I am 4 wks out from surgery unable take protien in any form getting very little fluids in i cannot eat anything without wanting to vomit. I had complcations from internal bleeding & kidney failure due to blood loss. I wish i had never had it done i am sick of being sick. Please those of you considering surgery to look very carefully at all poss.complcations. i am very disgusted with my results i have no strength, stamina, nothing & i will not till i can take in protien which is impossible. Good luck if you decide to go through with it

No katie thats the only dx, yes the waiting has been very hard on myself & family

Hello all just returned from hosp stay, surgery was done tues last thing dr told me was " we may left with no choice but to do a complete bypass if something else can't b done ". I ask i thought i was getting a g- tube he was like we will just have to c what it looks like in there .. so now i am scared out mind & pissed off as i drifted off to lala land .... i awoke in PAIN i had been cut from beolw my navel to my ribcage , the Dr decided to remove the pouch from my sleeve said thing look good back on liquids for now which are staying down so far thank god, i do however have partial collapse of lung but talked him into sending me home & treat it here . Hopefully it will clear up soon. Thanks for all your prayers & thoughts godbless

Oh my

I am so sorry how much pain this must be...

I wish you all the best and speedy healing!!!

Praying for you!

Ugh what a nightmare! Hopefully you are in the toad to recovery now and will be feeling much better soon.

Thanks ya'll

Hope you feel better soon ...

Thank you

I have been reading a lot of posts regarding complications; at least to the extent that my computer doesn't lock up because this site installs a lot of cookies on my system (another problem…) Many of the post replies include well wishers, which is good, but oftentimes I'm looking for answers to what is going on… with me.

I was sleeved on 12/26, hospital stay overnight and discharged home. Initially, I thought things were going to be fine. I wasn't able to take in much, as I was told would be the case, so I wasn't overly concerned, but now 3 weeks post surgery, I am feeling awful. My progress has been up and down; though more down than up; although I have lost weight. I don't think I've consumed more than 10 oz of fluid/nutrition of any type per day, since surgery. I can't drink water, juice, and even protein drinks make me feel uncomfortable. Anything cold seems to make my stomach feel uncomfortable, nauseous, sour etc. I have days where I'm able to keep what I take in down and other days, I am nauseous or vomiting or just feeling horrible. I'm not in pain per se, but I do feel like someone is sitting on my chest or, as best as I can describe it, a sour stomach. I take the pain meds because that is the only time when I feel comfortable, relaxed; but I'm afraid of taking the meds because I don't want to develop a dependency on them, which may have already occurred. Nevertheless, I feel desperate. I feel weak most of the time. The days that I do manage to get out and accomplish anything e.g. walking, go to doctor, do a little work is always followed by a day of vomiting, more weakness and inability to take in fluids/nutrition. I haven't been able to work, and I need to. I live alone, so I've been struggling through all this alone - without family or friends. I do have people that call and check on me and I tell them what's going on, but mostly everyone just keeps telling me it will be alright or how they wish me well. I know they don't know what to do, but I want to scream because I don't feel like anyone can help me feel better and I feel so alone. I did see my doc yesterday and he said if things continue to be difficult he will have me do some sort endoscopy (whatever the heck that really is??) Most folks who have discussed complications refer to acronyms that I haven't a clue as to what they are talking about, so it's difficult to relate or understand whether anyone is really experiencing the same problems as I, or more importantly, has anything worked for them and if so, what has. I need hope, I appreciate well wishes - but I need to understand what's happening to me and more importantly I need to hear from others who have experienced what I'm going through, what they did to help get them through it. Now I have a cold another, complication - though not related to the surgery; but certainly something else that is adding to my misery.

I have not had your specific complication but since my surgerym12/21 I have. Had internal bleeding, pleural effusions and the need for a chest tube. I was in the hospital both Christmas and New Years. I w released from the hospital finally jan 6 with part of my lung not fully expanded. I had an X-ray yesterday and now they think I have pneumonia .

I hardly eat anything. I am on full liquids which I can hardly get anything down. I force the liquids but I cannot get what I need to. Like you warm liquids go down easier than freezing cold. I take nexxium because I get burning in my chest. I take gummy vitamins because the bariatric vitamins are so hard to get down. I still take pain meds with my surgeons blessing to promote rest and the unremitting pain I still have from chest tube and surgery. We are not going to,become addicted to pain meds if you have true pain. It is also true to take pain med before pain becomes unbearable.

What your doctor is alluding to is a referral to a gastroenterologist for and endoscopy to see if you have a restriction to swallowing. If so they can attempt to "stretch" esophagus so you can swallow better. The only thing I can suggest is keep your appointments and keep reporting these symptoms. I hope I helped a little and find comfort soon.

Popcicle. I know what u r going through the endoscopy the dr spoke of is where he puts a camera down into your stomach to c if there are any strictures or deformity or poss irritation in your stomach. Dont hesitate to go back to your dr everyone will tell you its going to b ok but they do not know what you are going through you know your body you know how you feel . If ya cannot tolerate fluids you will need further testing

Did your doctor prescribe promethazine? That's what keeps me from feeling nauseous. The vitamins and certain foods really make me want to vomit, and those pills help a LOT. I hope you get better soon!

