drmeow

I've been backed up while on my pre-op liquid diet. I tried a softener and magnesium tablets (my usual help) with no response, then the Smooth Move tea 2 nights in a row with no help either. Finally had to resort to magnesium citrate. Now I'm having the SM daily to try and prevent it again.

To complicate matters, I was originally BMI 39 with high BP (controlled by meds) as my only co-morbid. My doctor's office said insurance was variable on approval with only controlled BP so I wasn't supposed to lose much, just enough to show that I could stick to a plan. I lost about 7 lbs, and during that time I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, thus making approval automatic in the BMI 35-40 range. I went in for bypass, and woke up to find that my intra-abdominal fat was too much/too firm to allow my intestine to be brought up close enough to my stomach! So now I am on a month-long liquid diet to lose 20 lbs before trying again! Fortunately, with the sleep apnea I now don't have to worry about the weight loss.

Update on me: day 12 now I think. After some pretty severe diarrhea the first couple days, I am having the other problem! I've gone once, only a tiny bit, in the last 9 days. I don't *feel* constipated but suspect it's why I haven't seen the scale move recently. I lost about 6 lbs in the first 5 days, then nothing since. I've been tracking my Protein and calories in MFP and have been on target most days, with a few days about 100 cal under. In the last week I've taken stool softeners multiple times, drank Smooth Move tea twice and taken my magnesium tablets at bedtime, which used to do the trick when I was on a low carb diet. Nothing! I've just taken some mag citrate to see what happens. Will be so glad to get to surgery day!

Are you sure you'll be allowed to have surgery with no one else there? My hospital does not allow it. There must be someone in the building while you're having surgery, family member or friend, just in case. But when I had my first surgery (bypass didn't get done) they did lock up my stuff, since my son had gone out to the waiting room due to lightheadedness

If you are having symptoms of gallbladder disease but no stones, ask for a hepatobiliary scan AKA HIDA scan. This checks for the contractility of the gallbladder. I had GB symptoms for close to 7 years, having seen numerous doctors, had multiple negative ultrasounds, before one clever doctor ordered that test. They called me that afternoon to set up surgery ASAP based on the results. At surgery, it was found that my GB had previously ruptured in at least 3 places, hence the agonizing abominal pain I'd had. Better to find out before your bypass and get it all done at once.

don't feel too bad, I've got 4.5 weeks of liquid diet! One week down, 3.5 to go!

I think there is the problem right there. You've been taken off an anti-depressant suddenly and you're having severe withdrawal from it. These drugs are not meant to come off quickly. And you have to deal with personal grief as well as surgical recovery on top of that! Do you know why he's with-holding your anti-depressant? I'd double check with him, and find out why, and if it has to be, ask for something to take in the meantime. I've been on anti depressants for years and have had multiple surgeries (including gall bladder) which did not require stopping them. Different drugs have different requirements of course but they should be able to give you something to tide you over.

Yes, I posted the same question a few days ago b/c I hadn't seen anyone mention it either and a few people responded with a yes. Mine was horrible, very sudden and severe but only lasted one day. I'm on day 6 now and it happened on day 2 or 3 but none since. Hope yours clears up quickly too. One thing I wondered - the first 2 days I'd had a serving of sugar-free pudding (allowed on my plan) and the prepared ones have sugar alcohols in them. That might be the cause for me, as I haven't been brave enough to try it again! I don't think the ones you make yourself have those.

I didn't have that fear pre-op but I did wake up from surgery and found I had not had the bypass I went in for. Problems with my intestines not reaching the stomach, and meaning I'm now on 30 days of liquid diet to try again next month. So now my fear is that I won't lose enough weight for him to do it next time.

Glad to hear things improved for you, as I've had the same problem (currently on day 3). I imagine the lack of activity is normal due to the severity of the diarrhea and not currently eating any solid food. thanks for your reply on my thread.

I agree with the others here, and it does seem like your focus is on sex. Not on a relationship, but sex. It's a way of feeling close to someone when there really is no relationship, and being overweight you justify to yourself that you're desirable, etc. I was married for 25 years and thought things were fine, until the ex was unable to perform several years ago. Even though I was extremely supportive of him and would never leave him b/c of that, it allowed me to see that outside of sex, we really had NO relationship. He was (and is) emotionally abusive and I took it for years b/c I felt I didn't deserve anything more, and the good sex tricked me into thinking things were OK. You mention "men" plural so it does not sound like you are having a relationship with any of them. Despite what the popular culture says, sex without a true relationship is meaningless and eventually catches up to you. I would strongly suggest getting into therapy and working on your self-image first, before pursuing surgery. Without improving your sense of self-worth, I am afraid that losing a lot of weight is going to make you feel very vulnerable. Some people expect losing weight will make their life perfect afterwards, but it won't, and you may be miserable if you don't change your own mindset first. I hope you aren't feeling attacked by our honesty and we do wish you the best in your journey!

