I Hate My Gastric Sleeve

[tuttle 2]

I am almost 2 months post op and its been awful I've been hospilized 4 times for dehydration. I am always nauseas and vommiting can't ever hold anything down its making life hard! Anyone else have problems

[jasleeve 440]

yikes! have you talked to your surgeon? are you sipping instead of gulping? have they checked the opening to be sure that you have room for food?

[iegal 460]

Assume you have already talked to surgeon...what was his/her advice?

If you are not getting enough liquids in, yes you will hate your sleeve. Hun, you need liquids as evidenced by your multiple hospitalizations. Take charge today. Advice- Sip more often and less quantity. If you have to get a shot glass and EVERY 15 minutes drink one ounce of G2 Gatorade or Zero Powerade for dehydration. Set your watch, kitchen time, iphone...what ever it takes. This is brutal but so necessary.

Once you are not throwing up for 8 hours straight, try some liquid Protein. costco has some 30 gram or GNC carries 40 gram clear Liquid Protein. Expensive, but not as expensive as those hospital co-pays.

Good luck and keep us informed with your progress. Hugs.

[Eyemallrt 16]

Also, are you taking your PPI? If I forget to take mine I feel rotten. I found at the beginning, hot liquids went down easier than cold, try chicken broth, it's easy on your tummy. Maybe you could try taking a gravol pill to settle your stomach long enough to get something in, beware though, they will make you sleepy. Above all though, talk to your surgeon or PCP.

[Sassygirl06 962]

that really sucks! i hope you get to feeling better! there are alot of us that go through this time where you say what the heck did i do to myself. I think i felt this way between week 3 to week 9. i thought.....oh my god, i have ruined myself...and i will never feel normal again.

now that i have healed all the way i am able to eat more, and feel good about it not sick. i am able to drink normally again, and that makes all the difference,

i hope it gets better fast!

[mamamckinzie 92]

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time of it. My first few weeks were very rough too. Take heed of the advice from those who have gone on before. Sip,Sip,Sip, (I sipped even when I woke up in the middle of the night the first few weeks!) Dont worry about food. Liquids are your friend. Please keep us up to date. Good luck and Happy Sipping!

[emily_0192010 168]

I'm so sorry to hear this!! I am 2 months out as well. Please please don't give up! Stay positive. Are you taking a PPI?? My surgeon put me on one from day one. It helped keep the nausea down and helped me keep liquids down. That is the hardest part, the liquids. For the first few weeks I literally kept my bottle next to me constantly and I made sure to sip sip sip every few minutes through the straw. My bottle is 30 oz, so I aimed to drink one before "lunch" and one before bed. It also sounds like all the other problems could stem from the dehydration.

Good luck and please keep us updated!

[FlyGirl 18]

Ask you dr for Zorfran for the nausea.. the kind that dissolves under your tounge. If you are getting sick after taking your pills or Vitamins try putting it in a spoonful of applesause. Always drink Water with electrolites.. Smart Water if you like unflavored, or Zero Vitamin Water/Propel... things like that. Freeze some and eat it like a popcicle. Or pedalyte has popcicles which will help you stay hydrated too. I was very dehydrated after surgery and it was the most miserable feeling I've ever felt. I ended up not being able to keep even a tiny sip down and dry heaved for about 2 days before I went to the ER and found out I had pancreititus. I shouldn't have waited that long. If you can't keep anything down, you'll have to go to the ER. Just being dehydrated can make you feel nauseous so do like other suggested set a timer and take baby sips all the time. Eventually you get back to feeling normal. Good luck & sip sip.

[DoOver 17]

Assuming that you have followed up with medical care and nothing is surgically or medically wrong, I can only tell you that my surgeon told me in passing that he had had this happen a few times. No medical reason, just almost like a rejection of the process. The good news is that he said he'd never had the issue happen that did not resolve within 3 months. He told me this because I upchucked my way through the first few weeks so he was just explaining a "worst case" from his perspective and he'd been doing this surgery for 8 years. Mine wasn't as bad as yours as I was only sick once or twice a day, able to otherwise keep things down. The Vitamins were a 100% trigger for a vomit so I stopped those early on for weeks. Otherwise, no rhyme or reason.

