ShoppGirl

I've only tried a few products, but have found two convenience foods that are good for packing a lunch/snacks while I'm engaging in outdoor activities. The first one is the Caramel Crunch Protein bars:
https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatricpal-high-protein-bars-caramel-crunch
I also like these Protein Crisps in ranch and barbeque flavor:
https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatricpal-protein-crisps-ranch?variant=12060717809740

This was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it’s still more than enough for one but not sure you could make much less in the blender and get any out. I didn’t think about it this time but I bet it would be good with the Quest Protein chips. I forgot the taco seasoning at first and it was good that way too.
https://foodwithfeeling.com/cottage-cheese-queso/

How about starting to be able to see certain areas instead of trying to blindly shave there. Much easier!!

This was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it’s still more than enough for one but not sure you could make much less in the blender and get any out. I didn’t think about it this time but I bet it would be good with the Quest Protein chips. I forgot the taco seasoning at first and it was good that way too.
https://foodwithfeeling.com/cottage-cheese-queso/

this looks delish!

This was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it’s still more than enough for one but not sure you could make much less in the blender and get any out. I didn’t think about it this time but I bet it would be good with the Quest Protein chips. I forgot the taco seasoning at first and it was good that way too.
https://foodwithfeeling.com/cottage-cheese-queso/

This was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it’s still more than enough for one but not sure you could make much less in the blender and get any out. I didn’t think about it this time but I bet it would be good with the Quest Protein chips. I forgot the taco seasoning at first and it was good that way too.
https://foodwithfeeling.com/cottage-cheese-queso/

Anyone having issues with irregular heartbeats since having gastric bypass? I have been having problems with AFIB when I went through dumping the first few months and now 1 year out since February I have been in constant PVC (Premature ventricular contraction).
My cardiologist is baffled. Been through all kinds of tests and my heart is healthy and have no blockages BUT even with meds it’s not going away. I am constantly having PVC’s
AND when I eat my heart gets worse! I flutters like CRAZY!!!! Feels like I horrible panic attack, sometimes feel like I am going to have a heart attack or something.
I have been in hospital, being monitored and back in hospital for testing and been on heart monitors.
In 1 week wearing a monitor they recorded over 38,000 PVC’S 😱
I am at a loss here and never had these issues until I was revised to gastric bypass.
I went back to Bariatric surgeon and he put me on reactive hypoglycemia diet he said that cannot cause PVCs, but it can cause heart, palpitations, and being on that diet has not made any changes.
I go back to the cardiologist again for the 11th time on Tuesday after wearing my third monitor and I don’t know what is going to be done at this point.
It’s really freaky that after I eat whether it’s healthy or not so healthy my heart does a freaking jiggly jig dance!!!!
I thought I’d come on here to see if this is a problem that anybody else has heard of or experienced ?

I have been using this multi vitamain for several years as a supplement to the regular Vitamins I take anyway. This one is really expensive (over $40 for 1 month supply). I take normal less expensive vitamins and add 1 of these as extra coverage.

