James Marusek

Good luck on your journey.

13 days post-op! That is too soon to worry. Just stick with the program. Meet the Protein, Fluid and Vitamin requirements and watch the magic happen.

This sounds strange! When I was in the hospital for 2 days after surgery, I was up every 2 hours walking the halls. I did not get very much sleep but it really promoted my rapid recovery.

I had a 6 Coke a day habit for about 5 decades. I went cold turkey when I started the medically supervised weight loss and exercise program 6 months before surgery. I encountered a severe withdrawal syndrome that lasted for about a week. I had very bad headaches. But then it subsided.

I was just wondering what ads you are talking about. The ads on the bariatricpal.com website? All that shows up in your example is a large square black rectangular box.

I remember when I was in the hospital. Even Water tasted bad. I could taste chlorine and it was intolerable. After surgery for many people, their taste buds change. Over time they change again and again the further you go out after surgery. Immediately after surgery, the most important things are Protein, fluids and Vitamins. food is secondary. Your body is converting your stored fat into energy to drive your body. Thus you lose weight. So focus on these three. I did not like the taste of any Protein shakes. But the goal is to find one you can tolerate. I landed up using Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme), mixing it in a Ninja blender with water and adding a half a banana to the mix. But everyones taste is different. The goal is to find a Protein shake you can tolerate. Although before surgery, I loved to drink a glass of ice cold water, after surgery I found no enjoyment to water. I found that flavored water (Crystal Light) was tolerable. That was my solution. Later, fine teas added enjoyment to my Fluid requirements. I could no longer swallow medium to large pills, so for vitamins I used a pill splitter and a pill crusher. As time went on, these 3 requirements no longer became a burden. But in the beginning, life is difficult after WLS. When you finally transition to solid foods, other problems will materialize. I wrote a short article about my experience with WLS and included some recipes at the end. You can read it here. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

No

Congratulations. It is wondrous how many medical conditions go into remission after WLS and how quick this all happens.

Not exactly sure what is going on but I had a couple thoughts. Many times when you undergo surgery, antibiotics are administered. Antibiotics kill many types of bacteria including the good bacteria that make up your digestive system. It is important to build up these good colonies of bacteria to bring back you digestive system to its full working order. After WLS, many times one of the recommended pills to take when you get home is a Probiotics. Probiotics restore your good bacteria in your digestive system. After RNY surgery, I found that I was lactose intolerant. If I drank a glass of milk, it meant that within minutes I had to make a trip to the restroom because I had the runs. This condition lasted for a couple months. After surgery, my digestive system could no longer process sugars, that included the sugars in milk. After a few months, my intestines learned to perform this function and I was able to drink milk again.

Good luck on your first step forward.

As I aged, I came to the point that even exercise combined with dieting could not drop the pounds. Years of obesity took a toll on my body and diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, severe acid reflux (GERD) reared its ugly head. There was no other choice. Luckily, this was the right choice.

PB is an abbreviation for Productive Burps

It can be difficult finding meals that work. Sometimes the food (such as meats can be to hard), othertimes it is difficult to get in the required volume and not go over which leads to dumping. What worked for me was high Protein homemade chili and Soups. I have included a few recipes in the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

What you are describing does not seem like a normal experience. Until you can figure out what is happening, perhaps you can eat some ice chips to keep from becoming totally dehydrated.

When I go to the YMCA, primarily it is to swim. I put on a pair of scuba flippers [which I purchased at a local scuba store] and swim on my back. I find it to be very relaxing and at the same time with the flippers, I can move across the Water at a nice clip. It is not difficult to swim a mile. It's almost like being a fish. [There are two types of scuba flippers: those designed for someone wearing a wetsuit and those designed for someone not wearing a wetsuit. I chose the latter. These flippers are ordered and sized for my feet and are about twice the size of flippers that you might find in a normal store.]

In the beginning it can be a little overwhelming. After my RNY surgery, I found that I could no longer swallow many of my Vitamins. It took several weeks before I was able to swallow again. That meant that I needed to crush them or split them in two in order to get them down. I also had to separate time-wise the calcium and the Iron [i.e. Flintstone multivitamins] pills. The number of calciums also had to be limited and spaced out. Crushed calciums taste terrible. I mixed them in a drink of Crystal Light to get them down. Two years post-op and the process doesn't even bother me. It makes a world of difference when you can swallow again. I take my Flintstones and an additional iron pill just before bedtime. I put my Citrical's in a finger bowl which I take throughout the day. [This allows me to keep track of how many I take each day]. All the rests of the vitamins, I place in a 7 Day Pill Organizer Container and take first thing in the morning.

I have Type II diabetes. After surgery, it went into remission and I have been off my meds ever since. I am 2 years post-op RNY. After the operation, I take my fasting blood sugar readings about once per month. These are my readings over that period: 91, 83, 74, 77, 93, 79, 81, 84, 103, 76, 84, 74, 80, 86, 81.

