Search the Community

My husband had VGS surgery nine days ago. He had complications due to some of his comorbidities, and spent six nights in the hospital instead of one. While he is happy to no longer be hungry, I'm concerned about his unwillingness to follow the rules of his program. He refuses to walk. Even in the hospital, where walking every two hours was mandatory, he refused to budge. He walks to the bathroom and back to his recliner, and that's it. The rest of the time, he bellows out his demands, 24/7. Bring men Jello, bring me ice, bring me Water, come clean up my mess, get me a Protein shake. While I am sympathetic and want to be comforting, my suggestions that he could get up or even reach for something have been met with rage. He is furious that he feels so bad. My telling him to walk off the pain has generated more anger. He ridiculed the nutrition instructors and actually walked out of his post op class. Now he expects me to keep track of his needs. And those comorbidities that caused problems in the OR? He still refuses to handle them. I've been screamed at, yelled at, belittled, and cursed. How can I help him to get himself together so he can work on living with this new tool? And how do I protect myself? I have several severe autoimmune diseases, am a cancer survivor, and I live in constant severe pain. Normally I'm on heavy narcotics but right now I'm limiting my pain meds in order to drive him to his appointments. He is not supportive of my issues. Because I'm on a biologic drug for my arthritis, I'm susceptible to infection, so I worry about having to handle clean up when he gets sick. I do it, but I worry about the risks. His surgeon actually suggested he go to a rehab facility after he left the hospital. He refused. How do I get him up and moving again?

I don't know that people were misled as much as new information I on has been discovered/revealed over the course of time. I'd been warned that the band was still relativelly new and as such there weren't the types of long term studies that would show it's performance over decades. Yeah @Cleos mom, the surgeon I know was only telling me the info about the autoimmune showijg up as a point of interest. She herself said there was no way to know if it was caused by the band or independent. She only said she'd noticed it. I myself had much worse gerd with the band than with the sleeve and I vomited dai l y. Not the sleeves fault. I just never learned to work with it.

I go in for my first appointment tomorrow. Some 2.5 hour Weight Management / Nutrition Class my insurance company says I have to attend. I bet there's a lot of you here that are like me: We could teach the class with what we KNOW we're supposed to do... LOL! Why do I want to get sleeved: Selfless Reasons: My two beautiful daughters (1 & 4 years old) I want to run and play with them without huffing like an old steam engine, or without paying for it with back, hip, knee, ankle, and foot pain for the next three days. For my wife: We recently found out that my wife has an autoimmune disease that if we cannot get it into remission has a mortality rate of around 10 years. By the time we know if this disease is going to prove fatal to her: Her mother also has an autoimmune disease (a different one) and may not be with us anymore by then. Her father is a chronic alcoholic and will not help me with his granddaughters. My own parents are on the other end of the country, and will be in their 80s by the time we know. I cannot be so selfish to not take the best care of myself I can if I’m going to have to raise my girls by myself. It brings me to tears to think of these two amazing little girls all alone in this world, just because daddy couldn’t get his weight and health under control. I cannot, and will not fail them. Selfish Reasons: I want to be buff again. I worked as an Air Force Cop, and at the time I was 190 lbs with a 50” chest and a 32” waist. I could run 10 to 15 miles with over 100 lbs of gear on my back like it was a stroll through a park. I’d like to get as close to that as I can. Back in the early 90s I went to a nude beach on a dare from a hot Australian girl I met while scuba diving in Cancun. I’d love to have the confidence to do it again. There’s no way in hell I’d subject anyone to seeing me like that with the way I look now! If the time with my wife is short, I want us to experience anything and everything she wants. This has gone beyond just “I want to be skinny” for me. It will affect my whole family. Thanks for reading. I'll be back as soon as I know more about my times and dates. R

I have always taken pretty good care of my teeth. I have an autoimmune disorder in my mouth (lichen planus) that makes it challenging at times. One thing I started doing a few years ago is getting professional cleanings 3 times a year instead of two. I think it has really made a difference in my teeth and my flareups from the LP. It costs a little bit to have it done, but because my husband has changed insurance coverage due to job changes, I've rarely had to pay for that extra cleaning. I would recommend it to anyone that has neglected tooth care for a while.

