Search the Community

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm trying yo get as much Fluid as possible but honestly, I've only been able to stay awake for an hour or so at a time. Today I've been so cold and noticed I have a slight fever. Went up to 100.8 earlier but down to 99.4 now. Also just the sharpest pain in my rib cage if I try to take a deep breath so I just have to take shallow breaths. That pain flares up with every sip I have too. Not sure it could be gas because I've had no problem passing gas. Oh and diarrhea all day-to-day just bile- probably 10 times. Sorry if that's tmi. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi! I'm back. Here is my story. It may be TMI, but it's the long version: Thursday, May 30th - Travel Day We got up at 4 am to get to the airport for my flight to Cancun. I made the decision to travel alone because I speak Spanish fairly well (NOT fluently, but I understand everything they say to me) and I felt comfortable traveling alone. Plus I am a big baby about pain and I would rather not have anyone there with me while I whimpered my way through this. In hindsight, I wish I had someone there with me. It got really lonely for 3 ½ days with no one to talk to. Although the patient facilitator I worked with, Sheri Burke, said a lot of people there spoke English, hardly anyone did. Here are the people that spoke English fairly well during my stay there – Vanessa, the clinic representative (really good English – saw her for about 10 minutes total), Esteban, my driver (learning English – really nice! After discharge, he took me to the mall so I could walk and he stayed there with me for an hour), Dr. Verboonen (fairly good English, who I saw for 10-15 minutes total during the trip), Dr. Perez (great English, 10 minutes total), and the anesthesiologist (good English - can’t remember her name, but she was so sweet - I saw her for 5 minutes total). Remember that you are unconscious during the surgery, so it’s most important that the nurses speak English well and hardly any of them did. Well really, none of them did. Sheri Burke, my patient facilitator, (so nice! – and speaks perfect English – but she was not in Cancun the weekend I had my surgery) arranged for me to spend the night at the hospital on the night before the surgery because I had such an early surgery. In hindsight, this was probably not the best idea because the bed was so uncomfortable – didn’t bother me the first night too much, but I still had two more nights to spend in it! I got to Cancun at about 2:00 ish – a little early - and it was arranged for a van to take me to the Ambiance Hotel. I don’t know why I went to the Ambiance Hotel to wait because I wasn’t staying there after surgery. I was going to be staying at the Ramada. Well, I got there early – about 3:00 and my driver was not scheduled to pick me up to take me to the clinic until 4:00. I contacted Sheri by phone to tell her I was early, and she contacted the driver. He was working and came about 4:20 or so. I waited in the lobby of this hotel that I wasn’t going to be staying at for over an hour to get a ride to the clinic. It was kind of weird. I’m not sure why I wasn’t taken directly to the clinic. But I got there, so everything worked out all right. I got to the clinic about 5:00ish, met Vanessa, signed some papers and waited in my room for surgery for the following morning. That’s a LONG time with no one to talk to. But I like to read, so I read all night. Surgery, Friday, May 31st – 7 am Up at 5 am for prep. The nurse gave me antibiotics in my IV in preparation for the surgery and I promptly threw up. You could tell I did a good job on my pre-op diet because there was only fluid coming out. Nothing eventful happened after that and I remember NOTHING about the recovery room. I’m going to be honest and say the first day is a blur. I was surprised that it didn’t hurt more. Not to say it didn’t hurt, it did. I’m sure the pain meds helped a lot. Mostly the pain came at night when I was trying to find a comfortable way to sleep on my back. Every time someone came to put something in my IV, I asked “what is that?” I had to ask a lot of questions because they didn’t offer a lot of information. Looking back it’s probably because they didn’t speak English, but I’m just speculating. I feel like in the US, we normally expect our nurses and doctors to tell us what they are putting in our IV, or what our blood pressure is, etc. I know I urinated a couple times the first day. I wasn’t surprised at the blue urine because I had read someone else on the forum talking about that before (thanks VST!) That was from the blue dye they used to check for leaks during the surgery. (ALSO, it’s a good sign you’re not leaking as you’re recovering if no blue goes in your drain). I was not allowed any liquids or ice chips until Saturday evening. So nothing went into my mouth or tummy that first day (and most of the second day). The surgery night was difficult psychologically. I kept beating myself up about whether this was the right thing to do or not. If someone was with me, I probably would have broken down crying. But I needed to work through this on my own anyway because it was already done! I thought a lot about my kids and my husband and how this would affect them if something went really wrong. I think other people work through a lot of this with their psych in the US. Choosing Mexico, it’s something you have to work out on your own OR find the support that you need in other ways. There were a few other bariatric patients there and one of them was having such a rough time. I heard that person through