CrazyCatLady

I've always guessed that I have some food sensitivities - but, being the snack-fiend that I was, I largely ignored them and ate whatever the heck I wanted anyways. In the years before surgery, I struggled with frequent, painful edema in my hands and feet (sometimes to the point that I could barely open doorknobs, containers, etc), itchy skin after eating, weight gain, general fluid retention.... A couple of timeperiods, I became frustrated and cut out entire food groups in an attempt to find some relief: wheat, corn, dairy...these were popular. I had really hoped that post-op, I wouldn't have to deal with these issues. After all - I was going to be eating a fraction of the amount of food that I ate before, I would have no reactions to worry about! WRONG. I have already documented numerous places my new and total intolerance of anything vaguely dairy related. Even butter and hard cheese are consumed in small quantities at my own peril. But what is really starting to annoy me is the exacerbation of reactions to miniscule amounts of corn and wheat. The scale says I've now lost 43lbs since surgery, which is great! But there have been days where that painful, warm edema has returned to my hands and feet, making sleeping an uncomfortable and fruitless proposition. Finally realized I was drinking a ton of Crystal Light...which uses maltodextrin, which comes from....corn. Drat. Cut out the Crystal Light, switched to tea. Better. I'm finding that eating food out is a challenge. I had some mashed potatoes (and a smidge of gravy) from Boston Market, and puffed up like a Macy's parade balloon. Logged on to their website to peruse ingredients: Milk solids, wheat starch, corn starch.....wtf. Got desperate for variety at one point, and had a Morningstar Farms Chik'n Patty, which at various semi-vegetarian times in my life I loved. I was able to eat all but 2 bites of the patty and felt very satisfied! ....until about 30 minutes later, when my hands started to puff up and my skin began to itch. Ingredients? Wheat gluten is pretty high on the list. Dammit. I have no idea why my body has become MORE sensitive rather than less so since surgery. But all I can say is that I am annoyed and frustrated beyond comprehension. I feel like I'll have to become one of those neurotic people that read every package label and have no fun with life. Small favors, body....that's all I'm asking of you.

I have become totally unable to consume dairy since surgery - to the point where even "lactose-free" products like Lactaid and all whey-based Proteins (Including IsoPure) make me almost immediately and painfully ill. I've tried soy a couple of times, but it gives me amazingly bad gas, so soy is off my list as well. At this point, I can stand rice milk....in teeny tiny quantities. This has made the first few weeks of post-op challenging. I do hope things change at some point - cheese was not something I was willing to give up in this bargain. Sigh.

Wednesday will be the one month anniversary of being sleeved....what a wild, crazy trip it's been! As of yesterday, I am 30lbs down from the weight I was on sleeve day, which is pretty damn good given the circumstances. I still have abdominal edema from my portal vein clot, which is making clothing an interesting proposition. I can now barely button pants I wore pre-op, but the thighs and butt are loose...it's just that pesky abdomen full of fluid! I appear to have also lost some breast tissue, which is an annoyance. I have a job interview today and tried on my normal interview dress: almost too tight in the middle, hanging odd on the top ( I don't fill it out at well!). Makes me look like pregnant potato, but it will have to suffice. Food has been a hot topic this week. For 8 days, I hung out between 269-270lbs on the scale. Then two nights ago, we were at the movies and I broke down and tried popcorn...and found that Cthulu Jr likes it....a lot! All told I had about 1/2 a cup over a period of 2 hours. But the odd part was, in the past I would not have been discerning. I would have eaten any old kernel that ended up my hand. This time, I found myself hunting through the bag for those perfect salty, buttery, seasoned, puffy pieces - and rejecting any other imperfect tidbits. Very satisfying. Next morning I get on the scale....and bam! 266. Excellent. Today I had one thick, perfect piece of Boars Head Mesquite Turkey Breast lunch meat....delicious. CJ found this palatable as well. Yesterday I had a single saltine cracker with my chili at lunch, and it added that crunch that I had been craving. Not the best nutritionally, but it has forstalled my decent into total insanity for yet another week. This time last week, I remarked to my dear husband that I was afraid to try new foods. I was pretty much stuck with tuna, chili (blended), mashed potato, and refried beans. But I finally realized that I can't live like that forever and I had to move past my fear. Relearning how to eat has been scary. I don't want to be that woman who at 6 months post-op is back to eating a ton of junk. But I am one of those people who had this surgery not so I could live my life on terrible tasting synthetic protein foods...but so I could live as a 'normal' person. So I could eat sensibly 90% of the time, but still nibble on a sliver of cake at my best friend's wedding, or have the occasional bite of a Cinnabon. Today has been the first day since April 16th that I have not regretted this surgery. I am hoping that the days that follow are much the same.