Hi all. I am not very active here, but I am struggling lately and just have a couple of questions. I started back to university in January, which I'm so glad I was able to, but it has been exhausting and I don't think it really should be. I am also from Texas, so we are still going through some pretty awful stuff at the moment. My family (5 kids, my husband, and I) made it out unscathed for the most part and got very lucky we only lost power for about 8 hours. I was pretty scared of being without power so we risked travel on icy highways to travel to my mom's house since she has a generator. We left to come back home because I was afraid of our pipes bursting and the animals were alone, and unfortunately on the way home we were rear-ended due to some black ice. We are okay and it's probably all just cosmetic damage, but we'll need our entire bumper replaced. It has been so extremely stressful, to say the very least. We, fortunately, had power back when we came home and our pipes did okay through the freezing weather. I have been struggling with fatigue. My doctor has suspected an autoimmune issue for a while (years), and I finally saw my rheumatologist after an entire year of waiting. Well, my blood work shows markers so when I go back I'm sure there will be more tests. I do have hypothyroidism and my T3 is low (other thyroid levels within normal ranges), but I have never been tested for Hashimoto's, I was just put on Levothyroxine and have been on it since 2011. My vitamins are okay as far as I can see. I know I'm also probably dehydrated because I still struggle with eating and drinking properly. My question I suppose really is, does anyone here have autoimmune diseases who had the bariatric surgery, and did you/do you struggle still with fatigue? I am nearly 7 months post-op, so I was hoping to see an increase in energy levels, but that's just not happening. I am just always lethargic with little energy. I will add, I do not sleep a solid 8 hours due to pain, and I do know that that could also be making things worse. I would just like anyone's insight/suggestions/experience with this sort of thing. Did you improve with treatment? How long did it take to see/feel improvements? Thanks in advance.

No, actually the issue is what meds you take if you have an autoimmune disorder. If you take Methatrexate or similar you cannot do it.

I had a high starting weight and I'm tall. Also, unlike Americans, I didn't have to do any pre-surgery program to get my insurance to pay. So I was eating whatever I wanted (till the 2 week shrink the liver diet). Anyway, I think all of these factors contributed to me losing very fast immediately after the surgery. I think it was too fast, my body went into shock, and my autoimmune disease kept flaring up. I lost a lot of hair. So much hair. My loose skin isn't great to look at either, but I do think as months pass by, it's getting a little better. The thing about rapid weight loss is that it keeps you motivated. When I was losing so fast, it was easy to stay super strict with my diet because I was seeing insane results on the scale every morning. However, my weight loss has slowed the hell down now. I have less weight to lose. The honeymoon is over. My weight loss has been particularly slow in recent months because I've had to deal with arthritis and being on prednisone (which is the devil, a steroid medication that makes you eat, eat, eat). Losing weight slowly is frustrating. I would LOVE to lose 20 more pounds (10 kg), which doesn't sound like much (at one point, I was losing that in about a fortnight). I miss rapid weight loss. I find it hard to stay motivated now too. I don't know if it's because the rate of loss is slower, or if I'm just sick of #bariatriclife. So there, that's my perspective on both!!

WLS... Has been epic.... I am free to move, not be in pain, wear shorts and a bathing suit .....not just because I am thinner but because my psoriasis has cleared. That is a big one .... freer from autoimmune disease!! Free from PCOS. I am free from the hungry monster. Free from food controlling my life. Free from being self conscience about being fat. Free from being a wallflower... I could go on and on and there is no way I pick just one!

My band and doctor were great, for me I have underlying autoimmune issues so my body rejected the band. The way it rejected was many unexplained syndromes with no true cause. Also the syndromes/disorders would come and go. Ex. Anemic one week, low thyroid, sjrogens extreme fatigue (narcolepsy) so on and the next month's check up gone. Then back again. So now we will wait since removal and see how my body adjust. I week out and no more griti eyes. I had no issues prior to placement.

That's just the thing- it was anecdotal findings. A bunch of surgeons and rheumatologists noticed that individuals with autoimmune diseases were showing fewer and fewer signs and symptoms of their diseases. Believe me, there will be more research into this. As I stated- I don't care what the modality of change was/is- I'll take it!!! I haven't had but a handful of pretzels over the last couple of months. So really, no gluten here either. As for Cymbalta- I was given that for an off-label symptom of the RA- peripheral neuropathy. I'm weaning off now. No need!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have autoimmune thyroid issues (hashimotos) and psoriasis. I am 9 months out psoriasis is very mild now. Just a little patch on my scalp... I don't like putting stuff my scalp so that is without medication. It use to cover all 4 limbs and was considered severe. I only use a topical foam 2-3 times a week now and use to take Ortezla orally... It made sick as a dog. My fibromyalgia is almost nonexistent and I am off cymbalta (And many more Rx's as well). I don't think autoimmune can be cured but WLS has made it 95% better. But why? Was it weightloss alone? Low carb/ low sugar diet? No NSAIDs. And old Rx was making it worse? I don't know. I do know I am 99% gluten free. My NUT allows whole grain In appropriate quantities in maintenance but I have chosen not to bring them back. I gut tells me it is the gluten. I really think there is something to diet and autoimmune connection. I don't think I would have realized that without WLS. And maybe giving up dairy or soy would work for someone else. Dairy is my main protein source and I am clear while eating. I lost weight on medifast which high soy and had the worst psoriasis flare of my life so I know it is more than just weight loss.

