AZhiker

I was 63 when I had surgery and I am healthier, stronger, more alive now than I was 20 years ago. Really! I have more energy, sleep better, am more alert mentally, and can do so much more physically. My physical immobility was literally killing me, as were all the other co-morbidities of obesity. Nutritionally, I can tell that I am not absorbing fat well, as my stools are "floaties", but all my labs come back just fine for the protein, vitamins, and minerals. I take a multi with iron, B-12, calcium citrate, and vit D3. That is all for the requirements. I do add extra spice/herb supplements to my cooking, like tumeric, ginger, cinnamon, and black cumin to help with inflammation, but that is just my own thing, Over time, even with the ileum bypassed, the jejunum learns to take over more absorption function. Malabsorbtion was a very bad problem with the early bypass surgeries. It had horrific consequences for patients. Not any more. After surgery, you must commit to eating the most nutritionally dense diet possible. Every bite counts, because you don't have room for many bites to start with. Any junk food is just cheating you out of nutrition. I am almost a year out now. I make sure to get all my protein in every day. Then it is at least a pound of raw, colorful veggies daily, then lots of cooked veggies in whatever dishes I make. Fruit is more of a dessert. I can now use cooked whole grains, seeds, and nuts. I am eating healthier than ever and feel absolutely great! I did have hair loss at 4-5 months, as nearly everyone does. It was in the summer, and I got a short cut which actually felt really great. No one ever could tell that my hair was thinner and it is coming back now.

I bought a cushion for hard chairs and long car rides. But the worst is riding a bike! Even with a good padded seat and padded riding shorts. HOWEVER........... after riding for 5 months now - up to 50 miles, the issue is getting better. It doesn't hurt to sit on hard chairs anymore, so I think scar tissue or calluses start to build up over time. I don't even think about it anymore when sitting on furniture. Time heals all wounds.

Wheat, barley, and rye are the gluten grains. I totally agree with eliminating them, along with sugar and dairy to see how you feel. Made a whole of difference for me. My inflammatory markers went way down.

Sorry, but I just can't let your comment go. Bariatric surgery involves huge physical changes, and for many women, it means substantial loss of in the boob department. The body changes are hard enough to cope with, and it doesn't help knowing there are men who value a woman by the size of her breasts. Your comment is insensitive to the successful female WLS patients on this forum.

The location says Ontario.

Danny, are you passing and stool or rectal gas now? what other surgeries or injuries have you had in the past? How does this pain compare to them? If this is the only surgery you've ever had, then this is the worst pain of your life. Understood. But compared to knee replacements, open abdominal surgeries, thoracic surgery, or severe fractures, laproscopic surgery is pretty mild. After 5 days, the surgical gas pain should be resolved. There will be incisional pain, especially when trying to get out of bed or doing twisting type movements. There will be deeper pain in specific spots with the same kind of movements. That is all normal. Your pain meds should be helping. As stated before, take the pain meds BEFORE the pain reaches a high point. Use a firm small pillow to brace your belly when you stand, cough, get out of bed or a chair, or even walk. And walk you must. Walk, walk, walk. Sip your fluids. That's all you have to do right now. Each day should be getting a little better by this point.

What does your doctor say - about smoking weed and eating honey? Honey was certainly not on my food list after surgery - nor was any kind of sugar or concentrated carb. My doc would not have done surgery if I had been smoking anything at all. So for me, the answer to your question is an emphatic "No." But it is your doctor's opinion that matters most - not anyone else's.

3 months psot op. Then I developed an ulcer at month 10, so I am back on it for 3 more months,

I eat spaghetti squash or zoodles (zucchini noodles) with no problem, but........ I was not allowed to eat veggies for 8 weeks post op. A "plate full" is now a very small plate - not the big giant plate with 2nd helpings that i used to eat. I made some lasagna this week with gluten free pasta, and although I CAN eat pasta, I prefer to use veggie substitutes most of the time. Pasta and other simple carbs (and any grain based carbs, for that matter) is not something you should be thinking about until you get closer to goal weight and need the extra calories to maintain your weight.

