I'M FALLING AND I CAN'T GET UP...

If you are eating the kinds of things I've listed and avoiding the things I've listed, drinking the water, AND you are nauseated and vomiting, do not wait to call the doctor. Could be a stricture or something like that.

Hey Guys, I had a bout a few weeks ago where my pouch was sooooo tender and nothing was agreeable. I talked to my surgeon's nurse and he said that it sounded like a swollen pouch. He advised me to go back to liquids for 3 or 4 days to let the swelling go down. I did and was fine. He said that eating too fast, not chewing well enough and sometimes even just drinking water too fast can cause the pouch to swell and get fussy. Also, I was really bummed for a while because even though I was working out like a fiend and really watching the carbs and protein, the weight just wasn't coming off. I decided to try to up my calories to 1000 a day and it seemed to do the trick. The first week of eating 1000 cals a day, I lost a pound a day. Things have settled down and I'm averaging about three pounds a week. Wait for next week when I'm back on here upset because the scale isn't moving again. Hang in there you guys. The ol' bods are constantly readjusting and trying to figure out what the heck we've done to ourselves. We'll get there. Hugs, Connie

Connie, your theory about the swollen pouch sounds feasible to me. I think I'll take your advice and go on liquids for a couple of days. I admit I drink my water too fast -- trying to get in that 64 fl. oz. a day and I get to the point where I can't stand to drink another drop -- so I gulp it down to get it over with! Thanks. M.

Hey Reenie, I too am having pouch troubles, I never know what's going to set me off. The only "safe" food I have is 1 ounce FF cream cheese (which I mix in 2 splenda and a scoop of vanilla unjury and some cinnamon) on a toasted mini-bagel. But as much as I like it, eating the same ole thing gets old. Things I safely ate 2 days ago, today may send me into a fit of retching that may last 30 minutes. Since surgery I have NOT actually thrown up once! Not ONCE! But I've begged and pleaded with God to let me throw up!!!! I believe the HOURS I've spent gagging into a bucket would be greatly decreased if I COULD actually throw up. Something is definitely different with my plumbing!! Some day's food is just not worth the hassle I have to put into it, I have to force myself to eat. I must say though, that since the doc put me on an RX Iron supplement I have a LOT more energy. Here's to better days tomorrow!! Happy thoughts, Va Was/Am/Wannabe 232/175/130

Va, you're the second one to post that a prescription iron supplement has increased your energy level! I'm going to look into this. Strange, though, how for both of us we were complication free up until recently. I hope you feel better and keep me posted on what you're able to eat. Thanks. M.

Rennie, Thanks for posting and we are all here to help you up. With each shared experence of ours, you will see that we all have struggles with this surgery and no one is alone. I am very similiar to you, I am a slow loser and remaind myself everyday (a hundred times or so) that in 3 more months, 6 more months, etc. I will be x pounds lighter with no hope of ever being morbidly obese again, that counts for something- the journey is long but the destination is longer and more enjoyable. I feel the loss of eating for pleasure a lot more lately too, I look forward to something and then once I've had a bite or two, I am completly full or uncomfortable. I have also noticed a pattern in my body, I lose weight and have trouble eating for the first two weeks after my period, the next two weeks, I can eat fine and crave more but the weight lose is slow to stopped, making this discovery has helped me because now I accept that this is the way my body is dealing with this change, a change that has been 11 years coming. We will lose the weight, we will be uncomfortable sometimes but there is an end, a very good one and I am glad to have all of you along the bumpy and beaten path with me.

Thanks Dawn. Your words of encouragement are inspiring. M.

Hi Maureen, This is what we are here for! Please dont feel shy to post your concerns and feelings. We are all going through such a change its very important to give and have support for each other. My pouch continues to baffle me. I can tolerate chicken well and also fish... Eggs are alot harder for some reason... I dont know if its because they are sort of rubbery but they always seem to put the pressure on my pouch I find the same feeling with shrimp (again the rubbery texture?). That little pouch has a mind of its own. One day I can eat quite a bit the next if I eat 2 bites I am stuffed beyond reason (and it can be the same exact thing and chewed the exact same way and took the exact same time) If you continue to have problems be sure to get a hold of your surgeon to be sure your stoma isnt closing on you. That can happen at any time. The weight comes off at different intervals for me as well. I think I lost about...10 pounds this month. And I was swimming and walking on top of it. So its weird the way the weight comes off. I was hoping for at least 15 pounds this month. I know that 20 is just pushing it but it sure would be nice! Make sure you are getting in your protein and vitamins as they really help. I am sure thats why my weight loss has slowed because I have been on the lower side of my protein levels. Its hard not to get discouraged with a slow loss but HEY... 3 pounds is 3 pounds you know what I mean... 3 pounds gone forever!!! yay!!! any weight loss is awesome because its not gained! We know that it will definitely come off we just need to work at it a bit. We have a great tool to use. Hang in there Maureen! ((hugs)) Elizabeth M

Elizabeth, you are a very strong woman. Thanks so much for your encouragement. M.

You will eat again. I know it seems impossible at the moment. Chicken is a particular culprit, which I learned after 2 terrible blockage episodes. Something about it's composition makes it clump in the stomach *even if you chew it well.* It reassembles in the stoma*****lumps. Also bread, rice, popcorn, among other things. Many people have trouble with chicken. I can eat ground turkey, even Cornish game hen. No chicken. At least not yet. I do not eat many things off my surgeon's list, even though technically I "could." My digestion just isn't good enough yet. If you want a more complete list of what he recommends, please email me. He is one of the best in the business. I feel sort of "eeeeh" every morning. It reminds me of being pregnant. I think I want to eat something, then I look at it and it's "no way." My energy does not pick up until afternoon and it is an awful problem with work. But I know from the therapist I'm seeing, who sees bariatric patients almost exclusively, that I am typical of a certain group of patients and this is not lasting. If she were not reassuring me, I would be totally down. So let me pass it along to you. For some of us, this is not a 1-month recovery, it is more like 6 months. I am one of them. I have had several complications and have needed to tweak meds every five seconds. It will clear up. I tell you that and I also include myself. Gano