James Marusek

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery laparoscopically. I had around 7 incision points. One of these incision points located on my lower left abdomen produced a great knot because this was the point where most of the surgery occurred at. It took many many months for this knot to disappear.

Happy Easter!

I gained 20 pounds and then leveled off. It feels like a good weight for me and I am happy.

I am 6 years out and the surgery was definitely worth it. I had many many medical conditions prior to surgery and I was taking around 6 types of prescription medicine for those conditions. Today all these conditions are in remission and I am not taking any prescription medicines.

Off hand I would tend to agree with the doctors. Since you are 7 years out, I would have a hard time believing that a symptom would show up suddenly after 7 years. I consulted my hospital discharge papers for symptoms that require contacting the surgeon after surgery. One symptom struck me as possible relevant. This was: New onset of upper back or left shoulder pain. You indicated that "The pain can become very severe and can radiate to my chest, back and has shot pain suddenly into my left collar bone area." Which is similar to the hospital discharge directions. The reason why these symptoms are important is because they can be caused by blood clots and blood clots can turn very deadly. Now it seems like you mentioned that you had several surgeries. If any of these surgeries were recent, I think it might be important to let that surgeon know you are experiencing these symptoms. These pains can also be associated with heart attacks. Angina is discomfort or pain felt when the heart is getting less oxygen than it needs. Along with left arm pain, symptoms might occur in the shoulders, neck, back, or jaw. Angina is not a heart attack, but a sign of a heartproblem. Mostly, it results from the coronary arteries being clogged or narrowed.

I had a sweet tooth and that is one of the reasons why I had to have the surgery. My sweet tooth led eventually over time to too much weight gain that then that lead to sugar diabetes. Diabetes is a terrible condition. I watched the effect of diabetes on my mother. She developed wounds on her feet. These were not heal because of diabetes. For 10 years before her death, she had to exercise great care to prevent her wounds from becoming infected. Many people with diabetes have their feet amputated. So sugar in a way is a journey down a deep dark death spiral. After my RNY gastric bypass surgery, I lost the weight and I maintained the weight loss and part of the reason why I maintained that loss was because I avoid sugar (in all its many forms) like the plague. I rely on artificial sweeteners and no calorie natural sweeteners. So I guess my question to you is "Have you tried no or low calorie natural sweeteners such as Stevia?"

It is so common that someone on this board coined the saying "Embrace the Stall".

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery. One of the reasons why was because I had GERD before surgery. I am now 6 years post-op and GERD is no longer in my life. It has been in remission since I had the surgery. I chose to not have another option Sleeve because in many cases, the Sleeve will only make this condition worse. Several individuals on this board had sleeve surgery and the GERD go so bad that they had to have a revision to RNY gastric bypass. If I went under the knife once I did not want to do it again so that is why I chose RNY gastric bypass.

Many people have fear before a major surgery. So it is quite common. Since you are at the beginning of this process with a June surgery date, I would recommend three things. 1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success. 2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery. 3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

After Gastric Bypass surgery, I lost 120 pounds (8.6 stones) within around 7 or 8 months after surgery. One of the advantages of this surgery (RNY gastric bypass) was that I completely lost my hunger. It was not difficult to lose the weight when you are not constantly hungry all the time. Eventually after about a year the hunger returns but it is not as strong as before. A picture is worth a thousand words - so here is my before and 6 month after - photo comparison. Initially the weight loss is rapid but as time goes on it slows down and then eventually stops and a person transitions into the Maintenance stage. In this stage the goal is to maintain the weight that has been lost. There is also something called the 20 pound bounce. Many individuals will gain around 20 pounds back from their bottom but it is important to not let this weight gain accelerate beyond this bounce.

I had gastric bypass surgery around 6 years ago and I am very pleased with the results. It is sort of like the gold standard for bariatric surgery. They have most of the bugs worked out. Mini-gastric bypass is somewhat new so I can not really assess it. In general, many people try various kinds of diets prior to eventually getting gastric bypass surgery. Most of the time these are referred to as yo-yo diets. Because the individuals will lose some weight but then over time give up the diet and then gain the weight back and then some. So it is like a yo-yo. In your case it went to the extreme and you slid into anorexia. So the only advise here is that the psychological treatment component is very important for you for the surgery to work. (the package with the 12 phycologist sessions). Also if things go south sometimes after surgery then reactivate the physiological component. The three most important elements after gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

As I was losing weight, I noticed that one of my NSV (non scale victories) was going in and buying a piece of new clothes that were slightly smaller than my current size. You know, the kind that if you took a deep breathe, you would pop a button on the pants. And then a week later, that piece of clothes would fit me like a glove. It was quite a thrill.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Most people feel fear before a major surgery. At your stage, I would recommend three things, if you haven't done them already. 1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success. 2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery. 3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

The three most important elements immediately after bariatric surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. The transition to the solid food stage can be rough. There is no need to accelerate this transition. Just take your time and you will get there.

Transitioning to the solid food stage can be difficult. There is no need to rush this transition. I found that softer foods (such as chili and soups) went down much easier than harder foods (such as steak and chicken), therefore I relied on these to a greater degree. I included some recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. Sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good. The fluid requirement is met by a combination. It is not only the water that you drink each day. But also the water you drink when you take your vitamins and medicine. It is the milk you drink. It is the fluids content of the protein shakes. It is the water component of the soups you take. It is met by flavored water such as Crystal Light. It is met by sugar free popsicles. It is met by tea and decaf coffee. It is a combination of all the fluids that you consume during the day.

