Andre Garcia

I am shocked to see that there isn't a single post regarding Trulance with the number of people that suffer from constipation after WLS. Please sound off here if you have any experience with constipation and taking Trulance. After taking Linzess for three weeks, I started gaining weight and there was inflammation found in my throat...I was subsequently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and prescribed Levothyroxine 50mcg. The Trulance goes to work within 2 hours of taking it, but causes me some pretty severe diarrhea. I take my Levothyroxine first thing in the morning and my Trulance when I get home from work. Has anyone here had any success with Trulance, and if so, were you able to get off of it? Did your GI return to normal or were you still constipated after stopping Trulance (if that's what you did)? Thanks!

Linzess is for chronic idiopathic constipation...so is Trulance.

Hey everyone...I could really use some help. I'm on my third time trying to wean myself off Prilosec and doctors so far have been pretty useless. None of their directions have worked. After learning that omeprazole takes about 45 days to be gone from your body, I decided to take the phased approach to withdrawal to another level. The first two times, I tried doing exactly what my surgeon suggested, which was to start taking 20mg every other day for a week, then every two days for a week, then every three days for a couple weeks, and then stop alltogether. When I tried stopping, within a few days I started experiencing burning sensations in my intestines. Not my stomach...but my actual intestines. I would up giving in and going back on 20Mg Prilosec every day. A couple months went by and tried for my second time. This time I tried a similar method, but tried to use 20Mg Pepcid and the occasional Tums...that didnt' work either. The pain was unbearable. For my third attempt, I took the drawn out pill cutting approach to really give my body time to adjust. For two months, I was on half a dose (10mg) without issue, then on June 29, I dropped down to 1 quarter pill (5mg), and that's when the trouble started. By the 9th day on 5mg, I started feeling pain in my intestines. The last few nights, I've been getting up because the pain is too intense and having to drink water and Pepcid to try and calm my intestines down...nighttime has been the worst just recently. Now we are in August and I have basically a month before I'm supposed to stop taking it completely, but I'm afraid I'm going to have an ulcer or perforation somewhere in my GI tract (which has already happened to me once--nearly killed me). Has anyone else experienced this? If so, how did you stop taking Prilosec without all this pain? Please...I'm desperate for answers.

Haven't tried Tagamet in over 10 years because it didn't help me pre-op with heartburn I used to suffer from, but I guess I could try it and Zantac and see if they help me wean off this poison (Prilosec).

Yes, I tried taking Pepcid and experienced burning intestinal pains anyway. At one point I was up to 40mg Pepcid with no relief.

So...I had a perforated intestine 3 months after having RNY...RNY was Nov 2016 and perforated intestine was late February 2017...well over a year ago. I tried 3 times to wean off Prilosec, each time trying something different. The pain got so bad, I nearly went into the ER, but met with my surgeon instead. He recommended I go back on the half dose of Prilosec until November for my two year checkup, and then we would revisit things. ry He also ordered a fresh set of labs to see how I was doing with vitamins, minerals, and other things. In the meantime, I went back on a full dose of Prilosec for the last few days, and sure enough, the intestinal pain is completely gone. I'm going to cut down to 50% again next week...I figured full dose for now to give my intestines some time to heal from whatever I had put them through on a 25% dose. I think one challenge I have is that I was water fasting while also trying to wean off of Prilosec...next time I try, I won't drink coffee or drink wine nor fast at all so I don't trigger things that could increase my acidity. Ugh.

I have had both a colonoscopy and endoscopy and nothing but a very small hiatal hernia was found (too small to recommend operating on it). I don't have acid coming up on me at all...no burning in my stomach. It's literally a burning sensation in the upper left and upper right quadrants of my abdomen, right below my diaphragm (chest cavity).

