James Marusek

If you have GERD then go with RNY gastric bypass surgery. Sleeve will only make this condition worse. Several members on this board have undergone revisions from sleeve to RNY gastric bypass because of this problem. I am over 3 years post-op RNY surgery. The main reason why I had the surgery was because of medical issues. I had high blood pressure, diabetes, GERD and sleep apnea along with other conditions. All these conditions went into remission within weeks/days after surgery. I am off all the prescription medicines that I was taking for these conditions. Life is good. By the way I am 68 years old. I take a regiment of vitamins each day and periodically my blood is analyzed to ensure that my vitamin intake is correct. So my nutrient levels are well balanced and fine tweeked. My bones seemed fine. I do little projects around the house. Last year I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel by hand along with around 60,000 pounds of concrete blocks and this year I moved about the same amount.

Yes I did drop 2 pounds a day after surgery. This quickly tapered off to 1 pounds per day and then stalls as I progressed towards the maintenance phase.

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. It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. I remember in the hospital after surgery I could not drink the Water because it tasted very chlorinated. Eventually I found flavored water such as Crystal Light to work O.K. 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. Over time as your meal volume increases, if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals, you can begin to reduce your reliance on protein shakes. I went from 3 a day, down to 2, down to 1 and eventually none when I reached 1 cup per meal at a year and a half post-op.

After surgery your taste buds change. After the operation when I was in the hospital, I couldn't drink the Water. It tasted very chlorinated, like I was drinking swimming pool water but worse. I eventually found that I could tolerate drinking flavored water such as Crystal Light. I used to like drinking water prior to surgery so this came as a shock. I am now over 3 years post-op and this problem has completely disappeared. I can now enjoy drinking just plain water again.

Sorry, I have no idea. Perhaps it is not something you are missing in your diet but rather an addiction response. When I gave up caffeine, I suffered through a week of withdrawal syndrome - severe headaches and body aches. But you are 17 days out so you should be well over this reaction. Perhaps it is related to medication or the cessation of medication. Maybe pain medication.

Since you are at the beginning of this process, 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. Also stress can cause weight gain. So the recommendation to stay off the scale may be appropriate.

Where are you at in the process? Pre-op, post-op, how long? Sounds a little like dumping syndrome.

Prior to my RNY gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago, I had sleep apnea. At night I would keep my wife awake all night long with my snoring. After surgery this condition went into remission and stayed there. I would wake up in the middle of the night and find my wife hovering over me. I asked her what she was doing. She said I was sleeping so quietly she was trying to find out if I was still alive. I came across an article today called Engineer in NJ Transit crash had undiagnosed sleep apnea, officials say that points to one of the dangers of sleep apnea. The article says that the 29 September 2016 commuter train crash that killed 1 and injured 108 people in Hoboken, New Jersey and also the 1 December 2013 commuter train crash that killed 4 and injured 63 people in New York may have been due to the conductors suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea. I guess I always put sleep apnea in the box of snoring but I wonder how many lives are lost when drivers temporarily fall asleep at the wheel, or train conductors at the controls of the engine, or ship pilots at the helm. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/16/engineer-in-nj-transit-crash-had-undiagnosed-sleep-apnea-officials-say.html

Most of this computer spam [spam is considered to be electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited email.] is generated from Pakistan and India. My count so far from the 15 spam threads I observed is Pakistan-13, India-2.

I didn't experience any knee pain. But at night I did experience leg cramps. [A muscle cramp is a strong, painful contraction or tightening of a muscle that comes on suddenly and lasts from a few seconds to several minutes. It often occurs in the legs. A muscle cramp is also called a charley horse. Nighttime leg cramps are usually sudden spasms, or tightening, of muscles in the calf.] Several threads report this condition was common after surgery. It can be caused by dehydration and also by a deficiency in vitamins/ minerals (Calcium, potassium).

The hardest pill for me to swallow was the Calcium supplements (Citrical). These were large pills and after surgery, I could not swallow these so I resorted to crushing them. But swallowing these in Water tasted like chalk. Eventually I found out that I could crush them and add them to Crystal Light drink to mask the taste. I would stir up the drink and swallow it down. But there was always some paste left over at the bottom of the glass, so I would add some more drink, stir it up again and swallow that down. By the third time, I generally consumed the calcium. Luckily this stage does not last forever. After about 2 months I found out that I could swallow again and the problem was solved.

It is common to hit stalls along the way. So just keep meeting the program requirements, be patient and watch the pounds melt away.

You are 1 month out from surgery and you are showing a weight loss of 57.8 pounds. How much of that is pre-op?

I will pray that your surgery goes well. Check back with us when you are on the other side.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, the part of your stomach that process fats and sugars has been cut away. So if you consume either of these substances, this leads to dumping syndrome. But after many months, your intestines realize something is amiss and evolves to take up the slack. You body transforms. Therefore after this time, you stop dumping.

My surgeon's directions were to not start your Protein supplements until day 5 after surgery or until you have passed gas. The advise from different surgeons will differ. It is common for individuals to not meet their protein requirements at the very beginning because their stomachs are in a major heal mode. But since your surgery was on 11 November, I think you are far enough along to experiment with the various Protein shakes until you find one that you can tolerate.

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. After my RNY surgery, my weight loss tapered off and came to a natural plateau at 7 months. At your stage loosing 2-4 pounds per week, in my opinion doesn't seem too drastic. Right after my surgery, I was losing 2 pounds a day at the beginning. I am 5 foot 6 inches tall like yourself but I am a male. I went down to 143 at my lowest weight. In your case you might actual get down to 130 pounds before leveling off. So make sure that you are getting in your required protein, fluids, Vitamins, 30 minutes of walking each day or equivalent, and the specified meal volume and try not to worry too much.

You might not want to use this post-op because it contains caffeine. According to the internet the shake contains 110 calories, 2 grams sugar and 15 grams Protein, which seems O.K. pre-op.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago. One of the first changes I made was to give up my 6 diet coke a year habit. One of the requirements of the program was to stop consuming caffeine and carbonated beverages. So I decided to do this early. I lost 20 pounds on that change alone. But be forewarned. I suffered through a week of severe caffeine withdrawal (severe headaches and body aches) when I went cold turkey. Another thing you could do is to restrict yourself from drinking any fluids when you eat a meal. Drinking fluids during a meal allows you to consume more food. Another change you could make is to restrict you intake from processed sugar. Substitute artificial sugar such as Splenda or natural low calorie sugar such as Stevia in its place.

Congratulations.

Strictures are not the only cause of nausea and vomiting after surgery. According to the internet: 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.

After my RNY gastric bypass surgery, I walked 30 minutes each day. This is the recommended amount. Before surgery I would get hot, sweaty and get a little winded doing this exercise. At 2 weeks post-op, my body was performing much like it did during pre-op. Now I am 3 years post-op, and my body is performing very differently.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, I relied primarily on chili and Soups that I made myself. The recipes are contained at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

After my RNY gastric bypass surgery, I found that soft foods (such as chili and soups) went down much easier than hard foods (such as a piece of chicken or a steak). So this is what I relied on. Generally I cooked up a pot of chili or Soup and then removed some from a bowl stored in the refrigerator and microwaved it until it was hot. The problem I encountered, especially with reheating chili was that it exploded and splattered the inside of the microwave. I then found a ceramic bowl with a soft lid that contained a vent. This heated my meals well and at the same time meant that I was not constantly cleaning the inside of the microwave. So if you want to try this approach, you might refer to a short article that I wrote that described this and I also included recipes at the end. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Hair loss should come to an end and regrowth start near the end of the weight loss phase as you slide into the maintenance phase.