James Marusek

As a result of my RNY Gastric Bypass Surgery, I have been taking large amounts of Citrical Calcium supplements. So this requirement might be worth discussion and review. The following article looks at the effect of Calcium Supplements and the increased risks of heart attacks. http://acsh.org/2015/03/should-postmenopausal-women-take-calcium-supplements/

Don't panic. At the 6 week mark I was down 32 pounds. It took me 7 months to reach my bottom weight. So give it some time and keep with the program.

Several individuals suffer from constipation after surgery. Some of this may be due to a lack of drinking enough fluids. Others on this website in past posts mentioned potential cures for this problem. Apples with the skin 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 would be a little careful with the gummy bears. Someone brought a bag of sugar free gummy bears to their office and placed them in a bowl. Everyone naturally picked some up and ate them as they passed by. But an hour later, they were all rushing for the bathroom and accusations arose especially since the person who brought them in did not eat the candy themselves.

I had a RNY gastric bypass surgery 21 months ago and am well pleased with the results. One of the things that I found out after surgery was that I completely loss my hunger. It was not hard to lose weight when hunger was not constantly gnawing at my bones. I went from a size 3X to a size small in shirts and from a 46 in pants down to a size 33. I ran across a few people in our support group who had lap bands and switched to gastric bypass. In one case the band wore into his stomach and it had to be removed. In another, the band was installed too restrictively. One of the individuals who underwent this change was very pleased by the results.

I would recommend walking about 20 minutes per day. This will help your recovery process dramatically. Give up all carbonated beverages and caffeine now. I was up to a 6 diet coke a day habit before surgery. I went cold turkey 6 months before surgery. I had severe withdrawal syndrome (head and body aches). This lasted about a week. It is better to do this now because you don't want to compound the withdrawal syndrome with the effects of surgery. Oh and I lost 20 pounds solely on giving up my diet cokes. Attend a regular bariatric support group meeting. They are free and will be more than willing to give you any help. I had a RNY and from interaction with others in my support group, I would be wary of lap band surgery because it can lead to a number of problems that require revisions.

I have used a Ninja blender with a single serving unit for 2 years now and making smoothies. I am very pleased with it. I bought my mom a Bullet but found it more difficult to use.

Using Adkin's treats that contain sugar alcohol does not seem to affect my blood sugar levels and my diabetes still remains in remission. I consider it to be an acceptable alternative. I had a RNY and it may affect individuals with the Sleeve differently. I have heard that if you consume 5 or 6 sugar free gummy bears, that it can lead to an immediate trip to the restroom.

Candice, I am sorry to hear about your problems. I wonder how much of the weight loss problems might be due to the medication that you were/are taking?

That seems kind of strange. When I was in the military 45 years ago, it was all about getting the body into peak performance. It seems that is what you are trying to do.

Sorry to hear you are running into problems. It took me 6 months after surgery to get into a happy state. I had RNY surgery 22 months ago. Sometimes when I overate by a small amount, I develop weird symptoms. I might begin to sneeze or hiccup. I remember the hiccups hurting. It took a few months for my body to heal after surgery. Then the pain from hiccups disappeared.

Several months after surgery, I developed severe constipation. Nothing seemed to work other than shoving a glycerin suppository up my rear-end every 3 days. Something I definitely didn't want to do for the rest of my life. I finally found an easy cure that worked for me. It was eating an apple including the skin of the apple before I went to bed. (The skin is really important.) I have been constipation free for over a year now. I feel like reciting a jingle "An apple a day keeps the constipation away!"

I had a RNY gastric bypass 22 months ago and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Congratulations.

Doesn't sound good! Drink Nesquick "No Sugar Added" Cocoa. It makes a hot cup of cocoa. Also try the Adkin's equivalent of M&M's. It uses sugar alcohol in place of refined sugar. Refined sugar is one of the reasons why I gained so much weight over the years and developed diabetes.

Most individuals that undergo surgery find that their taste buds change. There are a variety of Protein shakes on the market available. It is important to find one that you can tolerate. So experiment. Immediately after surgery, the primary divers are meeting your protein, Vitamins and fluids requirements. Meals are secondary. Your body is converting stored fat into energy. Thus you lose weight.

I would probably use the term "trade off". After surgery, I found it difficult to enjoy eating. I use to love to eat, to taste the variety of food. After surgery, it is difficult to enjoy a meal. It is more like a task. On the other hand, almost all my medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, GERD, profuse sweating, frequent urination) have gone and remain in remission. In addition I have lost 110 pounds and kept it off which gives me great stamina (ability to perform physical labor). I also went from a size 3X in shirts down to a size small and from a size 46 in pants down to a size 33.

