jg62

JG, how are you?

Hello this the husband to jg, I just wanted to fill everyone in on her behalf, she is currently in a critical state in ICU. She had to have an emergency surgery because there was a hole in her stomach leaking out food. She is very sick and heavily sedated and is now struggling to save her life. The surgeon here had to remove what he described was a dead part of her stomach. I am praying that she makes it

through.

Her worried and loving husband.

Hello everyone. I will post soon to let you all know the updates thus far. Please bear with, a lot has been going on.

Thanks everyone for your concern. By the way, I did got to ER. Yester day was my first day home.

Hi Carole. I'd love to tocall sometime to fill you in on recent events - only if that's ok with you?

I did have the tightening/pressure, but it wasn't that bad, or I have a high pain tolerance. I made sure to get warm broth in, I had some home-made stuff, and ice cold gatorade. I knew the supradol would make me sick on an empty stomach. The nexium helps with the acid/pressure feeling. I was able to sleep at night, but I had some ambien that I would dissolve/crush. Also tylenol PM.

I used a heating pad and propped myself up on a bunch of pillows. Your tummy is swollen and needs to recover. But you need liquid and calories if you are going to take pain meds. They gave us the same stuff in the hospital in the IV. The stronger pain med they would have given you a shot in your arm. Since it was via IV your stomach didn't feel like hurling.

If you can't keep anything or sip anything you will get dehydrated and will compound your malaise. Try different temp fluids and just sip. Don't drink plain Water that might make you sick, the acid in the flavored drinks is easier on your excess acid. It doesn't have to work as hard to neutralize.

And seriously call the coordinator and have them contact the Dr. He may have some suggestions.

CKnorte,

Did you experience this tightening on your chest too? Right where the wound is. And yes, it also feels like pressure and gas is stuck. Did the supradol work for you? Do you know what they were giving to us through the IV to deal with the pain when we were at the hospital.

I've been trying to eat anything to keep my stomach from feeling upset but nothinng is staying down. Even the meds I try and take are coming back up. I'm afraid to take any more meds because i'll just throw them up and what a waste that would be!

And how were you able to sleep when you first got home? I find that sleeping on my back builds pressure on my chest and sleeping on my side also puts pressure.

I feel a bit hopeless right now like I have to just bear the pain until it goes away and can do nothing about it?

it sounds like leftover gas. Walk, maybe a heating pad and try super small sips of warm tea or broth. Are you taking the Nexium? Does it feel like pain or like something is stuck and feels like pressure? Make sure you get some calories in, regular gatorade or some fruit juice. You may be getting cold sweats due to too much medication on empty stomach.

Have you tried calling your coordinator or Esmeralda on her cell phone? They should be able to contact the Dr. Even on Sunday.

I don't know what else to suggest. I'm so sorry you are feeling so crappy. Sip and Walk and start annoying anyone on any phone number you may have.

Thanks GaylesBennet

But I have been walking and took the gas x strip and neither has helped. The pain is getting more severe rather than lessening. Plus all I want to do is sleep.I haven't slept in 36 hours because of this pain. I just don't understand why I was feeling okay in the hospital but now that I am home, it's the worse ever. Did they give me a different pain medication through my IV that actually worked?

I've just tried calling the hospital and they are closed Sundays :thumbup:

and I'm also not tolerating liquids very well because it hurts when it goes down and the pain just eventually makes me gag it back up.

I don't want to say yet that I regret this decision to have this surgery done, I just want to get through today.

Hi folks,

I would go into greater detail right now about my experience but as I sit here, I am fighting back major pain in my chest and am in desperate help.

For all those who have had the plication or even if you are on the boards Dr. Watkins, what can I do to help alleviate this servere tightening pain in my chest. I am on day 3 from surgery, my first day home. While I was in the hospital, the pain meds they gave me via IV worked like a charm. When I was experiencing the chest pains, they would give me the pain injection in my IV and it would go away. Now that i am at home, with supradol as prescribed by doctor, it doesn't work! I tried crushing extra strength tylenols as well at doesn't work either. Both actually cause me to be naseaus and throw up the little liquids that I have in my system. I'm not able to sleep at all with this pain and lying flat on my back, sitting up, lying sideways and even piling pillows up and lying face down on them while sitting up doesn't help.

Please if anyone can offer any help please let me know. I don't know if I can endure this pain which is causing me to have cold sweats due to how much it hurts.

Any Canadians who had to self-pay through a lender? If so, who did you use and/or what did you do? I've been referred to many medical loan-type financing programs which offer low interest rates and even 0% interest if paid in full in 12/18 months. But unfortunately none of them allows Canadian Residents to apply.

Any suggestions?

This forum has been a wealth of information! Thank you for those who have helped me clarify my burning questions!

A special thank you to Dr. Watkins for taking the time to provide your expertise on not only my posted question but to many others here as well.

CKnorte - would you mind if I messaged you privately? I've learned so much from your documented experience and I have some specific questions for you if have time to provide me with some insight.

Thank you!

First I'd like to say thank you to all the posters who have been so kind and open to share their experiences. It's been such a great help to new researchers like me.

But as much help as it has been, I admit that it has also added to my confusion...

I've read about a relatively new surgery which DOES NOT involve cutting the stomach, but instead folding. Claims to have the least complications in comparison to other weight loss surgeries yet yields great weight loss results. This is the surgery that I am VERY INTERESTED in having but the problem is, I do not know what the procedure is called?! This is due to so many procedures being described the SAME WAY but are being called so many different names (i.e. Super Sleeve, Gastric Plication Sleeve (GPS), Total Gastric Vertical Plication Sleeve Surgery (TGVPS), Gastric Imbrication, VSG etc.) I know I am not the first person to question this but I guess with all my research, i haven't found a definite answer? I thought the key word was "PLICATION" but my confusion continues when I see a poster referring to the success of their "PLICATION" surgery and then another poster commenting that they too have had the same success with the same surgery but they refer to it as the "super sleeve" or some other name? Are they actually talking about the same surgery? In addition, I'm confused as to which Doctor's are currently performing this procedure (the one I describe at the beginning of my post) - I was told by Medical Tourism Corporation that Dr. Corvala in Mexico, is the only Doctor. I have since learned that Dr. Watkins is also performing the same said procedure (at least I "think" it's the same procedure!). Both doctor's websites confirm this. But what confuses me is again, other posters stating that they have had the procedure done by other doctors (i.e. Dr. Jose Rodriguez, Dr. Cottam and another Dr. in Mexico whose name I cannot recall) yet when I visit the websites of these doctors, they do not list "plication" as one of the procedures they offer?

So to make a long story short (and I do apologize for the length of my very first post!), can ANYONE help me sort out all this information?

Thank you in advance