shadowsoldier

Just a little backstory that might help with my question, I had my bypass 10/23 and was unable to eat for 3 months because of a stricture. This was fixed last week and I am able to eat now. I suffered from severe dehydration and i know malnourishment during the last few months. I started my Vitamins again finally as well. My biggest concern is that I'm now, in the last week or so, experiencing tingling and numbness in mostly my nose and my chest (breasts/stomach area), sometimes occasionally in my arms/legs. I will for sure be contacting my dr because i need to schedule my next visit, but I am just wondering if anyone experienced this at all and what the possible causes could be. I also have had bouts where I almost black out from pushing myself too far with physical activity (no working out for me yet because of the eating issue, so just normal activities like cleaning). I know it will get better as I'm not eating and getting my vitamins, just wondering if others have had this experience.

Thank you so much James! This was one of the things I hadn't really heard about during my Quest for surgery. I should have dug a little deeper, but then again, I also didn't predict having such crazy complications. I will do some research and talk to my doc as well.

It's been a few days but I figured I'd post. I too have a stricture. The new GI i went to didn't want to step on my surgeons toes so I'm supposed to call him and let him know the results. I'm nervous because I feel like my surgeon treats me like a 5 year old child when he talks to me. I hope this ends well...in the meantime, i'm very happy to know what has been causing my inability to eat any sort of solids. 11 weeks post op today, its been hell for me.

Keep us posted! I'm very curious to hear how things go and hope that you are free from this soon. I am just patiently waiting to meet my new GI Thursday.

Thank you BrandonKea for posting this! I have been feeling so alone in my struggles. I had my bypass Oct 23rd and have since then been unable to keep any sort of foods down, sometimes liquids even become a struggle for me. Liquids seem to be getting a little easier, but I just gave up on eating much of anything. My surgeon simply said chew longer, wait longer between bites...I decided to try another GI doctor. I go Thursday so I hope that the news is not bad, but I already had to take a trip to the ER once for dehydration. I even get nauseated just thinking about eating at this point. I've had nothing but complications since this surgery happened and felt like my dr didnt take me seriously. So i just kept it to myself. I really hope your struggle is over soon. I think the most important thing for people to remember that decide to do the surgery is keeping in mind that these sorts of extreme cases happen, its rare, but it happens.

From what I know, everyone has to do a "cleanse" like that. I had the unfortunate experience of having to drink magnesium citrate, but i've heard others had liquid laxatives. It all does the same thing. I would warn anyone having to do the citrate, you might want some baby wipes (nicest way I can say it) because it's not fun.

Today, more than any day since surgery I'm feeling really emotional. I'm 4 weeks PO today and I'm just feeling discouraged and hopeless. It's not even about the weight loss anymore, I've stopped paying so much attention to that because I am having such a hard time eating pretty much anything. Things get stuck and feel like a brick in my chest, even the Soup I had 2 days ago. Can't seem to have anything solid, even mushier things. I'm not even slightly interested in eating anything. I feel like I will never be able to eat solids without issue. Doctor said basically eat smaller bites, chew longer and wait more between bites. I've been doing everything I can do to that. But I can't get soup to go down? I know I just have to get through this and things will get better. Anyone ever been this emotional after surgery? How did you cope?

My first post here, just wanted to see if anyone else's surgeon told them the same thing as me. I had my surgery Friday and I'm still having pain in the bigger incision area. My surgeon today told me that he cut through the muscle in the area and it's still healing. I understand that, but my mom said her muscle was never cut through for her bypass. Anyone else talk to their surgeon about this? I'm just going to assume there are a few techniques on how this is done.

Thanks for the input everyone! Thankfully the pain is gone, just took some time.

I'm 2 weeks post op and I've only been able to get down my Protein drink once, it made me super nauseated so I've been avoiding it since. I've been trying to find other ways to get protein but with little luck. I'm having trouble eating a lot of things that are on my approved list, like lunch meats I just can't eat them. I've had no problem with cream of wheat and soup though. I've been stuck at the same weight for the past 3 days and I know calling my surgeons office will result in being told I need my protein. I just need some help in finding other ways to get protein. I'm just too scared to eat anything now and need things that are soft and easy to eat. Any suggestions?

