James Marusek

First off, this has absolutely nothing to do with gastric bypass or weight loss surgery. I read through my morning newsletters and came across this article. Apparently there is a new synthetic cannabinoid that is 85 times more powerful than THC, the main mind-altering ingredient found in marijuana. It puts people in a "zombie-like" state: staring blankly, moving and responding to medics slowly, and occasionally groaning. I think this synthetic cannabinoid has the nickname Spice, which is probably after the book/movie called Dune. http://acsh.org/news/2017/01/21/drug-85-times-more-potent-thc-caused-zombie-outbreak-new-york-city-10754 There are many addictions in the world. Some are addicted to overeating while others are addicted to becoming zombies.

I am lost on this one! Many people go to Mexico for surgery because their health insurance doesn't cover the surgery. So Mexico can be a lower cost option. So if complications arise, how is this funded? This is a very good question. There are a number of individuals on this website that have had surgery in Mexico. I am sure they could provide you their experiences.

During your stay in the hospital they pump your body full of fluids. So generally by the time you leave you are a few pounds heavier than when you entered. You will lose this weight during the first few weeks after surgery. So I wouldn't expect too much overall weight loss by week 2.

After gastric bypass surgery, many people use yogurt. Generally the advise is to avoid yogurt with fruit on the bottom because the fruit generally has added sugar. Greek yogurt is better than normal yogurt because it has almost twice the protein content. So I would recommend that you select a yogurt with "no added sugar". Read the ingredient label for contents and avoid any yogurt with process sugar listed in the ingredients. Milk and milk products can contain natural sugars. So even though the yogurt may indicate 6 grams of sugar, if it is all derived from natural sugars contained in the dairy used to make the yogurt, that will not present a problem.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Life is full of risk. I had RNY gastric bypass surgery because I was overweight and my obesity began to seriously affect my health and my life expectancy. A am 3 1/2 years post-op and having the surgery was one of the best decisions I ever made. But it sounds like you are focusing on minimizing complications. So prior to surgery you might create or update your will. Generally this type of surgery is probably on the same order of danger as most types of operations today. There is the risk of blood clots, so make sure you wear compression stockings after surgery and take the prescription blood thinner medicine and walk, walk, walk. There is a risk of ulcers, so make sure you stay away from NSAIDs such as aspirin and also use a proton pump inhibitors (such as Prilosec) for the first year post-op. 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. So the focus post surgery is on protein, fluid, vitamin, exercise and meal volume control in order to minimize risks. Pre-surgery I would recommend the following: 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.

It is somewhat common for people to develop ulcers after surgery. Generally the advise from the internet is: 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. So you said that you are taking pantoprazole which is a proton-pump inhibitor, you are already following one of the prescribed approaches. You should also avoid all NSAIDs. This includes aspirin and Excedrin (which contains aspirin), which can cause ulcers or make them worse. The following is a list of NSAIDs: Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Naproxen, Meloxicam, Celecoxib, Indomethacin, Ketorolac, Ketoprofen, Nimesulide, Piroxicam, Etoricoxib, Mefenamic acid, Carprofen, Aspirin/paracetamol/caffeine, Etodolac, Loxoprofen, Nabumetone, Flurbiprofen, Salicylic acid, Aceclofenac, Sulindac, Phenylbutazone, Dexketoprofen, Lornoxicam, Tenoxicam, Diflunisal, Diclofenac/Misoprostol, Flunixin, Benzydamine, Valdecoxib, Oxaprozin, Nepafenac, Etofenamate, Ethenzamide, Naproxen sodium, Dexibuprofen, Diclofenac sodium, Bromfenac, Diclofenac potassium, Fenoprofen, Tolfenamic acid, Tolmetin, Tiaprofenic acid, Lumiracoxib, Phenazone, Salsalate, Felbinac, Hydrocodone/ibuprofen, Fenbufen

After surgery, many people not only drop clothing sizes but also shoe sizes. They might see a reduction in the shoe size but also a reduction in the width of their feet. So since you are pre-op, you might want to wait to see if this might apply to you.

In general, the three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. So a problem in any of these areas could cause your symptoms. For example, a lack of B12 can cause this. But since you got your labs back and they were good, that indicates that this may not be the problem area. Another type of problem that could cause this is reactive hypoglycemia. Here is a link that describes this condition. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass/

@@Ldyvenus you have sleeve surgery whereas I had RNY gastric bypass surgery, so your regiment may be different. But are you trying to get your Protein solely from meals? 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 RNY 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. As your stomach heals after surgery and you are a few months post-op, another option opens up. This is Protein Bars. A good Protein Bar (high in protein and low in sugar) is a good alternative especially when you are on the go. I found Quest to make good protein bars and they come in a variety of flavors. As my meal volume increase, it gave me the option to derive more protein from my meals and because I concentrated on consuming high protein meals I was able to begin to offload my reliance on protein supplements.

There are many causes of a GI bleed. The color of the blood can sometimes tell you whether it is an upper or lower GI bleed. https://medlineplus.gov/gastrointestinalbleeding.html My mom had a severe GI bleed where she had to go to the hospital for a blood transfusion. In her case she was taking Excedrin as a pain medicine. Excedrin contains aspirin, is a blood thinner, and she was popping 5 or 6 a day for several years. This caused the problem. We restricted her from Excedrin and aspirin products and that corrected the problem.

Congratulations.

