New member, this is long please be patient. :)

Hello BOTT group!

I have a rather "unique" (maybe not too interesting but unique I believe.)

I had WLS 3.5 years ago. I did really well considering I never had much Dr follow up. You see I had my surgery in KY when my husband was working there) had a GREAT surgeon and came through with flyingng colors! I had little to zero complications and started losing right away.  Then came the "follow up care" it was a NIGHTMARE. The center was way over booked, the scheduling was nightmarish even with the fact that I had just had surgery. I had my initial follow up and then the second and then they said call us to schedule in 3 months etc. When I did they were 3 months out. CAN YOU IMAGINE? Then my surgeon left and moved to Cleveland ...I found a surgeon/Doctor in Indianapolis, Because I wasn't his actual patient I didn't get first hand good advice or treatment and they had varying Ideas of what worked and didn't diet wise.

So my experience hasn't been normal but it has been my experience and I was still able to lose 90 lbs. I have now regained some maybe 10 pds. I had wanted to lose another 20 so I feel like I have 30 to go.

I have had some issues with terrible stomach pain almost a burning sensation that causes me to feel as if I will vomit, no idea what that is? It will come on mainly when I feel stressed or have eaten.

I do find myself falling in to bad habits again. Popcorn and candy at a movie theater. A hand full of candy corn here and there, things like that. And I have started drinking a Dr.Pepper a day.

I just really need some direction and encouragement at this point. I feel like someone on a island. We are now living in Ohio (hubbys' job again) and I am faced with the idea of finding someone to see Dr wise when our insurance takes effect next month.

All in all my labs have remained really good when I have seen my family Dr. But I do know that I tire easily and am basically feeling out of shape and flabby...

Thank you all for listening, I know this group will be a great blessing to me!
Nancy

First of all ---Welcome aboard. This group is an amazing mixture of folks and you'll get some great advice from them.

I'm glad to see you've kept up with the lab work through your family doc. Was checking your thyroid part of your labs? That can explain weight gain & fatigue at times.  Did you mention to him about your stomach pain/burning sensation? I'd start with him and see where that leads.

As far as finding a new bariatric doc...When my surgeon switched practices, I found a really competent Primary care physcian who I dearly love. She's more involved with my 24/7 care than my surgeon ever was. She's not the one *****arranged my insides but she understands the process and recognizes my needs. Keep searching until you find the right doc for you.

You've identified some bad habits that have snuck back into your life. What's your plan for eliminating them? What's the plan for exercising? You'll notice that we put it all out there on our daily posts ---the good, the bad and the ugly. For me, it's accountability. I try and post early in the day because I don't like to repost later that I really screwed up the plan. Some folks can post in the evenings and that works for them. Again it's finding what works for you.

Keep coming back and posting. We're here to encourage you and help you anyway that you can. If you ask Tess to give you a "Kick" she gets her little muscle man out on the screen and kicks you for a re-start. I like knowing that I can get the straight simple truth on here.

- Iris

Welcome aboard Nancy!  Iris has given you some great starter questions to see where you are at and where you are going.  When I had my surgery for RNY, I saw my doctor one time afterwards at 6 weeks and never saw him again.  I did not even discover the OH board until I was well into my second year out of surgery.  My PCP takes great care of me.  I took her a list of tests that need to be run per year and she does this for me.  My labs have been great, one time a little high on B12 but I backed off of it.  You really need to decarb yourself off the popcorn, candy and if that is regular Dr. Pepper then switch it to Diet Dr. Pepper at least.  You might want to do the 5 day pouch test just to get the feel of control over your pouch again.  Sometimes we develop ulcers in our pouch or stoma.  You might need an upper GI to detect if anything is happening on that front or you could be having some reflux.  See what you are eating at the times it affects you the most and go from there.  This is a wonderful group here on back on track and we come and post daily our menus, exercise and anything else that is on our mind.  Come daily and participate or lurk and learn.  Good to have you here!

Welcome to BOTT, Nancy. I've really enjoyed this group and appreciated the support, information, positive attitudes, feedback and so much more. Tess and everyone else here rock! Like you, Iris, and Tess, my surgeon was great but aftercare was terrible--and I did have complications after RNY in 2006, even before I left the hospital. I also have a fantastic PCP who has provided excellent monitoring and follow-up care, learning along the way with me.

One complication I had was an ulcer. The pain could be tremendous and was just as you described. Tests couldn't find it, it was in an unreachable area of my small intestine, but 6 months on a prescription healed it.

As Tess suggested, stop the carbonated beverage until you know the answer to the pain (I drink SF decaf pop now without a problem). You've identified some areas to improve on, such as cutting out candy and popcorn. Try getting back to the basics, start walking, read posts or post your plan or day. We're here for you!

My surgeon didn't leave me I left him(them).  It was an hour drive one way.  Appointments only after 1:00 which always went overtime.  The hour drive home was almost always in rush hour traffic through the worst parts.  Other than running blood panels I wasn't getting any other benefit.  I talked to my PCP and she is very knowledgeable as many of her patients have had this surgery.  She runs the blood tests and monitors me much better than the surgeon ever did.  So I guess the moral of the story is that we don't actually have to have a bariatric surgeon take care of us going forward.

Coming here and participating really helps me keep my head in the game.  I'm trying to get moving again and coming here daily is part of that plan.

 

Welcome Nancy!

I joined this group years ago when I first started to gain back and never posted - I was not ready to face that I was beginning to gain and I was not ready to face that I never got to goal, either.  Four years later, I made it back and the group is still here, THANKFULLY!!  I lost 130 and have gained back 30-35 over the past 3-4 years.

I had my RNY in Flagstaff AZ in Apr, 2008, but moved to Las Vegas in Dec 2011.  I finally sought some help several months ago at a bariatric practice after going to a seminar with my friend, who is now sleeved.  I had an endoscopy to make sure all was good inside as part of my research for revision, which I have now ruled out.  My surgery has not failed me, I just have not fully utlized my tool - not really going to say I totally failed my surgery.

I am back at the support groups, back here, tracking my food on MyFitnessPal.com, and I took the Nutrition 101 class at the bariatric practice - it was very helpful.  I am also at a weight loss clinic in order to help me make some serious progress.  I am losing at a regular rate and not looking for a dramatic loss - I need to deal with losing, maintaining, and then learning how to not regain and stay off the dieting merry-go-round. 

Communicating with others that are like me, tracking my food and participating in the support are all helping me - I have not been around as much in the last few weeks, due to my schedule and my allergies/asthma, but hope to get back regular.  This part of me really needs to be my priority, not the first thing I let go of when stressed....gee, see a correlation there?  LOL

I had some sort of problem when I got below 200 for like 5 minutes, which is when I started to gain back....and those same feelings seemed to come back when I hit the 20 pound weight loss, but now that I got to 21, they seem to have faded - not sure why, but I will take it!!  I have a ways to go!  I really needed to share that and glad you are here.

Louise