I’m getting a bypass despite the fact I have a sleeve done

[Saddy 11]

Hi

(I posted this is post op questions by accident but wondered if I should put this here..)

I’m a 43 year old female who weighs 75kg. I am 158cm tall and I had a gastric sleeve done in June 2017.

I am apparently one of the few who has not lost a single kilo since my surgery. In fact, I was at 69kg when I got it done so if anything, I’ve put on 6kg since.

My doctor has offered me a gastric bypass which I have accepted and booked in.

I have a really sweet tooth which is my biggest issue. I just can’t stop.

Just wondering, what is it really like to have a sweet tooth then suddenly get a bypass? If you had your chance, would you have gotten it or is this one of your biggest regrets?

Please do not criticise me because you feel I am not heavy enough. I’m not here because I need someone to judge me.

Everyone else, I can’t wait to hear from you.
Regards
Sad.

[Bryn910 519]

I too had a revision from sleee to bypass (due to GERD & not losing weight).

i truly don’t feel hungry now but I am almost 6 weeks post op. When I see something delicious or what I use to eat before, I crave it for that moment but when it’s out of sight, my craving goes away. I am still on soft Foods so I can’t speak much about eating.

Some of those with bypass have dumping syndrome when they eat an abundance of sugar which is positive for some because they no longer want to feel that pain/discomfort again so they stay away from sugar; same for greasy/Fatty/fries Foods I believe

[Saddy 11]

Yay! Thank you for replying. I thought I was the first person in history not have lost weight cause everyone else seems to be a success story. Depressing! The day I had my gastric sleeve surgery I was hungry. I mean starving. Now I’m starving all the time, even when I’m full. Oh. And now I have heart burn which I’ve never had in my life. I can’t explain it. So to hear your story I am grateful for your reply.

Please keep me posted. I’d love to hear on how you go as opposed to how you were before with the sleeve. Were you like me when you had the sleeve?? I hope to lose the hunger as you have said when I get mine? Gosh. I’m still even deciding if I should.

[KimTriesRNY 1,853]

There is a difference between not losing weight and those that lost weight with a sleeve and regained.

If your main problem was eating around the surgery to begin with, how do you feel bypass will be different for you? You stated you have a sweet tooth and you cannot stop. If you were not losing weight with a sleeve due to eating the wrong foods and overeating, what has changed?

It is a common misconception that you will dump with gastric bypass. It is not a given. My surgeon told me only 30-50 percent of patients will dump, and this effect lessens as a bypass matures for many that do have dumping. If you are counting on dumping syndrome to keep your eating under control, you may be making a huge mistake.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

[GreenTealael 25,377]

Hi there I have to agree with the last poster, I had alot of hidden sugars in my diet that one had to work REALLY HARD to eliminate LONG before I even considered surgery. I actually stopped using sugar to start and then stopped eating foods that contained high amounts of non naturally occurring sugars then limiting those for special occasions. I Gave up juice completely. Doing that automatically stimulates a small reduction in weight and the need to always eat sweet foods. Sugar has been studied and found to have similar addictive properties as narcotics. It stimulates the pleasure center of the brain which does not sound bad unless you become dependant on the stimulus. You may need to detox to ensure the best possible outcome. Safe journey.

Edited June 17, 2018 by Tealael

[Frustr8 7,886]

