James Marusek

I told many people. In general, their responses were either supportive or curious.

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My bad. You are 7 weeks post-op not 2 weeks, so Protein bars are not out of the question. One of the problems that I had after surgery was that I became lactose intolerant. Whenever I drank milk, it was instant gas pains and a quick trip to the bathroom. Some protein powders and Protein shakes contain milk products. So I had to consume a lactose free Protein powder and mix the powder with Water and not milk. This condition lasted a couple months after surgery and then disappeared. It is very hard to meet the protein requirements during the early stages after surgery without relying on protein shakes. There are many different products out there. I had to experiment until I found one that I could tolerate. Are you able to tolerate Soups, such as egg drop Soup? If so I have included a few recipes in a short article that I wrote about my experiences. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Immediately after surgery, food is only secondary. The primary requirements are Protein, fluids and Vitamins. Your body is converting stored fat into the energy your body needs to operate. At 2 weeks after surgery, I think it is a little early to be on Protein Bars. Most people rely on Protein shakes for their protein during the early stages. How well are you meeting your protein requirements? When it comes to foods, soups and chili are good, especially if they are fortified with extra protein. But at 2 weeks post op, even some of these might be a bit early.

Three months is too soon. The volume is too much and probably led to dumping. I am 2 years post-op from RNY surgery, and I can eat an egg sausage mcmuffin (by itself). But I am at the borderline for volume, and another bit would probably put me over.

Several people who had bypass surgery develop hypoglycemia, low blood sugar. This can cause episodes of light headedness and fainting. This happens to both people who had diabetes prior to surgery and those that don't. It can really throw you for a loop because you are not expecting it. Hypoglycemia can happen suddenly. It is usually mild and can be treated quickly and easily by eating or drinking a small amount of glucose-rich food. So generally people that develop this condition can sense the onset and take some food or drink before the attack happens. Most WLS patients seem to be able to easily manage the problem. It is the first time they faint that threw them for a loop because it came out of thin air and they were totally unprepared. Some of the suggested food/beverages when the condition appears are: * glucose tablets * 1/2 cup of fruit juice * 1 cup of milk * 5 or 6 pieces of hard candy

I know the common advice they give you is to wait until after you bottomed out before buying clothes. But that is not always true. As I was losing weight, I would buy something that was so tight that if I took a deep breath, it would break apart at the seams. But a week later, it would fit like a glove. It was a great motivator. Ahhhhhh, what do they call it? NSV (non scale victory).

When I was overweight before surgery, I never noticed that I was overweight when I looked at myself in a mirror. So when I lost weight after surgery, I wasn't obvious just looking in a mirror. For me it became obvious when my clothes started falling off and I was forced to buy new ones. I went from a size 3X down to a size small in shirts and from a size 46 in pants down to a size 33. That was really how I noticed that I had lost weight.

The type of surgery that you had will also affect how quickly you lose weight. Sleeve patients seem to lose weight slower than RNY. And then there are several other types of gastric bypass surgeries. Also many people gain weight immediately after surgery because they pump your body full of fluids. It takes a little while to lose this extra surgery weight. Also your body is still recovering from major trauma. So all-in-all a loss of 35 pounds in the first month is great.

I didn't have either.

Congratulations! Remember walking helps greatly with the recovery process.

Protein needs to be spaced out throughout the day. If you take too much protein all at once, you body will not absorb it. Here is a link to an article titled "What Kind of Deficiency Causes hair Loss?" http://www.livestrong.com/article/324565-what-kind-of-deficiency-causes-hair-loss/ A calcium deficiency is mentioned as one of the causes. It might be possible that the hair loss is due to an Iron deficiency. Calcium and iron interfere with each other and it is important to separate taking the iron 2 hours apart from taking calcium. On top of calcium supplements, one is also getting some calcium from milk products. My bloodwork showed that I was iron deficient after surgery even though I was taking the recommended iron (in Flintstone multivitamins). As a result I was required to add an iron supplement to the regiment. I decided to move all my iron to the end of the day just before I went to bed to minimize the interference. Here is another article. http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/news/20060516/hair-loss-may-be-iron-deficiency Armywife79 recommended blood work to explore the cause. I agree.

Almost right after surgery, I was able to have Water and ice chips. It seemed that right after surgery, the taste of water changed and I could not tolerate drinking it. It tasted like chlorine. But the ice chips were good.

I took blood thinner shots for about around 10 days after surgery. As a result, I became very sensitive to bruises, especially at the injection site. It took almost a month for the bruising to go away.

