Help! Is this "sick" feeling normal?

Many of you know that I am not being followed by a surgeon. Most of my advice for getting through I get here. Short story long for those who don't know....I had an open RNY on October 21st. This was followed four days later by emergency surgery for bowel blockage. I then got a wound infection which my surgeon did not recognize at first. When I would return for follow up he would "dab" the wound with silver nitrate. There was a growing granuloma at the site. I decided I needed a second opinion. Two doctors later I finally got into a wound clinic where I was followed weekly for three months. This did not really work so I had to have another surgery to remove internal infected stitches. Then the wound healed......until I developed one hernia in May. There are now a lot of hernias. One is the size of a tennis ball. I have to have hernia repair soon. This will be my FOURTH operation. Needless to say, it has been a frightening and scary experience to be part of the 20% who do have complications [yeah, they say it's 2% but really, really...it's 20% if you go by the Cleveland Study that came out a month or so after our operations...that's why we think the complication rate is lower than they are now saying it is] Anyway, here is my question. I get a very full feeling very often [3/4 of the time], This feeling is hard as it is not just "full, stop!' but also feels like I might get "sick". Sometimes I have to lay down but usually I do not. Sometimes I can eat again ...another few bites...if I wait 20 minutes or so. Volume of food is very small when this happens. Usually it happens after 4-5 bites of food no matter how slowly I eat, or how small the bites. Is this normal? Also, my diet is very limited. I can not tolerate chicken, most meat, fruit of any type or dairy of any type. This makes for a limited palette indeed! I can eat beef [go figure], turkey, bacon [go figure] and fish. I can eat WASA whole grain crackers [low in carbs, 20 calories]. I can eat only cooked veggies. That is all. And if I vary, I certainly will get very sick. I do try new foods at home once a week and really try to choose healthy options. Sometimes they work....I can eat several veggies cooked now...sometimes they don't. Is this normal for this stage? My weight loss is slowed but continuing. I have lost about 90+ pounds. I started at 246 so I am about 20 pounds from goal. I think my weight loss is fine and believe it is slower than others because I can't exercise much [hernia's actually hurt a lot or was on exercise restrictions for months...still am...no lifting beyond a gallon of milk] and because I think that my pouch is healing very slowly. My body, I figure, had to heal from SO MUCH that the overall gastric bypass is also healing slowly. So, I lose slowly even on 600-800 calories a day. I lose about 5-6 pounds a month now. Is this normal? Thank you for reading this and especially thank you if you have ANY advice for me.... Terry

I too had complications - NOTHING like yours, but complications none-the-less. I have "issues" with food now and then myself. I just can't seem to get it in once in a while. I do from the feeling too. I'm so thankful it's not often though. I can really only speak to the latter portion of your post. I'm only 15 pounds away from the bottom of goal. I met the top goal yesterday, so "in theory" I could stop today. Don't want to because I want a little more. HOWEVER, my weightloss has dropped to about 6 pounds a month the past few months. My Dr's office says it's normal. I too do not have a Dr. I visit regarding my surgery as my surgeon is in another state. I will however be visiting him in October/November. Good luck on this quest...

Terry, to begin with I think your weight loss is probably right where you should be. As for the "full feeling" I get that often also and sometimes after a few bites have to puke, but can come back and usually eat. When this happens, I usually will eat my baked beans which I usually have on hand because that is one thing I have no problem eating. I have some problems with beef, and chicken but pork is my friend!! I can eat sausage, Italian sausage, smoked sausage, short ribs and pork loins, where as with chicken, chicken tenders are about the only kind I can eat unless I make a chicken pot pie and that most of the time will stay down. I have been at a lot of plateaus and now can not do the treadmill because of my back, so 5-6 lbs a month would be a blessing for me. My suggestion on your food is try using smaller bites, remember no drinking with your meal and try and get your protein in first. I think you have done great. Marilyn

Hi Terry, Congratulations! You are doing great!!! I am so blessed to not have had any complications other than problems with IVs. I have lost from 248 to 133 so far, so we are really close to the same amount. I have a very thorough surgeon (he was president of the bariatric board for a year) that I go to every 3 months and they are actually saying I have lost too much, and too fast. But now, I have slowed way down. I sometimes won't lose at all for a couple weeks, then drop a pound or two. I figure it will take a while for our bodies to catch up with all that is going on and your body had a lot more going on than most! When I was in nursing school (I didn't finish) they told us that for every pound you lose, your body has to break down 1 MILE of blood veins supplying it, so when people reach plateaus, etc. it is your body working really hard to try to catch up. Another interesting (at least I think so!) thing is that you need one molecule of water for every molecule of fat you lose to carry it away. So, I think you are doing great with losing and certainly wouldn't worry about that. I also have been fortunate to be able to eat almost anything I want, but bacon does bother me. I think it is the fat that bothers me after having my gallbladder taken out. I think every person is different when it comes to what foods you can eat and you are doing a good job trying new foods once a week to find what works for you and what doesn't. I always only eat 5 or 6 bites per meal. My doctor only wanted me eating 3 meals a day, but since I kept losing so fast, he has told me to eat 5 meals a day now and that I could eat things like pizza, et****asionally. I have experimented with my eating because I would feel nauseous and have to lie down after every meal when I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I started drinking a couple sips of water with my meal. I know that is not what we are supposed to do, but that was the only way I could eat and not feel ill. I also will eat a part of my meal, leave it and come back to it after an hour or so if I haven't been able to eat much. I find I can eat carbs easier, but now am trying to get back to eating protein more. Protein just doesn't seem to sit as well as carbs do. Big surprise there, huh? So, to wrap this long answer up, I think you are doing great and am really impressed with the progress you have made, especially with all the complications. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for your reply. It is very good to hear that my feeling sick after eating a small amount is pretty normal. This is particularly important to me as I am not being followed so thanks very much for letting me know how you are doing. I am pretty stuck at a plateau of 143 right now but am not discouraged in the least. I think I just need to pump up the exercise. I am going back to the gym this month, one year almost after the surgery. I am finally well enough and my hemoglobin is high enough to exercise. I have been taking 2-3 mile walks but can't really pump yet. The gym will help. I will be really restricted in what I do for at least another year or so because of the giant incisional hernias. They will be operated on in the Spring. The doctor, who is chief of sugery at Mass General will not operate until I am one year after my last [third] surgery. Then he will try to fix the hernias which seem to be growing and multiplying by the day! OUCH....no midriff bearing for me! Ha, at 56, I would not anyway so that is okay. The very best thing about going through all of this and LIVING is that I have come out not bitter about anything. I tend to be upbeat anyway, but my day to day physician is pretty amazed at how much I have been through and how good my attitude is while I wait for another surgery and cope with daily, chronic pain. The trick for me is to remember that every day is a gift and I am here to create the life I want regardless of what cir****tances I face. Thanks again, everyone.