Question:
complications over 3 years out,

when I was a yr out from my RNY (RNY Nov. 14, 2002) I started having pains now and again, excrutiating pains, top part of my abdomin, I would sweat, it would feel like someone was tightening something around my ribs. I had tests done, showed nothing. Next step exploritory surgery. The surgeon (same one who did my RNY) started lap, then had to open me up, he said I had a lots of scar tissue, he was thinking that was causing my pain. I had surgery on a monday (3 weeks ago) came home wednesday. By friday each time I ate or drank I would be in such pain, the burning up my throat and into my mouth was unreal, 100 times worse than reflux. It also felt like the food was backing up also into my throat. So he had me go to the ER friday night for a cat scan, the stuff that I drank for the cat scan hurt like anything drinking it, it didnt show up in the cat scan, it was like I never drank it. They admitted me. The next morning another cat scan, I could only take a sip of the stuff, it was to painful, but it showed up on the cat scan, it was probably the stuff from the night before. It ended up not being a blockage in my bowels which he thought it might of been,, instead he thought it was where they connect the small bowel to our pouches it has to go through (I forgot what he called it) something that they cut a hole in, it had totally tightened up and was closing off my small bowel. So back into surgery again monday morning, I was terrified, it has been 2 weeks since my second surgery and 3 since my first. Since then, I had the burning for over the first week after surgery,,, now the burning is gone, but I can hardly eat, after a few bites I am totally stuffed and it hurts, I was eating pretty good before this,, for example I could eat a half of a sub,, now I eat a few bites and thats it,,, I go back to my surgeon tomorrow to get my staples out,,, and before these surgeries, I used to pass gas almost all the time,, now I barely ever do,, but I burp now, which before I hardly did,, this is just so weird, I pray the eating part gets better with time,, because this is painful and frustrating,,, has anyone out there every been through anything like this? I hope that I dont need anymore surgeries to repair whatever it wrong,, because I really dont feel like all is fixed,,,, sorry this is so long...    — Amy Hoffman (posted on March 13, 2006)

March 13, 2006
sorry your having troubles; but YOU cant eat now like before. Since you had surgery you need to start all over! liquids, soft then regular foods. No one 3 weeks out would try to eat a sub; go easy on yourself and start fresh and slow. Hopefully things will be better this time around.
   — star .

March 13, 2006
AMY, I am so sorry you had to go through so much. I pray that all gets better as time goes on. Like they say it takes time to heal. Have faith that everything will get better keep a positive attitude remember you took a big step to change your life. It will take a while but you will succeed and not let complication get you down.. My prayer are with you.
   — evienicole

March 13, 2006
I'm sorry you're having these problems. Is it possible that your insides are very swollen, which is not allowing you to eat? I am 2-1/2 yrs out and am having "issues" - strictures (can you believe it?), adhesions, obstructions, hernia(s) and of course the ongoing saga of the low potassium and low iron. Believe it or not I still have good and bad eating days. I do know that after each of the surgeries, I was at least 1-2 weeks before I could eat properly so I just stuck with soft food, even went back to mashed potatoes and egg drop soup until my body healed. Like you, I hope I don't need surgery again, although with the discomfort I am having and the amount of puking I've done this past weekend, I am sure at least another endoscope is in my future. Good luck to you. Kathy
   — Kathy

March 13, 2006
Amy, I can't help you with any idea about what the burning pain is/was. However, at a year out (4 years now) I had to have a second surgery. After this surgery, my food volume was also drastically restricted. I was also required to go through the liquid, soft, solid food routine just like a new post op. Long story short...there will be swelling resulting in you not getting in as much volume as before. Count it as a blessing if you are one of those that didn't quite make it to goal or had the 10lb bounce back. I know I dropped an additional 20lbs because of it. Keep in contact with your surgeon and never hesitate making a trip to the ER of you feel you need it. You've had a lot of 'work' done in the past couple of weeks, let things calm down a bit before you expect to feel 'normal'. As if we ever feel normal...
   — RebeccaP

March 13, 2006
I have gastroparesis and many of the symptoms are the same. I don't know that that is what you necesarily have, but you might want to google gastroparesis because the tips for dealing with these symptoms would probably work for you. I eat a lot of soft foods and liquids. Low fat and low fiber seems to work well. I try to eat frequently (6 times a day). I don't eat within two hours of going to bed... it has helped a lot with the spasms in my chest/esophagus area, it has helped with the burning and the backing up.... feel free to email me if you want to chat. Best--Sid
   — mrsidknee