I don't have MS, but I do have several autoimmune diseases along with Fibro and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am almost 3 months out from a traditional duodenal switch. I have found my energy level and ability to exercise has increased a lot, I no longer get post exertional malaise. I also have less pain because the surgery causes your inflammation levels to decrease and as you lose weight, those levels will continue to go down. Since I am so early out, I have not had any nutritional issues. However, my surgeon did advise I go with a longer common channel than the standard 100cm cookie cutter length that most doctors go with, because I have a history of nutritional deficiencies. I went with 175cm. I'm really glad I had the DS, I'd do it again every year if I had to just for the fact it put my diabetes and high blood pressure into remission immediately after surgery!! Plus I have more energy than I've had in 2 decades. There is a different forum that has more DS patients on it, you might try posting there. It is www.bariatricfacts.org I'm not sure if anyone there has MS, but they are great with recommendations. There's also a support group for DS patients on FB called "Duodenal Switch SUPPORT Group" and there are a TON of DS patients there, you might try posting and seeing if any have experience with the switch and MS. As for surgeons, I had my surgery done with Dr. Pilati at WakeMed Bariatrics in Cary, NC which is right outside of Raleigh. We have a number of excellent DS surgeons in this area because of our world class healthcare centers. I don't know of any in the DE area but the women at bariatricfacts might, a lot of them are vets of the surgery for 10+ years!

Hi all I posted on this site previously when trying to decide whether to start the process of getting the band. You were all so much help that as soon as I started to panic I realised you're all probably the best people to come to for advice! In a nutshell, it was suggested by my NHS endocrinologist that I be referred for a band, as I have three autoimmune diseases and chronic fatigue syndrome, which is making losing weight extra hard and also increasing my risks of further serious health problems a huge amount. I also have issues with food, and eat too much and/or the wrong thing quite often for various reasons, often emotional (I guess that would be a few of us on here!). I also have a big appetite and very rarely get full so even at the best of times it’s tough to . I had my initial appointment in October and they said I appeared to be an ideal candidate but needed to prove I could lose weight. At my appointment on 16th Dec I had only lost half a stone but put on a lot of muscle - I thought they wouldn't offer it to me. However, they are still extremely keen and offered me an op date of 26th March. It's taken a while to decide to actually have it, but now I have I'm just freaking out completely!! What I am scared of is that I won't be up to the amount of changes that are required - if you eat emotionally I'm guessing that isn't easily changed after the op. My pre-op instructions are to have 800 calories a day for the two weeks before, and 6 weeks on liquids only post-op, it sounds sooo hard!! I'm also very worried that I won't be able to drink enough (I require about 4-6 litres a day - this has been checked and isn't abnormal, just the way my body seems to work). I’m not naïve, and I don’t expect the band to fix everything by itself. I already do lots of exercise (5 hrs badminton, 2 hrs gym, 1.5 hrs walking per week), and managed to give up smoking a few years ago so I know I have some willpower. I guess I see it as an extra tool in my pursuit of a healthy weight rather than a fix-all. I just worry that I’m not capable of it, especially the 8 weeks of incredibly strict regime. Sorry to rant but does I wondered if anyone has any advice? xxxx

