My Rare Complication

[blackfalls 25]

I am 27 years old with no previous health problems except being diagnosed with hypothyroidism 2 weeks prior to surgery which I had on September 10. I was doing great post-op. I was ready to go back to work after two weeks. I was very excited for September 25th. That was the day I got to start pureed foods. I had been so sick of Protein Shakes. Life was great. Then came September 25th. I woke up with back, abdominal, and chest pain. I thought it would go away so I ignored it and started pureed foods. The next morning I woke up around 2am in horrible pain. My back hurt so much that I could not lie flat. I spent the entire rest of the morning sitting in a chair rocking back and forth. And it happened again the following morning. I was so tired. I went to a walk-in clinic. The doctor worrie about sepsis although I did not have a fever. He ordered bloodwork an abdominal and chest x-rays. I went home after the testing and threw up the Protein Shake I had been trying to get down all morning. Everything came back normal. I continued the sleep deprivation routine until the 28th. Then I decided to go to the ER. Spent several hours in the hospital for tests and morphine but ended up being misdiagnosed with Constipation despite my D-Dimer and Lipase being high. They did a CT of my chest to rule out pulmonary embolism (which was negative) but did not do a CT of my abdomen which they really should have because of the combination of D-Dimer and Lipase. I was sent home with Tylenol 3s (which cause constipation) and a nightly oral laxative and told I would be called for an abdominal ultrasound in a day or two. The Tylenol 3s did not work very well. My pain was horrible. I dutifully took the nightly laxative. Two days later I went in for the ultrasound. They found nothing. The ER doctor followed up with me to give me the results and then gave me an enema kit to take home. The constipation diagnosis stood. I went home and used it. It did not do anything. That week I began to have horrible 10 out of 10 painful abdominal attacks followed by diarrhea. I was in so much pain that death was preferable. I wanted to go back to the ER but I felt I would not get anywhere. They would just give me morphine. I decided to go to my family doctor instead and try to get referred to a GI specialist but she brushed off my concerns and said there was nothing wrong with me (I live in Canada where the health system is such that you cannot just go see a specialist. You must be referred. And your family doctor, walk-in clinic doctor, or ER doctor are the gatekeepers). She took me off the Tylenol 3s (which were not working anyway) and off the oral laxative which she said was causing my abdominal cramping. I followed her instructions. The abdominal attacks subsided in the following days but the constant abdominal pain remained. During the whole ordeal of 2 weeks I had not been eating and had been barely drinking. I would get at most 4-5 cups of Water a day. It was difficult. I was worried I would just cause more constipation. But I decided I needed to push through and start eating. I began with a Protein shake. After having half of it I had to stop. An hour later I dryheaved several times. Later that day I tried a tablespoon of hummus. I had pain almost immediately after eating slowly. I was fed up. I was in pain, I could not eat, I could barely drink. Despite all these doctors telling me I was fine, I was most assuredly NOT fine. I decided it was time to get a second opinion. I ended up driving 1.5 hours to a newer hospital in a large city where I used to live. That was 5 days ago. They took me seriously in the ER and did the test (CT abdomen) that the previous hospital failed spectacularly to do (I am very upset about this still because of what could have happened if I hadn't sought a second opinion). Turns out I have many clots in my portal vein, splenic vein, and mesenteric vein. Finally, FINALLY, I got a surgical consult. So now I am in hospital attached to a heparin drip. Today is my 5th day in hospital. If they had not found out my real diagnosis, my bowel could have infarcted meaning parts of my bowel could have died. I would have had to have surgery to remove the dead bowel. I may have ended up with a colostomy bag to collect feces on the outside of my body. I could have stroked. I could have had a brain aneurysm. I could have thrown a pulmonary embolism. I could have had a heart attack. I COULD HAVE DIED. All these possibilities had I not listened to my gut feeling and fought for myself. These clots are a very rare complication of any laparoscopic surgery. I was just lucky enough to get it. I did some research about my condition. I may be only the 3rd person to get these type of clots following uneventful laparoscopic sleeve surgery. I will be in the hospital for another couple of days. Never been hospitalized before (excluding the sleeve surgery). Q6H bloodwork is cruel and unusual punishment and should be outlawed. My poor elbow is a mess from all the pokes.

Edited October 11, 2013 by blackfalls

[Teachamy 1,042]

Wow. An amazing story. So glad that it did not end tragically and that you fought for yourself! What measures can be taken to penalize the unbelievably horrible hospitals/doctors that misdiagnosed you?

[Shells_Almost_There 357]

Wow, very sorry to hear this, but happy that you self-advocated and got the help you needed. I hope that all is smooth sailing from here on out!!!

[blackfalls 25]

What measures can be taken to penalize the unbelievably horrible hospitals/doctors that misdiagnosed you?

Great question! The answer is none. Just the way the cookie crumbles in Canada.

[SeaLegs 38]

You are so lucky to be alive! "Just a little Constipation, honey", my foot! Congratulations for pushing despite being weak and in pain. Please make copies of your post and send to everyone who was involved in your care, very important!

So if you are only the third person to have this complication, I wonder who is going to include you in their statistics? You had your sleeve in Mexico, right? I hope one of your providers publishes your case study.

Get well soon!

[HoosierGirl 780]

I am so glad you pushed to understand what was wrong! Good for you! Hope you are feeling better and better. Keep us updated!

[chefcoll 53]

Sending you a HUGE hug!

[rhw94123 115]

Wow - you were so smart. You must be so shaken to have dodged such a bullet. I hope this resolves smoothly and that you (eventually) get to the fulfilling part of having been sleeved! Best thoughts to you as you trudge through this!

[GreenEyedFireCracker 21]

WOW! Ah-mazing! Considering I was sleeved on the same day, this hits close to home! So glad you are getting better! Just curious...did you ever contact your surgeon? Mine told me that there are a lot of people in the medical profession (including Doctors!) that aren't familiar with bariatric surgery and what to look for and how to treat.

[blackfalls 25]

Just curious...did you ever contact your surgeon?

My surgeon is in Mexico. I emailed her the day after my symptoms started and never got a reply back. (I had emailed her previously for something else and gotten a response within a day.) I emailed her parts of this post today as a courtesy. Not holding my breath to hear back.

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,145]

My surgeon is in Mexico. I emailed her the day after my symptoms started and never got a reply back. (I had emailed her previously for something else and gotten a response within a day.) I emailed her parts of this post today as a courtesy. Not holding my breath to hear back.

I'm relieved that you persisted and got an answer. Scary to think what may have happened if you hadn't sought out another opinion.

It is a shame you Mexico contact went silent when communicated your complications to them. Due to the rise in Medical Tourism it is important they track the good, the bad, and the heartbreaking. To not do so is dangerous and disingenuous.

Have you considered trying to contact your surgeon directly if possible?

[debraeve 36]

Your a miracle !!!Thank god you went for another option you must be your own dr .I hope after this you will be back to normal get better

[blackfalls 25]

Have you considered trying to contact your surgeon directly if possible?

I have her personal email address and that's how I've been in contact with her. I hope she will respond to my email. I'll let you all know if she does.

[Fixerupper 335]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your story. It is a reminder to all of us that we have to stay in tune with our bodies and be our own best advocates.

[SkinnyScarlett 57]

Oh my stars - what an incredible journey! Im so glad you perservered and listened to your instincts. We know our bodies better than anyone - and you have shown us all how important it is to listen to our guts - literally and figuritively!

Take good care and many wishes for a successful and unevently recovery!

S.