James Marusek

After my surgery when I was in the hospital I could not drink the Water. It tasted overly chlorinated. It was impossible to drink and I loved water before surgery. Taste buds can change after surgery. Over the first year post-op, my taste buds continued to change slowly reverting back to near normal.

After surgery it can be difficult to meet your daily Fluid requirements. It affects some people more than others. When I was in the hospital, I couldn't even drink the Water because my taste buds changed and the water tasted overly chlorinated. I was looking at a magazine today and came across an interesting invention, and I alway like new inventions. It was called a Citrus Zinger Infuser Water Bottle. It seemed like a neat idea. I wondered if anyone who underwent bariatric surgery ever used this type of product and whether they liked it. Especially if they were having problems getting in their fluids. http://www.target.com/p/citrus-zinger-infuser-water-bottle-28-oz-blue/-/A-26391762

As a child I was short and skinny. I used to get bullied and beaten up on a regular basis. As I approached adulthood, I gained a little weight. This meant that I could defend myself better because I had a little weight to push around. In later life as an obese adult, I felt I was being discriminated against in the work environment because of my weight. Nothing that was said to my face and nothing that could be proved in a court of law. Only this is one of the sad realities of life. After losing the weight due to RNY gastric bypass surgery, I can observe the difference that society treats me. I went from invisible to visible. It seems like I have gained more respect. These are subjective observations and may not have a basis in reality. They lie in the smallest of things.

Sorry I don't speak Spanish. But on your question about chicken breast. Eating meat can be very difficult after gastric bypass surgery. I found it pretty important to tenderize the meat. Generally I take a chicken breast and put it in a covered pot of Water. I add a bouillon cube or two and then let it cook on low heat for several hours until the meat is so tender that it comes apart with a fork.

I used Muscle Milk Light (Vanilla Creme) Protein powder. It gave me 25 grams of protein per shake. I found that I could improve the taste dramatically by blending in a half a banana into the shake. Normally I like chocolate but post surgery, my taste buds changed a lot. The powder is lactose free. After surgery I became lactose intolerant and this prevented me from drinking milk or blending in milk into my Protein Shake.

I am 3 1/2 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. I documented the approach that I used in a short article. It contains a discussion on carbs. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery three and a half years ago. Generally I think infused Water is good. But you may want to wait a little. There are probably 2 issues. The first is sugar. Some fruits such as oranges have high levels of sugar. These are natural sugars, so they are not like refined sugars. So drinking orange juice could be a problem immediately after surgery due to its sugar content. Orange juice could lead to dumping. Consulting my requirements, oranges became an acceptable fruit after 4 months post-op. But infused water is not orange juice and a few drops of orange in a bottle of water, probably will not present any issues. The next concern is acid content. So I think of lemons. You probably don't want to bath your new stomach with acids until it has a chance to heal. So a glass of fresh squeeze lemonade at the beginning might be a problem. But then again a few drops of lemon in bottle of water, might be harmless. So maybe my answer is "I don't know, but I don't think it will be a problem."

Congratulations.

I might not be of any help because I didn't go through a liquid pre-op diet. It was something I went through post-op. But I would think milk or hot cocoa (no sugar added powder) would be acceptable. They should have good Protein. One thing I really enjoyed pre-surgery was a berry smoothie. I included the recipe at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Good luck on your upcoming surgery and check back with us when you are on the other side and let us know of your experiences.

I am 3 1/2 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. Just about everything in my closet is now gone. And I mean everything. I went from a size 3X in shirts down to a size small and from a size 46 in pants down to a size 33. I tried to keep my belts by notching additional holes in them and cutting off the ends. But they are all gone now. I gave up all my coats and jackets, because my shoulders became smaller and as a result, the sleeves became longer and I started to look like Disney character Droopy, the dwarf in Snow White. For some people they even have to replace their shoes because their feet become smaller in length and for some in width. After surgery you will find the loose fitting clothes will come in handy. It will help to minimize the pain in the area around your stomach. You may also find that belts are indispensable to keep your pants up. Also there is a saying called "Never trust a fart" that you need to remember. Fortunately this condition only last for a month or two.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. One thing to do before you go off to the hospital is to 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.

