talking mountain

I love Dr. Weiner! His videos are so informative. Plus, following his post-surgery eating advice is, in my opinion, one of the reasons I reached my ideal weight so quickly.

Just go with whatever tastes the best. Pre-op is hard enough, might as well get a shake you like (if there is such a thing!). Don't stock up for post-op though -- there's a good chance your tastes will change.

So glad ya'll are posting, because I really need to get motivated to get back on track! Yesterday I ate good stuff during the day (bean "tostada," orange, salad, etc) but got into the junk food in the evening... and this has started becoming a habit. I'm up 5 lbs and need to nip it in the bud! I am beginning to see a pattern that when I drink wine, especially alone, I eat more junk food. So I'm gonna cut back on the wine (all 2 oz a day of it, lol). Hopefully that will reduce my straying into junk food at night. So far today I've had my coffee and some crackers. I'm about to eat breakfast and am having a salad with chickpeas, blueberries, and pomegranate seeds so it should be yummy. Oops, just realized I haven't stopped drinking the coffee for 30 mins yet. So easy to forget the basics, isn't it?? Posting here has already helped!

@sweetz428 I disagree slightly with Brian B about carbs (complex carbs are healthy and filling -- as long as you don't overdo them), but everything else he said is spot on! Take his advice. Go back to basics: eat 4-6 meals a day (measure if you have trouble telling when you're full). Take small bites & chew well. Use small plates, & baby forks/spoons. Don't drink before/during/after meals. Exercise daily. Eat food that nourishes your body rather than harms it.

I am one month post-op (RNY gastric bypass) and have started having symptoms that could suggest a stricture and/or a marginal ulcer. Everything I've read seems to say that endoscopy (tube w/tiny camera down your throat) is the "gold standard" for determining if you have either of these conditions. However, my doctor is wanting me to go through an upper GI (studies have shown that these fail to find ulcers in their early stages fairly frequently). I am reluctant to go through a third upper GI in a month simply because that is a lot of radiation in a short period of time. So, my question for those of you who have ever had a suspected a stricture and/or an ulcer, did you go thru an Upper GI test first, or did you go straight to an endoscopy? Thanks!

Sallo, I'm glad to see you are making progress! Keep up the good work. I felt shame for the first month or so for "taking the easy way out". But as time has gone on, it's clear to me now that this surgery is not the "easy way out" in any way. It's hard work to watch what you eat constantly, separate food from liquid, take tons of Vitamins daily, etc etc. Forgive yourself for putting your health ahead of your (and perhaps others') perception that you "should" have been able to lose weight with diet alone. Your health was worth it! Surgery was a last resort, and now you have the opportunity to make it count!

VitaFiber IMO (isomalto-oligosaccharide) and FiberYum syrups and powders are now available at reasonable prices thru Amazon. Have any of you tried these products? Did they upset your stomach? Although I'm being careful to avoid sweet foods, there are just some things that need a little sweetening! So far I have tried and been unable to tolerate ANY sugar alcohols and sucralose (Splenda), which are in virtually every "sugar free" product out there -- I can't even chew a piece of sugar-free gum without stomach upset. Then there's stevia, which tastes so bad it makes me gag. Aspartame is ok but it's hard to find in products other than sodas. Plus inulin, another Fiber that's added to a lot of foods, seems to mess up my stomach too. And I'm wonderin gif this "isomalto-oligosaccharide" in VitaFiber and FiberYum is related?

I cant say that I went through what you are suffering, but It might be worth contacting your doctor to see if you've picked up a skin infection or are having fungal overgrowth. Fungal overgrowth is common after surgeries because of the preventive antibiotics they give you during surgery. Also, sinus infections often cause "phantom odors" i.e. strong foul odors only you can smell but no one else can. True story: Once I was CONVINCED there was dog poop on my shoes because I smelled it everywhere I went, but no one else could smell anything! Eventually turned out I had a sinus infection (since I'm always stuffy from allergies, I didn't realize it was an infection).

In the first month after my surgery, I tried a bite of pancake with sugar-free syrup... a nibble of chocolate... a sip of a diet carbonated beverage... half an Oreo... well you get the picture. I was fortunate enough to have a "rumbly tummy" immediately so that told me they were not good choices. But they didn't make me truly sick. But more importantly, after about 2 months I realized "hey... if I don't use this time to lose my taste for junk food, then I'm going to be faced with cravings forever... and probably gain back the weight I lost." So I've intentionally stopped "tasting" things that I used to like. I've found wonderful replacements, now that I've actually tried to. Moist, dried apricots or dried plums for the sweet tooth. A date stuffed w/nut butter for the candy bar craving. Celery with a little dip, or popcorn with a spritz of soy sauce & sprinkle of brewers yeast for the "salty crunchies" craving. To be honest it sounds like you might be a little depressed, though. And that's totally understandable; your body has been through an enormous trauma. Plus, if food was a favorite coping mechanism for stress etc, well obviously that's gone too! Walking, especially outside in the sunshine, can be an enormous help for depression (shoot for a short walk in the a.m. and another one at lunch or mid-day. Even if it's just 5 minutes!). Also sticking to a regular wake/sleep cycle is super beneficial. If that's not enough, though, please don't hesitate call your program to see about counseling and/or an antidepressant... you will want to nip this in the bud, before your "honeymoon" is over!

