Does Your Tool Still Work???

OK - I have to say that I have been testing the limits of my pouch ( ), and I can't seem to find anything that makes me sick. It used to be I couldn't eat Chinese rice, tuna or pork, but these days, I can eat anything and while I might feel a twinge, nothing seems to make me sick. That really frightens me. I have another question. I know after the surgery we have malabsorption issues. Can anyone explain what this is? Does it help in weight loss or just mean we need to take special kinds of vitamins? Hugs, Nancy

I get sick sometimes but not all the time. I ate a candy bar the other night and it made me sick.. i know we need vits and calcium because we don't absorb them but we do absorb calories so we need to be careful about that.. I know I know more about it but i cant think straight right now.. i'm tired... xoxo

HI Nancy, I know what you mean but luckily I still have my limits....yesterday I ate some chips and had so much pain I had to take some heavy duty pain medication I had here to get rid of it...it was about 2 hours of pain...I don't get sick very often at all but oh...pain....I will say that about 2 months ago I really got off the wagon and could eat anything in sight and fairly large quantities with no pain and lots of gain...about 8 pound in one month....up ...that is....then I went back and did the basic liquid and protein stage one diet and for whatever reason it seemed to put me back to the "old pouch" I had the first 4 months after surgery. I can't explain it but I do know that this trick works for me. I am now back to terrible pain and nausea when I am off my diet and although that is not comfortable...I do prefer it so that it will shock my memory into shape and keep me away from those nasty carbs.....you should try a 3 day stage one diet and I bet you will have the same success. It is as if our pouch shrinks quickly and that is a good thing. Love to hear you are dancing. I started irish step dancing with my kids too this past fall and although I am only 75% of they way through the reel...I do love it. My kids can keep dancing much longer than I can but they forget the sequence of steps so we are a funny bunch. I have the memory of the steps but not the body to do them and they have the bodies but not the memory!!! hahahaha Hugs to all. It is great to see you posting Nancy. Keep letting us know how you are doing and know that prayers are sent for you this holiday season. I can't imagine how difficult it will be after the loss of your mom..... January will be a new begining. Hugs Karen.

Thanks Karen - I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Yes, Christmas will be tough without my Mom, as was Thanksgiving and her birthday last week. For the most part I'm doing OK, but I still have my moments... OK - refresh my memory - give me a sample of the stage one diet. I guess I could go back to my fitday from right after surgery and do a couple of days of that. I was dangerously close to 180, so on Thursday I went to my liquids during the day and one meal in the evening. I did well, lost 4 lbs. overnight, but weighed this morning and I was up 3 lbs. I've been good - I can't understand why it is so difficult to lose now... BTW, I started going to a therapist last week - hopefully we can explore the eating compulsion (amongst other things!).

Hi Nancy, I've found over the last couple of months that foods that would be VERY difficult for me to eat go down well now. I was scared too, until I realized that if I eat more dense foods like plain chicken, fish, beef, etc. I'll feel every bit as full and not overeat. But it IS scary to feel like a bottomless pit... very frightening indeed! As for the malabsorption, it is for both. Gastric bypass surgery is a combination operation which is designed to be both restrictive (changes the stomach to a small pouch which restricts the amount of food you can eat) and mildly malabsorptive (bypassing a section of the intestines reduces the amount of calories you can absorb). It's not supposed to be as malabsorptive, as say, the duodenal switch operation. The exact amount of malabsorption differs for each individual, and also by each surgeon, since there are as many variations as there are surgeons. Over time, our bodies become more efficient at extracting more calories from the food we eat, which is part of the reason some rebound weight gain is expected after 18-24 months post op. Surgery also effects our supplementation requirements. Vitamins and minerals that we need are absorbed in specific areas of the digestive tract. It's a fairly lengthy and complex topic, but we can cut to the chase by saying this: Patients should take a high quality multi-vitamin at double the adult dose, AND add extra calcium, iron, and b12. Because each person is different, everyone should have regular bloodwork done to check their iron, calcium and b12 levels because that's the only way to tell if you are getting adequate supplementation. Adjustments should be made based on bloodwork. HTH, Irene

Thanks Irene - I hoped you'd reply - I know you work in the field and would have a good idea of how the plumbing works. As I said to Karen, I'm starting therapy and hope I can get some insight into the compulsion issue. There are days that I am just consumed by thoughts of eating...jeesh. Hugs, N.

Hey Nancy, I too, have days when I'm consumed with thoughts about eating. I try to keep busy, keep my trigger foods out of the house and stick with a support system of people who've had wls. I often tell myself that if/when that doesn't work, I'm heading for therapy! I've met quite a few people who've had therapy to help with this, and they say the therapy made a world of difference. I wish their success for you! Hang tight. Big hugs right back at ya, too. Irene

Hi Nancy and all! As far as your ? about tool I dont have much to add. Just wanted to say Hi to all and give an update. I believe I told you in Aug I had major surgery and they had to remove part of old stomach, revise bypass, remove some intestine put in a feeding tube etc. Oct had to go back in as my intestines shut down and Nov was back in the hosp for a week with MRSA that nasty staff infection. I am now going to Mayo as things are still not working right and going next Wed for a "Push" scope where they go past the pouch to the junction in the intestine where the 2 parts are joined. Still on feeding tube and finally not losing wt but maintaining at 120 which is still too low. Been out of work since plastics in May and am trying to go back after the 1st of the yr. I read posts on a regular basis and think of everyone and wisihing all the best of luck and Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!!! Janette

I still have problems with excess sugar and super-high-fat-foods, but I don't really have trouble with anything else. I can eat normal-sized portions and get quite full, but sometimes I can hardly eat anything while other times I can eat EVERYTHING. For the most part, my meal portions are okay, because I DO get full. But instead of binge eating, I graze. I also eat out a lot and NEVER choose healthy foods. So I guess I could say that my tool still works, but my brain doesn't. Still up 5 lbs...sitting on 220. I would really like to see 215 again... Pamela