eating problems -- out of the blue

[Guest guest]

I'm hoping that some of you may have some suggestions, since

my doctor's office seems to be at loss.

The past few weeks I have been having serious problems

eating. At times it feels that my pouch is totally closed

up and nothing is passing through. I can't even take a sip

of water without feeling painfully full. Then a few hours

later, or the next day, it eases, and I can drink and eat

again, although with great caution, and in small quantities

compared to what is usual for me. I have been on liquid and

soft foods for weeks.

At first the nurse practitioner at my surgeon's office said

it was probably either an ulcer or gastritis. (She didn't

think it was scarring constricting the opening to the

intestine because it's been so long since I had the

surgery.) She prescribed some medication that inhibits acid

production and said to stay on the soft foods for a while.

Eventually, when I kept having problems, she scheduled me

for an endoscopy. The scope didn't show any problems at

all; the notes I was given said it looked like a normal

post-WLS stomach and intestine. The NP said that was good

news, but it doesn't feel like good news to me.

For 2 1/2 years since surgery, I have had no problems at

all. In fact, in my last regular checkup I told her I

thought the opening from the pouch to the intestine had

enlarged, because I was able to eat fairly large quantities

of food with no problem at all. Although I never lost all

the weight I wanted to lose, I have been happy the with

results and the lack of post-op problems.

Now, all of the sudden, things seemed to have stopped

working. I'm not in agonizing pain, and I'm not starving,

although a diet of water, protein drinks, and small amounts

of soup and yogurt and so on feels like starving. But the

worse thing is, I have no idea why.

I have been under a lot of stress in recent months due to

another illness flaring up. Other than that, nothing

unusual has been going on. I haven't been eating anything

different. The only medications I've taken have been

approved by my surgeon's office.

Since I've been on the soft foods, I've had bad periods

after having something as simple as mashed potatoes or

cottage cheese. (This is also ruining my good eating plan

of solid protein & lots of fruits and vegetables, with

little to no bread or potatoes or other starchy stuff, but

that's a problem for later.)

At the moment, we're back to the " wait and see " mode, but

I'd be happier if there were a theory about what was wrong

and a plan of action if things didn't improve on their own.

It has now been more than a month since I first started

having problems, and several weeks since I've eaten anything

other than soft foods. My symptoms are:

--feeling full on very little (compared to before this

problem); during " bad " periods I feel I can't eat or drink

at all, most of the time I can drink pretty well and eat

about 1 cup of soft food (about every 2-3 hours)

--feeling like food (or liquid) is " stuck " or not moving out

of the pouch

--feeling " uncomfortable " after eating -- not sick, exactly,

but unsettled. Lots of rumbling/grumbling going on.

--feeling like I need to belch all of the time

--feeling bloated or tender (I've lost 10 lbs but am wearing

my baggiest waistlines!)

I realize this is very non-specific, but I guess I was

hoping some of you may have some ideas of things to bring up

with the NP, or stories of your own experiences (hopefully

resolved in a satisfactory manner!).

Thanks for listening.

Jeri

2.5 years post op, distal RNY, -170 lbs (10 of them in the

last few weeks! -- my fat cells are screaming " I told you so

-- I told you you'd need me for the next famine! " )

--

jlw@...