5 months post op and can’t eat

[pkschoen 0]

Hello. I had my sleeve gastrectomy on June 13. I lost 30 pounds prior to surgery and have since lost another 72 for a total of 102 pounds. I am ecstatic except I can barely eat anything. Initially, I figured my progress was just slow, so I didn’t rush the stages. Then it was discovered I had a stricture as I was throwing up any solid food. I’ve since had two endoscopy procedures, but things don’t seem much better. I am mostly on a soft diet as a lot of solid food, even if eaten in very small quantities and chewed very well, will cause me to throw up. Many foods cause diarrhea. In fact, I’ve had chronic diarrhea this entire time. My doctor says to wait another month before a third endoscopy. I am taking Imodium a couple of times a week to curb the diarrhea because it’s getting to be extremely irritating. I am barely eating because I can hardly tolerate anything, and I am having a very difficult time meeting my Protein goal. Protein Shakes cause extreme fullness and diarrhea and sometimes vomiting, so those are out. I do drink Protein Shots which go down well, and I pretty much live on fresh mozzarella cheese and yogurt. Even the thought of a lot of foods is a turn off because they aren’t appealing and make me gag or I’m afraid of how I’ll react and psych myself out. I am at a loss as to what to eat. Luckily, I am getting my Water in, 64+ ounces per day, and I do eat Pedialyte popsicles to help with electrolyte loss which my providers are concerned about. I’ve researched and researched, but I’m finding nothing. Has anyone had this issue? How did you solve it?

[maintenanceman 287]

Obviously, I'm not a medical professional so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

Tbh, during this weight loss phase, I would try to stay focused on losing weight. Continue to monitor your eating challenges, but there will be time to sort that out after you've lost the weight. As long as you're getting sufficient nutrition and calories, you'll be fine for now. Do your best to meet the Protein goal, but if you fall short, it's not the end of the world.

Listen to your body, and feed it what it can handle. I'm 19 mo post-op, and even now, solid foods can be a challenge. I generally still eat a soft(ish) diet. It works for me.

Obviously, if you are continually getting sick, feel bad, and/or are unable to eat enough to meet your needs, that's an urgent problem. But if you can handle it, give it time and stay focused.

[Arabesque 7,621]

So sorry you’ve been experiencing this. Have they done any other tests besides just the endoscopies like an abdominal ultra sound or contrast scan to see if there is an issue below your actual tummy like adhesions or a twist, etc? I don’t know either really just a suggestion.

Hope they find some answers for you soon.

[Char V 52]

Sorry to hear this.
I have had issues for 14months. It took me over two months on liquids to stop vomiting. And purée was the same. At around the 4 month mark we tried me on soft diet and I was vomiting a lot still. So I had to stay on liquid/purée or what my stomach could handle. I couldn’t eat any dense foods. I couldn’t even drink water(it’s classified as a dense drink)

my list of intolerable foods grew and grew. Test after test was performed. I had surgery to balloon my entrance into the stomach as well as just after entry into it. I ended up having to see the head surgeon in our state who ordered an emergency test(3D CT Scan) we had to do it twice as the concentrated dye I had to drink didn’t like me either. They had me lay down and drink it while they tried the imaging. 2 days later I was in surgery to repair my hiatus hernia(again) my fundoplacation had to be repaired as did my stomach. I had a bulge at the top and bottom next to my duodenum where food was getting trapped. My entry was smaller then an Australian 5cent piece.

I suggest asking if you could see someone higher or a 2nd opinion. Don’t let it sit as long as I did.

[Char V 52]

I also had two barium swallows done. And both times I vomited up the thick liquid paste and marshmellows

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[Char V 52]

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[Char V 52]

duplicated post. Don’t know what it was thinking hahaha

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[Char V 52]

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[Char V 52]

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[ChunkCat 737]

food aversion is real after having issues with vomiting and keeping food down. I agree with @Arabesque, have they done any imaging to be sure it is only a stomach stricture causing this?? @Char V is right, if they continue to just do scopes, you may want to ask to be referred up to someone with more experience. Not saying your doctor is wrong, just that with a chronic condition, sometimes two heads and a new pair of eyes is better than one. I really hope you find answers soon. ❤️

[ms.sss 15,859]

i don't have any real answers for you other than echo what others have said above and to get more tests done and continue to work with your doc to find an M.O. to give you some relief.

however, i do want to say that at 5 months post, i think i was sort of where you are at. I could barley eat very much in terms of volume. it was really quite a ridiculously small amount of food that I could keep down at one sitting, and if i went 1 bite above that, I would barf...or spit up more like. I ate probably 1/3 - 1/2 cup of food in TOTAL in one sitting (where a "sitting" would last about an hour of taking tiny bites at a time). this resolved itself over time, probably took about 1.5 - 2 years before i could eat the amounts which i can eat now in one sitting. Mind you, its still a small amount compared to what "normal" people can pack in. And i'm over 5 years out today...and other than my odd eating habits (compared to others), i'm totally fine. Oh, i do take 20mg of Omeprazole a day religiously though. if i miss my morning dose, i can feel discomfort in my sternum by 1-2pm. i also make sure I go to bed on an empty stomach.

further, regarding the diarrhea, i was already lactose intolerant pre-surgery. After surgery, i got even MORE lactose-intolerant, if that makes sense. perhaps a diet consisting of only mozzerella and yogurt could be doing your digestive system a number. just a thought?

Hope you figure out something soon. Good Luck! ❤️