I agree with Arabesque, this sounds like a post viral syndrome. I'm so sorry you are going through this! You were doing so well!! What many people (and doctors) don't understand is getting any sort of virus that hits the body hard can result in a number of conditions afterwards, some caused by trying to recover from the virus, some caused by opportunistic viruses showing up when your system is low from one virus already, and some can actually be autoimmune conditions that are triggered to show up from a viral infection. Any of these could be contributing to your condition. A few years ago I got cat scratch fever (that's what I get for fostering litters of kittens! LOL). I was sick with it for a few weeks. My immune system had already been behaving badly that year, I have an autoimmune disease that flared so bad it effected my digestive system, my eyes (I was having vision problems), as well as my joints. But the virus kicked my butt royally. Then a few weeks later I started spiking high fevers at night out of the blue. I was so exhausted I started sleeping more and more every day until I was sleeping about 18 hours a day. My doctors were absolutely useless and said it was probably chronic fatigue syndrome caused by the autoimmune flare and started putting me on courses of steroids. My bones started aching so bad I would cry. I could barely walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water. My GP made out I was pain med seeking so I fired her, her lack of support was appalling. I started fainting when I tried to shower. I had vertigo all day. After fainting twice with temps over 104 I ended up in the ER where they did labs and said nothing was wrong, it was probably a virus and to go home and sleep it off. A week later I ended up in the ER again where a wonderful doctor said I was experiencing acute kidney damage from dehydration due to the fevers and that I was NOT leaving the hospital until someone figured out what was wrong. I was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks, two different hospitals where I continued to run fevers at night up to 105, it was absurd. Then suddenly one day the fevers and pain stopped. The infectious disease doctor was baffled. But when my advanced labs came back they finally understood what was going on---I had atypical Epstein Barr Virus. Atypical because mono didn't show up when tested for in the ER and I only had one lymph node swollen on my whole body, a tiny one behind my ear. Apparently atypical presentation doesn't show up on mono tests, only the two week test. Epstein Barr Virus is notorious for showing up with other viruses and generally making a pain of itself. It took me another two months before I could reliably get out of bed, and honestly my body took several years to return to a new normal. They thought I had POTS but turns out it was just severe physical deconditioning from the virus and bed rest. All this to say--if you still can't figure out what is going on after a couple of months, you might want to consider talking to an infectious disease doctor or immunologist, whoever is in your area that can treat long Covid and can test for other viruses that might be complicating the picture, as well as autoimmune conditions. Your symptoms sound so viral or autoimmune in origin. My Dad ended up with post viral arthritis. Viruses are such weird things and they can really give our bodies a hard time! Oh and one suggestion. You might want to give this device a look, it was made by two guys, one who had long Covid. https://www.makevisible.com/ I've considered getting one as I love that it helps track your activity in relation to pacing which is shown to help with post viral recovery, and in managing autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue, fibro, etc...

Hi All! I've been thinking about this for 3 yrs. I finally cleared all the tests (for the last 2 yrs, i was unable to do it because i had bowel problems. We now know i have an autoimmune disorder). Now, i put my deposit down and have a date (one month out). I came to this site to find people like me. People who can understand what i'm going through. I know there are a lot of you out there who have been through this! I'm a 40 yr old mom of 3. I'm so scared that me not being able to control my weight has lead to the surgery and now im putting myself at risk. Negativity begets negativity - so i desperately want to get to that positive place where i don't go online to read about blood clots, horror stories! GOsh, not to mention friends & doctors who think i'm nutz. Have any of you felt like this? Should i go to a therapist? Do yoga? Find local support groups? Thank you for listening to me. Thank you to whoever responds. I appreciate you!

Hello! thank you so much for contacting me! It went well. I am walking a lot, trying valiantly o keep up with the water & protein protocols, sip by sip! I am learning to follow the hour-by-hour meal and H2O planning I did wit the Dietician, so I get everything, otherwise , a lot of the day goes by and I am H2o behind, is that common at tis stage? I am a fast learner, and am in this to improve my health, so I learn more each day. Again, thank you so much for contacting me - any words of wisdom or advice? eliz I have Sjogren's and Psoriatic Arthritis, two autoimmune disease, which, along with their treatment, leave me immunocompromised. I am on ENBREL for te situation, which helps. But due to surgery, they held the med for two weeks prior, to my surgery -which got bumped a week, and now I am two weeks out, hence I am a month without Enbrel. Long story sort, I am always in pretty bad pain, unrelated to my surgery. On Monday I see my Ruematologist, she will evaluate me and probably restart the meds. Yippee! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Eliz

