Tracyringo

Thank you all for your comments. I get violently ill when I dump and it lasts for about 2 hours. Its just awful. I had an episode a few weeks back and I dont even know what I ate to cause it but it lasted 4 hours. I have learned to lay down quickly if I think I might have an episode. I heard that it slows everything down.

I am 4 1/2 weeks post op and have not felt any kind of restrictions as I did with my sleeve before being converted to Roux-en-Y along with a hiatal hernia repair. I am worried and especially now after seeing my operative report and knowing my Doctor only did a 30 ml pouch with a 150 cm Roux alimentary limb. This I understand is big and long for this surgery. Now I am scared I won’t lose that last bit of weight or maintain per not feeling any restrictions like I did with the sleeve. I am only on the soft foods /purée diet but with the sleeve I could feel restrictions with soft and liquids. Everything goes down like nothing. I have had no issues with dumping or nausea and can drink Water and liquids endlessly. The surgery has seemed to cure my heartburn but I don’t want to gain my weight back because of it. Anyone else on here with a 30 ml / 150 cm and similar situation that could share their experience or offer any reassurance?

I have had my surgery and everything went well but I had no idea of the pain I was going to have to endure. Had my surgery on Thursday the 19th and was expecting to be out on the 21st. Doesn't look like it's going to happen I have not had a bowel movement yet nor have I pass gas so I won't be getting out. In the last past 24 hours I could not really drink anyting it would fit in my chest and come right back up like a foam. So they stopped me from having any liquids. Today is better I am able to get down some of my pureed food like the yogurt and I'm drinking Ensure clear Apple. Also have some pureed peaches and scrambled eggs didn't care for those. Pain that I had to go through with this gas is no joke. I'm only allowed to walk in my room to help move the gas. I know I needed to have the surgery but I was really thinking I made a bad choice. But today seems brighter and I know this was a good choice cuz I have not had any acid reflux in the last past 24 hours which is a blessing. I'm ready to go home but it doesn't look like it's happening. Feeling okay will keep everyone updated when I get home.
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I weigh just about every morning too. I used to do it after I pooped but before Breakfast but my routine has changed so it’s after breakfast & after I poop now. Just underwear. I only record the highs & lows of my regular fluctuations (up & down just under 1 kg) - no point recording 100g increments unless it’s a new low or a new high. My current low is 48.6 & high is 49.4kg. I think if I hit 50kg I’d re-examine what I was eating. It’s a small window but I know what I’m like in regards to weight gain.
Weighing regularly keeps me honest & on track. In the past, I’d stop weighing myself if I thought I was putting on weight but I was just trying to ignore the truth of my gains. If I didn’t know how much I weighed I could pretend I hadn’t put on weight.

My red line is supposed to be +5lbs sustained over a few days (to allow for daily fluctuations). I like to stay close to 115, so if I go over 120 for a few consecutive days, then its time to cut cals for a bit.
Though I'm considering upping my baseline these days to 120 as it seems its much easier to maintain than 115. I don't notice any fit issues with my clothes, so if I can get over the metal block about it, I just might. We'll see.

I weigh daily because I just feel like it keeps me accountable even considering the fluctuations. I’d still rather know and have that in the back of my mind. Jury is still out with studies but they say people who weigh daily are more likely to weigh less

I’m a weigh every morning person. I weigh naked after peeing and sometimes when coffee does it work I will re weigh to see the diff!!
For me this helps keep me in check.

Morning, Night, before/after pee, before/after poop, sometimes before/after shower to see how much my wet hair weighs. I'm a little obsessed! LOL!!
Only the Morning weigh in gets logged in my Renpho! The rest are just for fun!!

Hi! I'm on team weigh-every-day.
Every morning when I get up, I pee, take off all my clothes and get on the scale.
I'm a numbers and data kind of gal and I like (love, really) keeping track of progress over time...my scale is hooked up to an app on my phone, so all the graphing, etc. is done for me. This allows me to see any trends in weight loss/gain and make adjustments if necessary. I've been doing this for over 2 years now. (I did go through about a 60 day period when I DIDN'T do it daily, AND stopped tracking my food regularly, around Febuary-March of this year, and lo and behold, I gained 6 lbs)
I understand though, that this is not for everybody.
Its probably best to use the scale as often as you can stand without inducing anxiety. This will be different for everybody.

So sorry about the pain. My pain was pretty bad too those first several days. It got much better after I got out of that darn hospital !!!
I agree with the others keep on them until they give you something that helps. ITS RIDICULOUS we have to beg for help with pain !

This is the revision page !!!!! Mind your business and go to your other forum with first timers !

When reality sounds like negativity to me it’s time to change. Whether we want to call to reality check or something else it’s a key to go back to what works. Stop drinking choose your favorite healthy foods! It’s really great to hear the positive stories and the community. For many of us it is an every day or more days and not choice. It’s not that the road isn’t hard it’s that it can be both hard and good. ☮️

You know, it can be done.
The people who've regained a lot remind me of med students who've failed one of the "big exams". You're preparing for months for these exams and when you've failed you have to wait six months for the next round - having to study all over again with that fear inside your head that you might fail again. On top of this: you've got three tries, causing even more pressure and fear, sometimes panic attacks. After three tries you're out forever.
Acknowledging these fears and having other students admitting "Yes, it must be hard as hell!" can be more comforting than anything else in such a situation.

