James Marusek

Directly after surgery, the important requirements are fluids, Protein and Vitamins. Foods are secondary. That is because your body is converting stored fats into the energy that drives your body and as a result you lose weight. As Bufflehead wrote, dehydration might be part of your lack of energy. After surgery, I found that I no longer liked to drink a glass of ice Water. I found my solution by drinking flavored water (Crystal Light) and fine teas. You need to up your consumption of protein. I found most Protein shakes taste quite awful. I experimented until I found a type that I could tolerate. The protein requirement is a combination of the protein you obtain from meals combined with the protein from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars).

There are a couple phases to WLS. I was in the Weight Loss Phase for around 7 months after my RNY surgery. Then my weight loss bottomed out and I went into my Maintenance Phase. I am 2 years post op at this point. During my weight loss phase, I consumed significantly less than 1000 calories per day. But in my maintenance phase I consume more than 1000 calories per day. There is a calorie band below which I will lose weight and above which I will gain weight. I weigh myself each day and so long as I am not gaining or losing, I am happy. That is what counts in the maintenance phase is to be happy. My weight band appears to be 1000 - 1600 calories per day. I don't really count my calories each day. I generally know about how many calories I am consuming. I control my food volume. One cup per meal.

I pretty much told everyone, even strangers walking down the street. But I am different. This decision is yours to own. Most people that I met were either 1) supportive, or 2) curious. It may be a little hard for you to hide your decision from everyone. I would recommend that you inform your supervisor.

Generally after RNY surgery, I was sick significantly less often than before surgery. I attribute this to the massive doses of Vitamins that I am taking. But if it pneumonia, wouldn't your local general practitioner be able to help you? You might have picked up a bug on your vacation.

I had RNY surgery. I reached my "happy state" at 6 months.

I will pray for the success of your surgery. After surgery remember to walk, walk, walk. It will help to loosen things up and make the pain go away.

Congratulations making it to onederland. It's a wonderful place to be.

It was a long process for me but in the end it was well worth the wait.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.

In the beginning your body is in a heal mode, so if you fall short of your daily requirements, don't become too concerned. Just keep working toward your goals. I hate Protein shakes, but until your food volume increases, you have to supplement your protein intake. There are a variety of Protein Shakes out there. Experiment until you find one you can tolerate. For me, I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) powder blended with Water in a Ninja (single serving) blender with a half a banana added. After surgery, I found that I no longer liked drinking ice water. I found that flavored water (Crystal Light) was tolerable. So that is what I relied on. Later I found that fine teas and decaf coffee worked well. If you can tolerate milk, you might try a cup of hot cocoa but you must use a "no sugar added" variety by Nesquik.

I don't know the answer to your question. One of the problems that I had before RNY surgery was an overactive sweating disorder. That disappeared after surgery. But I never noticed my feet sweating before surgery. It was my body that sweated. After surgery, my face became very wrinkled. These were very fine wrinkles that made me look like I was 100 years old. At my wife's suggestion, I began to apply BioOil on my face once per day and the problem disappeared. BioOil is available at CVS. The problem might also be related to not getting enough fluids in.

I am 2 years post-op from RNY surgery. My weight is fairly stable. On a recent visit to my nutritionist, I asked her "Why do some people lose significant weight after WLS only to gain it back years later?" Her response was because of grazing. I agree with you that gaining 10 pounds over the last two months sounds like it is on the high side and is of concern. Make sure you are meeting your daily Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. Are you taking any medications that have an adverse side effect of weight gain? What works for me is when I graze (snack); I graze on protein and fats. Fats have the power to take away hunger. Without hunger it is not difficult to maintain my weight. Since I am 2 years post-op, I have begun to introduce fats back in my diet. I drink whole milk and use real butter. I begin each day with a cup of coffee. I top it with heaping spoon of real whip cream. This is whip cream that I make. It has no processed sugar. I use Splenda instead. I also consume Adkin's treats, because it contains fats but not processed sugars. It works for me. But I also steer clear of any processed sugars in my food - period. I will use artificial sweeteners (such as Spenda and sugar alcohols), low calorie natural sweeteners (such as Stevia) and natural sugars found in fruits and milk. Last week I hit my lowest weight thus far - 149.0.

Generally RNY is prescribed for those with serious acid reflux. I had acid reflux prior to surgery. I am 2 years post-op on RNY and I no longer experience acid reflux.

Congratulations on all the good news.

Congratulations!

Good luck on your weight loss journey. After my RNY surgery, I lost my hunger. It wasn't difficult to lose weight when hunger is not constantly gnawing at your bones. I am 2 years post-op and my weight is fairly constant. I am at the lowest weight thus far and am more concerned about dropping any lower than the possibility of gaining a few extra pounds. Some people say that they gain more energy after the operation. I would describe it more in terms of stamina (the ability to perform physical labor). I am 66 years old and the surgery restored my stamina to the point when I was in my 30's. Last year I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel by hand and 50,000 of concrete blocks. And I am at it again this year.

Your protein requirement is the combination of the protein you obtain from food combined with the protein obtained from supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). As your meal volume increases after surgery, you have the opportunity to shift away from using protein shakes to eating your protein from other sources.

One way to minimize the pain is to get your walking in. Walk around 30 minutes each day before surgery and then walk while you are in the hospital post-op. I felt very little pain after the operation. As a matter of fact, I refused any pain medicine after I left the recovery room. My pain level at most was 1 on a scale of 10. But I am an exception. The fact that the surgery was done laparoscopically significantly reduces the pain level after surgery. Walking really alleviates the soreness. Fear of failure is a common fear. Just follow the program requirements and you should do fine.

I am 2 years post op from RNY. My taste buds changed right after surgery. I couldn't even stand to drink Water because it tasted like chlorine. Then after about 3 months, they began to return slightly towards normal. For me I found that mixing food groups together such as in chili and Soups, help improve the taste substantially.

I took the approach of eating high Protein homemade Soups and chili. I used measuring cups. Since my food groups were combined, the cups measured the total allotment for each meal rather than smaller individual allotments. Some measuring cups were hard to find such as the 3/4 cup, but they are available. My approach including recipes are contain in the following short article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Good luck on your surgery. You may need to lay back a little and let others step to the plate for a while.

That's exactly my problem, he said that we would talk about Vitamins in the next appointment, and it's 3 weeks away. He only said to take a multivitamin, but I see most WLS patients taking multiple vitamins and I guess I get anxious. When you have a RNY, much of your stomach is altered and your body no longer produces vitamins from foods, therefore it is extremely important for RNY patients to consume a variety of vitamins. I don't think MGB works that way, so I think it may not be a requirement for your type of surgery. If you are concerned contact your doctor or nutricianist and have them clarify your requirements. Most individuals on this board are not familiar with MGB, so you may be unnecessarily getting alarmed.

manueljlg73 You indicated that you had a mini gastric bypass (MGB). This is not the same operation as a RNY or sleeve. It is a different type of reroute. I do not think that your Vitamin requirement is the same as those with the conventional gastric bypass. It is important for you to follow the vitamin regime recommended by your doctor. He should have laid out that regime in great detail.

Good luck on your journey.

I had a RNY. The surgery lasted about an hour. I was in the recovery room for about an hour. Then I went to a hospital room. I began walking the halls two hours later and that was the routine (walking every 2 hours) for the next 2 days (to avoid blood clots). I left the hospital for home 2 days later. Sometimes there are complications and I think that is where an ICU comes in. Because of the excess weight, many of us have pre-existing medical conditions that require special care. This was a civilian hospital not a military one.