Dangers Lurk Everywhere!

Howdy all!  I've been missing for a while.  AWOL if you will.  Been out living and doing and carrying on.  I'll be 3 years out on September 8 and have been doing great.  However...............

Got a little ****y in my post-operative days.  Little full of myself.  I wanted to tell you all that I just spent 5 days in the hospital.  I went to the ER last Thursday with severe abdominal pain.   Turns out it was a bleeding peptic ulcer.  Caused by................ taking ALEVE! 

ANY AND ALL NSAIDS ARE BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD FOR GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENTS.

I didn't think anything of it.  I'm strong, I'm healthy, I'm invincible.  I'm an IDIOT!  My doctor prescribed me Tylenol or Norco for my bursitis pain.  Tylenol did squat.  Norco left me feeling like a zombed out bombie.  (Note to my idiot self -- you really can cut the damn pills in half).  Realized afterwards I haven't been feeling well lately.  A week before my ER visit I noticed my stools were getting dark.  Really dark.  Turns out there was blood in my stools.  Which is why my guts hurt so bad. 

Ulcer is no longer bleeding and is healing very quickly.  I need to be certain to NEVER take NSAIDS again, but will not have any further eating restrictions.

Another item I had gotten lax on was taking my vitimins.  I'd skip once our twice thinking "no big deal" pretty soon I was skipping all except I'd take them once or twice a week and call it good.  Let me tell you now -- NOT GOOD!  When admitted to the hospital, my hemoglobin was a 7.5 (it's supposed to be 12) and I was severely anemic.  

So.........a word for the wise from an old broad -- TAKE YOUR DAMN VITAMINS and WATCH WHAT OTHER MEDS YOU TAKE!  Treat your tummy like a fragile crystal vase and handle with care!

Miss you all -- will show my face around here more often to keep me in line!  Keep up the good work.

MoMo

glad you are ok. thanks for the reminder on the nsaids....no no no

Just fyi - most docs say NSAIDS are okay with sleeve-  sparingly.

Hey MoMo,

Good to see you on OH and thank you for reminding us all, what we committed to when we had our surgeries.  So glad you're feeling better too my friend.  Take care!

Hope to see you one of these days.

Hugs,
Barb

Will be at the Santa Clara Hilton (right by Great America) for the weekend.  We have a board meeting and softball tournament.  Will be busy but if we can connect by phone..............

Thank you for this post.  Although I have the VSG and not ALL the same "rules" apply I try to still NOT take NSAIDS and had switched to Tylenol...well lately I was taking nabumetone, for my arthritis, well didn't realize it was a NSAIDS...good thing I've only been taking say 1 a day for the last week maybe, BUT, even better news the Tylenol I have was working just as good, so tylenol it is...

Ms Shell

Wow, I hope you're fully recovered by now.  Thanks for posting about the vitamins.  I was really good until about a month ago when I stopped filling my pill dispenser regularly (a small rebellion in the works).  I miss a day here, a week there.  Ugh!  I can't believe I got so lax!  I'm going to fill that thing now.  Which ran out 2 days ago.

 

Be well.

Glad to hear from you JJ -- I've missed you!  And, I want to say you look AMAZING!  Way to make this tool work for you!

MoMo