I had Gastric Bypass Surgery on November 17, 2016, lost a bunch of weight, and then had a perforated intestine in February 2017. After being put on meds for a suspected but not confirmed H. Pylori, I became chronically constipated and eventually impacted, which led to a diagnosis and a week in the hospital with prostatitis. Since about April of 2017, I have suffered from chronic constipation, relying on Milk of Magnesia and trying things like Senna, Senna tea, and other stimulant and non-stimulant laxatives to get to go to the bathroom successfully. I lost most of my weight in the first six months after surgery, with a short plummet after being hospitalized at the end of February 2017. Once the chronic constipation kicked in, I started experiencing significant plateaus (significant as in not losing or gaining weight +/- 3 pounds for 3-4+ months). After going round and round with insurance, I finally got approval and was prescribed Linzess. My GI doc sent me home with some 72mcg samples until I could up the dosage to the full 145mcg dosage she was recommending. I was on the 72mcg dosage for 9 days and then the 145mcg dosage for 6 days. 3 days into upping the dosage to 145mcg, I gained 5 pounds overnight and started feeling some pain in my neck, which I attributed to sleeping wrong (kink in my neck). By the 7th day after starting the 145mcg dosage, I had gained over 10 pounds (which a week later still hasn't come off) AND I COULD BARELY MOVE MY NECK! Also, my eustachian tube on my right side is still inflamed. A CT scan of my neck showed inflammation in my neck and my TSH skyrocketed above 5 (for the first time in my life!). It's too much of a coincidence that since starting on Linzess, I get lightheaded every time I stand up from a seated position, I gained over 10 pounds, and my neck still hurts. My symptoms have improved since stopping the Linzess back on the the 7th day, but have not gone away. Neck and right ear still hurt, haven't lost the weight I put on since starting Linzess, and still get lightheaded when I stand up. In my opinion, this medication should be recalled...looks like the FDA might have approved this medication without sufficient testing. BTW, this medication also gave me severe diarrhea for about an hour, roughly 2-3 hours after taking it at the 145mcg dosage and I took it as prescribed, taking it first thing in the morning 30 minutes before eating or drinking anything. Has anyone else had issues taking Linzess?

I have used an Auto-CPAP since 2008 since being diagnosed with mild to severe Sleep Apnea (back when I weighed north of 330 pounds). Since using a CPAP, my AHI has usually been below 1 and I have slept soundly most nights. In November of 2016, I underwent Gastric Bypass surgery after a peak weight of 360 pounds and Day of Surgery weight of 334 pounds. Over a year later, I am down to 224 pounds and wake up some nights with super dry mouth. Over the past 9 months, I have been adjusting my CPAP's minimum pressure setting by 0.5 every 4-6 weeks lower and noticed that my AHI is below 1 over 90% of the time, and I hit an AHI of 0.0 3-5 times a month, especially lately. My minimum pressure started out at 11, and last month it was at 6. My body adjusts to the pressure I set it to and I noticed that my CPAP stays at the minimum pressure I set it to over 90% of the time (looks like a flatline), only coming up for about 30 seconds about 10-15 times or less a night, with little to no snoring being detected. I am wondering if anyone out there has successfully been able to methodically stop using their CPAP using the same approach I have shared above? I know there are plenty of you that said you hate your CPAP and just stopped using it, but as someone that has used it religiously for the past 10 years, I have anxiety over not using it and have thought I need to slowly adjust my body to not having/needing it. I do plan on having a sleep study done to see where I am at in terms of medically needing it (or not), but would love to hear from those of you that have succeeded or failed in weaning off your CPAP...would especially love to hear from those that COULDN'T quit cold turkey. Thanks!