March 14, 2006
Hi Amy, I can't say I'm having the exact same problems, but similar, and I definitely feel your pain. Your episodes starting at a year out sound almost exactly like mine. I'd get to feeling like I was on fire, shaking, sweating, etc. then feel like someone was crushing my ribs. I don't know how to explain it, but the pain ws just unbearable. I'm talking about drop me to my knees whimpering and crying in public kind of pain. For two and a half years since my surgery, I've had these increasingly frequent and painful attacks that doctors were unwilling or unable to diagnose. I was spending a couple nights a month in the ER. I finally got bad enough I got their attention. (military health care system leaves me few choices of caregivers, and ER drs only want to end the pain and send me home. IN the ER, the GI cocktail would work.) Anyway, finally got a GI guy that put me on nitroglycerin at home, in case of emergencies. It's a vasodialator, and would stop the pain by acting as a fast acting muscle relaxer of the GI system. That was a step forward, but it took a couple of months to get testing done to find any real problem to attribute this to. In the meantime, they tried to diagnose me with bad GRE, a hiatal hernia, and "diffuse esophageal spasms" for which they had no explanation to offer. Worse yet, I was told it coudl be simple nerve damage from my previous surgery, and never get better. Antacids did nothing, because of course, our tiny pouches have little acid, and a scoping showed no signs of acid reflux. The hiatal hernia exists, but they rarely cause this kind of intense, "please, somebody, just shoot me" kind of pain. And of course, the "diffuse esophageal spasms" thing was untreatable because they couldn't figure out why that would be happening. Finally got them to do a GI follow through (Instead of the original upper GI they'd done, which had shown nothing.) THis time we watched the stuff go all the way down, and saw a lot of staples and scarring at the anastamosis, where the two branches (my pouch branch, and my "old stomach" branch come together.) It was causing a narrowing of the passage and a backup, which was causing dialation of the intestine just before it. No wonder. If a freaking LIQUID could get backed up there and cause expansion of the intestine, food could potentially cause a rupture! Anyway, they decided this was enough cause to do "exploratory" on me, and they did that about a month ago, now. The doctor removed the old, scarred junction, and made me a new one. In addition, as a bonus, he bypassed another 50 cm of intestine for me (I'm 2 1/2 years out and had finally reached a standstill, still short of my goal, so I was happy.) He removed my appendix, just as a precaution for the future, and he fixed my incisional hernia from my previous surgery. Since the surgery, I've had two more painful attacks, BUT, I consider that a vast improvement over my pre-surgical state, when I was having them several times/week. Taking that nitroglycerin would stop the attacks, but it also dropped my blood pressure to the point where I was unable to drive, if I was out in public,and basically made me feel drunk and dizzy and nearly unconscious. I would have to lie down before I took it and sleep it off. I was having tremendous trouble--I couldn't work, and I was even having trouble staying home taking care of my new baby. So---the problem's not gone, but it's much better, at least. I jsut hope I don't "scar up" again and have to go through all this again! I too am feeling like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Anyway, all in all it sounds like we've both been through kind of the same thing, only you've had a rougher time of it. If it makes you feel any better, I have had a couple of problems since that second surgery. About two weeks out, I ended up in the ER thinking I was just dying with pain low down in my abdomen. I was in tears, felt like a mole was burrowing through me, and being so soon otu from surgery, I wasn't taking any chances. Got to the ER and the doctors final decision was that I was "phenomenally constipated" by my painkillers I'd been taken. LOL So soon out from surgery on those squiggly parts, I guess it makes sense that it would hurt so bad. Also, my "hernia fix" has given way, and for the last week or so, I've been having to "be patient" as they tell me, and jsut wait for it to finish ripping and popping open. LOL Oh well. I know I'll have to have a tummy tu ck later on, and I know they can fix it then, I'm just having to ride out the pain for now. There aren't enough drugs for this! And now, I know, they cause problems of their own! :) Anyway, it's late, and I'm rambling, but I want you to know you're not alone. We're in the same boat. I hope you feel better and there's no more surgery in your future, either. Take care, and keep in touch. I'd like to k now how you're doing. Christie
   — christied