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Everything posted by incredibleshrinkingnurse
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Russian Roulette
incredibleshrinkingnurse replied to incredibleshrinkingnurse's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery DiscussionsThe GERD is better for the most part. I just stopped the Protonix after 3 months and I’m okay unless I’m having one of those “attacks “
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Russian Roulette
I had my sleeve revised to RNY 11/10/22 due to GERD. I stayed on fluids/purées/soft foods advancing very slowly. I didn’t start solid foods until end of December (about 6 weeks). Since then I feel like I’m playing Russian Roulette every time I eat. Sometimes I eat and feel fine without pain or restriction. Other times I will eat the same exact thing, same amount and be doubled over in pain until 4-8 hours later when I finally throw up and the food comes up not even partially digested. Every time I freak that I have an obstruction. Nutritionists say it’s too much fiber or too much fat, but it’s not necessarily associated with diarrhea and why, then, can I tolerate it sometimes and others not? Surgeon is sending me in for an upper GI barium study next week. I’m so stressed that I have stretched my pouch somehow but I can sometimes eat far more volume without issue compared to some of these episodes. Has anyone else experienced this? TMI, I’m also noticing pale colored stools but the pain is on the left, not on the right with my gallbladder. He said my gallbladder looked fine during surgery. I just need this to work so I feel better and can get on with my life.
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Postop
incredibleshrinkingnurse replied to incredibleshrinkingnurse's topic in Revision Weight Loss Surgery ForumsMy father never had surgery but suffered from GERD as long as I can remember. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last year. That’s what motivated me to get this done. Before surgery I was also on pantoprazole twice daily and still taking tums and GasX daily too. I also wear a CPAP and had unbearable aerophagia every morning. That’s ultimately why I chose to go through with it. My sleeve didn’t help me much with weight loss but I lost 70 lbs earlier this year between the nausea and vomiting! As I type this I just woke up with similar but milder symptoms and I’m 10 days post op. I really hope it’s just due to the healing process! Everyone I’ve read about says all symptoms of GERD disappear after revision
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Postop
incredibleshrinkingnurse replied to incredibleshrinkingnurse's topic in Revision Weight Loss Surgery Forums7.5 years. My initial surgeon KNEW I already had reflux and sai “well, you’re just going to have to take omeprazole for the rest of your life “. Then taking omeprazole twice daily failed… I’m so much happier with my new surgeon!
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Postop
incredibleshrinkingnurse replied to incredibleshrinkingnurse's topic in Revision Weight Loss Surgery ForumsAfter multiple doses of Benadryl and getting home the itching is under control. I first experienced it way back in 2004. Just head to toe intractable itching. Never did figure out why and it flares up every now and again despite taking Zyrtec twice a day. I keep getting rashes under my breasts and panus. My BMI is only 33 and my blood sugar is normal (not diabetic). I plan to document it as much as possible so I build a case for Kaiser to pay for some future plastic surgeries. Do you have to reach your goal weight in order to qualify?
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Postop
Just had my revision from sleeve to RNY for GERD 2 days ago. Still sitting in the hospital because I can’t pee! I’m itchy all over and have a migraine. Whaaa. Sorry, just needed to vent!
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Tips for getting into the revision mindset
These comments are encouraging. I’m revising from my VSG (2015) to RNY in 8 days and I have SOMUCH anxiety about it! I’ve lost more weight this year than I did post VSG thanks to a combination of severe GERD, aerophagia from my CPAP, and Ozempic. It’s worth it if it resolves the GERD and aerophagia (maybe sleep apnea altogether but I won’t hold my breath ?). I’m just worried I’m trading one set of problems for another. One specific thing I’m worried about is immediately post op. I still can feel viscerally the heaving/gagging in PACU once I was extubated and they were trying to wake me up. It felt like I could breathe due to those dry heaves! I’m scared of going through that again!
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Stall/concerns post sleeve to bypass revision
Hi guys! I got my sleeve in 2015 and never really felt any restriction. I counted calories and was able to drop 60 lbs my first 3 months… and then my life exploded. The stress I was under made counting calories impossible. I still ate healthy foods for the most part but I stalled out for a full year and then slowly the weight started creeping back until I was only 15 lbs below my starting weight. Well, now my GERD is pretty bad and my father has esophageal cancer so I need a revision as much as I don’t want to go under the knife again. The thing is, I’m currently 86 lbs down from presurgery weight in 2015 and I keep losing! Ozempic and these other injectable meds for diabetes are game changers! I wish they had come up with this stuff decades ago! Of course between the GERD and the side effects I’m often nauseous if not throwing up on occasion but I’m hoping my revision will help with some of that. Has anyone else combined Ozempic (Wegovy) with a revision to RNY? My doc says I can keep taking it after surgery but at $300 plus international shipping I’m hoping I won’t need to!
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Revision surgery: Why will this time be different?
I had my VSG 7/2015. I never felt much restriction and was hungry from the start. I restricted my calories to 800 per day and followed all the rules for the first 3 months and lost 60lbs… then my mother in law was dropped on my doorstep. LONG story but I was the sole provider for my husband and 2 small kids, working 12 hour night shifts. She had stage 4 emphysema and end stage esophageal cancer with alcoholic dementia to boot. Our house was tiny. She was 69 and weighed 65 lbs … let’s just say I was a bit stressed. I stopped counting calories. I plateaued for a full year and then started gaining. I’m now 6.5 years out and just 27 lbs from where I started. I’m hesitant to revise. My bariatrician tells me people tend to not have as much success with revision. I chose a sleeve because I didn’t want to risk not being able to absorb medications I need but my GERD is so bad I may not have a choice. I’d love to hear if anyone had a similar struggle with their initial surgery and were successful with the second. Those in the thread who had the scar tissue and hernia repair, surely they will allow a follow up procedure.
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How did you figure out if you had dumping syndrome?
incredibleshrinkingnurse replied to DaisyAndSunshine's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&AIt’s really strange but I’m 6.5 years out from VSG and I get all those dumping symptoms sometimes 3-4 hours after eating. It doesn’t seem to matter what I ate, although I’ve noticed peanut butter seems to do it frequently. I’ve been eating low carb/semi-keto for months so I’m not sure why it’s happening. I’m going in for a ph and manometry screen soon, hopefully that will give some answers!