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Absorption problems with other stomach surgery...and a short introduction

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Posted 3/31/2013 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
I've seen many posts about absorption problems with gastric bypass, but I'm wondering about other stomach surgeries. I had a hiatal hernia nissen fundoplication last November. What they do is take the fundus of the stomach and wrap it around the esophogus to keep the stomach from slipping back up into the chest cavity or up into the esophogus. After it's done, it sort of reduces the volume of the stomach like a gastric bypass.
I've noticed that since the surgery, the meds and vitamins I take do not work as well as they used to. Has anyone here had similar experiences with reduced absorption after other types of stomach surgery?

Thank you for listening

Post Edited (1 day at a time) : 3/31/2013 8:20:54 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/31/2013 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hello 1day and welcome to the chronic pain forum. Do you usually post elsewhere at HW? Anyway just wanted to pop in here and say Hi and to tell you with the holiday weekend you may be slow in getting the right responses to your question. I am not real up on the stomach surgeries and gastric bypasses other then I do know they alter absorption.

I am assuming by the amount of anatomy and physiology I have that what you are describing would also alter in some ways since many things are absorbed and broken down in different parts of the stomach and the digestive process. The actual breaking down process of anything we intake actually starts as we chew and add saliva and as it moves into the esophagus other things take place and once it actually gets into the stomach many things start happening and at different points along the way as it moves thru and down into the intestines. Well a little anatomy of digestion but you see where I am going with this right?

I would think that if any part or step of that digestion process should change or be omitted would cause some things to absorb differently including any meds that are designed to break down in that step.

This may not help but its the best I got!! Lol Others will be along that are certainly more familiar with this then me so hang in and keep checking back here or feel free to stay we would love to have you.

Vickie

Post Edited (nvrthesame98) : 4/1/2013 3:16:37 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/31/2013 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the response. I've chimed in on the cp forum now & then but never really introduced myself. I found this website after researching my hiatal hernia surgery and initially posted in the GERD forum. I am a chronic pain patient as well, so I really relate to the folks here in this forum.

I've been in chronic pain for over 15 years and have tried everything under the sun to become stable. I was doing great until October, when I started off with a bout of pneumonia, then my stomach ripped through the diaphragm and I ended up in the hospital for 6 days. The surgery was brutal. Given my tolerance to opiates, I didn't get adequate pain control. Pain management came in and recommended PCA, but the nurses and hospital doc thought I was getting enough on a 4 hour schedule (I was NPO so I couldn't even take my maintenance meds), so I was a 7 for one hour after the IV meds and a solid 10 the rest of the time. Not fun.

Recovery was tough, and now I'm falling apart. I went from being stable and relatively healthy to anemic, exhausted and in more pain than I have been since the chronic pain began. I've had more tests in the past 4 months than I have in the past 4 years.

My doc doesn't know why I'm so anemic so I guess the next test is bone marrow. I noticed there isn't a forum for blood disorders on this site, but maybe others have gone through this?

Sorry for the rambling. I think it all finally just hit me and I'm venting. I'm scared of the anemia thing because MDS runs in the family. It's hard waiting for test results only to be told it's inconclusive and more tests are needed.

Once again, thank you for listening
Posted 4/1/2013 6:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hey 1 day -

Welcome here to the CP forum.... I've seen a few of your posts before, but I'm glad you "introduced yourself" :) I'm sorry, though, for all that you are going through.... particularly how sick you got last October! That sounds like a nightmare!

There's not a particular forum for blood disorders.... but across many of the boards - there are many of us that are dealing with this. Right now - I'm severely anemia and trying to get to the bottom of it - with the help of my PCP and a hematologist. I know how lousy it can make you feel - exhausted, weak, etc... Ugggh. It even affects my thinking... thought process.... etc. Frustrating.

I've also had bone marrow testing. NOT a fun procedure.... but I guess a necessary one to get to the bottom of what's going on.

Re: your stomach surgery and meds.... it would make complete sense why you would have the same type of absorption issues (like gastric bypass patients do)... There's a couple of current threads where members that have had these surgeries have given their input on absorption issues - you might want to take a peek at those. They have unique ways of dealing with it.... obviously, my recommendation would be to discuss any/all things with your doctor first.

Look forward to getting to know you better.... Take care --Tina
Posted 4/1/2013 8:06 AM (GMT 0)
Hi 1dayatatime, to be honest, I'm kind of at a loss on how a Nissen would cause absorption issues. I've seen diagrams of the wrap, and really, there's no part of it that should cause that issue. The part of a gastric bypass that causes malabsorption, is the fact that nearly 2/3 of the small intestine is bypassed, and no food makes it way into that area; the only thing the stomach reduction part of a gastric bypass is supposed to do, is drastically limit the amount of food that you can eat.

My thought on this... do they have you taking antacids? or acidblockers, or anything like that? I would think that they would, as it's pretty common with almost any kind of stomach surgery. If there's not enough acid in your stomach, food and medications won't get broken down completely, and you won't absorb everything that you're supposed to. Low acid production, whether caused by medication, or possibly something that happened during surgery, could definitely account for malabsorption problems, even the low iron. That's really the only thing I can think of.

I hope that helps in some way... if you are having malabsorption issues, you need to make sure you're intake is the easiest for your body to process as possible. Take liquid multi-vitamins, and other supplements in liquid form, as much as you can find. Consider eating primarily protein rich foods, as starchy foods are easier for your body to digest, and will get digested, instead of the protein, also iron rich foods like spinach. Make sure you chew your food up to the point that your jaw hurts; when it feels like baby food in your mouth, that's when its easiest for your body to break it down. That's just a few general gastric bypass tips, those things really help us get everything we can out of what we eat, and stay out of the hospital.

Hope this helps, take care, and keep us posted. I wish you the best of luck and hope you're able to get to the root of the problem.
Posted 4/3/2013 5:08 AM (GMT 0)
Matt thank you for the info. I have been taking antacids like m&ms for terrible stomach pain, so perhaps that may have something to do with it. Hopefully my doc visit tomorrow will provide some insight. I'll be sure to mention my excessive use of antacids.
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