James Marusek

It will get better each day but not overnight. It took me around 6 months until all the problems seemed to melt away. I remember at the beginning the complexity of taking the vitamins scheduled over the whole day, measuring each bit of food I consumed. It literally consumed my whole day. I wrote down my observations into a short article. It might be of some help in the days ahead. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

The transition to solid foods such as Steak and Chicken can be a rough one. I found that softer foods in the form of chili and soups went down much easier, so I made my own homemade high protein soups and chilis. I have included some of the recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Good luck on your surgery. I will pray all goes well.

It is very natural to be afraid prior to surgery. To get your mind off this 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.

Congratulations

Congratulations.

According to the internet: Others try the natural approach and chew on herbs like Italian parsley, which they swear eliminates even garlic breath. Another herb you can try is mint. Chew mint leaves or put a few drops of mint oil on your toothbrush and go to town. Mint smells great, plus it naturally cools your mouth. Be warned though – mint oil is potent so go sparingly! Don’t like the flavor of mint? One of our Facebook group members swears by a drop of tea tree oil with your toothpaste when you brush. You can even buy toothpaste and mouthwash that has tea tree oil in it! You should also drink more water and swish it around in your mouth to clean out some particles that could cause the ketosis smell. Drink more water. Brush your teeth more often. Use mouthwash. Use a moisturizing mouth spray. Chew herbs. Add a drop of mint or tea tree oil to your toothpaste. Use toothpaste and mouthwash that contains tea tree oil. Chew sugarless gum. Suck on sugarless mints. In particular, those that contain Xylitol also kill bacteria and can prevent cavities. Some experts in the field feel that the lack of moisture in the mouth also contributes to the bad ketosis breath smell. For this many feel that Biotène ® Moisturizing Mouth Spray helps eliminate the odor. It comes in a convenient small spray bottle that will fit in your purse or pocket so it’s always handy. You will find it in the toothpaste aisle of your local drugstore or can be bought online. I have found the best price at Walmart, where it’s over $2.50 less than CVS.

Immediately after gastric bypass surgery, I became lactose intolerant. Any time I tried to drink/eat anything with lactose such as milk, it quickly lead to an upset stomach and then diarrhea. This condition lasted for around 2 months and then resolved itself. Also if you haven't already, it might be a good idea to take probiotics. Generally in the hospital, you received antibiotics. This killed not only the bad bacteria but also the good bacteria in you gut. Therefore it is a good idea to reestablish the colonies of good bacteria after surgery by taking probiotics.

During the first few weeks after surgery, you stomach is in a major heal mode. Many patients find it difficult to meet their daily protein requirements during this very early stage. Just keep trying to reach your goal and you should be able to get there soon. 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. 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. There are also some protein powders that can be added to your foods. I didn't try these but others on this site reported using them.

Have you taken 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.

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. At 4 weeks post-op, my surgeon's guidelines said 2 ounces per meal (1/4 cup). Weight loss is achieved during the short weight loss phase through meal volume control. The two operative words here are short and volume. So if you want to maximize your weight loss during this phase, you need to adhere to the program guidelines. I slid into the maintenance phase at 7 months.

The condition you are experiencing is called reactive hypoglycemia. A few patients after gastric bypass surgery experience this condition. Reactive hypoglycemia (postprandial hypoglycemia) refers to low blood sugar that occurs after a meal — usually within four hours after eating. Signs and symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia may include hunger, weakness, shakiness, sleepiness, sweating, lightheadedness and anxiety. These links discuss the condition: https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/4/217 [Most patients with dumping respond to nutrition modification, comprising frequent, small, low-carbohydrate meals. In this article reactive hypoglycemia is referred to late dumping syndrome.] http://www.weightlosssurgery.ca/before-after-surgery/reactive-hypoglycaemia-post-gastric-bypass/ https://www.stjoes.ca/patients-visitors/patient-education/f-j/PD 7972 Reactive Hypoglycemia after Bariatric Surgery.pdf

It is interesting what is being proposed in the United Kingdom. The NHS will ban patients from surgery indefinitely unless they lose weight or quit smoking, under controversial plans drawn up in Hertfordshire. The restrictions mean those with a Body Mass Index of 30 or more will be set targets to reduce their weight by 10 per cent over nine months, with those with a BMI over 40 will be told to cut their weight by 15 per cent. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/17/nhs-provokes-fury-indefinite-surgery-ban-smokers-obese/ The National Health Service (NHS) is the public health services of England, Scotland and Wales, and is commonly used to refer to those of Northern Ireland.

