4 Month Complications

Hi everyone. I had gastric bypass on June 4th of this year and am just about at the end of my rope with all of my complications. I was doing fine for about 1 month before I had to go to the ER for dehydration. I was dry heaving so badly that I couldn't sleep and the only thing that helped was to lay on the floor. I had a CAT scan and they found nothing so they let me go after a few days. I started having severe chest pains when I wasn't eating so I when back into the hospital at the end of July to have exploratory surgery. I was supposed to go home that same day, but when I woke up I found out that my surgeon had placed a G tube in my stomach because of malnutrition. I was given PPN through my veins to get me back up to speed as well. After keeping me in the hospital for 12 days I went home and was able to begin eating again. I had the G tube pulled about a week ago. I am once again starting to feel the signs of dehydration but since going on solid foods, I experience pressure in my chest when I eat and sometimes when I drink. I don't eat to fast or too much so I know that could not be the problem. I thought the problem was that I was eating bad foods like bread and pasta, but when I started eating proteins the problem remained. My surgeron is no help at all. Besides having 5 upper GI's (one that lasted 8 hours) all he does is "threaten" to put me on TPN if I go back to the hospital. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Does anyone know what I should do? I really don't know what to do next and both my parents and I have had just about all we can take. Thanks for any help! Sarah

Hi Sarah, Sorry you are having so much trouble. I had a leak and was on TPN for 3 weeks in the hospital. Did they find any underlying cause for the problems when they did the exploratory surgery? Are you having trouble getting in enough liquids by mouth? It sounds like this might be a good thing to focus on but it's hard to know what to say without knowing what the cause is. So, my advice is this: if your surgeon can't identify the cause ask your primary care physician to give youa referral to someone else. Good luck and I hope things impove for you soon. DD

Unfortunately he didn't find anything when he was doing the exploratory surgery which is why my surgeon decided to put the tube in in the first place. I am also getting extremely low amounts of fluid in since they pulled the tube a week ago. I know a problem is that I used to be a big soda drinker and I was also a gulper. I drink a lot of iced tea with splenda now, but it takes me about 2 hours to sit there and sip at a 12 oz cup. If I sip too fast I start getting chest pains. Today I tried to make sure that I chewed my food up VERY well and I didn't experience too much pain, but I got full very quickly and now I am worried that I am not going to get enough protein again. I was thinking about calling my nurse practitioner and getting a blood test to see how my levels are. That is a good idea to try and get a second opinion DD, I think I may give that some thought. Thanks for replying, I certainly appreciate it!!

hey there sara , i am marti and i had my surgery done on the 6 th of july . i went home sick started to get better and was able to eat food but then all of the sudden something said no more food for you and sometimes it is liquids too. i have been gettin sick for 2.5 months now and i have been dehydrated once so far but my surgeon has no idea why i get sick , i have the chest pains sometimes usually when i eat or drink , then it comes back up. i stay thursty and cant stand it , i have had 2 gi s done and xrays ekgs and cant find anything wrong i am about tired of this gettin sick , i eat and get sick im starting to hate food but im so thirsty . . . . i have lost 64 lbs since july 6 , it is just falling off and so are my clothes cause i cant eat and i stay weak , tired and sometimes just feel like pure chit you know well dont know really if i helped you but just to let you know that you are not alone. my email add is [email protected]

Sarah, Im so sorry i know it cant be easy. The only help I can offer is that maybe try keeping track of your food and Protein Drinks on www.fitday.com -you can add custom food like protein drinks you have during the day and it will total your calories and protein,carbs and fats. Its a great free web site, I was surprised to find out that I only eat about 600 calories a day. Eventho Im on food I still drink a protein drink a day. I also found a full meal replacement drink with 30 grams of proteins and more vitamins then any other drink-bought it at Fred Meyers for $19.00, If you dont have one near you let me know I'd be happy mail one to you. God Bless! Gail

I HAD A HARD TIME EATING AND DRINKING FOR A LONG TIME I LIVED OFF OF APPLE SAUCE AND LOW CARD YOGURT BUT WHAT HELPED ME THE MOST IS DRINKING ALL LUQUID ROOM TEMP OR HOT TEA IT HELPED MY STOMACH TO RELAX AND I COULD DRINK MORE HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOU ALITTLE

You know what Sarah, I think you should start over with your eating, start by getting in your 64oz of fluids, and I know it can be done now because I can do in now and am out the same as you, but your stomach may be sensitive so at least try and get 40oz to start. Also, how many protein drinks are you eating, start with 1-2 a day then later you can go back to 1 a day, I drink optimum nutrition strawberry with milk or chocolate mint with milk and they dissolve down and no weird taste. You need to get your 70-80gms of protein a day. Also, for your other meals, you should be aiming for 3meals a day and one to two snacks, try more pureed meals again or cheese or yorgurt or a boiled egg. Also, at the beginnng I literally had to take 30min to eat, if i gulp it down now it gets stuck, also my servings can only be 1.5oz of meat and maybe a tablespoon of rice or few noodles, that is all i can eat at one meal and the meat has to be moist with gravy or sauce. If you would like some help, email me privately and we can help each other, we are at the same time out. Also, what vitamines are you taking. Louise P.S. I am a nurse.