Hey there,

I had the sleeve surgery Jan. 30th, 2012. Went home fine from the hospital the next day - feeling great. Six days later, I am sitting on the couch and experience extreme left shoulder pain and left abdominal pain. I drive myself to the hospital and I have a leak. They did surgery that night to suture the site but the surgery failed. On Feb. 14th, I had a stent put in. I spent 10 days in the hospital. Now I have a pick line in my arm and I have TPN bag that I use on a 14 hour basis (7pm-9am). This is so scary to me. I am depressed, crying. I have to have the stent in for 8 weeks - hopefully it will close the leak. Has ANYONE had this happen? What was the result? While on the pick line I am having extreme heartburn. The doctor said if the stent doesnt work then I will need a 4th major surgery? I am praying it doesnt get to that point? Has anyone gone thru this? Provide advice? I am alone here and very scared. I wonder if I will ever get back to normal. Is their light at the end of tunnel?

There are a few people on the site that have experiences similar to yours. Peacequeen would be a good one to ask. I feel that your having a horrible time with this, but it will get better, there is hope. It is depressing to go through all this and not knowing if there will be another major surgery. Please keep us informed to how your doing. We do care.

So sorry to hear about this! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

also, check out jasleeve's thread i defintely regret surgery ...so far. she hasn't needed a picc line, but she did need a stent and was miserable. praying for a speedy recovery!

wow!! well i just recovered from a leak. i had astent in for 4weeks & thank god, it healed! i went the entire month without eating and i fought nausea ALL DAY LONG!!!! no meds helped. the stent had even shifted & needed to be adjusted. then shifted again but my gi dr was on vaca & i had it removed the day he came back. it was hell but it gets better AFTER its removed. its a mountain in the road for u for sure but it does get better after!!

i feel very sorry for you, im 16 years old and i had a leak, they put first stent i waited 1 month then they put other stent inside the first stent, and i waited another month, then they took them off both and the leak is healed thank god. it will get better for you, trust me!

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this! I did ask this question of a few doctors when I was researching, but they did say the earlier on that a leak is discovered and treated, the "easier" it is to heal it. That being said, I'm not saying its easy - by no means. I am praying that you do have an easy recovery! Typically stents do work and that's why they do use them. I'm so sorry you're in that dreaded 1% We're here if you need anything!!!

I'm so sorry that you're having these problems. I'm sure that all our thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery!

lol its funny u say this. i feel drs never go into detail about the hell it is! they make it seem like a walk in the park out of fear of scaring the patient but maybe the patient needs to be scared because look at what the hell it brings! and i mean its HELL!!!!!! it was like a stomach virus that wouldnt go away. im only 23 & have been through traumatic things in my life but this takes the cake so far.

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this! I did ask this question of a few doctors when I was researching, but they did say the earlier on that a leak is discovered and treated, the "easier" it is to heal it. That being said, I'm not saying its easy - by no means. I am praying that you do have an easy recovery! Typically stents do work and that's why they do use them. I'm so sorry you're in that dreaded 1% We're here if you need anything!!!

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I'm praying for good health soon.

So sorry you are going through this, really that any of you went through this period. It's hard enough dealing with the lifestyle changes as it is than having to go through all this drama.

My thoughts and prayers will be with you and please keep us updated on your condition and know that you are not alone.

Oh, I'm so sorry you're having complications! It really brings home how brave we all are to have this surgery when someone has problems! I'll pray that you recover quickly and have no further complications!! Good luck!!

Praying for your speedy recovery...

lol its funny u say this. i feel drs never go into detail about the hell it is! they make it seem like a walk in the park out of fear of scaring the patient but maybe the patient needs to be scared because look at what the hell it brings! and i mean its HELL!!!!!! it was like a stomach virus that wouldnt go away. im only 23 & have been through traumatic things in my life but this takes the cake so far.

a complication or procedure should never be sugar coated. If I find that a doctor isn't shooting me straight, I fire them.

my dr told me what it was but explained it like it was no big deal.

a complication or procedure should never be sugar coated. If I find that a doctor isn't shooting me straight, I fire them.

Hey Jamie - glad you found the forums! There aren't too many of us who have had leaks on here, outside of who has posted already I can think of peacequeen and tiffykins. I hope they make their way here also and give you some insight. It is rough, don't be afraid to ask about antidepressants if you need them - my doctor was willing to give me a temporary prescription. I tried to do some other things that made me happier, started reading books again, funny ones, no sad ones. And getting in to a routine as much as you can helps too. Are you working while this is going on? If not, even just getting out and meeting friends for a drink (water is everywhere) or walking around walmart and seeing other people helped me. If your program has a social worker/psychologist, see if you can talk to them or get a referral.