Surgery in 1998/Now Malnourished?

[jaclinhyde]

Hi all, new around here. I had my Gastric Bypass back in 1998 and weighed 280 at the time (I am 5'7") and now weigh 170. But I think I have reached a point where I have become malnourished. I live in the Phoenix area and am looking for a Doctor who didn't do my surgery but can follow up with me to check. I am 63 and am losing my hair and have constant diarrhea. I just had a colonoscopy which was fine and an endoscopy which was also perfect. I am getting so frustrated!

Thanks for reading and good luck to all, it's so worth it!

 

[JudyNY]

Hi there, welcome to our group! Congratulations on your weight loss.

It would be good if you can get to see a bariatric doctor but if not see your primary doctor. He/she can do bloodwork, but I have to say the bloodwork my bariatric doctor is way more detailed. He has 7 vials of blood drawn which really checks for deficiencies. Seeing a dietician would be good as well.

 

[dianeseattle]

it's very unlikely that you would be experiencing malnutrition so far out from your surgery. It's more likely that the things you're experiencing are related to aging. However, the diarrhea could certainly be something alarming regardless of the fact that you got a colonoscopy. You could have some kind of bug literally living in your intestines so I would consider doing a flush of your intestines. They do that every time you have to have a colonoscopy to make you drink a whole bunch of this stuff so that you can pee and poop everything out of your system. Aside from that, my next step would be to get a bone scan. And you are seeing your doctor so you're in good hands. Nothing that we can tell you in this group has any degree of expertise behind it. These are just our experiences. If you have a medical issue you must always treated as a medical problem first.

 

[missyinacage]

The diarrhea alone could be causing malnutrition. Therefore, I would absolutely advise against any type of colon cleanse without a doctors approval. If you were not referred to a gastroenterologist to do your colonoscopy/endoscopy, see if you can get a referral. The bypass does make nutrients pass through your body at an accelerated rate, so any additional issues can cause things to go too fast. The fact that your scopes came back clear is good, but there is a lot of small intestine that doesn't get checked during either of those procedures. While a GI doesn't specialize in bariatrics, they DO specialize in stomach/intestinal issues. And it seems that the constant diarrhea should be your first concern, in my opinion. Good luck to you.

 

[3momchaos]

Welcome! Congratulations on your continued success! I’m sorry about your troubles. I hope you can find a doctor who can get to the bottom of them quickly!

 

[NewKat]

I had my Roux-n-Y in 1998 also, and an 66. Dr George Cowen made sure we all had 4 weeks of nutrition classes before surgery. I was warned that malnutrition was a given after 20 or so years. The body used up its store of nutrients. With the surgery we cannot eat enough to get those levels back to normal. The blood tests keep me on top of my supplements, and watching my sugar and fat is still important. The Dumps never go away if you over indulge. I can't eat more than 1 cupcake without issue. It mostly good rapport with a good Dr, and constant supervision of what you do and don't eat.