most of the night vomiting and crying out. This was hard for me to hear and it made my state of mind even worse. I was glad that the person had a companion for comfort. If I were to offer any suggestion for someone going to Cancun, I would say “take someone with you!” It’s worth the extra airfare. They don’t have to pay to stay at the clinic with you or the hotel (unless you stay extra days, of course). First Day Post-Op, June 1st This day was better in some ways and worse in others. I began to feel the loneliness quite deeply. I wished I had someone to talk to. And I really wished I had somewhere else to sit in my room besides my bed because my back was starting to hurt quite a bit. There were no chairs in my room so I just had my bed and it was getting to me. I don’t have anything to share about my liquid intake because I wasn’t allowed any. My doctor (Verboonen) came by and asked if I had any questions. I asked him about the barium test and getting the drain out. He said that didn’t hurt and nothing to worry about. He also said I could have ice chips later in the evening and that he was leaving town but his partner would follow up with me on Sunday. Then he left. I did have a little bit of ice in the evening, but I had to ask for it. Then I thought better of eating ice made from water in Mexico, so I stopped. I was getting plenty of IV fluids, so I knew I wouldn’t be dehydrated. Second Day Post-Op, June 2nd Well, this is when the “…. hit the fan”. It was about 5 in the morning on my second day post op. I had a really vivid nightmare in which I was watching my dog die and I woke up scared to pieces. My blood pressure shot straight up and my heart rate was through the roof. My hands were swollen and wrist area looked like I was having IV extravasation. It looked like the fluid was not going into my vein but into my arm (It looked like bloating in my arm). The nurse came in and I tried to tell her about my hands, arm, heart rate and blood pressure, but she did not completely understand me. She said my hands looked fine (they didn’t – trust me, I’ve had them attached to my body for 53 years and they weren’t fine). She did take my blood pressure and it was 160/100. Even though I take blood pressure medication, my blood pressure had been in the normal range the entire time I was at the clinic without taking it, so this was way high! She called the doctor and he told her to have me take my blood pressure med (which I hadn’t taken that day) and give me a nitroglycerin patch (wait, what?!) At the same time she was trying to give me antibiotics in my IV, which I felt was flowing into my arm instead of my vein. I said “No” to all of it. I told her I needed to call my husband (who is a pharmacist). I called my husband in the US and he told me this was all fine to do and I really should have the antibiotics. So when the nurse came back in the room, I told her to go ahead and give me the antibiotics, but to move my IV to my other hand before she did it. She said no – you are going home today and the doctors will be here soon so we are not giving you the antibiotics and we don’t need to move the IV. (Ok, I’m speculating, but I’m pretty sure she called the doctor while I was freaking out with my husband and they decided to get me out of there fast). I took my blood pressure med (which was the first time I had swallowed liquid since surgery, so I was scared about that) and she gave me the nitro patch. By this time I was about ready to jump out the window. I was so stressed!! THEN, she comes in with an 8 ounce cup of blue liquid and tells me to drink it. I looked at her like she was crazy. Or maybe I just looked crazy! I told her that I hadn’t had anything to drink since the surgery (besides my sip with the blood pressure med) and how was it possible for me to drink all of this. She just said I needed to drink it. So I did. But I was so confused, because I was supposed to have a barium test, not the blue dye test. She told me that Doctor Perez (works with Dr. Verboonen) would be here soon to do my test and take out my drain and then I never saw her again. I had a different nurse after that. HAHAHAHA! I have to laugh whenever I think of this next part. So about 9:30, a doctor walks into the room with the anesthesiologist (sounds like the beginning of a bar joke) and he greets me in Spanish. I say to him “Dr. Perez, nice to meet you. Do you speak English?” He says “Dr. Perez! Dr. Perez!” and stomps out of the room. I’m standing there stunned and I look at the anesthesiologist and say, “What? Why is he mad? I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings!” She says it’s ok, it’s ok and goes out to the hallway to talk to him. He won’t come back into the room, but Dr. Perez DOES come into the room. And I have to say that this was the best part of the experience. He spoke perfect English, explained everything to me about this blue dye test, pulling out the drain and all my post-op instructions. I was SO relieved! He looked at my drain container (I don’t know what those are called) and said do you see any blue in there? I said no. He said, that means you have no leaks and you do not need the barium test. YAAAAAAAYYYY!!!! I was elated. Here’s the bottom line for my suggestions for those thinking of Cancun. I am looking at this from the perspective that having it done in the US is not a choice for you and you are trying to decide how the Mexico experience would work for you. 1) I would definitely take someone with me. 2) Go to Dr. Perez and make sure the surgery is at the hospital rather than the clinic. I believe this way you will have more nurses who speak English.

