no one knew what a sleeve was! They had to google it!

I was having terrible chest pain/ abdominal pain that got so bad that I couldn't take te pain anymore so hubby took me to the local ER. We r vacationing down in the Jersey shore. when I got to the ER, the triage nurse asked for my history, and I told her I had a VSG, and she looked at me like "what?" I explained to her the basic premise of the procedure & why I had it and she still looked a little perplexed. I was in so much pain at that point I didn't care i she got it or not.. I just needed some pain relief!! (2 doses of dilaudid and I was still in pain... Stoned, but in pain lol) The ER doc knew what the sleeve was (thank God) and he thought this was unrelated but they did a ct scan just to make sure there was no issue.

When the next nurse came to me, she asked if I had any problems since my bypass, and I explained to her also what the sleeve was (I was so drugged on dilaudid that hubby had to tell her towards the end of the story lol) . Then a 3rd nurse asked me of the band may have slipped and AGAIN I explained that I didnt have a band. Uuuugh.

my Final diagnosis was "gastritis". They think I have an ulcer in my esophagus. I can assure you that I have become very close to my esophagus and sleeve, and this pain was no where near that. It was the worst pain I ever experienced and I pray that it never comes back. I am going to see my surgeon next week and will make an appt with my GI when he can see me.

In the meantime I told the ER staff to look at my ct scan and see the sleeve and what it looks like. I was surprised that no one knew what it was!

Sorry for the novel lol

_{OMG!!! Well I'm glad your okay. My cousin was in the hospital this past week and the nurse there did not know what the sleeve was either. She kept referencing the bypass! lol.}

Was it gallstones?? I would follow up with a someone who is familiar with your procedure!! Make sure it isn't something other than your sleeve...good luck..I hope you are feeling better!

This is really frustrating. I know that my PCP treats my sleeve like it's a GBS. He won't give me any NSAIDS because it cause ulcers. During our NUT classes, they educated us towards the GBS and everything was based on the GBS. I know the rules for the sleeve aren't like the rules for the GBP so I have to bite my tongue and just go with it. Otherwise, I'm fighting a losing battle. So far, I have a sleeve of steel. I never throw up, nothing bothers it. I do get a full feeling in my left side when I'm full. That's it. So frustrating. We need more information out there about the VS. Just my opinion.

Was it gallstones?? I would follow up with a someone who is familiar with your procedure!! Make sure it isn't something other than your sleeve...good luck..I hope you are feeling better!

I had my gall bladder out 10 yrs ago, but the nurse in me thinks I have a stone in my common bile duct that may have sneaked into or around my pancreas. They didn't see anything on the CT scan but who knows if they were looking.

I had my gall bladder out 10 yrs ago' date=' but the nurse in me thinks I have a stone in my common bile duct that may have sneaked into or around my pancreas. They didn't see anything on the CT scan but who knows if they were looking.[/quote']

Can they do a CT or MRI with contrast to see if it will show up?

This is a really good point - I have decided to keep a fav list on my phone, email and on a card in both cars that not just lists my history but references quick, thorough info on the sleeve. I hav ebeen to 4 doctors in last 3 months that didn't know what it was.

Any other ideas out there for when we need someone to understand in a hurry?

This is a really good point - I have decided to keep a fav list on my phone' date=' email and on a card in both cars that not just lists my history but references quick, thorough info on the sleeve. I hav ebeen to 4 doctors in last 3 months that didn't know what it was.

Any other ideas out there for when we need someone to understand in a hurry?[/quote']

Just having a cell phone with Internet service helped me..I would go to my surgeon's website and show them the procedure I had done.

no one knew what a sleeve was

Jennifer

My PHP suggested the lapband. I told him i had heard of the sleeve. He knew nothing about it

i went to another dr. office - nurse and i were chatting and yes my weight loss was commented on - i told her i had WLS. She immediately said, oh the lapband, or was it gastric bypass?

I told her it was the sleeve - oh what is that?

these are professional people, and the fact that they either never heard about the sleeve, or don't know much about it.... well .....

