1-800-ASK-A-VET (Ask anything thread...)

Lithia, Lora, Kitten, ______ (your name here - forgive me...it's Sunday morning and I am NOT the picture of coherence) I need you all to weigh in on this thread too.

There are no dumb questions. There are questions that get asked over and over again but so what? You need to know and we most likely have an answer for you.

So if you have a question, post it here. Nothing too big or too small. Nothing stupid. NOTHING IS TMI. Trust me, if you've experienced it, someone else has too.

And you don't have to be a vet (long-term post op) to answer, but I just want to make sure that us long-termers are in here trying to answer questions from our experiences as further outs.

So ask away. What do inquiring minds want to know?

 Why are people mean sometimes on the boards for no reason?

When does vitamin deficiency kick in?

Why is my dog growling at me right now??

What do I do about nausea that has lasted 7 weeks and won't go away??? The doctors have tried everything.

In the order you asked:

#1 - If you are referring to your reversal thread, I don't think the answers you got were in the spirit of meanness. I know when I first came here I was Ms. Justification. And people knocked me on my ass and I was mad. Three years later I see how my thoughts and resulting behavior, if left unchecked, would have led to my demise in one way or another. In general, there is some mean-spiritedness on this board sometimes. I don't know why. I know that sometimes I get frustrated as hell with you guys. Those would be the days I don't post much :) I don't get frustrated from folks not eating what they are supposed to eat or by asking repetitive questions. I get frustrated at how you guys mentally abuse yourselves. I used to do that and it hurts me to watch others do it too. So when that happens, I don't post because when I DO post and tell people to buck up and fight for themselves I get this newbie uprising of "Nik is so mean to the newbies!" In the interest of my own mental health, I just don't go there anymore. Anyway...I hope some of that gibberish helped answer your questions.

#2 - there is no one answer for everyone. I had a D deficience right away (along with half of the rest of the world). Now I think I may have a B deficiency. But really it's specific to YOUR body. Make sure to get regular labs!

#3- He's probably hungry. When we don't eat so much we have a tendency to forget to feed others. Go give him some food!

#4 - Your issues sound similar to mine. I didn't have to get dilations and such though so it's a LITTLE different. I waited it out. Everything made me sick right after surgery. EVERYTHING. And what didn't make me sick, I was scared to eat because I thought it WOULD make me sick. That's not a great way to live. It's very hard, in fact. So my heart goes out to you. You're in my prayers chica.

MEAN people exist wherever you go

But FEW people on THIS forum are EVER mean. They just all have different styles, different points where they feel "tough love" is in order...... and different ways of delvering messages. I can recall TWO messages posted to me on THIS forum that were honestly, truly MEANT to be mean, and in both cases the person missed their mark..... both times it was someone with a different surgery type telling me to seek help from further-outs to help me with my regain problem..... but since that has never been my problem, their attempt to diminish me, and my surgery, went awry


Vitamin deficiencies.... if you are anything like a a normal human being, are probably already a part of your life. They can kick in fast. I read an article yesterday that says that if you vomit a lot you MUST MUST MSUT get your thiamine in, or you can have issues with your brain. Take your thiamine.

Your dog is growling because you perceive a lot of responses on your other thread (or some.... or one) as MEAN and so he wants to find the source of your upset and take care of it for ya. (Good Doggie)

The Nausea sometimes doesn't go away for months. It is one of the possible complications for this surgery. I've heard from a lot of people that at 8 weeks, or 3 months, or whatever, it just magically goes away..... it is just what happens. Have you tried Zofran?

I don't think anyone here spends their time reading and responding to posts with the intention of being mean.  I understand that sometimes it may come across that way, but keep in mind that when you are pre-op there is ofen a lot of anxiety about the upcoming surgery and peopl may be more sensitive, and when you are newly post-op, your hormones are all wacked out and you may be more sensitive.  Also, sometimes people really need to hear an honest, tough-love answer (as much as they may not want to hear it).... and many of us *****spond a lot feel like we would be doiong a disservice to the newbies if we did not do so when it seems needed.  This is your HEALTH we are talking about here (both physical and psychological), after all.  On top of that, some of us just have a much more straightforward communication style than others and some are simply just the kind of people who are compassionate and caring but are not the kind of peole who will blow sunshine up someone's skirt just to make them feel better in the short term.

It depends on the vitamin involved (some vitamins our bodies have stores of and some it does not; some vitamins are more susceptible to deficiencies than others; some deficiencies simply take longer to show up in the LABWORK than others because of testing limitations) and the person involved (some people may absorb more vitmains from food than others).

Maybe the dog is hungry; maybe he hears something outside that has him worried; maybe he senses that you are upset or ill;  maybe he just feels the need to be vocal...?

There are LOTS of anti-nausea treatments, so it seems unlikely that your doctors have tried all of them in such a short period of time.  Sometimes it is a matter of finding the ONE medication that works for you.  How much have you altered what you are eating and drinking to try to take in things that are easier on your pouch and healing digestive system?  Have you tried tradidtional remedies such as sipping warm herbal tea or taking garlic pills?  (Yes, garlic pills... they work WONDERS on nausea!)

Lora

1.  I'm guessing the same reason they are mean in real life.

2.  The further out you go, the greater the risk but many people start out deficient in D and iron.  B12 can also drop very fast.

3.  Dunno.

4.  Still got your gall bladder?  I was nauseous all the time when I had gall stones.

I don't think anyone is intentionally mean MUCH but I do think some peeps think that if they don't get the response they want to hear they tend to consider that mean. How boring would this world be if everyone made the same "life is great" posts? I have wanted to be very mean but can't recall deliberately being mean. In fact, there's a poster here sometimes who used to have another profile back when I first started and I read her stupid, prejudiced political crap during the presidential election and while I don't know her personally, I can't bring myself to even read her posts now b/c I just don't want to go there. So there, I'm not being mean I'm avoiding being mean

My D was low at one year out and my B12 and iron are low now.

He's either hungry or wants sugar or wants you to get a cat

I'm not sure but I hope they get you straightened out..do you have your gallbladder? Also, this is a major surgery and you won't bounce back right away..it takes time. I had a complete hysterectomy less than year before my WLS and compared to that recovery, wls was nuttin.

I'll answer!

There are mean people everywhere.  I don't think many of us vets were trying to be mean to you, we ARE concerned about what you are going through and many have been there, done that. 

Vitamin deficienices vary, there is no set time.

Can't help on the dog, hope he's happy now.

Nausea early out is not uncommon.  I dealt with it also.  What I found to help me the most was hot peppermint tea.  Cold liquids were not my friend and still today cold does't work all the time, for me.  Edit:  I was nauseated almost all day, every day for about 12 weeks.  I didn't have a stricture though so your situation isn't exactly, just know that nausea is not uncommon.

 Also I have SO much gas trapped in my and I've tried exercises and gas x strips and I don't know how to get it out and it is making me sick. Any thought?

Time.... just have to let it pass on its own.

When I had GB surgery in 2001, with complications, I had gas pain for six weeks.