Saddy, it's Frustr8 here, also getting a bypass about your time, although I'm an original not a revision. Are you sure you have hunger and not just gastritis and excess acid and possible ulcer.?
A little about me, I have been fighting the GERD war for awhile, went from PPI to next. About 6 months ago, give or take, my symptoms amped up. Now my gall bladder has been gone for 34 34 years but that was the general area I was having pain. I am a dabbler on the edges of medicine and I also have a fervent imagination So what do you I rationalize about right subcostal pain ? Errant gall bladder tissue they didn't remove, maybe I have gallstones blocking pancreatic ducts, a Ghrelinoma, mind you I don't even know if there is such a thing?. gastric carcinoma, or as my late MIL threatened , my fat strangling my intestines? At that moment I was peeved at my PCP, the great steroid prescribed,he thinks medrol will cure the world of all its ills, I just think it makes me FATTER. So I hiked myself off to the gastroenterologist, why go to,the hmmm level? Lets fire the big guns. After changing PpL once again, now I'm on Dexilant, the Ferrari of Ppl and I go through an EGD which shows I have active gastritis and gives me a little birth announcement, I am the unwilling stepmother to Hector my teeny tiny stiil-sleeping gastric ulcer. The good news, Hector is not caused by H pylori, he is from excessive amount of ibuprofen, which had chewed through the protective mucous lining and into business area, the stomach wall. Nd we,must,keep Vector peacefully slumbering so b he does not perforate and dausevall kinds of trouble. Hence the,pain
Goodbye coffee, spices peppermint, skipping meals and of course NSAIDS. There is my story and hi hope it helps a little.

[toodlerue 452]

I too have an uncontrollable sweet tooth. I had a RNY a month ago. I constantly have to over come the temptation to not eat sugar!

I have to to remind myself “Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels!” It’s my new mantra.

I’m just tired of being chubby. I can feel my body getting worse from extra weight. I want to feel better, I wanna get out and do things! I’m tired of sitting on the couch!

I guess you have to get to that point yourself & decide what is important to you. Maybe your not ready to make that big of a change.

[Bryn910 519]

8 hours ago, Saddy said:

Yay! Thank you for replying. I thought I was the first person in history not have lost weight cause everyone else seems to be a success story. Depressing! The day I had my gastric sleeve surgery I was hungry. I mean starving. Now I’m starving all the time, even when I’m full. Oh. And now I have heart burn which I’ve never had in my life. I can’t explain it. So to hear your story I am grateful for your reply.

Please keep me posted. I’d love to hear on how you go as opposed to how you were before with the sleeve. Were you like me when you had the sleeve?? I hope to lose the hunger as you have said when I get mine? Gosh. I’m still even deciding if I should.

I necessarily didn’t have a sweet tooth like yourself. I ate relatively healthy and indulged maybe once a week with a cheat meal. I was also really active (hiked a lot) but I just didn’t lose. I didn’t believe I even had the surgery until I had an upper GI done. I could eat more than another with the sleeve could. I just never felt satisfied. My heartburn was so bad that taking a sip of Water in the morning Made me uncomfortable. I didn’t have any ulcers or anything either

[Saddy 11]

Hi everyone. Thanks for replying. I don’t disagree with you all however my sweet tooth probably came across as a little exaggerated than I actually meant it to be. Yes I have a major sweet tooth however I don’t hog into a block of chocolate topped with sprinkles and donuts each day (although I could easily go that lol.) I generally eat quite healthy. I eat lots of Protein and of recent times switch in and out of Keto dieting which allows me to balance. I’m
Also quite active. If I didn’t I would be the size of three play boy mansions put together complete with an Olympic sized pool and field. For me, that means strict keto is done with no sugar and low carbs, two weeks at a time and the feeling of being in ketosis is great. I use this to maintain so although I go through periods where I am addicted to sugar, I can also stop with some real will power. Is it my weakness? Absolutely. I do need a detox every now and then as suggested and possible some counselling. I’m not choosing an easy way out.
However, I do know how I feel. I feel it is more. I haven’t lost any weight even when first operated on. That’s a strict diet I followed. I have severe GERD since the moment I was sleeved, I felt it in hospital. I also felt immediate hunger when I woke up. I am able to eat as much as my friends but not more. My fizz test proves that too.
I think Frustr8 has made some very valid points. I don’t know but things you state sound so familiar to me. I’d never even have considered an ulcer which is highly possible.
I have had severe pains in my lower left side of the stomach since the op in the form of cramps, I push my fingers in or go into the foetal position. Hunger is a constant feeling and I noticed this only the surgery as I was never this hungry before surgery. Ever! I get a sensation of severe heart burn if I don’t eat. Frustr8, I used to take nurofen plus for years as I have chronic Migraines which I’ve stopped. Been off them for a year. I didn’t even know about gastritis and excessive acid. It’s all new to me. It’s not my go to excuse either but one thing is happening that isn’t right. The doctor has not gone Into that either but I’d like to investigate that. Thank you for allowing me to giggle Frstr8. In the last few months, (please excuse this bit.. frustr8 tell me if u had this...) my stool has gone from normal to well very soft. I don’t have diarrhoea however it ends up looking like that with blood now. This is why I wonder if I have an ulcer... with the cramps...
Thank you everyone for your replies. It is all taken on board and I’m able to dissect and re assess what is happening.
All in all, if it isn’t that and just the sugar then I am willing to make that change. I’m not counting on the dumping, in fact I was surprised to hear people hoping to have more of it. I was actually scared of that. Like shit scared. But you guys have educated me a little more and I now know what to expect.... :)

