"Old timers".... help!!

Well I am now 6 weeks out and down 30lbs already.... 40 if you count the pre-surgery weight loss. I am back to working out 3 times a week and have now been cleared to start lifting weight again. All in all I am feeling pretty "normal" except for 2 things... daily queasiness and eyesight is getting worse. The queasiness I can't figure out...I wake up every morning queasy, some mornings the protein drink (made from whey protein and water) make it go away other days it stays all day. Most days I eat like this: Protein drink Banana chewable multi vitamin 20oz water 4 oz Deli sliced turkey (with either salsa or mustard) 20oz water B12 & B1 1 mozzerella cheese stick 10 oz water Dinner... stew, more turkey, chili, etc... something soft enough that I can tolerate that gives me the extra 20-30 grams of protein I need to complete my day. 10 oz water Calcium +D It doesn't seem to change other than a banana sometimes makes it go away immediately (helps me burp) and same with the shake. By dinner sometimes I'm feeling nausea again and can't shake it until the next day. I have thrown up about 4 times since surgery, none of them due to the nausea, all due to meats that were stuck and my little pouch reversed the engines. I truly beleive I'm just not healed enough to handle those particular meats yet (beef roast, shrimp, chicken roast, etc...)I am diligent about chewing to puree and getting the protein and water. The only thing I'm having a hard time with is getting 2 servings of veggies, usually with dinner I'll get one, but I can't seem to get in 2, I'm working on it. Any ideas? I met with the doc yesterday and his answer was basically, "everyone heals different, try through process of elimination to determine if a particular food is the issue" (like I wasn't doing that??)... Anyhow, just wondering what you all have experienced at this point. Also, vision... I am a person who has only needed my glasses while on the computer... I have typically had good enough vision to read anything without them. I now find myself having difficulty reading a magazine or the computer without them. The doc suggested this might be a vitamin defficiency but that the vitamins I'm taking should take care of that. Let him know if it got worse, etc... Anyone else experiencing this? or is it just I'm getting older and need a new prescription and should see the eye doc? Would love to hear some feedback from those who've been through this point....and how long did it take before you could eat regular meat??? Thanks for listening! Renee

Hey Renee, I didn't have the RNY, so I can't help you with the meat question, but with the vitamin deficiency question, I might be of some assistance. Vitamin deficiencies take a long time to cause issues in the body, some longer then others, for example you can go years with a vitamin D deficiency without ever knowing it, but if you go a month with low potassium your body will let you know (usually in the form of muscle cramps). The only way to find out if you have a vitamin deficiency is to get blood work, to guess that it might be the reason for your change in vision, would be like me guessing what is in the Houlahan's chocolate cappichino cake, i mean i could guess, but the likelihood of me getting all the ingredients without some kind of analysis would be just that ..an educated guess. With that said, I'd highly doubt it is a deficiency showing up (but check with your doctor just in case), but it's probably more a long the lines of a change in your face Hopefully I'll explain this right, but when i was at my highest weight, my wife (and since then others) said that the fat in my face, pushed in around my eyes, giving me an almost permanent scowl. But since I've lost weight, the fat is no longer then which has done 2 things, my glasses no longer fit my thinner face, and second it has changed my prescription. I liken it to the fact that if you squint your eyes, you can adjust your vision slightly, when you lose the weight you don't have the fat making you squint. This is actually pretty common with WLS patients..i've even heard of some people who've had their eyes lasered before WLS, and then had to go back and have them relasered because their prescription changed. You should probably go to an optimologist and just have him check out your eyes, just to be on the safe side As for the nausea, a lot of post ops get nausea esp in the morning. Does your doctor have you on an acid reducer? Sometimes they help. Again this might not work for you as a RNYer, but I found saltine crackers to really help to cut the nausea. Scott

Hi, Renee, First off, congrats on your weight loss and surgery! I had a bad problem with nausea, but I had a stricture that I was hospitalized for and had to have scoped and stretched. Following that, I had one more bout of nausea/vomiting/dehydration that I was hospitalized for and they did not find any problem. My surgeon told me that sometimes nausea is a complication for some people. With the stricture is was horrible. After the stricture was fixed, it was on and off, I had it daily too, and usually in the morning, so that for a period of time, I couldn't eat until midday. I can tell you that you finally dissipated, but for me it too****il about my 5th month before I could truly say that I went days without nausea. Sometimes it's just one of those unexplained things that will eventually run it's course. Hope that helps, Sue

Hey Renee.... I am not an "old timer"... I actually had my surgery on Sept. 18th... I too have had issues with feeling queasy.. I have found some days I can tolerate things and other days I can't... Even the smell of things kills me some days... What I have found that helps me... When I am having a particularly "nothing sounds good day"... I have 75% FF Cabbot Sharp Cheddar and I slice about 3 thin slices and put natural peanut butter (also the LF kind) on it... Goes down easy... and I am getting protein in.... I could start soft protiens like Chicken, Fish etc on my 30th day but my tummy just does not seem to care for the solids yet.... This was more of a just to let you know you are not alone message... Hugs... Lori