Complications - My RNY Story

[Sporin 40]

I've been waiting to post my story because I'm afraid it will come out too negatively and may scare off folks looking into surgery. Now that I'm where I am in the recovery process, I feel like I can tell the tale. Plus, I think the stories that are tough are just as important to the discussion.

I had RNY on October 5th 2016. I had it at DHMC in Lebanon NH with Dr. Truss, they have an excellent program and great safety & success stats there. I did months of Dr. supervised diet, psych visits, and all the other Insurance prerequisites. My program weight was 413 lbs and I was 45 years old.

On the day of surgery I was 385 (mostly thanks to the 2 week pre-op diet), my blood pressure was perfect and I was in high spirits. I went into surgery, came out and felt good. I had the broth and Jello they give you, then immediately started feeling pains in my stomach which my Doctor at first judged to be "normal." But it got worse, and that's when things start getting fuzzy. I remember going down for a scan where I was standing and drinking a liquid so they could watch it flow through me. I remember sitting down in a chair after this... and that's the last thing I remember for over a month.

Long story short, everything that could go wrong, did. I had blood clots in my remnant stomach, no one knows why. They split me open and went in to clean that up. I got sepsis. My fever spiked and they couldn't bring it down. One of my lungs collapsed, and my kidneys started failing. Everything was going very badly. They put me in an induced coma because I was trying to pull tubes out and they needed me resting. They filled me full of fluids adding nearly 100lbs. to my overall weight. I was grossly bloated (I've seen the pictures). The skin on feet shed like a snake. They put in a trach. A couple weeks one very insightful Doctor suggested that maybe I was allergic to the very common paralytic they gave me. They stopped giving it to me, administered an antidote of some sort, and my condition began to improve. No one had any idea I was allergic to it, I'd never had surgery before.

All in all I had 11 surgeries. I have a piece of biomesh holding my stomach muscles together. They expect that to dissolve by fall and the Docs expect me to develop a hernia at that time so they are planning on another surgery in the fall.

My wife says I was trying to communicate, with open eyes, long before I remember waking up. She has pictures of me and my eyes are open but it's clear there's no lights on.

When I woke up, I didn't understand where I was or what was going on. I had been out so long, and pumped full of so many drugs, that I had been living in a dreamworld in my head. I thought I'd gone on a drug-fueled bender and crashed my car. I thought I was sleeping every night on a battleship, or a space ship, I had a million crazy theories and thoughts and they all seem totally real to me. My hallucinations lasted well into the time I was in rehab. They put me on an anti-psychotic developed esspecially for patients who had prolonged ICU stays and it slowly cleared my head.

I couldn't speak because of the trach. I had lost over 100lbs while in the ICU for nearly 2 months, mostly muscle wasting from my legs and arms. I couldn't stand or walk. My hands where so shaky that I couldn't write. So I mouthed words and my amazing wife and friends did their best to read my lips. It was so frustrating. Every time I asked my wife what happened she'd start crying so it took a long time to get the full story, and even longer to accept it. Because my hallucinations were so strong, they bled into reality. I didn't know what was real.

My wife had a steady stream of friends and family visiting me, sitting with me so that she could do some work, or take a break. My in-laws are full time RV'ers who spend winter in Florida, instead, they moved into our house and took care of my wife and son. They kept his life as "normal" as possible with school, dinner on the table, basketball practice, etc. I'm forever indebted to them.

As my health improved, I moved to stage 2 of the trach where I could finally speak if I held my finger over my neck. This was AMAZING. I have always been chatty, plus I sing and play the ukulele. I thought I'd never speak again, much less sing. Thankfully that has all come back. I was able to finally have conversations with my visitors and start sorting through everything that had happened. I would frequently ask "Real? Or not real?" about things I remembered. I took advantage of the massages and total care and eventually started PT and OT.

My emotions where another challenge. I would cry at the drop of a hat. When I wasn't in tears, I was very flat emotionally. Everyone, nurses, PT's, OT's, family & friends could see it but I thought that was just my new "normal." It was only after I was home that the fog truly lifted and I started feeling like myself again.

On December 6th I stood up for the very first time (see attached photo). That was a GREAT day.

