James Marusek

Good luck and I hope you can get back on track.

I am 19 months post-op on RNY. My body had reached the point that I could no longer lose weight. I dieted and exercised without any positive results, period. I choose RNY specifically because I wanted to avoid revisions. Because of your medical condition DS may be the way to go. I am not experienced enough to make that determination. What I found interesting about my surgery was that I completely lost my hunger. It is not difficult to lose weight when you do not have hunger constantly gnawing at your bones. I lost 110 pounds somewhat effortlessly and at least so far I have maintained that weight loss.

I will pray for your success.

That is one of the steps. You eat a little too much and your body sends you instant pain. Then you begin to automatically recognize the volume of food that is the acceptable amount. And you rarely if ever go beyond that amount again. My body tells me I am close by sneezing, generation of mucous generally dripping from my nose, hiccups, and by the taste of food. Whenever I exceed the volume, food that was tasting good, now taste terrible. If you go beyond that stage you run into dumping syndrome and dry heaves. Its a learning process.

The liquid requirements (generally 64-80 ounces per day) can be satisfied in several ways. It is the sum of all the liquids you take in within the day. They include: The broth you drink including the liquid portion of Soups. The liquid that you take in your Protein drinks. The Water you drink in taking your Vitamins. Drinking straight water or in many cases flavored water. I bought and used a lot of Crystal Light during my early stages. Milk and hot cocoa. I found "no sugar added" hot cocoa in the grocery stores and began using this during the winter months. When it is cold outside, there is nothing like a cup of hot cocoa. Teas. There are a variety of hot teas available. I found most of the teas in grocery stores were rather bland. But there are good ones available in tea shops. Oops! I almost forgot, there is decaf coffee. I am not a big coffee drinker but I am now developing a habit. Many people drag around a large bottle of water with them all day and take a sip here and there. As far as the protein requirements. The method of fulfilling that requirement will vary and change as you progress. At the beginning I drank 3 Protein shakes per day. In my opinion protein shakes are a misnomer. The name implies a milk shake and that is definitely not the case. In my opinion they all taste terrible. The approach is to find one that you can tolerate. There are many different types and varieties. You need to visit the stores and try them until you can find one you can tolerate. I took the approach of consuming home-made high protein soups and chili for my meals. They went down easier. As my meal volume increased, I began deriving more and more protein from my meals. I am 18 months post-op from RNY and I eat a cup per meal. Currently I derive around 65 grams of protein from my meals alone. So in this approach, I went from 3 protein shakes per day down to 2 per day, down to 1 per day, down to 0 per day with a bit of supplemental protein. At this stage, I am happy. My supplemental protein is either a hot cup of cocoa or a very delicious berry smoothie. I put a short article together that describes my experiences on the internet and I included recipes in the article. Her is the link http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I had a RNY around 18 months ago. I lost my hunger after surgery and for the most part that loss has not returned. Generally the reason why people gain weight back after surgery is because they graze. As they graze, they expand their pouch and then they begin to gain the weight back. I believe that what you graze on is important. Grazing on carbs do not satisfy hunger. So if you graze I would recommend focusing on grazing on Protein and fats. I make sure that I get the recommended amounts of protein each day, but when I graze, I tend to graze on fats because they clamp down quickly on hunger. I make my own sugar free whip cream which I use on my decaf coffee. I use Adkins treats. I eat food with a fat content such as meat that isn't lean, whole milk etc. I religiously stay away from processed sugar. I entered the maintenance phase about a year ago and since that time my weight has been stable.

Around 6 months prior to surgery I went cold turkey on diet cokes (caffeine and carbonated beverages). I was up to a 6 cokes per day habit. I suffered through a week of withdrawal syndrome, primarily very severe headaches. It is better to get this over with as soon as possible. If you do this at the time of surgery, it will make the recovery much more difficult because you will receive a double whammy.

