It's been 8 months.....

Yeah my surgeon was fairly straight down the line. I misinterpreted that as being rude. Now I look back and wish I had done what he suggested. I am sure my recovery would have been much smoother if I had followed his advice!!

*Lib* wrote:

Glad to hear that you are getting some answers. I hope that you are on the mend soon. Who was your surgeon?

http://www.lapbanding.com.au/index.html

John Copp.

He's a nice enough bloke, and pretty full on when it comes to his patients, and doesn't beat around the bush. The big thing in his favour is.... he *cares* about you as an individual. A lot.

My problems probably would have been sorted a lot sooner if I'd bothered to go back for the regular checks....... but, life just got in the way. My bad.

In retrospect, his comments to me were probably in line with the very honest speaking conversations we've had together...... and in line with what I would regard as a layman's assessment of what things are going to be like.

I just don't agree one little bit with that stupid bloody BMI chart....... which John seems to be using as a guideline at the moment. It's enough to drive you nuts when Dr's get so focused on that stupid damn chart, and don't look at each individual on their own merits.


I used to be a soldier. A very, *very* fit soldier, and at the height of my career (at age 32), at the height of my physical fitness I was 100kgs, able to do a 5k run in 18.5 mins, didn't have an ounce of fat on me...... and I went for my yearly medical and some 'quack' told me I was "obese" and needed to lose a minimum of 15kgs!!

So when someone espouses the 'gospel' of the BMI chart..... I tend to get a tad irate.
John and I will have 'chats' about that chart in the near future :-)


Thanks for the well wishes

Glad to hear that you are getting some answers. I hope that you are on the mend soon. Who was your surgeon?

Hello, my husband is 6 foot 3 and was told by the dietician tht 105kg would be a good weight for him. The surgeon does not sound very polite, in fact rude. Hopefully his dietcian has a better idea of things, ask to see her.

Hope all settles down soon for you.

Hi Exbigboy.
I had Helico Bacter pylori years ago while I was in India. I was sick for months and having digestion and bowel problems and was getting rather worried. Eventually I was diagnosed and after a round of antibiotics was back to normal. Avoid things like sharing food/plates with others - like with asian food where they lick the chopsticks and put back into the communal bowl. Communal food is one way it is passed around. Helico Bacter was discovered by Australian Researchers who had to give it to himself then cure it himself in order to convince the general scientific/medical population that stomach ulcers were caused by a bacteria that could be treated and cured. Amazing true story.
As for your other condition. I wish you all the best.
Once these things are resolved you should be powering on in life and enjoying your journey one hell of a lot more.
Take Care and keep in touch

I finally went back and saw the surgeon and his first reaction was "I need you in hospital as soon as possible."!!
So in I went for a 4 day visit. Had a GA and the camera down the throat thing, as well as drinking vast quantities of a horrendous tasting material that was then observed through an X-Ray machine as it traveled down to my bowel.

The end result is that I have/had a severe infection in what was left of my stomach (Helicobacter pylori) for which I was given a course of 3 different antibiotics to kill it off. Have to wait a few weeks and then go have a breath test to see if it is dead and gone. Looking into the bug, I have found that it causes an 'intolerance' to red meat.. which would explain why any red meat I had came straight back up (and which happened in the hospital as I was talking to the surgeon!!), and why the smell of red wine made me want to upchuck as well..... seems the bug also has a reaction to acids.

OK, Pt 1 of the problem almost solved.

After the camera trip through my innards, he found that there is a 'kink' at the base of my stomach leading into the small bowel. Seems when it was cut, it healed at different rates and twisted and bent out of whack..... which solves Pt 2 of the problem as to why *any* food I ate made me uncomfortable, nauseous, and sometimes even hurt as it sat at the bottom of my stomach for x-amount of time before it finally managed to leak its way through. Also why I could/can only eat maybe 2-3 times a day, instead of the 6-7 they want me to!!

So now I have to wait and see if this bug is dead, and then go in and have corrective surgery for the 'kink'. The kicker is, all my friends and family are saying I'm skin and bones now, but the surgeon wants me to lose *another* 10kgs before the surgery, otherwise "he'll have to gut me like a pig"!! (His words!!) I'm 94kgs now, down from 150kgs, and I'm 6'2". He's going by that stupid BMI scale that all Dr's seem to take as gospel. According to that, I have to be 84kgs. I got down to 89kgs once, a few years back, and everyone thought I was dying from cancer, because I looked so emaciated!!

But, my weight loss has plateaued, and seems to be stable on 94kgs, so I'm just going to have to take my chances on not being 'gutted like a pig' at the next op.

