need help - almost 10 year anniversary

Hi... I am almost 10 years out from my gastric bypass - I had a rny. A few years ago I had some problems with an ulcer and stricture. After a while and many scopes and dilations I had a revision. Now I am finding that I am having problems on the other end. My left side - lower is in pain majority of the time. I can only lay on that side for max 5- 10 minutes. My bowels are a mess. I have had a ct scan done and a colonoscopy done.It has shown some hemorroids and some inflammation. The Dr's think they are causing the pain but I feel as though there is something more going on. It just doesn't feel right. My family Dr has retired and now get shuffled between 3 other DR's. None of them know how to help. I have gone to emergency with no help. I am beyond frustrated and just wondered if anyone has been through this type of pain or has any advice. I have asked for a referral back to the DR who did the revision but the Dr's here won't. Beyond frustrated!! Does anyone have any ideas or advice or help?????

We are so sorry to hear all you are going through. PM (private message) me where you are located and I will see if I can find a couple of surgeons that specialize in complications after weight loss surgery and maybe they can find some answers for you

Regards,

Kathy

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Thanks Kathy, I PM'd you!

You may have adhesions (scar tissue that grows in long strands and wraps itself around organs). Adhesions do not show up on x-rays and CAT scans. The only way to see if you have them is with exploratory surgery. The down side to that is every time you have an abdominal surgery you grow new adhesions.

They can cause bowel obstructions and severe pain.

You might want to mention them to your doctor. I don't think adhesions commonly register on a doctor's radar.

Thank you. I will mention at my next appointment!

I just had lap exploratory surgery this week to find the cause of my abdominal pain. I started to experience pain 9 months post RNY & was told at first it was gastritis, I was given a prescription for acid reflux and sent on my way. After my 3rd ER visit they were convinced it was gall bladder pain/attack although nothing showed up in my blood work. This has gone on & off for over the past year, I wasn't getting any answers from my family doctor so I contacted my bariatric surgeon and he started looking for answers. After 5 ultrasounds (from January 2018 -February 2019) a nuclear biliary scan and a ct they ruled out any gall bladder disease. My surgeon said that an internal hernia doesn't always show up on a ct scan, so exploratory surgery was my next option. No internal hernia was found but a part of my bowels were twisted causing restriction for stool to get through. He untwisted my bowels and stitched them to prevent future twisting. Hopefully this will resolve my pain. My pain was located in my upper right abdomen and radiated to my back,I would get extremely bloated & at times the pain was so bad I would vomit.

I hope you find the answers to your pain.

Thank you so much for the reply. I am really thinking it has something to do with my bowels as everything seems to be coming back fine but the pain is still there. I will definitely be mentioning this to them as well. I am hoping that if I start asking more questions they will know that I am not just imagining this.

I love that everyone is so helpful here! Thank you!!