After gastric bypass surgery, some people experience dumping syndrome. If you ever experience dumping syndrome it is not something that you wish to experience again. So you learn to avoid it in the future. Sometimes dumping syndrome occurs when one eats too much. You body generally tells you just before you reach that point. It has pre-triggers. These can be hiccups, sneezes, excess mucus, runny nose, an instantaneous change in the taste of food. Many people's pre-triggers are different. In your case, 8 days post-op seems way too soon for this to be the problem.

I had RNY gastric bypass. Right after surgery I experience diarrhea right after I ate. I soon figured out that I had become lactose intolerant so I cut out the lactose and the diarrhea stopped. After a few months this condition went away and I no longer have a problem drinking milk.

Welcome to Bariatric Pal. Many people encounter stalls along the way. Someone on this site coined a phase to describe this condition. It was "Embrace the Stall". So if you are not losing the weight at the moment then focus on other wins. Such as a drop in clothing size or throwing a medical condition such as diabetes into remission. Sometimes these are referred to as NSV which means non-scale victories. They can be simple things like fitting into an airline seat without using a seat belt extender.

I gave all my clothes away. Some I gave to family members others I gave to Goodwill type stores. Some I threw in the trash. After I reached the Maintenance phase, I had fun filling up my closet again. Generally I am a great bargain shopper and purchase clothes at around a 70 percent discount. So the process is a little like treasure hunting. It gave me the chance to buy the latest fashions and trends. Made me a new man. Wife didn't appreciate this though. She thought I should look my age.

I lost my ability to swallow after surgery. I don't know why. I felt like it would get stuck on the way down. I relied on pill crushers and pill splitters. My ability to swallow returned after a couple months.

After surgery, my tastebuds changed. I couldn't even drink the water in the hospital because it tasted very chlorinated, like swimming pool water. I was pleasantly surprised when I was brought a sugar free popsicle. They made life bearable. When I got home I found that flavoring added to the water helped a lot. So I transitioned to Crystal Light. The key approach to dealing with changes in your taste buds is to experiment. Things will get better but not overnight. Most of the improvements will happen in the first few weeks. But I did not feel like I was completely back to normal until the 6 month mark.

Constipation can be a problem after surgery. When your bowels are compacted, the only solution I have found is to insert a glycerin suppository up the rear end. It unpacks you in about an hour or two. For general constipation what works for me the best is to eat an apple before bedtime. Generally I then have a good bowel movement the next morning. But there is a secret here. You must eat the skin as well as the pulp. Apple sauce will not do the same thing. It is the combination. Since you are only 6 weeks post op, this may be too soon for you to try. Here is a list of things people use to combat constipation derived from former threads on this site: Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune Juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo Sugar Free Gummy Bears (be careful with this one because it can cause explosive diarrhea) Aerobic Magnesium 07 Ground Flax Seeds (but don’t try to grind it yourself). Use 2 tablespoons per glass of water every night before going to bed. Bowel Clear (herbal blend) Also I might suggest that you take a probiotic to make sure that you have reestablished your colonies of good gut bacteria after surgery.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery whereas you had sleeve. In general, The three most important elements after weight loss surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. For RNY gastric bypass patients, vitamins are critical because our bodies will no longer synthesize these from food. Sleeve patients do not have this problem and their vitamin load is substantially less. For 5 years after surgery, at the end of each year I underwent extensive blood testing. This allowed the doctor to fine tweak my vitamin regiment. I am unsure why you expected blood testing at 6 weeks post-op. You are displaying some symptoms, "I have joint pain more than before, skin is so dry it cracks, open weeping in skin folds, mucous membranes so dry I'm getting lots of spontaneous nose bleeds, lips are almost blue". So you might want to focus attention on these individual concerns and seek resolution. The most critical elements are meeting your protein, fluid and vitamin daily requirements combined with exercise. So if I read your thread right, you are now taking vitamins because you had your first consult. Fluids are also critical and can account for skin dryness problems. When you lose significant weight, you are left with excess skin. Nowhere is this visible more than on your face. I developed very fine wrinkles; almost paper thin crinkles, all over my face. I looked like I was a hundred years old. Granted I am old but not that old. My wife suggested I use a product called Bio-Oil available in the drug stores. It solved that problem for me. I apply it once in the morning and I am good to go for the rest of the day. The weather can also have an effect on your skin. Depending on where you live, winter can produce very dry condition and can contribute to excessive skin cracking and bleeding.

I can't really answer your questions definitively but I will give you my thoughts. After surgery, some weight loss surgery patients will have a small tube to allow drainage of any accumulated fluids from the abdomen. This is a safety measure, and it is usually removed before you are discharged from the hospital. I didn't get one after my RNY gastric bypass surgery but some people did and they might enter into the discussion and describe their experiences with a drain. This link describes the purpose of a drain. https://www.empowher.com/bariatric-surgery/content/after-gastric-bypass-surgery-drain-left-patient-dr-orris This is a YouTube video of a woman having the drain removed 2 weeks after surgery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkkSTu7MUlw