Stomaphyx complete!

I had my Stomaphyx procedure on Thursday morning with Dr Schlesinger. I must admit that I am not feeling as perky as I thought I would. After reading other posts I thought I would sail through this procedure (I had two babies with nothing stronger than a Motrin) but  I guess everyone is a little different. I have been burping a lot and it is very painful near my right shoulder blade. Anyone else have this problem? I am also having bouts of nausea with it. I keep telling myself that it should pass soon. I have been trying to walk around a lot to try to help. I am having a little trouble getting my liquids in but am trying hard. I am not hungry at all right now. The procedure went well. Dr S put in four rows of pleats (?), he told my husband that my stoma was large and my pouch was elongated. So, despite feeling a little rough right now, I am very happy so far that I had this done. Dr Schlesinger and the staff at the surgery center were wonderful! I had a great nurse (sorry, I can't remember her name) that followed me through the procedure start to finish. I will keep everyone posted on my progress and if anyone has any advice on the painful burp thing I will take it! Cathy

Burping:  Yes, I burped starting in the recovery room! I also had chest pain from the procedure but that went away (and the burping) after a day or so....Gas and burps are normal after surgery. The doctor gave me both pain and nausia prescriptions to ease the discomfort for the first few days...

Greetings Its been a long long time since I posted to OH.  I am over 5 years out from Open RNY Gastric Bypass.  I had a starting weight of 475 and lost down to 195 in 18 months after surgery.  I kept the weight off until about 1 year ago I started regaining.  I have gained back to 267.  My problem seems to be that no matter what I eat, 5-10 minutes later I am hungry again (no matter what I eat)  I dont drink with meals and dont eat very much.  This leads me to beleive that I have rapid emptying of the pouch.  I have bad dumping from carbs.  I have made an appointment with a doc in Cincinnatti Ohio for November and will be discussing the StomaphyX prcedure.  My question - can we get insurance to cover this procedure?  I have BCBS of the Mountain State and will fight as much as necessary to get it done.  Need help and suggestions.  Thanks, Tim B. Southern Ohio

Tim, If you have a lot of weight to lose, you may want to consider a full revision surgery. My insurance (in VA) did not cover the Stompahyx procedure, so I paid $9,500 out of pocket. The procedure is NOT working for me. (Others have been successful, and some have had insurance pay for it.).

Hi Pat Do you mind if I ask why you feel it is not working for you?  If I'm being too nosey, just tell me.  Thanks.

I lost 13 lbs. the first 2 weeks because I was on liquids and very soft foods (jello, oatmeal etc.). After the first 2 weeks, I was instructed to eat 2/3 food (always protein first) 3 times a day. I realized that even though I felt somewhat full with the 2/3 cup, I was very hungry 2 hours later. It is almost impossible to live on 2/3 cup of food 3 times a day if you do not feel full---it is like a strict diet and if we could do that, we wouldn't need surgical help. I started adding some fruit and other healthy foods, but it just didn't fill me up.  I became very discouraged when I saw I was slowly gaining the 13 lbs. back. So, I think depression caused me start eating the "wrong" foods again. Shrinking my stomach alone did not help me. I think I need the full revision.  I wish you luck--it may be the perfect solution for you. But I am finding more post-op patients who are having my experience too.... Pat

Hi Pat With the StomaphyX, do they make just the stoma smaller?  What kind of test do they do prior to and after the surgery?

The stomaphyx makes the stomach smaller, not the stoma; my surgeon did NO tests prior to surgery (except a stress test), but I took him the operating notes from the original RNY. Post-surgery there are no tests done.

Hey Pat That is so strange, I thought it fixed the Stoma.....hense STOMAphyX???

According to my surgeon, both the stoma and pouch are made smaller with the procedure. Preop I had to have a psych consult (not as detailed as before my bypass), and some basic labs (CBC, UA, and pregnancy test).