James Marusek

One of the conditions that I had prior to surgery was frequent urination. Generally I woke up once per hour during the night to use the restroom. This condition went away shortly after I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 3 years ago. So my experience is the opposite of yours. One of the requirements of gastric bypass surgery is to meet your daily Fluid requirements. So I may actually be taking in more fluids than I did prior to surgery. I am turning 68 years old this month and the problem of frequent urination is generally an age related problem.

Generally I walked up and down my driveway. It is very steep and the exercise is more like hill walking or climbing stairs. Uses two different sets of muscles. It was easy and right out my front door. My problem was the YMCA was a 30 minute drive from my home and it was almost a waste to go that far just for exercise. Also I hate exercise for exercise sake. I would rather do manual labor. So for each of the first two years after surgery, I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel by hand along with around 60,000 pounds of concrete blocks. I like to build things.

Constipation can be a problem after surgery. It can happen if you are not getting in enough daily fluids. If it gets really bad, you will need to unbind yourself. I used a glycerin capsule that I put up my rear end. They work very good but generally you need to attack the problem before you get too bound up. These are some of the suggestions from prior posts for dealing with constipation. Apples with the skin Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears (be careful with this one because it can lead to diarrhea) Aerobic Magnesium 07 Ground Flax Seeds (but don’t try to grind it yourself). Use 2 tablespoons per glass of Water every night before going to bed. Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups bran Cereal 1 ¼ cups milk 1 egg ½ tablespoon applesauce optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips Bake 400° F for 22 minutes

Congratulations.

According to http://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/bariatric/risks_of_bariatric_surgery.html Intestinal obstruction (blockage) In some cases, scar tissue or inflammation can narrow the new connection between the stomach and intestine. This is called a stricture. Strictures usually develop four to six weeks after surgery, and affect less than five percent of bariatric surgery patients. Patients with strictures will notice that they are progressively less able to take in fluids and food. Strictures can be treated with an endoscope, which is a thin, flexible tube with image sensors and special tools at the tip. A doctor will use an endoscope with a tiny inflatable balloon at its tip to open the stricture. An ulcer may narrow the outlet of the pouch as it heals after surgery. The ulcer can obstruct the passage of food, or cause bleeding. Such bleeding is usually controlled by medications. To prevent ulcers, patients must take an acid-blocker (like Pepcid) for two months after surgery. If you are already on an acid-blocker, such as Prilosec, Nexium or Prevacid, you can continue this medication. In addition, all patients must avoid aspirin (unless you take aspirin for your heart or to prevent a stroke) and other medications that increase the risk of bleeding (such as ibuprofen, Advil) for two months after surgery. Only in unusual cases is surgery needed to revise the stomach-intestine connection. After any abdominal surgery, internal scars (adhesions) form in the abdomen. In rare cases, the lower intestine (bowel) can become twisted around an adhesion and cause an obstruction. This keeps digested food from passing through the body. An obstruction can happen at any time, even years after bariatric surgery. Because the obstruction must be repaired before the intestine loses its blood supply, an emergency operation may be necessary.

According to my discharge directions, it read, call your physician when: 1. Medication intolerance. 2. Temperature greater than 100.5 degrees F. 3. Uncontrolled or increased abdomen pain. 4. Shortness of breath or calf pain. (possible signs of blood clots). 5. New onset of upper back pain or left shoulder pain. 6. Chest pain, rapid heartbeat and/or dizziness. 7. Changes to your incision - new pain, swelling, redness, cloudy drainage. 8. Inability to eat or drink. 9. Persistent nausea or vomiting greater than 6 hours. 10. Persistent diarrhea beyond the first week after discharge or more than 6 diarrhea stools in a day. 11. Cloudy output in or around drains. First off, I will assume you had surgery on 8/20/2016, otherwise we are dealing with a Back to the Future scenario. So my primary concern would be shortness of breath which is an indication of a blood clot. This should definitely be called to your surgeon's attention.

A few years ago I had recurring episodes of something that appeared to be gout. At least my doctor thought it was. I found relief by putting a heat pad on my feet for an hour or so.