OOOOOh! Of course, I knew it should have been obvious! I agree, SO sounds better than boyfriend, it defines your relationship better, but your right, I would have figured a same-sex relationship if you hadn't said "he"...I'll try to get up-to-date with you on the vocabulary. so, what's TMI? hehe (I'm serious, but tell me some other time or I'll just hijack this thread) So, on to the East Coast Bandster Bash!

I ended up with impacted bowel 4 weeks after surgery and was in pain and miserable for a week; I would tell you how my doctor had me fix the situation but it’s gross and TMI. I now religiously take 1/2 cap of miralax with 4 oz of Trop50 every morning. If I miss a dose or don’t go at least every other day, I know it’s going to be problematic.

Ladies.....has anyone had to deal with AFTER SURGERY gas pains, followed by their mental cycle? I will have to because I was not able to choose my surgery date. Was anyone able to choose their date because of this reason? Dealing with recover is a task within itself, however; adding cramps on top of that will not make my recovery any easier. Sorry gents.....TMI!!!!!!

You mihht have done yourself a favor by not going out to eat. 4 weeks after being banded we hit a favorite Mexican restaurant. I very carefully had 4 small bites of the inside of an quesidilla, and 2 tiny sips of hubbys margarita. I forgot and used the straw. I dont know which part of all that didn't agree with me, but tmi alert............it was a run for the bathroom time, and the rest came up in the parking lot. Alot. Very bad. So, you might have done yourself a good thing because sometimes 4 weeks just isnt enough. My hubby is very happy otherwise with my being banded, it just was a few adjustment s, and then it got better and better ! Good luck to you and your hubby !!

I have been having such issues with the constipation 2 days in a row I had to use a suppository because the poop got stuck it is like a hard brick and my muscles are so sore it hurts to sit I am going to do the Metamucil 4 times a day and the stool softener and up my water even more - it is agony poopong in pain ????????????????????????????I know total tmi but if I cannot say it here where can I ?

Hi everyone, My surgery is only 5 days away. Yikes! It's pretty much all I think about and I've gotta say - my brain has be going back and forth and back and forth. Should I? Shouldn't I? I know I'm making the right decision - I just think it's the finality of it all that is hitting me. I'm so thankful for this Board and I'm thankful for my binder. There is so much to learn! I did have a funny episode last night. I love popsicles. I absolutely love them and when I found this new brand that is sugar-free, but doesn't have the nasty saccharine and all of that, I got pretty excited. The brand is, "Outshine Fruit Bars." After a very, very long day at work, I settled into bed at about 8pm to watch a few of my DVR'd shows. Before I knew it, I ate 7 of them (hmm - wonder if this is part of my problem?). My stomach started to rumble and then I remember reading an article about an ingredient in sugar-free candy that was giving people diarrhea. I looked it up, and sure enough - the popsicles have Sorbitol in them - the ingredient that gives you diarrhea. Well, it's true. I was up all night long. Finally, at about 5am, I was done with the fun (TMI?). I guess eating 7 popsicles isn't such a great idea, no matter what the ingredients are! I'm living and learning

