James Marusek

I recommend that you try and get your daily walking exercise in. It will make the healing process go easier after surgery. Also go cold turkey on carbonated beverages and caffeine now. I had a 6 diet coke-a-day habit prior to surgery. I went cold turkey and lost 20 pounds on that change alone. I suffered through a week of a withdrawal syndrome after I went cold turkey. Bad headaches, etc. Better to get through this now then a few days before surgery. I had sleep apnea. They wanted to do a sleep study on me and probably hook me up to a CPAP machine. I declined. [since surgery can correct this condition, if I still have this problem after surgery, I said we could pursue this coarse of action.] A couple weeks after surgery my sleep apnea went into remission. I sleep so quietly now that my wife sometimes stands over me to see if I am still breathing. Attend bariatric surgery support group meetings. They generally occur monthly and are free. There should be one in your area. Schedule your surgery for the early part of the week. I had mine on Friday. There is a staff change in most hospitals over the weekend. I probably stayed in the hospital an extra day because of waiting for a doctor to sign the release order. I had a RNY (Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass) surgery. My taste buds changed after surgery. So trying to find Protein shakes and other foods that are agreeable prior to surgery does not work too well. After surgery I completely lost my hunger. It is easy to lose weight when you are not constantly hungry.

The direction I received was to take 75-90 grams of Protein each day following surgery. When I had one of my early appointments with the nutritionist, she actually told me to increase my protein intake because I was on the low end of that range and I should strive to be closer to the high side.

Good luck on your surgery and I pray that all goes well for you.

Good Luck. I will pray that all goes well for you during the surgery and after.

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Your taste buds will change after bariatric surgery, so be prepared to experiment with different protein shakes until you find one that you can tolerate after surgery.

My ears would get plugged whenever I got Water in them, such as bathing or swimming. I began to use a swimmers earplug anytime I got them wet and it helped me.

I am 16 months post-op from a RNY bariatric surgery operation. Before surgery, I had a constant gnawing appetite. After surgery I was no longer hungry. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat. Also because of the size of my new stomach, I can no longer eat a meal larger than my fist without feeling it (dumping syndrome).

The whole routine after surgery was so complex that it drove me crazy. I did adapt and reached my happy state at around 6 months.

Try Soups that are low in sugar. I found trying to eat small portions of this or that to be unpalatable and overly complex. But when foods are mixed together to make soups, they bring flavor back to your taste buds. (Generally I made my own soups from the ingredients defined in the meal plan. Instead of eggs, think egg drop soup.) Also the total volume of the meal is easily measured with the proper measuring cup.

I agree, Protein shakes taste terrible. Somehow adding the word shake makes one think of a milk shake, which it definitely is not. Here are a few points. 1) Your taste buds will change after surgery. For me everything tasted terrible after surgery. So even if you find something that will work now, it might not after surgery. 2) After surgery, experiment with different types until you find one that you can tolerate. I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme). 3) Alway use an electric blender (such as a single serving Ninja blender or Bullet blender) to mix the powder. Trying to stir by hand or hand blending the powders into the liquid does not provide sufficient mixing to make it palatable. 4) Consider blending in fruits or other ingredients into the powder to make it more palatable. I generally use bananas. Also try different liquid media for the protein shakes: Water, milk, almond milk. 5) You might buy premixed protein shakes and see if they can be tolerated. 6) You might try an ultra-Protein Drink using concentrated protein isolate, such as Protein Ice (42 grams of protein per 20 oz bottle). I had one and it was extremely terrible, but my wife tried it and thought it tasted good. Finally, you may not need to be on protein shakes for the rest of your life. As your meal volume increases, so does the amount of protein that you can take in from your meals. Also other options will open up, such as Protein Bars (I use QuestBars now when I am on the go.) I am a year and a half out from surgery and I have not drank a Protein Shake in the last 8 months. I am consuming around 60 grams of protein from home-made high protein chili and Soups. During winter, I drink a large glass of hot cocoa (no sugar added) in the morning. I drink very delicious berry smoothies around dinner time. The key point is experiment until you find something that you can tolerate.

After surgery, I found out that I became lactose intolerant. Which meant anytime I consumed milk or something that contained milk (many types of Protein powders), I almost instantly developed diarrhea. I took myself off milk products and the diarrhea ceased. About 2 months later, I discovered that I was no longer lactose intolerant.

I had a RNY and did not have any drain. Although some people do have a drain port put in for a few days. Probably a good question for your surgeon.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I think I saw individuals on oxygen in the bariatric ward after my operation. So I think the answer is yes. But if you are on oxygen 24/7, it will be very difficult for you to get your walking exercise in. I have suffered with asthma my entire life. I generally used a rescue inhaler (ProAir) around 10 times per day. When I went in for my final pre-op exam, the doctor recommended that I transition off the rescue inhalers to Advair. I followed her advice and now I take one puff in the morning and one at night and extremely rarely every use my rescue inhaler. I am 16 months post-op RNY at this point. Also during the pre-op testing, they discovered a huge growth in one of my lungs. It was the size of my fist. It was calcified, so no danger from cancer. It is probably one of the reasons why breathing has been difficult for me during my lifetime.

And after surgery, report back, to let us know how it went.

I hope things improve for you. It does get better but it took me 6 months until I reached my happy state.

I lost 110 pounds. Yes there is some excess skin but it doesn't bother me - that is except for my face. It developed very fine wrinkles. As a result, I began using a product called BioOil (which I get from CVS) and apply it to my face each morning and that seems to take care of it.

It depends on the type of surgery. I had a RNY. I lost 20 pounds pre-op and another 80 post-op. So I went from 260 lbs down to 160 lbs. That was about the 7 month mark. There I leveled off. Then a little over the 1 year mark, I lost another 10 pounds. This was due primarily to getting a stomach flu but once I lost it, I decided to not try and gain it back.

Things will get better. It took me about 6 months until I reached my happy state. I have found that Soups and chili were very tasty. I suggest you try them when you reach the stage where they are allowed.

I had a normal RNY surgery. At my bariatric surgery support group meeting I did bump into one person who had the surgery done with daVinci robotics. The operation went well with her. Anyways this approach is not very common.

I suspect that when you show up at the hospital for surgery, it will be a little too late for the insurance to pull the plug on the operation. They do weigh you in the hospital. In part, it is to monitor you weight while you are there. After the operation they will put you on an I.V. and pump fluids into you. As a result you will leave the hospital with a few extra pounds than when you entered. This is Water weight that you will quickly shed after a few days.

I am not at the 2 year mark yet from my RNY surgery. I have been told there is a third stage that occurs at about 1 1/2 year out where the stomach fully heals and goes from a 70% absorption of calories to 100%. This can drive weight gain if you are consuming too many calories. If that is the case, taking daily weight measurements can provide you an early indication. If it occurs, you might have to tighten up you caloric intake.

When I were in the hospital, I had an I.V. pumping fluids into me during my stay. I gained weight but when I returned home, I shed that (fluid) weight relatively quickly and then began losing significant weight.

I had a terrible problem with constipation after surgery. I would get all bound up inside and the only thing that did any good was a glycerin suppository inserted up my rectum every few days. I finally found a cure that worked for me. I found that if I eat an apple (including the skin) each night before I went to bed the problem disappeared. It has been over a year and I have been problem free.