I am three and a half years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. Stevia is very good to use as a low calorie natural sweetener. I use it all the time in my tea.

I am three and a half years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. This is my experience with the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

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 RNY gastric bypass surgery. These are the Weight Loss phase and the Maintenance phase. The Weight Loss phase is extremely short for RNY patients. In my case I naturally transitioned into the Maintenance phase at 7 months. Therefore it is extremely important that if you want to maximize your weight loss during this phase, you follow the guidelines. So when it comes to meals, it is important to follow the volume limits of your meals. In the beginning your stomach is in a heal mode. Therefore you need to follow the directions on the transition stages for full liquids/pureed foods/solid food. Also the guidelines for food types. I am an experimenter. So I deviated from these requirements at times - pushing the envelop. But then again I suffered the consequences, such as dumping syndrome. I am around 3 1/2 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. I eat out sometimes and sometimes these are at fast food restaurants. I have found the chili at Wendy's to be good and a couple crunchy tacos at Taco Bell to be a good meal. Before surgery, I would scarf down 5 tacos at a meal, but now 2 is the limit or I will digress into dumping. But then again I have transitioned into maintenance. So hold your feet to the fire during your first year and a half if you want to see the results.

After surgery, I had diarrhea. It was not due to the Vitamins but rather the fact that I became lactose intolerant. This condition lasted for about 2 months and then disappeared. Anytime I drank milk, I had an upset stomach, a trip to the restroom and diarrhea. It was almost immediate. As a result after surgery I had to discontinue drinking milk, consuming dairy products, and make sure my Protein shakes did not contain lactose. Since the construct of many vitamins will vary, if you are allergic to one brand of Vitamin, you might try other brands. Experiment.

According to the internet: A hiatal hernia occurs when part of your stomach pushes upward through your diaphragm. Your diaphragm normally has a small opening (hiatus) through which your food tube (esophagus) passes on its way to connect to your stomach. A hiatal hernias may cause acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). So after reading your post, it appears that you do not know if you have a hiatal hernia. I believe that many times when patients undergo bariatric surgery, they discover a hernia, sometimes it is a hiatal hernia. In many cases they correct the condition at the same time they perform bariatric surgery. I had a RNY gastric bypass surgery because I had severe acid reflux (GERD). It is my understanding that sleeve surgery will only make this condition worse. Some posters on this site had sleeve surgery only to go through another round of surgery later because of GERD made their surgery intolerable.

It is common to undergo many steps in order to qualify for surgery. Many of these steps are dictated by your health insurance. In my case it was around 10 months from my initial consult until I received the surgery. I went through the following steps. Initial consult Psychological exam Meeting with nutritionist 6 month medically supervised weight loss program that included diet and exercise Visits at the monthly bariatric support groups meetings. Pre-op testing which lasted almost a day A half day training class that discussed pre-op and post-op requirements. A second round of pre-op tests specifically focusing on the areas they had concern with. I recommend you do 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.

Good luck.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I recommend you do 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.

You might try shock treatment!!!! I remember 50 years ago when I was in Boot Camp, I didn't know if I would make it home for Christmas. The chance was looking pretty poor because all the marbles were not in place. So when I talked with my mom leading up to the holidays, I told her it probably wasn't going to happen. Well at the last minute, my orders came through and I flew home and had my sister pick me up at the airport. I called my mom and told her that I wasn't going to make it. My sister took me home and I knocked on the front door. I looked a lot different after bootcamp. They almost shaved all the hair off my head. I lost weight and was looking rather trim. When my mom opened the door she didn't recognize me. She thought I was still in Texas. She initially thought I must be a military friend from bootcamp. It was one of the biggest surprises that I ever did. Shock treatment can be good sometimes. It opens the avenues of communication. So maybe next time you are going to visit your mother. Call her up at the last minute and tell her something came up and you will not get to visit with her and then ring her doorbell.

Congratulations.

I am over 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. At 8 months post-op sleeve, you do not need to separate your solids and liquids from Soup. Consume your soup like you did prior to surgery.

This is a short article that I wrote about my experience with the "Maintenance Phase". http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

You will transition into maintenance phase but just not now. It is still way too soon. It sound like you are following the program so just stay on target. Someone on this site adopted the slogan "Embrace the Stall".