Question:
How does one deal with SLD & weight gain until Dr.'s appt. in August?

I have a friend who had open RNY in Dec. and had MAJOR complications; one of which is a couple "torn" staples, which the surgeon knew about, but didn't want to do another surgery so soon. My friend has lost 65lbs so far; and has only lost 2.5lbs the last few weeks, and actually gained a pound last week. He thinks a few more staples might have "popped" and is getting very discouraged. He doesn't have another Dr.'s appt. until August, and his surgeon said he really doesn't know what to tell him in regards to his diet and what he should be doing while he still has the SLD. Any suggestions I can pass on to help get on the "losing" track again? (I have found a few articles, but nothing like hearing from folks that have been there...)    — victoriandove (posted on March 4, 2003)

March 3, 2003
Hi, I don't have torn staples, at least I don't think I do. My surgeon thinks I do have a large pouch and stoma, but an upcoming upper gi with barium will confirm that. I do have a condition called "intestinal dumping syndrome." I had to have a gastro-emptying test to get this discovered. It seems food won't stay in my pouch and dumps into small intestine, which in turn rejects the food and dumps it into my large intestine. I never feel full, and never have since I had the surgery. At any rate, I was told also, even if I do have mechanical failure, he will do a revision, but not until I am almost a year postop. I am 4 months postop now, my surgery was Nov 4, 2002. He said things are too squishy in there and if he opens me up now, and then tries to suture the soft healing tissue, it might not suture well, and I have a really high risk of bleeding out. So to be safe, he wants to wait till I am in better healed condition inside. In regards to the diet, I am to eat mainly protein, take my liquid vitamin supplements, exercise, and drink lots of water. So my regimine daily is becoming, 3 protein shakes, 3 meals of meat (2-3 oz each meal) and maybe a side of some kind of complex carb (like green beans, broccoli, etc.) No raw veggies, no raw fruit, no nuts, but smooth peanut butter is ok, just no crackers. I also exercise. This is hard, I admit, and my nettle is being tested. I have not lost a lb in the last 4 weeks, nor have I lost any inches. I don't have this all figured out yet. I just wanted to give you my story, in hopes it might help and to let you know, you are not alone.
   — DarlinIYQ

March 3, 2003
My only suggestion for your friend (and the person who posted below me here) is to see another surgeon! The pouch failures you all are dealing with now are due to your surgeon's skills, or lack of them. The last thing I'd wanna do is let him operate on me again!! See another doc for a revision and put this whole thing behind you. Good luck to you.
   — thumpiez