Band to sleeve and deadly worried

[moe1983 3]

Hi all,

I am new here although I've been following the threads and now I need your help.

8 years back I had a bad which was removed in July 15 due to enlargement of esophagus. Waited till march 16 to have a sleeve. After sleeve dr mentioned that I have motility issue in my esophagus. Now I'm 3rd week after op and deadly worried as I had a pain in my stomach (on and off) yesterday .good to mention that yesterday was my first day in mashed . Any advise to ease my mind as I feel my stomach is contracted due to stress I'm putting myself in .

Also please would you let me know signs of leak and when it shows when leak happens. Finally what is the period where leak happens and when you consider yourself safe or over it .

Thank you guys for your support

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[JamieLogical 8,684]

Leaks rarely happen more than a few days post-op. The only caveat would be if you were to develop an abscess somewhere along your staple line that caused something new to "open up". If you had a leak, you would probably know pretty fast. The symptoms would be severe. Extreme pain and fever.

If you are having a hard time with pureed foods, you can always take it back to full liquids. You don't HAVE to progress as quickly as your surgeon's plan allows. It's important not to progress ahead of schedule, but there is no harm in progressing behind schedule.

[AvaFern 3,516]

Like Jamie said, if you had a leak, unless it is a very minor one, you would likely know relatively quickly and it usually happens shortly after surgery. I was supremely paranoid about a leak and honestly the only thing that made me feel better was the passage of time and the fact that I never died, lol. I also took my temperature regularly because I knew it was the one quantitative thing I could measure to know if I had an issue. In theory once you've developed the fever, you likely have an infection, and that's a later sign, but taking my temperature and consistently seeing that I never developed a fever was what worked to calm my paranoia. I think I stopped thinking about it at around six months, but during that time even though I was worried about a leak, I never had any issues.

[moe1983 3]

Thank you for putting my mind at ease , also I have this spasm which i feel that it is blocking my drink, I never vomited but i feel its blocked . I have this esophagus enlargement from band. Anyone had the same issue and how you dealt with it .

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[moe1983 3]

Jamie, I am just referring to those who post scary things about leak 6 months and other stuff which make me even more paranoid . I always think that I will die and leave my 3 month boy alone . It is just killing feeling and regretting although I wanted to lose weight as I had in band . Also, what about this abscess and how could I know ?thank you again

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[2goldengirl 2,076]

Anyone who is worried this much about potential complications and "how would I know" REALLY needs to be having these discussions with their surgeon. I can't stress enough how important this is, for several reasons.

Just because your surgeon schedules your next visit "X" number of weeks out doesn't mean you can't call them any time you have a question or concern, even nights or weekends. There is always a surgeon on call.

[moe1983 3]

I agree , but I did the operation in one country and I live and work in other one which will not allow me to meet him regularly . Thus I believe this forum to share info and help each other unless you believe not.

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[2goldengirl 2,076]

@@moe1983, then call. Aftercare is part of what you paid for.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Worrying is accomplishing nothing. If you start to develop severe pain or fever, THEN you should start worrying. Until then, you are just making yourself crazy. Esophageal spams are VERY common post-sleeve while you are healing. I had them with every single little teeny tiny sip I took for the first 2-3 weeks post-op and ultimately they went away as I healed and I was just fine. If you aren't in pain, aren't running a fever, and are able to get in your liquids and Protein, then just focus on the things within your control and don't worry so much.

[Cape Crooner 589]

You can also visit with you PCP. If you have a complication, it's an emergency and likely covered one way or another...

[NoMoBand 278]

Moe, Probably all normal things you are experiencing and coming here to see if others might or may have experienced what you are experiencing is one of the reasons this site exists and is about. I remember experiencing stomach pain at first and probably due to spasms. I didn't worry much because I read at another support site that others had experienced the same. I did talk to my doctor about it, but, before I did, I was comforted to know that I wasn't in trouble or dying. I completely understand where you are coming from. Hang in there it will get better. jake

[moe1983 3]

@@NoMoBand thank you so much and this exactly what I am looking for . Have you revised your band to sleeve ? How was your journey . My esophagus is enlarged and currently I feel good are getting stuck .

Thanks for your support

Moe

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[moe1983 3]

@@JamieLogical thank you so much . Just what worries is coming from the history of band with esophagus enlargement and I don't know if it is spasm which will resume by its own or a stricture which I don't know .

Thank you Jamie

Moe

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[NoMoBand 278]

Moe, I have revised from band to sleeve due my esophagus also enlarging. I'm 11 months into my journey and it is going extremely well with the exception that weight loss is much slower and I'm ok with that. There is a Huge difference between band and sleeve with all positives on the sleeve! Once you have healed you will learn to appreciate the sleeve and the "no mores" - no more stuck episodes, no more sliming, no more choking episodes while sleeping, no more unfills/fills, no more worries about ending up in an emergency situation and no bariatric medical experience available, no more port issues, no more high maintenance, no more..............

Congratulations on your revision. You won't regret it one bit! You will be fine! jake

[moe1983 3]

Great journey and so happy to hear something positive . Have you go any spasm or any food getting stuck at 3 weeks post sleeve also did your esophagus issue resumed .

Thank you and hope to hear from you .

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