Gastric Bypass weird phenomenon and more

[Baby_mae00 1]

THE WEIRDEST STUFF HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO ME AFTER I GOT MY BYPASS OCTOBER 2021

So when I was fresh out of surgery I had a really hard time when I started being able to eat solids, everything I ate made me sick, or I’d feel like something was stuck and just generally uncomfortable and so I had stopped eating because it became unbearable to be sick after every meal, it led to me being hospitalized a week or two for dehydration the doctor told me my body was eating itself (muscle/fat) anything it could to keep me alive and my blood sugar would stay critically low despite them putting sugar in my IV this happened twice (I was admitted on two separate occasions) they did all the tests but nothing was abnormal and they couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t eat, but my surgeon was getting worried/upset and he said if I was admitted again I’d be put on a feeding tube he said and I quote “eat anything I don’t care what it is, just eat” he also said it would probably be uncomfortable for awhile but still force yourself. So after that I went home and would just eat whatever I could whether that be bad food or good food and it did hurt a lot and I’d get so sick I’d get hot and feel like I’d faint and so to combat it I’d just lay down in front of a fan and bear the pain which lasted about 30mins after EVERY meal I’d also go into a mini food coma after every meal and it was a big inconvenience because no matter where I was after I ate I’d have to lay down and I’d be drawn into a food coma for who knows how long. Time skip to now, I’m doing better I don’t have a problem eating but when I eat too much I do have to lay down but the thing is… I can eat way more then I should like maybe two cups full of whatever food, although when it comes to certain meats I can only eat a little and I’ll feel pretty sick afterwards, but shrimp for example I can eat a lot of. I don’t have any problems eating sweets ( which I’m beyond great full for I feel more normal now even though I can eat only a little I feel like I got a bit of my life back I had felt so depressed because food was my outlet and not being able to enjoy food any type of food had really became hard for me) and I actually eat them on a daily basis although I can only have a small amount (or it depends what sweets it is) without getting sick, I seem to be able to eat alot of popcorn. I only experienced dumping syndrome once in my life after I had some tea with honey a few days out of surgery, but after that I never had it again. I gained this really weird symptom where every time I stand up from a sitting position I faint or feel very dizzy where everything goes black and I fall down without losing consciousness, it only last a few seconds and then I’m fine but I’ve hurt myself a few times because of it. I also feel hunger, I’ve felt hunger even right out of surgery but now I’m always hungry 2 hours after eating but I don’t get stomach rumbles I get this heartburn feeling that’s persistent until I eat it’s my way of knowing when to eat. I have a big problem with standing still in one spot for even 10 minutes It makes me feel sick like I’ll throw up or something I get hot and dizzy but I’m just fine walking for hours just the moment I stand still I get nauseous. I find it harder to drink Water without a straw, and I find it easier to eat laying down than sitting up and I think that’s really weird, but despite eating anything I want I still lose weight and I don’t really feel the need to anymore I’m at a good area. One last thing that’s pretty recent…. I sleep eat. I don’t know when it happened maybe a month or two ago but every night now I’ll wake 3 or 4 times and munch a little on whatever is nearby, I’ve eaten 3 full boxes of cheese-its over the course of 5 days (which didn’t sit well with me in the long run) I’ve eaten Cookies, I’ve eaten cheese, I’ve eaten candy, I’ve even eaten a whole sandwich and sometimes I have no recollection of it but I’ll see the wrapper or evidence near me on the floor. I don’t know how to stop this habit it’s really getting out of hand so now I just place healthy options near me before bed so I won’t gain weight because I did gain a few pounds recently. Well, these are just my experiences and this all started after my surgery although I don’t know for sure if it’s surgery related. Please feel free to comment below if you’ve experienced anything similar I’d love to hear it! I’m managing just fine I’ve found a system to deal with my inconveniences (since it’s just more annoying and I feel I can deal with it) but if I can find a way to rid myself of it then I’d feel more normal!! P.s. does anyone know how to tighten minor loose skin?? My skin isn’t very loose but in some areas like my lower stomach and thighs it’s not as tight, I lost the majority of my weight when I was the hospital which is less than ideal but even still the skin is only slightly loose. I’ve heard working out can help (and I have little to no muscle right now I lost it during the hospital phase) so I’m working on that but if anyone has any other type of remedies I’d LOVE to try it! Thanks again <3

[toodlerue 432]

You have been dumping this whole time! Every time you have to lay down after you eat it is because you are dumping.
Have you tried eating high Protein, veggies & fruit (natural sugar)?
I would stick with a Bariatric Eating protocol instead of filling your body with sugar & crap.

