Another reminder to listen to your body

Friday afternoon, I had a snack - some almonds. Something did not feel right, and I ended up in the bathroom trying to get something to move from either end. I did succeed, but did not feel better. After about 40 minutes, I went to my boss and told her that I had to leave. I got home, and tried to get comfortable with a pillow against me while lying on my bed. It did not help - the pain got worse. Shortly after 5:00, I called my surgeon's office, but he was gone for the day. The nurseline there told me to head to the er right away. The first course of action was to get some pain relief, but they had a tough time getting an IV started because I had thrown up so many times. They finally managed though, and took me for abdobminal x-rays. They couldn't see much there, so they also tried a CT-scan of my belly. Still couldn't see clearly, but they knew something was blocked. Surgery was set for Saturday, as soon as the on-call bariatric surgeon could join the on-call surgeon. Turns out, it was a little worse than an average blockage. When my original sugery was done, there was a defect in the "Y" that was created. (My surgeon was most likely unable to see the defect because of the fatty tissue.) It ended up twisted around, and flipped over to the opposite side of my stomach. They took it out completely and built a new "Y" for me. I am home now, but still in significant pain. The good news is that they were able to stabilize my insides so I should not be at risk for this again. Just be sure that you listen to your bodies and pay attention to what is going on. We are not invincible, and can still have complications - even 8 months out. I don't mean for this to frighten anyone - just to keep us all aware. Peace to all! Nicole Lap RNY 6/7/05 312/176/150

First I'm glad things are better now. I really do appreciate the head's up. We really must learn to listen to our bodies more. Thanks! Kathy O.

Nicole, So grateful you came thru OK. Wise move to go to the ER. Glad they could discover the problem and quickly fix it. Praying for a swift recovery. Mary

((HUG))) sorry you had this occur but i am also glad things were detected for you right away. I am so glad you took the time to share this with us because sometimes i think we think we are all okay because we are 8 months out but anything can happen at any stage. THANKS and best wishes for a speedy recovery! LISA xoxox

WOW! You are sooo lucky. Am glad you were able to resolve it.

Nicole, Hun thanks for sharing your story, I am glad you are doing well now.... We ALL should listen to our bodies, thing can happen at any time after this surgery and I still worry about that now. But we have to move forward and hope for the best. Take care and thanks again ~hugs~ Debra P

thank you for sharing, nicole. sound like a real scare and a lot of pain. thank goodness you did listen to your body! i hope you are feeling better soon. get lots of rest and take care of you! hugs~mary jo

Gosh that is a wake up call! I don't know if I would have acted so quickly. Thanks for sharing that info and reminding us how serious an operation we've all had. Kim SW 306 CW 183 GW 150

Nicole, Thanks for sharing your story!!! Boy, it makes me really think, I'm not sure that I would have been so proactive. So glad that you're at home now. I hope that you have a fast recovery. Take care, Kerri