I am back to 16:8 If, just because I feel better on it. I eat two really good healthy meals and a bedtime snack of yogurt with homemade granola and some berries. I add some protein powder to the yogurt. On days when I know i am going to be working out a lot (tomorrow I have a 25 mile bike ride planned), I will eat a bowl of whole grain cooked cereal (steel cut oats, quinoa, teff, amaranth, millet, buckwheat) with 1/3 banana and milk. That gives me some really good calories to burn during the workout. I make sure to get my protein in and at LEAST a pound of raw veggies every day. I don't worry about the carbs or micro managing all the macros. Protein, veggies, and back fill with small amounts of nuts/seeds, and then some whole grains, and I'm golden!

I do not add it before heating, or it gets clumpy and bubbles up. I use a fork to mix it in after the soup is heated.

You must be feeling better physically and your clothes must be pretty loose, too. Any 50 pounds is enough for people to notice. Those are all Non Scale Victories!

Same happened to me. Stay the course!

How did you find him?

who is your surgeon in Tucson, just out of curiosity?

Gas pain can be extreme right after surgery. Are you trying to walk?

There is a lot of info online about CRP - look at the medical sites like Mayo Clinic and webmd. High CRP can have cardiac implications. I'm glad they are testing you for different autoimmune disorders. I was tested for everything under the sun and nothing came back positive, so the rheumatologist just wrote me off. When I stopped gluten, I was a different person in just 3 days. It was amazing, I went from needing a walker just to get around, to walking 2 miles - within 2 weeks! That was about 5 years ago. When I stopped all sugar a year ago (pre surgery), the inflammation dropped even more. Absolutely no NSAIDS needed and I was using Aleve twice a day, every day. Now that I am doing a whole foods plant based (WFPB) diet, I feel even better. I will have more inflammatory markers drawn in February and I expect them to be normal now. This is just my own story - not saying it has to be the same for anyone else, But dietary changes transformed my life as far as inflammation goes.

No, all my inflammation is gone since surgery. Sounds like you have some sort of autoimmune issue. Did they test your CRP?

I use the Bariatric Pal vitamins. I like them because it is only 1 capsule per day. I also take a B-12 in the morning. In the evening, I take my Calcium citrate capsule (found these at Sprouts) and vitamin D3. That's it. I used Premier protein shakes prior to surgery and they were fine. Then after surgery, they were too sweet. Then a while later they were fine. Then I went to a plant based shake called Orgain which is available at Costco.

I am completely plant based now, but I could not have done this at only 4 weeks out. There is too much volume in a WFPB diet, and too many concentrated calories, with whole grains, nuts, and seeds. I still cannot even start to eat the vegetable volume that many WFPB people eat. I would suggest that you start by moving to plant based protein drinks and powders. Use plant based "milk" and yogurt, but don't try to get all the veggies in right now. You really do need to focus on healing, getting your protein, liquids, and advancing your food list. Move to well cooked legumes and very well cooked veggies when you are allowed. My doc did not allow any veggies at all until 8 weeks. Of course, you can make protein smoothies that are easy to get down - and when allowed, add greens and berries. I am using a pea based "milk,", oat milk yogurt, soy tofu and tempeh. I stopped soy milk and soy yogurt, as it looked like I was getting an allergic reaction in my esophagus. I really do think it was all the whey protein I was using, so I made the total switch off whey protein and dairy products about a month ago, after my last endoscopy. I have much less bloating and gas now, so I think I had also developed a lactose intolerance. But I was relying too much on soy, so switched to alternate plant based milk and yogurt. I have a very strong gluten intolerance as well - have been gluten free for about 5 years. No big deal there, but taking away all dairy and animal products has been a big change. I am doing fine and feel good, but it has been a bit hard for the family. They want to cook, but don't know how. Going out to eat is very limited. I was at a wedding a couple of weeks ago and there was NOTHING I could eat except some limp salad. The GF items had dairy, and the vegetarian dish had wheat! I made the mistake of not being prepared with my own protein drink and snack. I am convinced that WFPB is a very healthy way to eat and I believe it will be a long term change for me, but there are definitely challenges. There are so many great resources, however, especially some of the cooking ideas on YouTube. My two favorite videos are "The Game Changers" and "Forks over Knives." The evidence is pretty compelling. I found a magazine with a ton of really good recipes, but you are still way too early to use this stuff. Be patient. It will come. I did not add whole grains, nuts, or seeds until I was at goal weight, and then it was to help me maintain my weight while I was starting to exercise pretty hard. Keep in touch, I look forward to following your journey. PS: I have an appt next month with a medical doctor who has switched himself personally to WFBP, to rid himself of his own medical problems. He now helps patients with the same. After I get my 1 year labs done, I have an appt to see him. Hopefully he can help me navigate the WFPB world in a healthy way that takes into account my WLS and also my exercise goals. I want to do it right, and I hope he will be able to supervise my progress.

