Question:
Saw my surgeon today for the 1st time in 6 months....
I had a Revision to RNY 02/01/08. I have lost 81 pounds so far. I saw him 11 days post-op and neglectfully had not been back since.... He is almost 3 hours drive away, and frankly I have been relying on advice and experience of people here on this website to make sure I was eating/drinking right and so on.... The surgeon said he made my pouch 25 cc's in size and that it will stretch to 50 cc's by 6 months out. (I am 6 months now). Does anyone know how many ounces 25 or 50 cc's are? I don't.... He said I should get 70 g of protein per day, 60 ounces of water, max of 3 to 4 ounces of solid food at a time, and aim for 800 calories per day. He said I should never eat rice, potatoes, pasta, or breads/crackers, and to aim for "0" sugars and carbs, (he smiled when he said "zero" so I knew he knew that was impossible, but he meant try to avoid them like the plague). He said mostly proteins, (fish, chicken, meat, eggs, beans), vegetables, and very little fruit. I forgot to ask him about caffeine... He told me to take 2 Centrum adult chewables, 1000mg calcium+D, sub-lingual B-Complex (he emphasized sub-lingual), and told me to take one Colace tablet every day without fail (stool softener). He said after 3 months post-op I can swallow pills whole when needed. He told me I need to start exercising or I may gain weight back later... I told him I have been checking my blood sugar and blood pressure at home and both were quite good, and I had stopped taking my blood pressure medication on my own several months ago; he said that was good as long as I was monitoring my blood pressure. I told him about the gas; he said Gas-X, and I told him I am taking it, plus Pro-Biotics, he said that's good..... I told him I had heard of a woman who had RNY and who developed an obstruction in her bowel, and went to the ER, and the ER Doctors did not realize what it was and told her it was gas and sent her home and she later DIED, and I asked him how I was supposed to know if it was simply gas, or something more serious? He said, if you have pains and you're not sure if it's just gas or something else, that last longer then 8 hours, call me right away, and if you ever do go to the ER, make sure they understand you had RNY. He gave me a script to go get bloodwork done, but I am not sure which tests he ordered, I have to go to a Lab. Anyway, thought I'd share that info, since everyone here has been soooooooooooooo kind and helpful and have offered excellent and accurate/wise advice to me so many times. I have been doing well and doing as I should have been even without having seen my surgeon, thanks to everyone here... Yes, I know I should have seen him much sooner, and am relieved I saw him today.... I am curious if the things he said are the same as everyone else's doctors have said?? Like 800 calories per day? Is that what everyone else is doing at 6 months? Oh, he also said that based upon my height of 5'8" that if I were a 20 year old, my goal weight would be 150, but that he adds on weight according to age, and said he wants my goal weight to be 180. I said 180??? He said yes, you will look great at 180 and if your face looks good now - if you go smaller then 180, your neck will droop and you'll look gaunt. I said, well I would like to weigh less than my husband who weighs about 170, and he just laughed. Well, I do NOT want to be 180, and am going to try for like perhaps 160?? Thanks for allowing me to share my appointment results everyone!!!!! — Gina S. (posted on August 19, 2008)
August 19, 2008
Hi Gina,
Glad to hear that you got to your surgeon and he was happy with your
results. All the advise he gave you is the same that I have heard from my
surgeon who I see every month. The exception would be that I am asked to
drink 100-120 oz of water, as the daily minimum all adults should have is
64 oz. That is what the are forced to give prisoners.
A CC is a milliliter and there is about 500 milli-liter in one quart, so
you can see that 250 milli-liter would be a pint and 125 milli-liter would
be a half a pint or 4 oz, so 62.5 milli-liter is 2 oz so you now know that
number you are looking for is 1.7 ounces. That is about the size of a
man's thumb. You can check the CC's by looking at a bottle of water and it
will tell you the liters and the oz and often the CC's. So how do you hold
more food? You don't it slides through or he was a little off with the
numbers. To check on your own, the first thing in the morning when you get
up scramble eggs and put 2 oz in a measuring cup, like you use for flour.
Make up a total to fill 2 two ounce containers and then eat the first one
without water or liquid. If you have room eat the second, but you should
begin to feel full before you have much more than 4 oz in you. That is the
current size of your pouch. Do not do this one or two hours later, as we
have more capacity as our system begins to generate liquid inside. This
allows more food to slip through the pouch.
He is dead right about rice, pasta and white bread as they are the worst of
the carbs and it turns to sugar and then fat. Complex carbs will be ok in
small amounts after 6 months. That is wheat pasta, brown rice and whole
wheat breads. Potatoes and corn in small quantities after 6 months as
well. That is what we are fighting, so don't make it harder with Carbs and
of course no real sugar, maybe from fruit but not real sugar or corn syrup
or any of the other forms of sugar. Coffee is OK after a month or two as
you are healed enough that the coffee in 1-3 cups a day will not effect
you.
I am 5' 9" and as you know 62 year old male and my doc wants me to get
to 160. I guess that he does not care about me looking gaunt. Maybe I am
there already. I would go for the weight that you are happiest with and
what you can achieve within the constraints of your lifestyle and diet.
Some can't make it to 100% idea weight, but I am going to give it a try!
— William (Bill) wmil
August 19, 2008
Hi Gina....30 cc's is equal to 2 Tablespoons. Hope that helps?
Gena
— Gena L.
