James Marusek

After surgery everything is in transition. There is the transition from full liquids to pureed foods to solids; the transition in allowed meal volume; and the transition to allowed food categories. Each transition opens up new opportunities. So experiment. In Indiana they have a saying. If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes. It is sort of like that with food after surgery. I documented the approach I used after surgery in the following article. I hope it is of help. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Good luck on your surgery. I am happy with the results of my RNY surgery 2 years ago.

It is common for people with lap bands to have a revision to RNY gastric bypass surgery. One of the individual in our support group went through this process when his band started to cut into his stomach. After surgery he was very happy with the results.

I had high blood pressure and diabetes prior to surgery and a few other problems. I took meds for these conditions but very quickly after surgery all these conditions went into remission and I am off all my meds except for my asthma meds. I was off the diabetes meds two days after surgery when I left the hospital. I was off all my high blood pressure meds two weeks after surgery. I am 2 years post op from RNY.

I described my experience with WLS in the following article. Hope it will help. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I hope you resolve the problem with your shoulder.

I will pray that your surgery goes well and that you are happy with the results in the longterm.

I had RNY surgery and did not experience any hair loss. But some have reported this as a problem. It is important to make sure that you meet the minimum daily Protein requirements especially as you approach your bottom weight because a lack of protein can cause hair loss.

Some people who have RNY experience episodes of low blood sugar "hypoglycemia". The symptoms are: lightheadedness or dizziness blurred/impaired vision rapid heartbeat tingling or numbness in lips or tongue sudden mood changes sudden nervousness confusion unexplained weakness or fatigue pale skin headache hunger shaking sweating, chills and clamminess difficulty sleeping trouble thinking clearly or concentrating loss of consciousness To correct this condition at the onset, take one of the following: a half cup of fruit juice 8 ounces of milk 2 tablespoons of raisins 1 tablespoon of honey 4 or 5 saltine crackers 3 or 4 pieces of hard candy or glucose tablets If you are experiencing this condition, it is important to learn to recognize your symptoms and treat them fast.

I took a before and after photograph. It is really amazing when you put them side by side. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg What a difference 6 months makes.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago and dropped 110 pounds and kept it off. I had several episodes of severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery and RNY is the best approach for this condition.

Keep doing what you are doing. It is common for the scales to stop every now and then. Try and not get fixated on it. You may see your progress in other ways such as dropping a clothing size. It is possible to slow your weight loss by extreme exercise. When I was young, I began jogging. Over a few weeks I was able to build myself up to 10 miles per day. Instead of losing weight, I gained weight because I was replacing fat with muscle and muscle is denser than fat. But that is a good thing.

Water should pass right through your pouch. That is why they tell you not to drink fluids when you consume your meals. (Otherwise your food might also travel through your stomach right into your intestines without first being processed.)

During the first few weeks it can be hard meeting the requirements but then it gets easier with time. Find a Protein shake you can tolerate. I would blend in a half a banana into my Muscle Milk Light (vanilla cream) powder using Water and my Ninja blender and it help to make the protein shake tolerable. The important thing is to experiment. [The banana does not count against your meal allotment.]

Over the years I drank Cokes and later Diet Cokes. One of the requirements after surgery is to cut out all carbonated beverages and caffeine. I decided to implement this change when I entered the medically monitored diet and exercise program in order to qualify for surgery. That change alone caused me to drop 20 pounds. I believe the carbonation was the cause of the weight loss. Carbonation is like producing microscopic explosions in the stomach which causes it to expand. The larger the stomach, the more food you can eat and as a result the more weight one gains. This also turned out to be a good change because I suffered from withdrawal syndrome when I went cold turkey on a 6 coke a day habit. So it is important to flush your body from caffeine early because you don't want to go through these withdrawal syndrome combining it with the effects of the operation. The other thing I did pre-op was to become more conscientious about my calorie intake. I looked at the calories of everything I ate and changed my diet. I no longer ate ice cream or milk shakes. No more pizza. But Taco Bell tacos were O.K.

Some people who had RNY surgery suffer from low blood sugar after surgery. I don't know if duodenal switch patient also are affected by this condition. One of the symptoms of low blood sugar is irratability and personality changes. If this condition becomes severe, you may find yourself fainting. So if you begin to show other symptoms, you might look into this.

