Please Help me...I am losing my mind but not weight!!!!

I am praying I finally found help. Since April I have had the bypass surgery, 3 hernia repairs, and a DI switch. I am regretting the DI switch. I can eat a ton of food....not all at once but throughout the day. I eat more now then I did before the surgeries. I spend most of my time in the bathroom. The gas, bloating, and "accidents" have become very problematic and embarrassing. I should have lost 20 to 30 pounds but I have lost maybe seven. All together I have lost about 7-80 lbs and have another 50 to go.I am an emotional wreck. I cry all the time....have no energy....can't sleep or focus. Please someone give me some advice. Thank you

Where does one begin with a letter like this? Did you have the RNY or the Duodenal Switch? You should have lost at least 80 pounds by now, not seven, even with horrible eating habits. Are you taking the full range of supplements and getting your lab tests to see if your levels are normal? If not, you will have no energy or focus and you will also be killing yourself. Have you had follow up appointments or consulted with your surgeon? I am very worried about your condition. Who is your surgeon?

You need to eat Atkins induction style and then introduce different foods one by one and watch for a reaction.  Cut out protein powder during your elimination time, just for a day or 2 to see if that's causing issues as powdered milk would be a killer for me gas-wise.

Posting what you eat so we have an idea of what may be the culprits.  Cut out sweetener as that can be troublesome (stevia should be fine).

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Oops, wrote all that assuming you have the DS.  As Gail said, please clarify what surgery you've had and who's your surgeon.  The exclusion diet will still help though.

Thank you for your response...Sorry about the typo...I have lost 70-80lbs....but that is since April. Initially, I had the gastric bypass and my surgeon was from BMI in SLC. I hate to use anyones name. Anyway, I had a large hiatial hernia and the repair did not hold. After the surgery I developed a stricture as well.  In June she applied mesh to repair the hernia and a few days later...same symptoms....hernia back. I then went on a feeding tube for three months....horrifying!! The first of Dec. I had the DI switch by a surgeon who she referred me to who is very gifted and I am blessed he took such great care of me during and after the surgery as I was in ICU for five days. My body is past the point of exhaustion. My hernia has been repaired and I do believe it should last. I think the staff at the BMI center must think I am a pro at this weight loss surgery or perhaps since I have had so many complications they don't want anything to do with me.  Either way I feel forgotten about and am now reaching out to online support. I pray I have not done irreversible damage to my stomach....strecthed it...as, as I mentioned, I can eat a ot and nothing satisfies the craving for food.  What is the elimination diet?

Oh...I am suppose to schedule a follow-up appt with my surgeon in a month or so. I don't want to go in there however if I haven't lost more weight. I know my reasoning is skewed but I feel like a failure.

Yikes....I got it...elimination time....that is constant throughout the day....and really disgusting. As I mentioned earlier....lots of accidents. I am afraid I will never be able to eat at a restaurant again as I am fear of not making it home in time. I did not have to wait the usual six months after I first decided to have the surgery...I made the decision and was on the table three weeks later. I had even less time to consider the DI switch and in retrospect, I am not sure it was a decision that was thought through. I feel like I am in survival mode.

What you have written is kind of confusing.

Did you have the Duodenal Switch with Sleeve Gastrectomy. DS for short? And when was that surgery done?

If...........you are recovered enough from surgery to eat, you need to eat "HIGH PROTEIN" and "LOW CARB" to help with your bowel  problems. You are either eating to much flour/sugar, or you could be lactose intolerant, so for a few days stay away from anything that is dairy.

You need to take several different vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy, also calcium citrate taken at 500mg about 4 times a day will help firm up your  stool.

Post here and tell people what your daily food and supplements look like and many can help you sort things out.

Good Luck 

Okay, you have obviously had no education in your surgery. 

1) you should be eating a strictly high protein diet with perhaps some veggies. No to low carb. No sugars. At least 100 grams of protein. I start every day with a protein shake. No counting anything else is necessary, but if you eat the protein you need you won't have much room for anything else. Your bathroom problems probably come from eating things that are inappropriate like flour, sugar, carbs. Everyone's triggers are different. 

2) you must take your vitamins. Non-negotiable. If you need help visit vitalady.com for vitamin suggestions. 

3) your fluid intake is also very important. Drink constantly and keep yourself hydrated. 

I'm not sure exactly what a DI switch is.  We've never heard it referred to as that and it's not at all common to revise to it on a whim like you describe.  There are very few surgeons who do a true DS revision, so refusing to use doctors names really puts us at a loss to help you.

Either way, what happens to you sounds a lot like you may have a bacterial infection called c-diff that can be very difficult to cure.  You need to be in contact with your doc and get tested for it.  It may take several rounds of antibiotics to kill off the intestinal bacteria, then you need to introduce with probiotics to create a balance.  What you're experiencing is what happens when that does NOT happen.  This is why they tell you to eat yogurt when taking antibiotics to non-DS patients.  This can happen to anyone.

I am sorry for the confusion...the DI is the duodenum switch....revision. That is how it is referred to in Salt Lake. My surgeon was Dr Belnap and he did a wonderful job correcting the mistakes of the first surgeon Dr. Richards. You are absolutely correct when you stated that I have not been educated on this surgery at all.  In fact I thought you could not take pro-biotics.  I am eating way too many carbs and fats and not enough protein....that I know from past diets. I have a difficult time keeping the protein down but perhaps I am going to have to focus more now that I know the fat and carbs could be causing me so many digestive problems. I am not trying to be vague, I just didn't want to mention the surgeons' names as perhaps my trouble might be an isolated case.  I really would like to get back on track and lose the rest of the weight so I can feel like something good has come out of all this. I really need the support from all of you as honestly this site is giving me some hope. Thank you.