I'm not too certain if you mentioned having arthritis, but as I do suffer from it- both rheumatoid ( an autoimmune disease ) and osteo, as well as migraines. I didn't mourn the thought of not having certain foods, rather the loss of my best friend, ibuprofen. I literally lived on it- 4 at a time. The point is- I would not make your decision based upon the ability or inability to take it. I'm 5 months post op RNY, my RA has NOT FLARED (I fear the word remission still- will revisit that at the one year mark) and the only two headaches I've had post op were easily managed with a single Tylenol. So one never knows how many things will get better post op. Choose your surgical tool based upon what you think will hold you the most accountable and offers you the greatest chance of success. And, of course, you feel most comfortable with. Good Luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Well, I've never used this forum on anything other than my phone- until today. Discovered status bars and VIP membership. Who knew? Most of you know who I am already, but my stats-- 49, female, married for 20 years 3 kids -19, 16,15 boy girl boy. Just got my oldest off to college for the first time. I live in the suburbs of Chicago- and grew up in the city itself. I practiced dentistry for almost 20 years before I became ill with an autoimmune disorder. My weight gain was directly related to this- high doses of prednisone combined with the inability to move around. The catalyst for surgery came from my rheumatologist who was reading anecdotal reports of people with RA who had bypass going either into remission or having a dramatic drop in symptoms. I didn't respond to any traditional or experimental meds on the market, so my thought was- the WORST case scenario for me would be less pressure on my joints. Luckily, I've not had any flares or RA symptoms since surgery. I got my life back. I'm contemplating returning to work now. I won't go back to active dental practice- I'm too scared, quite frankly. Worry of a relapse happening, my hands literally freezing up while working on a patient- so many scenarios of bad. People don't realize that RA can actually be deadly. They equate it with osteo arthritis. I'm an avid- maybe rabid?? Lol- hockey fan, and am thrilled beyond belief that my beloved Blackhawks are so Fricking amazing! Also- a huge college football fan (Go Wildcats!) That's that. I so appreciate the wisdom, wit and camaraderie here. These are my kiddos-- just cause I'm proud of them! Oldest is studying Sports Management at Iowa and plans on law school after. My daughter has an amazing voice and has been studying opera since 12, but wants to be an anesthesiologist-go figure! Youngest guy is the funny one, football player. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm sorry that you're in the same situation. I'm having seizures and in constant pain due to trigeminal neuralgia , raw and several autoimmune diseases. Being in a wheelchair is limiting. My weight loss has stopped and sometimes gone up. I need to lose. About 40 more pounds. It's depressing after all the problems during the surgery. No hope for change so I'm learning to live with it. I hope others are doing well.

Yeah it's nothing to do with RNY. It's my autoimmune disease.

Leatha and Delarla have bands and both have autoimmune diseases. Both are very educated about this match. Neither one are on this board very often, so you may want to send them a PM and see what they have to say. And any experienced surgeon should give you a very honest opinion of this as well. Good luck!

Too much soy is not good for anyone, male or female. I used soymilk in place of dairy when my youngest child was nursing, b/c she was dairy allergic. After several months of daily soy milk (just on Cereal in the am), I developed Hashimoto's autoimmune hypothyroidism. It may be coincidence, since sometimes pregnancy triggers this as well, but soy is a well-known goitrogen so now I avoid it almost entirely. The studies on asians and lower rates of some cancers now show that fermented soy (tofu and tempeh) are the key; they don't eat processed soy products like milk and cheese.

Hi, All, I just joined the forum. I am scheduled to have lap band surgery on Monday, but almost backed out today at my preop visit. I stumbled upon some facebook groups that had members that were very against lapband. I decided in the beginning that I didn't want to have RNY because I don't want to have parts of my stomach/intestines removed/rerouted. I have about 80 lb to lose. The before-mentioned groups strongly tried to convince me not to go through with it. They listed issues such as fibromyalgia, autoimmune problems, arthritis, etc, as complications. I don't want to fix one problem in my life, only to cause a whole slew of other problems, possibly much worse. At my preop visit today, I wanted to bring this up with my MD, but she was in a hurry and I kind of chickened out. So, I decided, screw FB, I am heading to the web to search more positive groups. Does anyone have any comments to my fears? I would really appreciate any/all comments. Thanks in advance!

Lisa,I had plasmapheresis because I have an autoimmune disease called Myasthenia Gravis. It's where they replace my plasma with synthetic plasma so it cleans all the bad antibodies out. I had this done last July, the scars are purplish red all around as well as my gallbladder, vsg incisions and csection/hysterectomy incision..it's weird and scary.

Hi Miss M, Actually in the first few years after my RNY I had a couple bouts of hypoglycemea so am familiar with how it feels and it is not the same but had considered that prior too. I think I need to look into autoimmune disorders and the relationship to the gut and RNY etc...thanks, Brandy.