Hey Everyone!

So it's coming up to my surgiversary, and I'm 6lb from goal. Very happy with my loss and how everything is starting to tone up with my new excercise regime.

There are just a couple of issues I have which are ongoing and I wondered if anyone else has the same problems this far out...

I get diarrhea regularly (at least once a week). Sometimes I can pin it down to certain foods, sometimes I don't know what caused it. Problem foods seem to be: milky coffees, popcorn, chocolate, seafood... presuming popcorn is because it is hard to digest, and maybe the coffee flushes me out because I don't have as much food in my system to soak it up? Chocolate seems to give me a "dumping syndrome" type reaction.

I have also had about four occasions in the past few months where I get a terrible pain in my stomach, which starts gradually and escalates to being so bad I've been doubled over crying and seriously freaked out my colleagues at work. I almost called an ambulance once it got so bad. I now recognise that after ten minutes of deep breathing it eventually goes away but it is very scary indeed. I haven't been able to identify what caused it, and it is definitely a pain in the actual stomach itself, rather than in the bowel or acid indigestion etc.

Does anyone know what this could be? I have my one year follow up soon, so I will ask my surgeon then.

xxx

What insurance do you have?

I was a self pay, and my health insurance have stated they will not cover anything to do with weight loss surgery so I don't think they would cover it... unless I ask my doctor to say it could have happened anyway and is not necessarily caused by the WLS :\ Not sure. I wonder how much having my GB removed would cost, if it is necessary!?

TwoStepsBack, Please dont wait, and dont let them make you wait. I waited and waited and put it off because I only had "attacks" when I ate bad food and I didnt want to have 2 surgeries. I wanted to have my sleeve done and my gallbladder removed together. I waited too long and I was critically ill. This simple procedure ended up with me hospitalized for 5 days! Get it taken care of hun.

Gosh, how scary! My GP said that if it gets any worse or more frequent, then to get back to them right away and they will try and move things along quicker. Maybe when I get the appointment card I will call and ask them to put me on the waiting list in case of any cancellations?

, I ordered a regular caramel frap for the extra calories/fat and within the hour I had rush to the restroom and BARELY made it LOL (sorry if TMI). So you are not alone my sleeve sister LOL!

Hugs!!!

P.s. I will be 11 months out on Wednesday yayyyy!

Hey Huni!

That must be it, usually when I have a coffee from a take-away place I have a shot of cinnamon syrup in it so that sounds like it's the problem! I'll be avoiding that from now on for sure. Not TMI, lol, don't worry. Good to know I'm not the only one

CONGRATS on 11months Wednesday!!! x

Hey Everyone!

So it's coming up to my surgiversary, and I'm 6lb from goal. Very happy with my loss and how everything is starting to tone up with my new excercise regime.

There are just a couple of issues I have which are ongoing and I wondered if anyone else has the same problems this far out...

I get diarrhea regularly (at least once a week). Sometimes I can pin it down to certain foods, sometimes I don't know what caused it. Problem foods seem to be: milky coffees, popcorn, chocolate, seafood... presuming popcorn is because it is hard to digest, and maybe the coffee flushes me out because I don't have as much food in my system to soak it up? Chocolate seems to give me a "dumping syndrome" type reaction.

I have also had about four occasions in the past few months where I get a terrible pain in my stomach, which starts gradually and escalates to being so bad I've been doubled over crying and seriously freaked out my colleagues at work. I almost called an ambulance once it got so bad. I now recognize that after ten minutes of deep breathing it eventually goes away but it is very scary indeed. I haven't been able to identify what caused it, and it is definitely a pain in the actual stomach itself, rather than in the bowel or acid indigestion etc.

Does anyone know what this could be? I have my one year follow up soon, so I will ask my surgeon then.

xxx

I have the opposite problem from diarrhea since surgery, thought I have read that many become lactose intolerant after VSG, so maybe???

As far as that pain you described, I get it occasionally too. Is it like a pressure building? Do certain positions seem to make it worse? I have found my pain is trapped air. I found forcing myself to burp really helps. Yesterday i had about a 20 minute episode and burping provided relief for about 20 seconds. Then I grabbed a diet coke and took a drink ( you know you start trying anything to get rid of it) and that did the trick whola! The carbonation in the pop released the trapped air and up came a large burp and then total complete relief!

Hi, Glall stones are fairly common typically it hits women who are overweight, fertile, are forty (doctors learn it as the 4 f's female, fat, fertile and forty) so while you are younger and no longer heavy there is a good case for them having developed before surgery and since no one can prove it I think they would have to cover it. The further out you are the harder it is for your insurance to cover it. I am 11 months out and I get bouts of diarrhea about once a week I also get bouts of constipation it goes in almost a predictable cycle.

I had the same thing long before VSG and it was my gallbladder (like the others are suggesting). I had "sludge" in my gallbladder. Caused serious pains and I felt like I was being stabbed at times. It hurt to breathe during the pain too. I was at work when I had my worst attack and my boss took me to the hospital. <BR><BR>Popcorn was my enemy during that time. It went right through me and caused some rather "loud disturbances" if you know what I mean. <BR><BR>I had to have a HIDA scan to confirm what it was. They inject a nuclear compound into your bloodstream and then watch it as it travels through your organs. If it is your gallbladder is sludgy like mine or isn't working it will stay in there. The scan takes FOREVER and is boring. It does sound like that is the problem though. Go see the doc and have it checked out.

Is it like a pressure building? Do certain positions seem to make it worse? I have found my pain is trapped air.

