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SIBO

Bigmama-k

Member
I am a little over 18 months post op after rny. Since then I have had severe anemia, hysterectomy, ulcers, hernia repair, gallbladder removal, nutritional deficiency, low blood protein, severe migraines some of which seems to be linked to a problem called SIBO which I was recently diagnosed with. I had never heard of SIBO before. I am really struggling with it as I must change how I eat. Often it comes back. I have read 40% of bariatric patients get SIBO so it is pretty high. I am just struggling changing foods I used to eat and love. I feel like a failure. I have little energy. Today I exercised 15 minutes. It is the most I have exercised in months. I have started to regain and am scared. This has not gone as I hoped it would.
 
Don't give up! I'd never heard of this until I read your post, but because the intestinal tract is shorter and digestion is compromised, bacteria that shouldn't be there don't move along fast enough. I'm so sorry you're having this problem, but it's not something that will rule your life if you make a few changes. There's good information at the Mayo Clinic site, which is my Bible for post-op questions.

There are solutions for every distress you listed in your post--I had several of them--and it seems best to accept that some changes are permanent, but most can be treated with simple changes.

Remember that you did unbelievable things to get to the point of being so obese, surgery was your only true way out of it. Is it better to be high-risk for heart attack and multiple organ failure because you're so overweight, or that you now have migraines and you didn't before? So any of the symptoms you're facing could be unrelated to the surgery. I hope you're in touch with a physician who specializes in post-op self-care. This surgery has been around a few decades, and there may be a lot of answers you just haven't found yet.

I think sometimes we diagnose ourselves without remembering that we're not bariatric specialists. But other times, yes, the problems accompany the post-op landscape. Either way, if you have any kind of pain, that means CALL A DOCTOR. Let the doctor surprise you, or validate you, and know that you've made a drastic physical change to your body and that means there will be a lot of related and unrelated things you also may be able to change, or adapt to.

Take back your power. You did an amazing thing. Now you're walking a different path, and it's not a bad idea to let those changes puzzle you and seek answers. Best of luck.
 
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