Airstream88

After wanting only the Sleeve, in the end I chose RNY per my surgeon's advice and after reading what seemed like thousands of experiences from both sides. I have a bunch of weight to lose and felt going with the "gold standard" would give me the best chance to do it. Plus I wanted to avoid having further surgery - a possibility if you end up with GERD after the sleeve. At my Bariatric Practice of Excellence, all WLS patients have to take vitamins so if I was going to need to take them anyway, the extra iron and B12 needed for RNY wasn't a deal breaker.

You are not experiencing dumping. You are just getting used to eating dense proteins. At first chicken made me feel that way. After only a couple of bites I had the "full" feeling. Remember to take small bites and chew very well before swallowing. Making sure the protein is moist helps also - I eat chicken with salsa, guacamole, and hummus. At 5 months post op I only eat real food because I can't tolerate Protein shakes any longer. They are just way too sweet. I have no problems with chicken, steak, pork, shrimp and crab, etc.

For sure. I had all my food funerals about a 6 weeks prior to my surgery. I didn't do them all at once but spread them out over a 3 week period. I visited my favorite Italian restaurant for pasta, Mexican, and had some of my favorite desserts. I didn't have to do the 2 week pre-op liquid diet but I made sure the food funerals were over by then.

My hair started thinning the 5th month. A small price to pay for feeling 100% better in my knees, back and hip! Had it cut short and really liking how easy it is to style in the morning.

Try them again in a month or two. Tastes and ability to tolerate foods changes as the stomach heals. 11 weeks is still pretty early in the process.

The Iron seems pretty high. I take the following - I had RNY surgery (Bypass): 1 capful of Nutrametrix Isotonic Multivitamin with Iron and 1 capful of Nutrametrix Calcium mixed together in the morning. 4 - 250mg Bariatric Advantage Calcium Chewables - 2 at a time 4 hours apart. 1000mcg B12 - every other day 60mg Iron - every other day to supplement the MV Iron. 1000mg Vitamin D - Had issues with Vitamin D prior to surgery so supplementing it as well.

You say you are taking your supplements but are you taking good quality Bariatric Vitamins and supplements each and every day? Vitamin deficiency takes a long time to show up according to my Nutritionist. Vitamins and calcium found in grocery, pharmacy and big box stores are not well-absorbed by RNY patients - according to my NUT, only 25% is absorbed so you would have to take 4x the regular dose. You might try Nutrametrix Isotonic vitamins and calcium. They are powder you mix with water and are 95% absorbed within 15 minutes. I've heard that RNY can be reversed but can't imagine you can be converted to a sleeve after 10 years.

Nancy doesn't give calorie goals but every now and then I total things up and I eat between 1000 and 1300 a day now at 5 months post-op. I hit the higher range on the days I work out with the personal trainer (2x a week). The biggest thing she stressed was no snacking in between the mini-meals which I do follow most of the time.

My Nutritionist is Nancy Lum and she is a Bariatric specialist that is part of my surgeon's BC/BS Bariatric Center of Excellence practice. I believe she does phone sessions. Her website is: http://www.nutrition5.com/ She may be able to work with you and your nutritionist to figure out why you are stalling. My plan is 5 mini-meals a day - every 3 -4 hours with no eating in between. Meals include 3 - 4 oz protein, a multigrain or fruit serving, and veggies (if there is room). Also I have 3 good fats daily - nuts, guacamole, olive oil.

If you are not getting your protein in then you are probably not getting enough calories. I had a really hard time tolerating protein shakes and bars so really had to make the effort to move to real food. In the beginning make sure any meat (chicken, pork, etc) is moist. I started with meatballs or meatloaf with low sugar marinara, taco meat with cheese, chili, chicken/turkey with guacamole, hummus, salsa or low-fat gravy, meatloaf, and lots of mozzarella cheese sticks and pearls. I took really small bites, chewed till it was mush and ate very slowly. bariatriceating.com has lots of recipes for all stages. I also get recipes from "The World according to Eggface" blog.

Are you getting in your fluids and protein? If you aren't making the suggested amounts for either your body won't give up the weight. Are you exercising? You could also not be eating enough. At 3 months post-op I was eating between 750-900 calories a day per my Nutritionists guidelines. Now at 5 months post-op I get all my protein from real food (3oz chicken, shrimp, etc per mini-meal, 4x a day) and eat between 1000-1200 calories depending on whether its a workout day or not.

I was dead set on having the Sleeve when I started my journey. Due to my weight and BMI, my surgeon recommended RNY. In the end it was up to me and after much investigation, I chose RNY because I did not want to have to worry about GERD and having to have another surgery for revision if it developed. A nurse in my surgeon's practice had RNY 18 years ago and she is healthy and having no issues. I'm 5 months Post-Op and feeling great. My knees, back and hip have so much less pain than prior to surgery. My pre-diabetes has gone away and my blood sugar is in the normal range.