Jeeze, sounds like we're all a bunch of druggies... "I use THE STRAW!" *wink wink* "I feel soooo much better since I started using!" lol

When I was in the hospital for a week after 10 days post op due to a portal vein clot, I gained 18lbs in Fluid weight...yes, you read that right, 18lbs. I was 271 at home on the day I was admitted, and 289 the day I came home. Guess what? Worked itself out. Even with my abdominal fluid retention from that same dratted clot, I'm down 30lbs since my surgery a month ago, also with Dr Aceves. You'll do great. Trust your body - it had major surgery, it's doing the best it can. Things will work out for you

I had surgery April 16th, at which time I was kicked off my Spirnolactone (50mg BID!) for control of my hair growth...cause I grow a pretty nice beard/mustache combo. I will say, since surgery, I've only had to pluck a couple hairs. Which is a big change - in the past, if I missed just a couple days of Spirnolactone, I'd have long black hairs all over in just under a week! So it appears symptoms are already improving. Ask me again in a few months

I just switched to using a straw last monday...world of difference! Went from barely able to get down 20oz of fluids a day to now hitting 60 easy. In fact, I'm working on a 32oz of unsweetened Pineapple Papaya iced tea from Quik Trip right now....delicious!

Sounds like some dehydration - you want to get checked out. Preferably sooner rather than later. Just the opinion of one rotten nurse

Yes, many women do start their period after surgery - it is MAJOR surgery and it throws your cycle out of whack. I had my period for almost 16 continuous days after surgery, despite still using my NuvaRing. Your results may vary.

I'm 24 days out...and still have to take a 3-4 hour nap a day in addition to sleeping 9-10 hours a night. But then, I have had complications. Some days are better than others, but have been feeling a little less terrible since I moved from liquids to puree

This substance is lovingly referred to in our home as "IsoPuke". I have, however, heard of some people having success with Mio, Crystal Light and even just making it very, very, very cold prior to consumption. Best of luck to you!

Warning: This may be TMI Ever since I had surgery, I have had diarrhea . However, this last week has taken a turn for the worst. It has evolved from painless to extremely painful! Often, it will sneak up on me in the form of gut-ripping pain, where I can feel my intestines churning and bubbling. And this goes in intervals throughout the entire day, making it very difficult to carry on with life. It makes me paranoid to go for a walk...because what if I start getting those warning pains while I am away from home, with no bathroom in sight? I usually only get a few minutes to find a restroom once the cramping starts. I am friends with a Registered Dietitian with a specialization in bariatrics, and after a long discussion of what I've been eating....it appears I may have an extreme intollerance to dairy products in any form - even the whey-based Proteins. I have been attempting to consume a variety of whey-based Protein since 3 days post op, and always with the same effect: I can consume 3 or 4 swallows and then my stomach starts to painfully churn. What I did consume sits in my stomach like a brick for a couple of hours and increases in discomfort if I attempt to drink Water or anything else before it clears. And then without fail...the gut-wrenching diarrhea. I did attempt to ingest soy protein on one occassion....similar results, in that I had a TON of gas that walking and Gas-X couldn't control. Probably will not attempt it again any time soon. Since I hit mushies, I have branched out into things like ricotta, cottage cheese, yogurt...with similar results. Dietitian says I should cut out everything even vaguely dairy related for a week and see if my symptoms improve....needless to say, I am bummed! But willing to try anything at this point to not be held hostage by my intestines! Any other recommendations are welcome

Actually, Isopure is whey Protein...whey is extracted from milk. I started the day with some blended chili. I haven't tried eggs yet, based off so many here saying they had problems with them, but I may be daring later in the day and see if I can poach one up. I just want this whole surgery thing to start getting easier - I'm tired of complications! I've never regretted something so much in my entire life.

Absolutely....it's flaking everywhere! I just started using coconut oil after I shower, which has had a vast improvement....except for my poor calloused feet. My friend the RD says that this will continue until liquid and fat intake is increased.....just swell >.<

I am having the same problem with full...I can't tell when I'm even close! I'm either empty, or "Oh dear God, what have I done!" Oddly, I've only had a couple things make me slime - when I was in the hospital last week, their bariatric surgeon put me on Carafate. I would take it and immediately get the salty/tangy mouth and drool for about 5 minutes....terrible! That, and if I have any calories closer than 2 hours to when I want to lay down to sleep...up comes the slimes. I've had to learn to lay off on that, but still can't figure out the capacity thing. If you learn any tricks, let me know!

14 days of Lovenox is not standard of surgical care per ASMBS protocol, only 72 hours, which is what my surgeon followed. It should be noted that studies point out that Lovenox is more of a direct factor in preventing DVT than in preventing PVT. The portal vein is a rare place for a clot, simply by virtue of the volume of blood that it transports, as opposed to legs (common DVT location), which transports a smaller fraction of that amount.