I had Gastric Bypass a little over a year ago (November 2016) and wound up with a perforated intestine last February post-op. I was put on Prilosec to allow my repair surgery to heal, and I was told after an EGD that I could start weaning myself off Prilosec. I am down roughly 110 pounds from my day of surgery, but I feel like I would have lost more weight had I not been put on Prilosec because I noticed my intestinal motility slowed way down in March...roughly 3 weeks after I started taking Prilosec. I started weaning myself off Prilosec (20mg/day) back in October by reducing my dosage by 5mg every 3 weeks. During that time, I had some small bouts of rebound acidity, but they were manageable using Pepcid and Mylanta occasionally. My last dose of Prilosec was taken on December 27. About 3 days after, I experienced acid rebound and have tried to manage symptoms by taking Pepcid and Mylanta. The worst it has gotten is there have been days I have had to take 20mg Pepcid every 6 hours to keep the symptoms at bay. Over the past 1-2 weeks, I have been experiencing pain in my upper left abdomen that has woken me up roughly 2 hours after I fall asleep at night. The symptoms have usually gone away within 1-2 hours of being awake after sitting in a chair. Last night was different. I slept 1 hour last night. The only thing that was different was that, in addition to my 40mg of Pepcid before bed, I took Emergen-C Chewable 1,000mg Vitamin C and also 30ml of Milk of Magnesia to deal with chronic constipation I have been suffering with since last March. I noticed while trying to fall back asleep that I felt pressure go up in my abdomen and my pain returned within minutes of laying down...I sleep on my right side. I feel like putting my wife through another trip to the Emergency Room would be traumatic and I'm reticent to run to the ER knowing there's a good chance they won't find anything based on research I have been doing the past 2 weeks. Has anyone else experienced intestinal burning sensations trying to withdraw from PPIs? Pain in the upper left abdomen, under the rib? Has anyone experienced this left side pain while sleeping on their right side? I have been sitting up in a chair for the past six hours and still feel the pain right now!

I had my RNY Gastric Bypass on November 14, 2016 and lost most of my weight in the first 9 months. I started this journey at a maximum weight of 360 pounds, and on my day of surgery, weighed 334 pounds and am down to 234 pounds. When I was released from the hospital after my Gastric Bypass, I wasn't sent home with instructions to stay on any PPIs or antacids, so since I was feeling great, I stopped taking my daily regimen of Pepcid. In February earlier this year (2017), I had a perforated intestine that nearly killed me (became septic) and was hospitalized for nearly a week after they repaired the hole in my intestines (near the pouch). I went through another treatment for H. Pylori and was on strong oral antibiotics for 6 weeks, and then have been continuing 20mg of Prilosec every day (have recently started weening myself off of it). In mid-April, I became severely constipated and impacted and was back in the hospital with a diagnosis of Prostatitis. Since then, I have suffered from chronic constipation and have had solid plateaus for several months at a time. I am posting my story because I am trying to see if anyone else out there has gone through anything similar, and I would like to understand if anyone lost more weight after their first surgical anniversary? I am having a Resting Metabolic Rate test tomorrow morning, so I am trying to figure out why I'm not losing more weight, but thought I would post and see if there is any hope. I am taking Probiotics (Culturelle), multi-vitamins, Calcium/D3 chews, and get all my Protein and Water in every day. I also exercise at least 2-3x per week. To get by, I wind up taking milk of magnesia roughly every other day...I only recently stopped taking Stool Softeners...I had been taking a Stool Softener (2x at night, every night for months). Ironically, I notice things move more easily on their own when I drink a glass of red wine after dinner, but don't want to depend on alcohol to help me go. So, I'm posting because of 2 things: the constipation and the amount of weight loss (the length of time, the plateaus, etc). I am hopeful that as I reduce the Prilosec that things will get better as my body starts producing more acid. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any thoughts?

