Nutcracker Syndrom

Has anyone on this forum heard of past RNYGB Patients who have Nutcracker Syndrome after surgery?

I assume you are referring to Nutcracker Esophagus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutcracker_esophagus) and not Nutcracker Syndrome which is a strangulation of the renal vein, causing problems with the kidneys and gonads.

I have motility issues with my esophagus associated with my Barrett's Esophagus and severe GERD.  My doctors have never referred to it as "Nutcracker Esophagus", but my symptoms are similar to what is explained in the link above.  My symptoms have improved a lot since my RNY surgery.

I also have motility issues in my bowel from multiple bowel obstruction surgeries.

Did you have a question?

I actually started to experience what I call a Nutcracker feeling in my gut after my RNY Gastric Bypass. I've been going through this since a few months after RNYGB which was done back in 1989. It's not everyday but I can tell when it's coming on the pain starts in my back and it literally feels like my intestines are in a vice. The only thing that relieves the pain is by making myself gag. I read about Nutcracker Syndrome and yes it is the one that is a strangulation of the renal vein. The symptoms feel exactly to what they describe. So I posted this to see if anyone else on OH has ever experienced extreme gut pain after RNYGB...I know my daughter has the very same kind of pain and she had GB as well...

By the way, Thank you for your reply!

I don't think Nutcracker syndrome would be related to the surgery.  It seems to be pretty rare. If it were a common problem after RNY we would be hearing about it on these boards. Do you still have your gall bladder?  That pain is excruciating and can manifest in your back.  Pancreatitis can cause that kind of pain too. 

Do you suffer from constipation?  Could you be having a bowel obstruction?

I have to ask.  I had GY 2007 I have alot of pain under my rib cage mostly to the left.  It feels like snakes curling up and it hurts.  SOmetimes it is around mythe left side of my belly button.  I still get diaria and stringing poo and it can stink.  THey looked for gull stones but nothing showes up.  Sometimes I can even feel a lump but it goes away.  Sometimes it feels like it is connected to my rectum.  I am sick of not being able to get any answers other than it is hard to pinpoint scare tissue.

Adhesions (scar tissue) do not show up on x-rays or CAT scans and can cause significant pain.  They have to open you to check for them.  Once they clean the adhesions out, there is no guarantee that they won't return.  Does it feel like a pulling sensation that burns?  If so, It might be adhesions.  

The diarrhea and smelly stool could be related to what you are eating.  Many of us are lactose intolerant after  surgery  and can get diarrhea, gas, bloating, and smelly stool.  The pain you are feeling could be gas pain.  Have you tried Gas-X when you are having symptoms?

Too many simple carbs like bread, pasta, sugar, crackers, rice, potatoes can cause digestive upset also.  

Some of us develop food allergies or bacterial overgrowth (bacterial overgrowth link)  in the intestines that can act like that.  

Yes it does.  SOmetimes if I move a certain way it really hurts.  I wish they would go in and find out.  It feels like something is alive in me sometimes moving around.

When I read Nutcracker Syndrome, I unconciously crossed my legs.

Ha! Ha! I knew that might make some guys squirm...But not why I posted...This is truly a problem some of us RNY'ers have after receiving the surgery. I for one do, and my daughter does and I've heard of many more. That title was as close as I could come to what it feels like.