Constant Nausea

[jjsmiles 3]

Hi everyone,

I am two weeks post surgery and was wondering if anyone else is/has experienced almost constant nausea since the surgery. The nausea is getting worse instead of better over time. When I eat, the food tastes good and I can easily eat about a cup without any problems, in fact the only time I don't feel close to throwing up is when I eat.

I am not at all hungry (ok I have some head hunger), and I have to force myself to eat (never been a problem for me before). I also really have to concentrate to get about 8 glasses of Fluid in me every day. I have been writing down everything I eat and drink and estimate that I am getting between 500 - 700 calories a day.

Since the surgery, two weeks ago (September 25, 2007), I have lost 18 pounds (25 pounds if you want to count the 7 pounds I gained on the day of surgery). I have lost 12 pounds this last week alone.

I must admit I am not really concerned about the weight loss (only that I will gain it all back once I actually eat something).

Any advice?:help:

[Gaffer 1]

The default answer with this is too check with your surgeon.

I do remember that the first while of eating it felt a little weird, kinda llie nausea but it seemed to sort itself out.

What stage in your post op diet are you at?

Andrew

[JLB 0]

Good advice from Andrew. If it doesn't subside soon call the nurses at the clinic and I'm sure they can help.

I think that everyone has different issues after surgery. For some it barely makes a blip in their lives and for others their bodies take time to adjust. I had some problems after surgery that lasted a couple of months but they finally subsided. Also, I'm not sure if you had a hernia repair or not but if you did that can make a difference for some people with recovery.

I know you've just started mushies but one important thing to pay attention to now and forever is how fast you eat. I was a speed eater preband. I half chewed my food and ate very fast. It's important to eat slowly now and listen to your body. I still eat too fast sometimes (not like I did before but still, it makes a difference) and then I feel nauseaous afterward. Anyway, just thought I'd mention this but I'm sure you already know.

[catzintj 1]

good advice from all, call the doctor. maybe they can give you some anti nausea meds.

[beau 0]

Hi there, I was banded on the 28th of Sept. Only a couple times when laying down have I felt a bit queezy but pretty much feel fine. I feel my breathing is a bit shallow at times, haven't been eating great quantities of food either and am down 20 lbs. Hope you start feeling better, it must be frustrating, maybe some gravol? Good luck

[jjsmiles 3]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the responses. I was away all week on business and so just got back home. I see my surgeon next Thursday, so I will ask him.

According to my plan, this week I can have soft solids and move onto regular solids as I tolerate. I have been nibbling on eggs, fish, chili, and some chicken. Everything tastes very good, and I don't feel any restriction (I ate a 9 oz bown of Tim Hortons chili, slowly, but with no problem), but I don't eat much on the whole. It is kind of strange (maybe the dry heaves are from hunger;)), but I usually feel better after I have eaten something more solid and absolutely the worst first thing in the am (if I didn't know better, I would think I was pregnant :faint:).

I didn't have anything else done during surgery, but I do have some ongoing medical issues that create complications for how I process food and liquids, so I am wondering about dehydration as well, since I am supposed to normally drink 12 glasses of Water a day, and I haven't been managing that.

Wow Beau- your weight loss has been phenomenal!!!!!. Great going :eek:

Thanks for the advice!

[Doddie63 6]

Good advice from all but I find a bit of humour in my nauseau. When I think about eating, I feel sick. I am a speed eater and for a long time, I would have the severe pain from chunky food trying to pass thru the band and then PB. Now, whenever I think about eating, I feel sick. Food no long is a #1 in my life. I have a lot of battle to go yet, but I think of the feeling of sick as a good thing. Doddie

[jjsmiles 3]

Good point Doddie. I was just saying at work today that I can't ever remember a time (except when my mom died) where I couldn't think of food with anticipation. It is is a big mind shift for me. Thanks :biggrin1:

[homebirthin_mam 0]

Hi there,

I'm looking at the BioEntrics manual right now and it states for the first one to four weeks all you can eat is clear broth or Soup (no vegis/meat and not creamy), low-fat yogurt, milk (pref. skim), Jello, and fruit juice or pureed soft fruit. Maybe try going back to that and see if it helps?

Also, you are only supposed to eat a half teacup of food, not a cup.

Roberta

[Gaffer 1]

Hi there,

I'm looking at the BioEntrics manual right now and it states for the first one to four weeks all you can eat is clear broth or Soup (no vegis/meat and not creamy), low-fat yogurt, milk (pref. skim), Jello, and fruit juice or pureed soft fruit. Maybe try going back to that and see if it helps?

