Stomach Stapling & Other Issues - Any Suggestions

Loriel
Loriel Posts: 19 Member
edited September 21 in Motivation and Support
I am once again trying to lose weight. I know eventually something will work, but at the moment it is challenging. I had my stomach stapled many, many, many, many years ago. Ironically I weigh 30 pounds more than I did when I had the surgery. I find it very challenging to eat healthy when all the healthy foods cause problems. I would like to "just suck it up and eat them anyway" but then I spend hours (and sometimes days) throwing up and unable to eat or drink anything. I am at the heaviest of my life and at the lowest point (weight and physical shape) of my life. I went from being very active (even though I was still obese) to not being able to really move much. My body siezes up everytime I sit for 20 minutes and I am walking on stumps because my feet are so swollen from water retention (nothing is getting rid of it). I have developed a host of problems and trying very hard to stay optimistic. Anyone have any suggestions? I want my family to be proud of me, but mostly I want to be proud of myself.

Replies

  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    i would suggest seeing a nutritionist who deals with post-stapling patients. There has to be some out here, because that was such a fad in the 90's before the gastric bypass became the fad. Ask your doctor if you can get a referal. If not, google it online and find someone who is near you that specializes in your situation. Best of luck, I know it must be difficult.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
    Well - you got to start somewhere. This is a life-long committment - to GET HEALTHY. I agree with the previous poster that you need to see a nutritionist who has clients such as yourself. The only exercise I can think of that you can do will require a swim suit. Swimming or water exercising is low impact and idea for people with health problems. So - get over the vanity and chose to live longer and get healthy - for yourself AND your wonderful family! I wish you the BEST of success!
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    I even had it done before the 90's. I actually have an appointment with a nutritionist (don't know when yet as they haven't phoned to let me know when it is), but they can take a year or so to get in to. Thanks though for the suggestion, I appreciate the thought.
  • Tashry
    Tashry Posts: 151 Member
    Just a note - I am proud of you regardless. Please don't think that your family is judging you on your weight. I love you and am very proud of you for who you are and that you WANT to make a change. I know it is tough for you, but there are ways to do this. Just logging in here everyday is a start!
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    i would suggest seeing a nutritionist who deals with post-stapling patients. There has to be some out here, because that was such a fad in the 90's before the gastric bypass became the fad. Ask your doctor if you can get a referal. If not, google it online and find someone who is near you that specializes in your situation. Best of luck, I know it must be difficult.
    What an excellent idea you came up with:flowerforyou: , that sounds like the perfect place to start!!!

    Good luck to you, I'm so sorry you're having such issue right now, but never let go of your dream and goal of becoming healthy! For if we lose that there really is no hope. We need to do it for US FIRST then the benefits will spill over to others.:wink:

    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    what do you mean by "healthy foods cause problems"?

    do you have allergic reactions? what kinds of foods are "not healthy"?

    my first suggestion would be to not try to lose any weight for one week and simply record every bit of food that passes through your lips, that way you might be able to see a pattern somewhere. if you are able, i would also note any emotional reaction, pleasurable or otherwise, and habits, like:

    when do you eat? are you stressed? are you bored? are you at home? are you at work? that sort of thing.

    where do you eat? in front of the televsion? during other stimuli?

    it's not always readily apparent where the real problem is, so it's healthy to take a good honest look at it.

    i'm sure you'll be surprised, whatever the outcome may be, and this will also help your nutritionist / dietitian to evaluate habits or patterns immediately. it is likely that s/he will have you do something very similar anyway.

    mfp is a great tool for support, but i think what concerns me most is how you feel about *you* and what your relationship to food and your idea of healthy food is. it's not the same for everyone.

    best of luck to you and hang in there.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Well - you got to start somewhere. This is a life-long committment - to GET HEALTHY. I agree with the previous poster that you need to see a nutritionist who has clients such as yourself. The only exercise I can think of that you can do will require a swim suit. Swimming or water exercising is low impact and idea for people with health problems. So - get over the vanity and chose to live longer and get healthy - for yourself AND your wonderful family! I wish you the BEST of success!
    There are also chair excercises posted on YouTube that another member began with, she found alot of videos she was able to do simply by sitting in a chair until she was able to walk a bit more.