When I was overweight, I never viewed myself as overweight when I looked at myself in a mirror. Generally I never saw myself in a photograph because normally I was the one taking the photograph. So looking at myself in the mirror to see my weight loss would not work. I intentionally took a unflatering photograph of myself before surgery and then an almost identical photograph around 6 months after surgery. When I put them side by side, this is what I saw. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg

Elizabeth, I am a little worried that the recommended dosage rates might be to high especially concerning resent research that shows an adverse effect to high dosage rates. http://acsh.org/2015/03/should-postmenopausal-women-take-calcium-supplements/

I told everyone about my WLS; even strangers on the street. Generally almost all the responses fell into two categories. Either they were very supportive or they were very curious.

At this stage your body is in a recovery mode. So cast aside your fears at the moment.

It was difficult after surgery. But things do improve dramatically. Having said this, it still took about 6 months for me to reach my "happy state", when all the issues and problems were resolved.

Right, you need to meet your Protein and Fluid requirements. For all Protein shakes tasted terrible. I had to find one that I could tolerate. There are a variety of different types on the market today - so experiment. After surgery, I found that I no longer enjoyed drinking plain Water. I had to flavor it in order to get it down. I used Crystal Light.

Congratulations! One of the unexpected and happy surprises from the surgery was my reduction in clothing sizes. I went from a size 3X down to a small in shirts and from a size 46 down to a size 33 in pants. I had to replace my entire wardrobe. But I am a good shopper. It was a major opportunity to reshape myself.

I am 2 years post-op on RNY surgery. At 6 weeks from bypass surgery, I was limited to 2 ounces per meal. At this stage food is relatively unimportant because my body was converting stored fat into the energy to drive my body. What was important was to meet the Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements of the program. As time goes on and your meal volume increases, food again becomes important. This is because you will eventually reach your bottom weight and enter a maintenance phase. It also gives you the ability to consume more protein from your meals. Your protein requirement is the sum of the protein obtained from meals combined with the protein obtained through supplements (protein shakes, protein bars). I strongly disliked Protein Shakes and as I progressed in the program; my meal volume increased; I obtained more protein from meals; and I reduced my protein shakes down to zero. This article describes my experience with the program. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I don't think you will have a problem. I would recommend that you not eat before Mass if you are worried about vomiting. After a few months it will be ok to even take communion in the form of a sip of wine. In my case I am a Eurcharistic Minister. Sometimes I gave the host and other time the wine. It is a custom that after distributing the wine, anything left over, I drank in order to empty the cup. I remember early after surgery, that one time I gave the cup and there was quite a bit left over, almost a half a cup. I turned to Father and asked him to drink it, and he did. And all was well. As time went on, this stopped becoming a problem.

I asked my nutritionist a few months ago "Why do some people lose a lot of weight after bariatric surgery only to gain most of it back." She said it is primarily due to grazing (snacking). Eating a balance diet is important after WLS. A balanced diet consists of Protein, carbs and fats. Fats are an important ingredient, in my opinion. Fats have the power to take away hunger. I am almost 2 years out from RNY and reached the maintenance phase about the 7th month and my weight has been stable ever since. I am not driven by hunger. But I have included some fat in my diet. I have a hot cup of coffee each day topped with a heaping portion of real whipped cream. I make the whip cream from scratch using artificial sweetener instead of processed sugar. When I make a hot cup of cocoa (no sugar added) I use whole milk. I eat real butter. I no longer eat the leanest cuts of meat. I eat Adkin's Snacks. Although I consume carbs, I try to minimize them. I limit my complex carbs (such as bread or Pasta to one meal a day. During my RNY surgery, the part of my stomach that processes sugars and fats was disconnected. As a result, my body could no longer processed these and consuming these would cause dumping. But after a year, the lower intestines evolved and were able to perform this function. So after this pause, I introduced fats back into my diet. I religiously stay away from processed sugars. I had diabetes before surgery and it has been in remission ever since, and I want to keep it that way.

At one year out, it almost sounds like you are close to entering the maintenance phase. I had a RNY whereas you had the sleeve, so the experience is a little different. I found out early that mixing foods together gave the food more flavor so I transitioned into eating high Protein homemade chili and Soups for my meals. As a result I am now completely off my protein shakes. I consume about 65 grams of protein from my meals alone. The rest I make up with a hot cup of cocoa (no sugar added) or a berry smoothie or a Protein Bar. Meats are hard to consume but when they are in the form of soups or chili, they go down easier. Also consuming food in this way, makes it easier to measure volume of my meals. I wrote a short article about my experience and included some recipes. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf