99% of the time I love this surgery...

When I get these horrible gas pains, it makes me wish I didn't have surgery. I start thinking about how miserable I'll be if I have to endure them for the rest of my life! I know that no amount of research could tell me every single side effect I would endure, but gas has got to be the worst! Usually a couple of squirts of infant mylecon drops help, but earlier this week, the pain has been so bad that I wanted to die. I took phazyme, tums, and a nexium to no avail. Finally, a good nights sleep helped, but this morning, I have it again! Do any of you go through this and what do you take to get rid of the pain? Do you think daily doses of fiber would help? I posted this on the Texas boards, but know my fellow grads will be able to give me some good advice also! Thanks! Cathy

I don't know about anyone but me, but I find that carbs give me gas the most. So I try to limit my carb intake to late afternoon or dinner. I find if I have them at breakfast or lunch, by 2-3 I feel like exploding and am afraid to walk around work as I never know when it will "come out". Ha ha. Try to limit carbs and just to evenings and see if it helps. Also, a couple drops of beano with the carbs seems to help me. Hope you feel better soon. Sara

Hey Cathy, Sorry to hear about your pain. The type of pain your are describing sounds like it might be far beyond "normal gas pain". I had a bowel obstruction at 18 - 19 months post op. Had adhesions cutting off intestines and hernias (deeply inside - not able to feel prior to surgery) The pain of Bowel Obstruction was 10 on the pain scale. 10 for days... Here's some data re: obstruction: Mechanical obstruction occurs when movement of material through the intestines is physically blocked. The mechanical causes of obstruction are numerous and may include the following: Hernias Postoperative adhesions or scar tissue Impacted feces (stool) Gallstones Granulomatous processes (abnormal tissue growth) Volvulus (twisted intestine) Foreign bodies (ingested materials that obstruct the intestines) If the obstruction blocks the blood supply to the intestine, the tissue may die, causing infection and gangrene. Risk factors for tissue death include intestinal malignancy, Crohn's disease, hernia, and previous abdominal surgery. Symptoms Abdominal fullness, gaseous Abdominal distention Abdominal pain and cramping Vomiting Failure to pass gas or stool (constipation) Diarrhea Breath odor If you don't get relief from your pain, I encourage you to see your Doc asap. My surgeon told me that Bowel Obstruction surgery had a 36% Mortality rate. Considering the RNY was only 2 % That's huge! Nothin to mess around with. Take care of yourself & let us know! Judy

Hi Cathy. It sounds like your gas is pretty severe so please make sure that its not something more than just gas pains. I have this problem occasionally, usually if I eat carbs, real sugar or too much splenda~this gives me gas w/ a pretty foul smell. I know that when I don't eat properly that this is an unpleasent and painful side effect, so I try not to overdo on those things very often. I usually take GasX, but I don't know that it really helps at all. For me, daily fiber like Benefiber only made things worse and also made me feel and look bloated and miserable. Unfortunately, I had alot of constipation problems early on, so I HAD to have fiber in my diet so my colon/rectal surgeon recommended eating Fiber One every day and sure enough it really helped! when I get bad pain from gas relaxing in bed with a heating pad or taking a hot bath are 2 of the things that really help to ease the pain. I hope you get some relief soon! Tracy B 328/150 5'9"

Thanks for all your responses. When this happens I do think about adhesions, impactions, and obstructions. I'm going to start keeping track of what I'm eating to see if it might be too much carbs or sugar. I think Thursday's bout could have been from broccoli. But Tuesday's was worse and I can't recall what I ate, LOL. I'll post if I find out anything different in order to help others. Have a great weekend everybody! Cathy

Take acidophilus daily. When I don't take it, I have GAS! Get one with heavy doses -- billions. Deb

Excercising really helped with this problem, just walking and drink more water   hope it helps