I have been contemplating this for a couple days and decided now that I am less emotional to get this off my chest. I feel very let down by the lack of response I got when I related my near death experience having the sleeve. My post was entitled went for surgery 6/25 I got three whole responses to my thread. Three whole people were empathetic and caring enough to offer kind words and prayers. Yet someone can post they just had surgery and get fifteen well wishes. It is almost like noone wants to hear the bad stuff or complications. I think my account of what happened was very honest and did not place blame on anyone just accounted the facts of me almost dying on the bed in front of my mother before I even headed back to surgery. I am sorry if you think it is pathetic that I would care to hear from all the people I have come to use as information and inspiration in choosing to have this surgery. I had higher expectations but I guess that is my own fault. Maybe I am just a mess after the experience I guess time will tell.

Edited June 29, 201016 yr by mp8btpc

I'm sorry you feel disappointed in the site. As you can tell by the responses you've received in this thread, we mean no harm and really are here for you!! I haven't read your original post so I don't know what complication you had but hopefully you are doing better! I'm going to find your other thread now. :-)

I am so sorry to hear about what happened to you. I've been working 14 hr days 5 days a week and haven't been checking on the postings lately. Please be assured, you are greatly appreciated and loved by everyone on here.

I just want to agree with the above poster. I work in an ambulatory surgery center. YOU DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT THEY CLAIM THEY GAVE YOU. Just about every one of our patients receive midazolam (also known as Versed). We usually average about 30-40 patients a day. I've been doing this for years and this is not what happens with this drug. They out and out lied to you. You received some kind of paralytic. I just don't want you thinking you had a reaction to versed when you didn't. It is a wonderful drug when used properly and I'd hate for you to need it in the future and then not get it because you were lied to.

Please, if you can and your insurance will allow it, see a therapist. This is usually the protocol for someone who has experienced what you have gone through. In fact, most hospitals/surgery centers/clinics, etc who have patient's experience what you have gone through, do have policies in place that patient's who have had your type of experiences (which by the way are pretty rare and usually happens during the procedure-doesn't happen here as we use bis monitors on all patients) are referred to therapist to help deal with what has happened. Hope this makes sense as I'm too tired to go back and proof read.

Just want you to know that I will say a special prayer for you tonight. Big hugs to you.

Likewise to others posters I can only say that I don't get to read all the posts... and try and answer as many as I can in the time that I am online.

I'm sorry you felt that way, but hope the response you have had since has in a small way made up for it.

Its sounds like hell.... and I cannot begin to imagine going thru it myself... I wish you all the best from here on in and hope its smoother than your journey has been so far.

Kathy

I found the thread you started

and it was titled "I went for surgery 6-25"

That thread title gives no indication that there were any problems.

I am like Tiffy. I read hundreds of posts per day, but I don't read all the new posts anymore. I try to read the ones where people are asking questions or wanting advice.

I am sorry your thread was not noticed. I am positive if you had given it a different title, you would have had tons of responses.

We are all human and certainly not capbable of reading every single post in addition to the threads that we are already subscribed to that we are watching.

I'm sorry that this site disappointed you. It disappoints me sometimes too, but then so do some of the othe online sites for sleeve surgery. They can't be everything to everyone.

I never saw your post because I was struggling with being sick after my surgery on June 15 and the title did not push me to read the thread.

I am so sorry about your experience. I hope you can recover from the trauma.

I know you choose not to name the doc. I heard a story about Dr. Palma from a person I was sleeved with. She was supposed to have had a sleeve 5 years ago but never had any restriction. She had had her stomach stapled in the 80's and in actuality when our doctor looked at it on XRay her stomach was wrapped in some kind of mesh and she had not been sleeved despite paying for a sleeve. Dr. Aceves would not do a sleeve he did a bypass on her.

I think it is important to share the good and the bad experiences and I would certainly want to know if someone almost died under my surgeon's care.

I can understand why you would be afraid of surgery now. I would be too.

I am so sorry that you left feeling unsupported, I didn't read your post but will head there now. Please know that the intent of everyone on this board is to support and be supported. Hopefully we can give you what you need next time.

Anna

I'm sorry that you didn't receive more compassionate responses to your post about your experience in TJ. I babysit for my grandchildren (2&4), and on the days that they are here, I don't get to my computer much at all. I honestly never saw your post.

I just found the original thread and read your story...I can't begin to imagine what that must have been like for you. This may sound like an unusual thing to say, but as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I can't help but wonder how you are doing right now after having lived through something that terrifying. If you have symptoms like those listed below you might want to consider finding a therapist who specializes in treating PTSD.

Additionally, after reading the thread, I will say that I agree with pcindy. I don't think that they gave you the medication that they intended to give you. I think that you were the unfortunate victim of a serious medical error and that the persons involved tried to protect themselves by suggesting that you had an unusual reaction. I hope that you will not be returning to this group.

