Question:
HOW DO WE ABSORB CALORIES POST OP?

I know we do not absorb vitamins, etc the same after surgery as we did before. How do we know exactly how many calorie we are absorbing daily or do we just go by how many we consume?    — THE NEW M. (posted on October 7, 2003)

October 6, 2003
That is the 64,000 dollar question! I don't think anyone really knows, therefore you should count actual calories and fat as if you are absorbing it all. Same goes for protien, but you must make that the mainstay of your diet and get at least 60 grams a day.
   — Happy I.

October 6, 2003
Let me just echo what Lisa has already told you--- don't count on calories not being absorbed to excuse increased eating. If you are having a proximal roux-en-y, chances are you will be left with more than enough intestine (where the receptors are that absorb calories and nutrients) to fully absorb everything you eat. The human body has many redundant systems-- the receptors are repeated along your intestines to absorb nutrients so that you can lose portions of your intestine and still not face nutritional problems.
   — SteveColarossi

October 7, 2003
I heard somewhere along the way that we malabsorb about 25-30% of what we take in...but, I don't think anyone really knows for sure. A lot would also depend on the amount of intestine bypassed...so, essentially, it is different for everyone...which is why we count everything that goes in.
   — eaamc

October 7, 2003
It does depend on the amount of intestines bypassed. I had 150 cm bypassed and my surgeon told me that I would absorb 50% of the calories at first. However, as you near the first year out, the absorption increases. He said that we never absorb 100% but that it does increase significantly. Hence, the "honeymoon" period.
   — Patty_Butler