I had serious constipation after surgery. Most of the prescribed remedies (Metamucil, prune juice, laxatives) did not work. The method that worked for me was to eat one apple before I retired for the evening. But you must eat the skin of the apple also. I have been problem free for over a year now. Constipation is also related to Fluid intake. If you are not taking the prescribed amount of fluids each day, you can become constipated. From an earlier threat that discussed constipation, here are a few other items of interest in solving constipation: There is a natural tea called Smooth Move (available at Krogers and other stores). sugar free gummie bears will work as a laxative but be careful because it may be too strong a remedy.

I had a gastric bypass RNY surgery 18 months ago. Almost right after surgery, my comorbidities seemed to melt away and disappear. My Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, acid reflux, and others went into remission and stayed there. Prior to surgery, I lost about 20 pounds. As a result of dieting, I was able to cut my diabetes medication in half prior to surgery. It seemed like you experienced something similar. That is a good sign for this type of surgery because it shows you have enough control to make this surgery work for you and for your body to react positively.

I had RNY and my weight loss just seemed to level off in time. I never set a goal but I am happy with the amount of weight I lost. I remember my nutritionist telling me that if I lose any more weight to call her immediately. I figured I was at bottom then but next thing I knew I lost 10 more pounds. When I went in for my next checkup, they seemed to be pleased with my weight loss.

Prior to surgery, the two most important items are: 1. Make sure you get your walking in each day. It helps recovery go much smoother. 2. If you have a caffeine habit, break it now. I suffered from a week of withdrawal syndrome after I cut out caffeine in my carbonated beverages. This caused very severe headaches. It is best to get this over with before surgery, then right after surgery. Also be away that your taste buds may change substantial after surgery. So don't go overboard on buying food and Protein shakes. Anyways the amount of food that you will be consuming after surgery will be miniscule.

Sugar is probably one of the prime factors in today's epidemic of obesity and diabetes. There are many more artificial sweeteners and natural sweeteners available on the market today. As a result, I believe it is possible to reduce your intake of sugar substantially. But it requires an understanding of what products to avoid. There are natural sugars found in fruit juice and milk which are good. When it comes to fruit juice, I look at the ingredient label and verify (sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup does not show up on the top five elements listed). If these appear, this is a sugar added product that should be avoided. Otherwise the fruit juice only contains natural sugars which is acceptable. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and natural sweeteners such as Stevia are good substitutes. Splenda is good in baking because it is spoon for spoon replacement for sugar in recipes. I use products that say "no sugar added". For example I still drink a hot cup of cocoa during the winter. But it is a "no sugar added" cocoa. I noticed that the grocery stores are even stocking "no sugar added" ice cream now. I also use Adkins products, such as Adkins Treats. These tend to use sugar alcohols for sweeteners. I was diabetic prior to surgery and I am very sensitive about my blood sugar levels. So I periodically measure my blood sugar and these products satisfy my sweet tooth without driving my blood sugar level up. Generally when I buy a product, I first look at the "nutrition facts" label and under Total Carbohydrate label, I look for sugar. If sugars are above 2 grams, I look at the "Ingredients Label". This tells me if processed sugars are a prime ingredient or if it is natural sugars. As a general rule, any ingredient ending in "-ose" is a form of sugar to be avoided. [The exception to this rule is sucralose which is Splenda.] Also corn syrup, corn solid, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice also should be avoided. If any of these ingredients appears in the first five ingredients on the food label, I avoid this product.

During the first few months after surgery, you body is converting your fat into energy. As a result, the meals are the the primary drivers. Making sure you take the required Protein, Vitamins and fluids are the most important elements at this stage. I found that home-made Soups and chili worked well for me. They went down easy and as I progressed to larger meal volumes, they were up-scalable. The liquid portion of the soups can count for some of your required liquid requirements. My nutritionist recommend 3 meals per day plus protein supplements (protein shakes). I am now 18 months post-op from RNY and consume a cup per meal. They provide me with most of my protein by giving me 65 grams per day. I wrote a short article about my experience with WLS including recipes. It is available at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Congratulations on your weight loss so far. I found it difficult to eat solids too. But I also found mixing food groups together gave the food more flavor. So I started combining things to make a meal. I began making high Protein Soups and chili. So I was able to eat a good tasting meal that did not cause the pain from eating solids. I have written a short article about my experiences and have included recipes if you might want to try it. It is available at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf The loss in hunger is common after surgery, but the constant vomit and pain is not. If I ate too much, I would experience it. But before it struck, my body would warn me that I was close and I would stop eating. So there may be a medical problem with your surgery and you might want to discuss this with your doctor and nutritionist.

