Ronnysgal

You are so welcome. And exactly, it makes me wonder why they don't do the shakes the same way, as they would be perfect if they did. I love the way they taste. Some say they taste an aftertaste, but back to the smell and such, they never tasted that way to me. I even tried freezing the chocolate flavor one time to use as a snack like ice cream, but my journey has been a difficult one and I found out the protein issue and well that was that.

Hi Cyclical, I used to drink the Premier protein as well but as a bypass patient and not a sleeve my surgeon did some extensive research and found that Premier Protein shakes are virtually useless to us. Why? The protein in Premier shakes is slow releasing. This is the type if shake body builders will use so that there workouts are more effective the next day. Premier solutions uses for protein first Milk Protein, "Calcium Caseinate,< another name for Milk Protein" Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk Protein Isolate. The reason we need Whey Protein Isolate and Whey Protein is because it is fast absorbing whereas Milk Protein and others are slow released although Whey Protein exists the body faster we get the benefit of it as we absorb it quickly. Remember Milk Protein is slowly absorbed and we do not get that luxury as we go stomach small intestine out. Therefore we are not absorbing the 30 grams of protein that we should get from these shakes. I have to admit before my surgeon said stop taking them, Banana was one of my favorites. Long story short they want kill you but if you are counting them towards your daily protein and thinking you are getting the 30 grams you are not as the benefit starts absorbing to late and it is expelled before you can get the full benefit of the product. Please see the difference below:

Thank you Tealael, Yes even the medication box states such. I think anytime someone is malnourished this will be a normal part of there life.

Thanks bunches

Hi Hoping, Thank you for the comment. I have already had my physician diagnosis me with Candy Cane Syndrome in Feb of this year and had the bowel resection done and it accomplished nothing at all. The ulcers have never went away and they keep increasing. It is so sad. I could understand if I was smoking or using ansaids or doing anything that was not following the rules but that is simply not the case. I am on Protonix which is similar to what your are taking as well as Carafate and was on an even stronger drug called Cytotec of which none are working. I am so ready for the reversal that I could scream. I sure hope your situation works out. I am about a year out past you and my physician is the leading physician in my state and bless his heart my last visit he said he was dumbfounded but it was clear with all the facts, tests and labs that I was speaking the truth.

Most definitely you experience changes. Over a year out almost year and half and something's I used to love cannot tolerate, not just the smell of, but the sight of as well. I still cannot watch a greasy loaded hamburger on a commercial without it rolling my stomach. Was at a retreat with my family and they were talking about wonderful foods they had eaten at other places and finally I had to ask them to change the subject or I would eventually vomit. This may seem like an exaggeration but I promise you it can and sometimes does happen. Who does not love the smell of a good barbeque right? I loved it, but should have followed my stomach and nose, as I went to get some although it looked as if it would be something I loved, I got that little stomach signal that said maybe not a good idea and it simply did not smell the same. I told myself I was being silly. Three bites in, sick as a dog, 5 minutes out, over the toilet. My husband could not believe it, and said it was wonderful tasting and I told him please stop talking about it. I had an issue with any greasy food including fries and pizza but over time they have subsided some where the site and smell of them does not make me sick.

Summertime, I will add that at 8 weeks you will need to try and get past the first 6 months at least and listen to your physicians as a lot can change in the first 6 months. I thought I was doing okay as the weight feel off so rapidly and then realized something else was wrong which led to the first surgery in October and then another surgery in Feb this year with a bowel revision. Over 15K into this even with insurance and cannot continue the financial strain.

Hello Summertime, I have had many of the same issues and unfortunately have done all the above treatments and have avoided all that would contribute to stomach ulcers and they refuse to go away. I have been malnourished from day one and have made all the dietary adjustments that both my Bypass Surgeon and his team have suggested, as well as the Gastroenterologist. Unfortunately but hopefully, my nightmares will soon cease, as my physician is going to contact my insurance company to see if we can proceed with a bypass reversal. Everyone on these sites to me are very precious with offering their support and advice, but only you know your body. Some have advise don't give up but there comes a time when you have to listen to your body and decide this may or may not have been the right move to begin with and take steps to rectify if possible. I am 1 year and a little over 4 months into this and have already lost 20 pounds past my goal weight and am still losing. I exist tired, malnourished, nauseated and in pain from the ulcers everyday of my life. At this point I am simply existing not living as was the great plan in the beginning. Some have said hey you will gain your weight back if you have a reversal but as we all know the bypass is simply a tool and reversal or not I could gain the weight back. At this time I just need a life that is worth living and without pain so please listen to your body and your physicians and hopefully you will get help and out of the misery.

Yes I did stop using it, but it has been months. I only used it about 3 months at the 3 month mark after surgery, so I stopped using it at 6 months and I am actually 1 and just over 4months into the procedure so I would have thought if that is the issue it would have fallen out a ways back not almost a year later. Does that make since?

