dsmith_rn

A week I guess, since that's when he wants to see me next. The stomach flu is going around at my house right now. I pray I don't get it. If I start throwing up I'm pretty sure they will put me back in the hospital.

Doc is putting me on Reglan, which is both anti-nausea and increases gastric motility. He said to stay on liquids and see him again in a week. If the drugs don't work he will do more testing, worse case scenario he said to fix it he can convert me to RNY, but I DO NOT want that! :::sigh::: Just when I was getting back on regular foods, I'm back to square one.

You are lucky. At 5 weeks out I struggle to get 30 oz water in, usually it's more like 20 oz, and protein? Maybe 30g. I was hospitalized on Sunday for a couple of days for dehydration and they did an upper GI. They found out I have gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying) so when I eat something it stays in my sleeve for many hours, keeping me so full I can't drink enough. If things aren't moving, you can't keep pouring liquids in, there's no room. When things finally feel less full 4-6 hours later I try to eat but there's still food in there so I can only eat a few bites so my protein is very low. Then I'm full and nauseas again for several hours. The Radiologist said the nerves in my stomach aren't working properly to push the food along, and it could be a temporary effect of the surgery, or it could be permanent now. I've had only liquids since Sunday morning, and lots if nausea. I have an appointment with my surgeon this afternoon and will hopefully get some answers. Having lots of "buyers remorse" about the surgery at this point......

None of the anti-nausea meds have worked for me, including Zofran. I asked to be released from the hospital last night because all hell was breaking loose at home. They told me to stay on Clear liquids and call the office in the morning. I dealt with all the mess going on at home, despite my exhaustion, wishing I was still in the hospital. I was unable to talk to my doc today as he was home sick, but I spoke to his nurse and she got me an appointment for 2pm tomorrow. I've been nauseas all day, and get a fresh wave of it after every swallow I take. I've been able to get down about 20 oz of liquid so far, fighting against the nausea (Yes, I took more Zofran). Im really scared that this may be "the new normal" for me and I will never tolerate solid foods again.

I got nauseas this afternoon, so I have to stay on Clear liquids and they're keeping me another night in the hospital. My brain wants to eat something, but my tummy doesn't feel ready for solids. I really just want to go home, but at least tomorrow I know I can talk to my surgeon about exactly whats going on and what we can do about it. I've had on-call docs the last 2 days and they have no answers for me.

Just had my upper GI. The Radiologist told me I have delayed gastric emptying. The nerves in my stomach aren't working properly, the contrast just sits there instead of funneling through. This could be a temporary effect from the surgery, or it could be permanent (not good). It does explain my symptoms, why I feel so full all the time it's hard to get my fluids in. At least I know it hasn't all been in my head. Waiting to talk to my surgeon now to see what the game plan is. I just want to go home.

I had to have 4 bags of potassium. I had her run them slow because my IV is in a small vein in my hand, so it took all night and it did burn from time to time. I'm still on IV fluids and feeling much more hydrated and definitely peeing more. Lol The doc said I will have to go back to liquid diet for awhile, then purees. That's fine. I've been having trouble with fluids ever since I started purees because I get so full and stay full for hours. Waiting for my upper GI which should be in the next hour. If it's normal I should be able to go home if I can prove I'm drinking enough. I have to find a way to get my fluids in. ..I wanna go home and not come back!

My Labs were OK except for my potassium being low so they are giving me some in my IV. I hope they don't find anything major wrong with my sleeve tomorrow during the upper GI. I sure don't want more surgery!

Ha! I guess that's what I get for thinking I would never be "one of those people." They admitted me to the hospital today for dehydration. I've been having some problems with my sleeve the last few days, so an upper GI in the morning and then hopefully I can go home. ::sigh::

Ha! I guess that's what I get for thinking I would never be "one of those people." They admitted me to the hospital today for dehydration. I've been having some problems with my sleeve the last few days, so an upper GI in the morning and then hopefully I can go home. ::sigh::

Totally normal.

I never thought I would be "one of those people" who would be hospitalized for dehydration. I'm a nurse, for heavens sake! It's just hard to sip, sip, sip when your tummy feels so full and icky. I didn't realize how hard this would be.....

Good luck and keep in touch!

