Question:
ESPECIALLY SINCE I HAVE HAD RNY - PROXIMAL WITH TRANSECTION

I CAN'T BELIEVE.....TO COME ALL THIS WAY.....8 MONTHS.....132 LB. LOSS.....AND AFTER SURGERY IN MARCH.....I WANTED DIE. IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.....I HAVE ATE ALMOST LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.....AND NO HEARTBURN.....AND COULD EAT EVEN MORE.....THE SURGEON SAID TO GET AN UPPER GI.....I HAD RNY-PROXIMAL WITH TRANSECTION.....AND FOR 8 MONTHS.....HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO EAT SMALL PORTIONS.....AND SOME OF THE FOODS THAT WERE GIVING ME PROBLEMS KEEPING DOWN.....LIKE BREAD AND MASHED POTATOES.....AND GOING DOWN LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS.....CAN ANYONE GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK.....I'M WORRIED.....HOPEFULLY.....SOMEONE OUT THERE HAS HAD RNY WITH TRANSECTION.....AND MAY BE ABLE TO RELATE TO ME.....I AM WORRIED THAT I MAY NEED A REVISION.....HOW COULD I.....SMALL POUCH AND TRANSECTION.....I AM NOT SICK.....AND DON'T HAVE ANY HEARTBURN.....    — Robert B. (posted on November 22, 2002)

November 21, 2002
Don't worry. It's not as bad as you think. I am almost 13 months out. This all goes back to the "it's just a tool" thing. Right after surgery, we are healing and out pouches can hold about one ounce. In reality, if it stayed that way, we all probably wouldn't survive! The pouches gradually heal and stretch, ending up at 5-8 oz. This is the goal of our surgery. They start them so tiny allowing for the stretch.As far as mashed potatoes,most people can eat lots of them right away. But, bread, pasta, etc. usually only becomes possible after six months - because you now have enough room to fit them. Chewed well enough, they get through the pouch easily and you can graze on them all day, and yes possibly even gain. Thus the tool. You now have more room, you need to learn how to fill the pouch with good choices and not to graze. I also couldn't eat veggies the first six months. Now I finally can. Now my meals are a small salad, protein and then if I still have room, a pasta or bread. Usually, with the bulkier foods in the pouch first, I can't really fit the easy carbs in. The grazing is another story. We are all the same food obsessed people we always were. The nibbling habits must be replaced. Take a walk, type on the computer. Don't allow yourself to slide. At this point, we all tend to slack off on the drinking. If you eat the pouch filling foods, wait an hour and then spend the next several hours back to basics - drinking your liquids, you will stay full until your next meal. Oh, and if you think your pouch has really gotten so much bigger, try eating something really solid like an apple as a between meal snack. I can only get down about a third of one! When I fear that I will allow myself to backslide and slowly binge myself back, I give myself a mental slap in the head. Did I got through all of the pain of surgery to gain it back? No! I also come hear and read all of the posts of the people who are desperately waiting for surgery and remember that was me. And, my favorite, I go out and try on clothes and marvel at my new size ten body! It's not easy, but you can make it. We are here for you.
   — Julie S.

November 22, 2002
Robert, it happens, as time passes, that our pouches stretch and we can eat more. It is supposed to work that way, otherwise if we just ate some small amounts forever, we would continue to lose rapidly and lose too much. Its the bodies ways of adjusting. And it is also normal that some foods that you could not eat early on, will eventually be OK for you, like you are discovering with the bread and mashed potatoes. At 9 1/2 months post-op, very little gives me trouble at this stage. But here is where we may have to work at this a little. In the beginning, the tool does all the work for us, after a while, we have to contribute to keep the weight loss going. The basics, of course-lots of water, lots of protein, vitamins, low carb and sugars-but eventually we have to pitch in by upping the protein and water, and exercising and not indulging too much in foods that made us fat in the first place. Doesn't mean you shouldn't eat pizza, but not every day, for example. Bread is OK for you-whole grain, not white. When I noticed I started to eat more, I started eating smaller but more frequent meals. Any time I felt the slightest hungry, I eat. But small amounts, until I am satisfied, not necessarily full. It works for me...try it. And if you have had transection, you cannot have a staple line disruption, that just occurs in folks that have not been transected. Relax, your normal....
   — Cindy R.

November 22, 2002
Hi Robert, Don't despair. It is probably just the natural stretch of the pouch at 8 mos postop. I did have SLD but I wasn't transected. Now I am because I had to go back and have it redone. There were no symptoms of SLD when I had it other than I could eat twice as much and I never felt satisfied. I mean never. And I did have a little heartburn too. I disrupted at 6 mos post op and I had not experienced any heartburn unti then. I quit losing weight but with lots of exercise managed to lose 10 lbs over 3 mos time. BUT if you are transected, I don't think you could disrupt without getting very sick. Right? I have been hearing about fistulas forming between the pouch and old stomach and food going through that. BUT very little food can seem through from my understanding. BUT there is a very interesting phenomenem (spelling?) that my surgeon confirms does occur and that is hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is when our bodies over compensate for the loss of the bypassed small intestines, duodenum, etc by elongating the common channel and actually forming more villii (fingerlike things that extend from the intestine that causes absorbtion) in order to try to "help" us get more absorbtion. This is a common occurence after many months postop. It is why we can't get away with eating certain foods like we did at first without gaining. I was dismayed to learn about this. How do you stop it from happening? By taking your vitamins and supplements regularly and fooling the body into thinking it isn't missing anything through malabsorbation. Our bodies are always trying to "heal" itself and resume the normal status quo that we had before surgery. So what better reason to take our vitamins religiously? If we won't do it simply for better health, I bet we will do it to keep from gaining! Human nature.....Good luck and ask your surgeon to do an upper GI. You have to complain about some pain or nausea in order for him to check it out. At least my doctor wouldn't do it just because I wanted to make sure all was well. Good luck and let us know how you are doing. You are probably just plateauing and will lose again soon. Believe it or not, I plateaued for 3 months and I am now losing again. Three months at a plateau is very frustrating. Thank goodness I am losing again. Whew. -115 lbs and 40 more to go! Marilyn
   — Mylou52

November 22, 2002
Are you positive that you are transected? Cut apart? If so, you might want to check for a fistula--sort of a bridge between stomach A and stomach B. The food can pass again, in other words. And then Marilyn said it all.
   — vitalady

November 22, 2002
Thanks Michelle! I take that as a real compliment coming from someone with your expertise and knowledge! Robert, why don't you do as I did and ask for the surgical notes from your surgery? I wanted to read for myself the part about "an endo GIA with a firing of 60 was used to transect that communication (the staple line disruption) between the two parts of the stomach". Man, when I read that I rejoiced! Sometimes patients assume that they are transected and then later find out they are not. I hope you are certain of this and if not, then you could have a disruption. Good luck and I hope for the best for you. God bless,
   — Mylou52

May 28, 2006
I too have gained back a lot of weight. My nutritionist told me that the two most common traits in patients that gain back weight are drinking while eating and drinking carbonated beverages. I am not a doctor and do not know if this is scientifically proven but I can tell you that when I started doing these things sure enough I began to gain and even binge more often actually I should say graze more often. I am glad to see Michelle is still around. She has been a wealth of info over the years. I need to stay in touch with this website.
   — igot2lose