gottaloozit

I am now 7 months post-op and I have a real problem - I can't eat. The sight and/or smell of food just makes me sick and almost nothing sounds appetizing. I THINK I want to eat but when I start, I get nauseated and have to stop and push it away. I'm wondering if it has to do with my very recent complication: Last Monday at the end of work I started having a bad pain right in the middle of my front side, just below my sternum. I left work and when I got home I took a Zantac and soon the pain went away. Then during the middle of the same night, the pain came back but worse and lasted longer. I took Advil and a muscle relaxer, and finally the pain went away. Tuesday I went to work and by mid-afternoon, I was freezing cold and shivering to the point where I had to go outside where it was warm to try to stop the shivers. That didn't work, and since I was aching too, I knew I had fever. I figured I was coming down with something so I went home. When I got home, I peed and my urine was a very dark red-orange. I called my sister and she INSISTED that I call an ambulance and go to the emergency room. After a lot of her nagging I finally agreed and called an ambulance. When I got to the hospital, they did a urinalysis and drew blood. My fever was about 100.8. My urine was glowing yellow at this point. The doctor ordered an xray of my midsection, and a cat scan and an ultrasound. When he got the blood results back, it turned out that my liver enzymes were off the chart and another liver function substance - bilirubin - was very high (this is what causes jaundice and turns people yellow). By this time my fever was 103 and I was miserable. The doctor ordered more blood work, this time they drew blood cultures. They admitted me shortly thereafter. Here is the long story short: I had a severely inflamed, infected gallbladder that was chock full of stones. One or more of the stones had entered the bile duct and blocked the bile from being able to be released from the liver so the liver got involved. They did not know if the stone was still in the duct or not. Two doctors, a Gastroenterologist and a Surgeon discussed the options and decided to perform surgery to remove my gallbladder and check for the presence of a stone in the duct work and remove it. They decided to do the surgery Thursday morning. In the meantime, it turned out that my blood cultures came back positive - I had a Staph infection in my bloodstream. They started me on killer antibiotics because at that point they didn't know if it was the bad staph (MRSA) or the normal staph infection. All antibiotics were administered through my IV. After the surgery my liver enzymes and bilirubin levels had begun to fall. They found out on Saturday that I had the "good" staph which was being killed by the killer antibiotics I had been getting. They released me Saturday afternoon. I know it hasn't been long, but all of the rest of Saturday and all day today I have not been able to eat. I think I want something, but nothing sounds really appetizing. If I go to a restaurant, the sight and smell of the food just makes me sick. I was having some of this same kind of reaction to food prior to the gallbladder episode as well. In fact, all I have to do is think about food and my stomach turns. How can I make this go away????

I was sleeved October 11th, and I have lost 30 pounds. I am one of those who didn't have as much to lose (started at 210, goal is 130. CW is 180). I, like Chris54, have the same problems with eating too fast sometimes, and not getting all of my Protein in (don't think I've accomplished 60 grams in a day, yet!). I also don't drink nearly enough Water. My favorite drink is hot tea with sugar and cream, so I drink a lot of that. It's funny, I used to be a coffee drinker, now I can't stand it! I am in a job that bores me to death so I think about eating too, a lot, and I suppose I am gravitating toward "grazing". I try to only eat at specified times, but we also have lots of treats around here to nibble on. As far as chewing goes, the only thing I chew a LOT is meat, and meat doesn't really agree with me too well. I do best with soft foods like chili, oatmeal, Soup, yogurt, pudding, etc. So that's where I'm at for now! My next goal is 180 for Christmas, and I'm at 180.2, so I think I'll make it.

Hi skinnyjenn - I was sleeved on October 11th, and just like you, I felt NO hunger at first. It's probably because your stomach is still swollen and will be for about the first 2 weeks. When I finally did start feeling hunger, I found that it was a totally different feeling of being "hungry" than it was before. For me, the hunger I feel can be squashed with a little bit of anything, like water or just a bite of something. I can also pretty much tell myself to ignore the feeling and it goes away. The kind of hunger I feel now is nowhere near the feeling I had before, where you thought you were just going to die if you didn't eat something. This is much more manageable (at least for now, and at least for me at 2 months out).

