No, DON'T follow your plan. Surgeons can be, and often are, wrong. Low-fat foods often have sugar and carbs added to maintain flavor and "mouth feel". Eat full-fat beans, cheese, etc. Unless you have a bad gall bladder, you will not gain weight from these foods. And be careful of yogurt and milk due to its high natural sugar content. Remember that whether it's sugar, natural sugar, fruit sugar, fructose, glucose, whole grain, 100 percent grain, wheat, carbs or lactose, it is still sugar.

And if you don't believe me (and maybe you should, given I have had some degree of success, but anyway...), believe the ASMBS, which your doctor is most certainly a member of, which says stay under 50 g of carbs a day.

https://asmbs.org/patients/life-after-bariatric-surgery

Audrey

I have not tried iron patches but I am considering all possibilities. I have ADD and way too many children... and as a result I tend to forget vitamins from time to time... patches may certainly help...

Audrey

I did OK with pork chops and steak.. but six years out I STILL have occasional issues with dry chicken and ground beef (like meatloaf). Everyone is a little different. Add some (full fat) mayo or something and see if that helps.

Audrey

Less worried about acid, more worried about sugar. Tomatoes have sugar. All fruits have sugar. Natural sugar is still sugar. Fructose is still sugar.

What you mean to say is no-added sugar. A medium tomato contains nearly 5g carbs... I would be careful how many you put in your juice... you may want to stick to a whole tomato instead, or better yet limit tomato/fruits for several months yet.

Audrey

I have found it most helpful to tell doctors I am allergic to nsaids (when you mention ulcer risk, their eyes often glaze over). Then there is no question, and they HAVE to find something else to treat me with. Vicodin seems to be the go-to for a lot of them... but I usually refuse it due to having to function and drive on a daily basis. When I blew up my appendix 2 years ago, Dilaudid was my friend, but again I can't raise a family and go to work while on Dilaudid.

So the other go-to? Suffering. I am sorry, but there is very little out there other than opiates, and unless you live the kind of life that doesn't require being awake and aware, you are mostly out of luck. Some have found luck with things like neurontin/gabapentin for nerve-related pain, etc... but only some.

Tylenol is not much of a pain-killer unless mixed with codeine, which creates a similar issue I am afraid.

Just my experience, but as a healthcare provider myself, I think I am on pretty solid ground here unfortunately.

Audrey

Just an fyi, usually sweet, fruity (ketone) breath is high sugar, not low... but in any case, your friend did the right thing... when not sure we always err on the side of low and give sugar, as low can kill you more quickly than high.

If you do increase carbs, always mix your carbs with a protein for slower absorption (sugar water by itself will wear off soon)... and keep it evenly spaced throughout the day. Peanut butter on bread for example, or a bologna sandwich with mayo.

Audrey

You are still losing weight because mal-absorption lasts a year or more after surgery. You could be eating a bag of skittles a day and still lose weight this early out.

But when that stops, you will gain if you are not careful with fruit. Fruit is sugar. Some can eat more than others (and if you are lucky, you will be one of those people), but always be cognizant of the fact that fruit sugar, fructose, lactose, glucose, grains, starches, etc are still sugar.

Audrey

My best friend has Sjogrens and a few other auto-immune related issues. I feel for you... whenever they put her back on meds, she gains weight like crazy.... then loses it when she goes off but then of course the symptoms come back :(

Audrey

You won't necessarily have to get rid of the XL... yes some people don't get the same effect after RNY, but others don't have a major issue depending on what mechanism the manufacturer used to make the medication XL (and other people have success switching from XL to ER, or ER to XR, etc etc).

As for depression, I took standard release Prozac in pill form before and after surgery. No major changes in how it worked for me. But I had to change Focalin dosage (for ADD) as the XR was releasing weirdly.

You don't have to switch to liquid or crushed as long as the pills are small... I had bigger problems swallowing vitamins than I did my medications.

Audrey

Ditto what Laura said. I can eat a ton of certain foods. I choose not to. It's a new mindset for me, and not an easy one, but something that has kept me on the straight and narrow since 2011.

Audrey

My son was prescribed it for ADHD for a time. It worked but made him a grumpy pain in the butt. He (and I) are both very successful on Focalin XR... him for ADHD and me for ADD.

And BTW if by the "skinny" you mean you are wondering if it helps with weight loss, only when you first start taking it (or almost any ADHD stim). The appetite effect doesn't last... but that's not why I take it anyway.

Audrey

I exist on Diet Mountain Dew. Without it, I would kill people and pets. But that is six years out. This early, the fizz will probably be more uncomfortable than you would prefer... take a bottle, shake to let out the fizz, and sip a bit if you think it will help, but don't be surprised if it doesn't... most "ginger" ale on the market these days has almost no real ginger in it.

Audrey