BIG WARNING

Hi, guys. I hardly ever go on here anymore, but had something horrible happen to me the past week and felt I should share it as a "heads-up." I had roux-en-y surgery over a year ago (3/9/06). I did not have any complications until last week. I started getting very bloated and had SEVERE abdominal pain. I thought I caught a nasty stomach virus that was going around. Over the period of 2 hours my pain quickly turned into something unbearable. I couldn't relieve the pain no matter what I tried. I went the the ER screaming in pain (something I would've never done before this incident) and they ran some tests and an X-ray. They told me that I was severely constipated (even though I poop daily). They sent me home with a laxative script and told me I had to bite the bullet until the laxative kicked in to relieve pressure. I was not convinced. An hour later I started vomitting - horrifically. Every 5-15 min. First with dry heaves, then it was a ton of liquid. I endured the pain, etc. for 9 hours thinking it was all due to being "constipated". I went back to the ER at 5am and suggested further testing be done for an intestinal blockage. Low and behold, that's what the problem was. After 5 days in the hosptial (4 of them with an NG tube down my throat) I was finally released and just got home yesterday. They said the blockage was from adhesions (scar tissue) from the surgery; however, any type of abdominal surgery runs the risk of having adhesions impedeing on your intestines. So now I have to make sure I slowly increase my fiber intake and drink tons of water. I'm still not feeling well, but should increasingly get better over the next few days. My heart goes out to anyone who has ever experienced anything like this. I never hurt so bad in my life and I had several surgeries to compare the pain to. MY HUMBLE ADVICE: see your doc immediately if you have any concerns about your health, watch your fiber intake, and drink tha****er. I was slacking on my water intake big time and I was getting too comfortable eating bread out the waa-zoo. Not sure if this might have contributed to the problem, but I don't think it helped. Most importantly, educate yourself on the possible problems folks like us might endure after WLS. When I mentioned an intestinal blockage the doc was shocked and said that sounded like a possibility. We can't expect docs to know everything, right? Especially when it comes to WLS. There are so many people out there that this is new to. Take Care

Hi Natalie, wow thanks for the heads up. I am glad to know you are better now. It sounds pretty scary & painful. I'm also guilty of eating bread a little too much...I think I should back off it now. Although I do drink a bit of water but I still should be drinking more. Take care and thanks again for the info & advice. Elisa

Natalie. I hope your feeling better at this point. Actually scar tissue adhesions are one of the side effects of this surgery. I recently had two bout's with this and both resulted in surgery. They were both lap surgeries. I had no indication of my problem, you state you were in severe pain. Mine had not progressed to that point, but I felt all my pressure in my throat, and eventually couldn't get anything to go down. Ofcourse, mine happened christmas weekend so the day after christmas I called and the dr said it was an emergency. I didn't take him serious, but I got moving. He told me it would have been a few days and I could have had to have a blood transfusion, unbearable pain, etc. So, I was very lucky, I didn't have the severe pain, maybe it would have been better to have the pain because I could have acted quicker. I hope you have a great recovery. I agree about not waiting, I'm so guilty of it. Next time anything is astray with my surgery areas I'm going to act quickly. This blockage could be fatal. JT

Thanks for the warning, Natalie, I am glad you are OK!

Oh Natalie...you poor baby. Reading your post brought back a lot of memories. I remember throwing up my stomach acids for 12 hours in the ER hallway crying and nobody knew what was wrong. That NG tube is horrible, huh? You know that hurricane spray they give you to help with the pain of the NG tube? I had a toxic reaction to it and ended up in the ICU on deaths door. Thank God we are still here to write about these experiences. It just shows you that everyone needs to be pro-active about their health, but with weight loss surgery, we need to be even more on top of things. I am so sorry you went thru this. Email me anytime if you want to talk.

Hugs and prayers. I am so so sorry that you had such pain. I thak you for telling us what is going on. I have just recently started eating crackers. I have never ate bread since surgery. I have tried it but it doesnt taste good to me at all. I have to watch the crackers though as they are a trigger for me and I will eat a whole pack of them in a days time. And then I am constapated the next day. hugs.

BTW guys obstructions have nothing to do with crackers and bread. That's what my surgeon said.