sleeve revision to bypass in September...

[makemyownluck 785]

Hi everyone!

I used to be much more active on this board about 5-6 years ago when I had my sleeve. I am returning in hopes for the same support, insight and information I got back then relating to my current circumstances.

I have a sleeve, it was done in May 2013. At that time, my high weight was 460, I lost about 150, getting to my "low" of 310 in about a year.

Things were going well, and then I unexpectedly got pregnant in September in 2014. During my pregnancy and post partum time, I gained back about 60 lbs. I did a reset diet and started losing weight - from August of last year to January, I lost about 40 of the 60 lbs I gained. I felt like I was in control again, after feeling so out of control since I was pregnant!

Then, the unexpected happened. In January, I went to the ER with severe chest pains. It was intense and I had a hard time breathing - the pain was on my right side, otherwise I would have thought I was having a heart attack. I was admitted, and after lots of testing, I was determined to have pneumonia, and another infection in the lining of my right lung. I had a bedside aspiration that took 2 LITERS of Fluid from my lungs. It was not enough. I was prepped for surgery, a thoracotomy (which, if you don't know, is one of the most painful surgeries you can have!). During the surgery, I aspirated, surgery had to abruptly end before treating me. I was on a ventilator, in ICU, for several days. A second surgery was needed, I had a chest tube, two tubes coming out of my right ribs. I went into septic shock. My kidneys shut down and I had dialysis. I had terrible dreams while being sedated, that I was dying and would never see my son again... it was the worst time in my life. I'm grateful to have survived it.

The underlying cause of this episode is achalasia. My esophagus is not swallowing correctly, the sphincter at the bottom of my esophagus into my stomach is closed tight and doesn't open correctly to empty food into my stomach. I likely aspirated food and/or fluid into my lungs, which lead to the nearly fatal infection I suffered in January. This condition is rare, and the causes are not known. There is a thought that there is an underlying autoimmune issue that causes it.

The treatment is to open that sphincter with a Heller myotomy. Normally, people have this myotomy (or a similar procedure with a pneumatic balloon) and are fine. However, my sleeve puts me at great risk for terrible reflux since the sleeve creates high pressure and this myotomy will essentially keep my sphincter open all the time. Therefore, it is recommended that I convert my sleeve to a bypass. Bypass creates a low pressure GI tract and will greatly reduce the possibility of reflux. The added benefit is that I will lose more weight, hopefully getting closer to my original goal. I'm currently 330, and I'm so curious how much I will lose after my bypass.

My questions for a knowledgable bypass patient are:

What is your post op life like at a year post op? What are you able to eat?

Vitamins: Do you have to space your Vitamin intake out throughout the day? What do you take and when?

Dumping syndrome: is it only caused by sugar, or are there other triggers?

What do I need to know about malabsorption as it applies to taking medications? How is an oral antidepressant affected by having a bypass?

And if there are any people who started around the 330 mark, how much did you lose in 6 months? or a year? Did you make your goal? How long did it take?

Edited July 25, 2017 by makemyownluck

[Berry78 4,259]

Oh how scary! So happy you made it through! I'm not an experienced bypass patient, but I do know fried, greasy foods can cause dumping as well. You'll want to find out if your meds can be crushed, or switched to formulations that can be, at least for the first couple months postop.

You will experience slower weight loss than a fresh bypass patient would.. and ultimately your final weight will be what you make it out to be. (If you stick to the program and can exercise, there is no reason you can't go as low as you like). But, 240 or 220 is probably obtainable within a year without too much hardship.

[makemyownluck 785]

I have always been most "turned off" to bypass because of dumping, but I was reading another thread here yesterday that discussed that dumping doesn't even happen to everyone! Some people have it, some don't, sometimes it's terrible, sometimes it's just uncomfortable. Those who did experience it also said that as time goes on, it gets better. It's not a "forever" condition in most cases.

I'm hoping to make it to 220 with surgery as a goal weight. With my weight loss already I know that I will have a lot of excess skin so if I can get down to 220, I think that will be when I start thinking about a tummy tuck! But.. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

[Thenewmeee 6]

I'm wanted the sleeve my doctor says bypass I was so scared because of dumping now I'm more ready for bypass I see SOO many people have to get bypass after sleeve