BTW - i never heard of the sleeve before one of fmy seminars,... but i'm not a nurse

it was very unprofessional of the nurses at the ER to ask you questions about the sleeve, while you were in the ER for help, and you were in such pain

, hope you are feeling somewhat better. problems with chest pain/abdominal pains. good luck at your dr. next week

kathy

Jennifer

My PHP suggested the lapband. I told him i had heard of the sleeve. He knew nothing about it

i went to another dr. office - nurse and i were chatting and yes my weight loss was commented on - i told her i had WLS. She immediately said' date=' oh the lapband, or was it gastric bypass?

I told her it was the sleeve - oh what is that?

these are professional people, and the fact that they either never heard about the sleeve, or don't know much about it.... well .....

BTW - i never heard of the sleeve before one of fmy seminars,... but i'm not a nurse

it was very unprofessional of the nurses at the ER to ask you questions about the sleeve, while you were in the ER for help, and you were in such pain

, hope you are feeling somewhat better. problems with chest pain/abdominal pains. good luck at your dr. next week

kathy[/quote']

I have to say Kathy ..while a patient in pain is a horrible thing...I would rather have a nurse ask me a thousand questions before they administered care to me without knowing about my history. I don't necessarily know if it was unprofessional but more of trying to learn more about the procedure. Of course..only the patient can make the determination if he/she was treated unprofessionally. The nurses have learned and will now know how to handle a sleeve patient. There are nurses who have never heard of sub cranial continuans..which my neurologist says I have ..even I had a hard time finding literature on it and I work in the medical field..(no I'm not a nurse). You will find most medical professionals are just now finding out about the sleeve even though it's been around for +10 years. Just my humble opinion...yes it's annoying..but I look at it as a teachable moment..and hopefully..they were respectable to the patient...you can be curious and respectable at the same time..just had to take up for the nurses..

It doesn't really surprise me that some of them didn't know what it was.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't know what it was or even heard of it until a little over a year ago when my buddy told me that he was getting one.

I had never even really done any research into wls. I had heard of the bypass and the band. I work in a hospital around drs and such and you honestly don't hear that much about it.

Just like a lot of other things that are not really "mainstream" communities like this one are not well known. I had never even heard of it intil a few weeks ago when I got to doing some serious research into the sleeve.

Jennifer, I am experiencing the same problems but my pain is more on the right upper quadrant! I too had my gall bladder out 10 years ago. I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy last week and all that was clear. I have my regular check up appointment later this week with my surgeon so I will discuss it with him. Keep me posted on what they determine is causing your pain.

I had to go to the dr 2 weeks ago for a pain on my right side dr did not know what the sleeve was I then went to the hospital for a ct scan for gallbladder no one knew about the sleeve there either. Not many people do as a matter of fact the only people that heard about it that I know are the people on here and my bff who had the surgery and told me. anyway my gallbladder is fine just a gas pocket

Sent from my SPH-D700 using VST

I had my gall bladder out 10 yrs ago' date=' but the nurse in me thinks I have a stone in my common bile duct that may have sneaked into or around my pancreas. They didn't see anything on the CT scan but who knows if they were looking.[/quote']

I trust you!

life is a journey, not a destination; so, stop running -H.D. THEROUX

My PCP knows nothing about the sleeve and "doesn't believe" in WLS. @@ I'm shopping now for a new PCP, obviously. I definitely understand about having to educate medical professionals about your medical condition, but it's not new to me. I have something called Sturge Weber Syndrome, which is a congenital birth defect that appears both on your face and affects most people's brains. I should be retarded and epileptic and have glaucoma. So far, the only one I know I have is glaucoma!

I educate doctors/nurses all the time about my condition, so passing along information about the sleeve is second nature to me. I have information about both listed in my ICE on my phone, in case I'm ever taken to the ER.

I, like many of you, had my gall bladder out just a few years ago. I Call it gall bladder gone bad surgery because I was there for a month after thy cut my common bike duct. Anyway I had many complications but the worst pain I endured was pancreatitis. I would give birth 20 times than to suffer that again. I ha dilaudid - fentanyl and man- nothing was helpful. So- check that out too. Yuck yuck yuck. If it is- they won't let you eat as that will irritate the heck out of it . . Sorry you're in so much pain