    With your legs so swollen, I don't imagine you can walk far, so I would think just getting to the pool might be a bit down the road unless your doc okays it and you find a pool you can walk in rather than have to use steps to get into. But you know far more about your stamina than we do.

    Just some ideas :)
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    what do you mean by "healthy foods cause problems"?

    do you have allergic reactions? what kinds of foods are "not healthy"?

    I mean that if I try to eat veggies like brocolli or carrots or lean protein like chicken they get stuck because of the stomach stapling. I then spend hours throwing up trying to get it "unstuck". It is next to impossible to chew some foods down to nothing in order to be able to swallow them.

    I will figure it out, I just thought maybe someone else had gone through this and had some suggestions that worked for them. Thanks for helping.
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    Just a note - I am proud of you regardless. Please don't think that your family is judging you on your weight. I love you and am very proud of you for who you are and that you WANT to make a change. I know it is tough for you, but there are ways to do this. Just logging in here everyday is a start!

    I know my family would never judge me by my weight (there are so many other things to judge me by lol). I desparately want to make a change and look forward to the night that I don't lecture myself to sleep. I have the most supportive loving family around and want to be around for them in the future.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    i think the first suggestion with the post-stapling nutritionist was probably the best, because i really don't know anything about that. :\

    just out of curiosity, does *all* food get stuck? or just fibrous ones?
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    Well - you got to start somewhere. This is a life-long committment - to GET HEALTHY. I agree with the previous poster that you need to see a nutritionist who has clients such as yourself. The only exercise I can think of that you can do will require a swim suit. Swimming or water exercising is low impact and idea for people with health problems. So - get over the vanity and chose to live longer and get healthy - for yourself AND your wonderful family! I wish you the BEST of success!
    There are also chair excercises posted on YouTube that another member began with, she found alot of videos she was able to do simply by sitting in a chair until she was able to walk a bit more.

    With your legs so swollen, I don't imagine you can walk far, so I would think just getting to the pool might be a bit down the road unless your doc okays it and you find a pool you can walk in rather than have to use steps to get into. But you know far more about your stamina than we do.

    Just some ideas :)

    I think part of my problem is that I was so used to doing pretty heavy duty exercise (750 metre swim, 20K bikeride and 5 K run every weekend plus ran 10 k 3 times a week, rode my bike 20 miles a day every day and swam 4 hours a day twice a week) that I have a hard time seeing light exercise as exercise for me. I know I have to just forget that and start easy and slow. The only thing I do right now is about a 20 minute walk with the dogs every day. It is pretty slow (unless they see a cat - then it is 200 pounds of dog on the run). I imagine the not moving much is contributing to the water retention. I force myself up at work all the time just so I don't slide into staying still 8 hours a day.

    I want to do what I could before or keep up with my daughter and I know in my heart that I can't do that yet. I will be able to but I need to get there first. In the meantime I will have to settle for something easier that I can actually do.
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    i think the first suggestion with the post-stapling nutritionist was probably the best, because i really don't know anything about that. :\

    just out of curiosity, does *all* food get stuck? or just fibrous ones?


    Anything that can't be chewed down to smaller than the end of a pencil. Or if it can't be thinned out enough like boiled potatoes. I can even get water stuck if I drink it too fast. It creates an air bubble that sits over the top of the metal band. If I pour cream corn or something on potatoes I can eat them. If I boil veggies to within an inch of their lives I can eat them but then there aren't any nutrients left.

    I have tried to get my stomach unstapled but they won't do it at this point. As I said I am waiting for the nutritionists appointment but that can take a year or so to get in.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    doublepost... sorry
  • Leigh14
    Leigh14 Posts: 871 Member
    i think the first suggestion with the post-stapling nutritionist was probably the best, because i really don't know anything about that. :\

    just out of curiosity, does *all* food get stuck? or just fibrous ones?


    Anything that can't be chewed down to smaller than the end of a pencil. Or if it can't be thinned out enough like boiled potatoes. I can even get water stuck if I drink it too fast. It creates an air bubble that sits over the top of the metal band. If I pour cream corn or something on potatoes I can eat them. If I boil veggies to within an inch of their lives I can eat them but then there aren't any nutrients left.

