I had been an active participant on VST up until a few days ago - just wanted to fill you in as to why.

I was sleeved on April 16th with Dr Aceves in Mexicali, MX. Surgery went well for me and I had no major complaints, just the standard issues (drank part of my methylblue leak test on first day post-op too fast, got horrendous gas pain, etc). Was discharged on April 19th, where I drove the 4+ hours home myself. Felt fairly decent the first week out, though had some odd sensations : my abdomen would become puffy and painful if I consumed watered juices or Protein of any kind. I could feel stomach-like sensations in my upper left abdomen, I had some extensive soreness, However, I have a very high pain tolerance and just soldiered on.

Thursday the 26th was the first day post-op I actually felt "good". Went for a walk, helped cook for family, was up and around. Laid down for a nap in the afternoon and was woken up by nagging left flank pain.

As the night progressed, my left flank pain spread to both flanks, I developed dull low abdomen pain, my core body joints ached, I just felt terrible. Couldn't sleep, paced the floor most of the night, pain worsening. I kept rationalizing that I was probably just oversensitive. Finally, at 2 in the afternoon, I told my husband I just didn't feel right and that I was going to the ER.

By this point, I was convinced I had either a kidney stone or a kidney infection - the left flank pain was stabbing and painful, my urine was tea colored and concentrated, I was so nauseated that I could hardly sip anything. But here's where things get fun:

Because of my recent surgery, the ER doc decided to order a full abdominal and pelvic CT scan with oral and IV contrast (choking down that contrast was terrible). After many hours of waiting, the ER doc comes flying into my triage bay with that bad-serious look they get, and tells me,

"You have a very rare (but not entirely unknown) complication of gastric surgery - you have a large blood clot partially blocking your portal vein at the hepatic junction. The radiologist on duty called the Head of Radiology at home to read your CT, and what he said to me was, "Is this patient now dead?"

WTF - what we learned in nursing school is that PVT (portal vein thrombosis) is a condition that is generally not compatible with life. I admit I cried, rather ingraciously. I was admitted to the hospital friday night and am expected to be here a few more days,

Since my admission, new things keep cropping up. My pancreatic enzymes are all out of whack. My nausea is barely controlled with IV push Zofran. They moved me up to dilauded for pain management....this is huge, I normally don't even take Tylenol!

Over the last 24 hours, I started spiking cyclical fevers, my white blood cell count keeps going all over the place. I now have rebound pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, so the hematologist suspects acute gall bladder attack - I'll be getting an abdominal ultrasound shortly.

Two morals of the story here - complications can happen to anyone. I happened to have surgery out of the country, so I am certain someone will bring this up, but portal vein thrombi are rare birds no matter what. I have been in contact with Dr Aceves' office and they have been supportive through the entire process.

Second - always follow your Spider Sense. If you don't feel right, get checked out. I could have died at home. Heck, I'm not out of the woods yet - hematology tells me I will need agressive management with blood thinners for the next 6 to 12 months, and there are no guaranteed outcomes.

Just wanted to pass along were I've been. I will let you know more as I know more. Only good part of this? Abdominal CT showed my sleeve as perfect, no leaks or issues...just very tight

You are in my prayers, get well soon.

I will keep you in my thoughts and I am sending healing energy to you. Stay strong.

Thank you for sharing your story - good for everyone to know the risks, however unlikely they may be. You had really good judgment to know that something was wrong and act on it quickly!

Heal fast, get better soon!

Surgeon I spoke with this morning quoted a 0.7% chance of a portal vein thrombosis complication with any gastric surgery. Always seems small and unlikely....until it happens to you >.<

I agree, the risks are very low, until you're the one with the problem

Lissa

The nurse is praying for you too girlie. God bless.

Praying for you hope everything is alright......

Sent from my iPhone using VST

I am so sorry to hear about this. My thoughts and prayers are with you for a quick and complete recovery.

Omg! I pray for a speedy recovery,I appreciate this because I hear a lot of the joy stories and rarely stories like these I'm still in the decision phase,,recently went through a nightmare breakup and waana discover a new me I look forward for ur recovery posts can't wait til ur able to enjoy the new you!!

Omg! I pray for a speedy recovery,I appreciate this because I hear a lot of the joy stories and rarely stories like these I'm still in the decision phase,,recently went through a nightmare breakup and waana discover a new me I look forward for ur recovery posts can't wait til ur able to enjoy the new you!!

Wow! So sorry you had to be in that small percentage and hope you are getting better. I know about being the one fitting in the minute percentage though mine was not life threatening. I have drop foot from hip revision surgery which happens to only 1% of people. This is a partial paralysis of my foot which is NO fun to live with.

Hang in there and keep us posted on how you are doing. I know your cats need a crazy lady to take care of them.

Scary!

Did you ever have any clotting issues before? Or anyone in your family?

Did they figure out why you had the clot? Any sort of mutation?

I hope things clear up soon! It sucks being in that small percentage that gets the complication. Did your doctor mention what blood thinners he wants you on? Also, you may want to get checked out by a hemotologist afterwards to make sure you don't have a genetic predisposition to clots. I found out I had one the hard way. Hang in there!

A newbie lurker here wishing you the best. Horrible events to you but I have to say that I am majorly impressed that you were able to drive yourself home. And four hours distance. Independent there aren't you!!! In the language of Anne of Green Gables "you are a kindred spirit"

To answer a few questions:

I have no personal or familial history of blood or clotting disorders. I do use chemical birth control (NuvaRing) to have periods - otherwise, my PCOS is severe enough that I go months without a cycle if I don't have chemical help. I have a hematologist following me while in the hospital, and basically indicated (not in so many words) that portal vein thrombi are not related to use of hormonal birth control ( which mainly effect clots in extremities), so I basically am a puzzling, fluke case.

I am currently on continuous IV Heparin infusion of 1900units per hour. I started taking oral Warfarin tomorrow, and as soon as the two balance, I am will be bridged over to using just the oral Warfarin, probably for the next 6-12 months. I will need another Abdominal/pelvic CT in 3 months to ascertain the status of my clot.

Thank you for your outpouring of support and prayers! Any other questions you have, I am happy to answer or I can be PMd.