James Marusek

Sorry to hear about your problem. The RNY gastric bypass surgery I had did the exact opposite. It completely took away the hunger. At the two week stage, you are primarily living on Vitamins, Water and Protein Shakes. Your meal volume should be so small that you are not getting much nutrition from it. But since you are in England, the process might be different there. I know in Australia, they use a different form of gastric bypass called Omega Loop Gastric Bypass or Mini gastric bypass. This operation is significantly different than the RNY (Roux-en-Y) which I had. It might be that if you had this type of operation, it might affect your hunger differently.

I am 65 years old and am 12 months post-op from RNY gastric bypass operation. My hair began to thin significantly over 10 years ago. At that time I began taking a special supplement called Juvenon. One of the side effects of this supplement is that it stopped my hair-loss and also stopped the graying. I began using Juvenon as soon as the doctor would let me after the operation. I have not had any hair loss as a result of the operation. Juvenon is a supplement comprised of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and Alpha Lipoic Acid. It is sold on-line. It was designed as an anti-aging supplement. It reinvigorates the mitochondria. I have found it very useful in boosting my breathing.

I went from a 3XL down to a size small in shirts and from a size 46 down to a size 33 in pants. I left that decision up to the nutritionist. During one visit she said I was within 5% of bottom. On the next visit, after dropping another 10%, she said, if I loose any more weight, I should call her immediately. So I figured I was at bottom. I suffered no ill effects - no hair loss, or weakness. I have been within my bottom weight 160.0 pounds within a 2 pound margin for the last 6 months.

How are you doing? How was your operation?

I had some bad episodes of acid reflux disease prior to surgery. I underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery a year ago and haven't had any problems with acid reflux since then.

Its a bad situation. I wonder if he blames you for pressure to undergo the surgery. Several years back, my mom fell and broke her hip. She had a hip replacement. After spending almost 4 weeks in rehab and she was in constant war with the staff, we pulled her from the rehab center and brought her home. We took her home and she spent 3 months with us, barking off orders and yelling at us. She did the absolute minimum. Instead of her muscles getting stronger, they were actually getting weaker. When I felt she was well enough to return to her home, I explained to her that she needs to go home. She would get the strength back by doing the chores around her home. She was using us like a crutch. This we did and she recovered. It is hard enough helping someone than to be constantly screamed at for no good reason.

xtina965 Let us know what you find out in the end was the cause. I will pray for you.

I use Citracal. This is not a chewable. Once you are far enough along, you might try swallowing one of these large caplets. I reached this stage at around 3 months post-op. (Start with small pills and work your way up.) It sure makes life easier.

I recommend that you make sure to get your walking in, it will help with managing the soreness after surgery. The before picture is a good idea. I took a selfie of me in a bathing suit before the surgery. I took the photo from the four angles. Not an enjoyable picture for me to look at. But then after surgery I took an after picture. Same 4 poses. I combined the two photos in a side by side comparison. It was an dramatic eye opener. You can see it at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg It is hard to believe 6 months would make that much difference. You might try experimenting with Protein shakes. Finding one that you can tolerate and meets the requirements of an acceptable Protein shake. I bought a blender. I found out that trying to mix the powders with a shaker bottle just did not mix it to the degree needed to make it palatable.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far. I believe I had a discussion with my nutritionist awhile back. Basically what she said is if you are going to eat a snack, try and eat one that has high Protein, it will help to control the hunger.

I ran into a severe constipation problem after surgery. I found a simple cure for me that worked well. I eat an apple or two before I go to bed. It is important to eat the skin also. You can also get constipation if you liquid intake is too low and you become dehydrated.

It sound like you are good. In the beginning you are surviving primarily on your Protein shakes and Vitamins. The meals are almost negligent. As time goes on you should be able to up the volume of your meals. Some foods will be harder to eat than others during the early stages. Its good to experiment and find out which foods your body can tolerate the best.

I was a type 2 diabetic. During my 6 month mandated weight loss and exercise program prior to surgery, I lost 20 pounds. As a result I was able to drop my diabetic medicine by a third. This weight loss was primarily associated with going cold turkey by giving up drinking diet cokes. Then I underwent gastric bypass Roux-en-Y surgery a year ago, When I left the hospital, I was taken off all my diabetic medicine and my diabetes has been in remission ever since. I wonder if implementing some of the post op diet components might help you with meeting your mandated weight loss objectives. Specifically focusing on taking (approved) Protein shakes to up your protein intake and also the daily Water intake requirements.

Congratulations on the weight loss.

Local support groups along with this forum, your surgeon and nutritionist can answer questions and help resolve problems resulting from your weight loss surgery. They can also provide some one on one support and encouragement. So you are welcome to ask away. We are all in the same boat as you.

I am 1 year post op on gastric bypass RNY operation. I struggled for a long time with the regiment. It took me 6 months to reach a happy state. Now things are O.K. I have described my journey in a short article titled How I Survived Bariatric Surgery. The article includes recipes that helped me through it. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Protein bars and fresh fruit.

Good luck on your surgery. I will pray that all goes well during your surgery. Check back in when you are on the other side.

Your meal plan is probably dependent on the type of surgery and the directions from your doctor and nutritionist. Since you are posting under the gastric bypass surgery section, I would assume you had a Roux-en-y bypass. The direction I received when I had that surgery was: First 4 weeks - full liquids Weeks 5-8 pureed foods Weeks 9+ solid meals I would suspect that trying to eat a turkey burger at two weeks out will be extremely hard on your new stomach. In the full liquid menu for Protein, recommended sources are yogurt (plain, no fruit variety), low fat cottage cheese, low fat cheese, Beans (refried, pinto, navy, kidney, lentils, great northern.) A separate requirement is protein supplement. This begins on day five following surgery and after you are passing gas regularly. This requirement is 75 to 90 grams of protein per day. This requirement is different that the volume limitations on the meal plan. Generally in the early stages most individuals meet this requirement by drinking Protein shakes.

Sometimes you need to just put blinders on and say "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

I suspect that your body has over the years efficiently stored some of your excess food in the form of fat. Fat acts as a cushion. When you are starving mode, the body reverses the process and converts the fat into energy to keep your body going.

My nose begins to run and I sneeze. The taste of the food which was good up until that time; suddenly the joy of eating is gone. If I eat a little more, it becomes painful and as I enter dumping syndrome.

Good luck on your journey to become a thinner you.