ObesityHelp

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who are a year post op or around there, and have stopped losing weight, there could be a good reason! Many people who have the RNY surgery have actually popped a staple or more loose and they stop losing weight. Also, there seems to be more people who have a problem with their stoma being too large. The stoma is the opening they make from your new pouch to the small intestine. If it is too large, then food just goes right through and you never feel full! Please check with your surgeon to see if your problem could be one of these two issues! You are NOT a failure! This tool will work for you and I'll help you in any way I can! Please write me!

The following is a post from Carol A, from the
Graduate-OSSG@yahoogroups.com board.

"I think a member or two might have gingerly mentioned not too long ago that there is a problem that sometimes happens with our surgeries that few docs acknowledge, and seldom advise of as a possible occurrence.

I think it is now time to come out of the closet and shine a bright light on this dirty little secret. Last week I flew to Seattle for an endoscopy and consult with Dr. Ki Oh bcuz I have NEVER felt much restriction from my pouch. I have been SO frustrated when others talk about being absolutely stuffed on 3
bites of something. I have not been stuffed on even 10 times that much. My first solid (soft) food meal was 12 oz (some are supposed to eat only 1 oz; my doc said 4 oz) and I COULD have eaten more--I was not full, or even satisfied. I stopped eating bcuz I knew I wasn't supposed to be able to eat that much.

My surgeon turned a deaf ear to my complaints and pleas. He didn't exactly say it was "all in my head." Members of support groups, both online and in person did, tho, intimate that it had to be "head hunger." And that was both hurtful and discouraging. I have spent the better part of the past year and a half
believing that I am no better now than I was pre-op: unable to control the cravings and eating more than I should. And hating myself and my failure quite thoroughly.

Well, guess what? The scope showed my stoma is 3 times the size it should be. Therefore pretty much rendering my pouch non-functional. Nothing wrong with the POUCH: it's still just 15 cc. But the stoma is too wide and doesn't keep the food in the pouch. It just pours right thru into my intestine; hence, no
fullness, no satiety, and the urge to keep eating and eating and eating.

Becuz the stoma has a tendency to relax/stretch somewhat over time of its own accord, it is extremely important that the bariatric surgeon make it as small as possible. In Dr. Oh's opinion, judging by my stoma size after a little less than 2 years, it was probably made a bit too large in the first place. The rest of the bad news is that the anastomosis is so close to my esophagus that there is absolutely no room to do anything about it: can't move it, or put a silastic ring on it, nothing. I am doomed to be hungry the rest of my life. Am I mad? Try royally PI - - ED ! Am I going to do anything about it? Don't know. Right now, I'm just struggling to accept the facts of life, so to speak. I am relieved that the stoppage of my weight loss is not "all my fault." But I am just devastated that I will probably NEVER be able to get to goal -- at 70 lbs more to go. I can go more distal, which will give me some greater malabsorption, but it won't do a thing about the large stoma or the hunger.

Another misleadig "fact" that was presented by my surgeon prior to my proximal RNY was that the average weight loss is about 70-75% of excess weight. Dr. Oh says that that figure is for patients with DISTAL procedures. The amount for proximals is about 50-55% net loss bcuz of the usual amount of regain.

So, dear friends, let this be a clarion call warning. If you are struggling with slow or stopped weight loss, or regain; if you are constantly hungry; if you have never or have at some point become unable to feel satisfied or full after a meal (a normal meal for a bypass patient)--maybe you should get yourself scoped and see what's going on with "the mechanics" as Michelle calls them. Sometimes something can be done about it. Sometimes, as in my case, not.

And PLEASE pass this info on to any other lists you subscribe to, so the word gets out. I would that not one other person suffers what I have gone thru for so many months, thinking all kinds of terrible things about myself, my lousy willpower, my lack of moral fiber, my character defects, etc etc. If you know
a pre-op considering this surgery, please tell him or her that this is a possible outcome, and that they should query their surgeon closely, in advance, about what size stoma will be made, and where, and what can be done should there be a failure or relaxation or stretching of the stoma. They should know that
if a doc says that would not happen, he's not telling the truth or he's got his head in the sand. And if there are any pre-ops lurking on this list, be warned as well.

I am not saying that I would not have had the surgery had I
known this was a possibility. But I would have CERTAINLY done more and better research, and would have made sure that my surgeon would guarantee that my "mechanics" were constructed in such a way that it would not be impossible to rectify the problem."

Carol A

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE YOU KNOW HAVING THESE PROBLEMS!!!!

8/29/03-I have lost 130 pounds thus far but I recieved some devestating news ealrier this week. My stoma is enlarged and according to my doc it is not able to be repaired. This is just a another set back in my journey to a healthy young man. Even though I blew things way out of proportion, I have actually had time to sit and think. Advice for anyone in the same boat or for you pre-ops. Eat protein as much as you can, do not drink right before or after meals to prevent this from happening. Other than that life is good. The ladies have been hitting on me left and right. I feel like I am being used, JK. My father has recovered greatly from his operation. They found he did not have cancer. That was a while back but I never updated the info. No matter what I have gone through, and that is a lot, life is good. Love you all

11/20/03-Man it has been a while since I have updated. The weight is coming off slowly but surely, I have lost 155 pounds thus far. I feel bad becuase I have only lost 25 pounds in the last 2 1/2 months. I feel good though. I walk 3-6 miles 3 days a week and lift weights. I can actually walk miles without the need of a defibulator to put my heartbeat back in tact. I would say that is progress. As slow as the process is I wouldn't change it for the world.

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