Lost at least 50% of my hair and cried as it was long well shoulder length but it had taken me quite sometime to get it healthy and long at the same time. I started losing it about month 4 and as stated when it came out it really came out. You could actually see through it so I decided to go ahead and cut it off and the strangest thing happened. I have always had hair that was so straight I had to use hot rollers and a curling iron just to get body and now my hair is super tight curls. My surgeon has no explanation nor does my hair dresser other then maybe hormones changed after surgery. I started using a product called Keranique and it did seem to start coming back in. Everyone said they could really tell a difference. I am now a year and 4 months out and it is falling out again. I will say those products are expensive and may not work for everyone.

Sorry to hear about your sufferings. I am about 1 year and 4 months out from my Gastric Bypass and have had a horrific go of it. I have had to have multiple abdominal scans and throughout the last 6 months it has been, well devastating. You can see from the pictures below "sorry to be graphic with photos" but want people to understand this is something that can happen. It does not happen to everyone, so if you are going to have the Bypass, do not automatically assume this will happen to you. Unfortunately mine will not go away and perforation is always a possibility for me. I never had stomach ulcers pre-surgery and my Bariatric Doctor is man enough to say the surgery is the cause of the ulcers. Since I am malnourished, extremely weak all the time, and now am consistently battling these deep bleeding ulcers you see below, we are looking at doing a reversal soon. If my insurance company will pay for it as I have had to come up with well over 15, 000 out of pocket for the last few years and am unable to continue financially at this pace. I was taking Omeprazole and it was not until I stopped taking it that the ulcers became dominating, so I am unsure if it was keeping them at bay or not. I take 2 Protonix everyday as well as Carafate. I long for the day of reversal as this has not been a good experience for me. I am glad I have a good surgeon. My stomach photos I

Hi there, Yes forever is a long time. I did not opt for the sleeve as they remove your stomach where as the Bypass they leave the stomach in you. This has come in very handy for me as the Bypass has left me with multiple issues and they are going to have to reverse it. Had I had the sleeve that would not be an option.

Hello there, The only thing I can offer on this topic is to watch and know your body. I started out doing pretty good,but was back under the knife 8 months later, then 4 months after that. I have lost now over 180 lbs but it has been a non stop struggle. Listen to your body,and if you notice you are becoming constipated, my physician suggested stool softeners and staying hydrated. I know you have heard this until you are blue in the face,but chew your food and don't eat to fast. The only thing successful about having gastric bypass for me was the weight falling off which I know sounds silly as that is the main agenda for many but mine came with way to many hang ups and now facing a bypass reversal. Listen to your body and heed its warning. Stay on top of your vitamins as well as low potassium can be damaging to the heart. Just remember you can do everything right and as instructed and your body can still turn on you and be plagued with issues. It is not your fault but it is the only body you get so take care of it and if you start feeling excessively weak or having abdominal pain get to the ER. I wish you the best and much success. Although I have lived in a total discord this last year and a half I know many, many people that have had the surgery that are experiencing nothing but positive results.

Hello there, I want to share my story and see if anyone can relate. I actually emailed my physician recently and think it will be easier to simply paste it and then we will talk about his response. Dear Dr., Where do we go from here? I am simply exhausted from the Dr’s visits, ER visits, and it has been nothing but one thing after another since the surgery. Just as a reminder since I only get to see you when we are scheduling another surgery, I want to revisit what a horrible experience this has been. Initial surgery done Feb 2017 for the first few months felt like someone who had just had surgery, and nothing was happening that I deemed out of the ordinary based on research. The next few months agony, as pain and nausea were a part of my everyday life, whether or not I chewed slowly and several times, whether or not I sipped some water during a meal or not, whether or not I took 10 minutes or 30 minutes to eat while putting down my fork. I consider myself a very disciplined person so these were not hard rules to follow. Then came second surgery to remove scar tissue, in October 2017 as you felt it necessary to do exploratory surgery and that is when you found some scar tissue. I received a brief reprieve, but then back to the nausea and vomiting and pain. The pain and nausea affected my everyday life, work, sleep and well everything as being nauseated all the time makes anything difficult. This continuing issue sent me to the ER multiple times, and I do mean several. These visits lead to multiple stomach scans, that of course continued to show nothing. Then you grasping at straws to help me, or at least I felt like that is what we were doing, you did a third surgery where in you did a bowel resection. Unfortunately, this surgery accomplished nothing at all. Back to the ER several times, and more stomach scans revealing nothing, finally I went in and begged to be admitted while at NW in Bentonville so they could help me find out what truly is wrong , as no one would listen to me. I told the NPA that I really felt like what was happening could be stomach ulcers and I was correct. I know in your office you did a brief stomach scan, which at the time pre-surgery, they said they saw nothing. I am skeptical, as maybe they did not go down far enough to see the ulcers, as the pain and nausea that I was experiencing prior to the third surgery never changed after. I have recently been given Carafate and Protonix for the stomach ulcers, and you had actually added a third medication, that I am unable to take as it upped the nausea and vomiting and added diarrhea and extreme weakness to the point of another ER visit where not one but 4 different Dr’s and Physician assistants recommended I get off that medicine. I was told by one of GI Dr. but am unable to remember his name, and probably would misspell it, that sometimes some peoples body rejects the bypass. I cannot continue to live this way. I am miserable every day of my life. I used to be able to eat things bland like grits that would at least sit okay. Now even they are problematic. Is this it? Am I stuck for the rest of my life feeling sick to my stomach and throwing up. Do I now have to live with the pain of ulcers as the Carafate and Protonix have accomplished only so much, and my body is continuing to lose weight and stay strained all the time. Recently I was low on potassium again and it’s no wonder as even the vitamins upset the stomach and sometimes even sips of water. This morning I got up and the scales said 182 and I am still losing. I am assuming a reversal is dangerous and out of the question but truthfully I cry a lot over this and am unsure how to proceed with my life. One of the things I looked so forward to accomplishing was being able to run the track by my house, if the surgery helped my back enough to do it. Unfortunately I barely have enough strength most days to put one foot in front of the other. Signed Confused, hurt, sickly and totally disheartened. The office response was one that shocked me but I am scheduled to meet with him next week. The response was please come in to clinic next week to discuss possible reversal of your gastric bypass. Has anyone been through a reversal before and what were your results if you please.

