headaches Weakness or fatigue Anger, stubbornness, or sadness Lack of coordination Nightmares or crying out during sleep Seizures Unconsciousness After surgery, some patients experience this condition by fainting. Once they understand what happened to them, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Because they recognize the symptoms of the onset of another bout and take appropriate action. To halt the episode one needs to take around 15 grams of simple carbohydrates. This can include: glucose tablets or gel tube 2 tablespoons of raisins 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of juice 1 tablespoon honey 8 ounces of nonfat or 1% milk hard candies, jellybeans, or gumdrops.

During the first couple weeks right after surgery, you will pass an extraordinary amount of gas. This is because they filled your body with gases for the surgery and it takes a while to get rid of this gas. During this time, walking helps immensely in reducing this gas and the pain associated with it. After this period, you will still pass a lot of gas but at a much reduced rate. What happens sometimes during the first few months after surgery, you will fell like you want to pass gas. You pass the gas but it wasn't really gas, it was a bowel movement. Therefore you get extra cautious and try to find a toilet before you pass gas. Fortunately this condition seems to last for only a couple months. Then that problem seems to correct itself and you deal with passing extra gas by choosing when to pass gas, when you are outside earshot of most people.

I lost 20 pounds pre-op and 90 pounds post-op from RNY surgery. The 20 pounds pre-op came mostly by going cold turkey on drinking Cokes. I drank Cokes/Diet Cokes for over 50 years and generally about 6 cans per day. I knew that I had to give up carbonated beverages and caffeine for the surgery, so I started 6 months early. I suspect the weight loss was due to the carbonation. These small bubbles microscopically expanded my stomach over the years which allowed me to consume more food and gain weight. Once I got off them the pounds rolled off. Also it is a good idea to give up caffeine early on because when I gave up Cokes my body went into withdrawal syndrome and I suffered severe headaches for about a week. This is common. It is better to get this over with and not compound the surgery with a bout of withdrawal at the same time. Also walk each day for about 20 minutes. It will make your recovery go much much smoother.

I had no problem with Quest bars. They are good when you are on the go and cannot take your blender with you to mix up a Protein shake. They also have a lot of Fiber with helps with constipation issues. Protein Bars become an option for a protein supplement a few months after surgery. They cannot be used right away.

I guess I must really be getting old. I don't even know what the term catfished or ghosted means. Anyways I don't think WLS is any kind of deal breaker. You may want to meet someone in person before you decide to open up about your weight loss surgery.

Congratulations on your weight loss. I did not experience any hair loss as a result of surgery. My stamina which I describe as the ability to perform physical labor has increased substantially. Generally many problems associated with WLS are related to not meeting Fluid, Vitamin and Protein requirements. Since it sounds like your vitamin and protein requirements are being met, how are you doing on fluids?

At 4 weeks out - that is a little soon for whole apples. My mom had constipation and she was unable to eat whole apples because of her false teeth. I cut up the apples, removed the core and blended this to make an apple sauce with bits of apple skin. It worked for her constipation. If you have constipation at 4 weeks out, the problem may also lie in the fact that you may not be obtaining your Fluid requirements. There is also an herbal tea called "Smooth Move" that is used to correct constipation and may be of help.

I have pretty much detailed what I am eating in the link above. I supplement my protein either with a cup of hot cocoa (no sugar added) or a blueberry smoothie. Both recipes are included in the article.

I had a friend who underwent surgery back in the 80's. He lost significant weight as a result and maintained this weight loss over the years. Recently he dropped around 30 pounds and is more concerned about this additional weight loss and the cause. The process back then was radically different. They removed much of his intestines but he was able to eat as much as he wanted. He remembers them calling the operation a "Y". But it is very much different than the RNY performed today. The type of weight loss surgery available in the 80's was very different than what exist today. Since you gained the weight back after surgery, the same drivers might be around if you have gastric bypass and you might regain the weight back. I asked my nutritionist, why some people gain the weight back after they lose it from weight loss surgery? She said it was due to grazing (snacking). I tend to think that it is a little more complex and relates to what people graze on. I limit my grazing to Protein and fats. I avoid processed sugars almost completely and minimize my carbohydrates. I have been in a maintenance phase for about a year and a half, and my weight is flatlined.

I had RNY over 2 years ago. This approach is very different than dieting. After surgery, I completely lost my appetite. It wasn't difficult to lose weight when hunger was not constantly gnawing at my bones. The process consists of 2 stages: the weight loss stage and the maintenance stage. One of the differences between dieting and gastric bypass surgery, is that it is possible to maintain the weight loss you achieved over the long term.

I had GERD and my doctor recommended RNY. Sleeve will only make the GERD worse.

The Protein requirement is a combination of the protein you consume from meals combined with the protein you consume from supplements. As my meal volume increased I was able to consume more and more protein from my meals alone. Now that I am up to a cup of food per meal I am consuming 65 grams of protein from my meals alone and I no longer use supplements. I went from 3 Protein shakes per day, down to 2, down to 1, and then down to none. I concentrated on homemade high protein chili and Soups. I included the recipes in the following article. Hope this gives you some help. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

It doesn't sound like acid reflux especially since you are describing pains in your stomach.

One thing to keep in mind is that your Protein requirement is the sum of the protein that you consume from meals combined with the protein from protein supplements (such as Protein shakes and protein bars). Therefore as your meal volume increases, you have the option of consuming high protein meals and reducing the amount of protein shakes that you have to consume each day. I went from 3 shakes a day, down to 2, down to 1, and then to zero, as I was able to eat 65 grams of protein from my meals alone. I used muscle milk light (vanilla cream) powder and blended in a half a banana with Water. But everyone has different tastes, so therefore experiment until you can find something that you can tolerate.

Congratulations.

I would just try and answer truthfully all questions they asked. One of the reasons why some individuals gain weight is due to psychological issues. They are just trying to identify any issues that may prevent you from being successful with weight loss surgery and life thereafter.

I started driving about a week after surgery. Also they will not let you drive while you are on (narcotic) pain medicine. After the operation I refused all pain medicine.

I have been using Juvenon for about 10 years now without any bad side effects. As a matter of fact, this product substantially improved my lung function for the effects of asthma. My peak flow improved over 100 by taking this product. It made my life livable after I started taking it. It also improve the lung function of a work associate who suffered from the effects of Multiple Sclerosis that compressed her lungs.

I have never attended an Overeaters Anonymous meeting but on the other hand I have attended many many bariatric surgery support group meetings. These later meetings are focused on specific issues of bariatric patients and I find them very useful.