James Marusek

In general, teeth do not go bad after surgery. There was one woman who attended one of our bariatric support group meetings who indicated she began losing teeth and her hair after surgery. But it sounded like she had bad surgery. Her stomach was made so small that she could consume only a thimble full of food at a time. She was over a year out and was deficient in everything vitamins, minerals, protein.

After a gastric bypass operation, the most important items are Protein, Vitamins and fluids. Meals are secondary. Your body is converting your stored fat into energy. That is why you are losing weight. There are many choices for Protein shakes out there. To me they all taste horrible. It is important for you to find one that you can tolerate. So experimentation is in order. Also you can blend things into your protein shakes and it will not count against your meal allotment. I found that blending in a banana into my Protein shake improved the taste substantially. Blending Greek yogurt might work for you. As your meal allotment increases, you will be able to derive more and more protein from your meals. I used high protein home made chili and Soups. I am at 1 cup per meal now and I derive around 65 grams of protein from my meals alone. As a result, I went from 3 protein shakes per day, down to 2, down to 1, and then down to 0.

It took me 6 months to get to a happy state. I found that if I mix foods together, it produced more flavor and it went down easier. I use home made high Protein chili and Soups for my meals. I have included a short article about my experience (including recipes) on the internet. Here is a link. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

A recent study conducted by researchers from Oslo University Hospital in Norway compared the 5 year outcomes of two types of bariatric surgery. Gastric Bypass (GB) was compared with BilioPancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD-DS). The mixed results are described in this article in the following link. http://acsh.org/2015/02/two-types-bariatric-surgery-compared/

I am 21 months post-op from RNY surgery. Last winter was a severe winter for us. It snowed almost every other day. My driveway is 900 feet long and I spent a lot of time clearing it from snow. I took the task in stride and because of my surgery, I had a significant increase in my stamina. I am 66 years old. I remember a little pain but I was using a lot of muscles that I normally don't use. But what I really remember is the cold. I no longer had the padding that I use to have and my fingers and feet were frigid cold. I started to use hand warmers for the first time. They were a life saver.

I don't know. All I know is that I am the same me. Just a lot healthier with more stamina.

After surgery your taste buds will change. After RNY surgery, I was no longer hungry. I found it easy to lose weight when hunger was taken off the table. After surgery there are 3 important drivers. These are Protein intake, Vitamin intake and Fluid intake. Meals are secondary. Your body has stored fat that will power your body for several months. Your body will convert this fat into energy and you will lose weight. After surgery, one of the most important things you can do is find a protein supplement that you can tolerate. I hate them all but I could tolerate Muscle Milk Light. Everyone has different tastes. As you progress and your meal volume increases, your meal approach can vary significantly. I focused on using home made high protein chili and Soups. That meant that when I achieved the one cup per meal in meal volume, I was getting around 65 grams of protein out of my meals alone. This allowed me to transition down from my protein supplements from 3 per day, down to 2 per day, down to 1 per day and now none. Instead I do (no sugar added) cocoa or a berry smoothie for a little extra protein.

After surgery, I became lactose intolerant. In other words, when I drank a cup of milk, it was instant diarrhea. That went away after a couple months. Also the part of your stomach that processes fats and sugars has been cut away during the surgery. According to my nutritionist, your intestines will realize what is happening and evolve and begin to uptake fats and sugars. This transformation takes several months to happen. So it is important to avoid fats and sugars during the early months after surgery because they can also lead to diarrhea.

Congratulations on achieving a 117 pound weight loss. I am 21 months post-op from RNY surgery. My body found its natural weight level. When I hit bottom, my weight loss stopped and I entered the maintenance phase. I never set a goal weight. They seem to be an artifact of weight loss diets. When you enter the maintenance phase of the program, the important thing is maintaining the weight that you already lost. That is key.

When I began the medically supervised diet and exercise program prior to surgery, I gave up all caffeine and carbonated beverages cold turkey. I lost 20 pounds on that change along. I had a 5 diet coke a day habit. But I suffered a major withdrawal syndrome, very severe headaches for about a week. Then I was O.K. It is better to get this over with now than to compound it with the effects of surgery.

After surgery, I developed very fine wrinkles all over my face. It made me look 100 years old. My eyes looked sunken. My wife suggested I use Bio Oil. I bought it at CVS. I applied it each morning and the wrinkles went away and the area around my eyes look much better now. It is possible that I was not drinking enough fluids. I was told that it could cause wrinkles too.

