My Mom's Sleeve Complication

[wishes 125]

Okay, my mom was not one of the lucky ones.

Yesterday, at six months out my mother finally had an endoscopy. The gastroenterologist said she had an angulation of her sleeve, which is an irregular bend of her stomach. This contributed to the consistent vomiting my mother experienced after eating dense Proteins like beef and chicken or just randomly after eating. Furthermore, the constant vomiting has lead to extensive ulcers at the stomach opening to the esophagus. My mother has been directed to continue taking her PPI twice a day like our surgeon suggested in January and to remain on a soft food diet until the ulcers heal. It is also possible she might need a second surgery to correct the angulation.

Please do not wait to get treated if you are experiencing any irregular symptoms, such as pain or vomiting consistently after eating. It is not normal.

I just wanted to share this as a word of warning. Even if you follow each step as recommended by your surgeon's plan, complications can still occur. This is a major surgery and losing at least 80% of a major organ is something that requires a little post-operative care whether from your surgeon or PCP.

Also, I created a soft food list for my mother. If you have anything to add, I would really appreciate any ideas. It doesn't have to be low carb, but high Protein would be great.

• eggs
  
  • Scrambled
    
  • Poached
    
  • w/ Canned Chicken and Salsa
    
  • omelet
    
  • w/ cheese
    
  • Egg salad
    
  • Deviled
    
  • Quiche or Frittata
    

  [*]Sloppy Joes

  [*]Fish

  • Broiled
    
  • Boiled
    
  • Baked
    

  [*]Shrimp

  [*]Peanut/Almond Butter

  [*]Hummus

  • w/ Canned Chicken
    
  • Pita
    

  [*]Chicken salad

  • w/ mayo and Mustard
    
  • w/ Taco Bell Chipotle Sauce
    

  [*]Tuna Salad

  [*]Crab Salad

  [*]Crab Cakes

  [*]Beans

  • Refried
    
  • Black Bean
    
  • Bean Salad
    

  [*]Melted cheese Wrapped in lunch meat

  [*]Rotisserie Chicken

  [*]Baby Bel Cheeses

  [*]Ricotta Cheese with Marinara (Baked)

  [*]Yogurt

  [*]Mashed Potatoes

  [*]Protein Gatorade

  [*]Milk

  [*]Cheese

  • Cottage
    
  • Stick
    

  [*]oatmeal

  [*]SF pudding w/ Protein powder

  [*]Cream of Wheat

  [*]Protein Bars (Cliff/Quest/Luna)

  [*]Oh yeah Protein shakes

  [*]Muscle Milk Protein Shakes

  [*]Isopure Protein shakes

[clk 3,519]

I just wanted to say thanks for posting as a warning for everyone. I hope your mom heals quickly and can avoid the second surgery, unless she needs it for quality of life! Nobody wants to live on soft foods forever.

Your list is so extensive I couldn't add anything if I tried. Well, except tofu, but I'm a weirdo that loves the stuff whereas most people hate it. It's good so many ways but my favorite post op was to get it at a good Chinese restaurant with a really hot sauce. Oh, and the Chinese egg custard - nice and savory, not sweet - was great when I was healing but again, it's not for everyone!

Again, thanks for posting and wishes for a speedy recovery to your mother,

~Cheri

[Imlosing big 112]

hot and sour Soup, Jello, oatmeal, vienna sausage, watermelon, hope she gets well soon.

[louise aussie 4]

Very interesting thread. I am currently sitting in the hospital emergency room. I have pain every single time I eat or drink anything. I am four weeks post op can only eat about 90g three times a day push Down a liter of Fluid with pain and have lost nothing in three weeks and I am being told this is perfectly normal. Scared shitless and very dispondent is all I can say. Don't know what to do.

Thankyou for your thread. I think I may be seeking a second opinion.

[Forensikchic 528]

Very interesting thread. I am currently sitting in the hospital emergency room. I have pain every single time I eat or drink anything. I am four weeks post op can only eat about 90g three times a day push Down a liter of Fluid with pain and have lost nothing in three weeks and I am being told this is perfectly normal. Scared shitless and very dispondent is all I can say. Don't know what to do.

Thankyou for your thread. I think I may be seeking a second opinion.

All I can tell you is this was not my experience. My surgeon said vomiting is never normal. It is a problem and if it happened a lot, see him. I havent vomited at all, not even once and I am 8.5 months out. I had pressure in my chest when I ate the first few weeks and it was my full signal, It didnt hurt but it could be a little uncomfortable at times. It was not enough to even bat an eye at, let alone send me to the emergency room. I think you need an endoscopy to see what is going on in there. I realize you didnt say you vomited but I think if you have serious pain when eating, its not a normal symptom of vsg, it should be checked out.

Also, wishes, I might shy away from spicy or hot things for your mom since she has ulcers. that might agrivate them.

[thinoneday 445]

I'm so sorry this happened to your mom. . . bless her heart, i'll keep in our prayers . . . thank you so much for posting this warning because I've seen where some new sleevers who are out bearly 3 weeks want to eat bread and cake and enjoy this and that because they are "bored" or "sick" of their post op diet. . . I feel badly for these folks and am so glad you shared your mom's experience with this surgery. . . blessings to your mom and your family. . . hopefully she'll do well. . . keep us posted!

[wishes 125]

Thank you so much everyone! She really appreciates the kind thoughts and prayers, and yes, thank you about the spicy tip. I feel like I have dead taste buds because I don't register spicy at all, lol.

@thinoneday: I definitely agree. After surgery, it is so important to be gentle with your stomach and go through the stages. My mom and I had the same surgeon and followed the same plan, but she still had this complication. It is so important to take every step you can to make sure you heal, so if something does happen you at least know you did all you could.

[Miriam 50]

One more food suggestion:

Very smoothly chopped liver salad - was on my doc's list of mashed foods and one of the first I ate - I figured that between the Protein and Iron, that was a good food choice. (Not to mention that I happen to love liver!)

[Finding Myself 146]

Does anyone know why these bends occur? Is it scar tissue or a stricture? I'd really like to understand it.

[circa 333]

I'm 3 months out and have vomitted exactly 0 times. I do not believe vomitting is normal. Two things causing vomitting according to my surgeon, and a few others I have talked to: overeating, consistently eating things that don't agree with you (dairy products when lactose intolerant) and a complication. Sure, people may test their limits and vomit for the first few weeks, and initially after surgery, everyone's tummy responds differently after being operated on, but consistent vomiting is a BAD sign.