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a potentially life-threatening complication in people with diabetes mellitus. It happens predominantly in those with type 1 diabetes. Do you have Type 1 diabetes? I had Type 2 diabetes and the condition went into remission two days after surgery when I left the hospital. It ended that quick for me. I am 3 years post-op and the diabetes has been in remission ever since. I check my blood sugar levels periodically. I think I read somewhere that Type 1 diabetic patients do not see the same results as Type 2 with remission rates. I believe they provide you with a spirometer after surgery to prevent pneumonia. Using your incentive spirometer after surgery will help you keep your lungs clear and will help keep your lungs active throughout the recovery process, as if you were performing your daily activities.

Congratulations on your 26 mile walk.

I don't see why not. It sort of kills two birds with one stone. Because you are working towards meeting your Protein and Fluid requirements at the same time. The only thing to caution is that your body can only absorb so much protein at one time and that your protein intake must be spread out throughout the day.

Try not to get too stressed out. And good luck on your upcoming surgery.

Weight can fluctuate from one day to another. It also depends on when you weigh yourself. I generally weigh myself first thing in the morning butt naked and that gives me some consistency. But when I am dressed with my shoes, leather belt, wallet, etc. that can easily add 5 extra pounds to my weight. Here is my approach to the "Maintenance" phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

chicken can be hard to digest. This can be somewhat overcome by cooking it a certain way. Take a chicken breast and put it into a covered pot of Water and add a couple chicken bouillon cubes. Put the pot on low heat for several hours, until the chicken is so moist that it will come easily apart with a fork.

Many have their policies on-line. Do a search on the health insurance company. Then when you find the company, see if they have the current policy plan available on-line. Go thru it and find the area that deals with bariatric surgery.

Generally the bariatric surgery support group meetings are free and open. Even if you did not have surgery under a particular doctor's or hospital's umbrella. So I would try and attend one locally. All they can do is say no. And I don't think that will happen. You should even be able to attend these monthly meetings pre-op.

Here are some recommendations from WebMD http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/cold-remedies

27 pounds since surgery on July 18 (7 weeks) doesn't sound too bad for me. Remember this is only the beginning of a long journey. The three most important elements after weight loss 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 generally achieved through meal volume control. Individuals lose weight at different paces after surgery. So try not to compare yourself to others. Just keep following the program guidelines and your weight loss should continue.

@@LisaMergs no offense taken. In general I follow the guidelines that were given me, but sometimes I will deviate. It is part of the experimentation approach that I underwent after surgery. Not everything is clearcut and known. So when you delve into the unknown, one has to make judgement calls.

I haven't used this product but in the labeling it states 21 grams of Protein. It also has no sugar. I use Quest Protein Bars and consider them a good product. So therefore I consider Quest a reliable company and I would count Quest chips towards my daily protein goal. You daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein you consume from meals combined with the protein from supplements. This appears to me to be a valid protein supplement.

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. This short article describes my experience. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Sugar is my kryptonite. After you lose the weight if you want a quick way to gain it all back again, then use sugar. There are so many artificial sweeteners such as Splenda and no calorie natural sweeteners such as Stevia available today to satisfy my sweet tooth. These have been integrated into many items on the grocery store shelves today. So this is what I use. I am over 3 years post-op RNY surgery. There are two phases to weight loss surgery. These are the "Weight Loss" phase and the "Maintenance" phase. The goals and approaches of these two phases are different. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

I am sorry to hear about all your pain and suffering. I was wondering if they checked you for an ulcer and if they tested you for a pre-existing condition called Helicobacter pylori infection. 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.

Yea, the Lovenox shots were a pain to give myself. I had bruises all over my body for almost a month because of this blood thinner. Since you are giving them to yourself for a month, expect to see bruises and a lot of them.

There are Bariatric Surgery Centers of Excellence in many states. These combine many groups under one umbrella, like a full meal deal. That includes specialized surgeons who only perform bariatric surgery, hospitals who dedicate a full floor to this type of surgery, insurance coordinators, psychologist, pre-op testing, sponsors for bariatric surgery support groups, training sessions and nutritionists. Because there are many steps to this process, it is good to have all of these together in one place. Generally these centers of excellence offer a free consultation session to kick things off. The first step for me was to see my primary care physician. He then made the appointment for the initial consultation with the center of excellence.

I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) Protein powder to mix up my Protein shake. I added a half a banana before I blended it. It was the only protein shake that I tolerated. So yes it is very good. I tried chocolate because I like chocolate but chocolate did not taste good to me.