James Marusek

Congratulations.

The main objective is to find a Protein powder that you can tolerate after surgery and one that is low in sugar. You may become lactose intolerant after surgery, if so, having a protein powder that is lactose free may come into play.

I use Citrical primarily because it is inexpensive. This is hard in the beginning because it is horse pill size and one is unable to swallow it for the first few months after surgery. That means in the beginning it must be crushed and it taste like chalk.

Why did the doctor prescribe stool softener? It is a little hard to understand what is going wrong and give advice without more info. Have you had surgery yet? One of the things that happens for some individuals that have RNY gastric bypass surgery is that they become lactose intolerant for a few months after the operation. If you drink milk or a product that contains lactose, it can quickly lead to diarrhea. Some Protein shakes contain lactose. In my case I had to eliminate milk from my diet for a couple months.

In the beginning stages after surgery it is very important to follow the rules if you want to maximize the weight loss. One of the restrictions is NO CAFFEINE. Cocoa powder contains caffeine. Depending on the degree of fermentation and the type of cocoa Beans, the caffeine content will vary from 0.1-0.5%. In cocoa powders made from well fermented African cocoa beans the caffeine proportion is in general very low: 0.1% or less. This is a temporary restriction. After you leave the "weight loss" phase and transition into the "maintenance" phase, things ease up a lot. I regularly drink a hot cup of cocoa in the morning during the cold winter. I use the "no sugar added" variety. I am 31 months post-op RNY.

Before I underwent the surgery, I was given a class that explained all the requirements and provided a thick binder with all the instructions.

After surgery, I could not swallow anything medium or large size. The calcium pills were large and had to be crushed. They also tasted like chalk. The only way I found to take these was mix them with a glass of Crystal Light and drink them down. Since the crushed calcium tended to form a paste at the bottom of the glass, this generally meant that I had to refill the glass with some more Crystal Light and try again. At least I was meeting my Fluid quota. The good thing to know is that this condition does not last forever. In about 2 months, I was able to swallow and taking the calciums no longer presented a problem. One of the problems I encountered after surgery was that I became lactose intolerant. Anytime I drank milk or anything that contained lactose, it lead to pain and a quick trip to the bathroom with diarrhea. Some Protein shakes contain lactose. I took myself off all milk products and eventually after a few months this condition also went away. It took me about 6 months to reach my "happy state", when all these type of conditions were resolved and I could get back to living my life. So be patient.

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

Welcome. As far as advice, I will recommend two things pre-op. 1. Walk around 30 minutes each day. This will make your recovery go much, much easier. 2. If you haven't eliminated caffeine and carbonated beverages from your diet, do so now. I had a 6 diet coke a day habit for many decades. I went cold turkey at the beginning of my pre-op diet and lost 20 pounds on that change alone. Also when I give up caffeine in the diet cokes, I suffered from severe withdrawal syndrome - severe headaches and body aches. So if you wait until just before surgery to give up these, the withdrawal effects may compound with the effects of surgery and add to your suffering. It is better to take these on individually. Some literature recommends that you make the reduction gradually, about 25% per week in order to minimize the effects of the withdrawal syndrome.

In the longer scheme of things, as time goes on you will become more capable of dealing with the holidays. Your food volume will go up and you will feel less like it is a burden and appreciate the marvelous changes that are taking place due to the lost weight.

Congratulations on your weight loss thus far. As far as the Vitamins are concerned, this is the approach that I use. It may be of help. Since I had to separate my calciums from my Iron, I take my Multivitamin (which contain iron) and my iron supplement (because I was iron deficient) at night before bedtime. [i suspect the Calcium in the milk I was drinking brought down my iron numbers.] I put all my calciums (8) tablets in a miniature glass bowl on the countertop when I get up in the morning. These I take throughout the day a couple at a time and try and space them a couple hours apart. Otherwise it would be hard to keep track of these. All the other vitamins I put in a pill container separated by days of the week. I take these first thing in the morning. And when I am up and about, I put the calcium tablets in a plastic zip lock bag and take them with me.

The approach in the "maintenance" phase is different than in the "weight loss" phase. This is my personal experience with the maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

The strategy in the "Maintenance" phase is different than in the "Weight Loss" phase. This short article describes my personal experience with this phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

My vote is for Coconut Cashew.

I found that blending in a half a banana made the protein shakes more tolerable to drink.

I wrote a short article about my experience with RNY surgery. Perhaps it may be of help. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Generally, RNY gastric bypass is recommended for individuals with severe acid reflux (GERD). I am 31 months post op from RNY and have not had any severe acid reflux after the surgery. Although I had several episode prior to surgery.

Walking makes the recovery process go smoother. It will help to relieve the gas pain. Hopefully they have a hanging trapeze type bar above your bed. This will help you stand easier. If they don't, request one so that you can get out of bed to walk a little less painfully.

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

My Psych evaluation was not paid for by my insurance. I believe most insurances refuse to pay these costs. But that was noted on the first consultation. The cost at the time was $100. The psychologist operated out of the same office as the surgeon (one of the advantages of going to a Center of Excellence). But the psych evaluation cost is minimal compared to the cost of the hospital, surgeon and pre-op testing. So the bigger question is what portion of these costs will your insurance cover? Are you within network for these costs? Dealing with the insurance companies can turn your hair gray early or make you pull out your hair.

Good luck on your surgery and let us know if we can be of any help.

It is my understanding that sleeve will only make severe acid reflux (GERD) worse. That is the reason why most surgeons perform RNY gastric bypass surgery on individuals with this condition. I had severe acid reflux prior to my RNY surgery 31 months ago. This condition has never been a problem since. Stick to your guns and demand the surgery that you wanted, RNY gastric bypass. It is the best one for you condition.

Sorry, you lost me? You had conversion surgery today and you are eating WHAT? When was your operation? What was your conversion - lap band to RNY, lap band to Sleeve? Because this is your 38th post, I am assuming you had surgery at least a month or two ago. How are you doing with the primary daily requirements: Protein, fluids, Vitamins? food is secondary, because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body, thus you lose weight. Just stick to the meal volume requirements and the approved food lists. On one hand, you find it difficult to consume food which might be an indicator that you had a stricture. Perhaps your body self corrected the stricture and you suddenly now can eat. So eat! But remember to limit your volume and select only from the approved list. pizza is not on the approved list.

Congratulations.

Laparoscopic surgery is significantly less painful then open surgery. In my case, I had no pain medicine after the surgery, only anesthesia during the surgery. My pain levels were low and I have good tolerance. I'm probably the exception. Walking both before, and after surgery, substantially reduces pain and makes the recovery process go smoother. So after the operation, make sure that you walk every 2 hours around the clock. You will experience gas and bloating after surgery. This will be a major discomfort. Walking helps relieve that. I was in the hospital for 2 days. When you get home, just take it easy, move slow. I think for the most part, you should be able to climb stairs generally after a day or two of returning home. Just take it slow.