LColandrea

Had my original rny gastric bypass in December 1999 by Dr. Scott Shikora who was practicing at Tufts New England Medical Center at the time. I did 1 year of research before I met with Dr. Shikora and his team. Went to my meetings, appts. with nutrition, surgeon, psych. Took all the steps necessary, and surgery was scheduled.
 
I did not have any health issues prior to gastric bypass. I had great labs, I was young, good energy, etc. I just wanted to be thin and healthier. I spent 3 days in the hospital. I was back in for a few days due to a blockage. I wasn't even able to keep water down. Once that was corrected, I did great. I followed the plan as I was supposed to, did all the steps, took my supplements, went to my follow up appts. and dropped the weight pretty quickly. I followed up with my surgeon until after the first year, and I had dropped all my weight.
 
After the 4 year mark, I started noticing things were not as great as they were, and I was feeling sick all the time. My issues started with having low iron. I wasn't absorbing it, so I had to go in to the hospital 3 times weekly for infusions. My labs started showing that I wasn't absorbing a lot of supplements that I was taking. I had very low energy, I started vomiting a lot, pain and burning in my stomach. Then came the ulcers! I had many scopes because of this over the years, and put on a higher dosage of my antacid. Lots of GI doctors and scopes over the last 16 years. After the ulcers came the syncope episodes. I was blacking out out of nowhere, no explanation. It happened in public places, in front of family members and I've been lucky it has never happened while I was driving. I was finally sent to cardiology, and had CT scans. Nothing ever showed up, or could explain these episodes. They diagnosed me with syncope, told me not to drive and called it a day. The vomiting at this point was too often. No matter what I was eating, I was throwing it up. This also went on for years. Any time I had an issue, GI would send me for labs and endoscopy. Nothing ever showed up. My white blood count would be low here and there, along with my vitamin D and iron, but that was it. I never felt good after this. I continued to keep my weight off, and was stable all of these 16 years. I didn't over eat, didn't stretch my stomach and I avoided a lot of foods. Over the years, I tried to contact my original surgeon, but when I did I was told It was so long, I am considered a new patient and I would have to wait months to see him. I didn't have months to wait around when I was getting sick the way I was. I suffered a lot. It was frustrating, and doctors make you feel like stuff is in your head. Either nobody wanted to deal with my issues because of the bypass, or they thought it was in my head.
 
Fast forward to now. I moved to San Diego 1.5 years ago and after the move, things were the worst! It was the most sick I had felt in the 16 years that I had my bypass. I saw a GI doctor who sent me for the typical endoscopy. He assured me that everything was fine, but there was a bit of a pouch stretch which is normal for someone this far out. He had me try a few medications, but nothing was helping me. I then found a bariatric surgeon, who knew exactly what was going on before he even tested anything (which he did to confirm, of course). I had a very large hernia, which had been pushing my stomach out in my chest (which was also very big). This was causing the food to just sit and swirl around, eventually causing the vomiting. I was scheduled for surgery to correct the hernia, and to pull my stomach back down where it belonged. The doctor felt this would correct the vomiting, and I would start feeling better. I was told it would be like starting over, because technically I had a revision, although the size of my stomach and intestine were not compromised. The doctor felt I may lose a few lbs. after, but put them right back and feel better. That was not the case at all. I had my revision on Sept. 9th of this year. I spent 5 days in the hospital. Sent home, and did well. I had no issues with liquids, soft/puree food, etc. After a few weeks, I started incorporating other foods, but began dumping on everything, including protein drinks. Everything I was putting in my mouth, I was getting dumping no matter what it was. I was dropping almost 1 lb. a day. 
 
I got down to 94 lbs., was really dehydrated and admitted for nutrition and fluids. A picc line was put in to receive tpn nutrition. I spent another 5 days in the hospital. At that point, I started feeling like reversing this was going to be my best bet. My doctor said he would reverse me if things didn't work out, and it's really what I wanted. I have been on tpn for almost 2 months now. Nothing is really better. I have gained back some weight and almost at my pre revision weight. My labs look better after getting tpn 18 hours out of the day, however I feel bad all the time. I am still dumping from everything I eat, I am exhausted, my quality of life sucks right now. I have 2 little kids at home, and I really just want to move on with my life. This has consumed me so much! I am seeing my surgeon Tuesday, and I am to let him know what my decision is. If I decide to reverse, he will schedule me before the end of the year.
 
The years of issues, the damage this has done to my teeth and my hair isn't worth it anymore. There's a small chance that "if" I continue with tpn, the dumping "might" get better in 6-12 months, maybe not. If I reverse, I have a 50% chance of getting gastroparesis. What I do know is how it has effected me all these years. I've learned so much about what our bodies need to thrive, and there are a lot of supplements that you cannot absorb after having gastric bypass, including the B vitamins, potassium and zinc. There's alot they didn't tell me, and so much they didn't know. There are still things they don't know, and what they do know...they don't always tell you. This is a business for these doctors after all. As great as our surgeons are...we are also guinea pigs as well. 
 
I'm feeling as of right now that I need to just reverse this surgery so I can have more quality of life. I can't imagine this getting better. I can't imagine having a feeding tube dripping over my heart any longer. I barely leave my house. I am really depressed and having a picc is a huge inconvenience, and it's scary. It can get caught on things, have an effect on your liver and other organs, and at risk of infection. I don't want to depend on a feeding tube for nutrition.
 
I hope my story opens some eyes. I have much more that I could add here, but that's the gist of it. I am not a rare case. there are so many of us out there suffering because of having this surgery. I regret it every day of my life. I wish I knew then what I know now about food and health. I realize that there are a lot of people struggling, but saying you can't lose weight without a surgery is not true. Losing weight fast the way you do is not healthy, never being able to get in the supplements your body needs is not healthy. My hair is now coming out in chunks. I have lost a few teeth, and have many fracture lines from lack of vitamins and vomiting. This was never anything that I did to cause this, but the surgery itself. If you think none of this will happen to you, think again! Think again! Nobody ever wants to hear the bad stuff, but you should. Lots of people have lots of complications, they just don't discuss it as openly.
 
**Update**
Really scared, and lots of thoughts going through my head. I'll be having a reversal of my rny on December 7th. I'm hoping for the best, but I know what the reality could be. Please, please do your research. I don't say things to be mean at all, I'm just looking out for you.
 
**Update 1/10/19**
It’s been a few years since I’ve updated my information. When I last wrote, I had had my bypass reversed (December 2015). Things did not go as I had hoped. I ended up being diagnosed with gastroparesis. It’s been a crazy ride so far. I’ve had a handful of surgeries, too many hospital stays to count and lots of testing. This bypass stuff ruined me, and I still have regret. There is no cure for gastroparesis and very little treatment options to help with symptoms. I’ve been back on tpn, I’ve had a Jtube and currently have a port for daily hydration. I always have many doctor appts. This illness has changed my quality of life, and has brought on more health issues. I’m so angry I ended up with this! I could kick my 25 year old self in the ass for doing this all to be thin. Now I’m 45 and my health is a mess. I believe weight loss surgeries should be banned!