Question:
After surgery, how dangerous is it to eat too much, vomit and then continue eating?
A family member recently (5 months ago) had lapband surgery and doesn't seem to be following any particular diet guide line or exercise program. On a week long family outing, we noticed that she would eat regular portions of food, excuse herself from the table to go vomit, then come back and have dessert. When we expressed concern about this practice, she rationalized that the excess food had not been in her stomach, so there was no acid in the expelled food. She has other health issues and we're afraid that this could cause some severe consequences. — worried4her (posted on May 3, 2008)
May 3, 2008
I'm guessing it may cause some physical harm at some time. But, it appears
there is something in her mental state too. I'd be a "friend" and
talk to her about her "binging and purging". Many people become
obesite for reasons other than just liking to eat. She may have had some
trauma in her life that cuased the weight gain, and unless she gets to the
root of her problem, her lap band surgery may be a failure. She may need to
talk to a professional to deterimine the root problem of why she likes to
eat so much. Her other health issues will not improve, nor will she lose
weight properly if she continues her current eating habits. Where did she
think the food went after she ate it??
— Dave Chambers
May 3, 2008
Oh my God! If I didn't know better, I would think you were talking about
my sister... word for word, the same situation. I will be curious to see
what others post, but I know in my sister's situation, I think (armchair
psychiatry) that her eating is the only thing she thinks she is in control
of. You might try to point out to her to eat her food slowly, savoring
each bite, and perhaps she would fill up with less food and then not have
the need to purge. That might help with the physical part of it, but I do
agree with the previous posting about having her examine, with professional
help, the reasons why she has developed that eating habit. Good luck and I
will keep your friend in my prayers...
— Jeanne Aldrich
May 3, 2008
I've had lapband. You can actually cause band slippage and other problems.
Has she been back to the surgeon to have adjustments? As soon as I saw
your post it really concerned me. Does she do this all the time? She's
not getting her nutrients, even if she takes vitamins. Rationalizing is
one thing we learned at group "NOT TO DO". I think they called
it maladaptive thinking. Please help her somehow. I'll be praying for
you.!
— jct001
May 3, 2008
Your friend is making a big mistake. She is setting herself up not only for
failure but for future health issues. She should be following up with her
doctor.
Karen
— [Deactivated Member]
May 3, 2008
sounds like she may have some Bulimia. her behavior is very dangerous and
you need to try to get her to get some help. not only is it dangerous, but
she will never have success if she keeps that up. please try to talk to her
and get her some help.
— RNlvnCARSON
May 3, 2008
Your right, you do produce acid the minute food touches your taste buds.
This acid definately can result in damaging your teeth. I throwed up so
much right after surgery, I was at the dentist every 2months for a
cleaning. He said to try to control the throwing up because the acid will
ware down your teeth. Then while throwing up a different time, something
got stuck on the way up and I heaved for a good 3hrs. The result, ulcers
in my stomach. Winning the game is always fun, but this is one game I'd
rather learn than try to compete in right away. Good Luck!
— bariatricdivalatina
May 3, 2008
This is nothing different than bulimia...except now it is even more
dangerous than someone without lapband...because when she vomits, her band
could slip down and rupture or damage her stomach to the point that she
needs surgery. On top of that, she's wrong if she thinks no acid is coming
up...Vomiting triggers spasms in the stomach and throat and that will cause
acid to erupt into her throat and cause erosion after doing this long
term...On top of all of that...by getting rid of the dinner where she would
be getting her vitamins and minerals, she is replacing that meal for sugary
desserts. Eventually she'll probably develop malnutrition and vitamin
deficiencies along with irregular fluxes in her weight from the high
calories that she is consuming withthe desserts.
She has only transfered one addiction for another with a new eating
disorder and WLS has not served her mental health. She is headed down a
slippery slope...She should speak to a therapist who treats eating
disorders
— .Anita R.
