New - Chronic Nausea
grace20072010
Posts: 55
Hello!
I just started using my fitness pal to track my food which my nutritionist requires. Anyway, I am curious as to whether anyone else has run into the following issue. I am 4 weeks out from RNY today. Since the surgery, I have suffered from chronic nausea (no vomiting). It will not go away. I can't take anti-nausea meds (i.e. Zofran, Phenergan) as they interfere with another medication I am on (causing irregular heart activity). My doctor gave me a scopolamine patch but that does nothing. I have tried ginger, peppermint, Dramamine - nothing is touching this. My doctor said this can happen and thinks it will probably end around 6 weeks, but at this rate I am having a hard time believing this debilitating nausea will just disappear in two weeks. I am having a second cat scan (the first was fine) and blood work done on Friday per my surgeon's orders although I am not vomiting so I doubt this is anything like a bowel obstruction. I am already on prevacid for acid reflux so that is being handled. I have no idea why I am going through this and why it won't go away. Has anyone on here experienced this? It is hard to simply function day to day. I am struggling with protein because everything makes me feel sick although my surgeon said if I didn't start getting 50 grams of protein in a day he would insert a feeding tube, so I am gagging on Isopure Dutch Chocolate Protein which has 50 grams per two scoops (it is vile). I cannot find any protein powder that doesn't make me gag and I am just too sick to take in many solids.
I am at my wits end with this. I am regretting the surgery and am envisioning being sick for the rest of my life. I just wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with this and if there is a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
Thanks.
I just started using my fitness pal to track my food which my nutritionist requires. Anyway, I am curious as to whether anyone else has run into the following issue. I am 4 weeks out from RNY today. Since the surgery, I have suffered from chronic nausea (no vomiting). It will not go away. I can't take anti-nausea meds (i.e. Zofran, Phenergan) as they interfere with another medication I am on (causing irregular heart activity). My doctor gave me a scopolamine patch but that does nothing. I have tried ginger, peppermint, Dramamine - nothing is touching this. My doctor said this can happen and thinks it will probably end around 6 weeks, but at this rate I am having a hard time believing this debilitating nausea will just disappear in two weeks. I am having a second cat scan (the first was fine) and blood work done on Friday per my surgeon's orders although I am not vomiting so I doubt this is anything like a bowel obstruction. I am already on prevacid for acid reflux so that is being handled. I have no idea why I am going through this and why it won't go away. Has anyone on here experienced this? It is hard to simply function day to day. I am struggling with protein because everything makes me feel sick although my surgeon said if I didn't start getting 50 grams of protein in a day he would insert a feeding tube, so I am gagging on Isopure Dutch Chocolate Protein which has 50 grams per two scoops (it is vile). I cannot find any protein powder that doesn't make me gag and I am just too sick to take in many solids.
I am at my wits end with this. I am regretting the surgery and am envisioning being sick for the rest of my life. I just wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with this and if there is a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
Thanks.
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Replies
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Isopure clear (looks like Kool Aid) comes in great flavors--they taste a bit like the Life Waters. They are great for protein. I know there are protein based jellos because I bought them after my surgery. You can hide vanilla flavored protein powder in puddings and other foods. Greek yogurts are great for protein. Not sure if you have a Kroger where you are, but their Greek yogurt has 16 grams of protein as opposed to the 8 or 12 found in the other name brands. Bariatric Advantage protein powders are great tasting. They have great flavors and sell sample packs too for you to try so you don't have to commit to a full pouch or canister.
As for the nausea, yes it does seem that some people are affected more by it. Generally it does pass as the stomach heals. Don't push solid foods. Find things you are comfortable with. There are great choices that aren't terrible tasting. Hang in there!0 -
For other protein powders to try, you could get a sample pack of Nectar from Syntrax. They are pretty good and have flavors such a crystal sky (Fruit punch), lemonade, iced tea, etc. They aren't too bad tasting. Greek yogurt is also a VERY good suggestion. I'm 21 months post op and still have it almost daily! Helps me with my chronic constipation.
As for the nausea, I can't say that it's been chronic for me, but I did get it occasionally, especially at the beginning. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it might be something you have to work with until you grow out of it. You have a very new pouch, and it's very upset at you right now. It has large staple lines, and is probably still swollen. Is it possible that something you are eating, or how you are eating/drinking could be causing it? I know for me, if I eat a small salad, then eat my dinner, I have issues. However, if I alternate eating my salad and my main meal, I don't have issues. You might want to look at switching protein, or switching up how you eat/drink it. Remember to sip slowly, and even though you should be in the mushy food phase, remember to chew very thoroughly and obey the 30/30 rule. No drink for 30 minutes before/after a meal, and take about 30 minutes to eat your meal.
The doc is right though, you need to try and get that protein in. If not your body will begin to eat away your muscles instead of your fat. The next few months will be the toughest for you. We have all had our "buyers remorse" moment. You'll get through it! We have all had bad days, it simply comes with the territory. We have to re-learn how our body reacts to food.0 -
Isopure Zero is great and I used that a lot while healing. The thicker, sweeter shakes were just too much for me. I also got a protein infused chicken and beef broth from my surgeon's office store that really helped. I was nauseaus a lot at first, but it didn't last real long and other than that, I had no real complications. One other trick was putting an unflavored protein powder in warm green tea. Very soothing to the tummy and 10 grams of protein per cup so getting water and protein while making my tummy feel better. It looked strange, but tasted the same as without the protein powder so I actually kept it in a travel mug so I didn't have to look at it. :laugh:0
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So sorry you're going through this, Grace. I had constant nausea for the first two months post-RNY. I was on several different meds for it, but nothing worked. Then one day it was gone. But during those first two months, I had several panic attacks and emotional melt-downs, thinking that this was what life was going to be like for me. It's MUCH better now!
I was on Metformin for type2 diabetes and Diovan for blood pressure at the time of surgery. It is possible that I didn't reduce, then eliminate, the meds fast enough to keep up with the changes in my body. It wasn't until my blood pressure dropped down to 90/60 that my doctor told me to stop taking the meds. I don't know if this was coincidental or if the meds caused the nausea. I'm just glad it stopped.
The only food I could tolerate at that time was Greek yogurt and Atkins shakes. Both have a lot of protein. Hang in there. It really will get better. Prayers and hugs your way.
Maggy0 -
I, too, had a good bit of nausea those first few months. My "go to" calm down trick was lemon ginger tea or mint tea with lemon. And then lying down on my left side and breathing deep to calm down further. If I could fall into a short nap, I usually always felt better when I got up. Not a quick fix, but helped me to get through.0
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Any chance that you are dehydrated? Nausea is one of the 1st symptoms I get when I'm getting seriously dehydrated (like need an IV drip dehydrated). I've had to be hospitalized twice for dehydration (years before I had RNY strangely enough). So I am REALLY serious about making sure I drink my water. I live in Phoenix so it's really hot here this time of year and that does require more hydration. I drink an average of 128-152 oz of water a day. You should be getting AT LEAST 64 oz a day, though depending on your size and climate you may need more. Many people struggle with dehydration post op because you really do need to sip water ALL DAY long to get the ounces in.0
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So you can't do zofran. Bummer. Are you on a protein pump inhibitor - like pantoprazole? You may want to ask for a Rx, or if you already have a Rx, if they can up your dose. It may help.
Sip on skim milk. It has 8 grams of protein per cup. What about yogurt?
I second the comments about Isopure. The mango peach tastes (to me) exactly like Snapple peach iced tea. One bottle has 40 grams of protein.
I also find warm broth really soothing.
Feel better! You will get through this!0 -
I am so sorry that you are having chronic nausea and can not take any meds to help. For the first two weeks I did have some nausea. I did find that the more I was able to stay hydrated the better I felt. Also the protein shakes I use is Bariatric Advantage.... The flavors are very good.... You can buy them online and they also had them at my center for the same price so in a pinch I would by it at the center.... Also if your taking any meds make sure you take them with your protein shakes.... I sometimes get nauseous if I take my meds on an empty stomach....
Praying that you will no longer suffer from the Nausea.....0 -
I had chronic nausea as well. Turned out to be dehydration. I needed an IV of fluids in order to return to some normalcy. While I thought I was drinking enough, I clearly was not. Try increasing your fluid intake (I know it's hard - I was told to do that as well - but even water made me more nauseated.) I used sugar-free Gatorade for awhile to hydrate. I think Isopure would be a more nutritious choice though!0