Here are some recommendations: 1. Give up all carbonated beverages and caffeine from your diet. I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit prior to surgery and dropped 20 pounds on that change alone. But be prepared that if you remove caffeine from you diet that you may suffer from caffeine withdrawal. This lasted about a week for me with severe headaches and body aches. So if you make this change be prepared for a little suffering. Remember you have to do this for the surgery anyways, so why not make this change now. You definitely do not want to compound your recovery from weight loss surgery with caffeine withdrawal pain. 2. After surgery you will need to rely on Protein supplements (Protein shakes and protein bars). So I would recommend you purchase good Protein Bars (low on sugar and high on protein) and consume these as Snacks. Quest make a good Protein Bar with a lot of variety. 3. Get off the sugar. Transition over to artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda or sugar alcohols) or natural no calorie sweeteners (such as stevia). There are many products on grocery store shelves that have "No Sugar Added" label. So have hot cocoa but the No Sugar Added cocoa mix. Adkins makes a number of products that will take the edge off your sweet tooth. Read the labels, if it has more than 5 grams of sugar on the label, you may want to avoid these products and foods. 4. Walk 30 minutes each and every day. 5. Eat meals high in protein and low in carbs. Limit your complex carbs (such as bread and pasta) to one meal per day.

To put it bluntly, the reason why you had the surgery was to lose weight (which you had done because you lost 111 pounds) and to get your health back from the brink. So generally I would say you were successful. One of the problems is your new relationship with other people. My wife was the one who suggested the surgery in the first place. She is normal weight and supportive. But many family members around me are not. My brothers and sisters almost refuse to talk with me. They are overweight and have health issues. I represent a success story, something they could strive to achieve but they do not want to change that badly, so they just avoid me and definitely do not want to talk about my surgery. Perhaps in time they will do an about face, but they are grown people who make their own decisions.

I am a bit confused. You said "I'm not losing much, steady at 138". So are we talking about 138 pounds or 138 kgs. It seems if it was pounds that weight loss was not the major driver for the surgery. Also since you said that you had a lap band to bypass conversion was your conversion to RNY gastric bypass or was it a mini-bypass? 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. You are over 7 weeks post-op. Generally after RNY gastric bypass you walk through 3 stages. Weeks 1-4 liquid, weeks 5-8 pureed foods, weeks 9+ solid foods. So you are almost up to the solid stage. The solid stage can be fairly rough on your stomach, so I concentrated on soft foods (such as chili and soups) rather than harder foods such as steak and chicken. I have included a few recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf One of the individuals in our Bariatric Surgery Support Group meetings had a lap band to RNY gastric bypass conversion. Because of the scar tissue, the bypass produced a smaller opening. This meant that he had to adjust to consuming more than 3 meals a day but with smaller portions. You may have a stricture. This may be the case if you are vomiting after eating applesauce. Since you are finding it difficult to consume your vitamins (one of the three primary requirements), then you have a problem that needs to be looked at and resolved. This is not normal. Remember the three primaries are meeting your daily vitamins, protein, and fluids requirements.

My trigger for migraines are florescent lights. Since I worked in a large building which was lit by florescent lighting, the only thing that worked for me when I felt an attack coming was to go outside and recover using natural lighting.

Congratulations.

I was given a daily logger in which I recorded the food and exercise I did each day. I also started to attend Bariatric Surgery Support Group meetings held once per month and after each meeting I received a paper that stated I attended the meeting. I exercised each day 30 minutes of walking. I tracked the calories I ate. This was especially helpful when I ate out at fast food restaurants. So I changed what I ate. I also gave up consuming carbonated beverages and caffeine. By giving up my 6 diet Coke a day habit alone, I was able to drop 20 pounds pre-op. Then each month I met with my doctor and provided them with this information and discussed my progress and tips on how to lose weight.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery and according to my surgeon's directions, lettuce became acceptable at week 9 post-op.

After about a year post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery your body changes again. Your intestines realize that the stomach is no longer processing fats and sugars and steps up to the plate and picks up that function. I am 3 1/2 years post-op RNY and I discussed my strategy in the Maintenance phase and the use of artificial sweeteners in the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

You are still very early in the process, so don't get too freaked out by your scale. For some individuals it might even be better to throw the scale in the trash. Someone on this website came up with the slogan "Embrace the Stall". I suspect in the end, you will drop significantly below your goal weight of 180 pounds, maybe down to 140 to 150 pound range. Just adhere to the program guidelines. I had a sweet tooth prior to surgery and still have one today. But I had also developed Type II Diabetes. So now I satisfy my sweet tooth with artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and no-calorie natural sweeteners such as stevia. Fortunately today many more products are showing up in the grocery stores using these alternative.

For information: MGB is an acronym for Mini Gastric Bypass surgery. It is common in Europe, Australia, Mexico and other parts of the world but no so common in the U.S.

After surgery I took no pain medicine after I left the operating room. In part this was because I wanted to be able to drive sooner than later. But because I walked everyday for 30 minutes prior to surgery for the year before, I really didn't have any pain. The surgeon will not give you clearance to drive if you are on narcotic pain meds. If you are doing long haul trucking, it is probably best to stop often and walk for a few minutes every now and then to prevent blood clot formation and use compression leg wear as @@Berry78 has said.

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. I did not experience any problems in this area but some people do. But it shouldn't continue forever.

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 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.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery. I found softer foods (such as chili and soups) went down a lot easier than harder foods (such as steak). So that is what I relied upon. I have included some recipes at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf