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I had Gastric Bypass Surgery 1 year ago this past July.. I weighed 340lbs pre surgery.. as of yesterday 10/19/20 I weigh 135..
About a month ago I developed foot drop in my right foot.. I had been kind of wobbly feeling for a good while prior to the foot drop.. and I started falling a lot.. tripping over nothing.. I didn't think too much about this because I was born clumsy.. I also had coordination problems.. again I didn't think too much about this since I have never been coordinated..
But the day the drop foot happened my right leg suddenly felt pretty wobbly.. I got out of my truck to go into the store and about 5 ft later.. I could not take a step and about fell flat on my face.. luckily a lady seen I was having a problem and came to my side and allowed me to steady up.. my husband got out of the truck to help me.. I was in a complete panic.. I could not take a step.. I had on flip flops which made it worse.. I started to cry telling him I can't walk..
After we got home I realized I could not lift my top of my foot.. My leg was numb.. but had been for a while.. like it was asleep.. had been tingly for a long time but it was worse then..
I went to my Dr. a week later because it did not improve and appeared to be getting worse.. I had an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot and x-rays.. everything looks good.. all my labs are great . No deficiencies..
About 2 months later.. today.. I have and appointment with a specialist.. my symptoms have gotten worse and is not in my left foot and leg.. I am not able to drive..
I'm on my way now to my Dr.. I will update after my appointment..
Good Morning!
I wrote this blog post to help out anyone who already had their Gastric Sleeve Surgery and wants to change their surroundings afterward, in order to get better results.
Read all about it here:
Regards
Dr. Alvarez
Like I have already stated twice, I understand this is a shot in the dark. I also know that when you alter a major body part, it could have some unexpected repercussions. 80 percent of the stomach is cut out, so I would argue that in some people malabsorption could be a possibility. I completely understand that is is VERY unlikely that my brother's ALS is caused from the sleeve surgery, but he's dying...it can't get much worse than that, so what's the harm in investigating all leads?
Sleeve surgery reduces the size of the stomach, but there is no malabsorption.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
Since you posted this so long ago my answer is for anyone currently going through this.
It's ok to be hungry. I don't think I was every actually hungry for a good 20 years before I had my vsg in 2014. It's so foreign to us at first. Now I've made peace with hunger. Food isn't going away. You will get to eat again, and on a regular schedule. Pho broth is good to take the edge off. Just the broth and add some lime juice. No noodles or anything. A nice hot and tasty cup is enjoyable, all liquid and will get you through the rough spots.
Stop with the snacking. Snacking tripped me up and it was extremely hard to get out of that habit. Those little snacks add up.
I saw a BBC programme and the vsg sleeve surgeon said something that really stuck with me. You don't ever seen a lion out looking for a chipmunk to snack on. They eat a gazelle and that's it until their next meal. You are supposed to be hungry when you eat, not always putting something in your mouth so that you don't ever actually get hungry.
I'm over 6 years out and was a slow loser the entire time. There is no "should be" as far as how much you should be losing per day. If you follow instructions, you will lose the weight. Some weeks more, some weeks less, some weeks none. As long as the scale is going down and not up, you're fine.
Thank you for your reply. I guess I am putting this out there just to see if others have heard of a connection. My brother's doctor (neurologist) has seen the same symptoms in 2 other Sleeve patients over the years. I am not sure if these other patients ended up being diagnosed with ALS, but on the slim chance that it could be a deficiency or malabsorption, I am putting this out there. I am completely aware that my brother probably had ALS from either genetics or something other than his surgery, but we are just investigating all avenues. He has had lab work done by both Cedars-Sinai and the Mayo Clinic, so I know it is a grim situation, but the part that has us wondering is that he just mentioned the malabsorption thing to his doctor, and the doctor just said "Hmm? It's something to look into." but we don't feel like anyone is looking into it.
I am a little over 6 years out and it was like being reborn. I had minor complications right after the surgery so my hospital stay was extended by a few days but not even during the first 24 hrs of pure misery did I regret it for a second. I still thank God every day for giving me a second chance.