The pain from the gas they inflate your tummy with was horrible at first. And painkillers don't touch it. By 3 weeks it was tolerable, but still there at times. Are you sure it's suture pain rather than gas pain? If it's gas pain, moving as much as possible and taking gas-X strips will help get rid of it, but it still takes time because the gas has to be reabsorbed by your body. Also if it might be gas, try avoiding gas-making foods such as dairy (milk, whey, casein, yogurt, etc), Beans (if you aren't used to eating them), and cruciferous veggies. Or take Lactaid with the milk products and Bean-O for the gassy foods.

I've been embarrased to ask for help but since you started the subject, I"m gonna just jump right in! At 3 months out I am taking either Colace (a stool softener) or Senekot (a stimulant, i.e. irritant to the bowels) every night. I alternate so that I don't get dependent on either. But I would love some other options. Have tried Miralax but since I can only drink an ounce at a time, I couldn't get in enough to do any good. Several of you mentioned Milk of Magnesia - any drawbacks to that? How much do you have to take for it to do its job?

Valentine, at about 1-2 months out from my surgery, I suddenly started having terrible problems with eating and Water. I'd had no problems with any foods or water up till then (I even had to go get an upper GI to make sure nothing was wrong). All I can say is, try to be patient, try different ways to drink your fluids, and trust that it is going to get better. Dehydration is a serious problem so I would focus on gettiong in your fluids and not worry about calories for a few days. Here are some things that you can try (probably some have already been suggested): - Eat Soup or V8 or Protein shakes as some of your meals, so you get Fluid without having to drink water per se. - Conciously breathe OUT while you swallow liquids. That's helped cut down a lot on the painful gas I was experiencing. It takes a little concentration but it can be done! - Try water at different temperatures - room temp works best for me now (I sure do miss slugging down a glass of icewater though!). - Try flavorings, both subtle and strong. What worked best for me was a few drops of plain lemon or lime juice concentrate. Sometimes the Crystal Lite berry powder worked too, though not at full concentration. Another favorite was bouillon. - Try coffee and tea, if you are permitted to have those. "Poor Irishman's Tea" worked pretty well for me (hot water, a slice of lemon or squirt of lemon concentrate, & a TINY sprinkle of sugar or your favorite sweetener, just enough to offset the tartness of the lemon) Dehydration is the number one cause of re-hospitalizations after surgery, so you really do need to get in your fluids. If you start showing signs of real dehydration, call your program immediately. My program said to contact them if I wasn't able to get in a certain number of ounces of fluids (I think it was 40 oz) in a day (remember all fluids count, not just water).

I'm just now 3 months out from RNY gastric bypass, so I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you have. I'm actually surprised you can get in 1900 calories a day. At a month, I was only eating about 200-300 calories a day and I am only up to about 500 at best. In our program, they told us to eat about 2-4 tablespoons of food (or drink protein drinks) 5 times a day to start, increase gradually. At about 1 month when -- we could get in more volume -- they had us cut back to 3 meals a day. They told us not to worry about counting calories; focus on good quality protein (Beans, nuts (nut butters at your stage), fish, and chicken if you could tolerate it). But our final "goal" once we're at maintenance -- and that's usually about a YEAR out -- is 1200-1500 calories a day. Of course if you have a really high BMI, like above 50, or you are super tall and/or muscular and/or an elite athlete, I could see how 1900 calories might be enough of a drastic reduction to lose weight (my starting BMI was was about 43). In terms of volume, how much are you eating? That to me is an easier way to gauge things. (For example, at a month out, I could eat about 1/4-1/2 cup at a time, and was told I was eating a little less than most of the other folks in my group. Now I am eating about 3/4 to 1 cup of food per meal.) Are you being careful not to drink fluids for at least 30 minutes after eating/drinking anything that has calories? Drinking too soon after eating flushes the food thru your pouch so you don't get that "full" feeling. Also, are you taking plenty of time to chew (20 chews per bite!), and eating slowly enough that your meal takes at least 30 minutes to finish? It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to pick up sensations in your stomach, so eating slowly really helps feel the restriction. Hope these things help.

Sounds like you are a lucky one! As long as you are remembering to stop drinking Water for 30 mins before and after your Protein shake "meals" then you are doing fine!

I want to know what's packed in the lunches in the photo!

At my weekly weigh-in, I was officially under 200 lbs; a weight I haven't seen in more than 16 years! I want to Celebrate but can't think of anything special to do that is affordable and not food-related. Surely many of you have celebrated this milestone.... what did YOU do to mark the occasion? (PS let the record show that I'm very grateful to have this problem, lol)

I'm using the PatchMD patch Vitamins. Apply a new little patch to my skin each morning. Very grateful to have discovered them because I was having a really tough time swallowing vitamins. I am not quite 3 mo's out so haven't had bloodwork yet. So at this point I can't swear by them but if they work, I'll be thrilled!