Also, you are only supposed to eat a half teacup of food, not a cup.

Roberta

JJ,

Please listen to what your surgeon is advising.

Andrew

[jjsmiles 3]

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would fill you in on my personal nightmare. In my previous posts, I was talking about my constant nausea and my inability to eat much. To add on to that, I was getting weaker and weaker.

I had my surgery check-up with my Dr. on October 17. I explained what was going on, he told me I was badly dehydrated and got me admitted to the Peter Lougheed hospital (same hospital in Calgary that I had the surgery). Well, I went to the hospital on the 17th and didn't get discharged until October 29. Besides being badly dehydrated, I also managed to really screw up all my electrolytes and it took 13 days to stabilize me!!!! :cry

A little bit of background to help you all - in April of 2006 I ended up getting an emergency ileostomy due to a bowel obstruction that couldn't be cleared up. Apparently when I had the lap band and stopped eating much, my small bowel had a hissy fit and got very confused and decided it needed all the nutrition I was taking in - didn't allow any of my other organs (including kidneys) any nutrition or liquids. I was basically starving to death and didn't know it. You would never realize how important potassium, Calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphates and albumin are to you until your whole body goes haywire!!!!!! I had the strangest and freakiest things happen to my body over the last weeks.

Part of the hospital treatment is now my personal nemesis. They kept pouring saline and medications into me intravenously - my body decided that it should keep all that liquid - and despite not eating much, I gained 57 pounds in the 13 days I was in hospital :faint:

I seem to be carrying all the weight in my legs, feet and belly (very swollen and sore). Everyone keeps telling me that as my body stabilizes I will lose the Water, but so far I have only lost 10 of those pounds. Good news is that I have got my appetite back, bad news, I feel no restriction in my band (I haven't had my first fill yet) so I am starting to eat everything in sight.

I have to say I am feeling quite discouraged right now. I lost all that weight (I know realistically that some of the weight I lost was so due to sickness that it is bound to stay on), but to be up around 290 pounds again, when not really eating does not insprire me right now. :help:

[Cindy_D 1]

Oh you poor thing - hang in there and stay very close to your doctors - if the fluids don't start to leave in the next few days you need to have some kidney function tests done. I'm sure they are watching you, but kidneys are very fragile and don't like a lot of abuse. The fact that you have an ileostomy is a huge trigger that you will need to monitor your diet and intake very carefully. Good luck and this is just a blip - the band is still there waiting for the go-ahead to start doing it's job.

Cindy

[JLB 0]

JJ - It was great talking to you tonight and I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. Take good care of yourself and please keep in touch!

[jjsmiles 3]

Thanks for the support. It was good talking to you Janice and thanks Cindy - I am getting blood work pretty much weekly that also looks at my kidney functioning - I seem to be holding my own. Just in case, I am now the proud owner of a tunneled central line in my chest so that easy access can be had to my veins should I run into trouble again.

Hopefully I am more aware of my body now and can recognize the signs before I get into such serious trouble in the future. The swelling is going down in my legs and feet - that is the good news, although I have still only lost about 16 pounds since getting out of the hospital.

I am up and down in my emotions and I try to stay positive. If find this forum has been very helpful, since all of you have experienced the ups and downs of obesity and emotional eating and their impact on our lives.

Since I am feeling better day by day, I am hoping to be able to discuss getting a fill in my band soon, so that I can get a bit of a kick start to get going again. I am seeing my Dr. again on November 16, so hopefully we can start to plan. In the mean time, I am going to watch my portions and make more healthy food choices. :biggrin1:

[JLB 0]

Hey JJ, hope all is still going well with you. Thought I would mention a couple of books I read that I found very helpful. Most books are wirtten around bypass surgery but alot of the same principles also apply to us bandsters, especially the emotional eating thing.

The first book, which you've probably seen mentioned here alot, is thebook written by Dr. Oz - "You on a Diet". I found it very informative and useful in understanding the psysiological causes for some things in the body and just a better overall understanding of how the body works.

The second book was written by Michelle Ritchie called "It ain't over 'til the thin lady sings". Michelle is a bypass patient who has reached goal of over 100 lbs lost and maintained it for several years. She has different exercises and tools to use around emotional eating. I thought the book was very well written and personable, sharing many personal insights into her own journey. Very interesting reading!

Both books are available at Amazon.ca if you're interested. I'm not sure if the library has them or not. Anyway, keep smilin' - you're on your way to a better, healthier life!

:whoo: