My life, as I know it... lately! VERY VERY long!!

Good Lord, T...your guardian angel's workin' on overtime!  But glad that she is.  Thank you so much for sharing your story.  This is important stuff that needs to be heard/read & understood & your message is imperative!! 

Allow me to paraphrase just to make sure that I understand the message you are trying to convey.  No one knows our bodies better than we do & we know when something's not right.  The days of being a passive participant in our own health care are OVER!  And not just with big stuff like open heart surgery, or wls...with all things health related.  Yes, we depend on doctors to give us the correct diagnosis & treatment, but doctors are humans & ARE fallible.  They are being stretched soooo thin these days that one patient looks like the next & we quickly become a herd of sheep with signs/symptoms rather than PEOPLE.  That being said, how many of us have experienced some sort of ailment & played the delay game, hoping it would get better on it's own?  I know I have.  And T's letting us know that she did too & it nearly cost her her life.  We owe it to ourselves & our families & friends to be diligent in our healthcare.  Doctors do NOT walk on water...only Jesus Christ could do that.  So T is completely correct...pay attention to your bodies.  All kinds of weird things can pop up that we've never experienced before wls.  When in doubt, call your weight loss team.  MAKE them work for you!  That's what they're getting paid the big bucks for so get your money's worth.  And if I can add my own twist to this...make sure that all your docs are communicating with each other.  Frankly T, I can't help wondering why the cardiologist didn't know that aspirin would tear up your stomach.  He KNOWS you had wls...gee, maybe do a consult with the wl surgeon to coordinate treatment...there's an idea unheard of, right?  While I can understand you fussing at yourself for overlooking symptoms of an ulcer, still it is up to your doctors to make the right decisions for treatments.  I hate that you seem to be blaming yourself for all of this.  You didn't know.  Yet you nearly paid the ultimate price.  That's not acceptable.

I think you are amazing for sharing all this with us.  I only hope that things will be changing for you rapidly & in the right direction.  You deserve a GOOD quality of life.  Please keep us posted on your progress.  As you can see, you have lots of sisters here who care.  Lean on us once in awhile, ok?