Donna Mehl

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Well All. Looks like I'm going in tomorrow morning to have my RNY Revision. If anyone is reading this I just wanted to let you know that if you are gaining weight after having a by-pass dont sit around beating yourself up about it. Go see your Surgeon! After 2 years of mentally debilitatingly gaining weight I finally broke down and went. I was told that 10 yrs ago when they did my original RNY it wasnt known what types of long term affects came from it. Now they know that 8-10 yrs out many many people are having problems with ulcers and myself as well as others the exit port to my pouch has lost its elasticity and stretched to the point of forming ulcers in that area. Thus with the opening stretched out and no way to snap back no food is able to stay in my pouch. This keeps me humngry 24-7. When the food settles into my intestine there is no way for it to break down and it is turning to fat and building in my abdomen. I maintained my original 127lb weight loss for the first 8 yrs. I was diligent about keeping portions small even when I could have anything I wanted. I now know that what happened was I didnt stretch out my tummy and sabotage my RNY it was the exit port going bad and made me hungry all the time. I have since gained 65lbs and now what a relief it is to find out it wasnt self inflicted perse'. An EGD by my surgeon confirmed the problem and Dr. Hoehn will be going back in to rebild this port. The EGD did show my pouch (egg) has stretched to about the size of an Orange, however he said this was fantastic after 10 yrs. WHile he is in there fixing this port he will go ahead and take my pouch back down to an egg size in order to remove the Ulcers and get me back on track. My estimated weight loss should cover the 65 lbs I have gained. So dont sit around beating yourself up if you have gained weight get to the surgeon!. (anyone reading this just give me a sign so I know if its reaching others)  

So here it is 3 years later than my last post. Not sure if too many read this but here is my latest update....

Two years ago I was still maintaining my goal weight of 175, by then Im 8 yrs out from my RNY. Then out of the blue I decided to stop smoking. Long story short over time I started gaining weight. I started watching my carbs and eating better because we all start going back to our old ways. Nothing was helping with slowing the weight gain so I bought an eliptical. By now I have a nice treadmill, bike and eliptical. I worked out dilligently putting over 130 miles on the bike and 25 miles on the treadmill in one month, but to no avail I gained weight. On my 10th anniversary of my original RNY I went back to my surgeon for a check up. Naturally his concerns were stated and he asked me to go have a EGD done, After having it done I found out the port going out of my pouch had not only lost its elasticity but there were 2 ulcers found. It was explained to me that this port enlargement was not allowing food to stay in my pouch and thus going straight into my lower intestine creating major abdominal fat to build. It was also explained that this (loosing elasticity at the exit port) is showing up more and more to those who are 8 to 10 years out from surgery.

The recomendation was to either leave it be and treat the ulcers or have a revision of which would do away with the ulcers and reinstate the original RNY. So we started with the whole insurance process and I went back into a refresher course for nutrition. I have since been approved out of Medical Necessity due to the ulcers and my BMI being already up to 38. I was contacted today by my Bariatric Center and have scheduled a RNY Revision on December 29th, 2014.

The prep has changed some since my first surgery and I had to give the whole thing a very deep thought. I am resolved that I had gained so much of my health in doing the first RNY and put my life so much on a healthy course that these last couple of years were very obvious how off course it went. I am resolved to continue to fight for my health and continue my Journey that I started 10 years ago.

For those of you that are struggling with weight gain after years of being healthy I totally recommend you going back to your Bariatric Doctor and state your concerns. Now not everyone I understand has this issue with the stretching of the exit port and in the EGD it was also noted that my pouch had only changed size from an egg to an orage so this furthermore strengthened my resolve that I had not sabbotaged my tool (RNY). I was totally beginning to think I had faild my Surgery and was beginning to feel down about being a failure. Please dont let yourself get to this point without consulting your Doctor.

I will continue to add more as time goes by on this blog and if anyone would like to contact me please feel free to do so at [email protected].  

