James Marusek

I have not had any experience (good or bad) using essential oils. As I said a few weeks ago, I am probably going "New Age" in my "Old Age". But I am willing to give anything a try. I tend to look at things through a scientific lens. Thus an experiment is in order.

It is common to encounter stalls during the weight loss phase. You are far enough along to drop off some of your Protein shakes at this stage provided you are concentrating on consuming high protein meals. Your daily protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from meals combined with the protein from supplements (Protein Shakes, protein bars). Just add up your daily consumption and still remain within your required protein level. This will drop your daily calorie level down a notch and may kick start your continued weight loss.

I am down 4.6 pounds in 7 days using a blend of essential oils that I named "Anti-Hunger". So far so good. Able to completely resist the temptation of snacking. Loss of hunger is similar to being in the Honeymoon stage after RNY surgery. I am 29 months post-op RNY surgery and very near my bottom weight when I began this experiment. In a couple weeks if I find this experiment to be successful, I will post the formula on my updated webpage at Protein back into my diet (in the form of one large cup of hot [no sugar added] cocoa). This brought the weight loss to a dead crawl. Anyways this is good information since this is just as much about weight stability as weight loss. I will now drop the hot cocoa and see if weight loss will ramp up again.

After surgery, I found that I became lactose intolerant. Anytime I drank milk, it resulted in diarrhea. This condition lasted for around 2 months and then disappeared. Some Protein shakes contain lactose.

Congratulations.

After the "Weight Loss" stage you pass into the "Maintenance" stage. In this stage, the goals and rules change slightly. I have put together a short article on the second stage that may be of some help. It is available here http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf Also I may revise this webpage in the next few weeks that will even give some more ideas. So you might check back on the link.

Congratulations on your weight loss. 179 pounds is impressive.

At your stage, if you have chosen to consume high Protein meals, your meal volume is sufficient for you to start cutting back on some of your protein supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars). That will reduce your daily caloric intake and squeeze out a little more weight loss.

Other than anxiety and aches and pains are there any other symptoms?

Generally in the hospital individuals gain some weight from the fluids they pump into you. So before you can begin losing weight you must first lose this additional weight. During the first few weeks your body is in recovery mode. So don't become too stressed about weight loss. Just relax, follow the guidelines and let the magic happen.

Goal weight is an arbitrary number. Your body will actually determine when you have reached bottom. I would not be a bit surprised if you fall below your goal weight. You are in the "Weight Loss" phase. Your weight loss will slow down and eventually stop and then you will transition quite naturally into the "Maintenance" phase.

Life is full of trade-offs. I am 29 months post-op from RNY gastric bypass surgery. I have lost a lot of weight. I fit into fabulous clothes. My stamina (ability to perform physical labor) has improved dramatically. Almost all of my numerous medical conditions are in remission. I still miss food, the taste, the pleasure of eating a great meal, the joys of eating. But I would repeat this surgery in a heartbeat.

After surgery, my taste buds changed. I love to drink Water. But after surgery, the water tasted extremely chlorinated and I could hardly drink it. Fortunately they give you ice chunks and then sugar free popsicles. As time went on I found that Crystal light helped with my Fluid requirements. I don't think sipping was a problem for me. But the key is walk, walk, walk. It will accelerate the recovery process and help with relieving the pain from surgery.

Here is an objective review of the study. http://acsh.org/2015/10/suicide-tries-from-weight-loss-surgery-study-fails-to-show/

I found that soft foods such as chili and Soups go down easier that hard foods such as steaks. That is why I took this approach. I have included some recipes in a short article available at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I am down 4.2 pounds in 5 days using a blend of essential oils that I named "Anti-Hunger". So far so good. Able to completely resist the temptation of snacking. Loss of hunger is similar to being in the Honeymoon stage after RNY surgery. I am 29 months post-op RNY surgery and very near my bottom weight when I began this experiment. In a couple weeks if I find this experiment to be successful, I will post the formula on my updated webpage at Protein back into my diet as added protection. This may slow down weight loss.

Several headlines in the media recently are attempting to say just that. But is it true? The news reports arose from a study that just appeared in JAMA Surgery Online. The paper was entitled “Self-harm Emergencies After Bariatric Surgery: A Population-Based Cohort Study”. The study is based on two matched cohort groups. The first group (control) consisted of 8,815 people who did not undergo bariatric surgery. The second group consisted of 8,681 people who did have the surgery. The group that underwent the procedure experienced a self-harm emergency rate of 3.63 events per 1000 patient-years. In the group that did not have the operation, that rate was 2.33 — —a 54 percent increase. Yes, the group measured a 54 percent difference, but does this mean that the surgery was responsible? It sure doesn’t. The study abstract reads: “A total of 147 events (93.0%) occurred in patients diagnosed as having a mental health disorder during the five years before the surgery.” It is possible that bariatric surgery may be responsible for mental disorders later on. But, when the mental health confounder is factored in, it becomes impossible to determine this. The suicide attempts could be arising from the preexisting mental disorder, the surgery, or some combination of both. It is impossible to tell from this study. http://acsh.org/2015/10/suicide-tries-from-weight-loss-surgery-study-fails-to-show/ From my perspective, it is important to realize that bariatric surgery does not solve pre-existing mental health issues. You may lose the weight but the baggage will still remain. I suspect that is why there is so much emphasis on the motives for undergoing the operation, by having a psych evaluation prior to being accepted as a candidate for surgery. It is also why there is great emphasis within the program to seek psychological help if needed.

Congratulations.

Your Fluid requirements can be met in several ways other than just plain Water. Crystal Light is one of them. Milk qualifies. The liquid component in Soups count. Also the liquid in Protein shakes count. So do tea and decaf coffee.

Congratulations.

You are on blood thinners to prevent blood clots. This makes you very susceptible to bruising. That will be the case for the next couple weeks.

Congratulations.

Rapid heart rate and dizziness could be a sign of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), specifically reactive hypoglycemia. Symptoms occur generally within 4 hours after a meal. When you ingest too much sugar, your now smaller stomach does not digest it properly so your intestines absorb and deposit too much of it into your blood stream. Your body compensates by releasing more insulin which makes your blood sugar drop.

That can be rough. All I wanted to do after they release me from the hospital was to sleep in my own bed. Some of the most important requirements after surgery are Protein, fluids, Vitamins and walking exercise. So you would need to bring along items to meet these requirements. For example you may need a pill crusher and pill splitter because you may find that your individual vitamins are too large to swallow. You might opt for premixed Protein shakes because you will not have a blender handy in a hotel. Make sure you have good walking shoes. If you are still on narcotic pain medicine after you leave the hospital, you may be a bit wobbly on your feet and may need someone who will walk with you to make sure you don't fall. Putting a pillow between your legs may help you sleep better at night. For me right after surgery it was a rough but every day got better and better and better. Oh! Congratulations on your 45 pound weight loss pre-op. It all adds to the end result.

Welcome Trevor. Mini-gastric bypass is not that common in the States. Your procedure is different than gastric bypass and your requirements post-op are different. Therefore try not to become too confused when you read the posts because many people have different surgeries than yours. You might want to repost under the Mini-gastric bypass page at http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1111-mini-gastric-bypass-surgery-forum-new/