Your stomach is much smaller after surgery so you don’t have as big a reservoir for the air you breathe on a daily basis. Since you swallow air when eating, breathing, drinking, talking and initially after surgery, your body needs to adjust. Burping is one way your body gets rid of excess air or gas from your stomach. This is self-limiting and will get better as you adjust to your new digestive system. Stay away from straws and carbonation since these can increase the amount of air in the pouch.

It doesn't sound like its weight loss surgery related. According to the internet: The definition of a nosebleed is simply bleeding from the blood vessels in the nose. ... The most common causes of nosebleeds are drying of the nasal membranes and nose picking (digital trauma), which can be prevented with proper lubrication of the nasal passages and not picking the nose. Normally when I get a nose bleed, I put a coat of Vasoline in my nose. Sometimes I get a nose bleed when it is very dry, such as wintertime when there is snow outside and I am heating the house with wood. So I keep a kettle of water on the wood stove and sometimes take a spray bottle and fill it with water and vinegar and spray the house with a fine spray. That helps to put some moisture back. According to the internet, the ways to prevent a nosebleed are: * Keep the inside of your nose moist. Dryness can cause nosebleeds. Use a cotton swab to gently smear a thin layer petroleum jelly in your nostrils three times a day, including before you go to sleep. You can also use an antibiotic ointment like Bacitracin or Polysporin. * Use a saline nasal product. Spraying it in your nostrils helps keep the inside of your nose moist. * Use a humidifier. Your nostrils might be dry because the air in your house is dry. * Don’t smoke. Smoking can irritate the inside of your nose and dry it out. * Don’t pick your nose. Also, don’t blow or rub it too hard. If your child is getting nosebleeds, keep his fingernails short and discourage him from picking his nose. * Don’t use cold and allergy medications too often. These can dry out your nose. In some cases, certain medications can cause nosebleeds or make them worse. You may need to discuss your medications with your doctor. But keep taking them unless your doctor tells you to stop.

Glad to hear you are better.

Congratulations on your surgery. Walking helped me reduce my pain levels significantly. Good luck on your recovery.

Welcome back.

You may want to incorporate protein bars as a supplement, instead of protein shakes. At around 3 months post-op RNY gastric bypass, I switched over to using these. 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. A Quest protein bar contains around 220 calories and provides 21 grams of protein. A Muscle Milk Light protein shake [2 scoops of powder in a 16 ounce glass] contains 210 calories and provides 25 grams of protein. So they are comparable. Also your food volume may be great enough now that you can start to derive your required protein from your meals. I provided some recipes at the end of the following article. I relied heavily on soft foods such as chili and soups to get in my protein. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf They went down much easier than harder foods such as steak and chicken and also had more flavor.

niccib - Congratulation on your surgery. Let us know if we can be of any help. Right after surgery your body is in a major heal mode. It is common for individuals to be unable to meet their daily protein and fluid requirements from the get-go. Just keep trying to reach you goals and you should be able to get there within the first couple weeks. 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.

I had a problem with frequent urination prior to my gastric bypass surgery. But that problem became much better after the operation. What type of surgery did you have and how long ago was it? I am over 4 years post op and I did notice that drinking coffee can definitely affect this condition.

Congratulations on giving up smoking, overcoming breast cancer and undergoing gastric bypass surgery. I hope you can put all these problems behind you and all goes well in your future. Many people know that smoking is related to cancer, but what many people do not know is that so is obesity.

Congratulations.

Should be good!

Several individuals on this site have revisions from sleeve to RNY gastric bypass. The main motivator was severe acid reflux (Gerd) which occurs in sleeve patients but not generally in gastric bypass patients.