James Marusek

Right after surgery I became lactose intolerant. Every time I drank milk or dairy products, it lead to an immediate stomach ache and a trip to the restroom with diarrhea. Therefore I stopped drinking milk. Be forewarned some Protein shakes contain lactose. After about 2 months this condition went away. Your body does not process fats and sugars, so if you consume some of these, it will pass through your stomach and colon and produce diarrhea. After about a year your intestines will figure out something is wrong and learn to process these types of food.

After surgery, my stomach was smaller than the size of my fist. If I eat more than that amount of food, I will get sick. My stomach is in charge.

After surgery your body is in a major heal mode. It is common for some individuals to be unable to meet their daily Protein or Fluid requirements for the first few weeks after surgery. Just keep trying every day and you should be able to get there. The fluid requirement is met by a combination of all the fluids you take during a day. It is not only the Water that you drink each day. But also the water you drink when you take your Vitamins and medicine. It is the milk you drink. It is the fluids content of the Protein shakes. It is the water component of the Soups you take. It is met by flavored water such as Crystal Light. It is met by sugar free popsicles. It is met by tea and decaf coffee. It is a combination of all the fluids that you consume during the day. It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. I remember in the hospital after surgery I could not drink the water because it tasted very chlorinated. Some individuals find temperature (hot or cold) affects their tolerance for drinking fluids. In the winter, I found that I tolerate Hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good. More recently I found a drink at Sam's Club that I buy by the case called Bai. There are many different types of formulations on protein shakes. I would recommend that you keep experimenting until you find one that you can tolerate. You don't have to like it, just tolerate it. I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) powder blended with water and a half a banana. That worked for me. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might try premixed Isopure.

After RNY gastric bypass surgery, there are two phases which are the "Weight Loss Phase" and the "Maintenance Phase". At around 7 months post-op, my weight loss came to an end and I naturally slid into the maintenance phase. @@Melanie89 said "Hi I am 16 weeks out lost 67lbs but weighed this morning and im up 3lbs like HOWWW?" There are probably 3 things at play here. 1. Holiday's are rough on weight loss. One tends to eat or drink too much and this can result in some weight gain. 2. You weight will fluctuate on a daily basis. I generally weigh myself first thing in the morning butt naked to obtain my lowest daily weight. My clothes and shoes can add 5 pounds to my weight. If I weigh myself after meals, that might add another couple pounds. Some women have issues with Water retention. Stress can also affect weight loss. 3. At 16 weeks post op, your meal volume has started to increase which gives you have an option. One thing to do now at this stage is to assess your Protein intake. Your protein requirement is met by a combination of the protein from your meals combined with the protein from your supplements (Protein shakes, protein bars). Since your meal volume is beginning to increase, that also means that the amount of protein from meals is increasing, especially if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals. Therefore you could be able to reduce your reliance on supplements and the calories they contain. I went from 3 protein shakes a day, down to 2, then 1 and finally zero when my meal volume increased to 1 cup per meal at a year and a half. That is the method I used to break my stalls.

I am 3 1/2 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. The reason why I went with RNY instead of sleeve was because I had severe acid reflux (Gerd). A sleeve will only make that condition worse.

According to the internet: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints after bariatric surgery, and they are typically associated with inappropriate diet and noncompliance with a gastroplasty diet (ie, eat undisturbed, chew meticulously, never drink with meals, and wait 2 hours before drinking after solid food is consumed). If these symptoms are associated with epigastric pain, significant dehydration, or not explained by dietary indiscretions, an alternative diagnosis must be explored. One of the most common complications causing nausea and vomiting in gastric bypass patients is anastomotic ulcers, with and without stomal stenosis. Ulceration or stenosis at the gastrojejunostomy of the gastric bypass has a reported incidence of 3% to 20%. Although no unifying explanation for the etiology of anastomotic ulcers exists, most experts agree that the pathogenesis is likely multifactorial. These ulcers are thought to be due to a combination of preserved acid secretion in the pouch, tension from the Roux limb, ischemia from the operation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and perhaps Helicobacter pylori infection. Evidence suggests that little acid is secreted in the gastric bypass pouch; however, staple line dehiscence may lead to excessive acid bathing of the anastomosis. Treatment for both marginal ulcers and stomal ulcers should include avoidance of NSAIDs, antisecretory therapy with proton-pump inhibitors, and/or sucralfate. In addition, H pylori infection should be identified and treated, if present. So interpreting the above, the recommendations is to avoid NSAIDs such as aspirin. Take proton-pump inhibitors. My surgeon prescribed Omeprazole (over the counter Prilosec) for the first year to allow my stomach to heal properly. The third recommendations is to be tested to make sure that you do not have an Helicobacter pylori infection. This might be the root cause of your problem. Some individuals on this website reported this infection was the cause of their problems. You surgeon recommended start taking enzymes. I suspect he/she is talking about taking Probiotics. Whenever you take antibiotics, it kills not only the bad bacteria but also the good bacteria in your gut. This good bacteria must be reestablished after surgery. That is what probiotics do. If you underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery, your body no longer makes the Vitamins that your body needs so therefore you will need to take Vitamin supplements for the rest of your life. If you fail to take these vitamins, your body will develop major deficiencies and seriously affect your health. So since you said that your surgeon recommends that you stop taking vitamins does not make any sense to me. This really needs to be rechecked. You mentioned that your body bruises very easily. Normally this is caused by a blood thinner. Aspirin is a blood thinner and because it NASAID and should be avoided. Also many products such as Excedrin and other over the counter pain medicine also contains aspirin. These products should be avoided.

Happy New Years to you and good luck on your upcoming surgery. Since you are pre-op, I recommend you do three things. 1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success. 2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery. 3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

Generally the requirement is to drink 64-80 ounces of fluids a day. Primarily concentrate on the three most important elements: Protein, fluids and Vitamins. food is secondary. Many patients find it difficult to meet their Fluid and protein requirements during the first couple weeks after surgery because their body is in a major heal mode. But just keep trying and you should eventually be able to get there.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 3 years ago. I found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than harder foods such as steaks. As a result I relied on softer foods and to a large extent still do. The recipes for a few high Protein homemade meals that I used are attached at the end of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

It is common for your taste buds to change after surgery. I remember in the hospital after RNY gastric bypass surgery, I could not drink the Water because it tasted very chlorinated. Eventually I found flavored water such as Crystal Light to work O.K. Many experience problems drinking Protein shakes. I hated them. But in the beginning I drank them, three 16-ounce Protein Shakes a day, in order to meet my protein requirements. You do not have to like protein shakes only tolerate them. There are many varieties of protein shakes available today. Experiment until you can find one you can tolerate. Over time as your meal volume increases, if you concentrate on consuming high protein meals, you can begin to reduce your reliance on protein shakes. I went from 3 a day, down to 2, down to 1 and eventually none when I reached 1 cup per meal at a year and a half post-op. There are many different types of formulations on protein shakes. I would recommend that you keep experimenting until you find one that you can tolerate. You don't have to like it, just tolerate it. I used Muscle Milk Light (vanilla Creme) powder blended with water and a half a banana. That worked for me. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might try premixed Isopure.

It will be important to find a way of getting home after surgery. You will not be able to drive. Also, generally they write the prescriptions for you when you are released from the hospital and you will need to go and pick these up on the way home.

As I recall after surgery, my body was very tender. So I wore loose fitting clothes to avoid the pain and soreness. Clothes that had an elastic band or drawstring. I think I wore comfy hospital pants for the first couple months. I wasn't too sensitive to the way I looked during exercise, but most of my exercise was around my house and not in public like a gym. I had RNY surgery over three years ago and the weight fell off very quickly. It made almost no sense to buy new clothes until the weight loss settled down. I went from a size 3X in shirts down to a size Small and from a size 46 in pants down to a size 32 in about 7 months time. Sleeve patients will generally lose weight at a slower pace.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. It is common to feel fear prior to surgery. Maybe I am old fashion but I look at doctors similar to auto mechanics. When I take my car in to be repaired, I want the auto mechanic to fix my car. That is first and foremost. If he has good bedside manners but doesn't fix my car, I am unhappy. At your stage I would recommend you do three things. 1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success. 2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery. 3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even Water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate Hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good. The Fluid requirement is met by a combination. It is not only the water that you drink each day. But also the water you drink when you take your Vitamins and medicine. It is the milk you drink. It is the fluids content of the Protein shakes. It is the water component of the Soups you take. It is met by flavored water such as Crystal Light. It is met by sugar free popsicles. It is met by tea and decaf coffee. It is a combination of all the fluids that you consume during the day.

I am sorry to hear you are having problems. Be willing to experiment. After surgery, my taste buds changed dramatically. Even Water changed. In the hospital it tasted excessively chlorinated and I could not drink it. So I experimented. sugar free popsicles became my best friend. Some individuals find hot or cold can help with fluids. For me, I found that I could tolerate flavored water. So I began using Crystal Light. I also found a new drink Bai which I liked cold. In the winter, I found that I tolerate Hot drinks such as piping hot cocoa. But you have to use the "No Sugar Added" variety. Also fine English teas were very good.

Congratulations on your surgery and the fact that you experience little pain.

I remember my first visit after surgery with my surgeon and nutritionist. I did not prepare anything in advance. But I do remember that my nutritionist informed me that I was not taking the proper amount of Calcium. The dosage rate on Citrical was based on two tablets not one. So I was only taking approximately half the dosage I needed to take.

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

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It is common to feel pain after major surgery. But sometimes pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. One condition to be watchful for is the pain associated for blood clots. Another is the pain from an infection. So having said this, the following is my surgeon's direction on when a patient should contact their physician: * Uncontrolled or increased abdomen pain. * Shortness of breath or calf pain. * New onset of upper back or left shoulder pain. * Chest pain, rapid heartbeat and/or dizziness. * Changes to your incision - new pain, swelling, redness, cloudy drainage.

It is common to feel fear before a major operation. It is perfectly normal. I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 3 years ago and it is a totally different experience than dieting. After surgery I lost my hunger - hunger that was constantly, continually gnawing on my bones. I found that it was not difficult to lose weight when I had no hunger driving me. So good luck on your upcoming surgery and check back with us when you are on the other side.

Congratulations and let us know if we can be of any help.

Since you are at the beginning of this process, I would recommend three things. 1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success. 2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery. 3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

Sometimes when you get bound up, a simple laxative may not work. I had to resort to using a Fleet glycerin suppository that I had to put up my rectum in order to get unbound. If you are not drinking sufficient fluids this can also cause you to become constipated.

You might be right. A lack of B12 can cause heart palpitations. Or it might be a lack of other Vitamins. After RNY gastric bypass surgery, you body no longer synthesizes vitamins from the food you eat. This is for the rest of your life. Therefore if you do not follow the Vitamin regiment, it can lead to trouble. The simplest thing to do is get back on the regiment and see if this problem goes away.