August 19, 2008
15 cc's equals one tablespoon. 30 cc's equals one ounce. Two tablespoons
in one ounce. If you have a medicine cup around like the ones you get with
a bottle of liquid medicine like nyquil, it will show you these graduations
on the side. 30 cc's/ 1 ounce is the top of the medicine cup or a small
shot. Check it out.
Sounds like your doc gave you some good advice.
You'll know what weight you will be comfy at once you are closer.
Dawn
— DawnVic
August 19, 2008
your surgeon gave you great advice! just follow his instructions and NOT
the instructions of other peoples surgeons -- each and every one of us is
different with different medical needs -- our regiments will be slightly
different so just follow what YOUR surgeon says -- after all HE is the one
with your charts and records in front of him -- not us who are sitting on
the other side of a monitor half a country away -- the basic rules are 1.
protein first in your meal 2. no drinking 1/2 hour before a meal or 1/2
hour after a meal 3. no white carbs (pasta, rice, bread, potato) 4. 64 oz
of water 5. VITAMINS -- follow those basics each and every day and the
weight will fall off and stay off -- stray off course and that weight will
come back just like all the other times with a vengence -- keep the rules
simple -- dont' over complicate your surgery -- yoru behaviors will change
if you allow them to change -- good luck to you :) don't worry :) go with
the flow of your new lifestyle :)
— RCassety
August 19, 2008
I'm a bit puzzeled/concerned with the 800 calories a day. I was getting
that many a day at week 3 and my surgeon said everything was just right
except that I needed more calories (energy) and to work up to 1200 a day.
If you take in less, your body often goes into starvation mode and refuses
to let go of the fat cells. Learned this a Weight Watchers and the
nutritionist concered. Besides that I don't know who could manage to stay
under 1000 calories per day longterm. Your surgeon may be on the right
track with the weight goal, but only you can determine where your comfort
range is. I am 54 years old, 5' 5" and I am looking and feeling
"damn good" at 155. Depending on your body type, I can imagine
180 would be a good and comfortable weight for someone who is as tall as
you. Just work on making it a fit and firm 180# :<] I wish you
continued health and success.
— canim150
August 20, 2008
Nuts, PCP's, Surgeons have differing opinions on carbs. That's all it is
reallly "OPINIONS" and "SUGGESTIONS"...that's why docs
use that terminology because they are not certain, as we are all so
different and cannot all be treated equal when it comes to our bodies,
medicine, food...etc.
We are all just as different inside as we are outside...Numbers do not
define a person...If I was to go by my BMI or my weight...I am overweight
still. Do I look overweight? I don't know...I don't shop in Plus
sizes...I don't wear anything with an X or a large on the tag. I see teen
boys turn their heads...But I am 5'4" and I weigh 165lbs. I'm
overweight by medical documents and "opinions"....If being 135
lbs makes my BMI number in a medical range of doctors opinions of what
people should weigh...I don't fit it. I'll stay right here in a size 8-10
and be overweight because I like how I look. I don't need to be in a size 4
to define who I am. If you don't like how you look at 180 and feel better
at 160...than go for it...But don't do it based on a number...YOU are NOT a
NUMBER! 160 lbs will NEVER define who you are. Gina and Gina's lovely
personality DEFINE who Gina is. 800 calories for 6 months out? Again,
it's a number...I know food comes with numbers and stuff these days...but
when you pick an apple from a tree it doesn't come with a number and stats.
It comes from nature...You buy a box with food in it, you don't know
what's REALLY in it with all those big words and added vits and stuff...If
food was healthy, why WHY would they need to add vits to it???? ASK
YOURSELF THAT QUESTION! Makes ya go "hmmmmm?" Doesn't it? It
does me. So you eat healthy food and you reap it's benefits...The closer
to nature, the healthier it is. You doc says to limit fruits and rice,
potatoes..etc....but to take a stool softener...that's because fruits and
carbs have your natural fiber...and he's asking you to not eat those things
that are natural because his opinion is that all carbs=sugar...and to a
point he's right...But carbs also = energy and fuel. You are TRYING to
lose weight, so he wants your fuel to be fat...Burn fat and not
carbs...Makes sense now...but later when you are maintaining...It doesn't
make sense. His plan is for YOU specifically. So just keep that in mind. I
maintain 165lbs at 1500-1800 calories now for 4.5+ years. I eat 5 different
fruits and veggies daily and I aim for about 30 g of fiber from food such
as fruits, nuts and grains. I don't believe in taking medicine to make my
bowels normal when eating healthy balanced food with fiber is all I
need...So fiber is always a carb...Not all carbs are created equal...I am
somewhat carb phobic...I know which ones are good ones and which are not.
And you should too. I think (my opinion is) that your doc doesn't trust
you enough to know this or he doesn't want to take the time to explain it
in all it's complexity, .....so he goes the safe route and tells you
"no carbs", hoping that you will just limit anything that might
keep you from burning fat as fuel rather than eating sugar and having an
excess at the end of the day that goes into storage...Our storage of carbs
is...FAT! So that's his logic...It totally makes sense. He wants you to
succeed. But if you know how your body works, you can control your weight
with knowlegde and determination. Knowing how it works is one
thing....Actually operating your machine is another...Sometimes knowledge
doesn't always help that craving for chocolate disappear. LOL Just my
thoughts and opinions...
— .Anita R.
August 20, 2008
30cc =1oz
— Donna O.
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