All in all I was in the ICU for nearly 2 months, then a regular hospital room, then off to rehab for almost 3 weeks, then back at the hospital for an abscess next to my pancreas for 2 weeks, then back at rehab for a week. Now I've been home since January.

Things were tough at first. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't do stairs yet so I had a rented hospital bed in the living room for a few weeks. We all had the challenging of having me back home, re-integrating me into everyone's lives. it wasn't easy at first, but over the last 3 months we've found our way. I'm doing weekly outpatient PT, I've ditched the crutches I came home with and warm weather meant I could finally do laps of our neighborhood. I'm getting stronger every day, my head is clear, my smile is bright, and I'm loving life.

The only hiccup since I've been home is that I went out to breakfast at a local diner just a few days after returning home. I ate a tiny bit of food, but halfway through Breakfast, I passed out. My wife said it looked like a seizure as I was shaking , and my eyes rolled back in my head. When I awoke, my friends (who we were dining with, one of them was my OT) were already calling 911. I left for the hospital in an ambulance. What the Docs there found after 2 days of monitoring was the the blood pressure medicine that DHMC had put me on was unnecessary, and my B{ had crashed, causing my fainting. They took me off those meds and I've been fine ever since.

So... take away all those complications and the question I get from everyone is... "was it worth it?" I can say now, that yes it was. I've lost 150lbs and will continue to lose. I currently weigh around 260lbs, I've lost 14 inches off my waist and I'm down 3 shirt sizes. It took a while to learn what my pouch likes and doesn't like because the hospital and rehab controlled my eating and portions for so long. Though I'm 6 months out from my surgery, I really am only 3 months out on my own, making my own food choices, and mistakes. Mostly, I can eat what I want, just in very small qualities. I don't really get hungry any more. I eat small portions of healthy food, avoid fried food and sweets, try to get enough Protein, take my Vitamins, and exercise. The Gastric Bypass worked, it was the complications that nearly killed me, and they are rare.

My wife kept a Caring Bridge Journal if you want the play-by-play. It, and the pictures she took, have been an invaluable resource as I've recovered and tried to piece together the time I lost. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davemorin/journal/index/0/0/asc

In conclusion, I hope this story helps someone here. I got a lot of great info from this forum before my surgery and my intent is not to slam RNY, my caregivers, or try to discourage anyone. I just hope that it can be educational about some of the risks.

Edited March 28, 2017 by Sporin
corrections

[gryffen 176]

Wee man, my hats off too you and your whole family! It's very important for these stories to be told so thank you for having the guts for sharing it.

Be safe, kick ass and sending love from Scotland (I'm a girl! [emoji16])

[Sporin 40]

Thank you gryffen, it's been quite a journey.

[orionburn 1,023]

Holy crap man...my complications are a drop in a bucket to what you went through. I think it's great that you're still positive about it all despite going through all of that. Glad to hear that you are doing so much better and for sharing your story. Best of luck to you!

[clc9 644]

Lord Almighty, what a frightening experience. I'm so glad you're still here to tell us about it! I hope the rest of your story is nothing but smooth sailing and lots of success. You have earned at least that and so much more...

[nocturnalgemi 66]

My heart goes out to you! The whole time I was reading your story, all I could think was "OMG"...I can't even begin to imagine how much you suffered. I'm glad you're doing so much better now and I hope you continue to get better still!

Sent from my SM-G920T using BariatricPal mobile app

[Amy Turner 16]

It even hard to imagine what you went through. The bright days are near…my best wishes for you

[Christina.Rose 287]

Your positivity is amazing. Im generally pessimistic and negative but you really opened my eyes. Wow, I am so grateful my surgery has gone well and so grateful my complaints are so insignificant in the big picture. God bless you and your family. I hope you get to your goal weight and have a happy wonderful life!

[Donna1017 5]

I'm so glad that you are on your way to a happy ending! Wow, how scary for you and especially your family. Best wishes for your continued success!

[Sporin 40]

Thank you everyone! I really do feel really good now, my strength is coming back and I'm hoping to be near-100% by the middle of the summer.

[crocodoxie 223]

Thank goodness you're okay. What a journey to read about, wow! Glad you had such wonderful support from your family. I wish you smooth and calm sailing for the years ahead.