Hi all,
I am writing this for the >1% of gastric bypass patients who have the unusual complications that I had and, like me, couldn't find any information about it online to ease your mind.
I had my gastric bypass surgery on September 7, 2022. I chose gastric bypass over the gastric sleeve specifically after months of research because of the higher rate of successful weight loss, particularly in women. My first week post-op went great, but after day 8 or 9 when I tried progressing my food intake from full-liquids to pureed foods I began vomiting and feeling really nauseous at every meal. I let my surgeon and dietitian know immediately and stepped my food intake back down to full-liquids. Pretty soon, I couldn't even take in full-liquids and was limited to hydrating fluids and chicken broth. I could keep down hydrating fluids and broth about 80% of the time, full-liquids 50% of the time, and everything else came back up.
My surgeon was very responsive and had me get an endoscopy. Under general anesthesia, the endoscopy explored my new stomach pouch and roux limb connections that make up my new tummy system. Typically, gastric bypasses can result in constriction of the connection between the stomach pouch and roux limb, and my gastroenterologist was prepared to use a balloon to inflate the area to ease that restriction. In my case, however, that area looked fine, but further down the roux limb there was a stricture that was almost impassable for the narrow scope. This is what was causing my problem.
I had an external compression on my roux limb that was making it impossible for anything more viscous than Water to pass through. My layman's understanding of what had happened is that my surgeon brought my small intestine / roux limb up to meet my new stomach pouch through the transverse mesocolon. This involved cutting a hole through the transverse mesocolon to put the roux limb through and then stitching it up a little on either side to make sure nothing else will slip through the hole and cause a hernia. Apparently, this is typically sufficient and there is space enough in the hole in the mesocolon for scar tissue to form but still allow the roux limb to operate appropriately. Not in my case! xD
My body and over-active immune system saw a hole and decided that hole must. be. fixed! The scar tissue that formed to close the hole closed tight enough on the roux limb and it was tight enough that barely anything could get through. I had a second laparoscopic surgery on October 12, 2022 to remove the scar tissue and loosen the compression on the roux limb. My surgeon decided to remove the small stitches on either side of the hole in the transverse mesocolon to reduce the chance that any new scar tissue will close the hole up as completely again. Immediately after this second laparoscopic surgery, I felt tons better! I stayed overnight in the hospital and was put straight on full-liquids, which I was barely tolerating before!
The reason I am writing all of this out is because, in the month-long interim between surgeries, I couldn't find anything in my online research to figure out what was wrong, or what I could try, or what the next steps looked like, or how long, or why this was happening. I went for more than a month on little to no substantial nutrition, and I found so little information on what to expect or how long I would have to live like this. I even looked in these forums to see if anyone had asked about symptoms that are similar to mine and I didn't find very much information. So, I'm writing about my experience and using as many of the keywords I can think of that I've been searching for over the past two months!
So! If you had gastric bypass and you start experiencing nausea and vomiting after what seems like typical food progression, please speak to your surgeon. It could be an internal stricture of the roux limb or the connecting bits, or in my case an external compression of some sort. From the very few resources I could find online, my type of external compression of transverse mesocolon on the roux limb seemed to occur in 0.9% of gastric bypass patients and it seems to happen within the first month. My surgeon pretty much immediately knew what was wrong, and her PA said she had seen it before, but not often, and it was new for my insurance caseworker. The inability to eat made it very difficult to complete normal daily tasks like my job, housework, walking the dog, etc. I wasn't in pain, I just couldn't get enough energy to do anything! My doctors moved quickly to get me back in for surgery, but it still took 4-5 weeks from starting to vomit at each meal to waking up from my second surgery feeling much better. I am so thankful that my surgeon was able to fix what was wrong with the scar tissue compressing around the roux limb; it made a world of difference!
I'm not out of the woods quite yet, however. Six days after the surgery to repair the hole in the transverse mesocolon, I had a bad food day and nothing stayed down. I immediately reached out to my surgeon's office and today went in for an upper GI in which I intake contrast dye while a doctor observes how it flows through my new gastrointestinal system with an X-ray. That doctor said it looks like the connection between my stomach pouch and roux limb looks stenosed now. I am grateful that they found something and that there is an explanation for why everything I put in my mouth makes me nauseous and that there's a reason why I don't want to eat anything.
I will be having another endoscopy in the following couple of weeks and, as ever, I am hopeful that this will be the last surgery that I need for my gastric bypass.

This was really good. I cut the recipe in half and it’s still more than enough for one but not sure you could make much less in the blender and get any out. I didn’t think about it this time but I bet it would be good with the Quest Protein chips. I forgot the taco seasoning at first and it was good that way too.
https://foodwithfeeling.com/cottage-cheese-queso/

Idk about weird but it was surprising when the towel fit around me again without a gap.

Okay, so I would not say these taste good (like at all) but the Protein Shots with the 30g Protein in 3oz size are convenient. The mango, in my opinion, is marginally better than lemonade. Not good, just...better. But the bottles are very small, so you can pop them in a bag and not have to worry about mixing powders on the go. I always put a few in my bag if I'm going to be away from the house for the day or overnight.
Also, I see they sell ProCare dark chocolate Calcium bars. These are legit tasty and a great way to get your calcium while also getting "dessert." I have one almost every night.
I also recommend the Syntrax Nectar variety bag, one packet eack of 15 Protein Shake flavors. Again, for that on the go convenience.

lots of folks on here post about being disappointed in their amount of weight loss immediately following surgery. i *think* its because they did a lot of reading and remember the huge weight loss numbers then compare it to themselves.
the people who have huge drops are the ones who have waaaaaaaay more weight to lose than you, and frankly, more than most people on here.
someone said it on here before and i'll echo it cuz i think its awesome and bang on: "comparison is the thief of joy".
you are doing awesome. you have lost 13 lbs in one month. and while you may not see it, i TOTALLY see the missing 13 lbs in your before and after pics. like i mean, you have you SEEN the side by side of your midsection?? you finished one month, and you have several more months to go. can you imagine what the result would be in a year if you keep this up? even if you just lost 5 lbs every month for the next 11 months. pretty effing awesome, i think.
keep on keeping on, you are doing great.