[Saddy 11]

Ps. Bryn910, I get heartburn so bad when sometimes I haven’t even had anything at all. And yes even a sip of Water can make it much worse for me too......

[mhysteik 8]

I have had a RNY as an original not a revision. Not all patients having RNY have the same outcomes. I can tolerate some sugars without having the immediate dumping, but another issue that can frequently become a problem for some is the post gastric bypass hypoglycemia effect. This is when for instance you have had a small amount of food and in the next 1 1/2 - 2 hours your blood sugar drops. I have this problem and it is not fun at all. It is very frustrating because many times you loose complete functioning ability until you can stabilize your sugars.

I have found that in learning to manage this that when this happens it is more often after ingesting a food with some sugar or carbohydrate content. For instance even sugarfree jelly on a slice of low carb bread with Peanut Butter will cause the sugar to drop, because there is still a small amount of sugar in the sugarfree substitute.

Anyways, you may want to consider this as a challenge should you get the RNY revision. If you are one of the lucky candidates to get this problem it is a life long problem that is hard to deal with but can be managed.

[Travelher 915]

the hunger you are experiencing is not actual hunger, but the stomach acid/gerd. real hunger goes away when you eat, acid does not. the acid that is creating that feeling of hunger often prompts people to continue eating to try and resolve it or turn to easily digestible carbs like crackers and bread again, to self-medicate.

The good news is with RNY there is a 60% chance that your Gerd will resolve (mine did).

[Fabtas 3]

Hello! So glad to see this thread! I feel less alone 😀 I had the sleeve done Sept 2014. Within a week I lost my home (housemate dramas), my car and my job. I lost a fair bit of weight, never reached goal. I never went to follow up appointments with the surgeon, nor a dietitian. I made mistakes, based on what was happening in my life. I didn't prioritize my new eating habits. I knew it was only a "tool" but didn't live it that way.

All the weight is back on now. And boy have i felt like a total failure at times because of it (not any more).

So now i'm contemplating the bypass, and looking at forums to see other peoples experiences.

Gerd typed above is interesting. I reckon I might have it.

I wonder how many people put all the weight back on after sleeve? Or bypass?

[Saddy 11]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I’ve read every single one and taken into account all of your responses, advice and concerns.

I feel like this GERD isn’t something I’ve looked into prior so I’m
Going to see the doctor. Heavy GERD meds don’t achieve anything for me. Wow could this be it!!! I don’t even have to eat to have it really bad.

I think being able to recognise where I’m going wrong helps. Anyhow I’ll keep you all posted xx

[LindyPablo 29]

Hi- I have a very very big sweet tooth, as well. I was able to detox during my pre-op diet two weeks ago (my surgery is next week). I had a horrible Migraine for 5 days, chills, fever-like symptoms, and couldn’t be around ANYONE because of the grumpiness. And day 6, it all disappeared and I felt *amazing*. Haven’t had any sugar for a week and a half and I feel so good.

Perhaps it’s worth trying to detox and seeing how you do. You may find you don’t need the stuff anymore, which will take away some anxiety about the bypass (it sure did for me). Good luck! :)