Berry78

Everyone has different experiences post op, but here are some key points: 1. Yes, there can be mood changes. Running on a caloric deficit toys with our emotional stability. 2. It can take surprisingly long to regain strength and energy. It took me 3 months before I felt normal. Your partner may recouperate sooner, but it's good to be prepared. 3. The surgery might not fix the diabetes. The sleeve can help some people, but the bypass has better long term effectiveness. This is something to discuss with his surgeon. 4. I'm not really sure what you mean by "motivated" right after surgery. The first two months postop are all about relearning how to eat and drink and healing. The doctor will prescribe a diet, and it needs to be followed to the letter. After those first couple months, then motivation will factor in with keeping up a healthy diet and exercise routine. Your job is to be a sympathetic ear, and a voice of reason. You should say, "no, we don't need those doughnuts, how about this nice chili?" And whatever you do, don't be the one bringing in the doughnuts!

Yes, your acid meds are VERY important. Usually we are on them for the first 6 months. Zantac is an H2 blocker, which is fine, but if you need more acid control, a PPI is stronger. Start taking your zantac every day, and if you still feel that gnawing hunger, then talk to your doc about switching to a ppi.

Surgery should always be the last resort. By all means, TRY to do it without surgery. But if it doesn't work out, surgery will always be there. Most of us have had many, many failed diet attempts in the past. So by the time we are considering surgery, we know that simply dieting doesn't work for us. But for those without that sort of history, they SHOULD try a diet first.

There is a reason the average weight loss for the first month is 15-20lbs, when after the first 2 weeks we've lost 14. That 3rd week stall keeps the monthly total low.

I have trouble linking videos on here, but if you go to youtube and search for Dr. Matthew Weiner. He is a bariatric surgeon that explains why surgery can work long term when diets usually don't. The video is called "Should I have weight loss surgery?" He has a lot of good ones other than that too.

I want everyone to work on getting their calories up to 700. That's your homework assignment!

Thanks for the early morning belly laugh!

Glad you called, and everything was ok. I'm still thinking acid. What kind of acid reduces are you on?

I would like to see you get a digital kitchen scale (around $20). Get in the habit of weighing everything. A piece of chicken doesn't tell you as much as 2.5oz chicken.

How did your hubby's surgery go?

Man, that is some crazy amount of dense food for 4 weeks out.. I think I was just trying my first egg, and eating half of it. Acid frequently feels like hunger, so you may need more acid reducers. I'm concerned that you may hurt yourself by overeating. Your stomach hasn't healed yet, so you really shouldn't be eating more than about 3oz at a time at this point. Talk to your surgeon.

Ok, so basically you are eating up to 6oz of hummus in a day. Each ounce has 80 calories, 4g net carbs, and 2g protein So for 480 calories, you have 24g carbs, and 12g protein. Let's compare it to peanut butter. 2.5 ounces of peanut butter will give you: 470 calories, 12g carbs, and 20g protein. You get twice as much hummus for the calories, but peanut butter has almost twice the protein and half the carbs... and it is very good on celery too. (2-3 whole pieces of celery hold 1 oz of peanut butter very nicely). Hummus isn't bad, per se, any more than peanut butter. But the habit you want to get into is limiting how much of these high-calorie, low protein foods you eat. I would rather see you eat 1 ounce of hummus each day than 6oz in one day. In a week, you'll have eaten the same amount, but your mind will be tuned to the concept of moderation (and THAT is something every patient MUST work on. Me included!).

I don't think anyone has normal BMs postop. It seems about 65% get constipated, and the rest have diarrhea. It may last until you are on solids. Try taking probiotics. Won't hurt, might help. You can open the capsules and sprinkle in liquid (if the capsules bother your tummy).

Correct! Stalls happen to everyone, even those that do every single thing perfectly. Just keep to your program (don't be drinking milkshakes!).. and you'll be fine. Every pound of fat you lose means the body has to work hard disassembling miles of blood vessels, and hundreds of thousands of cells. In order to accomplish the work, it holds onto fluids until that piece of work is complete, then it releases it. Then the process starts over.

It's called the 3 week stall. It usually starts around 21 days postop (anywhere from day 14-28ish), and can last for a week or two. Any day now you should start seeing things move again.

Lol! Thanks for clearing that up

I just wanted to wish you well. Hopefully they can figure out something that can help. If it turnes out it's Hashimoto's, there is a correlation between that and gluten sensitivity. Keep us posted!

I had surgery in Mexico, and had a few back up plans if things went sideways postop. Always have a plan, no matter where you have surgery. (Some people travel distances within the US for surgery and would also run into this issue).

Stricture or not, you need to either find a local bariatric surgeon (or maybe a gi specialist) and have a thorough check, or go back to your Mexico surgeon and be evaluated. You can't go on this way. You won't survive. Gallbladder issues, internal blood clots, pancreatitis, etc. can all cause nausea, so you really need a doctor that can give you a complete workup to figure out what is going on.

Awesome! A tall guy like you can use it. Work on gradually increasing your calories to 1200-1300 then stay put throughout most of the weight loss phase. When you start getting closer to goal, you can toy with your macros more. @BigViffer is a good person to listen to (take his advice more than mine)

So do you mean the original stitch didn't hold, creating the leak, or that the new surgical repair didn't hold? If you mean the new repair didn't hold, then you shouldn't be taking anything by mouth, since it will end up leaking back out of the stomach.

I'm glad you have a plan. What are your protein goals?

1000-1100 calories is lower than I anticipated. It's hard to meet lifelong nutrition needs on less than 1200. I would like to actually see you increase to 1200 -1300 for a while and see what happens. If you gain a few, don't panic. It'll come right back off when you drop your calories again. Do you exercise?

Ok, lets think about this objectively. First off, you are going to be OK. Even if you can't tolerate milk or protein shakes/powders, you aren't going to starve to death in a couple weeks. You need to call your surgeon and get suggestions. Here are some things you can discuss: You do need to get calories on board, so what is liquid and has calories? Broth! Bone broth and homemade broth has about 8g of protein per 8oz. If you can drink 2 quarts of that a day you'll meet your fluid and protein goals. (Homemade should be made with meat and bones, and simmer for at least 8 hours. I like using a big package of chicken legs.) Fruit juice, vegetable juice (early for tomatoes, but other types may work) Thin, runny cream of wheat (not technically a liquid, so do not try without your surgeons permission) Chocolate milk (might go down easier than white. Sugar free flavorings would be better, but even regular sugar is better than nothing). Coconut water Liquid yogurt (thinned) has sugar and fruit, but if you can tolerate it...and you'll get some protein to boot. Once you get to purees you can start blending up real food and should really start meeting your goals. Hope this helps..

Yep, go ahead and start your vitamins now. Good to get well- stocked before the drastic dietary change. Patches are probably not worth it. Your skin probably doesn't absorb too many.