3 month appt today - my list of questions

 

I have my 3 month follow up appt with Dr Farrell today (yay finally!) and while I am excited to show off my progress, I sat down with my BF last night and came up with a list of all the things that have been bugging and confusing me lately. This morning I realized, "hey, before I bury Dr Farrell under a pile of questions that could be easily answered let me check with my OH lovelies and see if they have any answers?"

So here is my list, if anyone has any good ideas, let me know! My appt is at 3 :)

probably all related:
1) I am still throwing up anytime I eat anything more than soup. This is my #1 concern. But it’s not consistent. I can eat dumb things like popcorn or cashews till the cows come home and I can drink water all day long, but if I try to eat a couple little bites of baked chicken or something bland and easy and solid, 30 minutes later, up it comes. Why?? Shouldn’t this be on the way out? I still throw up 2 or more times a day.
2) Shouldn’t I be able to eat more by this point? I can't finish more than maybe 3 ounces of anything. If that. That includes even soup.
3) What I can eat is inconsistent. One day it is fine, next it causes havoc. (Examples: rice. potatoes. carrots. chicken. anything, really.)
4) Swallowing hurts. Especially pills. And I just can crush anymore, I’m so sick of it. Every time I eat anything (try to eat anything) solid, it hurts all the way down and then my guts talk for hours.
5) I have diarrhea. Sorry, I know that's gross, but I haven’t' had a solid BM in over 2 weeks.
6) When can I have raw vegs?

random body stuff related:
1) suddenly in the past 8 or 9 days, I am getting extremely lightheaded every time I stand up to quickly or bend over. Am I low on something?
2) I can't stop getting yeast infections. In 3 months I have had 4.
3) I finally started exercising and no matter how hydrated I feel I may be, after about 15 minutes of walking, my side cramps so bad I have to stop. Shouldn’t this have gone away after about the 3rd time of trying?
4) I am covered in bruises. Am I low on iron or something? My legs are covered and I have no idea how they got there.
5) Speaking of bruises, I *STILL* have heparin stains on the backs of my arms and all across my stomach from my surgery. When the heck are these going to go away??


Completely unrelated:
Every time I exert myself (exercise, walking, even walking around the grocery store,) my ears start popping and clogging up. This has been going on for over a week. Not a major concern but really bugging me :(


I know this is a lot, but if any of you guys have a simple answer, I would love to hear it. I am completely open to the possibility that there is something completely obvious I am not seeing :)

thanks everyone!

Hi KarlaAnne,

You are my kind of patient. I think planning out your appointment and going loaded for bear is absolutely essential to getting the most out of your medical appointments.

Here's my take on the questions you are posing:

probably all related:
1) I am still throwing up anytime I eat anything more than soup. This is my #1 concern. But it’s not consistent. I can eat dumb things like popcorn or cashews till the cows come home and I can drink water all day long, but if I try to eat a couple little bites of baked chicken or something bland and easy and solid, 30 minutes later, up it comes. Why?? Shouldn’t this be on the way out? I still throw up 2 or more times a day.

It takes quite a while for us to acclimate to our new pouch and for our new pouch to complete it's healing process and get to a point that things are more stable. You should be enter a perior where things really start to get easier. I personally find that popcorn is a sort of 'slider food' for me, meaning that it goes down very easily. I was also very fortunate with nuts. Things that are more dense such as chickena and other meats, tended to be somewhat more problematic. I did better with seafood ... read, shrimp, crab, cod, etc... early on, but eventually I got to where I could handle the denser meats. I did much better with them when I chewed, chewed, chewed and when the were cooked by a very moist method. I also found that when I overate, I had more trouble with stuff coming back up. You might try measuring out a max of say two ounces and see if you still have trouble. If not, try sticking to that for a while and then increasing ever so slowly. Now, I can eat anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces at a sitting... And I would never have believed that would happen when I was where you are in my journey.

2) Shouldn’t I be able to eat more by this point? I can't finish more than maybe 3 ounces of anything. If that. That includes even soup.

