People who have had complications from surgery please post your story
I dont want to be a downer, but I also know I am not alone either and need the support from others who have went through issues related to their surgery post op.
I know everything might not have been directly related to surgery but the issues I am having did not start until after surgery. I have been VERY complient following Vitalady's schedule and have tried to switch over all my BA chewable and chewy vitamins as I heard they arent the best. I try to get in all my fluids and protein as well. So this is simply not a story of me being non complient.
I KNOW that vitamins, protein and fluids are what keeps us alive and they have to be taken to survive and maintain. I feel pretty well educated in knowing my body and the changes it has been through. And while I am NOT blaming my surgeon for a crappy surgery (I do not think this is the case at all and think surgery went very well) I am unhappy with the aftercare I have gotten and want to know who most people go to for second and third opinions etc. I was thinking of Rabkin in Cali as I hear he is the best and most compassionate out there.
Anyhow I am sick of posting issues and of me contstantly being sick and then getting judged and picked on. I have had an especially hard time these past 2 months or so when most of the issues started.
The first one to start after surgery was my reflux/GERD. I knew this was common and I was even told I had this prior to surgery but didnt have any issues. Since surgery it is now in the severe stage even with taking two PPI's a day plus Zantac and Pepcid. A recent study showed its severe and persistant.
The next issue I had was unexplained extreme abdominal pain that came in waves and felt like contractions above my belly button. I thought it was gas at first but gas meds didnt do anything. After that it started to come with nausea and vomitting and dehydration. I have been in and out of hospitals, Dr offices, and such way too much but kept being told to come back. I have had every test under the sun and my surgeon did see my after his surgeical resident diagnosed me with an unbillical hernia but he couldnt find one. He opened me up and found endometriosis and cysts. Obviously this was not due to my surgery and I am thrilled he found it as I have been having pelvic pain for many years but this didnt help the pain and was above my belly button or the nausea and vomitting. I was told be a few different Drs that it felt like I had a defect there but they didnt think it would cause that much pain.
The first few weeks were full of tests, lab work, U/S of abdomen/gallbladder, CT scan with contrast, X rays and such. I met with GI Drs, with my PCP many times, with other surgeons, with my surgeon and no one could figure out what was causing the pain. During this time I also developed hemmeroids and fissures which didnt make matters any better as that hurt so badly.
I was admitted at my hospital for a 6 night stay where they gave me fluids, antibiotics for a possible baterical overgrowth, did an EGD, Flouroscopy and were giving me continious anti nausea meds through my IV. When I had those meds through IV I was able to drink and eat and keep things down. Due to this they finally released me on Mothers Day. That night it all started again and I couldnt figure out why the same foods that didnt bother me would bother me. I finally had to go back to the hospital and back on fluids and anti nausea meds and felt better. They tried me on different types of anti nausea meds (Phenergan and Zofran and even a patch behind the ear) all some seemed to work better than others but none of them seemed to control the nausea to where it was at bay. I was then diagnosed with esophagal dismotility which they said was causing the spams. They put me on anti spasm medicine for that.
I then couldnt keep anything down and was developing a cough and a slight fever and feeled achey. The hospital wanted to admit me and kept me for 3 days. They did the radioactive egg dye test and said I have a moderate case of Gastropresis and that it would be mild for the average person but its moderate since I had this surgery. They said this condition can cause all the pain, nausea, vomitting etc that I have been going through. I was thrilled to have a diagnosis and was wondering how this worked with my other two diagnosis' being GERD and the esophagus dismotility. The day the released me I started getting the chills and had a fever and couldnt stop coughing. I asked for an x ray but they said I was fine and could go home and if I still felt sick to go to the ER.
By now I am sick to death of the ER's, hospitals, Drs etc. I feel miserable and have chest pain so I ended up back in the ER as my PCP couldnt see me and with chest pain they didnt want me to wait. Finally yesterday they did a chest X ray and deteremined I have Pnemonia which would have likely been found and treated if they listened to me and did an Xray before I was released from the hospital. They gave me antibiotics in my IV and then gave me a script for them. They said if I couldnt get them to stay down I would have to come back to the ER. Well I couldnt get them to stay down and wound back at the ER last night and they gave me 2 different kinds of antibiotics via IV. They got ahold of my PCP and worked out a plan to hopefully keep me out of the hospital which would be to get an injection of the antibiotic at my PCP's office. My PCP was in another clinic today but I did see one of his partners and the nurse gave me the antibiotic and I go back tomorrow for day 3. I am not sure yet what is going to happen over the weekend.
So right now where it stands I have 3 confirmed conditions which everyone has agreed even if my surgery didnt directly cause them its making them worse as I never had these issues prior. So the 3 definate conditions I have are the GERD/Reflux, Gastropresis, and the Esophagus Dismotility. All of these especially combined can cause all the pain, nausea, vomitting and dehydration I have been having. Like I said they have done pretty much every test on me and given me every form of different types of anti nausea meds and we dont know why they will only work well in IV form. I cant live my life in the hospital or in the ER. I had this surgery to be able to live my life and in the past 2 months I havent had much of a life at all. I have tried to be strong and fight for my medical rights and to fight the nausea and pain and everything else to where I will even try to keep swallowing when I feel stuff coming up to try and get it to stay down.
Besides those three issues nothing else seems to be wrong (besides the pnemonia which was not caused by my DS). My gallbladder is fine, there doesnt seem to be any obstruction or stricture, no scarred tissue was found etc. Due to the nausea and vomitting I am getting dehydrated and probably malnurished very quickly. I have been trying to gag down protein drinks and shakes and anything I can get in. Same with vitamins I have tried to open up what I could and take a sip with it and just pray it stays down. I feel and look like hell though.