Common symptoms following exposure to traumatic events include any of the following:

?

An unusual feeling of being easily startled (e.g., ?jumpiness?

?

Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; waking up early

?

Nightmares and/or ?flashbacks?

?

Difficulty concentrating or paying attention

?

Carelessness in performing ordinary tasks

?

Outbursts of irritability or anger, sometimes without apparent reason

?

Loss of religious faith and feeling angry at God

?

Family or work conflicts that were not usually experienced before the trauma

?

Unusual bodily fatigue

?

Feelings of emotional numbness (such as being ?in a daze,?or having an ?It doesn?t matter? attitude)

?

Recurrent anxiety over personal safety or the safety of loved ones

?

Feeling especially alone (e.g., having a ?They weren?t there? or ?They can?t understand? attitude)

?

An inability to let go of distressing mental images or thoughts

?

Feelings of depression, loss, or sadness

?

Feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and lack of control

?

Feelings of guilt for not having suffered as much as others

?

Unrelenting self-criticism for things done or not done during the event

?

Anxiety about, and avoidance of, specific reminders of the event

I agree with 3636Millie and Katt. Once in a VERY blue moon, surgical patients suffer from anesthetic awareness- basically, being physically paralyzed yet awake and aware during the procedure, hearing and feeling everything. A living nightmare, as one could imagine. They are unable to convey their awareness and powerless to do anything about it. These patients almost always require intensive treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Although, thank God, your procedure was aborted and the event corrected quickly, I agree with those who recommend that you find a therapist who specializes in PTSD.

Should you choose down the line, to retry a VSG (with a well-researched, well-renouned bariatric surgeon in a well-renouned bariatric practice, here in the US), be upfront about your past experience, so they can give you the psychological care and preparation that you will need.

My friend, thank you for posting this! You know I read your post and commented on it, and continue to keep you in my prayers as you decide what to do. I often do not read the negative posts because I have always thought I didnt want to worry myself sick about something that "might" happen to me. However, truth be told, I am not a worrier by nature. I am a prayer. So thank you for posting this! I never looked at it from the other perspective. From now forward, I will read negative posts and do what I do best, pray for them. And comment about it so that they will know that we are ALL like family here and the support IS there, and no matter how bad it is, they are NOT alone!

Hugs!

Karen

I too am sorry I missed your original post. Thank God you are OK! I am also very glad that pcindy gave you her professional opinion. Thank you for posting what happened in depth. I hope we will learn from this. Please keep us informed as to when and where you have your VSG, if you decide to.

I was one who read your thread and did not reply and you know why? Because it scared the $H!T out of me. I am about 2 weeks away from surgery and starting the paperwork extravaganza and it's all sinking in for me and when I read that, I just couldn't deal, it was so so frightening!!!! I'm in 100% agreement with folks who have posted to this thread that you need to seek some kind of redress if at all possible, and therapy at the very least. Good luck to you and I hope that in time you will be able to complete your vsg/wls journey.

I'm so very sorry you had this horrible experience--I did not see your original thread either. I am not sleeved yet and cannot afford to self pay in U.S. Planning on Dr. Aceves, who is not in Tijuana. It is unforgivable what they did to you, thank God you lived and I hope you continue to recover from this. Very scarey to anyone considering elective surgery. Take care of yourself.

I am so sorry for what has happened to you and I hope this does not turn you away from this site. It has been a wonderful and invaluable tool for me during my journey. I am also sorry I did not read your original post. I, like many others, only look at new posts, and then only read the ones that catch my eye. May you seek and find whatever help you need to get through this.

I didn't see your post, either. I try to look at new posts for up to 1 hour in the mornings, depending on how much time I have before work. I even look for posts that haven't had many replies because I don't want anyone to feel left out. I understand how you felt though. We are all human. I was disappointed when not many people responded to a post of mine once, too.

This next bit is not meant to be critical about you OR me, but just an observation. You know how in the long-time past, people thought the sun revolved around the earth? To me, that illustrates the point that each of us subconsciously sees the world as revolving around what WE are experiencing. Like when I used to go the the movie theater and squeeze in front of people to get to an empty seat. Somehow I imagined that everyone in the theater was noticing me, and to my mind, probably thinking how fat and awkward I was. Now I realize that everyone is, to one extent or another, "in their own little bubble". I am not the center of the universe! Imagine that! LOL!

Funny to think about!

So sorry I missed your post mp8btpc but I have been kinda out of it lately.

I hope things are getting better and you make the best decision for you.

Remember, everything happens for a reason and when one door closes another one opens. (I know, it's sooooo.... cliche but it's true).

Your buddy,

Will