I had a total hysterectomy 3 and 1/2 years ago and my doctor must have known that I would have sleep problems because he prescribed Ambien for me to start taking right after the surgery. I have taken it ever since then, and unfortunately, I became addicted to it - not in the bad sense like I took more than I needed, but in my mind I could NOT sleep if I had not taken it. You may have heard stories about people doing weird things while taking Ambien - well I started doing strange things about 6 months ago, like waking up in the middle of the night and making a chocolate milkshake (with the blender) and don't remember a thing about it. I woke up to holding a glass of chocolate milkshake that had poured out all over me and my bedding. Another night I woke up and made a bowl of Cereal, brought it to bed with me and spilled the whole thing on me. So what did I do? Got up and made another bowl of cereal and yes, spilled that one all over me, too! And I don't remember doing this. All of this was pre-sleeve - I am 6 weeks out right now but these events contributed to my decision to have the sleeve done. So what now? Well here's what I have done: I found a psychiatrist here where I live who specializes in medicines and addictions. She deals with people who take anti depressants, sleeping pills, pain medicines etc. She is helping me get off of the Ambien by taking less addictive drugs to induce sleep FOR NOW. She has prescribed Restoril, and also Clonazepam. Our "sessions" are not at all about lying on a couch and telling her my problems, rather, they only last 20 minutes during which I relay to her my progress with the goal of re-training my brain to allow me to sleep without pharmacological assistance. I no longer take Ambien, I only use these newly prescribed drugs as needed. I am trying each night to go without taking anything, but I have not reached the goal of being able to sleep on my own. But at least I have weaned myself off of Ambien and I have quit doing crazy things at night!!! Good luck with your search to find a way to sleep - you just need to find the right doctor who is willing to work with you!

Dr. Aceves in Mexico was my doctor, and he puts in 3 rows of staples in the stomach and sutures the stomach as well. It must work well - he has a very, very low rate of leaks, if any at all (I don't know of any).

Iwas just about to start a topic about this very thing! I am 3 weeks out and I am having a terrible time trying to eat. I can drink hot tea, - great. Crystal Light drinks - too sweet. Plain Water - Blah. Protein drinks, too sweet, too thick. Soup is okay, string cheese is okay, hardboiled eggs are okay, chicken salad okay. But no matter what I eat, it makes me feel terrible. I get this feeling in my esophagus immediately after the first bite that turns me off. It is so uncmfortable, food feels like it just sits there, even after one bite. Several times I have slimed, in a valiant effort to not throw up. Also must be experiencing "dumping" because I've had some emergency trips to the bathroom to catch the other end before it's too late. Nothing I eat tastes good. Drinking is much easier. So what's wrong with me - I dread having to eat solid food.... >:-\

I am 2 weeks post op - my doctor gave me acid blocker meds that are little balls in a foil package that I take each day. There's no taste so that's okay. I also take Effexor that's in a honkin' giant orange capsule, also filled with little balls. I open it and shake the balls into my mouth and swallow them. That's okay, too. Now my Blood Pressure medicine is a different story - it is a white tablet, but the trick is that it is extended release, so it can't be crushed. My blood pressure started going up after surgery, so I said to heck with it - I take it whole. I also take Ambien to sleep at night, and I take them whole as well. So far, no problems. I was sleeved in Mexico so I can't just go to the doc if anything goes wrong, and I know that I might be taking a chance, but my high BP was giving me hellacious headaches so it was either one BP pill or two headache pills. I chose the BP pill. Whatever you decide to do, don't do it because I am doing it - do what you feel is best for you. Good Luck!

I'm only 2 weeks out, but when I am full, my nose starts running and I hiccup about 2 or 3 times, and that tells me not to eat one more bite or I'll be sorry I did.

I will be 2 weeks out tomorrow (10/25) and so far I've lost 14 pounds. Last night I weighed before I went to sleep, and when I woke up I had lost 1.6 lbs! Weird!

Good luck - sending positive thoughts your way! Just remember - the second day is the worst but you'll get through it!