Please check back and give us a few more details if there are things that might help us narrow down things that might help.

[MegInNOLA 531]

YES! I completely understand; I threw up every day for the first 8 weeks, also--you know what it was? I needed to be on Prilosec--even though I wasn't feeling any kind of heartburn or having a lot of "acid-y" feelings or taste. Once I started Prilosec, I was able, finally, to stop throwing up!!! What a happy thing--getting sick on a daily basis is not only a drain on your physical energy, it's demoralizing, too. It's like your body is fighting against you.

If you're not taking an antacid, and I mean a good one, call your surgeon and see which one his office recommends, and then if that doesn't help, try another one--sometimes folks need a combination of different types of antacids, even just for the short term, to get things under control. I was able to stop the Prilosec at 5 months out and have had no trouble with acid or excessive throwing up since then.

HUGS and best wishes to you!!

[Beth323 13]

I was throwing up 2-3x/day for the first 5 weeks. And nauseated constantly. I found out I could not tolerate the liquid shakes with whey as their base. The last 2 weeks it has gotten much better. I have thrown up may 2-3 times in 10 days and very little nausea. Hang in there one year from now you will be a different person.

[cathyg 4]

Sorry you're having so much trouble--I'm taking a powdered Nexium (prescription) in a tablespoon of Water to reduce stomach acid. Might want to see if the doctor can prescribe it for you. Hang on, and good luck.

c

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

Also, are you taking your PPI? If I forget to take mine I feel rotten. I found at the beginning, hot liquids went down easier than cold, try chicken broth, it's easy on your tummy. Maybe you could try taking a gravol pill to settle your stomach long enough to get something in, beware though, they will make you sleepy. Above all though, talk to your surgeon or PCP.

Also, are you taking your PPI? If I forget to take mine I feel rotten. I found at the beginning, hot liquids went down easier than cold, try chicken broth, it's easy on your tummy. Maybe you could try taking a gravol pill to settle your stomach long enough to get something in, beware though, they will make you sleepy. Above all though, talk to your surgeon or PCP.

i'm anxious to try my free sample of inijury broth. I hear your'e supposed to only use wam Water to mix. Probably cuz of lumps & texture? Drinking only "warm" doesn't thrill me - is it ok to nuke after the fact? :thankyou:

[Eyemallrt 16]

Reading off the side of the Unjury chicken broth container, it says the texture will be affected if the Water is too hot. Some ppl have trouble tolerating Protein Drinks soon after surgery, if so, bouillon cubes are an alternative for now. At the beginning you need to concentrate on getting enough liquid in foremost. Once your new tummy heals a little and gets a little stronger you can introduce the Protein drinks slowly. You may have to experiment with different kinds at first. At 3 months out, some of them still just go straight through me! I was a big coffee drinker before surgery, and switched to Decaf after. Because it was my normal habit to drink coffee all day, I found it a great way for me to get my liquid in, and my tummy tolerated it well ( with the PPI ) I also love a glass of skim milk in the evening, easy on my tummy, filling, low cal, and protein to boot. Good luck!

[Rev Me Up! 75]

So sorry to hear this!!!!!

Make sure with your doctor that you don't have a stricture or other physical problem. Otherwise, I can echo the advice here with one addition: drink full sugar drinks. If you are getting almost no nutrition, you need the full sugar / salt drinks and popsicle to keep your body together. Pedialyte popsicles are an awesome recommendation. There were some days that the only way I could get any liquid in was via posicles. fruit pops, old school kool aid type pops, pedialyte pops, anything I could get my hansd on. Keep them going throughout the day and you will get at least some liquid and calories in.

ALso, I agree with the PPI. I was on one for months and never had nausea / vomitting.

Good luck and keep us posted!