I had a RNY gastric bypass surgery 22 months ago. I found the (Protein, Fluid, Vitamin, meal volume) requirements to be very restrictive. It was difficult in the beginning. All food tasted bad, flavorless. The mono-food regiment lacked taste. I discovered that mixing food groups together added a measure of flavor. I transitioned into using high-protein homemade chili and Soups. They met the requirements and also had taste. I would mix up a pot and it would last me all week. Such an approach cut down the decision process. I ate the same meals very day, every meal. It tasted good. Just open up the refrigerator, pull out the food container, use a measuring cup to measure out the exact volume and place in a microwave cup and heat and eat. It worked for me. Generally the only decision would be to have a break from this routine every once and a while.

It is common for people to become nervous before an operation. In my case I consider my RNY gastric bypass operation to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Many of my health issues went into remission almost immediately after the operation. Those included high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, frequent urination, profuse sweating and severe heartburn (GERD). And I lost 110 pound to boot and kept the weight off. I believe the death rate for this type of operation is listed as less than 1 percent. I suspect that one of the reasons why is because many of the individuals that undergo this type of surgery are suffering from a variety of serious health conditions. Before surgery, I underwent extensive pre-op testing. The goal was to identify any preexisting conditions and resolve them prior to surgery. I believe this is the normal approach. Also the operation is done laparoscopically today, which make the operation easier and provides a quicker recovery.

The urge to chew food is a common desire after surgery. Chewing is part of the digestive process. It is part of the way we are wired. See http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/31/chewing-foods.aspx This is a short term problem. It will soon go away as you transition into solid foods.

After surgery, I was unable to swallow many of the Vitamins I was required to take. This lasted for about 2 months. I used a pill splitter and pill crusher. The same may work for some of your prescription drugs. After surgery, many of the prescription medicine I was taking to combat diabetes and high blood pressure, I found that I no longer needed because these conditions went into remission. The surgeon will advise you on the medicine to take after surgery and should also help you in resolving this issue (inability to swallow).

Generally an A1C is like a monthly average. A one week change to diet may not be picked up by an A1C, it is more long term.

With most diets you can lose weight but eventually you will gain the weight back plus 10 pounds. So the more times you diet, the more your weight gain. Eventually you will reach the point where you body does not respond. All the exercise and dieting have no effect on weight loss. I had RNY surgery 22 months ago, It was very much different from dieting. I completely lost my hunger. When you do not have hunger constantly gnawing at your bones, it becomes easy to lose weight. It happens quick. I was losing about 2 pounds per day for several months before it tapered off. Maybe the word "easy" is wrong because there is a lot of work involved in keeping track of your Vitamins, Protein, fluids and meal allotments but it is a totally different experience than dieting.

Walking daily prior to surgery goes a long way in the healing process. It makes your recovery significantly less painful.

The important drivers immediately after surgery are meeting the Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements. food is secondary. Your body is converting your stored fat into energy. That is why you are losing weight. The protein supplements (protein shakes) in my opinion all taste terrible. The goal in the beginning is to find one that you can tolerate. Protein shakes come in powder form or premix. I used powder. It is important to use an electric blender to mix the powder in order to gain the proper consistency. Hand mixing the powders does not work well. I used a Ninja single serve blender. I also relied on Muscle Milk Light as my Protein shake. You can blend in fruit and the fruit does not count against your meal allotment. The natural sugars in fruit are O.K. But do not use refined sugar. The protein shake counts for meeting your protein requirement and also your fluid requirements. At five days out you are a little early, so you might go easy with the fruit. The protein requirement is met by a combination of protein supplements combined with the protein derived from meals. I relied on homemade high-protein soups and chili. At the beginning I was using 3 protein shakes per day. But as time went on and my meal volume increased I was able to transition from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, down to 1 and then none. When I achieved one cup of food per meal, I was deriving around 65 grams of protein from my meals alone. Now I supplement my protein with a hot cup of cocoa (no sugar added) or a berry smoothie. Also as you get further along you will be able to begin using Protein Bars. They come in very handy in meeting your protein requirement when you are on the go. I have included some recipes for soups including egg drop soup in a short article I wrote. See http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Some of the latest research on cholesterol indicates that cholesterol is not as strongly tied to negative health risk as earlier believed. I suspect that your current meal plan is O.K. but you can consult with your nutritionist. Generally the drivers to focus on is diabetes and high blood pressure.