    I have tried to get my stomach unstapled but they won't do it at this point. As I said I am waiting for the nutritionists appointment but that can take a year or so to get in.

    Just curious - where are you from?
  • Loriel
    Loriel Posts: 19 Member
    [[/quote]

    Just curious - where are you from?
    [/quote]

    British Columbia, Canada why?
  • Leigh14
    Leigh14 Posts: 871 Member

    Just curious - where are you from?

    British Columbia, Canada why?

    I was wondering because of the long wait to see a nutritionist. :ohwell: Ouch. I'm sorry - I hope you can get in soon!
  • beenthere1988
    beenthere1988 Posts: 4
    I also had my stomache stapled back in 1988. I now have complications, feeling sick, vomiting, feeling too full. I had a scope put down and they saw that my food is not passing out of the stomache. I call it gut rot but the real name is gastroparesis.I have lost too much weight just recently from this. I was okay for the first 20 yrs after the stapling. Now I am on the waiting list to see about a reveral. I have needed iron injections every week for a year. Now I am deficient in calcium and vitamin D. I dont even take in 800 calories a day so I am very weak and have missed a fair amount of work. I look terrible.My slin hangs off my arms and legs like a 90yr old. I hope you find answers to your problems and recomend you getting the scope to make sure all is well inside. Good luck! I am in Canada too...Ontario.:flowerforyou:
  • beenthere1988
    beenthere1988 Posts: 4
    I had mine done in 1988. Scroll down further and see the other message from me.
  • wifeyplus6
    wifeyplus6 Posts: 28
    are you able to take suppliments? liquid ones or regular pills? What about a liquid diet like medifast. It seems something like that you could drink at the speed you need it to, but it would be full of vitamins and you could take in more than you are currently. good luck!
  • SarahAFerguson
    SarahAFerguson Posts: 250 Member
    Oh my goodness, that sounds so difficult. I have a friend with a similar problem, but from a malfunction of the sphincter that lets food into her stomach.

    My suggestion would be to purée food to get it to the right consistency. Not the greatest with regard to texture, but better than throwing up for hours. Also, could you try shakes or juicing as a way to get something in?
  • dcat4563
    dcat4563 Posts: 33 Member
    Oh my goodness, that sounds so difficult. I have a friend with a similar problem, but from a malfunction of the sphincter that lets food into her stomach.

    My suggestion would be to purée food to get it to the right consistency. Not the greatest with regard to texture, but better than throwing up for hours. Also, could you try shakes or juicing as a way to get something in?

    I was just about to suggest the same. there is information out there on the internet and a few documentaries i've heard of talking about the wonders of juicing, so that might be a good place for you to start to get all your nutrients. most people put fruits into the mix to give all the veggies a sweet taste, makes it go down easier.
  • beenthere1988
    beenthere1988 Posts: 4
    Hi everyone..I haven't been on for a while but I do have an update. I am going to have a revision of my stomach from the vertical banding/stapling to gastric bypass. Just wondering if there are any slim people that had to have the bypass.I am 112lbs and can't find anyone in my situation.I am afraid I will lose too much weight .I know it sounds crazy, but I have to try hard to maintain this weight. I do drink boost drinks and take vitamins. Thank you to those who replied previously.
  • jade2112
    jade2112 Posts: 272 Member
    I would like to "just suck it up and eat them anyway" but then I spend hours (and sometimes days) throwing up and unable to eat or drink anything.

    Have you seen a doctor about this. Could it be that your stoma needs a bit of stretching. Not the pouch just the opening. They do sometimes close a little. Most junk turns to liquid in your mouth that or becomes mushy so it's easy to get through the opening.
  • nolongerXXL
    nolongerXXL Posts: 222 Member
    First of all, I'm sorry sorry that your in pain/sick. My mom had her stomach stapled years ago (in the 80's I think) when it was the trend. It wasn't very successful for her as far as weight control/loss. I remember her having difficulty with foods also, she would always say that her stomach was "clogged" if she ate the wrong food or too fast.

    Can you eat more mushy foods for the time being? I know they are not very appealing. Apple sauces, protein shakes, etc?

    So sorry. :(

    You can add me if you would like.
  • beenthere1988
    beenthere1988 Posts: 4
    Did she lose weight and keep it off..What did she do about it?
This discussion has been closed.

Categories