I'm 3 weeks out today, and looked down at my lowest lap site to see..... 1 cm of white suture sticking out, in a loop. WTF? Odd that it should decide to make an appearance now. Now wonder why that site's been so itchy!

Today is my 3rd week post-op. The family wanted BBQ last night, so we all went out to my FAVORITE BBQ place here in Tucson, the Brushfire BBQ Company. This was my first time exposed to "eating out" since surgery. I haven't even been on puree a week yet, and there was nothing on the menu that I felt comfortable with attempting to eat, so I sipped on iced tea while everyone else ate ribs, wings, mac'n cheese, etc. And it was the first time since surgery that I felt ANGRY at other people for eating in front of me. Crazy, right? I couldn't sleep last night, I was up pacing and going crazy over hating the events of the evening, wishing I could rewind and not have surgery, and have been sitting at the table, eating grilled garlic bread and wings and whatnot. I let food get me fat. I have had more Pasta and wings than any human should ever conceivably in a lifetime...I ate them all in a decade instead of spacing them out, and now I must deal with the consequence. Like you, I know this is "normal", but it feels alien. I hope it passes soon.

Spasming left flank and abdominal pain is what put me in the hospital last week - turns out I have a blood clot in my portal vein. All that pain? The portal vein normally drains fluids from the intestines, abdomen, spleen and pancreas - since the blood clot is blocking between 60-70% of the vein, the Fluid that can't pass through is backing up into my abdomen and damaging my organs, causing severe pain. While I was in the hospital, IV push Dilauded was needed to control my pain level...serious heavy stuff. What sorts of diagnostics have they done on you to try to pinpoint the source of the pain? My problem was found through an oral/IV contrast-assisted CT scan. Best of luck to you!

You can add me to your list as well: Portal Vein Thrombosis (blood clot), discovered 10 days post op.

I am one of those people that had (and am still having) complications, as mentioned in previous posts. But I want to say to you that..we humans are amazingly resiliant creatures, and that we are able to survive and even thrive through tough situations. Dr Aceves was my surgeon, and he performed my sleeve flawlessly. Ten days after surgery I began having some severe issues - and it was discovered that I have a 60-70% occlusive blood clot in my portal vein. Are there things that could have been done to prevent this? Possibly, though Dr Aceves does follow standard pre/post-op anticoagulation protocol with lovonox injections. I just had the misfortune of being one of the 0.07% to suffer this particular condition, which is a risk with any type of gastric or upper abdominal surgery. Through my rare complication discovery and subsequent week in the office, his office was supportive and kept in touch, even though they had already received their money from me Prior to surgery, I was diabetic, hypertensive....both of those conditions have totally resolved since surgery. In fact, I am now HYPOtensive! I have a young daughter who has Aspergers, so like you, I certainly had to take into account the how/why behind this surgery and how I got to the point of needing to pay someone to cut my stomach out in order to make positive changes. In the end, only you can make the choice whether to go through with this surgery or not. None of us can make this decision for you. I am an RN, I spoke extensively with bariatric patients over the years and was well aware of the possible outcomes - heck, I worked for a bariatric surgeon for a short period of time, teaching pre-op classes! But even with the knowledge of what could go bad, I knew that this was my last-ditch effort to finally lose this weight before it killed me. I finally decided that I would rather die on the OR table, attempting to finally effect positive change in my life, than to have my family find me dead in bed a few years from now. Or worse. Educating yourself and taking good care of yourself (emotional/physically/spiritually) are the best ways to prepare and work towards reducing complications. Try not to dwell too much on "what if". If you have more questions, feel free to PM me.

Yup, constantly. Lots of gurgling. Comes with the territory I suppose.

I am currently unemployed, which is what makes this all the more stressful. I quit my job so I could have surgery, with the advisement from my doc that I should be fine for job hunting at 3 weeks. Instead, I feel even more exhausted today than I did my 3rd day post op. My health insurance has lapsed and I'm still waiting for COBRA info from my previous employer. Beyond frustrated. I paid all my bills up through May, but come June 1st...I'm in deep doo-doo.

