Vomiting Blood and Feeling Sleepy/Weak

I am a 8/17/04 RNY. At 2+ months, I have lost 39 pounds and have had no complications. However, I have had some problems trying to reintroduce grilled or baked chicken into my diet. I can eat it, if I nibble on it very slowly. But yesterday, I thought I was doing just fine and about 10 minutes later, I was back in the bathroom throwing up my meal. (sigh) The unusual thing was I saw a spot of fresh blood when I vomited. My husband (and I) were a bit alarmed, but I have had no other pain. It must have been a blood vessel in my pouch that ruptured, but I wonder if anyone else has seen any blood when they vomited---and is this something I should be concerned about? Also, I have tried so hard to get my 50-60 grams of protein per day in since the surgery. Some days are harder than others, but I am starting to feel so weak in the afternoons! Around 2 p.m. every day, I want to crash! I have been exercising regularly and watching my sugar intake----almost eliminating it from my diet, except for fresh fruit and small amounts of juice on occasion. I take 2 chewable multi-vitamins and 2 Caltrate D calcium chewables daily. I also take a B-12 vitamin supplement (sublingual) each day that is supposed to help me with energy. I am not scheduled for my first B-12 injection until around Thanksgiving at my 3-mo. post-op visit. But this is the first time I have felt so weak. Anyone else feeling weak and what have you done about it? Should I ask for a B-12 shot early or try to eat more carbs for energy?

you should definitely bring it up to your doc...call him/her up or their office and mention this to them. Better be safe than sorry, don't you think?

If the blood is not dark thats a good sign. I would call your dr and let him know about it and take it easy. Odds are that if it wasn't alot of blood then it was just a small vessel. Patty

I would call the doctor about the blood--just to be safe. Might be an ulcer or something else you don't want to ignore. You might also ask about getting your B-12 shot early. I had my RNY 08/03/04, and I've already had two B-12 shots. I started them at 6 weeks. I really think I can tell the difference in my energy level after I have one. As for the chicken, I put cooked chicken breast chunks in my little smoothie blender with a little low-fat Ranch dressing and some relish and it makes a very nice fine-textured chicken salad. It only takes seconds if you used canned chicken breast meat. You can eat it plain or on a piece of toasted bread or crackers. For a long time, that's the only way I could do chicken without it getting stuck. Now I can eat grilled chicken straight, but it has to be very moist. ---- Leslie

Another thing that can sap your energy is not getting enough iron. I take 50mg twice a day and I haven't taken a nap in a while. When you go to your doctor have him draw blood and check for anemia. That might be causing your sleepiness. *~Amber~*

Blood is never a good thing. It can happen if you are haveing to force the vomiting or if there is too much stretching of the pouch. You should let your Dr. know right away. The others have some great ideas to help. After surgery my blood counts dropped and I have always been anemic. My Dr. has me on 2 chewable flintstone vitamins complete a day. They have iron and Calcium. I had my labwork done about 1 week ago. It was perfect including my B12. So no shots. If you are weak or tired have the Dr. check your labwork. Talk with the dietician also about the difficulites you are having. I went through a period where everything nauseated me and I started to eat a peppermint (the red and white hard candies) after I ate. It helped alot. I also got some peppermint oil to put on a cotton ball to ease the nausea. I had to start each new food with 1-2 bites to see if I could do it. Good Luck and let us know if everything is going OK.

Thanks to everyone for all their good advice. I am doing much better now and have not seen any more blood. I think it could have been a small vessle. I have changed my chewable vitamin to Centrum Complete Chewable. That may help with the energy level. I still do the sublingual B-12 pills daily. Maybe I need to boost my iron? I'm trying to drink more liquid and slow down and eat teeny-tiny bites of meat. I don't like to lose my dinner when I went to so much effort to eat it!!! Someone gave me some good advice and suggested I eat peppermint after my meal to help keep the meal down. I think I discovered that accidentally last week when I had a powerful after-dinner peppermint----and it actually settled my stomach! Super! Thanks everyone for your help! I'm doing fine.....albeit still at a 39-pound plateau, but feeling very good. Oh! And still losing inches too! ~Laura