SparklyInNOut

Google is getting me nowhere. I had VSG and a hiatal hernia repair in April 2018. I got through post op liquids & purées just fine, but when I moved to soft solids, I started having issues with throwing up my food & getting the slimies. This was happening multiple times a day. My surgeon passed it off as me eating too fast, not chewing enough, or eating too many bites. Fast forward to now. I’m a year & a half out from VSG, and while I initially lost 80 lbs, I’ve had regain. This is mostly because I’m still vomiting after least once a day, so I keep choosing foods that are easier to get down (carbs). My fault on the regain. But I’m still throwing up. Proteins, solids, etc they come up with lots of slime mid meal or sometimes even an hour after I eat if I keep fighting the urge to puke. Give me crackers, and I’m good though. My surgeon moved out of the country before my 1 year follow up. I know I need to find a new surgeon, and as soon as my dad gets through a major surgery, I will. In the meantime, anyone else have this issue? I feel like there’s got to be more than eating too fast, not chewing enough, or eating too much. I can throw up after 3 grilled nuggets from Chick-fil-A...

I had a revision from VSG to RNY bypass on Monday, 1/13/20. I had major complications with the VSG, and that was the only option. I ended up with a pinched nerve in my left shoulder due to the position my arm was in during the long surgery, so I’ve been on painkillers a bit longer than planned. Enough back story! Today I’m on full liquids for my seconds day. Not my first time at the rodeo with the graduated diet. However, I’m having liquid poo. Cannot trust a fart (lol)! Is this a concern that I should call the dr’s line over the weekend for, or is this a common issue? I go back to his office first thing Tuesday to get my drain out. That’s the first time they’re open again.

They gave me a ton of different anti-nausea drugs in the hospital. It felt like every time I turned around they were putting another in my IV! I think things might be normalizing now. When I went from clear to full liquids, I think I drank some Isopure too quickly. I hate that stuff & just wanted it over with! I’m noticing this time around that recovery is much harder on my body.

So I’m now 3 days out from reparative surgery. My surgeon removed scar tissue and converted to a RNY Bypass bc he was not sure he could straighten out my sleeve enough. He also repaired my hiatal hernia. Said he removed a “ball of tissue & mesh.” 😳😳😳 He did say repairs fail sometimes bc that was from my previous hiatal hernia repair. This surgery I got to stay in the hospital for a night. It was great to be supported as I started healing & drinking water. I’m also home with a drain (kinda gross) which he does for any revision. Everything looks good though. Drinking my meds & water is already so much easier than recovering from my sleeve! I can tell a huge difference. I do have shoulder pain which they’ve told me is not gas but “positional pain” due to having my arms in one position for the entire 2.5 hour surgery. Thankfully, that means pain killers help. The hospital pushed fentanyl as much as they could once they figured out why I was pretty much screaming in pain. Then I had a morphine button I could push every 7 minutes. I walked a TON in the hospital. When they took me off of the pain meds, I ended up in severe pain again, and they had to give me another dose to make it home. Couldn’t sleep last night but got new pain meds this morning which really help. Would I do it again? Yes. Complications happen. The soreness will decrease. The healing will happen. More weight will come off. It’s going to all be ok. I’m just glad I finally got someone to listen to me.

Thank you all for the advice! I think I just got nervous getting things ready before surgery & making sure it all works out. I need to trust the IUD.

Sigh. Never thought I’d post something like this online, but I’m freaking out a bit & need advice! Also this could very much be TMI for many, so if it is, I apologize. I had major complications after my sleeve (4/2018). My new surgeon figured it all out, and I’m being revised to a bypass January 13th. I’m currently on my presurg liquid diet. I have a new boyfriend, and we slept together for the first time tonight. (Yay!) I have the Mirena IUD. It’s >99% effective for preventing pregnancy. This is why I have it. We used a condom the first go, but the 2nd & 3rd tonight... well, we didn’t. I know they’ll do a pregnancy test at the hospital before surgery, and they will cancel it if I test positive. So here’s my question - for that less than 1% chance, should I take Plan B just to be safe for surgery? I hate worrying over this. This is why I got to IUD... to not worry! But now I’m paranoid that this could mess up my revision. (Please don’t lecture me. I’m freaked out enough. Just need some honest advice. Thanks! 💜)

That’s part of the issue. Because the IUD has stopped my period, I have no idea. You’re right. Just got nervous. I need to trust it for sure. We’ve talked about it. He doesn’t want more kids. I don’t want one of our own. However, if I got pregnant, we would make a decision together. Hahah! Thank you! We both feel pretty dang lucky!

Thank you! He’s a breath of fresh air for sure! Went on liquid diet right after he arrived in my life. Had to explain on our first date why I was just having water. Didn’t faze him a bit! He’s wonderful! I definitely don’t want a baby, and he doesn’t want more kiddos either. Preventing pregnancy is why I got it. I don’t know why I’m so worried tonight. Thank you for the PSA. Seriously! It’s a good reminder, and I appreciate how you worded it. I don’t mind at all! Thankfully, we were both tested & discusses it before being intimate. Adding to the PSA - it might feel uncomfortable bringing it up, but it’s definitely something you need to do before you’re in the heat of the moment! We talked about it over text, and then moved to a phone call, so it was less awkward that way.

