Dr Ponce - complications

[kerrbeari 14]

I was sleeved in Mexico on Tues March 26th by Dr Ponce and my coordinator was Trish. Pretty much what everyone else said about the Int hospital, the Lucerna Hotel, and Dr Ponce was exactly what I saw/got. Great treatment at a very clean small hospital with great care and a beautiful hotel. My story is a little different than the easy breezy stories I read about before I left. I woke up from surgery in pain in my stomach & mid back. This was to be expected I guess but I've had a c-section before & the pain from the vsg was worse. Thankfully I had no gas pain or nausea. My issues started the day after I was released (Good Friday). I was getting the chills (no fever) & noticed my main incision site had a red circle around it & looked swollen. Trish took me back to the hospital & Dr Oscar told me a had a hematoma & a small bacterial infection & gave me a prescription for antibiotics. Trish took me to fill the prescription (she filled it) & Dr Oscar told me he would come by my hotel at 6 pm to check me out as I was leaving very early the next morning. He told me to get the brand name drugs & not generic - I assumed Trish heard/knew this. He told me that if I noticed any puss to go to my dr. So that night Dr Oscar didn't show up at my hotel or call to tell me he wasn't coming. The hotel also called & said they needed payment for my "extra" night. I was under the impression the $5500 I paid included 2 nights at the hospital (Tues & Wed) and 2 nights at the hotel (Thurs & Fri). When Trish came by I told her and she said she would split my "extra" night 50/50. Since I wasn't feeling up to arguing & I was going to tip her $50 anyway I paid the $45 (I didn't tip her). I left Sat morning at 4 am & the driver of my van said that we needed to stop at another hotel to pick up 2 other patients of Trish. I knew there had been another vsg patient thar left the day before & a plastic surgery patient of Trish's who was also staying at the Lucerna. We got to the hotel & of course no one was waiting for a ride. We waited for 15 min & of course no one was there. The driver called Trish & apparently they weren't going to be there until Mon. The driver was mad & worried that I wasn't going to make it on time. We got to the border & there was a huge line up of drunk walking people waiting to get back to the States. Luckily my line was short & quick so no problems making it to the airport on time. I noticed after I got home that the circle had gotten bigger but I thought the hematoma had gotten bigger from the flight. I was still getting the chills but Dr Oscar had told me that was a part of recovering from surgery. Tues I got out of the shower & was combing my hair when I looked down and saw blood soaked thru my towel - it was actually Fluid & puss. More puss came out while I was waiting 4 my ride so much it was running down my leg. I went to a walk in dr who sent me straight to the ER as I had an infection. A 4 hour wait later & the ER dr said I had an abscessed infection gave me IV antibiotics & scheduled an appt for the next day with the hospital for an appt with an Infectious disease specialist. He confirmed cellulitis & I had another IV (took 4 pokes to get in) & was given a pump & 5 days of at home antibiotics. By day 2 of the antibiotics I was starting to feel nauseous. By the 5th day I was having stomach pain as well as the dry heaving. The Internal disease spec said he couldn't advise me on my stomach pain as he is not a surgeon but said it was likely part of recovering from the surgery. The next day I was in constant pain & still nauseous. I was suppose to be on full liquids but anything but H2O felt like a rock & then more pain. I made another trip to the ER & was given an X-ray, morphine, 2 liters of fluids, & a nausea reliever. The dr said my bowel is in shock after the surgery & antibiotics & advised me to chew gum, drink coffee, & have fibre (Metamucil). He gave me Percocet to help with the pain. The pain is much worse when I "eat". It's been a week & the nausea is gone but the pain is still there. It's getting better & hopefully I can get back to work soon. I started at 309 & am now 278 but have been to miserable to enjoy the weight loss so far lol. A side note - in a moment of misery I emailed Trish & asked her if the antibiotics she got me were brand name or generics & she said she didn't know - Dr Oscar told me many Mexican labs are unreliable so if u go to Mexico be sure to get the brand name drugs- perhaps my infection could have been avoided & then the bowel shock as well. Not that I am saying its Trish's fault. I haven't heard from her in 2 weeks after asking her about that & the hotel bill ( she told me only 1 night at the hotel was included). She is a great person but i think she has a lot on her plate & i came at a bad time (Holy week) so she was a bit distracted. I am grateful that Canadian healthcare covers the complications from surgery performed outside Canada! I hope I can get back to feeling normal so I can start enjoying my journey instead of regretting it!

