James Marusek

I did not experience a skinny face. But as the weight dropped off, a strange thing happened. I developed very fine paper thin wrinkles all over my face. The type that you see on people over a hundred years old. Now I know I am not a spring chicken, but these wrinkles were very disconcerting. My wife suggested I use a product which she was using called BioOil (which is available at Walmart, CVS and other stores). I put it on each morning and the wrinkles were gone. I have been using it for around 4 years now and I am very pleased with it. Developing fine wrinkles can also be a sign of not meeting your daily fluid requirement. So make sure you keep yourself hydrated.

Many people report feeling weak after surgery. So this is a normal thing that gets better with time. Since you are only 8 days out and yet have dropped 21 pounds, there is one factor that might contribute to your mental slump. As you lose weight, the chemicals and hormones that were stored in your fat cells are being released into your body. These will pass through your kidneys and are expelled in your urine. But they can generate a flush of hormones during the weight loss phase. They should simmer down once you transition into maintenance. It is important to meet your daily fluid requirements, because it take fluids to flush these hormones from your system. p.s. Congratulations on the weight loss thus far.

Most essential oils are fairly benign so in general, I do not see a problem.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I would recommend three things at your stage. 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.

Many experience problems drinking protein shakes. I hated them. But in the beginning I drank them, three 16-ounce protein shakes a day, in order to meet my protein requirements. You do not have to like protein shakes only tolerate them. There are many varieties of protein shakes available today. Experiment until you can find one you can tolerate. There are many different types of formulations on protein shakes. I would recommend that you keep experimenting until you find one that you can tolerate. You don't have to like it, just tolerate it. I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme) powder blended with water and a half a banana. That worked for me. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might try premixed Isopure. If you tried all the various varieties and still are unsuccessfully, then there is the fallback of fortified milk. 32 ounces of 1% milk fortified by adding 1 cup of dried milk provides 56 grams of protein. It also takes a dent out of meeting the fluid requirements. Mix up a pitcher and drink a little throughout the day. Without sufficient protein, your body will scavenge protein from other areas of your body, such as your muscles. Protein is extremely important after surgery as its job in the body is to build and maintain tissues including your body's major organs and skeletal muscles. Protein deficiency, when continued over a long period of time can cause a disease known as protein caloric malnutrition. Common symptoms are poor healing, fatigue, hair loss and muscle wasting. Immediate post op, protein promotes healing of the staple line and incisions. Since you are 3 months post-op, there is another option that has opened up for you. You can begin using protein bars in place of protein shakes. I used Quest protein bars. These bars were good in that they had high protein, minimal sugar and also contained fiber. They also came in a lot of different flavors. Protein bars are good when you are on the go and can't drag along a blender in order to mix a protein shake. A Quest protein bar contains 220 calories and provides 21 grams of protein. A Muscle Milk Light protein [2 scoops of powder in a 16 ounce glass] contains 210 calories and provides 25 grams of protein. So they are comparable.

Congratulations.

Good luck on your surgery and check back with us and let us know how it went when you are on the other side.

Sometimes I think many people are in denial. They do not want to face the fact that they are overweight. So you may represent someone who has taken the bull by the horns and made changes to your life. They may feel the pressure of making a decision towards the same direction. Some may secretly wish that you fail so that they don't have to feel the pressure.

But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. Taking crushed Citrical tablets in this manner was like eating chalk. The only way I could down these was by mixing them with crystal light and drinking them down. Because they formed a paste at the bottom of the glass. I had to remix these and chug them down several times. Luckily my inability to swallow lasted only a couple months and then I was back to normal.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, the part of your stomach that process fat and sugars has been cut away. Therefore consuming this type of food can lead to dumping syndrome. But after around a year post-op, your intestines figure out something is wrong and step up to the plate and begin to process this type of food. The three most important elements after RNY 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. Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes. There are two phases to weight loss surgery, the weight loss phase and the maintenance phase. The goals of each phase and the approach used to achieve those goals are different. The low carb approach may be applicable during the maintenance phase but if you want to lose the weight stick to the program requirements given by your surgeon. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control during the weight loss phase.

Some of the individuals on this website did have that condition and it caused them problems. It is important to get this condition treated before surgery. According to the internet: Therapy for H. pylori infection consists of 10 days to 2 weeks of one or two effective antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, tetracycline (not to be used for children <12 yrs.), metronidazole, or clarithromycin, plus either ranitidine bismuth citrate, bismuth subsalicylate, or a proton pump inhibitor. Another article says: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery, and they are typically associated with inappropriate diet and noncompliance with a gastroplasty diet (ie, eat undisturbed, chew meticulously, never drink with meals, and wait 2 hours before drinking after solid food is consumed). If these symptoms are associated with epigastric pain, significant dehydration, or not explained by dietary indiscretions, an alternative diagnosis must be explored. One of the most common complications causing nausea and vomiting in gastric bypass patients is anastomotic ulcers, with and without stomal stenosis. Ulceration or stenosis at the gastrojejunostomy of the gastric bypass has a reported incidence of 3% to 20%. Although no unifying explanation for the etiology of anastomotic ulcers exists, most experts agree that the pathogenesis is likely multifactorial. These ulcers are thought to be due to a combination of preserved acid secretion in the pouch, tension from the Roux limb, ischemia from the operation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and perhaps Helicobacter pylori infection. Evidence suggests that little acid is secreted in the gastric bypass pouch; however, staple line dehiscence may lead to excessive acid bathing of the anastomosis. Treatment for both marginal ulcers and stomal ulcers should include avoidance of NSAIDs, antisecretory therapy with proton-pump inhibitors, and/or sucralfate. In addition, H pylori infection should be identified and treated, if present.

