Lots of concerns?

[lily_x 2]

My surgery was May 15th, 2014 and I've had nothing but problems. I'm 20 years old and I started at 334 and now I'm down to 289 in just one month. It's difficult for me to eat because I get so sick and throw it up often. It's been a week of straight dry heaving but today I projectilely vomitted a bitter yellow liquid. I have photos of it (disgusting I know) but my surgeons office is closed. Does anyone know what this could be from?

[JillC878 59]

Bitter yellow liquid sounds like stomach bile. Have you had something to eat yet today?

Are you getting any kind of reflux or burning feeling?

Are you able to keep fluids down?

Sorry more questions for you then answers. If you can't hold anything down and are vomiting bile, you really need to contact your surgeon. If it will be open tomorrow and it does not get worse, you could probably wait till tomorrow, but remember, we are not doctors and cant tell you anything for sure.

[lily_x 2]

Anything I eat I throw up, I couldn't take my medicine because I just kept throwing up even Water keeps coming up. I'm debating on going to the ER but I don't want my surgeon to get upset with me because he practices at a different hospital. My mom thinks I'm a hypochondriac but it's getting to the point where I can't bare it any longer.

[Jennifer0609 83]

You may be dehydrated. You could go to the ER for fluids. Ask for nausea medicine that is not a pill. There are suppositories for nausea- phenergan. Maybe this would help. Don't worry about your doctor being upset, this is your health and you need to do what's best for you

[JillC878 59]

I agree. Do what you think is best. Dont worry about you doctor or your family. I had to see a different MD for an infected incision because I was not go in to drive 2 hrs to see my surgeon. You know yourself and uou really could be dehydrated and the fluids may make you feel better.

Are you urinating? If not or if it is really dark yellow, it is a pretty good chance you are dehydrated.

[RickM 1,753]

Don't worry about your surgeon getting upset - you should be upset if he doesn't have 24/7 oncall provisions (in this line of medicine, somebody knowledgeable on staff should always be available to answer questions/concerns from new post-op patients.) They should be able to recognize common symptoms and provide some guidance (whether that be a change in medication or diet, waiting until the next available Dr. appointment, or go now to the ER.)

These are new experiences for all of us as we go through this process, particularly the early post-op phase, and we can't be expected to recognize all of the symptoms of potential problems - that's what the doc and his staff are for, so tough Cookies if they get upset at you making a decision for your medical care when they were not available to provide the guidance they should be providing.

With that vent done, if you can't get a hold of your surgeon's staff, I would go to the ER because the symptoms you describe may be for something quite serious that you don't want to wait on - possibly a stricture, twist or kink in your sleeve that isn't allowing things to pass (even Water not going through is a concern, unless it was Water immediately following some solid food that is slow to go througn.) But if even water isn't going through, you are in danger of getting dehydrated which can be an hospital trip unto itself.

It may be something quite benign, but without proper medical guidance (and we aren't doctors here....) you really can't tell on your own. When my wife was going through this, "not right" feelings the first weekend after surgery, she called the doc's number and talked to his RN program director (who was the on-call person that day) who listened and told her that she was just constipated - yes, it can feel different than it did before - but try this and that and call again on Monday if things don't improve. She would have had no hesitation to direct us to the ER if symptoms dictated (and we were 100 miles away from them,) and there was no question that the surgeon would have been on the phone to the ER docs if such action was necessary.

Care for yourself first, and then worry about others' feelings.

Good luck on this,

[RickM 1,753]

As a follow-up to the above, what happens if you call your surgeon's office number now - do you get endless ringing, voicemail, or a live answering service? Chances are that you will get a bored college student at an answering service who will tell you that office hours are X to Y, but if you tell them that it is an emergency, they will take down your message and forward it to your doc or on-call staff person and you will get a call back from them. That should be step one before going to the ER.

And, if all you get is voicemail or an answerdroid, please post the surgeon's name here so that others will know to avoid this guy - that would be very unprofessional practice for one in his line of work (if he didn't want to be bothered with emergency calls, he should have gone into dermatology - there aren't many overnight emergencies in that end of the medical world!)

Edited June 22, 2014 by RickM

[chocolate48diva 10]

Anything I eat I throw up, I couldn't take my medicine because I just kept throwing up even Water keeps coming up. I'm debating on going to the ER but I don't want my surgeon to get upset with me because he practices at a different hospital. My mom thinks I'm a hypochondriac but it's getting to the point where I can't bare it any longer.

If you have to ask go to emergency room save your life

[blondebomb 580]

My surgery was May 15th, 2014 and I've had nothing but problems. I'm 20 years old and I started at 334 and now I'm down to 289 in just one month. It's difficult for me to eat because I get so sick and throw it up often. It's been a week of straight dry heaving but today I projectilely vomitted a bitter yellow liquid. I have photos of it (disgusting I know) but my surgeons office is closed. Does anyone know what this could be from?

Sounds like bile...I have had issues with throwing up all last yr..Dr put me on zofran for nausea an vomiting. I had gastritis real bad from young till I was 16..the past several yrs it's resurfaced. ..I see this was a few wks ago I hope ur better..

[Patoonces 13]

All doctors have someone on call 24/7. This forum is helpful but it is not a replacement for a question that should be directed to a doctor. I called my surgeons practice about twice early on and they couldn't have made me more comfortable about calling. Hopefully you will have the same reaction because your concerns are valid as you should call.