[Newme48 104]

Keep your intake light and hopefully you are still on Clear Liquids. Do you think maybe they should check your sleeve for a leak? Just in case? I hope all goes well. Sorry you had to go through all of that. Keep us updated. Remember infections slow down the healing process. Keep fresh dressings at the abscess and frequent changes to encourage the drainage of pus.

[kerrbeari 14]

The infection is gone (knock on wood) puss long gone thank god. incision still healing & nasty looking compared to the others which look nice. On full liquids but that's about 2 or 3 tablespoons of yogurt or Soup a day. The Percocet wasn't able to block the pain from that even (I refuse to take more than 1 at a time). Finally starting to be able to handle coffee or Metamucil without severe cramps. I hope I can get back to work very soon but can't drive on the Percocet.

[kerrbeari 14]

No leak as I have no infection, my digestion is fine, & only pain is in the stomach. Dr's were not worried about that or a blockage. Their only concern was pancreatis but X-ray & blood work cleared that. Glad all the poking is done!

[magpie30 187]

Yeiks! What a scary journey! I'm glad that you are finally starting to heal. just keep sipping the fluids and getting in what you can. hang in there, i'm pretty sure the worst is over for you!! It can only get better from here!! Good luck!

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

Fluid & puss. cellulitis

kerrbeari

have to repeat what OP have said - and the new OP that follow this thread

what a terrible experience you went through

i wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy

what a mess!!!

you were understandably upset, scared, angry

sounds like things are gradually improving??,

you are ready to work with the sleeve successfully??

do you have a NUT or your regular dr here that will advice you on your after care???

I sure hope so!!!!

if you don't have any medical advice, try and get some

look for a dr /nut that can at least briefly help you through this hard time of recuperation

go to your local hospital - (even though they didn't perform WLS)

i'm sure they would direct you to a support group

are you alone at home - do you have mom, family around to help you???

I wouldn't push going back to work - you need to take it easy

i think it would be worse to go back to work - be exhausted 1/2 way through the day, and just hurting too much

better to explain to your boss you need more time off

of course the above is IMO

take care

i hope you continue to feel better

soon resume a normal life with the sleeve

luck, luck, and more luck

[kerrbeari 14]

My family dr was aware that I was going for the surgery & had me take some blood tests & ultra sound before I went. Unfortunately she was & still is on vacation until the 22nd so I couldn't go to her with my complications.

Today is the first day since the bowel problems started that I haven't had any pain meds! Hoping I can get back to work tomorrow. We'll see if I make it the whole day. I won't push myself & my job is 95% desk work.

Thanks everyone for their concern & comments.

[Zen 29]

This sounds like a nightmare I'm so so sorry and am glad your feeling better. I hope the pain is nothing more than healing. Just be careful because my stomach pain was minimal. Prayers and hugs coming your way.

[Talee4life 36]

Wow , glad everything is better now!

[hadouni 301]

Very happy to hear you are improving but what a scary experience! My heart goes out to you!

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,145]

I'm sorry to hear you had a rough time but I'm happy you're on the mend. Keep us posted.

Any idea how this came to be?

[kerrbeari 14]

My first thought was because I had surgery in Mexico but the Dr's here assured me that bacterial infections are a normal complication from surgery - I didn't get a crazy tropical infection. The bowel shock (sorry I can't remember the medical term) is another complication from surgery & antibiotics. I was just unlucky. It could have been much worse - I didn't require any additional surgeries (ie a leak) & they didn't have to drain my abscess.

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,145]

My first thought was because I had surgery in Mexico but the Dr's here assured me that bacterial infections are a normal complication from surgery - I didn't get a crazy tropical infection. The bowel shock (sorry I can't remember the medical term) is another complication from surgery & antibiotics. I was just unlucky. It could have been much worse - I didn't require any additional surgeries (ie a leak) & they didn't have to drain my abscess.

I'm glad you're recovering and congrats on your weight loss!