Sounds like you are the 6 week mark. In the early stages meeting the Protein, Vitamin and Fluid requirements are critical. food is secondary. Your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. That is why you are losing weight. I found that eating soft foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than hard foods such as meats, etc. So I went with that. (The liquid portion of soups count towards meeting your fluid requirement but not your meal volume limits.) It is important to experiment and find things that you like to eat.

A year ago, I had a stomach flu. It lasted for 7 days and then it was gone. I had no appetite and couldn't keep anything down. I wondered if you might have the same condition.

Past thread indicate that this problem has occurred in others. It is not common. The causes discussed were: * Reaction to pain medicines * B12 deficiency * New allergic reactions to foods. Since you body has been surgically changed, you may be experiencing an allergic reaction to some foods that you did not experience prior to surgery. * Increase in bile salt in the gall bladder

Constipation can be a difficult problem after surgery. After several months after surgery I developed this complication. After trying several stool softeners that gave me no relief, I finally resorted to inserting a glycerin suppository up my rear end every three days. Obviously I did not want to make this fix a permanent thing. I stumbled onto a simple fix. I found that if I ate an apple before I retired for the night, I would have a good BM the next morning. The trick is that you must also eat the skin of the apple. This approach has worked for me for over a year. Constipation can be brought on by a lack of fluids, so make sure that you are meeting the requirements in this department. Other suggestions on past threads for this problem are: Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears Aerobic Magnesium 07 Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups bran Cereal 1 ¼ cups milk 1 egg ½ tablespoon applesauce optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips Bake 400° F for 22 minutes

Constipation can be a difficult problem after surgery. After several months after surgery I developed this complication. After trying several stool softeners that gave me no relief, I finally resorted to inserting a glycerin suppository up my rear end every three days. Obviously I did not want to make this fix a permanent thing. I stumbled onto a simple fix. I found that if I ate an apple before I retired for the night, I would have a good BM the next morning. The trick is that you must also eat the skin of the apple. This approach has worked for me for over a year. Constipation can be brought on by a lack of fluids, so make sure that you are meeting the requirements in this department. Other suggestions on past threads for this problem are: Smooth Move Herbal Tea Prune juice (warmed) Prunes (4 in the morning and 4 at night) Magnesium citrate Insoluble fibers (Garden of Life Raw Fiber or Renew Life Triple Fiber). Haribo sugar free Gummy Bears Aerobic Magnesium 07 Low Fat Bran Muffin (recipe). 80 calories each 1 cup flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups bran Cereal 1 ¼ cups milk 1 egg ½ tablespoon applesauce optional: banana, berries, mini chocolate chips Bake 400° F for 22 minutes

I had a RNY about 2 years ago. After 7 months I hit my bottom weight and was stable for over 6 months. Then I got a stomach flu and lost a pound a day for about a week. In the end I lost about 10 pounds below my bottom weight. I decided to try and maintain this lower weight and so far I have been successful. So there might be a sunny side to the stomach flu if you are in the maintenance phase.

Let's see, your UGI said that you did not have acid reflux. So there is a strong possibility what you are experiencing is a stricture, which generally is a fairly simple fix. Sounds like a quick fix and also a lot less painful that trying to do a sleeve to RNY revision.

This does not sound normal. Nor does it sound like GERD. Some people have an intolerance for cold drinks after surgery. So you might try something warm liquid like tea. It sounds like it might be a 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. So this may be something you should consult with your medical staff about.

I think you need to go back to basics. Always eat your Protein first at meals. Make sure you meet your Fluid, protein and Vitamin requirements. According to my nutritionist, most individuals that gain weight back after surgery are due to grazing (snacking). Your case is probably an exception. I am 2 years post-op from RNY. My weight loss is stable. I do graze but I graze on fats. Fats take away hunger. I have a cup of coffee in the morning with a giant scope of home made real whip cream. I make it myself so I exclude sugar. I strictly stay away from sugar and use low calorie sweeteners such as Stevia and no calorie artificial sweeteners such as Splenda. I also use sugar alcohol found in Atkin's treats. But that is the method I have found that works for me. You might also have to go back to measuring the volume of food for each meal to lower your portion size.