Emergency marginal ulcer surgery post-RNY

Hi,

Thank you! I actually gained weight, due to naming a steroid injection. It caused me to eat Uncontrollably. I went back to my surgeon for help last week. I started back working out and eating properly on Monday. I dropped 8 pounds this week! I'm back addicted to the scale, even though I know with water tension the scale may be off a little. At one point, I was a big at of calories and food intake. It was to the point that everyone around me would tell me that, they don't need to know the calories in the food they would be eating. I would tell them all how many calories were on their plate. I started out drinking the skinny girl brand of alcohol, due to being so conscious of my calorie intake.

It's good to know that you are doing better.

Thanks so much for sharing this story and for being so open. So glad you're ok!

How much alcohol were you drinking do you think (if you don't mind me asking)? and were you taking NSAIDs or smoking tobacco?

I have no doubt I will want a casual drink when out (down the track) but I've never been a daily drinker ever (more your binge variety here when with company out!) so I can't imagine it would be more than 15-20 times a year I'd be having a drink in the future but that may well be too much as well. Still have to test how it affects me anyway of course.

This is a great reminder for all.

As our surgeon explained it, the fundamental problem is that the anastomosis is placed in a part of the intestine that is not resistant to stomach acid - unlike the duodenum (the part immediately downstream of the normal stomach) where the acid gets neutralized by the bile secretions, and is bypassed along with the remnant stomach in the RNY procedure. This results in the anastomosis area being subject frequent or continual irritation (likely the source of the "chronic" reference above,) which creates the vulnerability for marginal ulcers. Theoretically, the sleeve configuration doesn't have that vulnerability, but caution is still a good thing for anyone. Likewise, I suspect that the references to tobacco and alcohol are a legacy of standard ulcer diagnosis - they have long been associated with ulcers - and the NSAIDs were the primary cause (the others may have simply helped, if at all.)

I have seen some reference in these forums (rare as they have been,) that they have "simply" moved the anastomosis downstream a bit to a fresh piece of intestine as their surgical solution and a couple references to having the bypass totally reversed when they couldn't get a handle on it any other way. Hopefully they don't have to go that far.

Good luck in getting this resolved.

Hi Emily,

I am so happy to read that you were able to recognize you were having a severe medical issue and called 911 and did not wait! I have always liked and respected your words of wisdom and encouragement. You were and continue to be an inspiration to me and countless others. I am just so happy to hear you are OK, very scary! I have complete confidence that you will get back on track and will thrive. Feel free to message me if you wish..I would love to catch up! ( not sure if you noticed, I have backed away from FB and will be off on my 55th birthday this year)

Take care, Mike

I haven't been on here in a while and this definitely caught my attention. Eight years ago this was me almost exactly. Except that I was septic, had peritonitis, flat lined for 4 minutes in an ambulance on my way from a small hospital to a large hospital. I never had any ulcer symptoms; no heartburn, no reflux, nothing to tell me I had ulcers. I went to the small hospital thinking I had a kidney stone. Boy was I wrong. I was in the hospital for 8 days. And, it was alcohol. I haven't had a drop for 7 years and I hope I never do again (one day at a time)! Glad you are ok after that!!

How scary! I had peritonitis too, so scary. I didn't flat line however - that's terrifying. I'm so glad you're recovered! And no alcohol for 7 years - you should be proud of yourself!