Every day: at least 10,000 steps, 30 flights of stairs (increasing as I work toward a Grand Canyon hike), 150 wall pushups, leg exercises, upper body weights, and stretching. Every week: 40-50 miles of biking, 15-25 miles of hill hiking (increasing monthly), elliptical machine on days I cannot hike or bike due to weather or darkness. Will start back with swimming next month as I train toward a triathlon in March. I work full time as a nurse, and am on my feet all day, every day. I also have a large garden and livestock, so I am always digging or shoveling one thing or another.

I was 63. Best decision I ever made. I have been given my life back! I was so heavy that I was becoming very limited in my mobility. I had to sit at work while charting, I couldn't get up off the floor, I had to stop at least 10 times just to get up our driveway (granted it is 1/4 mile on hill), my back and knees hurt ALL the time. I already had 1 knee replaced and the other was becoming unbearable. Now, after surgery, I am training for my 2nd triathlon, have completed a 50 mile bike race, and am working toward a rim-to-rim (in one day) Grand Canyon hike later this year. My driveway is nothing now - I buzz up it without breaking a sweat. I can get on and off the floor very easily, I climb at least 30 flights of stairs a day, I stand all day at work instead of sitting, my sleep apnea is gone, my BP is normal, my resting pulse is in the mid 40's, my HDL, LDL, and triglycerides are phenomenal, and........... my back and knees don't hurt!!!!!! I have been given a new lease on life and I intend to live it as fully as possible, even with a late start!

If you are adding whole grains, nuts, and seeds, it is probably a bit early for this. There are so many calories in these foods, and probably better to wait until you are closer to maintenance. However, if you are simply eliminating processed foods and cooking your own fresh veggies and eating simply prepared meats, that's great. Whole foods are so much better than anything processed, but like I said, hold off on the grains, nuts, and seeds for a while. The legumes are great options, however.

You are so gorgeous! I also think that juicing may be a good thing for you. It's not usually recommended because of the calories, but in your case, it just may be the answer. It will also add a lot of healthy vitamins and phytonutrients. Greens, carrots, and beets are really good options. They are nutrient dense and taste good when juiced. Don't be afraid to try some REALLY healthy greens - like turnip, beet, radish, kale, broccoli, red cabbage, brussell sprouts. They can be juiced easily and the taste is undetectable when mixed with sweeter foods like carrots and a little apple.

Lap band proved to be so statistically unsuccessful and had so many complications that our surgeons here won't even do it anymore. RNY is completely different. It's not just the restriction that works, it is the hormone and metabolic reset that happens. When the brain/stomach hormonal communications are so damaged from yo-yo dieting, RNY can fix this. Also, with WLS , the metabolism does not bottom out like what happens with a non surgical diet of caloric restriction. I am approaching 1year post op RNY. I don't have a lot of restriction now - there are still some foods that can bother me - like raw salad, but generally I can eat whatever I want. The thing is, I just don't want the bad stuff anymore. I have so much energy and with exercise, I believe I have added some muscle mass. My metabolism is definitely, without a doubt, much higher than it was before surgery. As long as I exercise, eat the right foods, and log everything (I write it all down. My rule is that it must be written before I can eat it. I don't count calories now - just log the food.), I will be able to maintain my healthy weight. Lab band is pure restriction. RNY is much more than that.