Recent Posts
Cheryl
I woke up on day 15 after being in critical condition on a ventilator. Unfortunately for me 21 days post-op I developed fistulas and had to wear a bag to collect fecal material. I was NPO and on TPN therapy at home for almost 8 months.
In Feb 2011 I had surgery to repair the fistulas, a 5 day hospital stay lasted for 3 weeks. I got an infection in my wound and had 5 more trips to the OR. 5 weeks after the surgery, I was getting ready for work when my wound opened up again and now I had 2 fistulas, a drain, and a hernia. After losing confidence in my surgeon I went to a surgeon in Philadelphia who seems to have fixed the problem. I am now suffering from short gut syndrome and struggling to keep my weight up.
It is a long road, but you will be okay, I've heard it takes a long time for the bowel to adapt, and I do hope this is true. Good luck!
When I have flare ups, I get joint pain, skin probs., etc. I've also been found to have bacteria in the bowel. I've tried courses of meds including, Flagyl, Xifaxan (note: this med won't work unless it comes into direct contact with the bacteria), E-mycin, etc. They don't work well for me.
Think about what a blind loop is. It's a section of bowel closed off at one end that wasn't "designed" that way. So, flow can become stagnant and or bugs may grow...
Take a look at Blind Loop Syndrome on WebMD, PubMed, or other good sites like Mayo Clinic.
When and what WLS did you have, what was the reasoning behind removal of 1 ft of your bowel?
Get your surgeon to draw a picture of your entire GI tract so you know how your plumbing is connected and you carry that in your wallet with medical alert scribbled above it.
Stephanie E
So, I know you are out there somewhere.
All of you who have had WLS "reversals and or takedowns"...
I'm still hoping to hear how you are doing. I can't be the only one experiencing all these late complications after attempting to undo this mess.
I'm still glad I had the "takedown". It probably saved my life even though I'm now in more trouble (physically). Too bad some WLS ops can't be totally reversed.
No, I did not re-gain all of the weight.
I appeared on national TV a few yrs ago in an attempt to get the word out about lack of informed consent and complications re these procedures. The letters I received from other ill WLS pts were both astounding
and heartbreaking.
I also conducted an extensive research study on these procedures in 94' at U.S.C. Most bariatric surgeons I approached with it ran like hell (with the exception of some academics). They knew if they implemented suggestions I made re support systems, informed consent, and screening, less pts would have surgery.
If I can muster the energy to mount another media blitz, I will do so.
However, I still think WLS is appropriate in some cases (i.e., if someone is in danger of dying from obesity related conditions within 1-2 yrs and then it only should be performed/monitored by a comprehensive team for the lifetime of the pt).
Okay, guys... please respond to my posts.
Best,
Docj
