RE: New member - really long post

[Guest guest]

Welcome Becky, the only rule for membership here is 1 year out. Your post

makes me glad we don't have nationalized medicine here. I didn't hear you say

you had been scoped or had a CT scan which is what most here have when there is

this kind of difficulty. There is no reason that your doc can't order these

tests and send the results to the surgeon. Do not be timid, try insisting.

Without these tests all they can do is guess.

Fay Bayuk

**300/166

10/23/01

Dr.

Open RNY 150 cm

Click for My Profile

http://obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=Bayuk951061008

[Guest guest]

Hey Becky in BC! Welcome to the list. I sure wish I had some answers for

you. It is in MY nature that when things like this happen to me I get REALLY

pushy about getting answers. I have been known to change Doctors because I

felt the one I had wasn't listening to me or didn't take what I KNEW

seriously! Any possibility you can change Docs? Don't know how the Canadian

health stuff works. But, NO you shouldn't have to LIVE with this. I just

wonder...off the top of my head if your stoma needs to be dilated slightly?

Do things get stuck? I had to have mine dilated after my revision because

EVERYTHING kept getting stuck. I swear that darn thing can pucker....when I

get stressed NOTHING gets past it! (I know this is not true....but sure

feels that way) Well, good luck to you. Hope you find out something.

Debbie &

in Gig Harbor

(170cm medial)

ladybostons@...

http://www.cafeshops.com/copsstore

http://www.marykay.com/debbiemcneice

[Guest guest]

Hi Becky,

I'm so sorry for your food problems. You do sound like me. My problem

was a stricture.

I thought it was my fault to some degree, eating too fast, too much etc. I

had to stop eating/drinking about 4 hours before bed time. If I even did a

protein drink too close to bedtime, I'd get what I called sewer burps for

the whole of the next day and I couldn't eat at all for the day. I'd spit

up all of the time, thick saliva, pouch hurt. Does anything similar to

that happen to you?

I made the mistake of talking to my doctors nurse and not the doc. Finally

made an appointment with the doc and skipped the nurse. At this point, it

had gotten to where I could only do strained canned soups (broth only) with

extra cans of water added to make it thin. Even protein drinks were

torture.

I've had 4 or 5 dilations and I'm a little over a year out. I didn't have

my first scope until I was almost 6 months out from surgery. At the first

scope, at first the doc couldn't find the exit out of my tum, kept looking

and finally found it, it was only open 1mm. Had it closed entirely it could

have been big trouble. I think he dilated it to 15mm the first time. 2

weeks later I had my 2nd dilation, then about 5 weeks later had my 3rd, made

it about 2 months for the 4th and I think I had a 5th but would have to look

through my notes for certain. I'm somewhat unusual, in having so many

dilations, the only one in my town that has had so many. (how special LOL)

I'm currently having some problems eating again and will have another

dilation, just hasn't gotten real bad yet.

The strictures & dilations are no big deal, scary at first but then I

suppose like anything, once you know what it is, and how to fix it, the fear

goes away.

I lost a lot of weight due to the strictures. From what I read, that is

common.

I really feel for you, it isn't fun and it gets so old. I hope you can get

to the doctor soon to get a scope done. It's important that the doc that

does your scope has information from your surgeon. It's delicate plumbing.

This is all just my thoughts and experience. Your food stuff could be other

problems, I hope I've given you helpful information. I'd be happy to tell

you anything further about strictures, if you want, just drop a note back.

Hope you feel better soon,

Joanie

New member - really long post

> Hi , my name is Becky , I joined last week and have been lurking

> for a few days. You have such a vast range of States with members ,

> I hope you don't mind a Canadian ???

