James Marusek

I hope you begin to feel better soon. At your stage, the important things are Protein, fluids and Vitamins. The meals are somewhat unimportant because your body is converting you stored fat into energy. Are you able to drink your Protein shakes? I know they are horrible. But try and experiment with different ones until you find one you can stomach.

I am 15 months post-op. I went off all my diabetes medicine the day I left the hospital and haven't taken any since. Blood sugar levels are still fine.

"Foamies" are when you vomit up part of your meal (a nasty saliva foamy mix). It happens if you eat too much, eat too fast, or don't chew well enough. Foamies result when your stoma becomes blocked and the body's natural reaction is to produce a slimy foam liquid and copious amounts of it. After you experience this once or twice, you tend to detect the warning signs and stop before you get to this stage.

As soon as I was able I graduated to Soups and chili. I found a special glass cup with a vented plastic like lid that I use to heat these in the microwave. This eliminates the splatter and having to clean the microwave all the time.

I had open surgery and laparoscopic surgery for hernias. The open surgery was more painful and the recovery process was longer. The laparoscopic RNY surgery I underwent was relatively painless. After I left the recovery room, I refused all pain medicine.

Recent studies have shown that higher blood levels of Vitamin D are associated with a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s disease. http://www.alzheimersinfo.org/prevention.html

I underwent a RNY about 15 months ago. After I received approval by my insurance company for the operation, I underwent the first pre-op medical exams to determine if I had any unknown preexisting medical problems. Then I went through a day of classes to prepare me for surgery and post surgery. I had a few preexisting medical conditions, so a second round of medical tests were scheduled with specialists in order to flush out the extent of these problems. After this the surgery date was set. I underwent a pre-op diet and then the operation. I would recommend that you make sure that you get your walking exercise in every day prior to surgery. It will make the recovery process easier.

After surgery and weight loss, I found that I had to completely replace my wardrobe. Since I like shopping (bargain shopping), this was fun. Well now my closets are full and I have to stop shopping for myself. Too bad, it was so much fun.

In my case, I skipped the sleep study. My wife had been complaining for the past few years that I snored and kept her awake. So there was a good chance that I had sleep apnea. When the specialist examined me he wanted to have me take a sleep study. I declined. I said that the condition might disappear with surgery, so if I am having the same problem after surgery, I might consider it. Well I had the surgery and within a few weeks my snoring stopped. Sometimes my wife would wake up in the middle of the night and stare at me intently. I was sleeping so soundly, she thought I was dead and not breathing.

You may need to experiment until you can find something you can tolerate. After surgery, I became lactose intolerant (diarrhea). This limited me from using milk, dairy and some Protein shakes that contained lactose. This condition disappeared after a few months.

What I found interesting is that after the surgery and weight loss, many people I know no longer recognized me. Sometimes they would stare and try and figure out who I am. I found it very enjoyable to replace my wardrobe. It feels good to look good.

I use to drink Cokes for over 50 years. In the last decade, I switched over to diet cokes, mistakenly believing it could help to control my weight. I would consume around 6 cokes a day. I was informed that I had to give up all caffeine and carbonated beverages for my surgery. So I went cold turkey around 8 months before the operation. I was surprised that my body went through withdrawal symptoms. It was very severe and lasted for over a week. What I also found interesting is that because I stopped drinking cokes, I lost 20 pounds during the pre-op phase.

I had a RNY on 16 May 2013. I recently came to understand that there is one more phase of recovery that I must transition through. So I have a few questions from those that have made this transition. In the first phase, I lost a lot of weight. My meal size was extremely small and my body burned up my fat. I was consuming around 700 calories per day. Then I reached my bottom weight and I entered the first maintenance phase. This occurred at 7 months after surgery. This was a happy phase. My meal size increased and I could experiment with different foods again. I was consuming between 1000-1500 calories per day and my weight stayed off. I used an accurate scale to measure my weight each morning and I kept it within 2.0 pounds each day. But I understand there is a second maintenance phase that occurs at 18 months after surgery. In this phase the body heals and the stomach is able to absorb more of the calories from food. The body goes from a 70% absorption to 100%. So what can you tell me about this transition. Does it occur abruptly or over several months or years? Since it is absorbing more of the food, does my stomach also begin manufacturing some of the Vitamins my body needs. Does it affect my Vitamin regime? Several individuals regain the weight they lost after surgery. Is this the phase primarily responsible? Does your taste of food change during this phase?

