Steve Ney

I am nearly two years post op. I was very recently diagnosed with some serious ulcers, which according to the doctors, was caused by taking daily aspirin. Now I'm taking carafate 4 times per day, as well as twice daily proton pump inhibitors. Given the amount of time between taking the carafate and the need to take all of my supplements, and eat, how do I ensure I'm getting the full benefit of my Vitamins and supplementation? Has anybody else had to do this? What is the minimum time between taking the carafate and taking the supplements and vitamins and still get full benefit of all of it? Thanks for your help. Steve

I'm 1 year 2 months since my surgery and have not really thought much about drinking. The only time it comes up for me is at special occasions, holidays, etc. I usually substitute something non-alcoholic and once the event passes, no one thinks about whether I had a glass of wine or a beer or anything. I'm not opposed to drinking, but it doesn't really come up very much. And the few times where drinking would be appropriate, there are usually substitutes.

When I got stuck, I found that if I reverted back to the basics of focusing first on Protein and fluids, my weight started moving down again. I generally followed Paleo guidelines. I also found that if I get 7 to 8 hours of restful sleep, the weight also unsticks. Hope these help.

I drink a lot of iced tea sweetened with stevia. It sits nicely in my pouch. Plain Water is hard to drink except in small amounts. I feel like it turns to a stone in my stomach. Powerade and propel are good alternatives. Mio also works. Not just flavored water, but water with electrolytes works best for me. Juices don't work except in small amounts. Soy milk is ok, but I usually don't drink it straight. I don't have any problems with any Protein drink. I'm 11 months out from surgery.

I'm not a big fan of vanilla, but the Syntrax brand of chocolate is my favorite. They have small individual serving packs so you can try it without having to buy a large container. They also have other flavors.

Right after my surgery in Feb 2015, I felt great. I had a little bit of anxiety about a month later as the weight loss slowed down and that feeling recurred several times as the weight plateaued for a few days over the course of the following several months. At the sixth month point in August, I was very happy with the progress. I had reached a weight that I was satisfied with. Then in mid August, I had a bowel obstruction which required a resection and revision of the gastric bypass and ended up in the hospital for three weeks. Since then, I've had three additional partial obstructions which resolved without surgery. It has been a roller coaster ride since August and I have sunk into depression. Or rather the underlying depression which always seems to be there, came to the surface. I'm back on psych meds. I do not regret having had the surgery. I'm in a much better place and can do so much more than I had ever done before. I have a positive and hopeful outlook for the future, at least when the symptoms of the depression aren't weighing me down. I think overall the feelings you feel will be all over the place and will depend on your physiology, history, progress, situation, and outlook. The best thing I've found to do is to live each day as it comes.

I'm currently 32, but the pants are a little baggy in the seat. I wish I could get back up to a 34. I felt and looked better.