James Marusek

Here is another article you might consider: Artificial Sweeteners Don't Impact Blood Glucose. And They Never Did

Most artificial sweeteners and zero calorie natural sweeteners (Stevia) are fine to take. Almost all the negatives are just hype. Sugars are what needs to be avoided. Sugar Substitutes

Your daily vitamin requirement is very dependent on the type of surgery you had. So to adequately answer the question, you need to tell us what you had. Of the three major surgery types the vitamin requirements of the duodenal switch is the greatest, followed by gastric bypass, followed by the sleeve.

Generally in the first couple weeks after surgery, most people will find it difficult to meet their daily protein and fluid requirements. That is because your body is in a major heal mode. Just keep working towards your daily goal and you should be able to get there shortly. 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. 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.

Many people who have surgery have pain medicine afterwards. The pain medicine is generally narcotics. The doctor will not give you permission to drive until the narcotics wear off. In my case, I told them I didn't want any pain medicine after the operation. I really didn't need any. I experienced very little pain and most of the pain was gas pain which passed easily because I was constantly walking after surgery. As a result I could drive almost right after I left the hospital. But you will be extremely sore and it will take many days before you will feel like you really want to drive.

If you are dehydrated, you can exhibit these symptoms. It alters your electrolyte balance in your body. Low blood pressure might seem desirable, and for some people, it causes no problems. However, for many people, abnormally low blood pressure (hypotension) can cause dizziness and fainting. Abnormally low blood pressure (hypotension) can cause dizziness and fainting. So if you were on high blood pressure meds prior to surgery, these may also need to be adjusted downward. There are probably other conditions that can lead towards this sensation.

Normally and individual is told to eat three meals a day. In some rare cases where individuals have great difficulty eating, with very limited volume per meal, they recommend increasing the number of meals to 5 or 6 so that the daily food volume is maintained. Eating one meal per day is not recommended.

Good luck on your surgery. It sounds like your timing is impeccable.

Good luck on your surgery and remember after surgery to WALK, WALK, WALK. It helps to alleviate the gas pains.

It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. Sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good. 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 crushed and split my large pills after surgery because I could not swallow them. They were just too large. The worst ones were the Citrical (Calcium supplements). They were horse pills. That condition lasted for about 2 months after surgery and then everything returned back to normal in the swallowing department. It made life a lot easier after that.

Good luck on your surgery and check back with us when you are on the other side and let us know how the operation went. We are here to help you through the process.

I am a few days away from 70 and I had gastric bypass 5 years ago and I am please with the results.

We had one individual in our support group that developed reactive hypoglycemia after gastric bypass surgery. He even fainted. As a result he looked into the condition and found that he could easily control it with his eating habits and by being sensing the pretriggers to the condition. So it did not really bother him except for the first time it happened. The figure you cited "happening to 1/3 of bypass patients" seems overly high. I would not give it much weight. But since you experienced this condition before, it might be more of a concern in your individual case. It is your decision, but if it were me I would eliminate the Gerd by gastric bypass and be hyper-vigilent about monitoring the potential for reactive hypoglycemia and using dietary means to control it should it arise.

For me the process from initial consultation to surgery was around 9 months. This straddled two deductible insurance years. There were cost all along the way beginning shortly after the initial consultation. But the majority of cost was at the time of surgery. So this may influence your start date.

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 or through your sweat. 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.

It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. Sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good. 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.

Congratulations.