My advice to you would be:
Start on a fitness plan as soon as you are able. Make it a part of your day, no excuses.
Do not snack. At all. I started off with a "sensible" snack (tangerine, etc) mid-morning and it slowly devolved into permission to eat randomly. If I could undo that, I would. Stopping that habit has been an unbelievable challenge.
Get in the best physical shape possible. I'm 60 and I still start my day with 250 sit-ups and do push-ups until I basically collapse. Having a six-pack (and all the other muscles I built up too) under all that loose skin helped me sail right through all the cosmetic surgeries I had later. I bounced back from each surgery like I was a rubber ball. Feeling fit and strong is like no other feeling you will ever have. You will never regret being fit. I hear excuse after excuse from so many people (my knees, my ankle, my back ...), well I have arthritis, scoliosis, degenerated discs, blah blah blah blah and if I can do it, so can you. Even Steven Hawking managed to blow into a straw so please do not ever list your excuses on why you "can't" exercise in front of me, lol. Go to a professional and get on a plan that works with whatever limitations you have.
Weigh yourself every day. It will keep you in check. A lot of people have criticized me for that but while their weight slowly creeps back up, I keep mine in check. Scales are not a bad thing. They are an instrument of measure, like the gas gauge on your car. Of course some days you will be up or down a couple of pounds but what you need to look out for is a trajectory; not OMG I weigh 5 more ounces than I did yesterday! If you weight 5 more ounces than you did the day before day after day, then you need to make adjustments in your eating.
Veggies are your new best friend. Bread is no longer your friend.
Find a hobby to do instead of food when you are bored or stressed. I decided to plant a garden, put up a ton of bird feeders and started identifying birds and taking photos of them It sounds dull, but it's turned into a lot of fun. Don't let a hobby choose you because if you were addicted to food, you can easily become addicted to something else in its place. Shopping, gambling, alcohol, bad relationships ... Choose something constructive and go have fun with it.
Don't stress how quickly you are or aren't losing weight. Just do what you are supposed to and it will happen. I was a slow loser while other people were basically melting like snowmen in July in front of me. Sometimes I felt bad and even a little envious, but I got where I needed to go just the same. Stay in your lane and work on you.
Some people are going to treat you differently and not in a good way. I'm female and have a female boss. The new and improved me set her off. I was getting loads of positive and encouraging attention. She became enraged at me constantly and her jealousy knew no bounds. One day at lunch (years ago) I bought a pair of size 10 jeans and was so proud of myself I wanted to cry. I was showing a coworker, was obviously elated and my boss walked by and said "Those are the biggest size 10 jeans I have ever seen" and scoffed. FU. The tide has really turned now, I'm a 0/2, she's a 20 and getting bigger by the day.
99% of people are going to be happy for you and want you to succeed, even if they voice concern about how little you eat, how much you have lost, whatever. You are looking and behaving radically different from what they are used to. Don't read malice into every comment. The people *****ally want to sabotage you will be evident enough and you will probably have to leave some relationships behind. That's ok. You'll form new ones.
Be a positive example. You never know if, how or when you are going to be the encouragement someone else needs to see in order to make a radical change. I show people photos of how big I was and they think I'm lying. That can't be you! Well, it was. If I did it, so can you.
Save one outfit from when you were your heaviest. It will be a reminder of how far you have come and tangible proof of what you accomplished. Every year on my surgiversary I take out my outfit and realize how blessed I am. I'd be dead by now if I didn't have the surgery. I buried my older sister, who did not have the surgery, almost 3 years ago.
While you are losing, buy yourself a cute top every 2 or 3 weeks. You don't need to spend a lot. It lifts your spirits to have something that fits, is colorful and looks pretty. It will make you feel a whole lot better. Swimming in all your old clothes does nothing for your self-esteem and it will be a while before you get to your goal and have to replace everything.
I could go on and on so if you have any specific questions, just ask.