Exbigboy if you haven't eaten all day and then get sweaty and dizzy etc it's probably a sign that your blood sugar level is too low - you are experiencing hypoglycaemia. As soon as you eat something you get some energy in and feel better. Probably best not to forget to eat all day! Good luck with your continuing journey.

Caz wrote:

> I agree with Zoe. Try meat with sauce. Dry meat sticks sometimes.


The only meat I've tried has almost always been with a sauce.
Last night it was a very mild Chicken Tikka Masala...... and the 'effects' were quite extreme. I ended up losing the lot.


> I haven't had any issues with ANY foods or drink since 4-6 months post op.

I'm going to get some blood workups done before I go back to see the surgeon to see what issues, if any, I have internally.

[quote="zoemyers"]Hello, exbigboy.

> I have not read about anyone having the reaction to meat and red wine you have
> had. I hope you get some helpful answers.


So do I. I go back and see him in late March.
He'll be pleased with the results... I've gone from 150kgs to 94kgs.
I'm also sorta pleased with the result, just not happy with the journey.


> I imagine you have tried meat mince? Is it the meat itself or the dense texture?


I've tried all forms of meat. Spag Bol, mince meat, sausages, deli meats etc. It all has the same effect.
I can eat vege's up the kazoo, but as soon as I introduce some meat, it hits what's left of my guts like a brick, and I feel extremely nauseous(sweating, running nose, salivating) for the next hour or so.... if it doesn't make me puke.... as it did last night.


>I'm no help on the wine or beer. I have had to stop wine in my quest to get to my goal,but I still love it.


Well, my partner opened a bottle of red last night as she has been missing it since June last year.... and there was a slight improvement. The smell didn't make me want to vomit, so that can only be counted as a good thing!!


One other thing........ if I forget to eat (as with my busy life I sometimes do) I get to a stage, usually at about 5pm, where I suddenly start sweating profusely, the whole world starts spinning, and I start shaking uncontrollably.
It happened a couple of nights back, and my partner saw it starting, quickly got 3 Cruskits with butter and Promite on them and I wolfed then down. The shaking, sweating and spinning stopped within 30 seconds... just like someone had flicked a switch!!

Anyone else experience this?

I agree with Zoe. Try meat with sauce. Dry meat sticks sometimes.

I haven't had any issues with ANY foods or drink since 4-6 months post op.

Hello, exbigboy.

I have not read about anyone having the reaction to meat and red wine you have had. I hope you get some helpful answers.

I imagine you have tried meat mince? Is it the meat itself or the dense texture? While I certainly can eat meat, if I don't chew very well it is a problem. I have noticed it is much easier to eat protein that is not dense, such as yogurt and cottage cheese.

I'm no help on the wine or beer. I have had to stop wine in my quest to get to my goal,but I still love it.

Good luck,

Zoe

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time.

Unfortunately I won't be much help.
I was sleeved 14 months ago, eat meat and drink wine with no problems.
I am also pain free after living on meds 24/7 for joint pain in my hips, back, knees and feet.

The only foods I can't tolerate are fatty, fried and spicy foods.

I take reflux meds every day, sometimes twice a day, but this is a small price to pay.

So Happy Jan!!

Good luck for the future and I hope things improve for you.
Maybe a trip back to your dietician, wouldn't hurt.

Cheers Jan

I should be happy....... I had the sleeve done in the last part of June last year. It was initially done to lose some weight and hopefully ease the pain I was having from two shattered legs/knees/hip/lower back..... long story short.... I survived an almost fatal parachute accident.

I wasn't an over-eater, but couldn't lose weight and just seemed to keep gaining it. The final straw was when a Pain Management 'specialist' put me on some new "u-beaut" drug and I gained 18kgs in a month. That was it, I tipped the scales at just a tad under 150kgs.

I had the sleeve done, and since then, have lost the weight. I'm now down to approx 95kgs..... but I haven't weighed myself for about a month, it could be less.

The pain?? I'm actually taking more pain killers now that before when I was big.
The other down side? I used to love red wine before the op. Straight afterwards, if anyone opened a bottle of red near me, it made me want to vomit. I now can't stand any sort of wine, and have stopped drinking beer as I can't stand the taste.

I also can't eat meat. I have tried just little pieces, but it sits in my gut and makes me feel sick for a couple of hours. A lot of foods do that to me now.

So since having the op, I've gone from a red loving meat eater (with lots of salad!!) to a vegetarian (almost) teetotaler.

Does this get better? Will I be able to enjoy a piece of steak any time in the future? Has anyone else done a complete 180d turn against things they used to love?

And as for the reflux..... I hated taking medication beforehand, now it looks like I have to have an anti-reflux pill every couple of days for the rest of my life ... not happy Jan!!