I personally think that GGP above needs to back off of the criticism. It's rude and not necessary. I was sleeved last week by Dr. Aceves and while I do have my own opinions one way or another, there is nothing about my experience that I feel needs airing here. My choice had everything to do with inability to afford self-pay in the US at the outrageous prices the US health care system charges, and also with the preference to stay in a real hospital for 3 nights. Of the choices I had in Mexico, his credentials are sufficient to convince me that I would be safe because he is ULTRA conservative in his approach both pre- and post- op. That's probably why he has such a low incident rate with complications. Just my opinion.

I have the same issue - I can drink and drink any fluid and my stomach has yet to feel full at all. I was sleeved 10/11/12 (5 days out). What IS up with that? Makes me worried that I will not feel restricted with solid food......

Hi - I am a 10/11/12 sleever too! Just got back from Mexico last night. So far, so good. Keeping a close watch on drain hole opening. Everything went okay for me although it was more traumatic (drastic) than I thought it would be. Went through a short period of "what have I done"..... but got over that pretty quick. Now back at home I'm seeing the possibilities of how I can add variety to my next month's diet. Still puffy on stomach, sore around major incisions. Like others, I am having a hard time seeing me looking right after weight loss - feel like I will have tons of sagging, loose skin, especially around my upper thighs. They look so bad now that I just foresee them looking really bad later. BUT, I don't plan to be showing my upper thighs to people. If they fit in smaller pants I'll be happy! Let's post progress reports so we can use each other as gauges to assess our progressions!

Yes, I do believe that "someone who never drank much Water pre-surgery has adapted to live on less water". Just as everyone always points out on this site, we are ALL different. What works for one may not work for another, and vice versa. I'm not saying I won't drink any water after I get my sleeve, I'm just saying that if I can't get 64 ounces in each day (which I already KNOW I won't - I can't do that now with a full capacity stomach), I won't get all frazzled over it. I'm 56 years old, have lived this way my entire life, and I can assure you that after living this long I am quite in tune with my body and what it needs or doesn't need. I plan to do whatever I feel like my body needs for me to do. If that involves drinking a lot of water, I will do my best to drink more water. If I don't feel I need it, I won't feel a desperate need to do so. That's all.....

I'm a little bit higher than you all are to start off (208) - but it is a proven fact that my weight is NOT going to go down on it's own, or even if I try to lose it with diets (that's been proven too). I am 5' 6", and the lowest weight I can remember was in 1993 when I got down to 135 lbs (from about 150 - big deal). From there it has gone up, up, up. Then next time I remember noticing my weight was in 1997, and I weighed 160. Got on Weight Watchers and lost 15 lbs, then fell off the wagon, and up it went again. Tried Medifast, Nutrisystem, Quick Weight Loss Centers, Jenny Craig, Adkins, and I would lose 10, then gain 15, over and over and over. When I hit the dreaded 200 I said NOPE - THAT DOES IT! Time for drastic measures. And now, (well, next week on the 11th), VOILA!!!!!! I WILL BE SLEEVED!!! YAY!!!!! Good luck to all of us, even if it's slow going!!

I'm right there with you Gabby - I have NEVER been a Water drinker, or any kind of a Fluid drinker either. (I will be sleeved next week on Oct. 11th...) I also generally never drink anything with my food . That's a good thing, but the lack of drinking water or other liquids each day has been my pattern for years and years. I think if you have always been a fluid drinker, then your reduced capacity to take in liquids would have the potential to cause dehydration. However, if you've never been a liquids drinker in the past and it didn't cause you to get dehydrated, then why would the reduced capacity for intake of liquids cause anyone to become dehydrated after the sleeve? How could it be any different? So that's why for now I'm not too worried about it.

Must be nice.....my insurance covers the surgery, but only if I stand on my head, twirl a baton, juggle 4 balls with the other hand, video the whole thing and send it to them. Oh, and I would also have to gain a lot more weight first, acquire diabetes in addition to the high blood pressure I already have, and then let the insurance company spend a ton of money sending me to doctors for a supervised diet, bloodwork, a swallow test, endoscopy, xrays, nutritionist, psychiatrists and wait for about a year to see if all of those antics qualify me to let them pay for it. I decided to self pay and skip all of that BS!