Lets see if this adds before I type on and on lol

POST-OP ...
3/23/04
Well Im at the beginning of my new Journey now. I had RNYLAP on 3/15/04 and appear to be doing well. My surgery only lasted 2 hours and I recieved 22 staples and 2 drain tubes for my just rewards hahaha... Coming home from the hospital was very difficult because no matter where I tried to sit or lay my back hurt. With little to no sleep on the 3rd day Richard was upset and rented a hospital bed for me to use. It worked I just wish he wouldnt have spent the extra money. I wasnt supposed to do stairs and naturally my computer was downstairs so this is the first chance I have had to update. Right out of surgery my Sissy called me and drugged up or not I remember and will never forget. She has been such a support to me and I suppose I will be picking her brain from here on out hahaha... My kids 17 & 14 were very scared and Im not sure how you can prepare children for something like this to make it easier for them. But then I guess to be honest I was equally scared as well. I wrote all my family individual goodby letters and had a living will drawn. My hospital stay was not the best in my life however it was mainly due to a couple of individual staff not the hospital itself. I got to come home on my third day after surgery. Today was my 8th day post op and I was ever so glad to go get my staples and drain tubes out. I did find out the one drain tube was supposed to have been removed when I was released from the hospital and now there may be an infection at that port. With good care and paying attention this will heal Im sure. So here I am well on my way to recovery so If anyone has questions and theres anyway I can answer them please feel free to e-mail me... One more note. My husband Richard has been so supportive and an excellent nurse and I know in my heart thats its due to his support that I have healed so quickly this far. Thank you my Love for standing beside me ...

4/7/04
Well time is moving along here. I did great in my first two weeks of post-op but now I am having difficulty. My eating ability is deminishing slowly. Dr.Hoehn feels I have a stricture and I have been scheduled for a ballooning proceedure on Good Friday. I went back to work this last monday but its been very difficult. Dr, Hoehn bumped me back to half days on tuesday. Everything I eat doesnt go down well so Im pretty much back to Protien Drinks and water, however even that hurts my tummy. I know Im not getting my fluids in I can tell that already Im beginning to become dehydrated. According to the Dr's office I have lost 20 lbs already. YEAH! Only now that Im not feeling well I find I am sleeping so much. Tomorrow will bring a brighter day and if not then maybe the next. Hope my job stands strong through this Id hate to loose it.

4/11/04
Happy Easter friends. Its been ruff here. They finally decided after three days of gawd awful pain in my chest and back that I had a stricture. I went in thursday to have it dialized. Immediatly it was a relief but the soreness of the spasms is still there. Last week work wasnt very productive so Im going back full time monday and try it again. Im basically having to start over with introducing foods again. Having an awful time with my lactose intolerance causeing gas and hurting. Just cant get over how much my backs hurts constantly now compared to only occasionally before the surgery. But Im werkin it yall...

4/25/04
6 Weeks post-op and I'm still fighting fatigue. Dr. Hoehn says this is typical and it should get better in the next couple weeks. Im down 43 lbs as of today HURAYYYYYYY... I'm just beginning to notice a change in the way my clothes fit me. Having alot of problems getting in all my water though. I drink drink drink all day and still I know Im not getting enough in. Decided maybe to try doing 1 whole can of protien shake of a morning and then go from there because Im worried about not getting my protien in. At my 1 mo checkup Dr. Hoehn said my lab work was fine and I didnt need to come back till June. That was way exciting to know Im doing so good. I have these what I call Crash modes where anytime during the day it will hit me that Im sl sleepy I cant hold my eyes open or start seeing double from trying to stay awake. Im taking my vitamins and b12 and eating three times a day so Im just gonna hope my energy levels get back to normal soon. On a funny note my husband says he's gonna be 400 lbs before I meet goal because I keep buying things I want and giving them to him to eat hahahaha... Stand Strong My Friends... Stay Safe...

6/26/04
Things are going better for me now. I wish I could find others closer to me that I could share things with and go out to workout with. I'm down 63 lbs now and estatic about that. I've dropped from a 46 mens jeans to a 40 and well on my way to a 38. I've never really wore womens jeans because Im so short waisted hahaha... Eating is still difficult but mostly because of finding high protien things and not because of getting sick. I did find out at my 3 mo checkup that I was getting Anemic so that explains some of my energy problems. But I must admit even that is getting better. I am on another plateau and havent lost a pound in 3 weeks grrrr... This is the second one I have had so I know I just have to be patient. One thing Im having trouble dealign with is I have shrank from my wardrobe and dont want to go spend money on new clothes because I know Im still loosing. But also I almost feel Ive lost my identity in not having my own clothes hahaa. I know this sounds funny and its not devastating me by no means but it feels awkward at the moment. Anyone wanting to buddy up just give me a yell...

8/30/04
Well as all other profiles I read yes its been awhile since I've updated... I am 5 1/2 months post-op now. Went in today for my checkup and I can honestly say I was disapointed. Yes I know everyone looses at different paces and I'm so proud of how far I have come so far. Guess I'm just on a pity party with myself because I have no time to work out and I know it could be better if I did. I'm trying to figure out how it is that I made time before yet cant find it now. I am down from a size 26 womens jeans to a size 16 now WOOHOOO... I'm totally happy with my progress ... I was so disapointed with my surgeon today. I felt like he just blew me off and I didnt even get a chance to ask quesitons or just sit and talk with him about how good or how I need to change things. Maybe I'm just searching for approval that Im doing things right. I'm going to try to go to the support group this next Thursday with my Hospital Buddy Cindy. Shes such a good support buddy... Thank goodness for my AOL Chat Group... They are wonderful... Oh by the way I started at 263 lbs and now im at 184 lbs...

