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29 years

Ladyinblue

Ladyinblue

Member
I'm joining this chat because I feel some of you may benefit from some of the challenges and obstacles I've faced and wouldn't want anyone to have to go through them unnecessarily. First let me say that my story does not have to be yours and the majority of you will never have some of these issues. It's basically a reminder that it's a life long commitment to yourself. Check in with your dr on a regular basis, take those vitamins religiously, and pay attention to your body, easily dismiss the warning signs it gives you.
My original surgery was in 1991 and discontinued shortly after due to malabsorption issues. I also had incessant vomiting after and it caused leaks that lead to infection. In 1998 all of the infected intestines were removed leaving me with a golf ball sized stomach and 1 foot of intestine. I've had every complication of this surgery listed, including severe malabsorption of everything. The malabsorption has reeked havoc so please take those vitamins and check in regularly.
Just so you know I would go through it all over again. I had a career I never would have, so many friends I would never have met. It's too much to go into detail about each complication or deficiency but I would be happy share anything you have questions about. Hope you are all well. Jacki
 
dianeseattle said:
It's actually a play by Ntozake Shange. It's brilliant, now more than ever.

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Ooops, lol. I just read it ty for sending it. My experiences have completely changed my view. I am where I am I don't have the time to play the blame game. I've accepted it, I can't change the past all I have control over is right now and I chose to be happy and live in the moment. That's why I joined this group because if I can stop one person from going through what I have it will not have been in vain. I'm not here to complain about anything just give away some hard earned advice. I've been on the site previously and noticed how meticulous you are with your vitamins. Stay your course it's great. Be vigilant thought other factors can cause deficiencies too so do continue with your checkups and you will do great. My most challenging deficiency is B1. It had never been checked because it had pretty much been eradicated in us. Accept for bariatric patients who were newly added to the risk factors. It has damaged my eyesight, short term memory, and neuropathy in all extremities. Also balance issues. I had to research this myself and be my own advocate just to get my B1 tested. The test came back with no measurable trace of it. I'm still undergoing testing too see how advanced it is. If we caught it on time we can stop the progression and may even be able to get better than it is now. Anybody who reads this please make sure your b1 gets checked when they check your bloodwork.
 
thank you for being here. Reading your story adds a dimension to our understanding. it also helps us point out to each other how important it is to see your doctor. And yeah, sometimes we have to do our own research to find the answer. I woke up one morning and my eyes were bulging out of my head. I was shuffled from one doc to another and put on Prednisone, which caused a psychotic reaction, and saw 19 doctors in a month who tested me for MS, a brain tumor, a "collagen disorder" and actually sent me to oncology to try to shrink the tissue in the orbit of my eyes. Right. Get rid of the symptom when you can't find the diagnosis. Last but not least, they decided I had a "destructive lesion" in my left orbit and brain. They didn't tell me this, but I had a friend who was chief of nursing and she told me they had assembled a surgical team to go in and find it and remove it, but that they were pretty sure I wouldn't survive the surgery.

spent three days trying not to commit suicide during the Prednisone reaction and in tears, called my doc at UW hospital, begging for sedatives. I lived 150 miles away at the time but I went for an exam. My doc brought in a dozen medical students and told them my symptoms. They all went, "Graves' Disease." They were right. I had already diagnosed myself by then and was waiting on a blood culture that had to be sent to California. But sure as dirt, It was Graves' and that is the most common form of hyperthyroidism there is.

Unfortunately, one doc after another put me on Prednisone and it took 11 months to wean off. And of course, I gained 50 pounds from the drug and my skin felt like it ws going to burst like a balloon. It was the beginning of my obesity. 10 years later I had RYGB. That hick town where I lived was where doctors went to die. Joke.

Nowadays a doc would have a lot of options, including allowing the patient to keep the thyroid gland. Me, I take L-thyroxine every day to replace the hormone. It's hard to balance the dosage, so I have to have blood drawn anywhere between 1 and 4 times a year to measure my thyroid levels.

Did we all say welcome to you? I know you've been reading us, but we haven't been reading you, so welcome to the non-lurking life and join us in our reciprocating support group.
 
Ladyinblue said:
I'm joining this chat because I feel some of you may benefit from some of the challenges and obstacles I've faced and wouldn't want anyone to have to go through them unnecessarily. First let me say that my story does not have to be yours and the majority of you will never have some of these issues. It's basically a reminder that it's a life long commitment to yourself. Check in with your dr on a regular basis, take those vitamins religiously, and pay attention to your body, easily dismiss the warning signs it gives you.
My original surgery was in 1991 and discontinued shortly after due to malabsorption issues. I also had incessant vomiting after and it caused leaks that lead to infection. In 1998 all of the infected intestines were removed leaving me with a golf ball sized stomach and 1 foot of intestine. I've had every complication of this surgery listed, including severe malabsorption of everything. The malabsorption has reeked havoc so please take those vitamins and check in regularly.
Just so you know I would go through it all over again. I had a career I never would have, so many friends I would never have met. It's too much to go into detail about each complication or deficiency but I would be happy share anything you have questions about. Hope you are all well. Jacki
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Welcome Jacki, I'm glad you found the group. :) I'm so sorry that you've been through so much, I'm sure your experience will be invaluable here. Hearing that you'd do it again, even after all the issues you've encountered is so encouraging. You're obviously very brave, your career choice says so much about you. Again, welcome.
 