May 3, 2008
I am concerned for this woman's health. A dear friend of mine had a
lapband
> in February, has followed Dr. Rehnke's recommended program, and has
lost
> nearly 50 pounds and feels great. I also know of a person who lives
on
> milkshakes with her band and has not lost an ounce! The band is just
a
> tool. A wonderful tool, but that is all it really is. We can use it
to our
> advantage, or we can misuse it and continue with self-destructive
behavior.
>
> I'm still awaiting a surgery date, but I hope to find the
> motivation/willpower to do the right thing and get healthy. I'm 58
years old
> and feel like this is my last and final chance to get healthy and I
don't
> want to blow this off.
>
> Blessings to you and your family member.
>
> Nancy
— angelzhere
May 3, 2008
I'm very worried about your friend. You're right about the acid. The
constant purging will lead to eventual errosion of the band slippage and
can seriously damage many organs as well.
— Danielle T.
May 3, 2008
First, let me tell you that I am not a medical practitioner so take what I
say with a grain of salt. I am just a weight loss surgery patient and have
not even had the Lap Band procedure that you are speaking of although that
was the surgery that I had initially went to get when I consulted with my
surgeon. It was the surgery that my wife and I researched before we went
to our initial consultation. After speaking with my surgeon, I decided to
have the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy but that is another subject altogether
and I will get back to the topic at hand.
I have done some research regarding various weight loss surgeries and some
aspects of the human digestive system. Your friend is wrong about the food
not being in contact with stomach acid. True, it has not been in contact
with as MUCH acid as it would have been had she NOT been banded, but it
still has had contact with stomach acid. In HALF an HOUR the food has had
enough exposure to stomach acid to have been broken down enough to pass
THROUGH the restriction created by the band and into the greater void that
is the stomach. Your friend runs the risk of severely damaging her
esophagus by this binge and purge activity as well as displacing the band
by stuffing herself before she purges.
Another risk she runs is that of malnutrition. By purging herself of the
nutritious food that she eats BEFORE desert and then keeping the food
containing the empty calories, she runs the risk of depleting her body of
the vitamins and nutrients that it needs to remain healthy. Even if she
takes supplements, the body prefers to get these things from FOOD and has
difficulty removing enough from artificial sources. By purging herself of
the nutritious sources of these things she is robbing herself of her
health.
Your family member suffers from Bulimia. She is in denial. As a friend
and a family member, a TRUE friend and loving family member, it is your
obligation to HER to educate her of the damage that she is most likely
doing to her body and try to convince her to get counseling. This will
most likely NOT be well received by her initially. You are going to have
to be patient, loving, and non-judgemental in your approach of this subject
with her. Explain that you are concerned about her health because you love
her and not because you want to control her life. You will need to be
armed with the FACTS before you confront her. Otherwise she will not
listen. You will need to do your homework. Research this on your own.
Get information regarding Bulimia from sites that deal with Bulimia. Find
out about the issues of the erosion of the esophagus due to stomach acid
through those sites. The stomach pretty much produces acid throughout the
stomach lining. There is as much acid produced in the little pouch created
by the band as there is in the rest of the stomach from what I understand
about the procedure. It would only be reduced in proportion compared to
the size of the whole stomach. If the pouch created were 10% of the size
of the stomach, she would then have 10% of the stomach's ACID in the food
in the pouch instead of the FULL amount as it would be in an UNBANDED
person's stomach. Your family member STILL has stomach acid in her food
when she purges. That stomach acid can STILL erode her esophagus. The
concentration would STILL be as strong as if she were a NORMAL person who
had eaten a FULL meal and then purged. From the sounds of things, she has
probably already caused her band to slip and has caused her pouch to expand
from this practice. She should not be able to eat a full portion if her
band was properly restricting the flow of food. If it was not restricting
the flow, then she was making excuses to you and herself for her bad
behavior.
Do not be surprised if you should find in the future that your family
member may need a second surgery in the future to repair the damage that
she has done to herself from this activity. It is likely that some damage
has already been done and that even if she were to STOP this activity
today, she would find the procedure to not be successful because of her
past actions.