Individuals that experience shingles often have recurring bouts. They can be very painful. I had a shingles immunization shot last year primarily because I had small pox as a child. My neighbor across the street recently got shingles. It was immediately after all her chemotherapy from cancer treatment when her immunity system was the weakest. The husband of my cousin also had several bouts of shingles. As strange as it may sound, he found great relief at the hands of a acupuncturist. But not any acupuncturist but a very specialize Chinese acupuncturist, one that attaches the needle to electrodes and puts a series of small electrical shocks to the body.

Some individuals that undergo bariatric (gastric bypass) surgery develop a bad side effect. They develop hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This article describes an extreme case. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/31/woman-life-debilitated-from-bariatric-surgery-side-effect/ One of the individuals in my bariatric support group also developed this condition after surgery, although not as severe. He had no history of diabetes prior to the surgery but developed hypoglycemia afterwards.

I have done some experimentation blending apples with their skins into apple sauce to counter constipation problems. This applies to people who have false teeth like my mom. I first experimented on myself and then after a few days with my mom. It appears to work satisfactorily. I used a Ninja blender. I found that I had to add a small amount of juice (apple juice with no sugar added) to the apple slices or it would not blend properly. I used the single serve blender cups to turn the apples (minus the core) into apple sauce. The technique did not appear to work using the blender pitcher. It left large chunks of apples. I suspect this technique would work with other single serving blenders like the Magic Bullet.

After the surgery, I developed a serious problem with constipation. I tried several things to resolve the problem including Probiotics, Metamucil, and laxatives; without success. The only thing that was effective was using glycerin suppositories. I just couldn’t accept inserting a suppository up my rectum every three days for the rest of my life as a viable solution. This was a serious problem. Then almost by accident I stumbled on a simple solution. I found that eating an apple or two each night before I went to bed corrected the problem. But it was important to also eat the skin of the apple. I have followed this regiment for the past 10 months and no problems. My mother who did not have surgery also suffers from this type of problem. I suggested she eat an apple each night before bed. But she says she can't because she has false teeth and the skin gets stuck. I was at my monthly bariatric surgery support group meeting yesterday and another person said they experienced the same problem because of her false teeth. She wanted to know if I had any solution. I thought about it and decided that perhaps one could blend the apple. I experimented today. I cut the core out of the apple and blended it with the skin to the consistency of apple sauce in my Ninja blender. I soon discovered that I needed to add a little liquid to make it blend properly - about a quarter or half cup of (no-sugar) apple juice. It seems like it might work. But since I still have my teeth, I am not able to perform a complete test. So if you suffer from constipation and if you have false teeth and are up to an experiment - try blending an apple a day with the skin (but not the core) and let me know (1) does this type of apple sauce get stuck in your teeth and (2) does it solve your constipation problem.

I had colonoscopies done a couple times and each time they found polyps which they removed and tested. None were cancerous. I had an RNY about 14 months ago. There was no problem.

Make sure you bring plenty of water and keep hydrated.

I also did not have a goal weight. I lost weight until my nutritionist told me that if I lose any more weight, I should contact her immediately. This I took as reaching my bottom weight. On a slightly different subject. I contracted a 7-day stomach flu. All food, any food tasted terrible. So it was hard to eat enough. I lost a pound a day for 7 days. This is probably another reason why one should not set their goal weight too low. One needs to be able to lose a little weight and still function.

chicken can be hard to eat after surgery. Generally it needs to be made very soft. To do this I take a chicken breast add a chicken bouillon cube and cook it in Water for a couple hours.

did you take extra Vitamins Yes. I take Juvenon which is sold over the internet. I have been taking this for about 10 years now. It contains Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl and Alpha Lipoic Acid. It helps to restore the mitochondria in my cells. It also contains Biotin. Around 10 years ago, one of the side effects of this product is that it stopped my hair from falling out. I was around 55 at the time and my hair was starting to thin significantly because of age. It also helped to reverse the hair from going gray.

When you say "eating tiny portions and not drinking" do you mean that you are not drinking alcohol or you are not drinking liquids like water?

I was told "no caffeine" which roughly translates to no caffeinated coffee. I drink one large cup of decaf coffee each day now. I make my own "no sugar added" whipped cream and add a spoon to my coffee and it tastes quite good. I have also found the British teas by Harney and Sons to be quite good. I order these over the internet.

I am 14 months post-op and did not experience any hair loss.