I am supposed to have 4 shakes or clear Protein drinks per day - I am using zero carb Isopure in almond milk for my shakes and I have a few of the clear Isopure drinks but they are super sweet! I have ordered a large container of Syntrax nectar chocolate truffle after trying some individual packets of it. I can also substitute Soups from my doctor's office (Healthwise) for the shakes. I have had the cream of chicken and cream of tomato, both not bad and a nice change from cold stuff all the time. In addition I am supposed to get in 6 servings of the following - 1/2 cup plain oatmeal or cream of wheat, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 small container of low cal yogurt, small can of V-8, sugar free Jello or pudding. I also picked up a container of unflavored unjury to put in regular chicken or beef broth. I'm supposed to get 115 gm protein/day and stay under 1000 calories. So far I've not gone over 800. The Isopure protein is 50 gms per serving (2 scoops) so it's easy to get enough protein. I'm on day 3, and have 28 more to go before surgery!

Thanks. Of course this little side effect is probably helping in the weight loss, but I hope it doesn't last the entire time!

Hi all! I am scheduled for Oct 21. This will be my 2nd attempt at the RnY. I had my first procedure Sept 9, and the surgeon found that there was too much fat in the mesentery which attaches to the small intestine, not allowing him to pull it far enough forward to meet the stomach. I woke up with all 6 incisions but no RnY. Ironically my BMI was "only" 39 and I was told not to lose much in my 3 mo supervised diet, b/c my approval hinged on my BMI + comorbidities. I had lost 7 lbs, and then in the last month before surgery, I had a lot of food funerals and regained it all. So now I am on a 30 day liquid diet to try and lose 20 lbs and he'll hopefully be able to do it next time. If not, at that point I'll have the sleeve, even though I'd prefer the bypass.

30 gms Protein per day? That sounds very low. Mine is 115 gm/day. I'm still hungry but probably not nearly as much as you are!

I was worried about constipation, eating essentially no Fiber, but was surprised this morning (day 3) to have an acute onset of diarrhea (sorry TMI). I haven't seen that mentioned anywhere else in the boards - any other experiences like this? My liquid diet consists of 4 Protein shakes/day, plus 6 small servings of either unsweet applesauce, V-8, cream of wheat, low cal yogurt or sugar-free pudding. It's supposed to be about 1000 cal/day but I've only been getting about 800. I have 2 Soups purchased from my surgeon's office to use in place of Protein shake and had one each day so far. Only 28 more days to go.....

I think in many cases the depression after surgery (whether new or worsening a previous case) is b/c you no longer can rely on food to self-medicate. Many people mourn that loss, and if you have relied on food to soothe anxious or difficult feelings for a long time, suddenly having that taken away is scary. In some cases also, people may subconsciously expect everything in their life to be perfect once they lose weight, and when it's not, that can be a letdown too. I have depression also, am doing well on medication, and the best advice I can give you is to be seeing a therapist before and after, to help with your expectations as well as giving you other ways to cope with feelings besides food. I have eaten to avoid my anger for the past 25 years in a difficult marriage, so I have been seeing a therapist the last 2 years working on that, and have separated from my husband, *before* going for surgery. I still expect to be working on this afterwards, though. Best of luck to you!

@, I am so sorry to read of your terrible experience. I wish you had gone ahead and gotten a gyn exam upon your return; even after showering there may have been internal evidence, both physical signs of vaginal trauma as well as possible DNA left. If the perpetrator gave you an STD he likely wasn't wearing a condom. But I can understand your thoughts and only wish you had that for your own case, not to prove anything to anyone here. I am glad to have read that at least they are testing someone for herpes; at least they seem to be taking it seriously. Please take care of yourself and try to rest up after this ordeal. I hope you have a lot of support at home.

Make sure they actually measure the 2 different types of LDL, b/c the big fluffy kind are GOOD for you, and may be what's causing the increase overall.

Those tuna packs you can get now would be fine in a glove box also. I think I'm actually going to get a small rubbermaid container to keep in my car with emergency food that is safe post-op. In the back where I wouldn't just routinely snack on it (breaking that habit) but there in case of emergency.

If there is a men's shelter in your area, they may be especially happy to have nice business clothing for impoverished men who are job-hunting. I know there are special charities like that for women, must be similar for me.

In addition to detoxing from carb withdrawal, most people lose a lot of sodium when going low-carb (which is what this is) b/c processed foods contains tons of sodium. Be sure the broth you drink is NOT low salt, and see if you can have an extra cup of that each day - it will help you feel better.

Update - saw my surgeon this past week and he explained that there was too much fat around the root of the mesentery, where the jejunum is attached. The more fat, the tighter it is and he couldn't make it stretch up far enough. He said he was really shocked, never expected it in someone of my BMI and weight. Long story short, I start a full liquid diet tomorrow, have to lose 20 lbs to try again. This time, though, he knows to do the sleeve if the bypass is still not possible. But he thinks it will be no problem next time. So, for anyone thinking of cheating on their liquid diet, take my story as a warning!! (not that I cheated, I wasn't put on one in the first place, and didn't lose much weight as I was in that grey area for insurance approval)

Yes, I would definitely get some other surgeons' input on which they feel is best for your particular case. My surgeon has quit doing lapband b/c he's had to remove so many. He does both sleeve and bp and has done a lot of them. My guess is that the sleeve is quicker to perform, less meticulous and the doctor who pushed it over bp has not done many bypasses, at least recently. That would be a big drawback to me. And I wouldn't want a surgeon doing a bp on me if he was pushing the other so hard.

Sorry I just re-read your original post and saw that he said you were not too fat, but there must be something about your unique anatomy that made it impossible to reach the entire stomach. Rest of my post still applies.