It really takes a while for your pouch to heal completely and I don't think that I was able to handle more than 2 or 3 ounces for a long time, but this will change. To be honest, when I started to realize that I could consume a whole small Wendy's chili or a meal the size of a "Lean Cuisine" it sort of freaked me out. Still does, sometimes. Over the next 6 to 12 months you will be able to consume more at a single sitting, but you'll never be able to injest what you did before. Also, using the no fluids 30 mins before, during or after helps to keep that pouch working for you. Don't worry, you will get to where you can consume more.

3) What I can eat is inconsistent. One day it is fine, next it causes havoc. (Examples: rice. potatoes. carrots. chicken. anything, really.)

I agree that this 3 steps forward, 2 steps back thing with what you can and cannot tolerate is the strangest thing. I must say that this too seems to even out with time. So if you find that you are bothered by something, put it on the back burner for a while and then try again.

4) Swallowing hurts. Especially pills. And I just can crush anymore, I’m so sick of it. Every time I eat anything (try to eat anything) solid, it hurts all the way down and then my guts talk for hours.

I found that when I was still as early in my journey as you, I too had some discomfort with swallowing things that were dense. This too got better with time, but if it were me, I'd ask about it just to be sure that there wasn't a stricture.  

5) I have diarrhea. Sorry, I know that's gross, but I haven’t' had a solid BM in over 2 weeks.

I tend to have more issues with that if I have too much fat in my diet. You might look at your diet and see if it needs tweaking. If not... hopefully, the Dr. will have some suggestions.

6) When can I have raw vegs?

The dietary portion of this journey is probably the single largest variable from one program to another. My husband, Ben just had his surgery 12/11/08 and he was released to start soft foods last week. With that, he is able to have fruits and vegitables that aren't stringy, cruciferous, have seeds or skins that he might injest. So, I guess what I'm saying, is that while we can all tell you what our programs allow or don't allow, your nutritionist or Dr are going to be your best guide for this ... unless there is someone else, like Annie that had the same program with the same protocols as you.

random body stuff related:
1) suddenly in the past 8 or 9 days, I am getting extremely lightheaded every time I stand up to quickly or bend over. Am I low on something?

I had issues with that off and on for a number of months. It has gotten much better lately. I think it has more to do with lack of food than anything else, but I'd be interested to see what you Dr. has to say. I know that Ben has been struggling with this lately. I also know that they took him off of his BP  meds because they thought that they may be contributing to the problems.

2) I can't stop getting yeast infections. In 3 months I have had 4.

I honestly haven't had one since I had surgery and all of glucose readings have been in the normal range. Are or were you diabetic? Do you check your glucose levels? Great question for the MD.

3) I finally started exercising and no matter how hydrated I feel I may be, after about 15 minutes of walking, my side cramps so bad I have to stop. Shouldn’t this have gone away after about the 3rd time of trying?

I still had side cramps for a few months post op on my right side, just below my ribs. Eventually, it went away and I don't haven any issues with that anymore.

4) I am covered in bruises. Am I low on iron or something? My legs are covered and I have no idea how they got there.

I was also covered in bruises for the first few months post op, but that got better with time. I always used to bruise easily, but now I seem more 'normal' in vien.

5) Speaking of bruises, I *STILL* have heparin stains on the backs of my arms and all across my stomach from my surgery. When the heck are these going to go away??

Basically same answer as above.

 

Thanks for all your answers!!! I printed off my list with your replies and took them to Dr Farrell and he seems to agree whole heartedly that i have a stricture. after only 3 months i'l lost 70lbs and with my frame, he believed it was too much too fast and with all the complications, he believes i have a stricture and they are taking me in next week for an EGD. so soon all will be well, hopefully! thanks again!!! xoox

Hi Karla Anne,

I'm glad to hear that you were 'heard' and that they will be doing the EGD. A structirue isn't common, but it's certainly does happen. Once you get that resolved, I'll bet you'll be doing much better. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.