It is nice to know I’m not alone, but I hate that it’s happening to you. They’re revising me to bypass, which I didn’t want, but it’s the best option for me.

Go get it checked out. I’m sad I didn’t do it sooner. Could have gotten my quality of life back much quicker & kept losing.

Oh & here’s the other crazy bit! Because it is truly regurgitation, I have no damage from acid, no GERD. In the barium swallow test, they couldn’t even trigger acid reflux. The surgeon also kept saying GERD til it was confirmed that it was not that. So that’s good news in my book! It’s simply the kink in my stomach that’s an issue to be repaired.

Thank you! I know you showed genuine concern earlier, and I appreciate it! I’ll update as this process progresses. I have had to give up part of my Christmas travel plans to make this work, but there are other times for travel! My health comes first!

I appreciate your response, but I’m not sure where you’re coming from here. I have smiled through this entire experience & thanked God for my tool. The regain from carbs was because those were what would go down without coming back up. I have a major issue with my anatomy. For what it’s worth, I have been in therapy, and I do have many tools to handle stress & disappointment which I use. I just wanted to give the community an update on my strange situation. Especially since I was told for a year that it was all in my head.

I always see posts without an update, so I wanted to be sure to come back & five one! we were all correct. The daily regurgitation was not normal. I went to a new surgeon in October. He was skeptical & wanted to blame it on too big of bites or overeating. I kept insisting I would have a feeling of being overly full eating less than one chicken finger, and I would still regurgitate it even an hour later. He decided to run some tests while giving me some food counseling. He was not a fan of the fact that I had little to no aftercare post surgery with my old surgeon. I went back on purées. Basically every time you vomit, it causes swelling & takes about 3 days for the swelling to go down. We needed to get the swelling down for many reasons. Getting it under control helped me move back onto solid foods with small bites & portions. We did the barium swallow test which showed liquids were going through fine, but I have a twist in my esophagus. Going in for my EGD scope, my surgeon was still claiming it was all bite size. He walked in after my scope & said, “yeah. So your anatomy is screwed up!” Along with the twist in my esophagus (which basically means if I need to be tubed, it could be “more difficult”), I have a major kink in my stomach from scar tissue on the outside of it. Instead of being sleeve shaped, as it should be, it is like a capital N or S. In the middle there is a kink that he had a hard time even finding the opening of. Basically if it’s not liquid, it has to sit to digest to go down. This explains why I resorted to drinking my calories & eating easy carbs. He said it could have happened when I threw up right after surgery (a staple could have caught on something) or anytime in the initial healing. So where does that leave me? I’m going in for a laparoscopic surgery to remove scar tissue January 13th. He can see the shape of my stomach from the scope, but he can’t know what the scar tissue is attached to or how bad it is til he gets in there. It could be attached to my liver. Yikes. So surgery could be half an hour, it could be 3. He may have to revise my sleeve to a bypass. I don’t want that because I have ulcerative colitis, so that’s very much so not recommended. However, I want to have the ability to eat without losing it. I’ll be on a 2 week pre-surgery liquid diet, and then after surgery, it will be the post sleeve progression. I have about 30 lbs of regain. He expects I’ll lose that fairly easily by the time I’m on solid foods again. That’s good news. Knowing I actually have something wrong with me, and I’m not crazy has been HUGE for me. I knew something was wrong, but I kept being told “bite size bite size bite size.” I have multiple friends with sleeves, and what I was experiencing was nothing like them. The eye opener was looking online & finding no one like me. So if you’re here because you’re searching, go for answers! :)

That’s what I thought! I was so confused as to why she didn’t want to run tests. I’m not confident that she didn’t more or less leave the country to avoid lawsuits...

No. I had some brain fog a while back, but my regular doctor adjusted my antidepressants. It’s most throwing up slime, but most days food comes up with it eventually.

Thankfully it’s not every time I eat or with everything I eat. It’s once or twice a day which is less than it used to be. The throwing up an hour after I’ve eaten lately has given me definite pause. I let it go so long because for two appointments after surgery, my surgeon told me this was completely normal. I’m suspecting something didn’t go right with the hiatal hernia repair.

My father’s surgery is next week & major. I will be out of state for over a week helping my parents. This problem is bothering me a ton, and I’m making a dr appt about it today. However, no matter my struggles, my father’s cancer comes first in my time and mind. I am aware this is an issue. I kept thinking it was just a small sleeve or something I was doing wrong. It’s finally hit home that it’s an actual problem beyond that. I appreciate your “tough love” approach, but it’s not what I’m needing right now. We don’t all know it will take 3 months for me to see a new surgeon... I have gone back to shakes. On them, I don’t vomit. I am good. When I start adding soft proteins again, I start vomiting again. Like I said earlier - curious if anyone else has had this issue. Looking for support. I googled & can’t find anyone else quite like me.

Thanks. Please don’t let this cause you concern. I am not a typical case. I know that for sure. What did they say caused it with your lap band?