Generally there are two phases to weight loss surgery: the weight loss phase and the maintenance phase. The maintenance phase can sometimes be the hardest nut to crack. It is common for some people to gain a little weight after they bottom out. It is called the 20 pound bounce. But it should level out there. Some individuals gain almost all the weight back. I asked my nutritionist about this. She said a couple things. First, the tool is still there. Stretching the pouch is just a common myth. The tool is still there. Second, it takes the same amount of time that you were out of balance to return to balance. So if you gained weight for a couple years in maintenance, it will take a couple years to get back to the ideal weight. It will not happen overnight. There was a man in my small town who had weight loss surgery. He lost a tremendous amount of weight and was happy for several years. But then the pounds started adding back on and he gained all the weight back. He then realized he had a problem and put all his energy into reducing his weight. He lost it all again. One of the components of the surgery is the psychological component. If you have an overeating disorder and are contemplating suicide, that means that you have a problem in this area. And the psychological component can make it more difficult for you to achieve your goals. It must be addressed and addressed soon. So seek the help of professionals in this speciality and let them help you get back on the straight and narrow.

Prior to surgery I had a number of health issues and as a result, I took 5 types of prescription medicine daily. Those health conditions were resolved by the surgery. But because of the surgery I have to take a variety of vitamins daily for the rest of my life. So cost wise, the vitamins are less expensive and more readily available than the prescription medicine I was taking. (Since I had the surgery 5 years ago and because the cost of some of these prescription medicines have shot through the roof in this time - the cost of the vitamins are dramatically cheaper now). It is common for some individuals to gain weight after they bottom out in their weight loss. It is called the 20 pound bounce. But if you adhere to the program guidelines, you should be able to keep this under control. Generally the surgery RNY or sleeve permanently modifies you stomach. You do not stretch your sleeve or RNY stomach. The tool is still there. If you gain too much weight back you can apply the guidelines and drop the weight.

Try not to compare your rate of weight loss with others. I had RNY gastric bypass and dropped weight very quickly but then I transitioned into the maintenance phase at 7 months. Many individuals that underwent the sleeve lose weight at a much slower clip, encounter many stalls along the way but they can almost achieve the same level of weight loss over time. Many do not transition to the maintenance phase until over 2 years post-op.

Generally if you have severe acid reflux (GERD) then RNYGP is the best approach because the sleeve will only make that condition worse. Many individuals with GERD who opted for sleeve surgery had to have a revision to RNYGP afterwards because it made that condition unbearable.

Congratulations.

Generally most people are on some type of liquid diet for a few days prior to surgery. Therefore there is very little material in your bowels. Also in the hospital they set you up with an IV and feed you liquid nourishment through the IV. After surgery, I was moved to the recovery room. I was there for about an hour until the anesthesia wore off. Then I walked back to my hospital bed. When you arrive at the hospital ask them to make sure they install a trapeze bar above your hospital bed. It really helps in getting up out of bed to use the restroom.

After RNY surgery, you are required to take many vitamins for the rest of your life. This is because you body no longer synthesizes vitamins from food. That part of your stomach has been cut away, so this daily requirement is extremely important. Vitamin chemistry is important for absorption. Calcium supplements should be calcium citrate. There are also different chemistries of B12. I use the sublingual B12 and was told to use methylcobalamin. You cannot use a time-release version of B12. If you are taking iron supplements, it must be ferrous sulfate for the best absorption. Gummy vitamins are not absorbed properly and should be avoided. It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain iron and those that contain calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the iron supplements just before bedtime. I put my vitamins in a weekly pill container. I have one container for the morning and one for the night. And I use a very small glass bowl for my calcium supplements. I put my calciums in the bowl in the morning and take them throughout the day. If I am up and about I put my calciums in a ziplock bag and carry them with me. The directions I received after surgery was: * Three Flintstone complete chewable multivitamins daily. * Additional 65 milligrams elemental iron daily for menstruating women. * 1500 to 1800 milligrams calcium citrate daily [this can be tricky because the dosage rate is per 2 capsules - therefore this can mean around 5-8 capsules per day depending on the size (petite or regular)]. * 500 to 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 daily or 1000 microgram injection once monthly. * 100 milligrams Thiamine (vitamin B1) daily for the first year and then weekly thereafter. In the morning I put my Citricals in a small finger bowl. Then I take a couple every couple hours. When I am up and about I put them in a zip lock bag and take them with me. For me this is not difficult. Sometimes I take two at once. But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. It 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.