I used Muscle Milk Light. There are several flavors. For me I found vanilla Creme to be the best. It is important to blend the powder and Water together using an electric blender such as the Ninja blender with a single serve glass. Trying to mix these by hand did not give the proper consistancy. Also I would blend in a banana into my Protein drinks to give it a more acceptable flavor. The important thing is to try several Protein Drinks until you find one that is acceptable to you. In my opinion they all taste terrible. The trick is to find one that you can tolerate which fits your particular taste buds.

Obesity puts one at risk for diabetes, debilitating arthritis and other chronic ills. And according to a new study published in The Lancet Oncology, excess body weight is associated with about 3.6 percent of cancers worldwide – about 481,000 new cancer cases each year. Refer to http://acsh.org/2014/11/association-obesity-cancer/

We had one individual in our support group go from a lap-band to a RNY. His band was wearing into his stomach, so it had to come out. When they did the RNY, they had to make his pouch slightly smaller than the average RNY. This made it a little difficult at first because he found it difficult to consume much during his meals. But he adapted and was proud of his RNY. If your hair is falling out, that is a symptom of too little Protein, so make sure you are taking the required amount each day. I have heard that drinking a little Water with a small amount of meat tenderizer can help blockages. But since I never really tried this, you might get some input from others on this board about this first before you try it.

One of the symptoms of dehydration is your skin loses its moisture. I developed very fine wrinkles on my face. They made me look like I was 100 years old. Dehydration can also cause constipation. The best solution is to ensure that you are taking the prescribed amount of fluids each day. A product called Bio-Oil (available at CVS) can help take the wrinkles out. An apple each night before you go to bed can help with constipation but you must eat the skin of the apple.

Generally, hair loss in WLS is associated with consuming too little Protein. So the first thing is to make sure you are eating enough protein each day. I have been taking Juvenon for about a decade now - long before I had the surgery. It is not available in the store but only over the internet. In my opinion, it not only slowed hair loss but also graying. I am 66 years old. After surgery, I was told to abstain from this produce for a few months and when I got permission, I began taking it again. I am now 18 months post-op from RNY and have not noticed any significant hair loss. One of the products in Juvenon is Biotin. Several individuals on this website indicated they took Biotin to prevent hair loss.

Most of my Vitamins were small and I could swallow them or split them in two and swallow them. But the Citracal were horse pills. They were very large and I crushed them and mixed them with a glass of Crystal Light. But even at that they had a terrible chalky taste. At 3 months my nutritionist asked me to try and swallow one. I did and it worked. It made life a lot easier.

I gained weight over the years primarily due to my sedentary life style. Spending 40 years behind a desk will do it. Another reason is because I love to eat, to enjoy the taste of delicious food. Another reason is because I have a sweet tooth and consumed way too much sugar and also because I love carbonated beverages.

One of the reasons why individuals gain weight back after they reach their bottom weight and enter the maintenance stage after surgery is because of grazing. Grazing promotes expanding your pouch and that then leads to weight gain. It is very easy to graze when you are watching television.

After my RNY surgery 18 months ago, I lost all my appetite. It was really good to not have hunger constantly gnawing at my bones. And the weight fell off quickly and effortlessly. It is important to remember in the early stages after surgery, food is fairly unimportant. Your body is converting your stored fat into energy. What is important is to make sure you get in the prescribed Vitamins, Protein and fluids. I had some difficulty with solids. I found out that mixing foods together restored flavor to the meals. Also it was easier to get an exact measured quantity of food that way using measuring cups. So I concentrated on eating high protein home-made chili and Soups. These did not cause me to feel the pain associated with eating solids.

Good luck on your surgery. Keep in touch when you get to the other side.

Good luck on your surgery. Remember walk, walk, walk, it will make the recovery process go better.