It might be a stricture. https://www.realself.com/question/stricture

It might be a stricture. https://www.realself.com/question/stricture They generally occur around 4-8 weeks post-op. You noticed symptoms at around 10 weeks. The fact that you are even having problems drinking fluids tells me this is abnormal. So work this problem out with your surgeon.

I had severe acid reflux prior to surgery, so I had gastric bypass because sleeve will only make the condition worse. Many on this site had sleeve only to have it revised to gastric bypass because of problems with GERD after they were sleeved.

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

Good luck on your surgery.

I was a size 3X in shirts down to a size small and size 46 in pants down to a size 33.

I had episodes of severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery. I used Prilosec to treat the condition before surgery. For the first year after surgery, the surgeon had me take Omeprazole (over the counter Prilosec) to allow my stomach to heal properly. So during the first year I couldn't tell that this condition was placed into remission. But I am now 4 years post-op, I am off Prilosec and I do not experience GERD. Other types of surgery such as sleeve will only make this condition worse. So there are several people who had sleeve surgery that had to have it revised to gastric bypass to correct this condition. So from my own personal experience, I think the statement your read is incorrect.

I did not experience any fatigue after my RNY gastric bypass surgery. I just followed the regiment of vitamins prescribed by my surgeon's office. But some report problems. I did not have problems with prescription medicine. When I left the hospital I was off my two types of diabetes meds for high blood sugar and haven't taken any since. After a few weeks my blood pressure was dropping like a brick so I took myself off the two types of high blood pressure meds. I consulted my doctor the next time I had an appointment and he was fine with that. I am now over 4 years post-op and I have taken myself off the last of my prescription medicine for my asthma. I cut my prescription in half a year ago without any problem so now I completely took myself off it. I didn't realize that the surgery might also be beneficial for this condition. Some people experience problems with prescription medicines. Some of this has to do with downsizing the prescriptions. For example if you continue to take your high blood pressure meds or blood sugar meds, they can cause other types of problems. I lost my ability to swallow large pills after surgery and this affected primarily my taking of large vitamins such as calciums without breaking them up. This condition lasted for around 2 months and then I was back to normal. Sometimes for some prescription meds, absorption becomes a problems. So work these issues with you surgeon's office. I suffered no dental problems. But I did come across one individual who experienced severe problems. But this was because of either problems with the surgery or other medical conditions amplified by the surgery. I couldn't find out which. I only saw her at one bariatric surgery support group meeting and she never returned. In her case she could eat only minuscule amounts of food or drink at a time and as a result nibbled food many times a day. I couldn't even tell if she had any follow up after surgery or if she was following the surgeon's directions to a tea. But dental problems can result in extreme cases. Dumping syndrome can happen but it is a good thing a learning experience. Maybe only half of the patients experience this after surgery. I have had dumping syndrome several times and it is awful but I don't regret the surgery because of it.

Congratulations.

I had a few leg craps before and after surgery. They normally occurred at night and they woke me up from my sleep. I found relief by getting up out of bed and putting pressure on the leg for at least 5 minutes. According to the internet: A leg cramp, or charley horse, occurs when a leg muscle suddenly tightens, causing pain that at times can be severe. Lack of either calcium or potassium can be the cause of cramps in the legs. The minerals calcium and potassium are electrolytes, meaning they carry electrical impulses that control the muscles. An imbalance in these minerals can disrupt muscle function. Improving your diet may help you restore your mineral levels.

Congratulations on your surgery. I remember being in the hospital wishing only to sleep in my own bed again.

Many individuals do not have bowel movements for several days after surgery. It is sort of like "liquids in, liquids out".

Normally I would say that the symptoms match that of a stricture. This article discusses strictures. https://www.realself.com/question/stricture This is especially true because you are experiencing nausea even with liquids. But in your case you underwent an endoscopy and I believe this would have detected that condition.

I came across an interesting article this morning that discussed pain medication, specifically pain medication and relief after surgery. Many pain medicines are opioid based and there is the risk of addiction. Currently the government is clamping down on the use of these medications. This article discusses an alternative approach to pain management using a engineered chemical formulation. From my perspective it is analogous to a time release formulation. This looks like a valid approach to pain management that could very well be over the horizon in a few years. Pacira, a New Jersey-based company that specializes in putting drugs into liposomes did just that. In 2011 the FDA approved EXPAREL, Pacira's liposomal Marcaine formulation, for the treatment of postoperative pain (6). Marcaine itself is no slouch when it comes to long-lasting pain relief, but the controlled release properties of EXPAREL make quite a difference. EXPAREL was effective for up to three days, compared to 7 hours for Marcaine. How well does it work? According to Dr. Dinenstein, very well. In 2012 Dinenstein began using the product off-label by injecting it directly into the wound while closing. About 95% of his patients had their pain controlled well enough that they didn't need any pain medications. https://www.acsh.org/news/2017/10/20/surviving-post-op-pain-without-opioids-thanks-chemistry-11982