The following are some of the abbreviations used on this website: ACL = Anterior cruciate ligament AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible (crossfit) BB = belly button bc = because BCBS = Blue Cross/Blue Shield BED = Binge Eating Disorder bf = best friend BM = bowel movement BMI = Body Mass Index bp = blood pressure BPD = Borderline Personality Disorder or Biliopancreatic Diversion (Scopinaro procedure) bs = blood sugar btw = by the way CBT = cognitive-behavioral therapy CC = common channel c diff = clostridium difficile cos or cuz = because CPAP = continuous positive airway pressure CRNP = certified registered nurse practitioners cw = current weight CXR = Chest X-Ray Dr. = doctor DS = Dumping Syndrome or Duodenal Switch EGD = Esophagogastroduodenoscopy EKG = Electrocardiography ff = fat free GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease GI = gastrointestinal GNC = General Nutrition Corporation store GP = general practitioner or family doctor HBP = high blood pressure hr = heart rate hw = highest weight ICU = Intensive Care Unit Idk = I don’t know IMHO = in my humble (honest) opinion IMO = in my opinion IUI = Intrauterine insemination LAP Band = Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band lol = laughing out loud LSG = Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy med = medicine msg = message NASH = Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis nf = non fat NG = Nasogastric NP = nurse practitioner NSAIDS = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug NSV = non-scale victory (“scale” means “weight scale”) NUT = nutritionist Onederland = a magical place or destination for those trying to lose weight. It might correspond to attaining a weight in the hundreds or losing a hundred pounds. op = operation OSA = Obstructive sleep Apnea Oz = Australia PCOS = Polycystic Ovary Syndrome PCP = Primary Care Physician PM = private message (email) PMS = premenstrual syndrome postop or post–op = post-operation or post-surgery PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitors ppl = people preop or pre-op = pre-operation or pre-surgery PTSD = Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PVC = Premature ventricular contractions RA = Rheumatoid arthritis RTD = ready to drink RN = registered nurse RNY = Roux-en-Y s/f or sf = sugar free smh = shaking my head, scratching my head SOB = shortness of breath sw = weight at surgery tmi = too much information TPN = total parenteral nutrition TT = tummy tuck u = You VSG = Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Vit = Vitamin wks = weeks WLS = Weight Loss Surgery WOD = Workout of the Day w/o = without wt = weight or :-) = ☺ = smiley face or :-( = ☹ = sad face

I use a Ninja blender. Some models come with several detachable blending bowls. I use the single serve 16 ounce blending cups. After blending, you unscrew the blade top and screw on the sippy cup attachment and you are ready to go. It blends Protein powders will Water to a fine consistency. It is easy to add a banana or other fruit into the Protein shake. It pulverizes ice if you want to cool down the protein shake.

That has not been my experience. I was diabetic and on medication for several years before surgery. I monitored my blood sugar levels daily and the medication was barely controlling my diabetes. After surgery, my Type II diabetes was in remission. I tested it routinely about once per month. I am 2 years post-op from RNY. Processed sugars permeate most of the foods we eat. For example a serving of orange juice (from concentrate) can contain 24 grams of added process sugar. Even a can of Campbell's tomato Soup uses significant amounts of processed sugars in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup. The salad dressing used at Olive Garden uses approximately 2 tablespoons of corn syrup (per cup). I try to limit my process sugars to a maximum of 2 grams. I do not limit my natural sugars (such as found in fruits), my artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda), nor my low calorie natural sweeteners (such as Stevia). And thus far I see no increase in blood sugar levels. But I suspect the major driver is my efforts to control processed sugar intake.

Carrying around extra weight didn't bother me too much over the past 50 years. But when medical complications began to appear, it meant time for a change. Dieting doesn't work long term. WLS (weight loss surgery) appeared to show a better track record. I think another reason why I chose to have WLS is because my wife recommended it. I do tend to listen to her. She doesn't wish for me to die prematurely. She has my interest at heart. I don't think men obsess with their weight as much as women.

After the operation, generally they pump you full of fluids. So that you actually gain several pounds in the hospital by the time you return home. So you may have gained some weight and then lost it in the past 13 days. Your body is in a heal mode at the moment, and I wouldn't be too concerned about weight loss at the moment.

I am 24 months post-op on RNY. The requirements are similar to sleeve. The first thing to understand is food is not very important in the early stages after surgery. Your body is converting the stored fats into energy to drive your body. As a result, you lose weight. The most important thing in this stage is making sure you meet your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements. In the beginning, you must rely on Protein shakes to meet your protein requirements. I do not like to drink protein shakes; they taste awful. To me they imply somehow that they are like a milkshake. This they are not. The goal is to find a Protein shake that you can tolerate. So experiment. There are a variety of types available. If you go with the Protein powder, I suggest you use an electric blender (such as a Ninja single serve blender) to get the proper consistency. That also allows you to blend in a banana which will generally improve the taste.

What type of weight loss surgery did you undergo?

I came across an interesting article that discusses the different types of low calorie sweeteners and their effects on weight management and blood glucose control. Prior to my RNY surgery, I had Type II diabetes most likely caused by my sweet tooth. I am 2 years post-op and my diabetes has been in remission since surgery. So I consider this to be an important topic. http://www.foodinsight.org/Content/5438/Final%20Revised_Sweet%20Taste%20Handout_9-2012.pdf