James Marusek

After loosing all this weight, my grandkids commented that they miss the old me, where my soft tummy made a nice pillow.

I can't really speak about AFIB, so it may be something that you need to speak with a specialist about. After surgery, you body can change. I had RNY and immediately after surgery I became lactose intolerant. Since some of recommended Protein supplements included milk or products that have lactose (such as some protein shakes), it became an issue. Every time I tried to drink some milk, moments later my stomach became upset and I quickly developed diarrhea. After a few months, the problem went away and I was back to normal.

Constipation can be a difficult problem to deal with after surgery. Sometimes it is caused by not drinking enough fluids each day. There have been several threads that discussed several solutions on this website. The one that worked for me was to eat an apple each night before bed and the problem disappeared. But you must eat the skin of the apple. It is a combination of the skin and the pulp that provides the cure. It has worked for me for over a year now. Another solution is a herbal tea called Smooth Move. It is available at Krogers and other stores. Others recommended drinking warm prune juice or eating prunes. One of the off-the-wall remedies is eating sugar free gummie bears.

Hold onto a vision of where you would like to be. A thinner version of you. One that is able to enter any department store and buy the latest fashions. Plant that image in your mind and then set about getting there. Life is not easy. And there will be obstacles along the way. But if you persevere, you can reach your goal.

In the early stages right after surgery, the important things are meeting the Protein, Vitamin and liquid requirements of the program. In this stage your body is converting the fat cells you have stored in your body into energy. So food intake isn't really that important in this stage.

After the surgery when I was walking the floors they had several before and after pictures on the walls. I asked the nurse what the heaviest person that their hospital ever performed weight loss surgery on. She said 600 pounds.

Congratulations.

The prerequisites for surgery will vary from one insurance provider to the next. In my case I had to undergo 6 months of medically monitored weight loss and exercise program to qualify and it seemed like the insurance company fought me every step along the way.

The gas feeling was never really much of a problem. But then I was walking from the get-go.

I have Type 2 Diabetes and it was driven by my slow weight gain for years prior to surgery. I am 19 months post-op from RNY and my diabetes went into remission when I left the hospital and has never returned. But I do not know how gastric bypass surgery effects individuals with Type 1 Diabetes. So perhaps someone with Type 1 might chime in and tell their experience. A few individuals develop Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, right after surgery. What is interesting is that these individuals may or may not have diabetes prior to surgery. For someone who never battled with diabetes, this experience is a rather shock the first time. After the experience, they quickly become aware when another attack is coming and take something to correct the problem before it strikes again. And they seem happy with this approach. I have never experienced low blood sugar during my 19 months post-op.

It is not uncommon for individuals to lose a shoe size or two during weight loss. Many times their feet shrink in width. So when you buy a new pair of shoes, check your feet for the proper size.

When you go in for the surgery, they pump your body with fluids. So when you leave the hospital, you weigh more than when you entered. The first couple weeks, you lose these fluids. That is probably the initial weight loss that you had. I suspect that you are not really in a stall and that you will begin to lose weight soon. In my case, I began losing at a 2 pounds per day rate. Just remember the regime: Protein, liquid, Vitamin requirements and walk each day.

There are various liquids that can count towards your 64-80 ounces per day requirement. This includes the liquid in your Protein shakes, the Water you take when you take your Vitamins and medicine, and water or flavored water such as Crystal Light. But then there is decaf coffee and tea. I drink a large cup of each per day. (They are approximately 16 ounces per cup.) I found that some of the specialty teas are really very good, but you need to track down one that meets your taste. In the cold months, I like to drink a cup of hot cocoa but it must be the "no sugar added" variety. It helps with both the protein and liquid requirements. I had a RNY. My plan recommended at the 5 week post-op mark the following under vegetables: green Beans, beets, squash, asparagus, zucchini, cucumbers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. And under starches: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and peas.

After surgery your taste buds may change so be careful about buying too much food before hand. This will probably affect your choice of Protein shakes. After surgery from a RNY, I was required to take several different types of Vitamins. The only chewable one that I took was the Flintstones Multivitamin, the rest were in pill form. You might consider buying a pill splitter and a pill crusher. After surgery, you may not be able to swallow some of this medicine unless you crush it or split it first.

Good luck on your surgery. I will pray that all goes well.

I too had problems with my insurance company. I put blinders on and just forged ahead. I am now 19 months post-op.

I too had problems with my insurance company. I put blinders on and just forged ahead. I am now 19 months post-op.

I had RNY surgery 19 months ago. After I bottomed out with a total weight loss of 100 pounds, I was very stable for almost 8 months. Then I contracted a stomach flu. I lost a pound a day for 7 days. My grandkids had contracted this about a week earlier than I and it lasted 7 days so I knew what to expect. After 7 days I was back to normal. I decided to keep the weight loss and set a new bottom weight level.

I am 19 months post-op from RNY. One of the interesting things about this type of surgery, was that immediately after the surgery I lost my hunger. It is not difficult to lose weight when hunger is not constantly gnawing at your bones. Not everyone loses their hunger but many do. I was diabetic and when I left the hospital 2 days after surgery, I was off all my diabetic medicine and I haven't taken any since. Things to do before surgery: 1) Do your daily walking exercise. It will help with your recovery. 2) If you drink caffeinated or carbonated beverages, stop now. I was up to a 6 diet coke a day habit prior to surgery. I went cold turkey and experienced severe withdrawal syndrome. I suffered for a week with very severe headaches. It is better to go through this withdrawal before surgery than compound it right after surgery with the effects of surgery.

I am 19 months post-op on RNY. In the early stages after surgery, it is important to focus on getting in the required amounts of Vitamins, Protein and fluids. During the weight loss stage, your body is converting your fat into energy that drives your body. Your body does not need much food and you should stick to your doctors orders on the volume per meal. As you lose fat, you lose weight. My program required the following meal volumes: 0-8 weeks 1/4 cup per meal 9-15 weeks 3/8 cups 4-6 months 1/2 cups 7-9 months 5/8 cups 10-12 months 3/4 cups 12-18 months 7/16 cups 18 months and beyond 1 cup So if you are not losing significant weight, it might because you are eating too much during your meals. If that is the case, you might want to first concentrate on making sure you are getting in the required amounts of vitamins, protein and fluids. I began by consuming 3 Protein shakes per day and as my meal volume increased, I was able to reduce this down to 2 per day and then 1 per day and finally none. But I concentrated on consuming high protein homemade Soups and chili, so that by the time I was up to a cup per meal, I was taking in 65 grams of protein per day in my meals alone. Also it might be worth your time to determine how many calories per day you are consuming. This could tell you if your leveling off on weight loss is associated with the type of foods you are consuming. At the earlier stages, I was down to a ridiculously low level of calories per day. And as a result, I was dropping around 2 pounds per day. But then I began to level off. I looked at my caloric intake and decided to drop it a little more and the weight began to drop again.

Generally I use volume control. I eat homemade high Protein Soups and chili. I have measuring cups. Currently at 19 months post op on RNY I use one cup per meal.

Over the two years prior to surgery, I ran into several severe bouts of acid reflux. My surgeon recommended RNY. I followed his advice. I am 19 months post-op and no longer experience acid reflux.

I will pray that your surgery is a success.

A couple suggestions: 1) Make sure you are getting in your daily walking exercise. It will help your recovery process. 2) If you are drinking a caffeinated beverage, discontinue it now. Many people experience withdrawal syndrome when they discontinue caffeine. I had a week of severe headaches. It is best to get that over with now rather than right after surgery.

It is a personal preference. For me I liked Muscle Milk Light - vanilla Creme, but I blended a banana into it in the blender.