I agree with what you've said and I'm glad you are doing great! The tips here have helped me a lot and I'm getting back in to getting my Protein. Just going to have to do some ordering online for a few things and I should be good. And you are right about every dr/person is different in what they are told. All the research i've done before surgery has helped me to remember I am different from the next person. But it makes a world of a difference in the suggestions for ways to get protein that I had't considered before!

Love the humor you have towards the subject. It can be a difficult thing to deal with the back end and adjusting to the shift in how things are digested. The best way (if you ask me) to handle things is finding a little bit of humor. But yes, I've heard that it's not an easy adjustment. Thankfully I haven't had any moments outside of my house yet but I return to work tomorrow so we will see how well I adjust in the BM category at work.

Thanks for the input! I was trying to follow my instructions from my doctor and by two weeks I could have ground chicken/turkey and lunch meats but I still think it's too soon. The only downside to trying other Protein is the expense and i'm worried it will me me sick. I am going to try the premier, tomorrow I will head to sams and get a case. I think I'm just going to have to back off the solids for now. I also might try the unjury as well, I've heard a lot of good about that brand as well.

Thanks! 6 weeks was what my doc said too. Of course I started walking the day of surgery and haven't stopped. I only took it a little easier on days I was in a lot of pain but now I'm almost in the clear with the pain so I'm walking every day now. My concern was more for gym activity, so I guess 6 weeks it is. And I'll also keep in mind to not lift too much weight too soon! I miss the gym and want to go back as soon as I can.

How soon did you start working out? My paperwork states 6 weeks is when I can start. However, I see people working out well before that. I also have been doing a lot of walking when shopping the last few days with my mom. I know it's probably best to wait a while, I'll keep up the walking as I know my body is still healing (still have a little pain with my abdomen). Just wondering how long others waited.

It could be that your husband sees you every day so it's a little harder to notice. That's one thing about diets/losing weight in the past, it was too hard for people i was around all the time to notice unless I didn't see them for a few days. Just know the scale is moving and you are losing. I would also recommend taking measurements with a measuring tape because that will clarify your loss there too. My surgery was 10/23 and I'm still having a little left over pain in my abdomen, I only need pain meds at the end of the day when I've done a lot of walking, which i have been doing the last 4 days. I haven't had any dumping but my Protein drink made me really sick the one time I had it, so i know im not getting my protein in. I start lunch meats tomorrow so I'm hoping to start making up a little of the protein. I even had a sweet tea (with very light sugar) 2 days in a row to help with my fluids and i was okay. What did you dump on? Congrats on the weight loss, that's pretty awesome. I was 353 on surgery day so we aren't too far from each other.

Thanks Ashlegal! He had me on the same meds, it helps a lot. Had an especially rough day today with the pain, probably with all the walking/shopping I did. Going to relax all day tomorrow other than the walking i need to do.

Btw, I forgot to say congrats on the loss. One thing I've learned in life, especially being bigger, I have to be proud of myself because who knows how others will react. It's carried me a long way in life just caring about myself and doing things for me, helped me stay strong and confident no matter what. Be proud of yourself and let that happiness shine. You did this for you, if you have a mediocre surgeon, then he is just another person in this world who probably doesn't care so much about knocking you down. Stay strong girl!

My moms surgeon who did her bypass was mean and made her cry, my surgeon has been understanding but has gotten a little impatient with me on certain things, like i didnt walk enough right after surgery because i was so doped up and in pain. However, he has been good on encouraging me, informing me or answering questions. I wish everyone had this, because its an emotional thing to go through. I can tell you I haven't been honest about my water/protein consumption. I'm still under on some days, not significant enough, but enough that I can tell I need more. I'm doing the best I can and I think that's the one thing you can do. Water and Protein are important for healing so I can see why they stress this. I think just do the best you can and go from there. I'm 7 days out and it's just going to get better