The story of my mom

This will be a bit long but I need to get it out. I have sent it to a couple of other people I have found through this site and others. I had my gastric bypass in 2004 and fortunately have suffered no complications. My mom decided to have it in 2005 after seeing the success I had with it and she was basically told that if she didnt do something about her weight by either diet or surgery she would be dead within two years. She had her surgery and her surgeon proclaimed it a success (we had the same surgeon). She had the usual issues most of us have at first, relearning eating habits, learning which foods agree with us, which dont etc. She experienced a little vomiting, some dumping..nothing unusual. A little over a year ago she began experiencing vomiting,nausea and everything she ate, came right back up and if it didnt come back up immediately, when it did, it would be the same coming up as it was going down, solid chewed pieces of food. We went back to the surgeons nurse practioner and she told my mom, go home and eat, you need to eat. Well during this time period she had a common bile duct stone which she needed surgery for and then a lower bowel obstruction which she also needed surgery for. Now through all this, she is still having trouble eating, keeping food down and everytime we would go to the surgeon he would tell her, nothing is wrong, go home and eat. Finally I said is it possible she has a stricture, that to me seemed to be a valid explaination as to why she couldnt keep food down. At this point she has been in and out of the hospital several times, in and out of nursing homes for short term rehab to rebuild her strength and was also receiving protein through a feeding tube. Last time she saw the original surgeon, she was in the hospital and waiting for him to come in to remove her feeding tube and it had ended up coming out on its own. He arrived to remove the tube, she said well doctor it came out on its own. He says ok, well now you are on your own, theres nothing more I can do for you. You need to go home and eat. I am sitting there like wtf is wrong with this moron. So we leave and it was all I could do to keep from going off and my mom is like calm down. I said well you are now down with this idiot and this hospital. Its time for a fresh perspective. So I got her an appointment with a wonderful surgeon who incidently was my top choice but had a 2 yr waiting list at the time I wanted to do the surgery, this other idiot, was my second choice. Anyway, We go see him he sends her for a contrast CT scan and wouldnt you know.......I was right, she had a stricture the size of a pinhole going from her stomach to her intestines. I went to pick up the CT films and radiologists report before her next appointment and I couldnt get into the car fast enough to read it. Seems as though her pouch was misshapened and she had this stricture. Now at this point we are in June of 2007 and my mom is very sick, shes severely malnourished even with taking her vitamins and protein supplements every single day. The new surgeon says we are looking at doing this surgery over completely but I'd like to wait a couple of weeks and see if we cant get your protein levels up a bit higher. Well she didnt make the couple of weeks because she developed a UTI infection that caused her mental status to be altered, basically she had no idea where she was or who she was. He decided that the best course of action was to fix this botched surgery with the hopes that it will put her back on the right path and to a healthier life.  She came through the surgery with flying colors, the doctor was so happy about how well it went, he said I fixed her pouch, cleared out all the scar tissue fixedthe stricture etc. He was very optimistic that she would recover quite well. Well sad to say, the damage was done, she spent the next several months in and out of the hospital, with seizueres, UTI infections etc. She finally seemed in Oct early Nov to be doing much better and was ready to come home. She came home to her apartment on Nov 9th, 2007 and lasted two days at home. That Sunday morning I went to her apartment to get her up, cleaned up and dressed for the day and she seemed very groggy and she said she was tired. I said ok, lets get fresh sheets on your bed and if you want to lay back down you can. She asked me to run some errands for her so I was in and out all day and finally around 5pm that afternoon I wasnt getting hardly any response from her, so I called 911 she was admitted and seemed to rally in the ER, she was talking, laughing, joking etc even asked for something to eat, they asked us to step out for a few mins to put in an iv and cather (sp?). During those few mins she suffered a massive seizure and they needed to place her on a ventilator. She was admitted to ICU that night and the bottom line of all this is she had a mild case of pneumonia which turned into a pretty serious strain of it, to the point it was eating holes into her lungs. As far as treatment was concerned, they didnt have alot of options for her because the bottom line was she was still severely malnourished even though again she was taking her vitamins and protein supplements several times a day, it apparently takes a very long period of time to recover from that. She fought long and hard and sad to say on Nov 30th, 2007 she passed away. I know this is a long read but to me I need to get this out there. I think its so important especially after reading so many of the stories on this particular forum. If you feel deep down inside something is wrong and you arent getting any answers that satisfy you from your surgeon, go to another one, get second, third, fourth, 100th opinions We have this surgery to save our lives, to give us a chance to live normal healthy lives and my mom unfortunately did not get that opportunity and spent the last few months of her life suffering needlessly. I feel if the original surgeon had done his job and not worried about his friggin ego or his "spotless" track record, My mom may still be alive today and healthy enjoying her family, her grandchildren and her friends. She was 62 yrs old and still had alot of living to do. Again I apologize for it being so long but I wanted people to see the big overall picture and dont be afraid to stand up for yourself, its your life, your body and you are entitled to the best possible care you can get. We all did this surgery for one reason and one reason only and thats to be healthy. The doctor said if my mom didnt have this surgery she would be dead in two years, well she had it and here it is, 2 years later and shes dead. Thanks for listening/reading and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

sorry for your loss.  may your happy memories of your mom get you through this holiday season. mj

Thank you luckycat. My brother and I decided that the best way to remember and honor our mom was to celebrate Christmas the way she always did, with family and close friends and alot of shared memories and laughter. Happy Holidays to you and your family and thanks again ~Michele

Im sorry to hear about your mom. My prayers are with you.

Thank you

oh, mchele.  i am SO sorry.   there are no words i can say... (((((((((( hugs)))))))))) god bless you and the rest of your family. merry christmas and happy new year to you as well.

Thank you and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too.

I am very sorry for your loss, Michele. I am very glad you took the time to post here. It is so very important that people know that complications do happen and that you must seek second opinions when you are not getting better. I had my surgery in November, 2006. Long story short, I ended up severely malnurished. Went to the hospital in January, 2007 (thanks to my alert primary care doctor)  after falling because my blood pressure and potassium bottomed out. Then I was back in there in February. On Easter I fell while visiting my family in Tennessee (was falling all of the time because of low potassium, no energy, because protein so low). This time I spent a total of 2 months in the hospital. A bariatric surgeron in Tennessee figured out immediately that I was severely malnurished. It was to the point that I didn't know what was going on around me. I was hallucinating in the hospital. The mal-nourishment caused my brain to no longer function as it had previously. I couldn't walk. Had to relearn how to talk, walk, write, etc. It caused cataracts in both eyes (I am only 50, so it wasn't due to age). It caused neuropathy in my feet, hypoglycemia and me to be out of work for a year. Thank God I am still here. I almost died. My surgeon never did any blood work on me, despite the fact that I saw him twice before I ended up in the hospital in January. He just kept sending me home and telling me to eat more protein. He sent me to a gastroendrinologist for the diarrehea, who did a colonosphy. I did have a polyp, but the diarrehea was because the surgery had triggered something from my gall bladder being removed 25 years early. My primary care doctor and the colon doctor told me this, not the surgeon. That guy's ego is beyond huge. He's is in it for the money. I know there are doctors who aren't like him. Unfortunately he is the one I got. I pray there is nothing else lurking unknown in my body caused by all of this. I am very grateful to be alive and for my primary care doctor in Georgia and the bariatric surgeon in Tennessee who saw me in the hospital. Please, anyone reading this, whether it is for yourself or a loved one, if you think something isn't right, then it isn't right. Run, don't walk away from your surgeon and find a second opinion. Don't let it get to the point it did with me, or Michele's Mom, or any of the others you read about on this board.