lc6342

On November 11, 2013 my chance had arrived. I was going to have my Gastric Sleeve surgery. I had planned on three weeks from work hoping they would be understanding given the fact that I would return stronger and more motivated to continue a position I had held for nearly 14 years. I checked into the hospital bright and early and waited for my surgeon to arrive. Now I'm all prepped and have my husband and youngest daughter with me for support when the surgeon comes in and let's us know he'll be using "The Robot" to do my sleeve. Well I probably got a 4 min introduction to this procedure and it was time to go so I said ok, I trust you. About 90 minutes later the surgeon came out to my husband and daughter and announced there had been a slight problem and that a leak had been found but that he "fixed it by throwing a few stitches in it" and that I should be fine. I'm transferred into my room and must say I felt pretty good. Not heavily medicated but still pretty good. I had meds to control any nausea I had, warmed blankets' good. By day 2 I had that pain in my left shoulder and was told it was the gas they use during surgery trying to disparate. So as told I kept breathing deep, walking around trying to stay active as much as I could. It vas very difficult to stay hydrated because I just didn't have the desire to eat or drink, I was just tired by day 3. They decided to keep me an extra day just because of the leak they thought would take care of itself. I had my upper GI the morning before I left which showed no leak so I was discharged home! Yay. Within the next several days I saw tried to do clear liquids but still it was very challenging to force yourself to do something you know you must do. I was weak tired and slightly nauseas but hung in. I still had that pain in my shoulder. Breathing deep and walking wasn't helping. I resorted to a heating pad just to get some rest. Day 7 post VGS I was seen at my surgeons office. I told them about the pain in my shoulder and that I was having trouble meeting my fluid intake. They assured me this was normal removed my steri strips and sent me on my way. Work was only a week or 2 away now. I couldn't even imaging being strong enough for that but it was my goal. So 2 days after seeing my Dr I was told I could try soft foods jello pudding refried beans".. So I did just that. Tablespoon servings of corse but it sure tasted good. BMT still that pain in my shoulder and I'm continuing to be very weak. By day 11 post op I called my daughter and asked her to run my to our local hospital because I had started vomiting and was sure I just needed some fluids. Dehydrated ya know. So off we go. Upon arrival I could barely stand I was so weak, I had a 102* temp which I had been oblivious to and that there was my RED FLAG. I knew fevers were not good. Could be a infection right. They admitted me over night where I continued to become worse. I became delirious my fever was climbing. I was indeed severely dehydrated , had developed pneumonia and needed to be transferred back to the hospital where I had the surgery! When I arrived it was like a race going on, blood work, x-rays, CT scan I was becoming aware of the severity of it all. The CT showed I had a leak in the upper back portion of my sleeve which had leaked the contents of which I had consumed into my gut and up under my diaphragm. Emergency surgery was needed, the options were explained to me and at that point I just didn't want to die! I agreed to the surgery which consisted of cleaning out my abdomen and placing a feeding J tube into my small intestine and a drain into my abdomen. When I awoke I felt like my entire mid section was filled with cement! The pain was horrible. For the next week I honestly can't tell you much I was on so much Morphine it was horrible. For the 2nd week was filled with training on how to use my feeding tube because for the next 3-6 months I was allowed NOTHING by mouth. Just knowing I chose to do this... It was tough. So I would be fed through this tube directly onto my intestines my formula, my meds and my water. It sucked! Ok so now I'm out of work a month. Not my plan but I had no other choice. I had diarrhea all the time and I was miserable. After 2 weeks I was allowed to go home. I had a hospital bed in my living room because my bathroom was on the first floor. I had visiting nurse coming to change my pic line dressing and to make sure my drain was working properly. I was on the phone with my Dr office almost daily for check ins. Ugh awful. After about another week and a half my diarrhea continued and I was vomiting again. Yes even though you don't eat you can vomit! It was awful to I think about where it was coming from. So it was back to the hospital where I would spend yet another week being treated for a intestinal virus I picked up IN THE HOSPITAL! Lord help me. Ok so now I'm about 2 months from work hoping I'll be good. My feeding tube and drain would be removed after about 3 1/2 months. Thank you God! I have one more procedure in Boston to have. They would go down my throat to check the leak which had formed a bubble. They needed to make sure it was going to hold up and not rupture. They came to the conclusion that it was healed well and that I could return to work. Finally after almost 4 months I return to work. Happy to part of society again and making a paycheck. I drew 1 check from STD while I was out and the others arrived about 2 weeks after I returned to work. Ultimately 4 short weeks after returning to work I was laid off do to "salary cut backs" bullshit! Pure bullshit! So my weight loss isn't typical because of my delays. The first three months were spent in high calorie formula so I could heal and recover. Here it is 5 months later and 8 have lost a total of 47 lbs. not ideal but I'll take it. I'm averaging about 2 lbs a week now. I'm currently job hunting and trying to keep my chin up. I don't see to many stories of complications anywhere. Is it just that uncommon or are they not allowed? People should know all the facts and all the remedies to problems that could arise. Let me hear from you if you had similar outcomes. I need support too but am having trouble finding it. Thanks Lori

AnnaBanana, holy crap you're just venting this now? I'm happy to hear you are still here and fighting! This is why I wrote, I needed support as do you. I'm happy it's over but would I do it again....no. Hope today you're feeling better. Do you think your weight loss has suffered with all you had to go through?

Sleeved in Nov, but had some setbacks. A leak had me placed on a feeding tube for 3 1/2 months with high calorie formula. I'm post sleeve 5 months and down 46lbs. I hope this continues. Anyone else with similar setbacks?