That "negativity" you're talking about might actually be a helpful reality check. What's going on in the back of one's mind who've regained and is going to face "it all again"? Don't tell me that there isn't this nagging fear of "failing again".

Do you know how many people who've regained might be feeling exactly like this? Sometimes reading it written down makes something click in your mind and even if it doesn't there might still be the feeling of "Yes, that's exactly how sh*tty and scary all of this feels. Finally someone understands!".
People need to accept reality and work from there. And the reality is: losing regained weight is hard as f*ck from both a motivational and emotional point of view. There is no use in denying this.
All this "you go girl", "tschakka" and "you're going to nail it" might be some nice cheering on but it's not going to help in the long run either. An "I can imagine how bad you must be feeling!" might be more helpful than all these standard motivation mantras.
My post has nothing to do with "tough love". It has something to do with accepting things like they are. If it's dragging you down when reading it, maybe as yourself why it does that.
You might think that my post was "negative" and that's ok of course but don't project your own feelings you have in reaction to my post onto others. That's not helpful at all for the OP or anyone else for that matter as well.

Just some random thoughts:
- big problem with regain is that the feeling of "having to do it allover again" is a crippling feeling
- having to endure all of this not-eating and not-eating favorites and whatnot while still/again being obese is a double whammy and - again - a crippling feeling
- that big momentum and rush of being immediately post-op simply isn't there, plus see the two points above
- "going back to basics" without having a plan how to proceed further from there is pointless - it didn't lead to lasting success the first time. Why should it lead to success now?
- don't get me started on that motivation and commitment crap when it comes to "sticking to the plan this time no matter what" - people swore that every time they started a new diet lifestyle change before WLS
- "try harder" is bull crap, "try smarter" instead
Going to bed now. Tomorrow is a new day.

Hi !
I am ten years out ! I had regained about 45 pounds of my 145 pound weight loss .... and decided it was time to lose it again. So just over a year ago, I started with cutting down on treats to one a day.... and then going from chips with lunch or eating out during work days to bringing a salad to work.... then back to either steamed eggs for Breakfast or oatmeal. And concentrating on eating Protein first and foremost. And cutting out potatoes and sandwiches, and Pasta and back to finding the freshest vegetables and fruits I could and making healthier meals and making sure there was leftover chicken for lunch the next day, and eating grilled fish and veggies ..... and in 13 months I lost 45 pounds. No, it doesn't come off like it did right after surgery, but I still have some restriction and I know what I need to do.... I won't ever be a skinny woman.But I am alot healthier and I am back to where I got after surgery.. I started at over 320 pounds and had surgery at 54 years old. I am now 64, and back to where I am comfortable. My new goal is to maintain the weight loss, and maybe lose another 5 pounds this next 12 months or so.... but I am very happy with myself. You can do it. One cookie not eaten at a time !!!

If you restarted "the plan" (I guess the diet you started out with after surgery?) again and again without much success it's time for a different plan. It's ludicrous to try the same thing over and over again without making sensible adjustments.
What are your major hurdles? If it's portion size you might want to start eating more of the less calorie dense foods. If it's meal frequency, maybe IF is something to your taste?

Thank you everyone! I’ve been trying to really dig in a research sleeves this week since that had never been on my radar. I greatly appreciate you all
Taking the time to chat with me:)

For me, I don’t feel any restriction unless I eat too much or too quickly. Eating that extra bite beyond what I should creates a feeling as if the food is coming back up to my throat. Not a good feeling, so I avoid it at all costs. Your body will teach you and it pays to be a good student!🤗 When it has happened, getting up and walking around helps me very quickly. Nothing to fear, Enjoy your journey!

I was revised almost 6 months ago. I had great restriction with the sleeve even at almost 3 years but now NOTHING. Its hard to wrap your head around it in the beginning. I hope you all have some kind of full feeling but I DONT. I feel like I never had WLS which scares the hell out of me. I can see how people regain with the by pass for sure and until you go from sleeve to bypass you dont have a clue !

Its the feeling you get at Thanksgiving dinner. Dont expect it with a by pass.