Thank you all for your post. They were very informative. I had the endoscopy yesterday and the doctor stated after the procedure that he saw some sort of minor blockage and stretched the opening to my stomach about 1/2 cm. Someone mentioned the terms "stricture" which I don't really know what that means. Anyway, after the procedure I was hopeful everything would be alright, I actually felt ok after leaving the hospital; of course they pump you full of fluid, which is what I need. However, after only one day, I'm back to only being able to drink fluids and popsicles have been my friend. The problem is I still can't get enough fluid in. I tried to eat some mash potatoes, but after 4 spoonfuls, I vomited. (sorry to be so gross) I'm starting to get scared of eating anything that I can't drink and I can't drink hardly anything. Figure that one out. I feel so weak… I will continue to tell my doctor what's going on, but I don't see him again for another month. I have to go back to work next week. I only pray that things will improve. I'm still trying not to give up, what's the point anyway because it's not like I can put things back like they were. Anyway, I still appreciate any additional information shared regarding complications, maybe something you've experienced and overcome will work for me.

popsicle....I would continue to push through whatever doors need to be opened for you to have some resolution to your inability to get nutrition and fluids. This is a very unhealthy condition. Can you request a second opinion, or someone in a higher level of authority at the hospital or medical center where you go?

You can't go another month like this. And at this level, I cannot imagine going back to work, you have an issue that needs to be diagnosed properly until it is proven that you can tolerate nutrition.

Fight for yourself!!!

popsicle....I would continue to push through whatever doors need to be opened for you to have some resolution to your inability to get nutrition and fluids. This is a very unhealthy condition. Can you request a second opinion, or someone in a higher level of authority at the hospital or medical center where you go?

You can't go another month like this. And at this level, I cannot imagine going back to work, you have an issue that needs to be diagnosed properly until it is proven that you can tolerate nutrition.

Fight for yourself!!!

doing a little better but please see full update under separate post in same topic.

An update... what the heck am I doing wrong????

Well I don't know where I left off, as it has been a few days or a week since my last post. It's been a week since I had the endoscopic procedure where the physician inserted a balloon to address a blockage presumably caused by swelling and scar tissue. That worked somewhat as I have been able to increase my food intake; not much, but certainly better than before. Well actually I seem to have good days and bad days. For example, yesterday I was actually able to eat an egg, with 1/2 slice of finely diced ham and 1/2 slice finely diced cheese. I was so pleased. For lunch I had about 3 teaspoons of tuna fish salad; of course I had to chew all these foods slowly until they were almost like liquid, but still they went down and stayed down. I forgot what I had for dinner, I have to start writing this stuff down. Today on the other hand, it's not been a good day. I felt a little constipated, mainly proteins tend to do this to me - so I took a laxative. I actually meant to take a stool softener. Since then, it's been horrible. Horrible stomach cramping, running constantly to the bathroom to eliminate nothing, because nothing is really in me. Well actually I had some cereral, with lactaid milk. It was a very small amount of Special K cereal which I let sit until it softened enough to chew until it was liquid. Apparently not a good idea because shortly afterwards, the stomach cramping was almost unbearable. Sometimes I can't decide if I want to go to the bathroom or vomit or both. I'm still not getting in the proper amount of protein or fluid, which concerns me greatly. I did have about 8 ounces of lemonade yesterday too. I guess I was just too happy that I was able to eat/drink something that tasted halfway decent, though I didn't drink and eat at same time. I still feel extremely weak and do not sleep very well. I'm not fully back at work yet, but expect to go back full time next week. Actually I was in the office 1 day this week for a couple of hours and coupled with running a couple of errands, I was exhausted by the time I got home. I'm trying desperately to figure out how to make my sleeve happy, so that I can be happy. I haven't felt normal since before my surgery. I've been very depressed regarding all this and, yes I do see a therapist, but my next visit is not until next week. In fact I saw my regular physician this week, and asked that she place me back on my depression medication. I feel really sad about this because it's been almost a year, if not a year, since I've had to take this medication, but I know I can't fight this depressed mood on my own. I literally hate all the protein drinks I've tried so far, in fact I have cases of some of this stuff which is just sitting in the corner. I know I probably sound ungrateful, especially since I was so excited to have this surgery and stayed on my doctor's office and the insurance company to get it approved. Now, I feel a little "buyer's remorse" but it's not the surgery, I want the weight loss and needed help; but I never imagined how difficult this transition would be for me. Everyone says that it will get better. My DIL who also had the surgery says that it's like going through an addiction withdrawal, but it will get better. I hate feeling and being physically weak all the time. I live alone and have to do everything for myself... another thing that is probably contributing to my depression. I'm sorry to sound like such a cry-baby, I generally am considered the "strong one," except this time... Anyway, I keep writing in this forum because I do like to hear positive feedback and need all the suggestions, encouragement and shared experiences I can get. I am trying so hard to tell myself that things will get better. I have also been weaning myself off the pain meds, haven't had any in a few days. I don't have actual pain, though I do have serious stomach cramping associated with constipation/diarrhea. I take Gas X, which seems to help; but the other meds my doc gave me to help with acide reflux, don't help at all. They actually seem to contribute to more stomach cramping and diarrhea, so I stopped taking them. The pain meds did help me sleep, but now they are gone so sleeping has been difficult. I have sleeping pills, but I try not to take these either. I'm really not a "pill" person and don't need another addiction. I feel like a human slug, because I just walk from one room to the other, lay/sit down; sometimes I just walk around the house just to keep it moving. Oh geez, I think I'll stop writing now because I'm making my own self even more depressed. Thank you for being patient with my ramblings.