That may possibly be true for Sleeve patients but not for RNY. The portion of our intestines that absorb many vitamins is bypassed so a more well rounded diet does not help us in regard to reducing vitamin needs. In any case I've heard too many first hand stories of the results of being vitamin deficient - memory issues, bone loss, dental problems, etc so I'm not taking any chances.

My NUT explains it this way to both her RNY and VSG patients - Most over the counter vitamins are only 50% absorbed by normal people. Bariatric patients would only absorb 25% - so you need 4x the dose. When you look at it that way, Bariatric vitamins don't really cost more than over the counter since you don't have to take as many. Also, vitamin deficiencies take years to show up in blood work. I prefer to take Bariatric formulated vitamins knowing that I'm getting the maximum absorption. 95% for Nutrametrix Isotonic powders you mix with water.

The percentages of complications are pretty low for RNY. As for dying of malnutrition, that's highly unlikely unless you fail to take your bariatric vitamins, iron and B12 and don't get the prescribed amount of protein and fluids. You can decide not to go through with it now and then suffer the consequences of carrying that much weight on your frame for the next 25 years. My consequences were arthritis in my back, knees, neck and hip, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. Arthritis joint damage doesn't ever go away - the cartilage in my knees won't grow back. Losing 100 pounds so far has made the pain in all those areas much better but I will still never run, ski, or do jumping jacks again. I'm no longer pre-diabetic and my blood pressure is better as well though I still take 1 medication. I only wish I had had this surgery 10 or 20 years ago before all the damage had been done.

You may just be exercising too much! Your body may be in survival mode. I've found that the days I work out the scale doesn't move the next day. But I only work out for 90 minutes 2x a week with a trainer and then 20 minutes on my recumbent bike 2 -3 mornings Fri-Sun. I don't exercise on the days after my workouts with the trainer. I haven't stalled at all in the 5 months since surgery. If you are feeling great and can see the difference then don't pay attention to the number on the scale.

The sugar in fruit and milk is natural and doesn't cause dumping. You may drink unsweetened apple juice diluted 50/50 and shouldn't have any issues. Unless you are lactose intolerant, milk should be fine. I don't have any issues with either. For food/drink other than fruit and milk, the guidance from my Nutritionist was that a serving shouldn't have more than 6g sugar and sugar shouldn't be listed within the first 5 ingredients. 4g of sugar shouldn't cause dumping.

I thought I was close to menopause prior to surgery then had the period from h*ll for 6 weeks this past January/February (3 months after RNY surgery). I went to my OB/GYN and she said my estrogen/progesterone levels were unbalanced due to losing the weight so fast. She put me on progesterone for 10 days right then which stopped my period after a week, and then I take it the first 10 days of each month. I'm really not sure what's going to happen this month. It did not effect my weight loss. Exercise is only 20% of the weight loss puzzle. Have you increased your protein intake since you started working out much? I make sure to get 90g on workout days and 1200 calories. Are you eating enough? According to recent studies, the body will not let you exercise yourself to death.

I have lost approximately 86 pounds since surgery. I didn't have to do the pre-op liquid diet. I haven't dumped because for the most part, I have not eaten anything deep fried or that is made of 50% or more sugar. I'm very careful because a friend who had RNY years ago ate something at a party we were hosting and spent 5 hours in our guest bathroom.

I may have lost more the first month because I did not have to do the pre-op liquid diet. I only lost 14 pounds in the 6 months of supervised diet needed for my insurance. So my body wasn't in shock already from two weeks of living on liquids.

My surgery weight was 371. I want to point out that I wasn't and still am not a hard-core dieter. I do not do low carb, no carb, and now that I can eat real food, I no longer drink protein shakes or eat protein bars. I follow my NUT's program of eating 5 meals a day every 3 -4 hours - with 3oz of protein eaten first. I work out with a personal trainer 2x a week and ride my recumbent bike 20 minutes another 2 - 3x a week. I've found that I don't lose weight if I don't get my fluids and proteins in and also tend to lose more after the days I get my max protein of 90g.

The other day I ate a tiny corner off of a Fruit Slice (those jelly like/sugary candy). I didn't dump but felt pain for about 30 minutes after under my ribs. So no more pure sugar for me. learned my lesson!

My NUT said fat content for processed/convenience foods shouldn't be more than 6,2,1 (6 gm total, 2 gm Saturated and 1 gm Trans-fat) . Sugar shouldn't be more than 6 grams and should not be in the first 5 ingredients listed.

The only reason I even looked into WLS surgery was because of the sleeve because I was dead set against RNY. But after consulting with my surgeon he recommended RNY. During the 6 month insurance requirement I researched and read tons of posts from people who had both procedures and decided I'd rather go for the one that would result in more weight loss and not require me to have a revision later if I developed issues with GERD. At 5 months I am very happy with my decision. I have yet to dump or vomit and can eat most proteins as long as they are not too dry.

5 months post RNY Lost 37 pounds the first month Lost 9 pounds the second month (had major chest cold for 3 weeks) Lost 13 pounds the third month Lost 9.5 pounds the fourth month (had menstrual period for 6 weeks straight) Lost 13.1 pounds the fifth month so far (17th is date)