Revisions...angry...all of the above...depressed...HELP!

I have been to 4 docs now in Tx. and all of them say there is no problem with my pouch size..but I have pain, severe diahhrea and I believe they just don't want to touch anyone who needs a revision. I can eat massive amounts of food at one sitting although the egds some say is a little larger and some say the pouch is small. I am really confused and angry. I lost all of my weight and didn't start gaining until last year when I began to have severe pains. Who the H in Tx will touch a revision and is egd a good measure of detecting problems. Some have said I had a hernia but said it was no big deal. I am so frustrated. I know something is wrong or I wouldn't be able to eat 3 flour tortillas at one sitting without getting nauseated...ps I did that to test the amounts of food I was able to eat. Help, I am angry with my self and the doctors, my boyfriend...who says he understands but really doesn't. Just needing some guidance...especially on types of tests that can detect adhesions or other issues.

Hi!  I suggest that you post this on the TX message board!    http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/TX/ There is NO test to detect adhesions.  They can only be found by going in to look.  Exploratory surgery.  I moved to TX from LA and was having problems -- constant pain with sudden bout of excruciating pain - passing out -- I had all the tests -- some TWICE:  CT Scan, X-Rays, bloodwork, etc. etc.  My WLS even contacted an acquaintence from medical school to discuss me and personaly ask him to see me.  He agreed.  I brought all my films, bloodwork, reports, etc.  He told me there was nothing wrong with me!!!!!!  It's a GOOD thing I didn't listen to him -- though he made me question if I was going crazy!!!  I called my WLS and told him what happened with the Bariatric surgeon here and he said that enough was enough and to fly over.  They scheduled the exploratory surgery, I flew in, I checked into the hospital and he did talk to me in the waiting area but he suspected an internal hernia and adhesions from our conversations.  Bariatrics diagnose IHs and adhesions through medical history and a physical exam as the other tests are not reliable.  An internal hernia has the potential to be fatal.  I am so blessed and thankful that I listen to my body and that I have the best surgeon to take care of me!  Ironically, I flew from the medical mecca of the south (Houston) to New Orleans (a federal disaster area - after Hurricane Katrina)!  Absurd! Where is your original WLS?  Have you spoken to him or her?    I don't know how far out you are or what type of surgery you had either.  Was your procedure so long ago that your stomach was not transected?????   I also perplexed at you having pain and gaining weight as I lost to underweight because I could not eat solid foods.  After I tried to eat 85 times and always end up in the fetal position, I stopped eating.   There is significant amount of information on my profile about all of this.  I had three surgeries last year for hernia, adhesions, and bowel obstructions.  My pain started in October of 2005, I had exploratory surgery in June of 2006 and two bowel obstruction and ahesions surgery in November of 2006 so that you know where to start reading.  I have not had time to summarize it but you can piece the information together and there are also several website for research. I hope that you feel better soon!!!!  If you have any questions, you may PM me!

Definitely check out the TX board - the link that V posted in her previous response. Debra Flores on the TX board had a revision nearly 3 years ago. She lives near Houston and I don't know who her surgeon was, but she's very active on the TX board and is a support group leader. She can definitely advise you on surgeons that will consider revising another surgeon's work.

If your pouch is still small, you are eating way too much of the wrong foods. Flour tortillas would be one of those foods. It is a white carb and goes down easy and doesn't fill you up. You need to get the right information on what to eat and when, and how to drink. A pouch will normally be a little larger, which doesn't mean it isn't small, small is relative to what our stomachs were like before surgery. We probably had 2 quart sized stomachs which never seemed to get full. If you are packing it in, and sounds like you are saying that is the case, your intestines can begin to stretch and you can put the food through the pouch into the intestines which can hold huge amounts of food after a couple years of packing it full. I'm not trying to say anything mean, but it seems you need to reduce your amounts, and eat baked or grilled chicken before you eat anything else, or grilled steak or fish. Then eat only low carb veggies, mostly dense ones like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cucumbers, cauliflour, green beans, zucinni, yellow squash, and the like. Avoid potatoes, tortillas, rice, bread( except whole grains that are low carb) pasta unless it's Dreamfields pasta. This is important and may help with the weight gain. The pain could be from eating too much, or even could be a hernia in the Peterson's space, which can't be seen by CT or MRI or even an x-ray. You would need to be evaluated by a Bariatric doctor for this problem. But the pain isn't the cause of weight gain, over eating is.  As for a revision, if the pouch is small enough that the surgeon says it's not the problem, what do you want revised? And unless the pain is resolved or at least the cause is known, what would a revision do for the pain? This is what you need to find out.  I hope you find out what is wrong and can get some help with your pain, I know it's no fun.

Why don't you call Dr. Kenneth Warnock in Wichita Falls.  I know he does some revisions but I'm not sure what the requrements are.  It could be that you problem isn't really with the pouch size but with the size of the stoma - the opening from the pouch into the intestines.  If it is too large, food passes through quickly and you can eat more.  I know this because mine is wide open because of a suture that had worked it's way loose into the pouch and had to be cut, opeing the stoma completely. I could eat huge amounts of food at times until I started Dr. Warnock's Time Out - drinking nothing but protein and water and crystal lite - now it's almost like I'm a 6 month postop - I can only eat small amounts and feel completely full.  For example, I can think I'm starving and eat about an ounce of grilled chicken and feel completely full. Dr. Warnock is a wonderful, carning surgeon and while he might not recommend further surgery, he might be able to offer you some advice. Patty