I was just reading your post and was wondering if you had your reversal yet?

Dr. Christopher Eagon out of Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. They can help.

Greetings to my fellow RNYers!

I had RNY surgery 3 1/2 years ago.  I lost all the weight needed and more within the 1st year.  I am exactly the same weight that I was after my 1st year weigh in 145 lb., high weight -325.5.  The problem is the complications that I have had including 2 Petersen Hernia Repair, Exploratory surgery, 3 Kidney stones (involving 4 surgery related to their removal).  All the these are directly related to the RNY surgery.  I am still getting some sort of pain that almost mimics another Petersen Hernia but was assured by my Bariatric Surgeon after exploratory surgery that it wasn't the Petersen Hernia (that had previously come undone). He referred me to a Gastroenterologist who said after one appointment that I probably had IBS - very vague term for this (his secretary handed me a strip of paper - cut out from many others - given out to all) - don't eat dairy, take Metamucil, take Align and avoid sweets and gave me a prescription for Buscopan (to stop intestine spasms) which don't seem to work and by the time they do the pain is gone within the hour.  Well a year later I am getting these terrible take your breath away, make you bend over, excruciating pains in my breast bone area.   I recently found something that may explain what I have -- possibly peristalsis (intense Intestine contractions).  

If any of you have had a reversal (or takedown) or know of someone that had one, can you please share your experience as to what complications there may be?  

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and let me know if this worked for you.  I am hoping if I get approved by the surgeon that OHIP may pay for this reversal.

Clare Anne

Ontario, Canada

How are you doing today?

Hi, I hope that you are feeling better. I am very sorry that you have been going through all of that. This is my first time in any kind of chat room, nor have I been in a support group since my surgery, so please be patient with me. I am 58 years old, never been on social media and trying to figure out how this chat room works. My daughter recommended that I try this because I am 10 years post surgery from laparoscopic gastric bypass and gallbladder removal and I am having medical problems that my doctors say that they see alot with gastric bypass patients that I wasn't told about prior to having surgery. Forgive me if I don't use the correct terms. When I signed up and was completing my profile, I had never even heard of all those different types of surgeries before. So, I am not sure what you all call what I had done (lol). I really don't want to go into all my problems now, I just wanted to comment on yours, if I may.

What you are describing sounds like typical, "dumping syndrome", symptoms. Vomiting, shakes and sweating are typical when you have eaten something that doesn't agree with your stomach/pouch/system. So, that means that your body is rejecting food, not just some food like the gastric bypass does, but, all food. Well, the thing or system in your body that causes anything or most things to be rejected is your immune system. Most if not all of your immune system is also located in your stomach. Also, located in your stomach are most of the muscles in your entire body. 

I want to go on record and state that I am not a medical doctor or any type of doctor. I have had no medical training of any type, not even first aide, (lol). I am sharing with what I have been told by my doctors and what I have learned from being a mother of a child with special needs and from taking care of many other family members and friends through my 58 years. I will only share what I know and believe to be the truth, to the best of my ability, but, please verify what information and/or advice that I give with a medical doctor. With that being said, I will continue to share my opinion and advice. 

What is going on with you sounds very similar to what happened to me, not exactly, but very similar and that's how I learned about the immune system and the muscles in our stomachs. I had gastric bypass surgery in May 2007. I had my gall bladder removed at the same time. I had absolutely no complications from the surgery. I basically just had to figure out what my body would tolerate. That wasn't a fun process,  I went through the dumping syndrome alot until I pretty much got it right. One problem was, what may make me sick one time may not have made me sick all the time. Sometimes my body would accept a particular food and sometimes it would reject the same food. Around May 2011, I didn't realize it, but I gradually started losing my appetite. By September or October 2011, I couldn't eat at all. I would get nauseous before I would even get food in my mouth or I would put food in my mouth and just couldn't swallow it. I lost 60-80 pounds really fast, too fast. Doctors accused me of being anorexic and threatened to give me a feeding tube, too. I, also, gradually lost all of my muscle strenght, by October 2011 I had begun falling for no apparent reason, my legs would just give out. I was, also, having severe pain in my back and around my rib cage. I was put on Dilaudid after having to go to the ER for pain a couple of times. I ended up getting addicted to the Dilaudid in a very short time while taking it only as prescribed. I think that happened because of the gastric bypass and me having the pouch, I was told after surgery even liquor would effect us differently because the pouch was so small. I had to go into a hospital for detox from the Dilaudid. With all that going on plus the medications I was on, I was sleeping all day, too. I was sleeping, not able to eat and getting weaker and weaker. I was in and out of the ER and had several hospitalizations. I had finally gotten so weak that I couldn't hold my head up or move in my bed. I was examined by the doctor who did my surgery, everything looked fine. They couldn't find any physical reason why I couldn't eat so the doctors said that it must have been psychological and also my pain, they said that I had a nervous break down. They called it major depression disorder. So, they started treating for that until the psychiatric doctors realized that whatever was going on was physical and I was discharged from the mental health hospital. I ended up in the best hospital in my state, after they ran all their test, through a biopsy of my muscle they determined that my immune system had attacked all the muscles in my body. That was the reason that I was falling and couldn't eat. The doctor told me since there are more muscles in your stomach then anywhere else in our body, those muscles shut down first. So, I couldn't eat and since I had the gastric bypass, my body was rejecting the food the way it was accustomed to from the surgery. They also discovered that I needed, infusions of magnesium and potassium daily for about a month. My copper level was low, also.

You say that you are sleeping 20 hours a day, are you just tired or are you weak, also? Are you in any pain? I, suggest that you call the doctor who did your surgery here in the States and tell him directly and explain to him what is going on and see what he says to do. Also, you should have your current doctor to check ALL of your vitiam and mineral levels, copper, magnesium, etc. If any levels are low or on the low side of normal, ask to be prescribed supplements. Also, get on a prescription strenght multiple vitiam. I take a prescription prenatal vitiam every day and folic acid. Folic acid helps our bodies with absorption of other vitiams. Since, our immune system and most muscles are in our stomachs, also, I suggest that you get a complete check up by doctors that specialize in those two areas. That would be a Rheumatologist and Neurologist for muscles. They also have Immunologist, but start with other two. I am sure that you are depressed by everything that is going on with you health, but, the main thing is to not give up. Like you said, you don't want live the rest of your life on a feeding tube without at least having a diagnosis. Last by not least, pray for healing. That is what I did, actually it got the place where that was the only thing that I could do for myself. I was so very sick the doctors told my family that I was dying. I didn't know what was happening to me and that was the scariest part of all, not knowing and feeling helpless. Just keep praying and believe that you will be healed. I will be praying for you, too. I hope something that I have said will help you.

My daughter accuses me of being, long winded, of course, I disagree. However, some of you are probably saying that she is right.(lol) So, I will end my very first post. I hope that you have a good day today.