Question

I'm not sure how to ask these questions so please be nice..........


I'm currently suffering from nausea & vomiting and have been for 9 months now and had RNY over 2 years ago. I've been reading about how people that have gone from RNY to DS are "cured" of their nausea & vomiting. Therefore, I've been reading a lot. My questions is this.......what test or procedure would determine that I would be cured of my nausea & vomiting "if" I decided to have a revision from RNY to DS? And how could I convince any of my Dr's that having a revision would help me?

**history of me**.....I've currently got 6 doctors (3 at the Mayo Clinic) that can't seem to find anything wrong with me, but yet I puked 99% of what I eat daily. I have had CT Scans (upper & lower....with contrast & without contrast), Endoscopy's (2), Barium Swallow Studies, Double Balloon Endoscopy, etc done....and all are "normal". I'm about 10lbs under my RNY Surgeon's goal weight for me.

I'm thinking your weight would prohibit you from getting a revision to a DS right now but I really have no idea. You might want to ask Dr Keshishian in CA or Dr Greenbaum in NJ to review your case and give you their opinions. See www.DSfacts.com for contact info for these two DS revision surgeons.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

--gina

Copying and pasting a previous post of mine, so some (or none) may apply to you, but here was my nausea and vomiting experience (WITH a DS).  I hope it is of help to you.......

Post Date: 8/6/09 10:57 am

Hey, Frank,
I've traveled the road you seem to be lurching towards, so let me save you some time, and a lot of misery.....
After surgery, I wasn't hungry, wasn't thirsty, hadn't found a protein powder I liked, so I didn't drink much, didn't eat much, and didn't get much (read: any) extra protein in.
The less I ate, the less I wanted to eat.  I did force myself to get some fluids in (still, no protein supplements), but some days the food intake was no more than 3 - 5 bites.
My feet and ankles started swelling up at 6 months (I'm a little surprised it took that long).  I was completely listless, and, now, lacked the energy to prepare something that even sounded good to eat.  By this time, I was also throwing up some things.  It seemed that if I waited too long between meals, or ate too fast, or ate too much (which was darned little at this point, because my stomach had shrunk, I think), or for no discernible reason at all, I would throw up.  Not deliberately, but I could feel the food starting to make it's way back up.  I'd find a bathroom (or a trash can), and deposit what I'd just managed to choke down in to the toilet (or trash can).  Believe me, this was not on purpose.  I'd start crying when I could feel the food coming back up, because I'd really been trying at this point to get some food in.  In the meantime, my legs were getting bigger and bigger, and the skin on them was getting tighter and tighter, and I was getting more and more tired.  I would have to, with my hands, pick my legs up to get them in to the car.  I would have to pick them up to get into bed.  All I had the energy to do was sleep and go to work.  Frequently, at the end of the day, I'd drive home, and have to summon up the energy to get out of my car and go inside my house.  Actually fell asleep in the car a couple of times while waiting for the energy to get out of my car.
My PCP was trying to get me to get the protein in, and she had prescribed diuretics for the oedema, but nothing was changing, except that my legs were getting bigger.  Also, the water was starting to settle in the belly area.  It was at this point that the phrase, "congestive heart failure" escaped her lips.  I ended up in the ER for dehydration and potassium deficiency (taking the diuretics, even though they weren't doing any good, was depleting me of potassium), and, of course, protein deficiency.  Although my stomach was distended, and my legs looked like big trees, my face was grey and sunken, my shoulder blades were jutting out my back, and my ribs were showing on my chest.  It wasn't a pretty sight.
So, the next day, after the ER visit, I started taking the protein bullets.  Didn't like them, and, occasionally threw that up, but I kept taking them.  Then, I found some powder I could stand (thanks to Lori and her recommendations about Vitalady's stuff).  It was a start, at least.
Now, for me, what turned me around was a little on the "alternative" side.  I'm not recommending it for you (or anybody else), but, for me, I think it's the reason I'm alive and typing this ridiculously long post.
I went to a Cranial-sacral therapist.  Spent nearly 3 hours on my first visit.  Still felt nauseous when I thought about food, at least in the beginning, but I've only thrown up once since that first visit (and I have a perfectly good excuse for that one.  I was at my dad's house.  long story.  don't ask).  Anyway, the more time passed, the less nauseous I felt around food, the more I was able to push myself to eat.  It took 3 months for my body to be ready to let go of the fluids I had retained, but, finally, I lost 40 pounds of water.  I got my legs back, and was finally able to get around and even THINK about exercising.
I feel so good now, it's not even funny.
But I came close to killing myself.  I do know that now.
Please, Please, Please - do what it takes to start eating the right things, right now.
I do wish you much success with that.         

Here's a link to the whole thread, to put it in context (and, there may be something helpful to you there)   http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/3994565/My-Sugar-amp-Carb-Filled-Post-Op-Hell/action,replies/topic_id,3994565/page,1/

Didn't you - or someone else in FL just like you - post this same question a couple days ago? Including seeing docs at the Mayo Clinic??
     Well, I'll still play nice. You need to contact one of the experienced DS revision surgeons via email to see if they can help you. There is no one in FL doing the DS at present, let alone revisions to the DS. Se we're talking about Dr. John Rabkin or Dr. Ara Keshishian in CA, or Dr. Gagner in Montreal.
     These surgeons are accustomed to seeing patients from afar and will respond to emails. It's up to you to take the first step and reach out to them. And people do revise to the DS for reasons other than wanting to lose more weight.
     No one here can answer your question about whether or not further surgery will "cure" your present problems.

Larra

Yup, that was her.

And now, I'm just a bit peeved.
I read that whole other thread, and I don't see a single time where the OP was handled roughly.
Why, then, is she telling us to "be nice" now?

Larra....

Thank you for answering (again) my post. Yes, I'm the one that posted the other day about the same thing.....but last night I posted different questions.

I have contacted a DS Speciatist in Ga this morning and waiting on a return phone call from the nurse.

I'm not asking for anyone to tell me "if" a revision from RNY to DS is going to "cure" me. I'm aware that you aren't qualified to tell me this. I just wanted to know if you or anyone else on the DS forum did have a revision from RNY to DS and what were your/their symptons (I'm comparing other peoples symptoms to mine....cause I have all of my Dr's stumped and I have to take my health & life into my own hands and come up with a plan of action).

The only "DS specialist in GA" that I can think of is Dr. Smith. He's highly regarded as a DS surgeon, but doesn't do RNY to DS revisions.
     I hope you will also contact the surgeons in CA that I've already mentioned.
     I also read that the docs  you have now don't want to work on your nutrition as long as you bmi is 20. There is so much more to nutrition that your bmi! I hope they have checked your vitamin levels, calcium, iron, total protein, albumin, etc, as you could be deficient in any of these areas even with a high bmi. 
     Please consult more than one DS expert. You need all the help you can get.

Larra

I have NOT said at all that someone or anyone has treated me bad.......

What I mean by "please be nice" is......just that, if I ask a question again (repeating myself), just to please be nice and understand that I have a short-term memory loss, due to malnutrition.

With that said........Thank you for all of your posts about my problem at hand.

I have contacted a DS Specialist that is listed on DSfacts.com this morning. I'm waiting on a call back from the nurse now. So, yes I have taken the first step to helping myself get out of this horrible daily venture that I have to take.