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Good Morning!
For those of you looking for bariatric friendly meals, here are some options:
Regards
Dr. Alvarez
Hello everyone,
I'm so sorry to hear of additional complications with hiatal hernias post VSG, but I suppose this means - we are not alone. Dr. Jossart repaired my hernia on March 2nd. I'm 3 weeks out, and for the first time in a year, ate some chicken last night and did not get sick! I'm still mending, and I'm also reminded by Dr. Jossart and personal experience as I'm recovering to chew super thoroughly and take small bites, eating slowly. This is supposed to help with recovery, but also reduce the reoccurrence of the hernia. Once a hiatal hernia problem, the potential is great for having it again. Something like 15% from what I've read? I forgot what number Dr. Jossart gave me. However, I am hopeful this worked. Although he left the previous hospital group, he is working under Sutter Health organization and still in SF. I recognized him easily from 13 years ago. Anyhow, I know that I need to remain careful about not overdoing super heavy lifting once fully healed, and I will not be able to return to mixed martial arts program I was in, as taking kicks to the chest/belly area, twisting during grappling and MMA and such may not be the best, as it may increase the likelihood of another tear. The crazy heart burn has subsided, I'm off all related medication, minus still taking 1 Pepcid tablet in the mornings while healing. I have questions about how to confirm if my ulcers have healed or are improving, but I am still in my recovery period of 4-6 weeks. So, it is possible to fix this problem without converting to a more severe bariatric surgery, but I think it was worth a try to do just the hernia repair, as it's a better alternative to some of the complications caused by a RNY or other bariatric conversion, as my weight is not dangerously high enough to have those benefits outweighed otherwise. (nothing against anyone who undergoes one of the other surgical options - I'm all for whatever helps someone be healthier and live longer - just noting each of these options come with their own risks and modified maintenance)
Excellent advice for long term success.
Proud Feminist, Atheist, LGBT friend, and Democratic Socialist
Good Morning!
I wrote this blog post for anyone who would like to have a better relationship with food.
Check it out here: https://www.endobariatric.com/weblog/2021/03/17/why-you-shou ldnt-use-food-as-a-reward/
Regards
Dr. Alvarez
Of course! I experienced pain, but my doctor said that this is a common reaction. The pain wasn't severe, it just was too uncomfortable. The worst thing was that even it was supposed to go away by itself, I needed some specialized help. I chose the best suggestion for pain relief which was chiropractic treatment and massage therapy. Without any medicine or surgery, I passed my pain, and now I feel great and full of life! So, it's a common thing, but I recommended you get a chiropractic course with therapy, it will help you right away.
Are you actively in therapy? I'd say a call to your therapist is in order, or consider engaging one if you haven't already. This is a great page for support, but we're not good for giving mental health advice.
This isn't usual behaviour and it could get worse if you don't work on it.
Its very easy to get into transfer addictions and eating disorders after this surgery, so best get professional help lined up. Most of us do it if we want to be successful.
Proud Feminist, Atheist, LGBT friend, and Democratic Socialist
Hi -- I too developed a small hiatal hernia discovered on a routine abdominal MRI I now have to have for other health reasons unrelated to my VSG. I was experiencing a lot of abdominal discomfort, belching, burping, reflux after eating oftentimes but didn't know why. I've cut back significantly from eating animal proteins such as red meats, pork, chicken, whole fat dairy. I've been wanting to go vegetarian for the longest time so this seemed to be as good a reason as any to start on that journey. I've been feeling a lot better since making this dietary change. I try to use more olive oil in my cooking as opposed to so much butter also. Anyways, this is what has helped me tremendously but this is a unique experience for everyone.
