• American Bariatrics is a free online Bariatric Support Group. Register for your free account and get access to all of our great features!

Post Surgerical Nightmares

D

Debra65

Member
Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and this is merely mine. I have never posted anything on any site ever in my life. I have never had Facebook, I don't tweet and I most certainly do not Tick Tock or whatever it's called.

I am three years post surgery. I believe my case is rather unique and I'm sure many will have their doubts, but my only goal here is to let people know what is POSSIBLE after bariatric surgery and to see if anyone can help. First, my surgeon was outstanding. Apparently one of the best in the field, and I have nothing but respect for him and his group. And I'm sure other people have had bad experiences. I'm only posting here to see if anyone has any suggestions on what options might be available to me and everyone out there with similar experiences.

I'm going to try to be very brief with the rest; and my memory absolutely stinks now, so I'm sure I'll have more than a couple of items here out of sequence, so I apologize for any errors I may make. Subtrefuge is definately not my intent

  1. Three years ago I had bariatric surgery. Not the staple variety, but the remove the whole enchilada type. A month or so later I popped a stitch inside, was rushed to the emergency room where they found I had internal bleeding.
  2. While in the hospital I contracted CDF, i understand is not unusual, but nonetheless a royal pain in the butt! It's so hard to get rid of and I bleached my toilet so much, i burned out the plastic screws on the toilet lid.
  3. During recovery, I began to vomit everything. Even when I had not eaten anything, I would vomit air! I lost 40 pounds in one month! When my husband couldn't take it anymore, he took me to the hospital where they found out I had to have my gallbladder out. Three surgeries down and this is just the beginning. Even after the gallbladder removal, I continued to vomit daily, however now a new symptom came along...diahrreah.
  4. Oh, and I should insert here...while getting up from my sick bed (I stayed in the guest room and close to the bathroom while recovering; my weakened state made me fall and I abruptly landed on my husband's sub-woofer which we had yet to put away after moving just a couple of months earlier. I ended up with multiple cracked ribs.
  5. Months of muscle milk, pop-sicles and more broth than I care to remember, I had a colonoscopy where I was diagnosed with Crohns. Now, in addition to taking 15+ pills each day, I have to have Remicaid added to this nightmare.
  6. About this time, a large lump appeared on my breast. I had breast replacement more than 30 years ago after 5 rounds with cancer. Apparently one of the implants burst. So, back to the hospital. Out of the hospital, next day...back to the hospital...internal bleeding.
  7. My bariatric surgeon decided to add something to my stomach so I could keep food down. While there, contracted pneumonia and was put on a ventilator. Almost died.

So let me jump to now. I have another colonoscopy scheduled for next week. I'm hoping my GI surgeon will be able to tell me what in the heck is wrong with me. Finally, my question is this...has anyone had/has similar issues? No matter what I eat, I throw it up, and I have diahrreah every day, several times a day. I can't travel because I have to stay near a bathroom. I'm open to suggestions on what anyone thinks I might be able to eat. Any ideas? I'm so desperate. Please, can anyone help?

Thank you in advance.
 
I cannot help, but I’m here for support as an outlet if you ever need to just like, all caps vent your frustrations, which you totally should do because damn, all that would be terribly frustrating! I hope you get answers soon!
 
Hi Debra, I am so sorry you are going through so much. I wish I had suggestions for you but I'm still in shock of all you have been through. I hope and pray that you will get some answers soon on what is going on. I wish I could be more helpful.
 
Hello Debra.
I am so sorry you have gone through all this. You have been through a lot!! I would suggest you have the GI specialist weigh in if your symptoms are related to poorly controlled Crohn’s or if it’s related to the gastric bypass surgery. Your symptoms could be related to either or a combination of both. How is your appetite? Energy? Bloodwork- any nutritional deficits? Make sure you healthcare provider knows how this is impacting your function!!! Nowadays they do vsg for people with inflammatory bowel disorders due to the malabsorption effect of both Crohns and rny gastric bypass. Please keep us posted on how you are doing!!
 
I have had similar issues with food staying down. I have un unnatural curvature in the stomach and a stunosis. the semosis blocks some foods and fluids from going down. Especially protein. you tend to lean towards carbs because they go down easier. The doctor can diagnose this with a barium swallow study
 
Thanks everyone for your support. It really means a lot. Yes, my GP is aware of all that's been going on. While dealing with all of this, I was informed this week that I had to have a hip and a knee replaced. I'm not sure what I must have done in a previous life, but DAMN. lol I wouldn't wish any of these things on the worst person in the world, but I gotta tell you, this is all taking a toll on my mental health and of course my family. A few months after the bypass, most of my hair fell out. I don't know about my blood work. I guess it's okay. I know I've had a lot of blood tests, but I guess it's okay. And as lousy as I feel, I really appreciate you reaching out. Any ideas about what I might be able to eat? The nausea is making wanting to eat not high on my list, but my stomach is always empty so I always feel hungry. Is that odd? Until the colonoscopy next week, trying to eat has just been a crap shoot. (Pun intended).
 
Debra65 said:
  • my only goal here is to let people know what is POSSIBLE after bariatric surgery and to see if anyone can help.
  • I popped a stitch inside, was rushed to the emergency room where they found I had internal bleeding.
  • I contracted CDF
  • I began to vomit everything. Even when I had not eaten anything, I would vomit air!
  • Even after the gallbladder removal, I continued to vomit daily, however now a new symptom came along...diahrreah.
  • my weakened state made me fall and I ended up with multiple cracked ribs.
  • I was diagnosed with Crohns. Now, in addition to taking 15+ pills each day, I have to have Remicaid added to this nightmare.
  • a large lump appeared on my breast. So, back to the hospital. Out of the hospital, next day...back to the hospital...internal bleeding.
  • contracted pneumonia and was put on a ventilator. Almost died.
  • Any ideas? I'm so desperate. Please, can anyone help?
Click to expand...
Debra, you've been through a lot, but it's not attributable to bariatric surgery per se. In fact, it sounds like a developing Crohns diseases may be responsible for misdirecting your diagnoses.

We can't help you here except to offer support and suggestions.

You absolutely need to be under a doctor's care and if your doctor isn't getting it done, escalate your care.

I would present to an internist who has nothing to do with bariatrics. If you focus on simultaneous events and conclude they resulted from the procedure, you may miss the real diagnosis.

I had some symptoms two years ago and that's how I found this group, looking for answers. It turned out to be colitis, unrelated to my surgery 14 years ago.

Most people have no problems after surgery. They have a variety of annoyances that are part of healing and adjusting to a new digestive system, but time and time again, these physical manifestations disappear in a few weeks.

Self-diagnosis can be dangerous. But the way you've been shuffled around can be dangerous, too.

Internists are comprehensive analysts. You should get a fresh look at what's going on from someone who's not influenced by your history.

What's going on is not normal or common. Get some fresh eyes on your symptoms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top