They have admitted me to the hospital. Interestingly enough, I have one of the same nurses I had a month ago for my surgery. They are keeping me overnight so I can have my upper GI tomorrow since I don't think they do them on Sundays. I'll update when I get my lab results back.

I'm not hungry, I'm queasy and my sleeve feels tight. I definitely have cravings and MY BRAIN WANTS TO EAT but my sleeve says, NO WAY.

Oh boy.....I was worried so I called my surgeon's exchange. The resident on-call called me right back. He wants me to go into the hospital and get some labs done, some IV fluids since I'm most likely dehydrated, an upper GI to rule out any problems and possibly endoscopy.

I am *allowed* to eat regular foods now (except rice, Pasta, bread, tortillas, crackers, etc. for 6 months) but I'm having a really hard time with eating now. I'm only able to eat about half of my 1/3 C portion the last few days. Just a few small bites and I'm done, or at least my sleeve is done. My brain wants to keep eating! After those few bites my sleeve starts to feel uncomfortable. It's hard to describe, it's kind of like indigestion I guess, that's the closest I can come to describing it. And queasy. Not full-blown "I have to throw up" nausea, but a mild nausea that leaves me just feeling "yucky" and not wanting to eat anything. This feeling lasts for 4-6 hours until it's time to eat again. I have my few bites, and it starts all over again. I don't know what's going on, I wish I could call my doctor, but it's a holiday weekend. I'm wondering if this is related to my experience on Thursday...I ate a hard boiled egg for Breakfast. It sat in my sleeve like a rock all day, leaving me nauseas. I barely ate anything else the rest of the day and went to sleep that night hoping the rock would be gone by the next morning. Funny thing is, I can tolerate egg salad just fine. I think the boiled egg by itself was just too dry. Anyway it's been since then that I've been having tummy problems so I wonder if it caused some inflammation in my sleeve? I'm allowed to have a tender salad, veggies, nuts, meats, etc now but I'm afraid to put anything like that in my sleeve so I'm still eating mushies and still don't feel good after eating. I struggle to get 300 calories in per day, 20 oz Water and 25g Protein. My body is in starvation mode, I'm fatigued and don't feel like I'm losing weight (although to be fair, I don't have a scale). Has this happened to anyone else? Should I just stop worrying because it will pass on its own soon? I'm feeling icky, exhausted, and having some "buyer's remorse" about having the surgery at this point...............

To a point. .... In the sense that we all end up with most of our stomachs removed. But surgeon techniques vary widely, as well as their pre- and post-op instructions, as you mentioned. For instance, my surgeon does a double suture line to prevent leaks. And he does the leak test during the surgery so you can start drinking as soon as you wake up, instead of making you wait for a swallow test the next day. Some surgeons still do only open procedures instead of laparoscopic! Since each surgeon is so different and they know their own technique inside and out, that is why it's so important to follow your own doctor's instructions.

Results are not the same. Some people have various complications, ranging from excess of vomiting to suture line leakage to death. Some people never lose all their weight. Some people regain some or all of their excess weight. The surgeon you choose DOES matter. Following his/her instructions also matters. There is a reason that some places have earned Bariatric Center of Excellence designations, it's not by accident. It shows in the results.

Ooops, sorry I forgot to address your "head hunger" issues. The psych at my surgeon's office suggests when you feel head hunger to distract yourself some way. Take a walk, email a friend, call a friend or relative, take a bath, read a book, etc. etc. He also says to stay focused--pull out your list of reasons you decided to do this, and all the things you are looking forward to as you get smaller. Also he said it's important to be nice to yourself...keep your emotional "bank" from getting depleted. If you're feeling like you're in the negative emotionally, do something good for yourself that will add emotional "capitol" to your bank account and keep the positives greater than the negatives. It seems to work for me.

I used my hospital "meals" to help guide me as to what is a meal in the liquid phase. For my meals in the hospital they would bring me some kind of broth, some diluted juice, tea, a SF popsicle, and SF Jello. Once I got home that got old real quick, especially when my hunger returned...with a vengeance! I got won ton Soup and strained all the "stuff" out of it. I also got chicken tortilla soup and strained it, and Japanese Miso soup. They had a lot better flavor than plain broth. Good luck, and when the going gets tough, remember "this too shall pass" and soon the liquid phase will be nothing but an unpleasant memory.

