Mini Gastric Bypass Gone Bad - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Dyingtobethin · 08-28-2007, 09:42 AM

My brother had a mini gastric bypass last year and he has lost all of his weight and then some and now he cannot stop losing weight. He looks like a cancer victim with a skeleton body and his hair is falling out. The family has told him to eat more but he is already eating 7 times per day as much as he can and he is still losing weight another 20 pounds in the last month. His wife states that he is eating a lot. He and his family are scared and do not know what to do. If he loses much more, I do not think that he will live very long as he is malnourished and is not getting the nutrition from the food that he is eating.

Apparently the Mini Gastric Bypass re-routes the intestines in such a way as to avoid absorbing food and nutrients as it passes through the colon. This may be good for losing weight but the body needs to extract nutrition from the food that is taken in. If there is anyone who has had this type of operation, the MGB and who has had this problem, please post back. Thanks.

Zenomia · 08-28-2007, 10:45 AM

I have not had the mini bypass, but I wish your brother the best. What is his Surgeon doing about it? Do you need a second opinion? Is he taking vitamin and mineral supplements? Protein drinks? I am not familiar with this proceedure, but I hope you find some answers for your brother.

LQQkn · 08-28-2007, 10:45 AM

I'm sorry to hear of more people with complications. I know there are several on this forum with the same problem from regular RNY. I myself have to eat constantly to maintain my weight. I got down to almost 100 lbs and looked like a cancer patient myself. I have to drink most of my nutrition to get enough calories, proteins, fibers, daily vitamins etc. When I relied on food (solids) to do it I was dying. I would recommend a good bariatric surgeon it sounds like he might be in need of a revision, reversal something. Janie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyingtobethin

My brother had a mini gastric bypass last year and he has lost all of his weight and then some and now he cannot stop losing weight. He looks like a cancer victim with a skeleton body and his hair is falling out. The family has told him to eat more but he is already eating 7 times per day as much as he can and he is still losing weight another 20 pounds in the last month. His wife states that he is eating a lot. He and his family are scared and do not know what to do. If he loses much more, I do not think that he will live very long as he is malnourished and is not getting the nutrition from the food that he is eating.

Apparently the Mini Gastric Bypass re-routes the intestines in such a way as to avoid absorbing food and nutrients as it passes through the colon. This may be good for losing weight but the body needs to extract nutrition from the food that is taken in. If there is anyone who has had this type of operation, the MGB and who has had this problem, please post back. Thanks.

sliesnake · 08-28-2007, 10:45 AM

I am very sorry for your brother.
I had research that procedure and it left me with a very sour taste in my mouth, no pun intended.
I believe it is done in very few places.
It is "marketed" as being: safer, faster, easier and cheaper than Lap RNY. I am thankful I chose this route instead.
I wish the best for your brother and your family.

Dyingtobethin · 08-28-2007, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenomia

I have not had the mini bypass, but I wish your brother the best. What is his Surgeon doing about it? Do you need a second opinion? Is he taking vitamin and mineral supplements? Protein drinks? I am not familiar with this proceedure, but I hope you find some answers for your brother.

Thanks for your post Zenomia and for your best wishes for my brother. His surgeon is located a long distance away from my brother. He lives across on the other side of the country and I don't think my brother is willing to go back to him seeing what happened but I do agree that he needs to reach out for help from a doctor and at least get a consultation and feedback on what should be done now. I agree that he should get a second opinion. He is taking vitamin and mineral supplements but he does not like protein drinks but I think he is going to have to somehow force himself to start drinking them. Right now he drinks diet drinks. If he could get some calories from drinks that might help.

Sliesnake, I am glad that you chose the other procedure as I don't think much of the mini gastric bypass. I don't think he researched it enough or he would have chosen differently.

LQQkn, thanks for poppin in. I think your idea to get most of your nutrition through drinks is a good idea and I appreciate your experience on that. I will share all of this information with him and make the suggestion to him to go with the drinks. It doesnt matter whether he likes the drinks or not at this point, he needs to force it down to save his life.

Toony · 08-28-2007, 01:01 PM

I think your brother really needs to see a doctor... ANY DOCTOR at this point! Tell him we're all pulling for him... and wish him the best!

Toony

Zenomia · 08-28-2007, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyingtobethin

Thanks for your post Zenomia and for your best wishes for my brother. His surgeon is located a long distance away from my brother. He lives across on the other side of the country and I don't think my brother is willing to go back to him seeing what happened but I do agree that he needs to reach out for help from a doctor and at least get a consultation and feedback on what should be done now. I agree that he should get a second opinion. He is taking vitamin and mineral supplements but he does not like protein drinks but I think he is going to have to somehow force himself to start drinking them. Right now he drinks diet drinks. If he could get some calories from drinks that might help.

Given that information, I would agree that getting your Brother to a reputable Bariatric Surgeon is VERY important right now. There are a WHOLE SLEW of protein drinks that he can take in and try, free samples, protein bars packed with calories etc. Stallone Pudding is a good one for protein, with no sugar, and it's a nice soft bland pudding that usually doesn't cause stomach upset. The chocolate and banana aren't horrible. Isopure liquid is ok, as is Unjury unflavored which can be added to anything, but beware of temperature changes as they can affect the proteins in the Unjury. Premier Nutrition offers excellent protein bars with a good portion of calories in them for those who can't stomach the drinks. (Like myself) Most of all though, get him to a Dr....the sooner the better!! It's too bad that he didn't have a reputable Dr. close to home to start with....Best wishes to you both!!

SweetSouthern · 08-28-2007, 05:02 PM

If he is that malnourished and is not getting any nutrients in the doctor and admit him and put in a TPN. It's a system that feeds the body through a tube so that you will not totally die of malnourishment. It helps to build the body back up to be stronger again. PLEASSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEE get him to a doctor. This will be something they will offer I'm sure! Whatever you do, do NOT let him just sit there another day. You don't want to let it go too far! I hope he gets better and please keep us update and come here for support. We are a wonderful family that is willing to help anyone through these types of things, not just the patient.

Gina in NY · 08-28-2007, 05:19 PM

Sheesh - you need to get this man into the hospital - or at least to a Dr.
TPN is something that will work, but he is underweight - he shouldn't be having diet anything! Try at least going to GNC and getting something like Isopure MASS - full of calories and carbs to build muscle. He has to eat like a body builder trying to gain weight. They also have other nasty gel things that feed you tons of calories in a small amount of food (this is for folks doing triathalons and stuff who run out of carbs unless they eat on the way)

So - first step - doctor. He has to find out how much damage he has done and find out the right course of action to save his life. Is he taking this seriously?? Or is he brushing everyone off?

Good luck to you and your brother!!

paige52 · 08-28-2007, 07:11 PM

what you desribe is not normal and a surgeon should be looking at him. Go to the ER... striaght away.

I can spend a lot of time listing the long term problems that result for malnutrition but just take our word for it...see the ER doc today. The short blunt answer to long term malnutrition is death.

Then find a reputable surgeon that can advise your brother on the best long term plan to recover his health.....

TPN is an excellent solution. Thanks for mentioning that Trina.

don't wait take action today....