Failed Surgery- Or it's starting to look that way

Hi Guy,

I wouldnt worry about the liquid consumption ability. Once again, I was addressing volume of solid protein which is the only litmus test of pouch capacity. The malabsorptive component is not in question here. So if you are able to eat more thn 6 ounces of solid protein in a sitting like steak or chicken, then I would be concerned. Water is not a good way to assess pouch size. You mentioned that you were able to eat 3-4 cups of food, but is that solid or mushy food or a combo thereof??

Babs

Hi Babs, The 3-4 cups would be slider foods like turkey chili, oatmeal, etc.  I understand that those are not the best gauge of capacity.   However, I can definitely eat an 8 oz filet and have.  I usually try and stick around the 6 oz range on solid meats, but sometimes I go a little higher. I think how I should look at this is that I have partial restriction and just deal with it.  But again my concern is what's going to happen after the proverbial honeymoon period. Thanks for responding.  Maybe I'll just go to my surgeon and demand the upper GI   What could the harm be? Guy

Hey Only Guy On Board: So if I have this right...You are 4 mths out of Lap RNY, have lost 54 lbs since surgery date and have 66lbs to lose...Is that right? I have had (2) bypass surgeries. First a stapling started at 250, lost 115 lbs in about a year. The surgery failed (staplescame apart). Received Revision as a RNY and started at 225, lost 120 lbs in about 9 months.  I could never eat more than a half of a very small handful of food, no more than sips of water and to this day, it's been almost 30 years since my first WLS and except for a short 1 1/2 year period when the staples came open back in 1989 before my revision surgery, I've never streched my pouch out large enough to eat more than a very small meal (probably 1 cup and a half of food at a time) I now have gained 60 lbs in the last year due to a streched stoma. Although 55 lbs of weight loss is good, nobody knows you better than you. If I were you, I would go and get a second opinion by having an endoscopy and UGI. That is the only way you can tell if the Doc had a bad day during your surgery. Your shouldn't hold at this point after surgery more than an ounce or so of food. Sounds like to me it does. Also the stoma which is where your food drops through into the intestines could be rather large, which allows you to eat more, more often. I would have these things checked out. You will probably continue to lose weight for up to a year, but if you feel no restriction now, the weight loss won't last long. I know, I've been there. Regardless of the fact that most posters will say be patient 54/66 lbs is an amazing weight loss for 4 months out, if you feel no restriction and can eat as much as you say. You probably have only a few more months of loss and then it's up the scale from there. Get checked by another professional who is familiar with revisions. Dr. Schlessinger in Arizona is unbelievable regarding this.  Good Luck

JROLFSON, Thanks for your reponse.  One of the first questions I asked my surgeon was what size of stoma he uses.  His response was 25mm, which I guess is standard, according to him.  Not sure about what causes the stretching, but honestly I did not push my consumption levels until around month 2.5+.  I was following the phase instructions to the letter during what I considered to be the important, more restrictive periods. Your statements express what I "think" is going to happen.  Maybe 4-6 more months of loss, then back up.   I think I'll bounce it off of him first and have him do the initial tests.  After that, depending on what he says, I'll take the results to another surgeon. Thanks again. 

Dear Only Guy: I know every Dr. does the pouch measurement differently, they have guidelines and then dependent upon the patient utilize a certain measurement. But that's not to say they don't go bigger or smaller on any given day in a particular surgery. You are right, the best thing to do is talk to your Doc, see what he says and you will know in your heart if the answer is right. If it's not it will eat at you like a nothing you've ever known before. I'm sure that in my surgeries, I had two different doctors, and both went extremely small on the pouch. As I said before it's been almost 30 years before I began to really gain weight. My problem was and is grazing. I do that all day and you can fit a heck of a lot of hershey kisses in a very small pouch. If I get a revision it will be the last, I have learned my most powerful lesson about thinking that just a little bit of food all day long wont get you fat. So Only Guy, good luck...Do try to be patient, but all of us know ourselves better than anyone especially when it comes to weight gain that if we don't feel good about something or if we have that little inner voice saying somethings not right here, it usually isn't...don't wait to long to get the information you need. Your surgery is not a year old and if they made an error in size of pouch they may have to fix it! JRolfson

I guess I should have mentioned this at the start.  I have dieted my way to faster weight loss in the past.   In fact, 5 years ago I lost 110 lbs in 8 months.  I did it by eating only 1 smartones meal a day and supplementing with protein shakes for 2 meals.   That pace is faster than my current loss rate, but probably hosed my metabolism for life.

Hi Guy,

That sounds like a lot. I know that the 4 oz rule is used by my doc's office for all his surgeries, sleeve, DS, RNY and band. With a sleeve, I cant eat more than 4 oz at a time of anything with the exception of soup which is about 6 ounces total. I could never down 4 cups of oatmeal. I can barely finish a packet and sometimes dont. Definitely have it checked out. It sounds like yo ucan eat too much.

Babs