Hello Creek imp. Thank you so much. I will try and answer your questions. Never diagnosed with autoimmune disorder. No other medications. I am taking Protonix, Carafate and my multivitmains that I will be on for the rest of my life, calcium, promethazine for the nausea and vomiting. They tried Zofran it did nothing. They also had me on another drug for the ulcers called Cytotec which I had a severe reaction to. I do not do natural supplements. I have limited any caffeine products and as we all know nothing carbonated. After three surgeries I think the reversal could be the only thing to save my life and it comes with risks. I have a great gastroenterologist and he simply thinks my body is rejecting the bypass, whatever that means. I do not hold the issues against my physician he is actually a great " mechanic " lol. Although I do not get to see him much when I return to the practice for check up I see his other staff members unless he is scheduling a surgery. I expect to see him Tuesday due to the seriousness of the issues and the amount of new developing surgeries. At one point I was even throwing up blood.

Thank you so very much for your kind words. I am apprehensive about the reversal, but want my life back so am unsure yet how I will proceed. I have a wonderful surgeon, and he has sent me to other specialists that say he is the best and let him fix the issue. I work with so many other people that have had the surgery and used the same physician or others in his practice, none of them have had issues. The feel bad for me. I am simply pleased they have not had the same issues. I never had ulcers before and due to cancer in my family EGD's and Colonoscopy's have been a regular part of my life since my 20's. They simply do not understand what has now caused them. Thank you so much for the hugs right back at you.

I have not and my Bypass Doctor doesn't want me taking anything different right now until he can decided what in the world to do with me lol. Congrats to you and your husband that is not a drop in a bucket but a good long union you have to love it in todays world where some view marriage as disposable. Not all but some

Thank you. I actually could have answered on the revision as that is the surgery that I had February of this year but it did not fix anything. The Dr. thought I might have something called Candy Cane Syndrome and so he did a bowel resection and as mentioned it was unsuccessful. I am actually a pretty strong person but going through this has even affected my poor husband. We have been married August 8th 31 years and I hate that he has to be so sad over watching the situation but he is my strength even though sad and a very strong advocate for telling others to really think twice before going under the knife.

I hope so, but if they cannot you are right it does feel good to let someone know it is not always peaches and cream. I am very pleased for all those that have great stories to tell and continue to be successful. Some of my friends and co-workers that have had the procedure done tell me they sometimes feel guilty having had so much success without the pain and anguish. They may not have lost the amount of weight I have lost but they did not have to go through the suffering to get there. Some of mine has been malnutrition due to the stomach not being able to absorb correctly.

Thank you Orchids I have been on the 3 different meds to control the ulcers and unfortunately they are not as successful as they need to be. I am 5'9 and 50 years old and have actually lost over 180 pounds and am still losing so it is not a good situation to be in. I am hopeful someone on this site may have been through this, I am a Consumer Loan Officer at a bank and it is very difficult coming to work and putting on a smile when you are nauseated after every meal you have eaten.

Had a Gastric Bypass 03/27/2017 have lost almost 160 lbs. During month four and five got very sick and was told it was normal but it was not. I ended up going back in for surgery to have scar tissue removed at the point of small intestine and pouch. Now I am at month 10 and finding myself with the exact same symptoms and am afraid the scar tissue has come back again. Has anyone had similar experience. My Doctor is wonderful and I almost feel like a bother when I have to bring it up but was in the ER for 7 hours over the weekend with pain and nausea, Nausea more than anything,

Thank you so much. Yes,he is pretty thorough Dr. He did the endoscopy in office, then as I have brady cardia sent me to a cardiologist,to make sure that I could have another surgery. He did a full EGD and colonoscopy to see if there was anything they could see from the inside out. When all those studies came out okay,he said he was going to do exploratory to look from the outside in, I will never forget before I was put under he said "well we are going to see if we can find something or your just crazy and laughed" As soon as I woke up he had just came in to my room and told my husband he was safe,I was not crazy that scar tissue had formed around the outside of the bypass right below the connect and was not allowing me to digest the food as I should,two or 3 months everything was great and now it has started all over again. SO disheartened and I don't want to stop eating and lose hair again but get so sick when I eat anymore.