Any drug you take can have side-effects. My doc only prescribes one month of Omeprazole for his patients because of the long-term side-effects of PPIs. It's a risk/benefit kinda thing. For one month, the benefits far outweigh the risk. Good luck!

I have a friend at work who is now 3 months post op along with her husband. She is my go to for everything. Between her and all of you on here I am hoping that is enough support to help me when I am post op and needing a shoulder. I will research what type of therapy is available post op if needed. What limitations were the toughest for you to deal with? It is scary to think of how much different it will be and that this is not reversible but I so want it. I need this. Thank you for your support. The hardest part for me is that I feel I can't eat. I knew about this before surgery, but I didn't think it would be so HARD. Yes, I do actually eat. But I eat very small amounts and I can't eat many of the foods I want to eat. At this point in my journey my sleeve can only hold 1/3 C. or less, depending on the density of the food. Get out your measuring cups and pour 1/3 cup of Water in a bowl to get an idea just how small that is. I had to measure all my food for the first few weeks (and sometimes still do) because if I took a bite or two more than that 1/3 cup, I would be miserable for several hours afterwards. My stomach is finished eating WAY before my brain wants to stop. And what I did to my body is irreversible, meaning I will never again be able to eat whatever I want, as much as I want of anything, no matter how good it tastes. Ever. That realization will hit you at some point, and you will have to deal with it. Today I was at a kid's birthday party. I was able to eat a tiny bit of potato salad (the only choice I had--there was nothing else there I could eat). I eat mostly Protein, and wish I had taken a Protein Bar with me but it would have raised a lot of questions I don't care to answer. I watched everyone else eat hot dogs, mexican rice, nachos, birthday cake.......and tried not to look miserable. Those few bites of potato salad have filled me up for 5 hours, so I haven't been able to eat anything good for me--or anything at all, since getting home. It's that kind of stuff that is hard for me now. Keep in mind I am only a month out from surgery and all of these things are very likely to get better. I'm in a phase of struggle right now, and I know I need to keep my eyes on the prize and try not to think about what I'm "missing." In the end it will be worth it, but in the beginning when I still feel fat it's easy to forget that there's a very good reason I did this! You will go through all sorts of emotions after surgery; from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Knowing it's all normal should help, at least a little. Hang in there, you're almost there. There are tons of people here to help, people with a lot more experience and perspective than me. You will make it, and it will be worth it!

You are not alone, my friend. Many have us have had similar experiences to yours. For what it's worth, I agree with your decision not to tell your mom yet, given your circumstances. I did tell a few very close relatives and friends, but most everyone else, including most of my family and co-workers do not know. Some have already noticed my weight loss and ask about it, and I tell them the truth: I eat really differently now, and I hired a personal trainer at the gym. Some have asked about my medical leave, and I tell them I had stomach surgery for a long-standing health problem. Obesity is a long-standing health problem! Anyway, I'm a little jealous of you. There are days (OK, every day at some point) that I wish I could go back to my pre-op status for a day or two. This surgery plays with your mind, so if your surgeon doesn't have his/her own psychologist who works with them I would strongly suggest you find one who is very experienced with the issues you will face as a WLS post-op. I never needed a therapist before, but I have found the one at my surgeon's office to be extremely helpful as I struggle with the limitations this surgery imposes on you. I thought it would be a piece of cake. It is NOT. Some uninformed people think WLS is "the easy way out." They couldn't be more wrong. This is HARD. Very hard. The easy way would be if they could invent a surgery that cures head hunger, and lets you eat whatever you want, as much as you want, and still lose weight/maintain your weight loss. Bonus points if no exercise is required. But no such surgery exists, and our journeys will never end. Enjoy this life while you can. Enjoy eating like a normal person because after your surgery you will never be able to eat as much as your brain wants to eat again. The results will be worth it, but you will mourn what is now "normal." We only live once. Make it count.

It's true that the pyloric valve doesn't change with the sleeve surgery. But the pylorus doesn't hold liquids in the stomach very well anyway, which is why you can GUZZLE Water (at least pre-op, we could!). My surgeon says that the sleeve acts more like a funnel, as you said, and so it does not hold liquids for very long. I was SO HUNGRY while I was still on liquids, but it definitely got better once I moved to purees. I can only eat 1/3 C. or less, and I stay full for hours after eating; 3-6 hours, depending on the density of the food I ate. Do not fear, there's nothing wrong with your sleeve!