NEWBIES! Read this. FAQs.
The board collectively wrote these a few years back. We tried to get it "stickied" on the board with no luck. If there's anything anyone wants to add, feel free to respond and I can add it in. If you have a question that isn't answered here, feel free to ask!
Q: I think I have a stricture! Was it something I ate or did?
Strictures do not happen because you do anything wrong. It is not exactly known why, but the thought is that the area where the stomach and the intestine join up is lacking in a little bit of blood flow to the area (ischemic due to dividing the blood supply to that part during the surgery) which makes the healing process different and you get a narrowing and scar tissue rather then normal healing. That is why they are usually start at 2-12 weeks after surgery
Symptoms of a stricture...pain in the chest after eating...foaming or vomiting after eating. Not able to keep anything down after a few mins of eating. The stricture is very bad when you can't even keep liquids down. The cure...your surgeon will "dilate" the opening of your stoma (the new hook up between the pouch and intestines) by going through your mouth with a scope and inflating a balloon to stretch the stoma opening. You won't feel a thing..you will be in a "twilight slumber" and be able to eat normal again within 24 hours.
Q: I've heard a lot about "foamies." What are they and how can I avoid them?
"Foamies" are a term you will hear quite often with regards to RNY patients. Foamies occur when food gets stuck somewhere between you eating the food and it entering into your intestines. Quite often when food gets stuck, you will almost immediate feel nauseous or at least very unpleasant. And while it may have only taken one bit for food to get stuck, it may take several trips to the bathroom to get it back up. When the food is coming back up, it is often accompanied by a bubbly, foam-like substance. Foamies can also occur with strictures (as noted above). The best way to avoid food getting stuck is to eat food that is not dry, chew well, and eat slowly.
Q: Is it really that important to exercise? Won’t the weight come off on its own anyway?
Think of it this way: you went through major surgery so that you could lose weight. You know that if you exercise you will lose weight. So wouldn’t it be beneficial to exercise? In the coming weeks and months you will probably experience increases in your energy level as your nutrition improves and your body starts to burn fat. In order to keep the weight coming off as well as maintaining it when you reach your goal weight you need to exercise. And while parking far away from the mall and taking the steps at work are all good things to do, an exercise program should increase your heart rate for a sustained period of time (usually about 30 minutes a day is recommended) at least 5 times a week. Of course, you should consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
Q: I am on the liquids/pureed stage of my post-op diet and I’ve been eating the same five foods over and over and I’m so bored! What else can I eat?
In the beginning you have to learn what you can and cannot tolerate. Us RNY’ers, though, have a wonderful resource in our OH staff member and board participant Michelle a.k.a. Eggface. She maintains a blog with wonderful recipes that can be used from the initial phases on out. The link to her blog is http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com. She usually posts to the board when she’s updated her blog and that’s also a good opportunity to ask her questions about her recipes. Other OH members also keep blogs that include recipes and food advice. Many times a poster's blog is advertised in his/her signature line on their posts.
Q: My hair is falling out! Help!
RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!
Here's what the ASMBS says you should start with:
A multi with 100% of the RDA of most nutrients. Take two a day. Stay away from kids' vitamins and gummy vitamins, because those will not have what you need. Even though Flintstones says “complete" on the bottle, they really are not complete. They recommend a multi with iron. If you take a multi with no iron, you’ll need additional iron at a separate time. They say to start your multi as soon as you get home from the hospital.
1500-2000 mg calcium citrate. Make sure it's citrate, not carbonate. That means no Caltrate and no Viactiv. They say you can wait up to one month to start your calcium – not that you should wait, just that you can.
18-27 mg iron for menstruating women, unless your labs show you need more. (If you’re using a multi with no iron, that would mean you’d need 54-63 mg iron.) We absorb carbonyl iron better than ferrous sulfate. Ferrous sulfate will also make you constipated. They say to start your iron as soon as you get home from the hospital.
B12. You can use a sublingual, 350-500 mcg per day, a patch once a week, nasal spray once a week, or shots once a month. Unless your labs show you need more. They say you can wait up to three months to start your B12 – not that you should wait, just that you can.
They say a B complex is optional.
Many people also need D3 so you should get your vitamin D level to find out if you do. Don’t take the prescription vitamin D, because it’s D2 and in oil so we will absorb very little of it.
Watch out for those all-in-one bariatric vitamins like Optisource and Bariatric Fusion that say they give you everything you need in just four chewable tablets a day. Four only has 100% of the RDA of most things and we need 200% so you’d need eight a day. They don’t have the right kind of calcium, so in addition to eight multivitamins a day you’d also need to take calcium citrate.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I don't remember there being quite so many stall questions when I first came on. There were many more about complaining about exercise, "when I can I eat...x?" posts and about strictures and so on.
Times they are a'changing so I suppose the FAQs ought to change right along with.
RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!