I had my RNY Gastric Bypass on November 14, 2016 and lost most of my weight in the first 9 months. I started this journey at a maximum weight of 360 pounds, and on my day of surgery, weighed 334 pounds and am down to 234 pounds. When I was released from the hospital after my Gastric Bypass, I wasn't sent home with instructions to stay on any PPIs or antacids, so since I was feeling great, I stopped taking my daily regimen of Pepcid. In February earlier this year (2017), I had a perforated intestine that nearly killed me (became septic) and was hospitalized for nearly a week after they repaired the hole in my intestines (near the pouch). I went through another treatment for H. Pylori and was on strong oral antibiotics for 6 weeks, and then have been continuing 20mg of Prilosec every day (have recently started weening myself off of it). In mid-April, I became severely constipated and impacted and was back in the hospital with a diagnosis of Prostatitis. Since then, I have suffered from chronic constipation and have had solid plateaus for several months at a time. I am posting my story because I am trying to see if anyone else out there has gone through anything similar, and I would like to understand if anyone lost more weight after their first surgical anniversary? I am having a Resting Metabolic Rate test tomorrow morning, so I am trying to figure out why I'm not losing more weight, but thought I would post and see if there is any hope. I am taking Probiotics (Culturelle), multi-vitamins, Calcium/D3 chews, and get all my protein and water in every day. I also exercise at least 2-3x per week. To get by, I wind up taking milk of magnesia roughly every other day...I only recently stopped taking Stool Softeners...I had been taking a Stool Softener (2x at night, every night for months). Ironically, I notice things move more easily on their own when I drink a glass of red wine after dinner, but don't want to depend on alcohol to help me go. So, I'm posting because of 2 things: the constipation and the amount of weight loss (the length of time, the plateaus, etc). I am hopeful that as I reduce the Prilosec that things will get better as my body starts producing more acid. Keeping my fingers crossed. Any thoughts?

I had RNY Gastric Bypass on November 14, 2016. On my day of surgery, I weighed 334 and have lost a lot of weight. In February, I was rushed to the ER with a perforated intestine (hole) caused by a Marginal Ulcer near where my Roux limb attaches to my stomach pouch. I survived that ordeal, staying in the hospital for 5 days after nearly dying from sepsis. In mid-April, something changed...my "intestinal motility" slowed way down and my (sorry) poop practically turned to clay. I wound up back in the hospital during the 3rd week of April with a diagnosis of "Prostatitis" but my CT scans revealed my entire pelvis was inflamed. I was on strong antibiotics (liquid Bactrim) for six weeks and took probiotics to combat diarrhea. I had completed my course of antibiotics during the first week of June. Several weeks later, I still struggle with very slow intestines and my weight loss has plateaued for 3 months now. I am "hovering" between 251 and 247 and my size or shape hasn't changed in months. I am seeing my surgeon in a couple of days for a follow up, but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Has anyone else experienced such a long plateau? It is disheartening to think this could be the end of my weight loss. I feel like I could lose another 100 pounds...I know...that may not be realistic, but I feel like I haven't lost enough and my BMI is at just under 36...I started out with a BMI of 52. I feel like my stall is related to the slow down in my intestines...almost like my body decided it was going to try to absorb more from the food I was eating and hang on to more, preventing me from losing more weight. I am starting to feel helpless and depressed just writing about it. Ugh. I know that's not the intention of these forums, but I guess writing about it made me really express how I was feeling. Does anyone have any answers? Has anyone else been through this? I feel like I can't travel without stool softeners and Senna tea to try and keep me going.

I am freaking a little, so I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has done this and what effects they felt or otherwise experienced. I have gotten into making customized natural Protein shakes with a lot of different ingredients. One such ingredient is CINNAMON...1 TABLESPOON of it. I tried it for the first time this morning, and then thought that maybe that was too much, so I looked it up. OMG...most recipes call for like a 1/4 teaspoon and there are articles of cinnamon actually causing liver damage. I know I have only done this once, but clearly I wouldn't want to damage my liver and I am wondering if others in the WLS community have experience with consuming too much cinnamon and have any feedback.

