So let me give you a run down of my last two weeks........ I’m definitely not looking for sympathy, I just want to know if any of you have been through this so I’m not going through it alone.

I had my revision from VSG to RNY on 7/22 - Day 1 was rough but after that everything was a breeze. I had tapered myself off pain meds and felt great. Sunday morning (6 days post op) I felt pretty dizzy and light headed which I linked to dehydration so I stepped up my liquids. This lasted on and off all day. Come Monday morning and I’m starting to have some left side stomach pain and linked shoulder pain. I’m not gonna lie, the shoulder pain hurt worse than anything imaginable and I tried simethicone and nothing helped so it was not linked to gas.

I called my surgeon and he suggested to come into the ER for eval. CT scan and blood work later, I was getting admitted. Let me tell you what though - I have not felt the same since they stretched me flat on the CT scan, it felt like every fiber that had started to form back together was ripped open again. I was admitted to the hospital for 3 nights for severe dehydration and to fully rule out a leak, which was definite after an Upper GI. During the first 2 days of admission my surgeon allowed me nothing by mouth and near the end of that I could just feel my stomach going crazy inside my abdomen looking for substance. When I was finally able to eat, my stomach hated me. The first thing that hit my stomach caused unbelievable cramps. A day later and I can still feel fluids hit my pouch and cramps follow. My pain in my shoulder has gone away, I’m still pretty sore in my stomach but for the life of my can’t figure out why my stomach is so mad at me for drinking. Has anyone of you experienced this? If so, PLEASE reassure me that things do get better ??

I have not yet had my revision so really can’t give any advice.

I am wondering though. Was all of this caused by dehydration? Were you getting all of your required fluids in?

Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully someone else will chime in and be able to answer your questions for you.

4 hours ago, affy304 said:

The first thing that hit my stomach caused unbelievable cramps. A day later and I can still feel fluids hit my pouch and cramps follow. My pain in my shoulder has gone away, I’m still pretty sore in my stomach but for the life of my can’t figure out why my stomach is so mad at me for drinking.

I have not been through anything that you went through, I just had RNY on 7/25 but I identified with this part strongly. Although the first 24 hrs after surgery I was only allowed ice chips and I still had enough meds/anesthesia on board that my stomach was 'subdued' by meds is all I can guess. Later that evening I noticed I could literally HEAR and FEEL liquids hitting my..um pouch. I'd get the sound of gurgling as it went down my esophagus and literally feeling it "land" in my pouch was honestly weird. I will say that most of the things I drink seem to end up with me cramping - almost on queue with the liquids landing. I'm still on an all liquid diet although I can eat jello. Jello seems less..."noisy".

I've heard the lecture (don't mean in bad way) that all the cramping/shoulder pain/other pain is gas and I 95% believe that. What's hard to discern after you've reached dosing limits on Extra Strength Gas-Ex, you are walking more than ever walked before...are some ppl just more resistant to getting gas efficiently removed from their bodies. In my case what 2 days ago spiked into almost unbelievable pain and caused me to almost vomit as much from pain and distress and my stomach deciding it was done, happened at CVS and I was so embarrassed. I ended up leaning almost over a cart (incisions don't make this easy) and intense back pain set in and I realized I've been thru this before!

Constipation will kick your tush! During my best friend's 3 year battle with brain cancer, she shared that out of everything she had been through, constipation, especially from super high doses of chemo, was something that literally would wreck her to the point of despair.

Sometimes I wonder are we too cavalier about this subject...are our doctors? I know mine, who I like, seeemed pretty cavalier. I think sometimes they forget that while they have 'seen it all', we are all unique and different.

I've been wondering as my stomach continues to cramp/clamp down on what little liquids i send it...is when do we ask the question if we have a bigger issue going on. I don't want to bother my doc or go to ER for no reason.

The gas that causes pain after surgery is not in your intestines (where Gas-X can get to it). It is the gas they use to inflate your abdomen during surgery to give them room to work. That gas gets trapped in your tissues and muscles and has to work it's way out of your body. It tends to rise which is why the pain can be so severe in your shoulders, upper back and neck.

As to the original post, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I did not experience anything similar with my revision.