Hi,

I am new. I just found this site when I was looking around the Internet trying to find out why I am in pain.

I had the Roux en y in 1992 and had not been back to the doctor since 1993. I went from 265 lbs at the time of the surgery to 119 exactly a year later. Right now I weigh 137. I like to stay around 135 to 140. I have to struggle though because of my very poor eating habits and grazing. I am 51.

I haven't ever really had much luck being able to tolerate meat well. Sometimes I can mince some meat and keep it down. Sometimes hamburger or chicken is ok but most of the time it is not. I have also not ever been able to keep down flour tortillas and the other usual problem foods from the beginning. They all continue to give me problems. I can sure still pack on the weight though if I am not careful because starch, junk food, cheese and things stay down very well.

2 years ago I finally went to a stomach doctor, not the one who did my surgery. He no longer practices and I went out of town for my surgery. They had me do an endoscopy and I was also found to have candida, bad. It was up into my esophagus. I had been nauseous almost everyday for about a year (felt like morning sickness all day long - I wasn't pregnant). They gave me Diflucan also and some medicine to settle my stomach down. They also found out I have a hietal hernia, which is pre-cancerous cells. I don't take anything for anything now though. I do take other medicines for other things though and I do take nsaids as I can't take many forms of pain relief if they are addictive due to being a recovering alcoholic. I know the nsaids are bad for me. I also drink diet soda which I know is bad for me.

Since the surgery I believe I have developed bulimia but that is another issue which I work on. Anyway, I say that because I have spent a lot of the last 20 years throwing up or making myself throw up. Most of the time because I ate too much or because I felt so uncomfortable.

This leads me to my current issue. I know I am going to have to break down and go to the doctor and I will, I just wanted to know if there is anyone else out there who has or is experiencing the same thing.

About 2 weeks or so ago, I started to have stomach pain. Maybe it has been longer, I think it has, I think it has just gotten more severe. I have all of a sudden gotten really gassy. I have not been that way - no matter what I ate. I also have been able to eat whatever I want to spice-wise, hot has never bothered me and I eat a lot of hot and sometimes greasy food. Anyway, at first it seemed to be only occurring in the middle of the night when I had been asleep for a little bit. The pain, it almost feels like upper intestinal cramps, will wake me up. Only problem, sorry for too much information but, I haven't been able to fart or burp much since the surgery! Even when I have been able to pass some, it hasn't helped that much. After a while it lessens and I am able to fall back to sleep and when I wake up in the morning it is mostly gone.

Sometimes it almost feels like it is burning between the bottom of my breastbone and my belly button, I have thought at times that it felt like it was on fire in there.

Yesterday it happened during a nap in the afternoon so it is not occurring just during the night. I haven't been able to go to the bathroom much either but have gone a little. I don't think that is the problem because I am able to go some but it is not helping it.

For the last couple of days every time I eat something now I am feeling the pain.

Again, I am going to have to call the doctor on Monday. I just wondered if it's happened before. What happens to that old stomach? Anything ever go wrong with it? Anybody know?

For now, I bought some things tonight to make some homemade chicken noodle soup (no jalapenos this time) for myself for the weekend. I think that I should probably take it easy on my stomach this weekend. Probably some prilosec would be in order also. Maybe I will send hubby for some.

Any comments or support or just empathy for having been there would be greatly appreciated.

Stefanie Reynoso

Stephanie,

I'm 9 years post op and have not experienced these things.  I hope someone here can give you some insight, but in the meantime... PLEASE see a doctor, the issues you are experiencing do not sound normal and you definitely need some relief!

Elizabeth

I had my RNY surgery in January 2004.  In December 2004, I started to have pain and burning.  Testing showed it was my gall bladder.  I had surgery to remove it and have been fine since then as far as pain and burning goes. 

Two years ago I started having some issues with bloating and gas and other things which led to some testing and cultures being done.  I had the candida issue which from what I understood is common in bypass and DS patients.  I took a 10 day course of the diflucan, started taking high dosages of probiotics and natural anti-fungal supplements, and cut out simple carbs and limited any sugar intake.  The gas and bloating disappeared as did the candida.  My ph is balanced and cultures are clear.  I continue to eat lean protein, veggies, and low carb foods and limit anything processed.  The more natural and whole the foods are the better I feel.  My stomach is sooo much better now.  I continue to take the probiotics and natural antifungals every day without fail, and my life is so much better.  I feel so much better.  

Hope you feel better soon and get some answers. 

 Hi Stephanie,

I am a relative newcomer still but as far as the food and weight gain go it has helped me so much to plan/track my food and then post them here to stay accountable.  After my first 11 months i began to goof around with my food - took back sugar, eat processed carbs, snacky foods, stop tracking and planning - and at first it didn't really effect my weight.  The further out from surgery I got however, the more weight I gained and the harder it was to get back on track and take that weight off.

I don't know if any of this information is helpful.  As far as what to eat goes you might also want to check out http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/.  She has a lot of great recipes - something there may work for you.  Come join us here too!

 Almost 10 years out here and the things that bug my pouch and my gut are carbs.  

Logging my food and looking at what I eat and what I feel like later has really helped me plan.  ie, Sure I can eat that roll but I'm going to pay for it later.  

I hope you got into see the doctor to get some answers.

You sound like me. I had the surgery in 2003. Over the years I've complained about pain in the back of my throat, chest and stomach. Recently I finally found out why - I have food allergies and too much pressure in my esophagus. I do not tolerate meat or solid food well. So now I'm taking daily prilosec (gerd), Diltiazem (esophagus pressure), and chewable multi-vitamins. I also take bi-weekly vitamin D and monthly B12 shots. Oh, let me add to that - I get IV injections of iron as needed. This year only 4 weeks so far, zero in 2011 and 19 in 2010. I'm told that because the Diltiazem is a calcium blocker that I will probably be moving to getting IV for calcium too. I not sure how old you are but I'm told that around 40ish this is normal to develop food allergies. It was my bodies way of saying enough is enough. Does that help at all?