James Marusek

There is a wide range of Protein drinks available today. Experiment until you find one that you can tolerate. I hate Protein shakes too. I think they try and make it sound like a milk shake but it is not even close. If you use protein powders (such as muscle milk light [vanilla creme]) then make sure that you blend it with a blender. If you try and blend it by hand it will not reach the proper consistency to make it tolerable. I used a Ninja blender with a single serving cup. This also allows you to add fruits to the blended Protein Shake. For me a half a banana made the protein shake go down much smoother. If you fail to get enough protein, you body will degrade. You will lose muscle and probably your hair will begin to fall out.

Honey was on my don't use list.

I had RNY gastric bypass. My surgeon recommended it because I had severe acid reflux. I am 27 months post-op. It was a good decision. Some people have problems with certain types of artificial sweeteners. But there are a wide variety available. Some are natural sweeteners, like Stevia, and are zero calories.

During the first few days after surgery, your body is in a major healing mode. It is common during that time to not meet the goals for fluids and Protein. It may take a couple weeks to get to that point. Keep trying. I disliked all Protein shakes, especially the Isopure. But I did a lot of experimenting until I found one that worked for me.

Remember to take a before photograph so you can lay it side by side with an after photo. Walk daily for around 30 minutes. It will help with the recovery process. If you are a caffeine drinker discontinue that now. I had a 6 coke a day habit and went cold turkey. I suffered with a week of withdrawal syndrome (bad headaches and muscle aches). Better to get that over with now than compound the effects of the surgery with a caffeine withdrawal effects.

It might be a low blood sugar problem. A few people who have undergone gastric bypass operations develop hypoglycemia. This is irrespective of whether they were diabetic before surgery or not. If your husband was diabetic before surgery, is he off the diabetic meds now? This (still taking the diabetic meds when diabetes goes into remission) may also cause the symptoms you are describing.

I have severe acid reflux (Gerd). RNY is the recommended procedure if you have this ailment.

$100 - 200K seems excessive. I had a RNY and the total was $50K of which my insurance covered all but around $5K. The total cost of Bariatric Surgery has many components including the Medically Monitored Weight Loss and Exercise program, the Pre-Op Tests, the Surgeon, and the Hospital costs. These add up. In my case it took about a year from the time I started until I had the surgery. This meant that the costs were stretched out over two calendar years. And the deductibles had to be reached for each of these years before the insurance began to pay.

Your required Protein is the protein obtained from meals combined with the protein obtained from protein supplements (protein shakes and protein bars). If you concentrate on eating meals with a high protein content, then you can begin to offload the number of protein shakes you consume each day.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far. If the scale is causing you too much stress, set it aside and only weigh yourself once per month. I weigh myself daily each morning when I get up. But I do not beat myself up when I read my weight. I use it as a tool to tell me if I am headed in the right direction after my experimentation with food. But many surgeons and nutritionist seem to recommend that you do not weigh yourself daily.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, the part of the stomach that processes fats and sugars is cut aside. Therefore if you consume moderate amounts of fats or sugars it automatically leads to dumping syndrome. After about a year, your body physically changes and your intestines evolve to process fats and sugars. At that stage you will be able to consume fats and sugars without dumping syndrome. From my perspective and all the research that I have seen, all fats are good fats.

There may be a new non-caloric sugar substitute showing up in stores in a couple years. It is called allulose (aka psicose). This is a natural sugar and apparently the company Tate & Lyle have figured out how to make the produce in large quantities. When consumed allulose is excreted in the urine before it reaches the bowels, therefore avoiding the problem caused by other sugar substitutes that get to the large intestine where it is fermented by bacteria.

Congratulations!

I received a call that was similar from a nurse tied to my health insurance company. It seems if I remember correctly she was interested in the medicines I was taking. It seemed like a meaningless call. After the surgery, I received another call from the same office. I told her my diabetes and high blood pressure were in remission and that I was no longer taking any prescription medicine for those conditions. I think I also remember telling her that I was attending Bariatric Surgery Support Group meetings.

It is common for individuals after gastric bypass operation to pass significantly more gas than usual. This will decrease the further you are out but it will never go away. One of the guidelines is to not use a straw when you drink fluids. That is to prevent swallowing too much air when you drink. But I suspect this is not your problem.

Mini Gastric Bypass is a totally different operation than Gastric Bypass and the requirements (meal volume and permissible food types) are different. Perhaps Gemmabee89 you might detail the requirements laid out by your surgeon or nutricianist. Do you have restrictions on the amount of food you can eat per meal? I do not believe you are stretching your stomach. The best advise is to follow the guidelines of your physician.

I had a RNY gastric bypass surgery on 16 May 2013. As I worked my way through the recovery process, I decided to publish a short article called "How I Survived Bariatric Surgery". It is available at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf This is my before and after photograph at around the 6 month mark. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg Since I am now 27 months post-op, I felt it was time to publish an update to the original document. It is called "How I Survived Bariatric Surgery, Part II". It is available at http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf I have been in the "Maintenance" phase for 20 months now. I know many people are wrestling with the fear of weight gain after they bottom out. This "Part II" article documents the approach that I used.

Passing gas is very normal during the first few weeks after surgery. After that it becomes more manageable. Also it is common to hit a stage called "Never trust a fart". Luckily that stage does not last long.

I had RNY surgery 27 months ago. I had diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, GERD (severe acid reflux), problems with frequent urination and profuse sweating. All those conditions went into remission shortly after the operation and remained there.

I ordered it over the internet at http://www.juvenon.com/products/juvenon-tablets/ My doctor had me go off Juvenon just prior to surgery and then O.K. the use around 2 months after surgery. I take a dosage of one tablet per day.

Not everyone is affected by hair loss after surgery. It varies by individual. I was unaffected. It is important to consume the required Protein each day because this can lead to hair loss. I took a supplement called Juvenon. I have been taking this for a decade now. I take it because it helps my lung function but one of the side effects was to stop hair loss.

Congratulations!

I began drinking caffeinated beverages at around 1 year post-op. I would probably forego switching to carbonated beverages until after I have finished the "Weight Loss" phase and entered the "Maintenance" phase. You have lost 143 pounds but you have 90 pounds to go before you get to your goal. So to be on the safe side, if it was me I would probably wait. But it is somewhat up to you. If you are exercising (biking) heavily to the point of becoming dehydrated and light-headed, you need to replenish your electrolytes.

Recently I began using "bai5 Antioxidant Infusions" drinks. I found them at Sam's Club. I found that it taste good. It does contain a white tea abstract which has natural caffeine so this is not for someone who recently had surgery but is a little further out.

According to my guidance book, nuts are to be avoided during weight loss. I am 27 months post-op RNY and I consume nuts without any difficulty. I suspect you should avoid nut during the first year post-op. It is possible that you might be suffering from Stenosis/Stricture - a narrowing or constriction of the diameter of a bodily passage or orifice. This is most common in procedures that rearrange your digestive system such as gastric bypass surgery (up to 8% of patients) and duodenal switch surgery and results from a build-up of scar tissue between your intestine and your reduced stomach or at an intestine-to-intestine connection (anastomosis). The primary symptom is almost always vomiting, and it is usually treated by inserting and inflating a balloon to stretch the connection between the stomach and intestine. GERD and older age increase the risk of strictures.