I didn't tell a lot of people about my hysterectomy either, and there was nothing dishonest about that. There are some things in life that can remain private, thank you very much, and my body is one of them. I think we live in a TMI culture and we've gotten so used to being an open book, that we feel guilty about closing those pages now and then! Because I have a lot of friends and coworkers who care about me and through close contact know something about my current health obstacles (due to Barrett's Esophagus I have a chronic cough that I've had to reassure folks is not contagious) all I'm telling them is that I'm having surgery to help fix the problem. That reassures them that I'm not at death's door, but it keeps the details to me and my husband. And truthfully, if it weren't for the Barrett's and a large Hiatal hernia, I probably wouldn't be having this surgery. My primary motivator is to improve my health and not be physically miserable all the time. We don't owe anyone else the details of our private lives. I always used to tell my kids when they were little that not every thought in one's head needs to come out of one's mouth. That applies in all kinds of situations.

I'm 11 weeks out and if I don't use something like MOM or mirilax, I don't go for days....TMI...but true. :-)

Hi there, I'm about 5 days out from surgery and I haven't pooped since the day before surgery. Now I know that I haven't really eaten anything (I'm still on clear/creamy liquids and no protein shakes yet) since before surgery... but I'm getting worried about being constipated. I've been taking the Lortab liquid and I was warned that it causes constipation, so I guess I'm wondering if either I am constipated because of the Lortab or if I'm totally overreacting and I shouldn't expect to poop at all until I go onto the protein shakes (at the very earliest). What do you think?

My biggest craving now is sweets. Doesn't help that it's Halloween time and it was the time of the month for me last week... Sorry tmi. I couldn't imagine having to do shakes since July! We've got this ladies! It's hard but it will all be worth it.

I've had trouble, not necessarily with constipation, but with just not being regular at all and with being "uncomfortable". Talk about TMI, but we're all talking about it! I've tried benefiber in my coffee every single day and I'm still not my usual self. I am going to try this apricot thing starting tomorrow a.m.!

I have been so excited till the past 3 days and have been going through all the BS hoops for almost 3 yrs to get the surgery and now i feel like i am on a roller coaster!?! I can't sleep, tossing and turning, mind is racing, stomach is in knots and everything i eat and drink comes right back out, sorry if that was TMI:) I went to a WLS suport group last night with some questions and walked out 4 hrs later with more question then when i went in! UGH' am i just nervous? Has anyone else felt like this? Any input would be wonderful!

OMgosh, you have NO IDEA how far these forums can go into TMI territory! You're not even close to the edge!

The Isopure I bought is clear pale purple grape flavor but on the bottom of the bottle it has (TMI for some>>>) a little mucousy looking stuff floating around. Is that just Protein, or is something wrong with it? It says to shake the bottle so I figured it is some settling out of protein. I strained a bottle of it to take out the stringy stuff, added a pack of stevia to cut the sour grape taste, and tasted some today and so far I feel fine. It is grape flavor and does not taste too bad. Anyone else use this stuff and know what I am talking about?

Not good today. I have a really bad stomach ache/cramp. I also have really bad gas (sorry if tmi). I've been super hungry but not today. I am only down 1 lb in the week since surgery : (

Thanks so much for sharing a part of your journey with me! Jello sounds like a good idea, but I am not partial to it at all. I have a problem with certain textures in my mouth, and I just can't eat them without gagging! I can usually handle Jello if I let it dissolve in my mouth and then swallow it and I'm ok with apple sauce sometimes. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to pureed foods. yikes...TMI about my digestive woes!! sorry yall!