Okay, (#1) I haven't been sleeved, so what I am going to say is not from experience. (#2) I'm not a doctor or a nurse either, nor am I a nutritionist. BUUUTT........ If it is possible that her dry heaves are coming from ketosis, and ketosis is a result of fat being metabolized, it would seem to me that eating / drinking something that would back her off of being in ketosis would help. When I have dieted in the past I would have to deprived myself of enough calories in order to force my body to use fat for fuel, and then my body would enter ketosis (byproduct of fat metabolism). I would come out of ketosis by cheating and eating something with enough calories to allow my body to use the extra calories from the food I injested for fuel instead of making it use fat. SOOOO, maybe she should have some kind of food / drink that is high calorie or highER in calories to give her body a rest from metabolizing fat and causing ketosis, thereby relieving the dry heaves. First thing I am thinking of is a spoonful of ice cream, or anything that is small quantity but high in calories. Maybe too early for her to eat that, but sure sounds good..... Just a thought - not saying I have ANY documented basis for it, but it might help.

You can get Gas-X strips at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Grocery Stores, etc. They are in the same area where the antacids are (Mylanta, Tums, Zantac, Prilosec,...) And while I am in here responding, I have a question: I get sleeved next week on the 11th of October so I need to know this: When everyone says that Gas-X strips "work wonders", and everyone says that walking helps with getting rid of the gas, just exactly WHAT kind of gas are we talking about? The gas from the operation that was put in your abdomen (the kind that migrates up to your shoulders and upper arms and hurts like hell after lap surgery)? Gas in your stomach that makes your stomach growl? Or, well, the kind that is searching for the back door?

Fantastic! I am scheduled for surgery on Oct 11th, just a week from this coming Thursday. I found the information in your post to be calming and it gives me assurance not to be so nervous as to whether or not this is the right decision for me. Thanks for taking the time to share!

And BTW - you never know. Maybe she will come to her senses after she has backed away and really looked at who she gave up, and come back! You never know....stranger things have happened! I definitely would recommend that you DO ask your PCP (regular doc) for antidepressants. They work extremely well - I've been taking them for almost 20 years now. But realize one thing - and this is IMPORTANT: They are NOT like taking an aspirin for a headache. You do not get instant results. It takes 2 to 3 weeks for them to "kick in", so BE PATIENT. They WILL work - just give them time. In the meantime, concentrate on losing even more weight and direct your thoughts toward that instead of toward her. Eventually she might see that she screwed up big time, and then you can decide if you even WANT her anymore! Good luck - I'm a girl, but I have definitely "Been there, Done that, and have a BOATLOAD of tee shirts, too"! I know how you are feeling right now. It sucks, but as my Dad used to say, "This too shall pass". And it will.

I take Effexor as well, AND I take Wellbutrin. Dr. Aceves told me to get off of the Wellbutrin for about 2 - 3 days before the surgery (mine is Oct. 11th) but the Effexor is okay. I also take high blood pressure meds but apparently those are okay to take as well. Nina (Dr. Aceves coordinator) told me that they have found through experience that there seems to be a correlation between those who take Wellbutrin, and excessive or increased swelling. Don't know why that would be, but who knows..... Since I take an extended release Wellbutrin (300 mg), I had to go to my PCP to get a prescription of immediate release (i.e., regular) Wellbutrin that are 75 mg. each. She wants me to take 2 in the morning and 2 at night, then 2 in AM and 1 in PM, then 2 in AM 1/2 in PM, then 2 in AM only, etc. getting down to none a few days before surgery. I will still take my Effexor though. And as with all surgeries, I am not to take any NSAID's or aspirin within about 2 or 3 days of the surgery. That's all I know right now. If you find out otherwise, please let me know!

Positive thoughts being sent your way!!!! Let us know how you are (I am a pre-opper right now...)

Take Benadryl immediately!!!! That is the quickest easiest thing for you to do right away! Let us know what happens.....

Ohhhhh, I am SOOO sorry to hear this. I can only imagine how disappointing this must be. Is this condition treatable / curable? Is there any chance you can have WLS after it is treated? I don't even know what it is - I'll have to look that up. My thoughts and well wishes are being sent to you as I know you are just TOTALLY blown away right now. Please keep us posted..... XOXO :wub: