Back and torso discomfort 16 days post-op

[blackfalls 25]

I was feeling almost completely back to normal for about a week up until Wednesday morning. Some short-lived fatigue after doing things like taking a shower (but that's normal when you're only getting 500 calories a day, right?).

When I woke up yesterday morning my back and torso felt weird. Not really pain, just discomfort like pressure there. I couldn't get confortable in bed, sitting, or standing. My breathing had been perfectly fine the evening before but with the discomfort I have to think about taking deep breaths and it causes more pressure in my back and belly.

I thought it would go away overnight but it was a little worse today.

Anyone else go through this? What did you do?

[NMJG 1,266]

GasX strips help. Also a heating pad does wonders.

[blackfalls 25]

I just don't think it's gas pain. I had gas pain and never had it in my back. And I had been gas painfree for about a week until this. It feels a little different. like that drain is back in my abdoment touching my phrenic nerve or something.

[Daydra 345]

Having a couple thoughts on this. Disclaimer: You should always check with your doc if you are experiencing anything you're not sure about. You never know what might be indicative of something that needs to be checked out.

Having said that... I had some similar experiences. #1, if 500 cal is causing you to experience fatigue, that # of calories isn't sufficient to support you and you should consult with your doc on increasing your calories. We weigh about the same and I cannot function on 500 calories.

Are you experiencing any nausea? Getting a handle on that can help you get enough calories and Fluid to keep you going and reduce fatigue if that's the case.

Has the fatigue been causing you to spend more time in bed? I went about three weeks at that level or a little lower due to nausea and had so little energy that I was in bed every minute I could manage. The fatigue also got to the point where I very nearly passed out in the shower. Even on better days, I had to lay down for a little bit between my shower and getting dressed so I could rest.

Spending so much time in bed caused a backache for me that hurt more with deep breaths. My abdomen/torso also began to hurt with any deep breath. Mostly along my sides towards the front and around my diaphragm.

Are you having regular bowel movements? For me, whatever combination of circumstances were, it seemed like the backache was from being in bed so much, but I was also constipated. Once I managed to have a bowel movement (I was impacted. It took exlax, a suppository, an attempt at self digital extraction (that wasn't a good time...), and an enema to have a bowel movement and it was horrible...) the ache in my abdomen was gone, so I think for me that part of it was just being backed up and the discomfort of gas behind the blockage.

If you are having problems with gas, I read somewhere that the simethicone in the gasx or mylanta gas can't really help. They can only address gas in your upper digestive tract. Once the gas is in your intestines, it's a bit of a different game. My mother in law swears by this gas relief tea. I believe it's made by Traditional Medicinals. Might be worth a try.

At any rate, anytime it seems something is going sideways, you should definitely call your doc and ask the question. They would vastly prefer spending 5 minutes on the phone with you to you sitting at home suffering or worrying what might be wrong.

Best of luck!

[blackfalls 25]

Thanks for all the advice Daydra! Ended up spending 9 hours in the hospital today after using ex-lax, metamucil and a suppository which all got things moving but the pain remained. And got worse.

Had a ton of testing done - bloodwork, xrays, contrast CT. My D-dimer was really high so they thought it was a pulmonary embolism but the CT was clear. I'm going for an ultrasound tomorrow. Thinking maybe it's my gallbladder or maybe acute pancreatitis.

[Daydra 345]

Thanks for all the advice Daydra! Ended up spending 9 hours in the hospital today after using ex-lax, metamucil and a suppository which all got things moving but the pain remained. And got worse.

Had a ton of testing done - bloodwork, xrays, contrast CT. My D-dimer was really high so they thought it was a pulmonary embolism but the CT was clear. I'm going for an ultrasound tomorrow. Thinking maybe it's my gallbladder or maybe acute pancreatitis.

Yikes! Sounds like you are having a heck of a time! I'm really glad you got in to the hospital, though 9 hours in the ER is never fun (I was there for 8 last Monday, doing much the same thing...) Did they only do the CT on your lungs? If so, I'm surprised they didn't do full abdominal to get a look at gallbladder, etc.

Good luck getting it figured out. I really hope that they are able to find an answer and get you on the mend, ASAP!

Sending healing thoughts,

dd

[blackfalls 25]

Yikes! Sounds like you are having a heck of a time! I'm really glad you got in to the hospital, though 9 hours in the ER is never fun (I was there for 8 last Monday, doing much the same thing...) Did they only do the CT on your lungs? If so, I'm surprised they didn't do full abdominal to get a look at gallbladder, etc.

Good luck getting it figured out. I really hope that they are able to find an answer and get you on the mend, ASAP!

Sending healing thoughts,

dd

Thanks dd! The abdominal ultrasound turned out to show nothing out of the ordinary. The follow up with the ER doctor who ordered it gave me an enema kit and I asked for buscopan. The going diagnosis is still Constipation.< /p>

But I used the enema kit and nothing happened except for liquid in liquid out.

I just don't know. I really want a bariatric surgeon's second opinion. My own surgeon was in Mexico and hasn't been much help. The ER doctor referred to me the bariatric clinic. I am hoping they will contact me soon. My family doctor referred me to them awhile ago and I've heard nothing.

I can't just continue taking painkillers forever. (Tylenol 3s) Unless I want to f**k up my liver. And I can't work while taking T3s because of the codeine. I work in a hospital and it would be unsafe for my patients.

I need real answers.

[peachie86 63]

I pray the bariatric clinic contact you soon!

[Daydra 345]

I agree, I hope the bariatric clinic contacts you soon as well. So, the constipation... (here comes my barrage of questions... not necessarily to answer, but to think about and consider) How long has it been since you had a bowel movement? They didn't find impaction? The enema was ineffective, did you hold it long enough? So, there is a bariatric clinic near you and you're waiting for a call. I would call and pester them. If you have to suck it up and pay out of pocket for an appointment, it will likely be worth it at this point. This is not something that you can just ignore, all potential serious problems aside, there is no reason you should have to sit around in pain just because you haven't been able to figure it out. If there is any confidence that it truly is Constipation and the enema didn't work, you could possibly try a colonic (I make no claim to the safety or medical appropriateness of doing a colonic while you are constipated, definitely run it by your doc if you think about doing it) (I've done a couple. They're weird and somewhat unpleasant, but once you get over the mental squeamishness, they're not a big deal).

If all your testing is clear, I think constipation seems like the most likely culprit. The tylenol 3 is only keeping your peristalsis slowed down, so it helps the discomfort, but also could be exacerbating the problem. During all this, are you continuing with a stool softener? (docusate sodium or Miralax, or whatever?) I really don't know... I think I'm tapped out of advice. When I was constipated, I hit it with everything I had. I started on the softener, used a stimulant laxative, followed up with a suppository, and then followed that up with an enema. Even that only got me about 1/2 way to where I needed to be, but continuing to thoughtfully hit it with additional treatments and sticking with daily Miralax eventually got me back on a reasonable schedule.

Good luck! Pester that bariatric clinic. They aren't going to feel any pressure to quickly contact you, you are the one suffering.

I really hope that you get it figured out and start feeling better soon!

[blackfalls 25]

I really hope that you get it figured out and start feeling better soon!

I got it figured out.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/96842-my-rare-complication