I am 15 days post opp. Highest weight: 326, Weight day of surgery: 316, and current weight: 291. It has been a rocky road so far. Surgery went smooth. Very little to no pain. The problem is that I can not get my fluids in nor 80 gs protein in. I am weak, no energy, and very little drive to do anything. I went back to work three days ago. I work at a desk in a very busy office. Getting back to work has actually helped. Just the small amount of moving around the office and interacting with others. I have found that my tailbone is starting to hurt. I also am having trouble sleeping at night. My primary care doctor called me in a prescription to help with that. I lost a good amount of weight the first week. I was at 316 the day of surgery and made it down to 290. Today I weighed 291. So I actually gained a pound. I am already stuck! The only thing I have been eating is small amounts of blended soup, Premier Protein shakes, Greek Yogurt, jello, pop cycles, crystal light, Gator-aid G2, and water. Very small amounts. My surgeon has told me to wait until, 30 days post opp to start taking vitamins and calcium. My activity has increased the last four days. The mornings are the worst. It is hard to get up and moving. Taking a shower and getting dressed is like running a marathon. It gets better as the day progresses. By 5:00 PM I am ready for bed.

Any help, advice, or encouragement will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Mike

mike ,keep working to get that protein and water in. That protein will help u feel alot better quicker. i am 6 weeks post opt tomorow. Ive lost 37 lbs and its been rough but jus think of what they say jus sip sip sip all day if u have to. i have wanted this surgery for 6 years finally got it done. next step goal weight for both of us. good luck... have a great night.

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Thank you for the encouraging words. I am also like you in the sense that I have been trying to get this surgery done for many years. I was blessed to find out my new insurance covered it. I find myself sipping most of the day. During pre op liquid diet I could totally handle the protein shakes. Now I dred them. My spirits are high because I know the end result will be worth it. Happy that you finally were able to get your surgery completed. Good luck in your journey. Looking forward to getting to that goal weight! You have a wonderful evening.

one thing i will say switch up the kind of protein you drink because its starts to make u sick even smelling it lol i cant wait to put my final results up. I just posted 6 week update. no regret but sometimes u miss food. some real food.lol

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I found that slipping a pillow between my legs help with sleeping. This becomes especially true as you lose fat around your knees and it begins to feel like you are rubbing two bones together.

I bought a gel cushion to sit on. That helped. There are specially designed cushions that can help. Normally this became a problem when I went on long trips in the car, it became almost unbearable.

The three most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery are to meet your daily protein, fluid and vitamin requirements. Food is secondary because your body is converting your stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight.

Weight loss is achieved after surgery through meal volume control. You begin at 2 ounces (1/4 cup) per meal and gradually over the next year and a half increase the volume to 1 cup per meal. With this minuscule amount of food, it is next to impossible to meet your protein daily requirements by food alone, so therefore you need to rely on supplements such as protein shakes.

As far as the inability to meet your fluid goals.

It is common for your taste buds to change after 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.

As far as not being able to get your protein in:

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.

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.

If you tried all the various varieties and still are unsuccessfully, then there is the fallback of fortified milk. 32 ounces of 1% milk fortified by adding 1 cup of dried milk provides 56 grams of protein. It also takes a dent out of meeting the fluid requirements. Mix up a pitcher and drink a little throughout the day.

Without sufficient protein, your body will scavenge protein from other areas of your body, such as your muscles. Protein is extremely important after surgery as its job in the body is to build and maintain tissues including your body's major organs and skeletal muscles. Protein deficiency, when continued over a long period of time can cause a disease known as protein caloric malnutrition. Common symptoms are poor healing, fatigue, hair loss and muscle wasting. Immediate post op, protein promotes healing of the staple line and incisions.

Also it is common for individuals to be unable to meet their protein and fluid daily requirements from the get go. This is because their body is in a major heal mode. Just keep working towards the goals and you should be able to get there. Normally this is achieved after the first few weeks.

As far as a lack of energy, this may point to a lack of fluids or protein but also perhaps vitamins. I do not know why your surgeon recommended no vitamins until after the first month. I can understand perhaps not taking B12 because you probably received a B12 shot in the hospital and that will cover you for the first month. But no vitamins sounds like strange advise. I think at a minimum you should be on a good multivitamin. I recommend that you verify this directive with your surgeons office.