I have thought of taking measurements instead. Something I was going to talk to my nutritionist this coming week. Thank you 😊 I do appreciate your comment

Who lost 30 pounds in their first month ? Not anyone your size. Who gave you these ridiculous expectations ? It could take a year to 18 months or so for you to be at a healthy weight. Your body will do what it will, you can not force the weight off your body.
Stay off the scales, listen to your team and be patient.

I am also a slow loser and was diagnosed with PCOS in my 20s. I'm also 50, so perimenopause probably comes into play, too. While I've lost 48 lbs in the past 9 months, only 22 of that is post-surgery (almost 3 months). It's frustrating for sure.
First, though, 13 lbs in a month is great, even if you hoped for more. And it really shows in your photos.
Second, your body retains Fluid for several weeks after surgery, so it's hard to say what's really going on.
But most importantly, this is a journey that will take 12-18 months. You're only 1 month in. And while your doctor can talk about trajectories and averages, each person is unique. Each body does what it wants to do when it wants to do it. Try not to focus on the scale (hard, I know). Focus on your health, developing good lifelong habits, and nonscale victories like loose clothing, getting off a medication, or improved lab results. Just because you started off slow doesn't mean you won't make it to a place that makes you happy.

That's a good strategy! The reusable containers can get very expensive, several dollars a piece. So why not get them and the food, too? I miss salad. At nearly 3 months post-bypass, I just don't have the capacity for a salad, and I worry about the raw veg as I'm still having issues if I don't chew my food down to a paste and take very small bites. But someday, I hope I can eat salad again! Right now, 2-3 oz of meat and a little bit of cooked veg is all I can manage.

OMG?! Me fit?! Thank you!!

I was thinking the same as @ms.sss. I just wish I looked that fit when I am at that BMI. Congratulations on your loss.

Okay, so I've done other meal prep services before but hadn't heard of this one. The salads look lovely, but holy moly, the price tag is a shock! Not to say I wouldn't do it if I had the means, but have you considered just ordering reusable cups of this size from Amazon and meal prepping once a week? Given how simple their ingredients are, you could probably recreate these easily, and for a fraction of the cost. Plus less waste, which is my big complaint with all the meal service companies. So much trash. In fact, since each of their items tells you exactly what's in it, I may have to try this approach out myself in a few months when I can more easily tolerate raw veg. I love the idea of salads on the go.

Definitely go back to your prescribing doctor. Meds are absorbed in different parts of your body (stomach, intestines, kidneys & liver). It may mean changing to a more rapid release vs slow release or a different med.
My experience was the absorption of my HRT but after my gall was removed. My doctor switched me to a patch to ‘completely avoid my digestive system’ & all was good again. But that likely won’t be an option for the meds you are on.

You are far enough out that it seems like you would be feeling better. You say you are getting enough Protein and Water which would’ve been my first question. Are you taking your Multivitamin? Are the iv infusions prescribed by your doctor?

I know they have some pop up places now where anyone can walk in and I have never asked my dr about them but I am not sure they should be allowed to have them. From what I understand they have alot of Vitamins and stuff that may seem harmless because they aren’t a pill but combined with different vitamins they may actually interfere with prescription drugs or other vitamins.

Like when Calcium doesn't absorb as well if you take it too close In time to when you take Iron (or is it visa versa). Anyways, if you are doing the infusions on your own, be sure to run the exact ingredients by your doctor. If you have considered all this I would reach out to your doctor and they may want to run some labs.

Could possibly be something entirely unrelated too. My primary care provider told me if I had issues for a while post op I was supposed to call the surgeon first and they would tell me if it could be surgery related or if I should call my primary doctor.

I just read that climbing stairs helps develop the muscles that help with bad knees and thought of this post. May be something to look into?? I know I have seen some people at the high schools climbing the stairs to the bleachers if you don’t have any. I think I would probably run this by your dr first. This wasn’t an official source. Just thought it’s be worth asking some questions about.

You are far enough out that it seems like you would be feeling better. You say you are getting enough Protein and Water which would’ve been my first question. Are you taking your Multivitamin? Are the iv infusions prescribed by your doctor?

I know they have some pop up places now where anyone can walk in and I have never asked my dr about them but I am not sure they should be allowed to have them. From what I understand they have alot of Vitamins and stuff that may seem harmless because they aren’t a pill but combined with different vitamins they may actually interfere with prescription drugs or other vitamins.

Like when Calcium doesn't absorb as well if you take it too close In time to when you take Iron (or is it visa versa). Anyways, if you are doing the infusions on your own, be sure to run the exact ingredients by your doctor. If you have considered all this I would reach out to your doctor and they may want to run some labs.

Could possibly be something entirely unrelated too. My primary care provider told me if I had issues for a while post op I was supposed to call the surgeon first and they would tell me if it could be surgery related or if I should call my primary doctor.