hi,

i'm almost 4 months out from vsg surgery and i had a rough time the first six weeks with getting in food and Water, but i started to feel much better over time. i did get the slimies a lot and vomitted quite a few times but i learned i was just eating too fast for my own good. at my three month checkup i had a upper gi series done and they found a 2cm contained leak. i couldn't believe it as i was feeling pretty good, no fever, or any other real symptoms. i have had pain on my left side and shoulder but i'm thinking it was muscular.

so i spent five days in the hospital. they gave me a ct scan to check for abcesses, there were none, i didn't have an infection. i suppose my body just built protection around the leak. i got an endoscope done and they decided to GLUE the leak. the next day i had a horrific time with this, they shoved that black tube down my throat and glued that sucker up. i had a sore throat and esophagus for days after. it's been a week now since they glued me. i don't know if it's going to work or not. i'm still able to eat and drink. the surgeon who did my vsg wanted me to get a tube down to my jejunum and not eat anything for 4-6 weeks, but the specialist here had different ideas.

i'm very nervous and scared now. i feel 'okay'. i'm not foaming or throwing up anymore actually, but my nerves are shot. i'm worried the leak isn't going to heal or it will get bigger or something bad is going to happen. i'm kind of like that, a worry wart. i read all these leak stories and people suffer so badly and i don't really think 'physically' i'm suffering but i think i should be. it's a leak after all.

do you think glue would really work? the surgeon's office told me if i had not had the upper gi series the leak would probably have eventually healed on it's own. i wonder if the vomitting i experienced tore something. the leak was at the esophageal/stomach junction, i believe that's the most popular place for leaks. i feel kind of pissed off i self paid for this surgery and ended up a statistic.

i'm sorry i had to vent. i really need support. i don't have a lot of people to talk to about this and those who i do have, i don't want to burden them.

AnaBanana,

Your journey sounds nearly identical to mine. After I was sleeved on 12/10, my leak was discovered on 12/22. Contained Leak fOund on CT scan. I have been back to the hospital a couple times since. Once for 12 days and once for 7 days. I am now at home on an NJ tube and IV antibiotics via PICC line. I have my Upper GI and CT scan on the 6th, the day after yours.

I am praying that your leak has finally healed and you can resume a "normal" life. Dealing with a leak is really discouraging because of the lengthy treatment course. I hope that my leak tests on the 6th go well too. I am so tired of living this way. I just want to be free of all the tubes and be able to drink a sweet tea Over the last week, i Have been feeling really hungry and getting depressed over it. Today, I actually chewed a piece of fajita chicken for a minute and spit it out. It actually made me feel a little better. Pitiful, but it did help.

Good luck on the 5th! Keep us updated.

Tiffany

I read a recent article (I want to say it was the Journal on Bariatrics) that indicated one research study found that glue was the optimal intervention on leaks instead of a "surgical" response. Hope it goes well for you.