[kcuster83 1,502]

WOW! Glad you are moving in the right direction now and getting better.

Did you discuss all of these weird things with your surgeon and/or PCP? For example, the passing out like symptoms when you get up sounds like low blood pressure. It apparently only happens for a few seconds and then your brain re-adjusts for it and you feel fine until next time. I am dealing with low blood pressure now, my stays pretty normal and randomly plummets. I haven't passed out yet but come very close.

The being sick after meals does sound a bit like dumping and maybe you just don't recognize it as such? Which is another reason I asked if you talked to your surgeon about these things. But, if you feel like this even after eating some lean meat then it is probably not dumping. They said eat "anything" and with you eating in the middle of the night, things like cheez-its you may be dumping. Hard to assume, but could be.

Do you track and document your intake? Maybe you could right down (or use an APP) what you eat but then also document how you feel after you eat it? It may help you figure out if everything makes you feel ill or if it is specific foods.

I just want to make sure that with all the hospitalizations that you didn't forget to mention all the other issues you are having where you created interesting ways around it. Sometimes we get overwhelmed with what is happening at that very moment that we forgot to address the smaller things.

I wish you the best and hope you get it all figured out and under control.

[St77 85]

So I can't comment on much, but two things I will speak of:

You never want to have to get a feeding tube if it can be avoided. It sounds like you're padt that point, which is good, but speaking from experience, they are miserable.

When you say you are sleep eating, do you mean you wake up in the morning to find food that had been previously untouched suddenly eaten? Or waking up while you're eating something? I ask this because I was a sleep eater when I was in my 20's and it turned out to be a nutritional deficiency.

[The Greater Fool 1,950]

On the sleep eating: Have you recently starting taking a sleep med like Ambien or Lunesta? In many people it can cause sleep behaviors that you don't remember.

Both caused me to act on whatever I was thinking about when I went to sleep. It got interesting.

On the passing out when standing and weak after eating thing: It sounds like Orthostatic hypotension (postural hypotension).

Also, when your losing weight and meds you take may need adjusting. Again, a year or so ago I lost some weight (more or less against plan) and I started passing out when I stood. Left a nice hole when my head hit the drywall once. A couple of my meds needed to be adjusted downward and the problem resolved.

On the loose skin thing: There are no creams, lotions, or pills that will help. This is largely an issue of age, genetics, how long you were overweight, how much damage was done to the skin. Of course surgery can help. Also exercise to fill in some of the skin with muscle. Time also can help a little.

One last thing: You're dealing with a lot. In addition to working with your physical symptoms you may want to talk to a therapist to help you learn coping mechanisms to replace food. It can also help in coping with the other things that seem out of your control. It definitely can't hurt and can be surprisingly helpful.

Hang in there. You are your best advocate. Get the help you need and keep pushing until things improve.

Good luck,

Tek

[Baby_mae00 1]

Okay to try and answer some of these questions, I have tried to eat healthy food and do mostly eat healthy food but I can even drink Water and have to lay down I think I just take in too much at once but I’m still experimenting. No I haven’t talked to my surgeon in quite a while, and I don’t see any therapists, I have an insatiable hunger where the moment my stomach makes and room I’m hungry and want to eat again, I wouldn’t call it a bad relationship with food I just think it’s a nutritional deficiency. My primary and I are working on the whole fainting thing and hopefully we can rule out whether it’s a deficiency or not. When it comes to my sleep eating, it’s either I’ll wake up (just conscious enough to get what I need) and I’ll go get food if I forgot to place something near me, or I’ll literally sleep eat and wake up to wrappers and no food where I left it. I don’t take any medication but I had a breast surgery in July and was taking opioids for pain (bad I know) and I’d pair them with Benadryl because they made me itchy and then I continued taking them because I was really getting some good sleep but I stopped after I got restless leg syndrome type of symptoms and the sleep eating started around then, although it makes more sense for it to be some sort of deficiency rather than because of the pills I took in July. And lastly, with the loose skin I’ve heard about derma rolling which is rather painful but can tighten minor loose skin I haven’t tried it long term though but the science adds up, and I’ve heard about a skin tightening cream call neora firm (something something) and it has a lot of good reviews (it’s expensive though) and it’s again typically for minor loose skin.