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

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.

Praying for you...

Well it sounds like you are in good hands at the very least. You may still want to get the genetic testing done if your insurance will cover it. It's amazing how many people there are out there carrying things like Factor V Leiden and they don't know it until they have a major event.

Good luck to you and I hope things go well for you.

Hang in there! Thoughts and prayers your way!

I am praying for a speedy recovery. I'm sorry ur having such issues. Hang in there.!!! positive thoughts always help God bless.

Wow, I am praying for your recovery ?

I have a blood clotting disorder ( factor v Leiden) and I'm now worried a bit about this condition . Mine is only supposed to cause problems during pregnancy which is how I was diagnosed after having several early miscarriages

I have a blood clotting disorder ( factor v Leiden) and I'm now worried a bit about this condition . Mine is only supposed to cause problems during pregnancy which is how I was diagnosed after having several early miscarriages

Check with your hematologist. He/she might want to put you on low-dose heparin for a bit after the surgery to prevent a clot. Unfortunately, I have Factor V and I did develop a clot.

Still in the hospital - now am hoping to be out by Friday. Hematologist ordered a whole slew of lab work for the am, including genetic clot determinants, a variety of auto-immune disease markers (Lupus, Sjogrens, others), and some other random tests. I did not get to see the list, it was read for verification once just inside my hearing....I'll give more info when I have it.

Abdominal ultrasound reveals my current PVT to be stable, which is good news, that being said, I am having rather persistant pain due to the back-pressure of blood and fluids into my spleen via the partially occluded portal vein. The surgeon that is following me had an earnest conversation this morning regarding the status of my over-pressurized spleen. Even though my spleen checks out fine now, I am still at risk for spleen infart, damage and/or death, as long as that clot exists.

I have started my Coumadin, but my INR is raising at a crawl. Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts

Sending prayers your way!

Still praying...

Check with your hematologist. He/she might want to put you on low-dose heparin for a bit after the surgery to prevent a clot. Unfortunately' date=' I have Factor V and I did develop a clot. [/quote']

Hmm ok, I know he's gonna do the leg massage things and blood thinners at the hospital but I'm not sure how long I will be on them, I already take a baby aspirin. When I have surgery they alway do a PT test and it I can't do surgery until I pass it ..something about blood clotting time, maybe I should ask him about that ...now I'm getting a little worried like maybe I should consider this clotting disorder a little carefully

Paulsgirl, I had a major DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in my leg 3 months before surgery. Because of that, I had to have a filter installed and removed, plus take lovenox shots pre and post op. I also have spent the last 9 months on warfarin/Coumadin because of this clot. I'm currently on a trial off the coumadin to see if my D-dimer comes back okay next week. I'm hoping and praying that I can stop taking coumadin.

You may want to discuss your clotting disorder with your surgeon and your GP or PCP before surgery.

Still praying for the OP.

Definitely praying for a quick recovery! Keep us posted - and stay positive!

I was released home from the hospital today. Still feeling achy, sore, in pain (at times) and very very bloated in the abdomen. I am told that this...is my new life. For a while. Maybe longer. No one really knows.

I was 296lbs on the day of my surgery, 277lbs on last friday, 289lbs today. My abdomen constantly feels like a waterballoon that is over filled - ascites. I am on Warfarin (Coumadin) for at least the next 6 months. My doctor drew a whole panel of blood work to check for pretty much every known genetic and disease process that could contribute to the formation of this clot.

The worst part of this is not knowing when I will be able to return to feeling "normal" again. I am out of work. I had two job offers to start this past Monday; now, I have no idea if/when I will be safe to return to work again. Hospitalist said I was ok to work whenever, but when the abdominal pain hits...it takes me totally out of commission. Crying and writhing on the floor kind of pain, that dilauded IV hardly touched. I am out of money as of June 1st, have no health insurance. This is a nightmare.

More updates to follow as they happen.