2/8/2005
Long time no see my friends... I'm coming up to my first anniversary and it doesnt feel like it. I stopped loosing at 107 lbs total and Im ok with that. My biggest fear was that I would loose too much. Im still struggling with headaches, migrains and fatigue. Ive tried many things to rule out B-12 Defiency, menopause, Clinical depression and hormonal issues. All labs come back normal and I still have no clue why Im always so bone tired. I'm stopping things and rearranging things on my schedule to make time to work out thats my only other option to re-gain my energies. Lets pray that does the trick. Because others are not going to have me available to help them while I Force my time to excersize. Others like Papa in the nursing home, my 18 yr old thats graduating in 3 months and my other teen who is struggling with her Freshman year. I feel like Im going to let them down or not be there for them but i have to re-prioritize myself.
If I can stress anything at all through this jopurney to others researching it it would be to make the time to excersize because not only is it easy to keep loosing the weight even if you dont and be so excited by your progress but deep inside you are opening doors to other problems. Yes I was warned of this but not explained to what could happen. I was rushed to ER last week because I thought I was ripping up inside. After a 3 day stay and many visits with my GYN the conclusion was that the muscles supporting my Uterus are so stretched out and Ive not been excersizing and its pulled the weak muscles. I cant explain the pain but it was more than child birth or even the RNY for me and I have a high pain tolerance. If you choose not to tone up or turn into a excersize freak then for your internal health walk walk walk. Stay Safe....

3/11/05
Well time has zoomed by fast here... Monday is my 1ts yr anniversay check-up with Dr. H... Its been a long road and I have had a few fights along the way but I can honestly say I dont regret it and would do it again if I needed it. I'm down from 263lbs to 152 lbs by my scale... Everyone is commenting about me loosing too much and I guess inside Im worried too... I'm walking an average of about 5 miles a week on the treadmill wish I had time for more... It can be adictive I tell ya. For anyone pre-op that reads this journal I did delete off the beginning of my journey because it got so lengthy on my Profile here... I cant stress enough about starting an excersize program after surgery (yes Im proof it can cause complications if you dont). After dropping so much fat the weight loss started affecting my energy and muscles. My PCP tried to diagnose me with Depression when I went to him because I didnt know what was happening to me... Naturally I ran to Dr. Sabopathy hahaha... It made me angry because I knew it wasnt that. I tried checking my B-12 levels and all my labs and they were ok but I was so not having any energy what so ever... then I pulled a muscle supporting my uterus and WOW reality set in...I also promised myself as well as my hubby before I even had RNy that I wouldnt even think of plastic surgeries until my 2nd anniversary date... COME ON 2nd YEAR! Oh my is all this excess skin and flab driving me nuts! My Surgery buddy and I are meeting on Monday to celebrate our journey... Kudo's Cindy I'm so very proud of you kiddo... Anyone new starting out yes I would be glad to answer any questions... Be Safe and Live Happy...

3-22-11
Wow how time flys yes? It's been 7 yrs now and I can honestly say I have never looked back and regretted having the RNY. Many many ups and downs along the way. Its my experience they dont focus enough on the mental part of afterward. The one thing that hit me about 2yrs out was I felt I had lost my identity. When you have all the support from family and friends, they give you clothes as your weight melts off they help you choose better foods they suggest and reccomend different activities and get you involved in their activities. You feel great because you can do more things with them. But...
     I look in the mirror and I dont see me anymore. My whole wardrobe is not what I would have gone to the store and bought for myself its a little bit of all my friends and family. My face is definatly not the same and none of my rings or shoes fit anymore. I go to the store to try to find new clothes and I get anxious because the only place I know how to shop is in the plus section. When I walk to the smaller sizes all I see are things a teenager wears. I worry about what I buy, is it ok for me to wear this, is it fitting to my age or size? So yet again I have lost my style.
    Over the last 5 yrs I have been re-building this for myself. It takes more time than people realise to rebuild your life around a new you. It doesnt happen overnight, and so during that time you go through a mix of emotions from feeling lost to anxious to even loosing who you are. Rest assured in the end it takes a deep inner strength and commitment to go through with such a life altering decision.

Will write more later....Peace be with you...