I wish you all the best in your journey and hope you feel better soon!
losing it in connecticut
Hi, Miss Kay,
I almost never come here anymore but just popped on because of this very issue so thought i would reply as I recently consulted Dr. Jossart about my hiatal hernia/reflux/gerd. I had my sleeve surgery a long time ago....coming up on 14 years this summer, wow! Dr. Jossart did my original sleeve surgery. I developed a hiatal hernia after that. He performed a laparascopic surgery to repair it about a year after my sleeve, but, to be honest, it didn't really ever give me any relief, and I just lived with it. A few years passed. Dr. Jossart left LapSF and my GERD got worse, so I consulted Dr. Paul Cirangle, who was Dr. Jossart's former partner, still at Lap SF. He performed a 2nd surgery to repair what was a large hiatal hernia and used a biologic mesh. This repair worked VERY well...for a while...but after a few more years, it recurred. I have just been living with it, but I need to take a double dose of a PPI...I have borderline osteoporosis (which was the cause of my mother's death and my younger sister has it as well)...so it's obviously a concern. Finally I decided to go back to Dr. Jossart. I should say that Dr. Cirangle had told me that if the GERD recurred, I would have to convert to the RnY, and that was what I was expecting Dr. J to say. But he won't (or almost never) convert to RnY because he believes it is such a flawed surgery. He felt that even taking a double dose of PPIs and living with GERD is a lesser health risk than converting to RnY. He also told me that he knows of other sleeve patients who have had 3 surgical repairs of hernias and the 3rd one finally worked...but I am just really at the beginning of looking at options with him. I had had some regain which he wanted me to lose before we discussed things further, and I have done that, so I am reopening the conversation with him. Not at all sure what to do, especially since the first time he tried to fix the hernia, it was not at all successful. But I know of other people who have had them repaired quite successfully post VSG. I just seem to have a weak wall and/or a weak esophageal sphincter. Anyway, I hope that answers your question. There are DEFINITELY options other than RnY and I am an outlier--I think most of the repairs are pretty successful.
Lizanne
I'm guessing from your post that you're worried about two main things:
Have I hurt my stomach?
At 4 weeks out, your stomach is probably mostly healed. Eating a bite or two of a food that you're not ready for can cause pain and nausea, but probably not permanent damage. Of course, I'm not a doctor, and this is not medical advice, but personally I would wait 1-2 hours, and if I didn't feel better then I would call my medical team. Even if your doctor is not in the office, surely their phone is redirected to an answering service that can either get a message to your doctor, or to someone who is on call for this sort of problem.
Is this the start of a spiral of failure for me?
I think it's quite common for people to make a mistake and try a bit or two of something that they shouldn't. I would take this event seriously (it sounds like you're doing that!) but I wouldn't read too much into it because it's still early days, and you are still learning what works for you. You're facing an extra challenge at the moment because you're so limited in what you can eat. If a couple of months from now, when you're on solid food, you had another panic attack, and your fridge was stocked with appropriate food, I have a feeling you would have made a better choice, perhaps eating a little more that you should, but not going totally overboard.
I occasionally get hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). When it hits I get a panicky feeling -- nowhere near as bad as an anxiety attack, of course -- but enough that I'm not thinking clearly when I grab something to eat. But my fridge is full of healthy choices, so the worst that could happen is that I eat a little more than I should. Since the hypoglycemia only happens 5-6 times a year, it's not really an issue.
I am almost 4 weeks out from my surgery and is up to the puree stage of my diet.
But today for some reason I had a very bad anxiety attack, which I am medicated for, and believed I was going to die of I didn't eat something solid. So I went to my fridge and took out a cold piece of KFC wing and bit down on it 3 times before I could snap myself out and threw it out.
Now I'm fighting the urge to panic because I had not only eaten solid food, it was also deep fried and I barely chewed it. I tried to throw it back up but the more I tried the more pain I felt in my gut, like I was trying to squeeze my gut too much.
It's too late to call my doctor now and he won't be open till Monday, am I in a lot of trouble? Should I call the hospital?
Right now I'm just feeling nauseous and nothing else. I can feel my stomach rumbling alot but nothing has happened yet and it doesn't hurt.
Has anyone cheated like me before? Did it cause a lot of complications?