Oh I love this!! Here's my list: -for my husband to be able to pick me up -to be able to wear a tshirt and look comfortable instead of lazy -to enjoy the beach -to not have to untag myself in every fb picture -to get those 'that girls hot' looks -shop in the regular size clothes section -for people to be able to tell I'm pregnant and not just overweight when I decide to have babies -so I can go to my high school reunion -so I'm not embarrassed when I see people from the past -to be healthy for my children one day -tmi...so I can feel sexy when I'm on top during sex -so I can stand up for more than 5 minutes without my feet hurting I could probably keep going... :]

I am now 2.5 months out and a stomach bug hit our family. My daughter had it first, and it lasted a full four days. I thought I would make it out without getting sick, but nope. Ya’ll, it was terrible. It was a full four days of not being able to eat or drink anything, nonstop vomiting or heaving, and watery diarrhea that was even worse (TMI). I honestly think it was the most sick I have ever been, considering how long it lasted. I started getting really weak and dizzy on Sunday so I had my mom take me to the ER while my boyfriend watched the kids. I was super dehydrated, which was no surprise. The doctor said that I was lucky that I did not pass out at home. My blood pressure was down to 109/60 and my heart rate when standing was 125. My normal blood pressure is usually a bit lower than 120/80, and my heart rate is usually in the 70s when standing. Anyhow, two bags of fluids later, and after my blood pressure went up a bit, they released me to go home. I feel better today but I am still somewhat nauseous and unable to eat or drink much. I luckily managed to get about 400 calories in today and about 40oz of water, but my stomach just can’t handle much right now. I think I will be pretty close to normal by tomorrow, so my goal tomorrow is to just drink all day. Anyhow, I weighed in this morning at 198, but won’t take an official weight until I have been better for a few days.

It was just as bad for you too then I think one of the greatest godsends for plus size gals are leggings!! They're stretchy and you can dress them up or down. But I still love my leggings! I felt like the plus size stuff at the "cooler" stores was outrageously priced too! Also, being tall and having really long arms I have NEVER been able to find shirts long enough for my arms, it always looks like I'm wearing a baseball tee! LOL It's like most designers assume if you're an overweight woman, you're also short. *GRUMBLE* I'm doing the same, shopping at Walmart for basics like leggings and shirts (I work from home so I RARELY have to look presentable) LOL! But it saves money until I hit my goal. TMI but I did a little splurge at Victorias Secret. As a woman, being able to go in and buy something off the rack was so amazing, I literally cried in the store. HA! But you're right about Costco...I have to check them out. I haven't been brave enough to wear a pair of jeans yet...maybe soon, but you bet they'll be cheap! hahaha!

This is obviously a TMI post so I apologize in advance. I have not experienced the first week diarrhea that many people say they get. All I'm doing is passing gas. I even took a stool softener and nothing happened. I just started full liquids today [suppose to start tomorrow but I was really low on energy so started a day early] and had a protein shake... they sit well but I think they make me bloated so I may not be able to drink those. Anyway, yeah... 9 days post op and nothing in BM department. Only passing gas. How long was it for everyone before they had movement?

There is a huge difference in what doctors recommend. My surgeon was a top European specialist who trains many American docs. Did y'all realize there are many US docs who fly to Europe for bypass procedure training? He also spends one week per month in the Middle East, doing surgeries for the wealthy there. He commented to me that all his Middle Eastern patients want the sleeve and he tries to talk them out of it for a number of reasons (I wasn't paying a lot of attention to them because I never considered the sleeve). In my case, and there are multiple general ways of performing RNY surgery, I essentially have a sleeve but the bulk of my stomach is sutured closed and food passes through a small sleeve. You say you love the simplicity of the sleeve but in most cases the RNY is more simple. As for your question about why someone would have this reversed, there are multiple reasons. My neighbor had been obese for years and after a broken bone and hospitalization suddenly developed malabsorbtion syndrome in which food just passed through him without being absorbed. In short order he became scarily malnourished and emaciated. I have known folks with cancer who have also gone through serious weight loss, and a couple of people I know were told by their docs at the time of diagnosis to gain weight and stop trying to take it off. These were people who were already obese. I have the RNY, my stomach is just smaller than it was before, and my doc said drinking is fine. Only 6 weeks out and I've been indulging in a couple of drinks per week for 3 weeks now. It is inaccurate to generalize that RNY patients can't drink. Yes, I have a lot of dumping 6 weeks out, but I think my situation is unique. First, since I am a 'low BMI' patient, my surgeon removed almost no intestine, less than 2 inches. There is likely no correlation between the amount of intestine removed and dumping in my case. For years I had bad stomach pain, at times so awful that I was incapacitated. After 3 years of trying to find a solution I found an expert who solved my problem. In short, the source of my pain was that my intestines are sluggish and don't work well, and my stomach was contracting harder and harder to push food through, I suspect that my frequent dumping is caused by my stomach still contracting super hard - it's been doing that for years so I doubt it will change very quickly. Also (apologies if this is TMI), for years I had pellet BMs and frequent constipation, and suddenly post surgery my BMs are soft and normal. I am so happy about that and about not having to daily think about pills or supplements. There is no single 'best surgery' or guaranteed avoidance of particular issues which should make the selection of surgery simple or generic. Do good research of RECENT studies. Look for a doc who does a LOT of GBs and listen to his/her advice.

