Jennie_B

Hi Everyone! I'm newer to this group and I am so thankful I found you all! I had surgery July 2013, and I've lost 135 lbs. My starting weight was 268. I've had several complications and to be quite frank this has been a journey I wouldn't do again! I had a stricture at 9 weeks post-op. They had to go in 4 times with the balloon to open it. Nausea is an everyday part of my life and I have experienced this awful pain in my left side, at rib level, for months! This pain comes and goes but when it's here the nausea is awful! I have a hard time sleeping because nothing helps the pain, which lasts 4-7 days. Then it goes away again. My surgeon did exploratory surgery, and other than cleaning up some scar tissue, he didn't find anything. I don't have my gall-bladder (which would be on the right side anyway). As I write this, I am home from work (sick) with this pain again, nausea, etc. None of my doctors seem to know what's going on (the surgeon says this isn't surgery related [but I didn't have it pre-op] and my primary is saying the surgeon needs to figure it out!). Has ANYONE out there had anything remotely similar to this?!? Please help!

I haven't tried oatmeal yet. I have a friend who eats it every morning! What else is it that your mom dumps with...oatmeal and ?. Thanks for the info.

You're so right! After I read this post I became very sick (about a day or two later). I called my doc who had me come to the ER. They admitted me, gave me fluids and several tests and discovered I too have an ulcer. Now I am home from the hospital and taking Carafate 4X daily and Pepcid 2X a day. Did it take a long time for your ulcer(s) to heal?

Donna I haven't tried Colace. I'm assuming it's just over the counter? I'm happy to hear you're feeling better! Constipation is incredibly painful! :/

Mimi: Gas pains? Do you feel like it's just that? Ultimately you know your body better than anyone so I would encourage you to go back and get scoped if the pain continues! Take care!

Thank you Mimi! You too! Please keep me posted on what the dr says on Thursday.

Well ladies, I ended up in the ER on Tuesday and they admitted me. They did several tests and bloodwork, then finally an EGD. Seems I have an ulcer. Thankfully it wasn't bleeding on its own yet, but when the dr touched it with the camera it bled. I caught it just in time. Now I have to figure out how to take this Carafate 4x a day and space it properly so it's an hour before a meal or 2-3 hours after a meal, and an hour before or after all medications. What?!? I don't know about you but I "graze" throughout the day. This is going to be tricky. Hopefully this is what has been giving me so much pain for so many months. I'll guess we'll see when this heals, right?

Can you guys explain to me the difference between dumping and late dumping? I'm very confused. Thank you!

I cannot tolerate iced beverages. I do much better with hot tea! When I drink anything too cold it's quite uncomfortable! I'm 15 mos post-op and it's been like this since surgery! Boo!

That's interesting to know. I'm 15 mos out and still battle nausea every few days! The dr is sending me for an EGD to check for an ulcer. I'm just sooooo tired of feeling icky every day!

Hello! I had a stricture that required four procedures to open it. The area my food had to pass through was a mere 4 mm (or is it cm). I would vomit anything that wasn't liquid and even some liquid would come up. The procedure itself was easy. I would feel nauseous for a day or two following the procedure (but that was nothing new for me). I DID lose my weight very quickly because of this. It's scary but you should be just fine. I'm now at a 12 mm/ cm and no more vomiting. Hang in there!

DoubleD that makes total sense!

My Dr says NO alcohol again, ever?!? I wonder why??

My Doctor said caffeine can cause dehydration due to its laxative effect. Since I struggle (daily) to get my fluids in, I need to steer clear of caffeine. He didn't recommend that just for me though. He tells that to all of his patients.