> I am 1.5 years post op , started at 402 and am currently 181 ,

> my goal is 175 so obviously I'm going to make it , although worried

> about losing too much .... I'll explain - this is the reason for

> joining your group, because I'm not getting any answers up here and

> am hoping there are maybe others with like problems out there , so

> here goes :

>

> I had an open RNY in Feb 2001 , my doctor believes in bypassing the

> whole amount possible so I had the whole 150 cm's bypassed and had no

> difficulties other than getting several infections along the

> incision. I was doing awesome for the first 6 months , no problems ,

> stayed on mush as long as possible and didn't try too much of a

> variety - mainly ate what I knew worked. So around the 7th month I

> got the runs really bad and started to " puke " once or twice a week ,

> and after getting the swallow test and not a thing showing on it they

> decided I must have an intestinal infection leftover from when I got

> the surgery so put me on some pretty nasty pills for several weeks.

> Well they got rid of the runs and then the constipation started

> (sorry if this is graphic) , and continued for the next 6 months.

> They spent all this time trying me on different pills , laxatives ,

> and basically doing nothing , since there are no doctors up here

> familiar with it and my surgeon from another city is very very busy -

> he would converse with them once every couple months. Soooo 14

> months post they finally decide it's time for me to come down to see

> the surgeon for a checkup so I figure yayyyyy they're going to figure

> out what's wrong with me down there , so I get there and he's like

> " problems , what problems? " and never booked any tests or anything.

> And had the nerve to say " it may be permanent, just an aftereffect " .

> So they send me home and 2 more months later finally my doctor here

> is starting to worry that maybe the weight loss isn't slowing down so

> he gets ahold of the surgeon again and they book a catscan and

> another barium test , nothing showed on the swallow test but the

> catscan showed a pancreatic cyst , BUT they don't think it is causing

> my problems. So I am still experiencing all the problems , and they

> don't know what else to look for now. The only test they havn't done

> is the scope but they won't do it here so I have to wait until I can

> save up enough to travel again to the coast (14hrs) , probably in

> october or november when I get my abdominoplasty (which took me 1.5

> years to save for - whew). But he doesn't think the scope will show

> anything either since the other two didn't , it may just be something

> I have to " live with " . Well I don't think so !!! Also I know it's

> not gallbladder because that's been gone ten years , there's no

> hernias and it's not lactose intolerance because I checked for that.

>

> So there's my story , here are my symptoms : I puke 3 or 4 times a

> week and there's no particular thing that causes it because it's

> happened on fluids - also it would be more times if I try to eat any

> of the foods I don't tolerate anymore but I avoid them so minimal

> times of getting sick. I cannot drink more than a half cup of fluids

> at a time and no more than once every half hour , still getting

> crampy pains when eating (although not always) , can't lie on my

> tummy because it aches , and every month I lose the ability to eat

> more and more foods (in other words I was able to eat them for a time

> but suddenly my tummy won't tolerate them anymore , ie WW bread ,

> lettuce , any meat cooked more than rare , sole , imitation crab meat

> , all raw veggies and many cooked ones , all fruit skins , also

> started puking on protein shakes , etc etc etc)

>

> I am a little worried that if the puking continues that I won't stop

> losing the weight , I know this sounds irrational but I am 5'5 and

> very large boned (guys shirts fit across the shoulders lol) and after

> talking to my doctor they thought 175 would by my ideal weight. I

> weighed 160 once in my twenties and people thought I was ill so I

> thought the goal was a good one. But I am only 6 lbs away from that

> goal , I have never plateaued , I am still losing 1-2 lbs every week

> , and still have to have plastic surgery which they figure is a

> minimum of 15-20 lbs of skin (it's really bad !!!).

>

> Well there you have it , I apologize if this post is too long , but

> it'll only be this once lol , so if anybody has any suggestions , or

> the same symptoms or any info whatsoever , it would be greatly

> appreciated.

>

> Becky in BC Canada , 34 years old , mom of 2 boys , student

> start 402 , now 181 , lost 221 lbs so far, goal of 175

> having the abdominoplasty this late fall, just waiting for a date

> and desperate for answers :0)

>

>

>

>

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