Horrible episodes after RNY

 Hello Marie,
I have had a revision surgery also 12/08/09. Back in 1993 I had a Vertical Gastric Ring which was done open. This did not work out for me so well. As one of the ladies in the last post mentioned "Bile"... This was a problem for myself originally. I could not barely swallow my own saliva. This "bile" kept backing up into my esophagus causing a burning sensation as if I had acid reflux. I got very scared and within a month or 2 had a surgery to remove the procedure that was performed on me.
What I want to agree with is to have your gallbladder checked out because that pain that you are describing almost sound like an attack of your gallbladder....I had those same symptoms. This pain would also radiate through my back. In the middle of my rib cage  under my breastbone was a very horrible horrible pain. It started slowly then after a while it started to increase (pain,duration & episodes) I then went to an INTERNAL MEDICINE  Dr. which did an ultrasound, finding out that I was having attacks of my gallbladder. Needless to say I had MANY stones in there! Had them removed!  The feeling never came back.

I hope this is what is happening for you so that you can feel much better. I wish you the best of luck and health.

PS. I can tell ya to that morphine nor any other pain meds would help me at that time until the stones were removed!!   But be very vigilant with your Dr"s as everyone else has mentioned.

WHAT_EGO
RNY 12/08/09  220lbs
12/18/09   210lbs
230 first visit to Dr. pre-op

I think that there are a lot of factors here that you should consider.  Your first priority should be getting healthy (or as healthy as possible) by resolving the problems you're having.  What you revise to for weight loss should be secondary, even though that also affects health. 
I also think that it's clear that a restrictive-only procedure didn't work for you (lapband).  So, if it were me - when i consider my options, I would want some malabsorption too.  Obviously as a DSer, I think my surgery is superior - but here are some facts for you to consider:  With a DS you have a fully-functional stomach, not a pouch.  You have your pyloric valve still regulating the flow of food into the intestines, (whi*****identally means that you can still take NSAIDS for pain).  You do have some restriction, because your stomach is about the size of a banana (roughly).  You also have the added benefit of malabsorption.  Yes, this means that you'll need vitamins for life (but so did the RNY).  It's likely that certain foods might give you gas (white flour).  But you can eat a small amount of sugar here and there without dumping.  You can eat high-fat foods without sabatoging your weight loss.  Contrary to some popular lies about the DS - the vast majority do not live in the bathroom or smell like poop.  And one last thing to remember - some people are scared of malnutrition.  And that's a valid fear, but it's PREVENTABLE if you're your own advocate and proactive in getting your labs and blood work done.

Do you feel as if you are being squeezed and can't inhale? Pain is abdomen but so tight you cannot breathe?

OK, now this question will seem really off the wall.

Are you taking any narcoti8c pain meds? Percocet base, any of the ---codones or morphine?

I had a tooth pulled a while back and was put on narcotic pain medicine for 5 days. I experienced pain so severe I felt like I was having a heart attack. Even taking the slightest breath hurt. I literally would lay in the bed, flat on my back with my knees toward my chest to try and help alleviate some of the pain.
Is this an allergic reaction to the medicine? Just for my own curiosity.

I'm not medical, so just make a note of it and try it. I've told a coupla doc offices about it, so I suspect it's not medical info.

Take a Coromega or tsp of PB first, just swallow it down the hatch, take the pill, chase it with another.

It's about the fat.

Amazing that "Vitalady" knows more about what to do and how to live with WLS than most doctors who perform the surgeries!!  

I am speechless that she knew EXACTLY what question to ask, just based on the person's symptoms!!   How many doctors can (or will) do that?   They'd put someone through $$$ of tests first and then STILL not know what the problem is!

And why do I know how it feels? LOL

I got mine free after a regular ol' middle aged lady bladder surgery.

One of my other long term buddies pointed this out to me.

See? No magic here.

Sorry that I haven't replied before now.  I lost my uncle in December, then his daughter passed away unexpectantly a couple of weeks ago.  To top that off, we lost our beloved dog to cancer last Tuesday.

I truly appreciate everyone's input on this matter.  I had my Gallbladder removed in Sept. 2008 but my symptoms didn't appear until two months after my RNY(1/12/09). 

After posting this on 12/16/09, I had an appt. with my surgeon on 12/17.  While I was in the waiting room, I had a pretty severe attack.  My friend asked that they take me back immediately so that the surgeon could see me.  They still made me wait a while longer.  Anyway, the surgeon sent me over to the hospital to have blood work done along with a CAT Scan of my stomach.  After waiting at the hospital for 7 hrs just to have the radiologist read my films, they sent me home. 

The results of the CAT Scan were:
No bowel obstruction, though there are some bowel loops closely applied to the anterior abdominal wall, suggestive of some adhesions.  Small ventral hernias, including small rectus hernias involving the anterior margin of the transverse colon. However, the colon wall appears unremarkable without obstruction.

During that time, she put me on Amitiza for my bowels as I suffer from severe constipation.  This is due to the fact that I have a morphine pump in my stomach to help with a disease that I have called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy).  I just saw my surgeon again on Thursday for a follow-up.  When I asked about repairing my hernia last year when it was discovered, she told me that she doesn't do any repairs until after 1 year.  I told her that I am still having these attacks and asked if she could repair my hernia AND look around while she is in there to see if we are missing something.   Now she is telling me that I don't have a hernia and that she didn't think that by looking around would find anything.  I'm upset because it appears that she doesn't want to help me anymore with this problem. 

When I was 16 yrs old, I woke up one morning with severe stomach pains and a fever.  After going to my doctor, he said that it was just stress and it would go away.  A week later, I began having the same exact pain and had to be taken from school to my doctor.  He admitted me to the hospital where they did a number of tests which all came back negative.  I continued to have this pain so they decided to do exploratory surgery.  When they opened me up they found that my bowel had broken open and my stool was wrapped around my appendix which was ready to burst at any moment.  They saved my life by taking a more aggressive approach and listening to what I was telling them.

At this point, I am going to see my family doctor to see if he can send me to a Gastroenterologist for further evaluation.  I will mention the things that you all have noted.  I hope that I can get some relief from this problem soon..........Thanks again everyone...Marie