I am terribly sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope that this can help
you in dealing with them.
Hugh
— hubarlow
May 3, 2008
It's called Bulimia, no matter how it's justified. This is not how the band
is made to work, and I would think she may cause some serious damage to
herself and her band.
I don't mince words. She needs to get help fast, especially if this is a
daily thing. If she won't call her doctor, maybe someone else should.
— corky1057
May 4, 2008
Here is my honest opinion... She needs to have the band taken out, and go
back to square one, with some heavy duty therapy on food issues. It truly
sounds like she has some severe food issues. Her rationalization is way
off base, she is doing more harm to herself than good.
I don't mean to sound harsh, but this really isn't good.
Mia
— Mia1307
May 4, 2008
I'm going to start with the end of my post first, because it sounds like
you already know that vomiting is dangerous.
Do you know if she is eating too much and then vomits *OR* if she eats then
forces herself to vomit? When I was a kid, my family would go to
restaurants, I'd eat too much and vomit, and then because I was feeling
better, would want dessert. I was not bulimic, I never intentionally
caused myself to vomit...it was a problem with compulsive overeating and
not having the ability to stop myself when I was full. I think its
important to distinguish between the two... tho they are both disordered
eating/eating disorders.
A couple thoughts/suggestions for you: This is really difficult to deal
with, especially if your family member is an adult. You can't force
someone to change their behavior and you can't force them to get help.
Your family member needs a lot of support around this. Blaming/shaming is
not helpful... ask this person to get treatment/therapy and whether she
goes or not, your family should get treatment/therapy as well because this
is something that effects everyone, not just your family member. You can't
force her to change but you can change how you respond/react to her
behavior.
If your family member truly believes that what she is doing is safe, see if
she will allow you to attend an appointment with her or sign a consent so
you can speak with your doctor... something like "I'm worried about
how much you vomit, I guess I don't really understand how the band works,
do you think your doctor would be willing to explain it me?"
It might also be helpful to try and lessen the temptations... don't go to
buffets or serve meals buffet style, limit restaurant trips and don't order
dessert, don't cook more food than needed (if there are six people, make
six hamburgers, not 12), don't do dinner and dessert in the same sitting.
If everyone eats dinner then takes a break before dessert, this might make
it easier for her--if everyone else is eating pie, its hard to turn it
down.
My understand of the band is that the "pouch" is created by using
the band to divide the stomach... unless she vomits while the food is
still in her esophagus, its getting mixed with acid.
Vomiting poses a lot more risks than just acid damage... it can also causes
things like aspiration (getting vomit in the lungs--pneumonia, shock,
respiratory distress), metabolic alkalosis (apnea, irregular heart beat,
convulsions, coma), if she is using syrup of ipecac, longterm use causes
muscle weakness, tachycardia, and cardiomyopathy (heart can't pump enough
blood to keep you alive).
Best wishes.
— mrsidknee
May 4, 2008
It can be very dangerous. You can pop open the pouch and get peritonitis
which can kill you. Not only that why would you want to overeat??? How can
you? Eat small amounts and eat slow. It should take at least a 1/2 hour to
eat a meal. I have said since I had my surgery I no longer get to eat a hot
meal now. By the time I am done it is cold. I would rather have it be cold
than pop the pouch or be fat again. I lobe being skinny
— Joanc
May 4, 2008
IT IS TIME FOR AN INTERVENTION. like someone else stated, the mental
outlook is certainly not what was taught when we all considered surgery.
This in the long run will cause a ton of damage both physically and
mentally! this person will most certainly gain back every single pound as
well. Why is she eating dessert anywat? I understand that WE ALL slip at
times and make poor food choices once in a while but this sounds like a
normal pattern for her. I would definately bring to light the consequences
of her acitons and maybe even call her Dr. (hippa may be a problem) but
something needs to be done and ASAP. Best to you and your family!!
— KristinaSilvasy
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