(Some of this is nasty, just in case you have a weak stomach)

I don't know what happened. I had my VSG surgery on 4/28 and didn't have any problems with gas or holding down food. Now all of a sudden after 1 week goes by I start having issues.

About 5 days ago I noticed whenever I took the Carafate the doctor prescribed (its suppose to protect your stomach lining) I get a major stomach ache and I can eat or drink anything for at least 12 hours. So I called the doctor's office and the nurse there told me to stop taking it for a while because some people cannot handle it. She also told me to get some liquid Tylenol and lay off the Hydrocodone for a while because it may be giving me a stomach ache. So I did and I started to feel myself again.

Well this past Thursday my back was hurting like crazy (so much I couldn't sleep) so I decided to take the liquid Tylenol. I had to take 30ml so I sipped it slowly followed by a tiny sip of Water. Immediately my mouth started to water and I barely made it in time to the bathroom to vomit it all up. So I'm thinking okay....no more tylenol for me. So I wait 4 hours and I try to take a half a dose of hydrocodone because I still can't sleep with my back pain. I take one tiny tiny sip and once again immediately I vomit it up but this time I start vomitting a lot of blood as well. UCK!!!!!! So now I'm about to panic and run to the emergency room but decided to call the doctor first. It was about 10 at night but I got through to my doctor pretty quickly. He told me that I need to start taking the Carafate again and that I shouldn't be taking Tylenol. He also said the Hydrocodone can cause bleeding so I had to stop taking that. He instructed me to take the Carafate as soon as I got off the phone and go to the emergency room if I vomit anymore blood.

Sooooo... I took that freaking Carafate and like before I had a massive stomach ache that kept me awake ALL night. Around 4am I ended up vomitting what was left in my stomach but thankfully no blood. Now its almost 9am and my stomach ache is just now starting to go away. I drank 2 sips of chicken broth at 7am and managed to keep that down. However, I just went to go brush my teeth and vomitted again...what the duece!!!

I don't understand. I was doing soooo well and now I feel like I need to be in the ICU. I called my pharmacist this morning because I had read that my reactions to the Carafate was considered serious. He advised me to ask my doctor to change my prescription to something else. There is no way that I can continue to take that Carafate this weekend. I would be dehydrated by Monday!

I feel terrible......

Sounds rough on your end, and you're trying all the right things. I would definitely stay in touch with your doctor and go the the ER if you might be getting dehydrated. Hope you feel better soon.

Oh, I feel for you. There's nothing worse than constant vomiting. I hope you get the issue resolved.

I am so sorry you are experiencing all of this.

I hope you feel better soon, and the vomiting stops. I hate Carafate with a passion, and think it hurt me more than it helped when I took it a few years ago.

Getting dehydrated can cause nausea and pain, so monitor your hydration closely, and go to the ER if you continue to have issues.

Oh no..that sounds horrible!

I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this.

Please follow your gut instinct though and if you start feeling really weak or dehydrated...go to the ER...let them give you some fluids to hydrate you.

I would still go to the ER. You don't want to mess with this. Also, the hydrocodone had APAP and that is bad for your new stomach. So, go to ER , don't take any chances. You don't want to get dehydrated. They will immediately hook you up to saline. Good luck.

Sounds like a lousy night!

Is there an urgent care facility that you could go to first? They might actually give you more treatment than the ER. I have gone into the ER, they have given me meds and sent me home. I have asked for tests (uh, shouldn't we see what's wrong?) and was told their job was to get me stable. I had to see the dr for anything else.

Do you like peach? Maybe a couple sips of warm peach tea? I heated crystal lite peach tea, it was great. Maybe it will be soothing for you?

Don't worry about being a pain in your dr's arse. If you don't feel well, keep calling!

Hope you feel better soon!

Well... you probably don't need one more person weighing in and saying the same thing but be assertive. Listen to your body and get it what it needs. IV fluids... something besides that crazy stomach medicine.... a pain reliever that won't hurt your sleeve...

I hope your better soon

stacey

Thanks everyone for your support. My doctor called to check on me and said he is changing my Carafate prescription and he wants to do another Endoscopy to see if I have a hernia...GREAT! So I have my 2 week appt. moved up from next Thurs. to Tues.

I still feel naeseous so I am not getting much fluids in. I will take your advice and go to the ER for an IV if needed.

I will keep you all posted.

My doctor sent me home with the anti-nausea suppositories. I thought everyone got them. They sure don't want me to be nauseated with uncontrolled vomiting. Which it sure sounds like you have. Dang it girl!

Just a tip that I've learned... if I eat some Soup or something and then follow it with any Water at all I get that horrible pain that makes me want to pace the floor until it eases up. I looked and my post-op requirement page says no water before or after eating. Not that this is your problem, but it could have contributed.

I do so much better when I understand what medications are supposed to do and why I need to take them. I've never heard of Carafate and haven't taken anything like that at all. I can't take codeine so I was sent home with Darvon. It worked well but only needed a couple of them. And the doc did find a hiatal hernia that he didn't know I had. It's still there I think. So when I had some burning when I was first home (I had surgery 4/28 too) he said I could take a little liquid Mylanta. I couldn't sleep last night because of the burning in my mid-section (after eating about half of a small baked potato, so I had some Mylanta and fell right to sleep.

Don't try to be strong or tough, listen to your body like everyone has suggested - they said that dehydration is one of the most important things you need to avoid.

Keep us posted when you feel like it. We're sure pulling for you that this is a short lived problem!!

So I feel pretty normal now. However, before the vomitting episode I was able to drink 4 oz. of liquid in and hour. Now I can only get in about 4 tablespoons in an hour and I am totally stuffed. Has anyone experienced something similiar to this?? It's like I just came home from the hospital.

your tummy is likely very swollen from the surgery and the vomiting. it should get better.

its a good thing you are seeing your dr in a couple of days!

agives I'll bet pnw is right and you got more swelling from the irritation of the throwing up.

It's really good news that you're feeling pretty normal now. I'm still improving everyday and I am so surprised that I think I should pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. The first few days were so awful! Who knew healing would take place so quickly!

Hope you're even better tomorrow!

This is tricky advice when you are trying to stay hydrated, but in my surgeons instructions he said that if you are vomiting you need to wait 6 hours before consuming anything else liquid or otherwise, because your tummy is so irritated and you need to leave it alone. In the first little while my stomach changed all the time in what I could and couldn't consume liquid wise. I am so sorry you've had such a rough start.

So sorry you are having such discomfort. An upper endoscopy is important and I am very glad your doctor has arranged for that...tomorrow? Please let us know the results. I hope the problem clear up real soon.

My doctor prescribed me Protonix which I took my first dose of yesterday....awww so much better. However, I'm starting to think I might have an ulcer because last night I woke up with my stomach burning like I swallowed 10 whole jalepenos! It went on for about 3 hours and I couldn't get it to stop. Finally, I drank some ice cold powerade/water mix and it seemed to start calming down.

Needless to say I lost a lot of sleep this weekend. I'm glad I will be seeing the doctor tomorrow. One good thing is that I am up to drinking 2oz. at a time now. So it is getting better.

I will keep you all posted!