New to the forum

[Plynneb 1]

I hope you all don't mind, I am not on a weight loss journey. I had to have a rny when I was abt 5 years old because of a car accident. The surgery was brand new back then and so I was sent home and told let her eat whatever she wants. But as my life has gone on I have dealt with the complications and side affects of this surgery and never really had any support. Thanks to the internet I learned a lot of what I go through is normal. I am hoping for this forum to be a place I can come to with questions and also offer some experience from my own life.

I look forward to getting to know you all.

[catdaddy 232]

Hi Plynnab, glad you're here. There's a lot to offer on the site. Your experience will add to what we want and need to know about our future in Gastric Bypass. First question, how's your blood sugar run?

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@Plynneb, welcome to the site! Wow, to have this surgery so young and not get the guidance needed to help you on your way. That has had to be challenging! Hopefully you are doing well now.

This site is great for support and idea sharing. It has helped me through lots of unknowns since I had my surgery in September.

Hopefully it will be able to assist you as well.

[James Marusek 5,244]

Welcome to the site. I imagine you have some interesting questions. Let us know and we will try and help.

[James Marusek 5,244]

Welcome to the site. I imagine you have some interesting questions. Let us know and we will try and help.

[Plynneb 1]

@@catdaddy my bs is always something I have to keep a close eye on. It can drop in a heartbeat if I try to skip a meal or have too much caffeine. It can be very frustrating to be in a store and know if you don't eat right now it's gonna suck! For that reason I usually keep a bottle of Water and a Protein Bar handy. I still 30 years later find the best thing to do is eat every 2 hrs or so.

[catdaddy 232]

Is it just straight caffeine or are you jazzing it up? I wonder because I'm drinking coffee now and I get dumping if there's to much cream in it. Not related to low sugar so do you know why your sugar drops? If it's not to personal, how's your weight now? I ask because you were so young when you had the surgery that you may not of had the benefit of having a nutritionist to help guide your eating. The stats show we're all susceptible to weight gain after a period of time, and if you have gained what's your thoughts about correcting it? Sorry for all the questions but when I started this journey I was full steam ahead and now that I know I'll be successful in the weight loss I'm looking at what to expect or try to prevent from happening in my future. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience.

[Plynneb 1]

Well there is a lot to be said abt the lack of a nutritionist. I grew up with a major sweet tooth! And since no one was there to tell me It was what sent me running for the bathroom I was quite old (21-22) before I found that out! Lol.

My coffee is always black. Once I figured out that sugar caused me so many problems I eliminated all forms of dairy milk. It's pretty high in sugar. And I gave up soda completely abt 4-5 years ago when I became more aware of how artificial sweeteners caused me bs issues. I think the dehydration from caffeine causes the problem with my bs...but it's just a guess.

I am almost 36 and 5' 9" and at my heaviest weight ever at 160. For me this is attributed to less physical activity than I am used to. I have always been extremely active. Because of that, I have never realy gained any excess weight. But with my treadmill in the basement now, I will probably have that off before scuba season. My doctor said I was under weight when I had the accident, and my mom says I was a picky eater before the accident and a lot worse after. That may have had some benefit.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Are you seeing a nutritionist now?

[Plynneb 1]

No, I do not. I have considered it though.

[James Marusek 5,244]

One of the outcomes of RNY surgery is that some patients experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) after surgery. This even affects individual who are not diabetic prior to the operation.

I was diabetic prior to the operation and it went into remission by the time I left the hospital. I avoid sugar and several other sweeteners. But I have a sweet tooth and use a variety of other sweeteners. The sugar in milk and fruits are natural sugars that do not affect my blood sugar levels.