For anyone curious, I built on someone else's recipe and came up with the recipe below. I'm probably going to reduce the cinnamon from 1TB to 1/4 TSP to reduce liver damage risk associated with Cassia-based Cinnamon. 6 oz Unsweetened chocolate Almond Milk 3 Tbsp Peanut Butter Powder (100% peanuts) 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (100% Cacao) 1 banana 4 Strawberries 1 Tsp Matcha Powder (this is ground up green tea leaves) 12 Spinach Leaves 1 Tsp Coconut Oil 1 Tbsp Cinnamon (switching to 1/4 Tsp) 1 Cup of Crushed Ice (added after blending all of the above ingredients for roughly 2 min)

Went through Gastric Bypass on 11/14/16 and feel like my weekly weight loss is too slow. I guess my expectations may be unrealistic, but it's just discouraging to see some early success and then have it slow down and I'm not even 8 weeks post-op. I know the weight loss may look more like stair steps on a chart, but I seem to be metabolically resistant and I'm not sure what to do. To give you an idea, I am sharing my weekly weight loss chart below. Has anyone else experienced this? Any tips for revving things up? I am a guy so I was hoping I would lose weight faster than the average numbers. Day of Surgery weight: 334 (I weigh on Mondays) Week 1: 323 - Weight lost: 11 pounds Week 2: 318.8 - Weight lost: 4.2 pounds Week 3: 317 - Weight lost: 1.8 pounds Week 4: 310.4 - Weight lost: 6.6 pounds Week 5: 306.4 - Weight lost: 4 pounds Week 6: 304.6 - Weight lost: 1.8 pounds Week 7: 301 - Weight lost: 3.6 pounds Right now: 299.8 - Weight lost this week: 1.2 pounds Don't mean to whine...I am just anxious and not sure if this is normal or not. It just feels like so many others that go through this surgery are losing weight so much faster and I'm drinking my Water, getting my Protein in from healthy sources, and walking almost every day for over an hour. Ugh.

Hi everyone, This is my first post. I had surgery on 11/14/16 and have wondered if my weight is coming down fast enough, and if not, how I could increase the amount of weight loss or should have concerns. I know that losing weight more slowly could give my skin a better chance of keeping up with my changing body, but I can't help but wonder if I am doing something wrong. I already know I can increase my Water intake (getting 32-64oz water per day). I'm in my 3rd stall and noticed it happened when I started eating "regular" food again (after the puree phase). The stalls drive me nuts, especially since they seem to be lasting from 3-7 days. At six weeks post-op, I am at 303.2 pounds, down from a day-of-surgery weight of 334, or an average weight loss of 5.13 pounds per week. I have read using multiple sources that weight loss varies between 5 to 15 pounds per week. I am wondering: what is the difference between those that lose 5 pounds per week versus those that lose 15 pounds per week? If your rate of loss is faster than mine, what are you eating, how much water are you getting per day, how much are you really exercising per day/week, and do you have any other medical factors that might be contributing to your faster weight loss? Also, I have a few other questions: At this phase of my diet, I'm supposed to be eating 3 meals a day and not drinking Protein shakes anymore. Is anyone out there still relying on shakes to get the additional protein? I feel like 3 meals a day doesn't give me the minimum 60 grams of protein I'm supposed to have per day. Also, I have started weight lifting and believe I need more protein than my diet specifies. I noticed I had a tough time with ham, barbecue pork, and asparagus...I get a tight feeling in my pouch even if I chew these down to nothing. Is the pain I feel really the food trying to pass into my small intestine? Seems like some foods like greek yogurt go down really easily while others, no matter how much you chew, cause discomfort. Knock on wood: nothing has made me throw up yet, but at times I feel a little sick when I haven't eaten in a while. I have not experienced dumping syndrome yet. I am wondering if the daily probiotic I am taking is helping reduce the risk of adverse effects. Are you taking a probiotic? Have you noticed any benefits? Sorry everyone...I know this is a long post, but since it's my first, I have so much on my mind. Thank you, Andre

I am only six weeks post-op and have already stalled twice...the first time in week 3 and the 2nd time in week 5. Like others have posted, hang in there...plateaus are common and the weight will come off. I have learned from others on several different sites that our weight loss will look more like a set of stair-steps...you will have weeks of great weight loss and others where you have no loss showing up on the scale. The scale will eventually catch up.