Complications, these dreadded problems that affects some of us... They almost made me spend Christmas in the hospital. I started having stomach cramps Tuesday evening after drinking a few sips of Water. And these were nothing to play with. It was like someone was squeezing all life out of my pouch! The worst pain was just under my breast bone with pain shooting out under my lowest ribs. I was salivating so much that I couldn't even swollow a pain pill. It finally ended with me throwing up a spoonful of liquids. Little did I know that this was going to happen again in the middle of the night and be even worse? Needless to say I was really careful on Wednesday and did a liquids only day, even though I had problems drinking. I was weak, but didn't get any cramps. Thursday was a whole new day, with new cramps in the afternoon. I was scared enough that I called the hospital and they told me get myself to the er at once. So I got into a cab and was hooked up, poked, scaned and tested at the er. My pouch and intestines were intact. No leaks or blockages. I was dehydrated and got an iv and several of its friends. Also very constipated, sorry for the tmi. Apparently you can be constipated and have small bowels movements at the same time. The blood test also showed malnourishment. They wanted me to stay over night so they could hydrated me. Finally in my room I was allowed to drink some water to get the barium taste out of my mouth and the cramps returned with new found force. Pain meds in the iv helped in 15 min, so happy to be at the hospital at that time. The next day the surgeon came to tell me that they had found panniculitis in my intestines that might be the culprit to my cramps. I had to Google it too... In short there are some lymph nodes in my small bowel lining that are mildly infected. It's so mild I don't even need meds for it, other than for the cramps. So suppository meds for home, yay... They wanted me to stay until xmas eve, but due to a family emergency I had to go home the night before and of course had another cramping episode... Luckily the new meds were effective. I'm still weak and not eating much, but I try my best. It seems like water is going down easier after the constipation was taken care of at the hospital. Xmas eve I slept until the afternoon and then went to my dads for a few hours. I even had a few spoonfuls of holiday foods and did fine. So today I have had my morning pills with water and soon some food. I just don't know what to choose. Real food or a Protein shake? I was following my food plan carefully and haven't tried that many foods yet and now I'm even more scared of new foods creating problems. Maybe a scrambled egg so I can get some much needed calories..? Take care everyone! Nilla

I am right there with you! My boyfriend (almost like husband we have been together 4 years and he is a step dad to my 4 yr old son) he absolutely disagrees with the surgery and he is skinny as can be. His mom however had weight issues and lost over 100 lbs by dieting and exercising but it took her 30 years to get there. He says I should work harder, but he doesn't want me to get too skinny because he likes my butt (sorry tmi I guess). It's sad cause my entire family supports me on this and the one person I need to have support from just doesn't budge on it and he doesn't say anything but he has reservations about it. He won't sit with me and go to dr appointments or try to learn more, and he says I won't research or try to listen to him on dieting as exercising but I told him before I've tried both but weight just comes back. It's really frustrating and stressful because I feel like I have to go behind his back about it and I shouldn't feel like that.