1yr & 4mo POST-OP Roux-En-Y: Major Abdominal Pain & Cramping

[TheAngryMeow 99]

I am hoping someone else can shed light or maybe give me some ideas/an avenue to explore. I had my GB in February of 2020. It has been nearly a year and a half of ups and downs. Roller coasters, a lot of insight and enlightenment. It has been HARD. Like, really, really hard. I am sick nearly every day. Some days, I could eat 2 slices of pizza with no issue (that's RARE and just an example) but other days I can eat 1/4 cup of oatmeal and Water and puke violently. I've noticed meat is almost always a no-go. Red meat, especially. In any variation (ground, steak, etc). I usually only crave carbs anymore and I'm constantly thirsty. Let me just make clear just exactly how sick I am, though:

Waking up, nothing on my stomach- throwing up within 10 minutes of waking up. Driving to work, start dumping after having 100 calorie nut bar or Cereal for Breakfast. Even water, occasionally. Having the urge to go to the bathroom, nothing happens. Multiple times a day. Then, one day, I run to the toilet rocking back and forth hoping for the good lord to take me out of my misery since it feels like I'm giving birth in my intestines. Holding a trash can in front of me because my mouth is watering with anticipation of puking. The dumping is INTENSE. Like, I don't wanna live it's so miserable (FYI- I am NOT suicidal!). My heart races, my whole body tenses and gets super hot. I feel like I'm dying. Like, actually dying. I am just overwhelmed because when this first started, I went to the ER, did a CT, EGD, Biopsy, Blood work....Everything was unremarkable. They wanted me to get a gastric emptying study done, but I feel like I'm going around and around. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that this is related to the GB. No questions. I also will have severe pain in my RUQ (right upper quadrant) that shoots to my shoulder. Gallbladder was out in 2018. It is starting to affect my school, work and personal life. GI doctors are limited in this area so I am at a loss. They don't want to do anything else and I am so frustrated. I take Linzess for IBS-C that my weight loss doctor prescribed. I need an alternative.

Can anyone give any input? Any similar experiences?

[Prestonandme 107]

There have been a few people, including myself, in the forum who have battled chronic nausea, vomiting, cramping, gastric emptying, etc. and after having undergone lots of tests and procedures, were told there was not yet a diagnosis for their symptoms.

In my case, my g.i. doctor eventually hypothesized that my nausea, cramping, and chronic gastric emptying was due to vagus nerve separation and possible damage. The vagus nerve serves as a connection between the brain and the gut. During WLS, its afferent and efferent segments are separated and, according to the National Institutes of Health, "the gastric vagal branches are often damaged during bariatric surgery."

In my case, I am mostly dealing with nausea, chronic cramping, and frequent gastric emptying (I've experienced those same extreme rushes to the toilet you describe, but haven't dealt much with vomiting issues).

My PCP prescribed an anti-cramping medication called Bentyl, which I take twice a day. I'd say that it's alleviated my symptoms by about 50%. My g.i. doctor offered Elavil and/or Librax as alternatives (both reduce g.i. spasms) but the Bentyl has been doing a good job for me so far. If you have the opportunity, you may want to ask your PCP or G.I. doctor whether any of these medications might help your situation.

I hope you feel a lot better soon.

[SlimChickadee 219]

I literally just posted about this, I don’t have the nausea but do have the sweats and urgencies and can’t do anything or it may just be gas. Thank you r posting.