Removing the tube was not the brightess decision I have ever made but I suppose overall at least now I know that it is the bile that is causing all of the symptoms since they came right back after it could no longer drain out via the tube.  I also needed to see if I could be without the tube since it is not a long term solution for me anyhow.  She thought the bile would just drain back normally once the tube was out but apparently that is not the case.  So I am back to where I started from before I went into the hospital in September (the pain is not as bad but all of the other sx are raging).  I went to my primary doc on Monday to discuss the whole situation with her as I am feeling like I am getting no where with all of the specialists in the large teaching hospital.  I think you get lost in the shuffle due to the number of patients they see, they all have their own specialty area and if it doesn't fit into some nice little neat package they sort of give up and move on to the next patient.  Meanwhile I am suffering, knowing there is something the matter and relying on them to help resolve it .  I feel like the more I complain that things are not improved that it pushes them away even more because they don't know what to do and just want you to go away and stop bothering them.  Like a hamster in the round wheel, spinning all day but not getting anywhere.  Do you still have your gallbladder and if so did they test that out too during this whole process since it is what stores the bile?  I wonder if it plays some sort of role even though I have no stones.....does it really work properly or is it allowing all the bile to free flow from the liver into the intestine?  I am tired of trying to diagnose myself!    I would love to go back to work if I can get the nausea, belching and flatulence under better control.  Right now the nausea comes without any pattern and I never know when I am going to be hit with a wave of it and need to just go lie down and be still.  The gas is so bad I am constantly belching like a truck driver and passing gas so there really is no other choice but to stay in the privacy of my own home.  There is no holding it in yet there is no relief either.  Evenutally there has to be a better solution because I am self supporting so I have to either work or apply for disability.  I am not sure how I would get approved for disability since it is so embarrasing to explain what the sx are and why you can't work.  Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing!

I was thinking about you and wondering how you were doing?  I assume you are home from the hospital?  I am so hoping that this is an answer for you.  Seems like we have another fellow sufferer above (I am sorry to hear she is having the same difficulty but maybe with enough of us going thru this and keeping in touch we may collectively learn/find a solution).  I didn't do well with my experiment taking out the GT.  Within 3 days all of my symptoms were back and I could not go back to work on Monday as I had hoped.  She now has me back on the Cholestyramine to bind the bile, Reglan TID to move the bile out of the remnant; Flagyl to Rx any possible infection if the bile stagnates in my GI system along the way and allows bacteria to grow plus the Prilosec twice a day.  After 3 days of this I am not nauseous today but still have a lot of belching, and that raw irritated all over belly pain like something is on fire in my gut.  She did not suggest putting the tube back in. thankfully...the only way I would consider that is if I get into an emergent situation again and I am actively bleeding or in so much pain that I need to be hospitalized again.  Then I probably won't have much of a choice.  If I can stay nausea free for a few more days I am going to try to go back to work again.  I just hate to go back and then have the sx flare up and have to be right back out again.  I hope you feel better soon!  Take it easy though...this has been a long haul for you.

I am eleven months post-op. I just had about .2 cc taken out of the band. I can eat just fine but then I will randomly vomit after some meals. I don't show the symptoms of having a slip but I think I am eating too fast. Does anyone have any tricks on how to slow yourself down?

I finally have answers... sort of.

The diagnosis is still unknown, but they found some "contributing factors." I saw my nutritionist on Oct 14th, and she was stumped. She spoke with my surgeon, dietitian, and several other doctors in her office. My bloods weren't back yet because of Columbus Day so she said she was going to keep me posted. At that point I was feeling so sick, exhausted, and dehydrated that I had a feeling they'd stick me back in the hospital, again!

The doctor got my 3 month post-op bloods the next morning and called me at 9am. She said that I needed to go directly to the hospital and that one of her partners would be expecting me. My vitamin levels were extremely severe. My thiamine (B1) was the worst- to the point where it was causing nerve problems and numbness in my face.

They hooked me up to IV fluids and stuck thiamine and folic acid in the first bag, and the infusion began. The next morning they took out my IV and put in a pick line. They began TPN (Total parenteral nutrition- basically feeding me through IV). I was in the hospital for 6 days until they were satisfied with my vitamin levels. I was sent home on TPN, for how long, is currently unknown, I am going into day 12.

I was able to go off clear liquids by day 6 in the hospital. I'm able to do mushies now. I do still have mild nausea, but it's tolerable enough that I don't have to take anything for it. The smells are still bothering me, but I have to just go with what appeals to me each day. The doctors are still not sure what caused me to get so sick. I was taking a multivitamin up until the day I went into the hospital it just didn't seem to be absorbing I guess? They let me go home, but wanted me to have a full GI and Cat Scan as an outpatient, but I'm a little hesitant to start drinking things and fooling around more while the nausea seems to have subsided.

So, for now, I have a home health nurse come once a week for dressings and bloodwork, I hook myself up to TPN for 12 hours a night, and I'm able to live more normally during the day. I am able to eat and drink but only about an ounce or two at a time. My stomach is still churning and rumbling like crazy, but one of the GI doctors suggested that giving my stomach the break that it got (while in the hospital) may have been just what it needed.

I do know what you're feeling and how it seems hopeless.

I don't have much new news to report.  I don't think I'll be able to tell much for a week or two about whether or not this is going to resolve my issues.  My belly is just painful all over right now and I can't pinpoint any specific pain.

I had a period of time that I was draining over 2000 cc of bile per day, I felt like a bile fountain.  I am having some drainage now but I'm not measuring it.  I imagine it is because I am rather swollen inside and out right now.

You are right, stay in touch.  I am sure my Dr. would be willing to talk with yours if necessary.  He has been baffled by me for so long.

Hang in there,

Julie