I have posted elsewhere, but as I am an April Sleever, I will update here as well. Had my sleeve on April 16th, relatively without issue. Ended back up in the hospital on April 27th with a rare complication of gastric surgery - a Portal Vein Thrombosis (blood clot). Stayed at the hospital for a week and returned home 2 days ago. My abdomen is very, very swollen. Because of the blood clot, fluid and blood is backed up into my abdomen. I can't even wear clothes that fit me a month before surgery when I was 312 lbs - they are too tight. I gained a substantial amount of fluid weight after this last round in the hospital (24/7 IV Heparin and 20mEq KCl in NS drips will do that to you). I have become exceptionally hypotensive (70/50), so getting up and around to walk is a dangerous proposition at best. I am lucky my husband is here for another week to help me, but when he goes home on the 14th, I don't know what I'll do then. MD at the hospital says I am free to return to work whenever I feel able, but I can't seem to stay awake more than a couple hours at a shot, terminally tired all the time. I am seriously considering filing for disability, but not sure how that would work. I've always worked my entire adult life and the thought of not working is mentally crushing to me. I moved to puree/mushies a couple days ago, and it has helped with the fatigue slightly, though I can only consume roughly a tablespoon of food every 3 or 4 hours. I am terrified of getting overfull, but I can't tell when I'm getting close to full either, so I just shut myself off because I don't think I could handle any more nausea/vomiting at this point. I am scared to eat! Never thought in a million years this would be a problem - just a month ago, I was eating 7+ breadsticks plus the entire Tour of Italy at Olive Garden, and still wanting dessert afterwards! Now I am terrified of that one bite that may put me in misery. Ugh, not sure how to move past this. Glad to hear everyone else is doing so well - keep up the good work.

I just got home from a week long stay in the hospital with complications partially relating to my gastric sleeve surgery. Emotionally and physically, this has been a trying week. I went around and around in my head many times...would I have still developed this clot at another time at another surgery, or just this one? Am I very fortunate, or am I being taught a lesson? I came home from the hospital with more questions than answers. I have this clot inside me, mentally it feels like a ticking time bomb. Rationally I know that the Warfarin is doing it's job and that the clot was shown to be stable....but that little nagging part of me still worries. One of the worst parts of this whole ordeal is the side effects. Because I have this large clot partially obstructing my portal vein, blood backs up behind the clot and into the areas that the portal vein normally drains. This has resulted in very substantial fluids in my abdomen and near-constant pain at my left flank area, where my spleen is under backflow pressure. Before I left the hospital, the consulting surgeon went out of his way to make sure I realized that my spleen still may die or need to be removed within the next few months, if the increased blood pressure to the spleen continues and it becomes damaged or infarcts. This would mean more surgery and hospital stays. I have regained scale weight because of all the fluid retention, leaving my current weight at 289lbs. My surgery day weight was 296, and I was 277 on my hospital admission 04/27. This is....frustrating. It may be many months before I am able to lose all the excess abdominal fluid. Here's the awkward part - I can tell I've lost weight off my hips, as my pants fit better....except for the waistbands, which I can hardly button due to the extra fluids. My waist is currently LARGER than it was preop, I've had to return to using yoga pants. I feel like an over-full water balloon. I want to say a word of caution - knowledge of your procedure and it's limits is going to be your most important ally should you need to be hospitalized post-op. When I was in the ER this past friday night, the ER doc wanted me to do an abdominal-pelvic CT scan with oral contrast. For those not familiar - the patients needs to consume about 12oz of contrast fluid within a certain period of time in order for the film to highlight the abdominal contents correctly. When I informed the MD that it might take me a little bit to get the contrast in, he became impatient and told the nurse "Just put an NG tube in her and push in the contrast if she won't drink it". Once again...for those not familiar: a Nasal Gastric (NG) tube is just like it sounds: A tube inserted through your nose and run down into your stomach for the purpose of inserting or draining of stomach liquids. I had to really advocate for myself - this MD was not familiar with the sleeve at all and thought I had a Lap Band and was simply refusing to drink the amount required of me. It took many stern reminders to get him to understand that I had a tiny stomach space with both sphincters intact - you can't just SHOVE fluid into it! Also, throughout my hospital stay, getting things I could consume from the kitchen was an ordeal. They would send me trays with ginger ale, coffee, cranberry cocktail with HFCS, milk....and this was after I had explicitly told the kitchen and the staff many, many times - no carbonation, no milk products (I'm lactose intolerant now), no sugar (tummy doesn't deal well with it now)....if not for my husband, there would have been problems. I sent him out daily for things that I could actually consume. Sad statement of affairs. I thought I finally got a doc to listen to me...and he switched me to a regular diet! Imagine my chagrin at the turkey sandwich, salad, baked beans and chocolate cake that were brought to me! Just 4 short weeks ago...but I digress. Be aware that medical staff is not out to harm you, they just don't know any better. You are now a sleeve ambassador! On the bright side, I started mushies yesterday. Darling husband brought me some very pureed refried beans from the local mexican place....heavenly! I can get down a couple Tbsp, no gas or issues, seems to sit nicely. Tried some strained cheese soup today, results not nearly as good. Still touch and go. It is frustrating to realize that Monday is my 3rd week post-op...and I'm still feeling tired and like I can't seem to fit in with the world yet. I hope this changes soon.