You have been through the wringer on this, so sorry you have had to go through it. I don't have any experience specific to this, but some maybe distantly related. I have seen that when they have an intransigent ulcer problem, classically it's around the anastomosis between the pouch and intestine, they usually just reverse the bypass, though that isn't really an option for you as that would put you back to your sleeve, which implicitly may not have been that well done in the first place.
By reputation, I would try to seek a second opinion with Dr. Michel Gagner, who I believe has a presence in Toronto. He was one of the early adopters of the duodenal switch back in New York and has done some fairly complex revisions (such as RNY to DS) so is familiar with more complex problems.
As to "done as much as we can" there is more that can be done. The most extreme thing would be a total gastrectomy, which isn't all that far from where you are now with an RNY, and is done in some cases of gastric cancer or gastroparesis. Basically they remove the remainder of the stomach and hook up the esophagus directly to the intestine, where your pouch is now. or close to it. Between surgery and adaptation, they form a new pouch in the intestine. Surgically, it is a bigger deal than it sounds as they don't like attaching the esophagus to anything other than itself (you would likely be on a feeding tube while it heals, but you've already been through that,) but it is a not uncommon configuration that people live well with (similar to your typical RNY lifestyle once everything heals.) Your average bariatric practice may or may not have the experience to do this, and you might have to go to a hospital that has a specialized gastric surgery department and/or cancer center.
Simpler than the above, I have seen reference to a few people who were having significant RNY ulcer problems, again in the typical anastomosis region, where they went in and moved the anastomosis down the intestine a bit farther to a fresh spot, so that might be an option depending upon circumstances.
Those are a couple of ideas that you can look into and question your docs about, and maybe seek out ones with a somewhat different specialty that may be able to help.
Good luck in working through this,

Welcome to the forums.
Wow, aren't you having a rough time.
First of all, don't give up. You can't give up. It's up to you to take care of you and advocate for you. You need to be the squeaky wheel.
Stop going to the Docs telling you to live with it. I can't believe any doctor would say this. It seems they are more focused on not being blamed than fixing the problem(s).
Find new Docs that will work to figure this out. In fact, I would get a set of Docs that can review what has been done and how your surgeries may have contributed. A lot of new information has come out about ulcers in recent years. Make sure you get a Doc that is up on it.
I am not a Doc.
I believe there is a solution out there. You need to believe it too.
You may not be getting good results from the Dilaudid. It is time released and those don't always work so well for Bypass folks. It's a MAYBE thing, so if you feel it's working ignore this.
Did you have any of these issues before you had surgery? Where are the ulcers? Are they in the bypassed stomach? In the pouch? In the intestines? Educate yourself so you can challenge your Docs.
Look at any over the counter drugs you may be taking. Some OTC drugs contain things that might be problematic for Bypass folks. Such as NSAIDs. Look at OTC things that contain multiple ingredients, check each active ingredient. Check the side effects.
If you haven't started already, log your food and drink. Time, quantity, location, company, mental attitude. There may be a connection the Docs can make between your log and your symptoms.
Again, if you give up you can't find a solution. You must keep going, keep working at it, keep advocating for you. If you don't do it, who will?
Good luck,
Tek

Hey there WLS family,
Back in 2017 I had a sleeve done and then a roux-n-y conversion due to severe acid I was dealing with due to the sleeve.
Since then I’ve dealt with ulcers every single year since. No matter the medications I’m on they always come back and they have left me in the hospital from just a couple of weeks to even 3-4 months on feeding tubes, and hydromorphone for the pain. Last year was probably the scariest of all the years as my ulcer began bleeding and left me have to get a transfusion only a week after being discharged and told I didn’t have any more ulcers.

Due to these ulcers, I’ve been on long term disability now for two years. I’ve been sober for almost two years, which includes no coffee as well just in case as they said alcohol and foods and drinks that are acidic can make matters worse. Alas nothing has helped.

The bariatric doctors I have here in Canada remind me constantly that they are the best in Canada and that there’s not a single thing they can do and I’ll just have to live like this, for the rest of my life. The nurses constantly remind me that this isn't new and the amount of people that have complications is actually pretty high (at least in our area) and that they hate seeing people come in and be dismissed. Being only 27 it scares the **** out of me, the idea of being in pain and on a daily dose of ppis (prevacid), hydromorphone (dilaudid), and sulcralfate. I’ve always wanted to have children and carry one and now I feel like I’ll never be well enough to carry my own child.

I’m writing this because something in me says maybe someone has dealt with these issues, maybe your doctors came up with a better plan that allows you to live a more fulfilling life. Maybe you’re on medications that are actually helping. After begging these doctors to send me for a second opinion as they told me there’s nothing they can do to help me, it ended up taking the second opinion doctor four months to get back to me. That phone call he made sure to remind me I already saw the best of the best, and that I shouldn’t expect him to find anything or this situation with him to be the panacea. All his words. I broke down on the phone call not expecting a doctor to tell me that since I already saw those doctors, who have missed things in the past, that he will likely be of no help to me whatsoever. It’s left me depressed and defeated.

If you’re someone who has dealt with this in the severe case I have and you’re doing much better or you’ve been given drugs that actually work, had procedures that actually worked, anything, please reply on this or send me a personal message.

I can’t live like this anymore. No one deserves to live like this and I won’t take their “‘there’s nothing more we can do for you” as the be all end all.
By no means to scare anyone but complications do happen and they should also be considered upon choosing wls.

You will lose weight. I was surprised that I hit the 150s. I never got below 164.8 with the sleeve and fought just to stay under 175. My metabolism isnt the best and I have never exercised through this whole thing because of my back. I strictly lost all my weight following the plan . I did lose 22 lbs after my revision 5 months ago and am maintaining with no problems. Its just different. Good luck