Stomach leaks

[froufrou 678]

On 12/12/2019 at 4:44 PM, cubyblue6 said:

I'm in the hospital right now because of a leak!!! I'm at the end of my journey and I've been here for a month, had 3 chest tubes because the leak got in my lungs and collapsed one. They fixed up most of my problems now they're working on the stomach part which sounds like it's going to involve a stent. Is a stent painful?

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ugh, that sounds awful! You poor thing!

The stent can be uncomfortable... I had a fair amount of regurgitation but I think I was supposed to take that liquid... can't remember the name, starts with a C... nobody told me to take it until AFTER my stent came out! I think with that I would have been a lot more comfortable. As soon as I had the stent removed, it was instant relief. I mean... you have to have it if you have to have it, but know that there is an end. Hot Water bottles on my chest became my best friend. I don't know how many my poor husband had to make for me! My stent was actually stitched in place because the first 2 times didn't work. 3rd time the stent slipped... 4th time worked.

This is a hard road and I know exactly how you feel right now, both of you. But there is an end to it. It may not seem like it now, but it's worth it. We are just the 'lucky' few who have this happen.

[Tomkat 24]

@cathynthesky82 your left shoulder hurt? Mines been killing me like a horrible crick in it from ear to shoulder since day 3 post op. I’m day 8 now. Was that the only symptom?

[cubyblue6 61]

So my latest update is... they went in and sutured up the leak and then we did a leak test a couple days later and there was just a tiny whisp of a leak barely anything to notice but to to be cautious the docs decided they wanted to to back in and put a stent it to see if it would heal itself. Low and be hold I go in for my next leak test and find that I have what looks to be a different leak but worse. Doc said stent may have made it worse... great. So now they're going to remove the stent Monday which I can't wait for, this stupid thing is uncomfortable and then I guess I'm back to having the total stomach removal on Jan 10th but on the upside and still slightly confusing, they're letting me have some Water. I guess that's because my chest tube is grabbing it all.

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[Cathynthesky82 19]

I am so sorry. It’s so frustrating. I went in to have a blue line check, where they go in the drain. I still had two places that were leaking into my stomach. The doctor that put my drain in told me it could be 6 to 8 months to heal. When he said that, my heart sank. I called my bariatric doctor, I was so upset. I asked her isn’t there some way to stitch up my stomach. She said she had not yet seen my drain test results.
You have been going through this a lot longer than me. I’ve only been on TPN for 8 weeks. How have you held yourself together.

Have you thought about talking to a lawyer? I know I have. Just wanted your thoughts.

[cubyblue6 61]

I'm just taking it one day at a time with baby steps. Kind of going crazy being stuck in the hospital but hopefully they're gonna get me out for a few days before the big surgery in January just to regroup and reframe my mind but I have to have a feeding tube , antibiotics and blood thinner shots so I dont know how they're gonna do it all because I've already had a pic line and 2 mid lines inserted and removed. One of the mid lines actually gave me a blood clot. May just have to hang in the hospital until January which I am not thrilled about.

We will be consulting a lawyer about the original surgery, we just want to get me better and out of the hospital first and then we'll tackle that mess.

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[Slownstedy 210]

On 12/16/2019 at 7:45 PM, Tomkat said:

@cathynthesky82 your left shoulder hurt? Mines been killing me like a horrible crick in it from ear to shoulder since day 3 post op. I’m day 8 now. Was that the only symptom?

I was sleeved 12/04 and afew days ago while walking I got a dull aching pain between my sholders and neck both sides that made my arms feel heavy. It hasn't been back but having read it could be a symptom of a leak I'm kind of scared. I almost died from sepsis 2 years ago due to a leaking duodenal ulcer . Now wondering if I should report it to the surgeon's office tomorrow.

[cubyblue6 61]

I was sleeved 12/04 and afew days ago while walking I got a dull aching pain between my sholders and neck both sides that made my arms feel heavy. It hasn't been back but having read it could be a symptom of a leak I'm kind of scared. I almost died from sepsis 2 years ago due to a leaking duodenal ulcer . Now wondering if I should report it to the surgeon's office tomorrow.

I would certainly mention it but I may just be trigger happy because of what I'm going through. Better safe than sorry especially since you've had experience with a leak before.

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[Cathynthesky82 19]

Call the doctor!! Are you running a fever? My stomach was also swollen where it was leaking into a pocket my body made. You don’t want to have to be on TPN, it’s miserable, especially during the holidays!😢

[Cathynthesky82 19]

Cubyblue6, I don’t know how you keep your sanity in the hospital. I went crazy while I was in there. You have had so many problems.
What is a stent? And where does it go? Do they put you to sleep to put it in?

[froufrou 678]

A stent is a kind of tube they put in to keep the area open and covered so that the hole can heal up. Yes, they put you to sleep to have it put in and taken out. The first 2 attempts at putting it in both failed. The guy was going to do it a third time and I told my surgeon I felt like I was dying and to please not let this other man do it again - he didn't intubate me and so I had terrible problems on the operating table with my breathing... I swear I was close to being a goner. The stress of it made me soil myself and so when I came round I was swimming in my own filth... which I was left in for days. Jeez... I can't believe what happened. So I was sent to a specialist who sewed the stent in place. God was that uncomfortable, but it worked... well... it came undone once and slipped so had to be done again, but 4th time worked.

[froufrou 678]

This is basically what they do when you have a gastric sleeve leak

[froufrou 678]

4 hours ago, Billy Bob said:

I was sleeved 12/04 and afew days ago while walking I got a dull aching pain between my sholders and neck both sides that made my arms feel heavy. It hasn't been back but having read it could be a symptom of a leak I'm kind of scared. I almost died from sepsis 2 years ago due to a leaking duodenal ulcer . Now wondering if I should report it to the surgeon's office tomorrow.

If you have ANY doubts, check with your doctor. That's what they are there for. And if it gets any worse, go to your ER. It's not worth taking risks if you feel something is wrong.

Edited December 22, 2019 by froufrou

[Slownstedy 210]

1 hour ago, Cathynthesky82 said:

Call the doctor!! Are you running a fever? My stomach was also swollen where it was leaking into a pocket my body made. You don’t want to have to be on TPN, it’s miserable, especially during the holidays!😢

That was a few days ago. Yesterdays temp was 96.6 and today was 97.4 , typical hypothyroid temps but I will tell them. Thanks.

[Slownstedy 210]

34 minutes ago, froufrou said:

This is basically what they do when you have a gastric sleeve leak

Thankfully I have had none of the suspected leakage symptoms above .

[Cathynthesky82 19]

I only ran about 100. When I called the doctors office about my fever, they told my it wasn’t high enough. I had a fever several days. I called the doctors even the on call doctors. My temp usual is 97.? So I alway run a low fever, so when I run 100, I feel really crummy.
Once my shoulder starting hurting, I thought I was having a heart attack, I went to the emergency room. They did a cat scan and knew automatically it was my heart and that it was a leak. A leak is a nightmare. Well it has been for me.