Hmmm no. It doesn't feel like pressure. More like waves of spasm or stabbing pain under my bra line/just below. It is always after eating lunch at work, and I have to sit on the floor in the toilet crying and deep breathing before it becomes bearable because I am scared I might faint.

I don't like being dramatic but I've never experienced such intense pain. It goes away after about 20 mins (it might be even shorter than that, but it feels like forever!) And each time I think "ok it's been too long this time, it isn't going away.. something is really really wrong here.. 30 seconds more and I'm calling out for someone in case I pass out"... then it goes away quite quickly.

Hi, Glall stones are fairly common typically it hits women who are overweight, fertile, are forty (doctors learn it as the 4 f's female, fat, fertile and forty) so while you are younger and no longer heavy there is a good case for them having developed before surgery and since no one can prove it I think they would have to cover it. The further out you are the harder it is for your insurance to cover it. I am 11 months out and I get bouts of diarrhea about once a week I also get bouts of constipation it goes in almost a predictable cycle.

That's good info re: the insurance, thanks! I could ask my Dr to suggest that they may have formed before surgery... then my health insurance might be willing to cover it.

Popcorn was my enemy during that time. It went right through me and caused some rather "loud disturbances" if you know what I mean. <BR><BR>

Wow, maybe that's my popcorn issue explained too. You guys are full of useful info as always!

I also have to point out that when I came to "reply" to this message and it put all the HTML formatting in, your response read like this... "Popcorn was my enemy during that time. It went right through me and caused some rather "loud disturbances" if you know what I mean. <"BR><"BR>

Which made me laugh very loud indeed!

Wow, maybe that's my popcorn issue explained too. You guys are full of useful info as always!

I also have to point out that when I came to "reply" to this message and it put all the HTML formatting in, your response read like this... "Popcorn was my enemy during that time. It went right through me and caused some rather "loud disturbances" if you know what I mean. <"BR><"BR>

Which made me laugh very loud indeed!

That is stinkin hilarious...HA! Your pain sounds EXACTLY like what I experienced. It was in the upper part of my abdomen below my boobs. The last episode I had was after lunch and I couldn't even stand up straight. I tolerate pain really well but that was the one of the worst pains I experienced (and I went through 26 hours of labor).

Hmmm no. It doesn't feel like pressure. More like waves of spasm or stabbing pain under my bra line/just below. It is always after eating lunch at work, and I have to sit on the floor in the toilet crying and deep breathing before it becomes bearable because I am scared I might faint.

I don't like being dramatic but I've never experienced such intense pain. It goes away after about 20 mins (it might be even shorter than that, but it feels like forever!) And each time I think "ok it's been too long this time, it isn't going away.. something is really really wrong here.. 30 seconds more and I'm calling out for someone in case I pass out"... then it goes away quite quickly.

I have had my Galbladder out and trust me that WAS PRESSURE building during those attacks. Try the burbing technique along with a sip of a carbonated beverage to assist in burping. One other thing I have read about is esophageal spasm. I had one in the hospital right after surgery and it was very simular to my current pain but WAY more intense!

One thing you said is that it always happens at work at lunch,,, one thing I caught on to with eating at work was that I was distracted while eating at work and not only did I not chew enough, I also took into much air while eating because I was talking to others. Once I pulled back and concentrated on the food the times this pain happens to me is far and fewer in between. The one factor I found in dealing with pain,, tensing up and panic makes it worse,,, I walk and I burp and from now on I will grab a drink of diet soda to speed things along!

If this technique does not work talk to your doc! I think I read somewhere there is medicine for esophageal spasms!

Hi, Glall stones are fairly common typically it hits women who are overweight, fertile, are forty (doctors learn it as the 4 f's female, fat, fertile and forty) so while you are younger and no longer heavy there is a good case for them having developed before surgery and since no one can prove it I think they would have to cover it. The further out you are the harder it is for your insurance to cover it. I am 11 months out and I get bouts of diarrhea about once a week I also get bouts of constipation it goes in almost a predictable cycle.

I did not see this earlier, but that cycle is sometimes called irritable bowl syndrome. However it is usually longer than a week when you switch, so to speak The diarehha maybe your bodies way of curing the constipation.

Do you do well with Benni-Fiber?

When I first read this post I was originally thinking the same thing (trapped air) Im 8 months post op and i have experienced the same excruciating pain that i found got much better wen i burped....But now im questioning whether the pain iv been experiencing could be my gallbladder, I was never really informed about what could go wrong with the gallblader post op and didnt even think I needed to be watching out for that ... Keep us posted, I hope it all works out for you!

It does sound like your gall bladder, I had mine out before my sleeve surgery. I suffered for 3 years with attacks and when I finally got it taken out I can't even explain how much better i felt. Feel better and good luck, Janine

Hi Sweets!

I also get diarrhea once in a while. In my case, I'm totally convinced it comes when I eat too much sugar. I spoke to the doctor about it and they said we can not physically dump, but that we can have reactions like diarrhea to certain foods or sugars. I am at goal and trying not to lose anymore, so on Saturday on my way to the beach, I ordered a regular caramel frap for the extra calories/fat and within the hour I had rush to the restroom and BARELY made it LOL (sorry if TMI). So you are not alone my sleeve sister LOL!

Hugs!!!

P.s. I will be 11 months out on Wednesday yayyyy!

I just went to my 6 month post op, and the NUT talked about reactive hypoglycemia. She said is is common among sleevers, and the symptoms are similar to dumping syndrome. What happens is that we eat more sugar/carbs than we are used to, and then our bodies respond by releasing extra insulin. For some reason, the body will release way more than needed, and then low blood suger happens. shakes, sweating, diarrhea, and light-headedness are some of the symptoms. Sounds like that's what happened.