dianeseattle said:
thank you for being here. Reading your story adds a dimension to our understanding. it also helps us point out to each other how important it is to see your doctor. And yeah, sometimes we have to do our own research to find the answer. I woke up one morning and my eyes were bulging out of my head. I was shuffled from one doc to another and put on Prednisone, which caused a psychotic reaction, and saw 19 doctors in a month who tested me for MS, a brain tumor, a "collagen disorder" and actually sent me to oncology to try to shrink the tissue in the orbit of my eyes. Right. Get rid of the symptom when you can't find the diagnosis. Last but not least, they decided I had a "destructive lesion" in my left orbit and brain. They didn't tell me this, but I had a friend who was chief of nursing and she told me they had assembled a surgical team to go in and find it and remove it, but that they were pretty sure I wouldn't survive the surgery.

spent three days trying not to commit suicide during the Prednisone reaction and in tears, called my doc at UW hospital, begging for sedatives. I lived 150 miles away at the time but I went for an exam. My doc brought in a dozen medical students and told them my symptoms. They all went, "Graves' Disease." They were right. I had already diagnosed myself by then and was waiting on a blood culture that had to be sent to California. But sure as dirt, It was Graves' and that is the most common form of hyperthyroidism there is.

Unfortunately, one doc after another put me on Prednisone and it took 11 months to wean off. And of course, I gained 50 pounds from the drug and my skin felt like it ws going to burst like a balloon. It was the beginning of my obesity. 10 years later I had RYGB. That hick town where I lived was where doctors went to die. Joke.

Nowadays a doc would have a lot of options, including allowing the patient to keep the thyroid gland. Me, I take L-thyroxine every day to replace the hormone. It's hard to balance the dosage, so I have to have blood drawn anywhere between 1 and 4 times a year to measure my thyroid levels.

Did we all say welcome to you? I know you've been reading us, but we haven't been reading you, so welcome to the non-lurking life and join us in our reciprocating support group.
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Ty for your support and encouragement. Lmao about the lurking comment. You've had a pretty bumpy ride too. I've learned many things and one of the most important was that we're all hardwired to survive and if you pay careful attention to the warning signs our bodies give us we can avoid so much grief. Even cravings are vital. Especially when I crave something I don't particularly like. It's almost always highlighting a deficiency. Go with your gut, if you haven't checked in recently maybe it's time. Dianeseattle, I hope everybody read your response earlier there is a lot to be learned from it, ty.
 
Jacki, you rank right up there with the Top 10 horror stories of how doctors find diagnoses. So many people just keep getting "explored" and having stuff cut out that doesn't grow back, And I feel for you and what has resulted and admire your heroism and ability to look at the bright side. Your intro post will eventually cycle out, so please stick around so you can comment when you see something in common with a new member, or even an oldtimer who's still confused about what's happening.

I love that medical research showed how important gastric bypass would be for such a large part of the population. And I love the surgeons who contributed to perfecting the technique. Obesity can be a lifelong condition and no attempts at changing your lifestyle will work for many of us. My dad, little brother and a big sister all died from diabetes and various cardiac conditions and I watched them closely as I grew up, thinking it could never happen to me. But just before having the surgery, my cholesterol was 369, I had high blood pressure and my blood sugar was hanging out in a dangerous place. If I hadn't chosen RYGB when I did, all these comorbidities might have gotten the best of me, and I'd be riding a scooter around, missing limbs, sticking needles in my belly every day and taking all kinds of sketchy meds. And I'd still die young.

We are glad you're here. I'm sure you have a lot of stories and there will be a person who reads them and says, That happened to me! So that's what it was! and they'll embark on a journey with an educated guess that leads to a life-saving diagnosis.

Some of our most devoted members are commenting on your thread, so you're stuck with us now, and we're counting on you to help us support others.
 
Ty, that is exactly why I joined the group because if my story can prevent or cause others to beware of the pitfalls you can experience without due diligence that would awesome. You may have to give me a quick lesson on the difference between the posts, lol. My tech skills are also lackluster. Fyi my surgery was also within a couple of weeks of being referred. At the time my gallbladder was so deceased it literally fell apart. I had to have surgery immediately and since they hadn't started doing it laproscopicaly yet I had to have open surgery anyway and it made sense to do them together. Like you I didn't have the benefit of the pre surgical counseling. I know we made the right decision to have surgery I was 26 and over 350lbs. The doctor who referred me told me that I would not have made it to 30.
 
Ladyinblue said:
Ty, that is exactly why I joined the group because if my story can prevent or cause others to beware of the pitfalls you can experience without due diligence that would awesome. You may have to give me a quick lesson on the difference between the posts, lol. My tech skills are also lackluster. Fyi my surgery was also within a couple of weeks of being referred. At the time my gallbladder was so deceased it literally fell apart. I had to have surgery immediately and since they hadn't started doing it laproscopicaly yet I had to have open surgery anyway and it made sense to do them together. Like you I didn't have the benefit of the pre surgical counseling. I know we made the right decision to have surgery I was 26 and over 350lbs. The doctor who referred me told me that I would not have made it to 30.
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wow, I don't think you need any lessons in posting. Just keep doing it.

2339
 
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