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Desperately seeking

ptermeer

Member
Hi! I'm Paula, 15 yrs out from RNY. I did the usual - lost 150#, gained it back, lost it again - all the while dealing with fluctuating blood pressures, severe anemia, nausea and diarrhea. About two years ago, my system was showing signs of organ failure and I went to see my bariatric surgeon who just wanted to give me more of his supplements. A friend referred me to a functional medicine specialist, who has been amazing. Testing revealed I was going into organ failure and her fast action stopped that process and I began to improve. We noticed, though, that my body was not digesting food and I was losing weight at a quicker rate that she would have expected. She referred me back to the bariatric surgeon who did an endoscopy and MRI with contrast which revealed areas of herniation (3) and dying tissue in the small intestine. He did surgery mid June 2019 with 'promise' I would only be on liquid again for about 2 weeks, then soft food for two weeks, then back to normal. 10 weeks later, I am still on liquids and soft foods, still losing weight, still getting nutrient infusions as I can't take the larger vitamins. A swallow study this week revealed another hernia, the size of a tennis ball at the top of pouch, and two strictures in my esophagus which are preventing the esophagus from emptying correctly. 3 month weight to see the GI doc - not going back to the surgeon!
Have any of you seen, heard of, or experienced this? I am hearing some rumblings in my area (MI) that this is more common than reported. What treatments have been used or recommended? Thanks for your input.
 
Hello Paula, I'm Maggie. I'm 13 years post surgery and you sound like you are having a lot of similar issues to me. I also gained weight back after surgery but suddenly began losing weight in 2014 and lost the weight faster than right after surgery. Since 2014 I've known I have motility disorder of some kind, I didn't have the insurance or support in my life to seek out specialists far away that can diagnose me. I was told in August 2018 that I was having severe hypoglycemia, but that I'm still non-diabetic. I've been struggling to maintain weight close to 150, but my goal weight is 175 (I feel healthy and love how my body looks at 175). I'm working on a diagnosis for my motility disorder, but that's a long time away. In the meantime, I'm battling both malnourishment and post surgery hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. I'd love to chat with you to compare post surgery complications. I feel very isolated most of the time because of my health issues.
 
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