There are two types of sublingual Vitamin B12. The correct one to take is methylcobalamin.

After surgery the most important drivers are protein, liquid and vitamin requirements. Foods are not a driver. Your body is working on the energy stored in your fat. That is why there is a rapid weight loss in the beginning. So in the beginning focus on getting in the protein, generally this is by using protein shakes. As time goes on you will transition to protein bars as a supplement and getting more and more of your protein from meals. Protein shakes for me taste terrible. Everyone's taste is different, but an individual should try and find one they can tolerate. Some protein shakes come in powder form and some are premixed. I used a powder form (Muscle Milk Light) and quickly discovered I needed an electric blender (Ninja single serve) because when I tried to mix them by hand, they would not mix completely. I also found that blending allowed me to mix in some fruits (bananas) which made them go down easier. I went from three protein shakes a day down to two down to one as my protein requirements were derived more from the protein in the meals. Eventually I went completely off the protein shakes. I found that I could tolerate meals that were mixtures with a liquid element better than solids. So therefore I concentrated on homemade high protein soups and chili. These worked very well for me.

Its hard at the beginning. Need to just try a lot of different protein powders until you can find something that you can tolerate. Are you able to drink milk?

After surgery the most important drivers are protein, liquid and vitamin requirements. Foods are not a driver. Your body is working on the energy stored in your fat. That is why there is a rapid weight loss in the beginning. So in the beginning focus on getting in the protein, generally this is by using protein shakes. As time goes on you will transition to protein bars as a supplement and getting more and more of your protein from meals. Protein shakes for me taste terrible. Everyone's taste is different, but an individual should try and find one they can tolerate. Some protein shakes come in powder form and some are premixed. I used a powder form (Muscle Milk Light) and quickly discovered I needed an electric blender (Ninja single serve) because when I tried to mix them by hand, they would not mix completely. I also found that blending allowed me to mix in some fruits (bananas) which made them go down easier. I went from three protein shakes a day down to two down to one as my protein requirements were derived more from the protein in the meals. Eventually I went completely off the protein shakes. I found that I could tolerate meals that were mixtures with a liquid element better than solids. So therefore I concentrated on homemade high protein soups and chili. These worked very well for me.

incredibly slow

After surgery the most important drivers are protein, liquid and vitamin requirements. Foods are not a driver. Your body is working on the energy stored in your fat. That is why there is a rapid weight loss in the beginning. So in the beginning focus on getting in the protein, generally this is by using protein shakes. As time goes on you will transition to protein bars as a supplement and getting more and more of your protein from meals. Protein shakes for me taste terrible. Everyone's taste is different, but an individual should try and find one they can tolerate. Some protein shakes come in powder form and some are premixed. I used a powder form (Muscle Milk Light) and quickly discovered I needed an electric blender (Ninja single serve) because when I tried to mix them by hand, they would not mix completely. I also found that blending allowed me to mix in some fruits (bananas) which made them go down easier. I went from three protein shakes a day down to two down to one as my protein requirements were derived more from the protein in the meals. Eventually I went completely off the protein shakes. I found that I could tolerate meals that were mixtures with a liquid element better than solids. So therefore I concentrated on homemade high protein soups and chili. These worked very well for me.

After surgery the most important drivers are protein, liquid and vitamin requirements. Foods are not a driver. Your body is working on the energy stored in your fat. That is why there is a rapid weight loss in the beginning. So in the beginning focus on getting in the protein, generally this is by using protein shakes. As time goes on you will transition to protein bars as a supplement and getting more and more of your protein from meals. Protein shakes for me taste terrible. Everyone's taste is different, but an individual should try and find one they can tolerate. Some protein shakes come in powder form and some are premixed. I used a powder form (Muscle Milk Light) and quickly discovered I needed an electric blender (Ninja single serve) because when I tried to mix them by hand, they would not mix completely. I also found that blending allowed me to mix in some fruits (bananas) which made them go down easier. I went from three protein shakes a day down to two down to one as my protein requirements were derived more from the protein in the meals. Eventually I went completely off the protein shakes. I found that I could tolerate meals that were mixtures with a liquid element better than solids. So therefore I concentrated on homemade high protein soups and chili. These worked very well for me.

Congratulations. Wait until you hit the stage where the clothes no longer fit and you start dropping sizes. I went from a size 46 down to a 33 in pants and from a 3X down to a size Small in shirts.