I wrote down my experiences with RNY gastric bypass surgery and here is a link to the article. It may be of some help. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Thank you for the advicd. Your posts are always so wonderfully detailed n so helpfull.

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Yes indeed, thank you James for all of that information. I appreciate you taking the time out to respond to me. You have been very helpful. Each day this week things have gotten better and better for me. I am guessing that it is the medicine my doctor gave me, but my sleeping has been much better. I think I haven't been giving myself enough credit as far as the fluid intake goes. I do sip all day. I also eat Popsicle's. I have to do better with the protein drinks. I will get there. SO much of it is mental. I sleep with a pillow for my legs each night, that does seem to help. I will need to find some sort of pillow for my chair at work and possibly in the car. I talked to a weight trainer today that told me it will be important to build up the muscles in the tail bone area to help too. As far as the vitamins go...my doctor believes that the vitamins induce nausea. He has all of his patients wait until 30 days post op. I have verified it with him, the practitioner, as well as the dietitian. There are two surgeons in his office, Dr. Morales and Dr. Wheeler. I had Dr. Morales, his partner, Dr. Wheeler advises his patients to start on vitamins right away. Kind of odd. I think I am going to start taking my vitamins asap. The mornings are the worst. I find a small window from about 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM where I feel pretty good. Before 10 or after 5, I am just exhausted. I am confident things will get better.

Once again, thank you for your help and advice. Good luck to you!!

Sincerely,

Mike

Yes indeed, thank you James for all of that information. I appreciate you taking the time out to respond to me. You have been very helpful. Each day this week things have gotten better and better for me. I am guessing that it is the medicine my doctor gave me, but my sleeping has been much better. I think I haven't been giving myself enough credit as far as the fluid intake goes. I do sip all day. I also eat Popsicle's. I have to do better with the protein drinks. I will get there. SO much of it is mental. I sleep with a pillow for my legs each night, that does seem to help. I will need to find some sort of pillow for my chair at work and possibly in the car. I talked to a weight trainer today that told me it will be important to build up the muscles in the tail bone area to help too. As far as the vitamins go...my doctor believes that the vitamins induce nausea. He has all of his patients wait until 30 days post op. I have verified it with him, the practitioner, as well as the dietitian. There are two surgeons in his office, Dr. Morales and Dr. Wheeler. I had Dr. Morales, his partner, Dr. Wheeler advises his patients to start on vitamins right away. Kind of odd. I think I am going to start taking my vitamins asap. The mornings are the worst. I find a small window from about 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM where I feel pretty good. Before 10 or after 5, I am just exhausted. I am confident things will get better.
Once again, thank you for your help and advice. Good luck to you!!

Sincerely,
Mike

Have u tried adding unflavored protien powder to ur foods? Alot of ppl have said it helps with protien intake. Maybe using the products in the bariatric pal store like the soups and hot chocolate that have added protien..there are many products..they are a bit costly tho.
I dont kno if u heard of the brand syntrax protien? They have alot diffrent flavors of protien like ice tea and grapefruit and cookies n cream and u can buy the sample back so u can try the flavor before buying a whole tub. The fruit flavors are really nice. I feel like an ad..but im still in pre op stage so im trying so many diff things and trying to prepare myself for after surgery. Bariatric sites tend to have the best products and many options bc they r custom made for bariatric patients. Hope this helps

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I will look into that. I have not tried any of it before. I have tried many protein powder from supplement super store. I couldn’t find anything I liked there. Thank you for the info. Good luck to you with your surgery.

Thanks good luck to you too. Hope u find something that fits your taste.

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I'm scheduled for gastric bypass on Monday December 4th. I'm nervous!

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I'm scheduled for gastric bypass on Monday December 4th. I'm nervous!

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Congrats! First of many steps on your journey. Best of luck. Hope everything goes well and wish u a speedy recovery.

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Congrats! First of many steps on your journey. Best of luck. Hope everything goes well and wish u a speedy recovery.

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Also, thats my sons bday!

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Mike: try Natures Best Isopure Zero Carb Ready-to-Drink, is water with 40g de protein

Mike: try the patch vitamins or ask your surgeon if you can use that vitamin patch,

I want to try the patches. I have tried isopure ... not too bad.