Another WLS patient died here...How common is this?

Hi everyone,

I just read this on the R&R boards.  I am sure everyone knows by now but I haven't been on for most of the whole day.  Does anyone know the original post for this?

I am starting to really freak out now b/c my surgery is next Friday!  OK...again, knowing what you know now and ALL of the risks, would you still go through with your surgery again?

Thanks!
Wendy
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I was just making my reading rounds, and I came across this post.  This is so true. And scary.  You may know about this, and old time member Vicki J passed away Sunday from an intestinal blockage.  She was 3 1/2 years out.  Apparently she was traveling and went to the ER....they didn't know what it was and must have lolly gagged around and by the time she got to a major medical center it was too late.  You would think that once you tell them you had gastric bypass that would be the first thing they check for.....but nooooooooooooooooooooo.

So....belly pain.....ER....x-ray on demand...scream....yellll.....stomp your feet and make them listen.

Vicki was a sweet person....................
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php ?N=J1089848953

Wendy,
This is where I heard it...
News-about-Vicki-Link

so sad...

Best Wishes-
Dx

Dx I havent seen a post from you in a long time. I so remember you from years ago Good to hear from you.

I remember your good recipes. I was just thinking about you putting your food in empty yogurt cups cant remember what you where making.
Sophia

This is so sad.  However, in any given population, people die every day.  So, it is sort of impossible to say how common it is.  I don't mean to sound insensitive.  It is true that we must be very pro-active about any gastric problems that we come up against.  Even at 3.5 years out, this sweet lady passed away.  Was it related to her WLS?  Did she have another abdominal surgery at some point that could have caused adhesions?  I had a full abdominal hysterectomy years ago and I suppose that could cause me problems down the line too. 

I guess the bottom line is, 1) don't panic, 2) take all your digestive issues seriously, 3) if you have significant pain DEMAND attention at the ER, 4) cherish your loved ones, as none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. 

In the meanwhile, I'll be praying for one of God's new angels.

Linda

See Linda,

This is what freaks me out.  How do I know by having this surgery, that I am not going to cause MORE problems for myself down the road?  Yes, I know I can die in a second...it is up to God.  However, I know he also gave us a brain to think through things.

Man, this is just what I didn't need to see tonight.  I feel so sorry for her and her family.  It just has started all the "what if's" again with me.

I have been so sensitive with the surgery coming up that I have been crying at the drop of a hat.  I kerp thinking, "This might be the last time for ??".  Now mind you, I have had at least 7 surgeries in my life so I am not a stranger to those.  However, those were all to fix things that were wrong or to deliver my wonderful children.  NONE of them were to rip out something that God intended to be in there.

OK, I am just going to send this on b/c I am going to work myself up too much if I keep writing.

Thanks for listening,
Wendy

Trust me - I do know what you mean.  I had several surgeries before my RNY but none of them were because I chose to do it.  It does make it scary.  I think this is partly why I chose the RNY instead of say the DS.  Not because I want to get into mine is better than someone else's surgery, but I was too chicken to have any body parts actually removed.  I wanted them there in case I needed them in an emergency later down the road.  I know that having those parts didn't help this lady.  I do think this will push me in the direction of getting a medical alert bracelet.  I was just trying to find the link someone had posted a few weeks ago.  New service, very reasonable rate (like $10 a year) instead of the hugely expensive medic alert tags. 

If it's any consolation, the majority of folks do just fine.  I'm praying I'll be one of them.  Of course, I write this as I'm contemplating another surgery to most likely fuse some discs in my back because my spine is crumbling.  Not WLS related, it's from falling onto a sharp object last May, but you never know what's really going to mess you up.

Linda

Wendy

  Take a deep breath and repeat after me. If I don't have this surgery I could die from diabestes, heart attack or any other problem associated with Obesity. I had an obstruction years ago after my hysterectomy. It can happen with any surgery not just wls. I did not need surgery and have not had a problem since. Surgery for amything is a risk. WLS is no different. I know for me I had high blood presure, was stareing diabestes in the face and my father died of his first heart attack at age 52. I knew I was 2 years away and headed there. For me I would do this surgery again in a heartbeat. It has given me life. I was only(HAHA) 276 pounds many are much larger but I could feel myself withdrawing from life the bigger I got. I didn;t want to sit here and die slowly. Now I am at goal and very active. I play with my 2 year old grandson and we slide down the slides together.  it has been 18 months since my surgery and Ihave lived more in those 18 months then I did in the 5 years before.
                                                                           Dont let cold feet stop ya!
                                                                            Nancy

My mom was rail thin and had a bowel obstruction.  She never had wls so it can happen to anyone.  I also have a friend who is in the same boat.  So bowel obstructions happen to anyone not just wls patients.  Just be alert that it can happen.  I almost died of multiple blood clots on the lungs due to obesity.  Trust me, that is not fun to have either.  We all have a variety of risks in life. 

very well said Linda....I have told all my family If I suddenly became ill w/ abdominal pain and I'm too sick to speak coherantly for myself  to Shout from the Roof tops about a blockage, from what I gather this is one thing to be vigilant of....Knowing all this I would still have wls all over again....Being a member on this site has Educated myself of things such as this and what signs/symptoms to look for,  my husbands cousin had WLS and 2 yrs out he had a blockage and had to have emergency surgery, he had NO idea what was going on, he was and is not part of a support group and w/ going to his local ER and then having to drive 3 hrs to his surgeon it was almost too late but Thankfully the surgeon got him right into surgery and he is fully recoverd but had he known of this potential problem he could have saved hours by just going on straight to his surgeons hospital...Educating your self by reading these boards and others and attending support groups could Save  your life, now i didn't know the person who passed and obviously she as a member and I'm NOT meaning she didnt know the warning signs, it is Horrible she didn't get HELP quicker whatever the situation might have been, may she Rest in Peace...........

Lets look at it in perspective.

If you were visiting a website with 1000 members who all had cancer, you'd expect to have death as a part of the experience.

If you were visiting a website with 1000 members who had heart disease, you'd expect to have death as a part of the experience.

you ARE visiting a website with nearly every member who has a deadly disease and/or who has undergone surgery to help to cure the deadly disease. A lot of the complicatiolns of WLS are really complications that take place for rapid weight loss, regardless of whether or not there is surgery. Because all of the members of this site (with a few exceptions) have or had morbid obesity as a disease... you'll expect some losses. That's why insurance pays for WLS... it's a fatal deadly disease that will claim some who never get surgery, and others after they've had the surgery.

The thing that is hard to quantify is the difference in mortality rate for those who have WLS versus those same individuals if they hadn't had WLS. I think that if we had a way of knowing the ultimate result either way, when and how would a person die who had the surgery, and who didn't have the surgery, we'd find that the majority of inviduals who have the surgery extend their lifespan by a significant amount. Some aren't so lucky, but most are!

So... do you want to take control of your life, and grab at the high probability that you are extending your life, or do you want to accept your deadly disease based on the fear that you might be one of the very few who draws the short straw and loses the battle?

You have to choose.