@@Jennifer - I just realized that you were using chewables, not trying to swallow solid Vitamins. So your aversion is probably not a stricture. Most likely the chewables you are taking contain a sugar alcohol such as sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol, maltitol, etc; most do because it's a way to keep calories down while making the vitamins palatable. Surprisingly, even most brands of chewable bariatric vitamins contain sugar alcohols, although I do recall there were one or two brands that don't. A lot of RNY patients get super sensitive to sugar alcohols after the surgery (so read labels on "sugar free" products carefully!). For me, sugar alcohols upset my stomach even more than real sugar! Unfortunately this has meant an end to my favorite Mocha Soy Frappe because Starbucks' sugar-free syrups contain sugar alcohols Sucralose ("Splenda") also bothers some people, myself being one of them, but this seems to be fairly unusual. Also many RNY patients get lactose intolerant after the surgery, so check your vitamins for that (lactose is the sugar that naturally occurs in milk). My general dairy intolerance got much worse after the surgery, so I try to avoid anything with dairy components (lactose, whey, casein) in it unless it's near the very end of the ingredient list. (Hard cheeses work fine for me though, go figure!).

Oooh, a horseback riding lesson... That would be a wonderful way to celebrate! I used to be an avid horsewoman but haven't been on a horse in 20 yrs or more due to my wt.

Yes! It happened at about the 3rd week for me, too. It is probably nothing, but you really need to call your doctor to see if there is a possibility that you have developed a stricture or ulcer. I had to have an Upper GI (most places seem to do an upper endoscopy, which I would have preferred) and that showed that things were in fact "hanging up" just before entering my pouch, but that there was not a stricture or anything serious. For some reason, things were just taking a long time to move from the bottom of my esophagus into my pouch. But boy, that "hanging up" time was miserable! Pacing the house in agony, retching violently, trying not to panic. Eventually it got better (I'm 3 months out now) but in the meantime, here's how I coped, in case it is of any help to you: - Take pills only when standing up. - Tilt chin up slightly when taking pills, so that esophagus is kind of in a "straight" line. - Take only one pill at a time, with a small bite of soft but sticky food (toast or a saltine worked best), and wash down with a small sip of Water (doctor said it was okay to do food and water together for this purpose). As soon as I could, I switched to PatchMD Vitamin Patches. They have been a godsend in that I don't have to take any Vitamins at all now. However, I haven't had any bloodwork yet so I can't tell you if they actually work. They actually cost less than most bariatric vitamins which surprised me. Good luck to you!

I am one month post-op (RNY gastric bypass) and have started having symptoms that could suggest a stricture and/or a marginal ulcer. Everything I've read seems to say that endoscopy (tube w/tiny camera down your throat) is the "gold standard" for determining if you have either of these conditions. However, my doctor is wanting me to go through an upper GI (studies have shown that these fail to find ulcers in their early stages fairly frequently). I am reluctant to go through a third upper GI in a month simply because that is a lot of radiation in a short period of time. So, my question for those of you who have ever had a suspected a stricture and/or an ulcer, did you go thru an Upper GI test first, or did you go straight to an endoscopy? Thanks!

Hi Pinkgirl! Over the past two weeks I've developed a kind of constant low-grade nausea, and strong aversions to anything but a few foods (I was eating and trying new things without any problems). After I eat there is a lot of gurgling and sometimes discomfort or even pain. Drinking cold Water, which I was doing fine, has become uncomfortable (room-temperature water is still unpleasant but tolerable). Taking pills, which I was also doing fine, has become difficult; once I took them sitting down and they seemed to "get stuck." Another time I bent over to load the diswasher right after swallowing and the pill seemed to "come back up" and get stuck somehow. Both of those incidents caused violent gagging & nausea which thankfully went away after I chewed up a cracker and swallowed it. I think the pills the main reason they want to investigate further. But I'm really reluctant to get yet another big dose or radiation so soon since my symptoms are fairly vague. And I am trying to figure out why they are recommending the Upper GI instead of endoscopy since every medical article I've read says that endoscopy is more effective.

I start back to work tomorrow! I'm scared to be honest. First of all, I'm afraid I'll be overwhelmed. A mountain of work will have built up in the last month. Secondly, I still have really low energy as I've only been able to eat about 200-300 calories a day due to nausea and discomfort. But, I have to go back at some point. Thank goodness I have a great boss who has been understanding while my "two weeks off" turned into a month!

I've had the same problem. The unjury chicken Soup Protein is the only protein I can tolerate, and only a little at that. I have been focusing on getting protein by drinking thinned-out split pea soup (the smooth kind). It tastes delicious and also helps by adding Fiber to my diet (which prevents contipation).

My surgery happened on Monday (Dec 28). Had to stay in hospital 5 days b/c I wasn't able to keep anything down, even water. Came home last nite but woke up early morning not being able to breathe and racked w chills. Went to local urgent care To get a nebulizing breathing treatment and they had called an ambulance to transport me to ER before Even finishing their assessment. Temp of 104.7. Now I'm back In hospital being treated for pneumonia.