I had RNY surgery 20 months ago. I lost hunger right after the surgery and the weight seem to just melt off. I had episode of severe acid reflux prior to surgery but none after. I encountered dumping a few times but you learn quickly to avoid it.

Welcome to the site. I am 20 months post-op. I have lost 110 pounds from RNY surgery. My diabetes and high blood pressure went into remission almost right after the surgery and I am no longer taking any medication for those problems.

I am 66 years old. I had diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure and several other conditions. I am 20 months post-op from RNY surgery. All those conditions went into remission shortly after the operation. Most were gone by the time I left the hospital two days after the operation.

That is the approach that I take. I try things out and find out what works for me. As a result of RNY surgery, I have to focus on four main items: meal, vitamin, protein and liquid requirements. On meals the requirement is 1 cup (8 ounces) per meal. Protein is 75-90 grams per day. Liquids are 64-80 ounces per day. The vitamins I take daily are: 1260 mg calcium citrate, 5000 IU Vitamin D3, 1250 mg sublingual Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin), 3 Flintstone's complete chewable multivitamins, and 1 65 mg iron (ferrous sulfate). I also take one 100 mg vitamin B1 weekly. Iron and calcium must be spaced apart. Because in RNY surgery they cut away the part of my stomach that converts food into vitamins, my body no longer produces the vitamins I need and without proper supplements I can become deficient. And that can lead to some serious illness. Meals are a balance between protein, carbs and fats. I eat snacks but primarily in the forms of fats and proteins. I put together an article about my experience with RNY. You can find it here. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

One of the outcomes of RNY surgery is that some patients experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) after surgery. This even affects individual who are not diabetic prior to the operation. I was diabetic prior to the operation and it went into remission by the time I left the hospital. I avoid sugar and several other sweeteners. But I have a sweet tooth and use a variety of other sweeteners. The sugar in milk and fruits are natural sugars that do not affect my blood sugar levels. There are many different types of sugars. Some are bad and some are O.K. Because I underwent training in preparation for my Weight Loss Surgery, I have a better understanding of the difference. So if you are diabetic, it is important to know the difference. The sugars to avoid are: sucrose (table sugar), fructose (honey), Dextrose (glucose), Maltose (malt sugar), Xylose, Corn Syrup, Corn Solids, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Cane juice, Molasses, Caramel, Corn Sweeteners, Evaporated Cane, Brown Sugar, Barley Malt, and Beet Sugar. I think a few more types of sugar also fall in this category but I don't know for sure. These are Agave, Pure Maple Sugar and Date Sugar. Sugar is integrated into so much of our food today, its hard to know what is an acceptable level. Generally if one of these sugars are listed in the first five ingredients on the food label of a product it should be avoided. Take for example Campbell's Tomato Soup - It contains 12 grams of sugar and the second ingredient on the food label is High Fructose Corn Syrup. So even innocent items can become a problem. I try to limit my intake to no more than 2 grams sugar for a product. So generally I don't eat Campbell's tomato soup anymore but I do use it when I make chili because it is cut to a minor portion. On the other side is sweeteners that a diabetic can probably consume safely. They include artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners. Generally the artificial sweeteners have zero calories, so they are easy to spot. These sweeteners include Acesulfame Potassium (Sunett and Sweet One), Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Neotame, Rebiana (Truvia, Pure Via), Saccharin (Sweet N' Low), Sucralose (Splenda) and then natural sweeteners such as Stevia, Monk Fruit, whey Low, Coconut Sugar and Sugar Alcohol (Sorbitol, Xylitol, Mannitol, Erythritol). Many of these acceptable sweeteners are beginning to show up in more and more products in the grocery counter. In many cases if the product is listed as No Sugar Added it might be acceptable. But you need to analyze the food labeling. For example Nesquick makes a No Sugar Added Cocoa. It uses Sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener. No sugar added ice creams are starting to show up in the store. Some brands of ice cream are using Aspartame (Nutrasweet) and Glycerine (sugar alcohol) as sweeteners. Another product it candy. Adkins makes a variety of candies that use sugar alcohol as their sweeteners. There are two other types of natural sugars that are O.K. These are the natural sugars found in fruits and milks. But some products are deceptive. You may have to read the food ingredient label because for example some fruit juice adds sugar to the juice and the product is primarily sugar.

I maintain a running log of my daily weight. Here is my before surgery photo and 6 months post-op photo. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg Here is a short article of my experience. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf />