AmusedMuse

@@James Marusek, Thank you for telling me about Muscle Milk. I tried it this morning and it went in very smooth - no nausea (I still get slight nausea frequently when I eat even a bite of something) and tasted ok (a bit sweet for my liking). I then had plenty of energy for my morning. This is a great recommendation!

@@lisylooby, I hope you talked with your surgeon about what the nutritionist said about you eating too quickly. It is poor practice to make such generalizations, especially when the patient is in a professional field and likely to be following directions. I also hope it is smooth sailing for you from here. What a lot you've been through!

There is a huge difference in what doctors recommend. My surgeon was a top European specialist who trains many American docs. Did y'all realize there are many US docs who fly to Europe for bypass procedure training? He also spends one week per month in the Middle East, doing surgeries for the wealthy there. He commented to me that all his Middle Eastern patients want the sleeve and he tries to talk them out of it for a number of reasons (I wasn't paying a lot of attention to them because I never considered the sleeve). In my case, and there are multiple general ways of performing RNY surgery, I essentially have a sleeve but the bulk of my stomach is sutured closed and food passes through a small sleeve. You say you love the simplicity of the sleeve but in most cases the RNY is more simple. As for your question about why someone would have this reversed, there are multiple reasons. My neighbor had been obese for years and after a broken bone and hospitalization suddenly developed malabsorbtion syndrome in which food just passed through him without being absorbed. In short order he became scarily malnourished and emaciated. I have known folks with cancer who have also gone through serious weight loss, and a couple of people I know were told by their docs at the time of diagnosis to gain weight and stop trying to take it off. These were people who were already obese. I have the RNY, my stomach is just smaller than it was before, and my doc said drinking is fine. Only 6 weeks out and I've been indulging in a couple of drinks per week for 3 weeks now. It is inaccurate to generalize that RNY patients can't drink. Yes, I have a lot of dumping 6 weeks out, but I think my situation is unique. First, since I am a 'low BMI' patient, my surgeon removed almost no intestine, less than 2 inches. There is likely no correlation between the amount of intestine removed and dumping in my case. For years I had bad stomach pain, at times so awful that I was incapacitated. After 3 years of trying to find a solution I found an expert who solved my problem. In short, the source of my pain was that my intestines are sluggish and don't work well, and my stomach was contracting harder and harder to push food through, I suspect that my frequent dumping is caused by my stomach still contracting super hard - it's been doing that for years so I doubt it will change very quickly. Also (apologies if this is TMI), for years I had pellet BMs and frequent constipation, and suddenly post surgery my BMs are soft and normal. I am so happy about that and about not having to daily think about pills or supplements. There is no single 'best surgery' or guaranteed avoidance of particular issues which should make the selection of surgery simple or generic. Do good research of RECENT studies. Look for a doc who does a LOT of GBs and listen to his/her advice.

@@MsMiniMe, That was helpful, thanks. I emailed my surgeon and he sent me a comforting response. He said all patients lose according to a percentage. First 6 weeks loss is 20% First 3 months loss is 30% First year loss is 40% (if I remember correctly without looking at his email). Mine seems to be a bit slower but I am exhausted and suffering through a Florida summer so taking things pretty easy (and have also hurt my foot so couch time is good right now). We'll get there!

@@LowBMISleever, Hey, we are both low BMI patients. How is your weight loss going? Mine is slow but steady.

Thanks Djmohr, I am going to try and hydrate more, though my body feels it is doing ok with that already (my urine was almost brown in the weeks after surgery but with more water it seems regular these days). It doesn't matter how hydrated I am, when I eat I crave liquids. I was always the one at the table drinking 2 or 3 glasses of water with dinner - the no drinking thing is super hard for me. Sadly, I also dump when I drink nothing with a meal, though it seems less dramatic. I am just trying to 'embrace my dumping' as part of the weight loss process for now. It's a pain, though!

Thanks all, You were right, it was just a stall. After that week I started dropping pretty regularly, an ounce or two per day, sometimes more. Thanks too for the advice about Protein. I am pleased that I can tolerate milk just fine (yay!) and fresh fruits too. The biggest issue I'm having now is dumping, and it is odd. I am not (nor could I tolerate) eating sugar or much in the way of carbs, but still experience frequent dumping. This morning I ate one scrambled egg with cheese and spent the next hour plus in misery. The only thing I can tie at all to the dumping is drinking with meals, which I'm doing my best to stop. Anyone else experience this?

Did you find any resolution? I'm 5 weeks out of RNY and experiencing dumping all the freaking time. This morning I had one scrambled egg with cheese and spent the next hour plus in misery. I suffered from frequent constipation before the RNY and am loving the fact that my bowels seem far more 'normal' now and I have a BM nearly every day. I can't eat any sugar whatsoever or will have dumping, but seem to tolerate fresh fruit quite well - blueberries, watermelon, and peaches so far. The other thing I can count on eating with no dumping is whole milk (and Atkins products, but I prefer whole foods to chemical products). I suspect one of the dumping triggers for me is having more than a small sip of liquid with a meal - I have always had a lot to drink with meals and being mindful of small sips until 30 minutes have passed is quite a challenge for me. Has anyone had dumping like this?!?

I am 5 weeks out of RNY and have frequent dumping which has little to do with carbs. This morning I had a scrambled egg (and chewed every bite quite well) with cheese and spent the next hour in misery. Thank goodness this is summer and I have nearly a month before I go back to work - I would have to leave my classes to lie down on my office floor if this happened during the semester. It is miserable. I am still happy to have chosen the RNY for its reversible aspect. I have a neighbor who became malabsorbtive and got absolutely emaciated - if that happened to me my stomach could take over again if necessary. So basically choosing one surgery over the other is no guarantee, nor is diet in some cases. Make the healthiest decision and listen to your doc (mine had a long list of reasons he tried to talk patients out of sleeves).

I am 5 weeks out of bypass and have dumping practically every day. Btw my doc uses a triple suture technique which does not cut off the stomach but closes off a large portion of it, the advantage being it is reversible if needed (cancer, malabsorption, etc...). This morning I ate a scrambled egg with cheese and spent the next hour in misery. From what I am reading the problem may be my drinking with meals. Even with small sips the food goes through the stomach too quickly. Uggg.... I do fine when all I eat is Atkins bars and shakes slowly, but I don't like the chemicals and would rather have whole food. I sure hope this resolves at some point!

Thanks InnerSurferGirl. I'll try to keep things in perspective and drink Protein shakes. You are certainly right that I am still healing and I don't feel particularly good.

And a response to Inner Surfer Girl. I AM FOLLOWING MY PROGRAM and still gaining weight. That is the ENTIRE POINT of my post.

Thanks James, That was helpful. One of the reasons I had this surgery is that for the past 8 months I have had a foot problem which has left me unable to walk much, in fact walking (which i used to do a lot) makes my foot incredibly worse. My portion control was already good before the surgery - I was amazed that I could eat so little and still be gaining weight, and the surgery has not changed that. The only real issue I had with eating is that I am taken out to eat so much that I was taking in too much food on the weekends, and I do think the surgery will help with that as now feel no desire to overeat. I haven't tried Protein shakes as i am allergic to nickel and react to many preprepared foods, plus the idea of a chemical shake just seems unhealthy, but it seems I should give those a try. It seems odd to me to add food in the form of a Protein Shake since I am eating so little to begin with and still gaining weight? Muse

I wish it were that simple but I am not 'stalled', I am gaining weight. I misspoke above and am only 2 weeks out of surgery, not 3. I am following exactly the diet the nutritionist gave me, but your point about Protein is a good one. I've been eating salmon for protein, and sugar free yogurt, but still have several days to go before I can begin to add things to my diet. The nutritionist seemed more concerned about malnurishment than weight loss and though I was told to have protein, I was given no target amounts. For years I have tracked my foods and weight and I have never eaten much in the way of starches, sugar, or fried foods and haven't started in the 2 weeks since my surgery. In fact, having had 1 day of terrible pain and vomiting since my attempt at a scrambled egg gave me a blockage, I am scared to eat much at all and am very careful not to overeat.

You don't need to say anything other than "Thank you for noticing!". Your business is your business and your social worker's advice is spot on.