and btw, how often now do you use protein shakes/bars?

I have not taken a PPI since my 2 month supply Dr. A gave me was gone, so its not the PPI. It definitely could be early emptying, because I know I get hungry earlier than unsleeved counterparts do, but I do not experience any sort of dumping situation, not with fats or sugars, so I am sure not knowing!!

It is definitely a puzzle to me!! 

 I have been in the habit of having a scoop of protein in my coffee every morning and will probably stick with it for a while.  It goes down without taste, so it's simple for me.  I should maybe consider the calories and will have to think about that.

I am not 100% sure I am malaborbing protein but I do know that my protein levels are crap and I eat a boatload of the stuff. There are a number of issues involved:

-It is possible to malabsorb some nutrients with a sleeve because our stomach is so small. We have less stomach acid and less IF (but not NONE like some people keep claiming. LOL) The food doesn't stay in the stomach as long as it used to. This can all contribute to less nutrients being extracted from our food. So, just like we need extra calcium and some people need extra iron and/or B12, some people need extra protein.

-Intense physical exercise of an endurance nature - endurance athletes tend to have issues with anemia and often take extra iron to combat it. While my iron levels are okay and I have no other signs of anemia, my iron is down from last year. I believe that this may contribute to me needing more protein than your average person. i.e., I'm just burning the stuff up at a wild rate like a V8 engine that only gets 8 mpg.

So, if I am malabsorbing some protein and I also need more than average, that means I really need a LOT. If I stay over 125g a day, my hair doesn't fall out but I think I need to get to a point where I'm not always teetering on the edge of not enough and so I'm currently trying to change things up so that I get 150 g a day or more on a regular basis.

I have a protein shake most mornings. I don't generally like to eat solid food first thing anyway and having a shake with an extra scoop of protein gets me 16 oz. of liquid and 42-44 g of protein right off the bat

I then have a protein bar most days as either a mid-morning snack or an afternoon snack

I also have nuts, cheese sticks, greek yogurt or cottage cheese, and two servings of meat most days.

That's what I consider my "base" (along with two servings of veggies and one of fruit). It meets my base calorie needs (calories before exercising) and gives me a strong base of protein.

The rest of my calories and protein requirements are filled in with a variety of food and drink that is different every day. Sometimes I have more lean protein, sometimes eggs, sometimes beef jerky, sometimes more nuts. I tend to eat a lot of nuts but I'm trying to eat less nuts and more eggs as the protein is better in eggs than in nuts.