There are many different types of sugars. Some are bad and some are O.K. Because I underwent training in preparation for my Weight Loss Surgery, I have a better understanding of the difference. So if you are diabetic, it is important to know the difference. The sugars to avoid are: sucrose (table sugar), fructose (honey), Dextrose (glucose), Maltose (malt sugar), Xylose, Corn Syrup, Corn Solids, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Cane juice, Molasses, Caramel, Corn Sweeteners, Evaporated Cane, Brown Sugar, Barley Malt, and Beet Sugar. I think a few more types of sugar also fall in this category but I don't know for sure. These are Agave, Pure Maple Sugar and Date Sugar. Sugar is integrated into so much of our food today, its hard to know what is an acceptable level. Generally if one of these sugars are listed in the first five ingredients on the food label of a product it should be avoided. Take for example Campbell's Tomato Soup - It contains 12 grams of sugar and the second ingredient on the food label is High Fructose Corn Syrup. So even innocent items can become a problem. I try to limit my intake to no more than 2 grams sugar for a product. So generally I don't eat Campbell's Tomato Soup anymore but I do use it when I make chili because it is cut to a minor portion.

On the other side is sweeteners that a diabetic can probably consume safely. They include artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners. Generally the artificial sweeteners have zero calories, so they are easy to spot. These sweeteners include Acesulfame Potassium (Sunett and Sweet One), Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Neotame, Rebiana (Truvia, Pure Via), Saccharin (Sweet N' Low), Sucralose (Splenda) and then natural sweeteners such as Stevia, Monk Fruit, whey Low, Coconut Sugar and Sugar Alcohol (Sorbitol, Xylitol, Mannitol, Erythritol). Many of these acceptable sweeteners are beginning to show up in more and more products in the grocery counter. In many cases if the product is listed as No Sugar Added it might be acceptable. But you need to analyze the food labeling. For example Nesquick makes a No Sugar Added Cocoa. It uses Sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener. No sugar added ice creams are starting to show up in the store. Some brands of ice cream are using Aspartame (Nutrasweet) and Glycerine (sugar alcohol) as sweeteners. Another product it candy. Adkins makes a variety of candies that use sugar alcohol as their sweeteners.

There are two other types of natural sugars that are O.K. These are the natural sugars found in fruits and milks. But some products are deceptive. You may have to read the food ingredient label because for example some fruit juice adds sugar to the juice and the product is primarily sugar.

[catdaddy 232]

Thanks James

[Plynneb 1]

James thank you so much for taking the time to type that all out, it is rather informative. I don't know if I am the only one or not but sugar in liquid form, all natural or not, affects me very harshly. I have come to believe I need the Fiber provided to help balance the sugar in fruit and other things. Perhaps I am all wrong on that but it does work well for me.

I have gotten to the point recently where if i consume something and i feel ill afterwards I either try to figure out why or give it up all together. I have a hard enough time trying to get the proper nutrition in my diet to fuss with feeling ill after i eat something. Sometimes it's dumping, sometimes it's nausea and sometimes it's that gross sluggishness....(please know i am laughing as i say this) i am getting to old to deal with that crud. Lol

And correction on my weight, I am back at 150lbs i hadn't weighed myself in a little more than a week and had mad some changes to my diet.

[James Marusek 5,244]

That is the approach that I take. I try things out and find out what works for me. As a result of RNY surgery, I have to focus on four main items: meal, Vitamin, Protein and liquid requirements. On meals the requirement is 1 cup (8 ounces) per meal. Protein is 75-90 grams per day. liquids are 64-80 ounces per day. The Vitamins I take daily are: 1260 mg calcium citrate, 5000 IU Vitamin D3, 1250 mg sublingual Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin), 3 Flintstone's complete chewable Multivitamins, and 1 65 mg Iron (ferrous sulfate). I also take one 100 mg vitamin B1 weekly. Iron and Calcium must be spaced apart. Because in RNY surgery they cut away the part of my stomach that converts food into vitamins, my body no longer produces the vitamins I need and without proper supplements I can become deficient. And that can lead to some serious illness. Meals are a balance between protein, carbs and fats. I eat Snacks but primarily in the forms of fats and Proteins. I put together an article about my experience with RNY. You can find it here. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf