Getting Real - Gross Stuff That Happens After WLS

Pre ops daydream wondering what it will be like to have a thin sexy body. They fantasize about cute clothes, the opposite sex (or same) doing a double take. They cannot possibly wait for the day they can dress up, look good, walk proudly, and everyone will gasp at the changes. The idea of going shopping and buying tiny little clothes that fit makes women dream before they even go to sleep at night! You know, these are all good and reasonable expectations - to a point. But you have to know there is a bit of a price to pay to get there. The upside to this is that with a little effort they are all doable and you can fix them! If you know about it beforehand you are ready to prevent problems and issues.

Burping-

This is common in all surgery types for up to a couple of months post op. It is merely esophageal irritation and it will go away in no time! It can also be from swallowing too much air. It takes time and practice to learn to stop the behavior. It was never a big deal before when you had a normal size stomach. Today you are using a small portion of your original stomach and a small amount of air goes a long way.



Constipation-

I think most experience it post op regardless of surgery type. Sometimes on the liquid stage of the post op diet there is diarrhea (liquids in/liquids out). But after that it is constipation. It happens for a variety of reasons. High protein/low fiber diet, not enough liquids, drastic change in diet, pain meds, lots of reasons. Also, keep in mind that before this whole journey started you were eating a lot more food than you are now. You aren't supposed to pooh as much today as you did a few months ago.

It is my experience from reading the boards that while all surgery types can experience this banded folks and bypass folks seem to experience this the most. As a previously banded person I can tell you that it was a serious challenge to eat fibrous foods such as broccoli. Bands and bypass have a stoma and many times it is hard to eat veggies with a stoma until a 6-12 months post op. Not always, but sometimes. Also, with an itty bitty stomach it is more of a challenge to get needed fluids in and we tend to get lazy and simply not drink as we should.

The very best cure for constipation is prevention. Seriously, do what you need to so you do not end up with a problem that leads you to an Emergency Room with an old guy wearing thick glasses lubing up a gloved hand and going on a digging expedition. You will not enjoy it and neither will he.

Most tend to reach for a laxative and that is not always a great option. That is something you might have to resort to but it is not something you want to do on a regular basis, just in a pinch.

There is Metamucil and I do NOT suggest newbie post ops, bands, or bypass use this product. It can set like a firm gel and be very painful in your stomach.

Benefiber is good stuff, easy to take, and no taste. You can actually mix this product with water and after it dissolves you cannot taste it. The down side to this product is that it can take a good month to work if taken on a regular basis.

Miralax is a great product and no longer by prescription only. You can buy it at any decent size drug store. It is a powder that you mix with a sugar free drink. You can take it as a preventative measure or to fix an already existing problem.

Colace (The generic is fine, Docusate Sodium) and this is a stool softener. It will not fix an existing problem but it will prevent you from getting constipated to begin with.

Then the usuals, prune juice, baby food stewed prunes, apple juice for some, and other assorted fruit juices that seem to get people going. Plum juice is reported by many to do well.

Monkey Breath-

While constipation bothers you a great deal more than those around you, bad breath bothers those around you more than it does you.

Usually this is from ketosis. When you start cutting carbs and burning fat the burned fat changes to various chemicals and those chemicals are released through body fluids such as urine, saliva, tears, and one other - when you exhale. So your breath is going to be bad. You can brush your teeth until you brush the enamel off your teeth, your breath is still not going to smell minty fresh. It will smell like minty monkey breath. The solution is sugar free mints, sugar free drops that are breath fresheners, and just anything you can grab in a hurry if you are in an enclosed space with someone such as a small office, car, etc.

Body Odor-

This does not happen to everyone but it does happen to many. Remember, there are lots of toxins and such stored in fat cells and as you burn the fat sometimes you smell bad. It has nothing to do with obesity, it would happen if a thinner person burned fat as well. The solution is simple, shower daily.

Also, sometimes as people lose weight they end up with more skin folds. Lots of nice warm dark places for fungus to grow. An antibacterial soap is not going to help but it might hurt. An antibacterial cannot kill a fungus. You need an anti-fungal. Jock itch spray, athletes foot spray - these products can fix an existing problem.

Nausea-

You just had major surgery. Your stomach is not happy, some people get nausea and it is usually is temporary. Your doctor can prescribe anti-emetics (stops nausea) or you can try some home remedies. Coke syrup can be purchased at Walgreens or any large drug store. (Bypass patients could dump on this.) Another good one is licorice tablets found at health food stores. Usually one dose before each meal does the trick.

Smelly Gas-

This is more of a problem for people with malabsorption such as Gastric Bypass and DS. Due to the rearrangement of intestines the body is unable to do the job as intended at birth. Sometimes there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the GI system and this can create gas, smelly gas. Usually probiotics prevent the problem and Flagyl (a prescription antibiotic) fixes an existing problem.

This problem seems to be worse after eating refined processed white carbs.

Female cycles-

Many women complain of changes in their cycles. Female hormones are stored in fat cells and as we burn fat hormones are released. This can play havoc on your cycles. Some women have harder more painful cycles until their weight evens out a bit and some have fewer cycles.

Sadly there are not a lot of fixes for this. If you take additional hormones you are risking blood clots and strokes due to obesity. This is something that if problematic, talk to your GYN.

For those with PCOS you might find that after surgery you start having cycles again or if you have cycles just not often you might become more regular after losing even 30#.

Do note: After losing massive amounts of weight you are very likely to be far more fertile and this includes PCOS women as well as non-PCOS women. If you want a child then please wait for a year or so after getting to goal before getting pregnant. Your body needs to heal from massive weight loss before you can safely carry a baby. This is for your safety as well as the baby.

Excess skin-

This is a much discussed topic on any weight loss surgery board and there are so many myths and misinformation posted.

It is NOT true that slow weight loss means less excess skin.

It is NOT true that exercise will prevent excess skin, while it may fill out a small bit of skin with firm muscle, it will not affect excess skin.

It is NOT true that moisturizers prevent excess skin. While it may improve the overall appearance of your skin, it does not prevent excess skin.

It is NOT true that you can have plastic surgery done for a discounted price in trade for donating excess skin. Burn units cannot use our skin, it has no elasticity anymore, it is not healthy skin and burn patients cannot use it.

Skin is skin just like any other organ in your body and once it is damaged it does not usually go back to pre-obesity days. It depends on several factors such as genetics, amount of excess weight and similar issues.

You will not know for sure one way or another if you will have this problem. If you do you can buy binders and special clothing to smooth things out a bit or you can have plastic surgery. Never forget, as you will see on various boards time and time again, you can hide excess skin. You cannot hide excess fat. Just worry about getting healthy, deal with skin issues when you get to goal.

As you can see none of these issues are things we cannot overcome. Just know about them beforehand so you can deal with them if they happen. I swear to you, all the above is nothing in the whole scheme of things once you hit goal.