I have some good hours here and there where I can get down things and dont feel miserable and think things are going to be better and then they go back to the way they were. I just dont know what to do anymore or who to go to. My surgeon feels he has done his share with giving me surgery and then opening me up when I had pain. While I agree in part with that I feel as well as my other Drs that he knows my anatomy and should have a little more interest in helping me control the nausea vomitting dehydration cycle and giving me more advice than just to keep things down. He did say if I was going to get a feeding tube placed it needed to be done by him and needed to be going right into my intestines. Right now I dont know if I need that and I really dont want that if its not 1000% needed. He told me to have my labs rechecked in a few weeks and come back and see him which I do plan on doing. However the surgeons here (who do not do the DS) think this operation has caused all these issues and if not caused them then definetly made them uncontrollable and my DS needs to be reversed. Obviously that is something I dont want either. All I want is to be able to feel good and get in my fluids, protein and vitamins and not feel weak, dizzy, nausous, and be in the hospital constantly.
If you made it this far thank you. I am not saying the DS was a mistake as it has clearly changed my life both for the good and the bad. For the good I have lost over 95lbs in less than 6 months, my liver enzymes have returned to normal and my liver no longer looks enlarged and fatty, and I feel better about myself and feel like I have something to look forward to when I am not sick. However being sick for these 2 months has really put a damper on me and I wonder what did I do to myself. I never had these problems before surgery and I knew the surgery had its risks I just was not prepared for this all to happen.
Would love to hear from some of you who had complications and hopefully what helped you etc. Again I am not posting this to upset anyone I am just saying that I am having issues and feel I need a place to be able to vent and share with others who can understand. Thanks again if you got this far.
I know everything might not have been directly related to surgery but the issues I am having did not start until after surgery. I have been VERY complient following Vitalady's schedule and have tried to switch over all my BA chewable and chewy vitamins as I heard they arent the best. I try to get in all my fluids and protein as well. So this is simply not a story of me being non complient.
I KNOW that vitamins, protein and fluids are what keeps us alive and they have to be taken to survive and maintain. I feel pretty well educated in knowing my body and the changes it has been through. And while I am NOT blaming my surgeon for a crappy surgery (I do not think this is the case at all and think surgery went very well) I am unhappy with the aftercare I have gotten and want to know who most people go to for second and third opinions etc. I was thinking of Rabkin in Cali as I hear he is the best and most compassionate out there.
Anyhow I am sick of posting issues and of me contstantly being sick and then getting judged and picked on. I have had an especially hard time these past 2 months or so when most of the issues started.
The first one to start after surgery was my reflux/GERD. I knew this was common and I was even told I had this prior to surgery but didnt have any issues. Since surgery it is now in the severe stage even with taking two PPI's a day plus Zantac and Pepcid. A recent study showed its severe and persistant.
The next issue I had was unexplained extreme abdominal pain that came in waves and felt like contractions above my belly button. I thought it was gas at first but gas meds didnt do anything. After that it started to come with nausea and vomitting and dehydration. I have been in and out of hospitals, Dr offices, and such way too much but kept being told to come back. I have had every test under the sun and my surgeon did see my after his surgeical resident diagnosed me with an unbillical hernia but he couldnt find one. He opened me up and found endometriosis and cysts. Obviously this was not due to my surgery and I am thrilled he found it as I have been having pelvic pain for many years but this didnt help the pain and was above my belly button or the nausea and vomitting. I was told be a few different Drs that it felt like I had a defect there but they didnt think it would cause that much pain.
The first few weeks were full of tests, lab work, U/S of abdomen/gallbladder, CT scan with contrast, X rays and such. I met with GI Drs, with my PCP many times, with other surgeons, with my surgeon and no one could figure out what was causing the pain. During this time I also developed hemmeroids and fissures which didnt make matters any better as that hurt so badly.
I was admitted at my hospital for a 6 night stay where they gave me fluids, antibiotics for a possible baterical overgrowth, did an EGD, Flouroscopy and were giving me continious anti nausea meds through my IV. When I had those meds through IV I was able to drink and eat and keep things down. Due to this they finally released me on Mothers Day. That night it all started again and I couldnt figure out why the same foods that didnt bother me would bother me. I finally had to go back to the hospital and back on fluids and anti nausea meds and felt better. They tried me on different types of anti nausea meds (Phenergan and Zofran and even a patch behind the ear) all some seemed to work better than others but none of them seemed to control the nausea to where it was at bay. I was then diagnosed with esophagal dismotility which they said was causing the spams. They put me on anti spasm medicine for that.
I then couldnt keep anything down and was developing a cough and a slight fever and feeled achey. The hospital wanted to admit me and kept me for 3 days. They did the radioactive egg dye test and said I have a moderate case of Gastropresis and that it would be mild for the average person but its moderate since I had this surgery. They said this condition can cause all the pain, nausea, vomitting etc that I have been going through. I was thrilled to have a diagnosis and was wondering how this worked with my other two diagnosis' being GERD and the esophagus dismotility. The day the released me I started getting the chills and had a fever and couldnt stop coughing. I asked for an x ray but they said I was fine and could go home and if I still felt sick to go to the ER.
By now I am sick to death of the ER's, hospitals, Drs etc. I feel miserable and have chest pain so I ended up back in the ER as my PCP couldnt see me and with chest pain they didnt want me to wait. Finally yesterday they did a chest X ray and deteremined I have Pnemonia which would have likely been found and treated if they listened to me and did an Xray before I was released from the hospital. They gave me antibiotics in my IV and then gave me a script for them. They said if I couldnt get them to stay down I would have to come back to the ER. Well I couldnt get them to stay down and wound back at the ER last night and they gave me 2 different kinds of antibiotics via IV. They got ahold of my PCP and worked out a plan to hopefully keep me out of the hospital which would be to get an injection of the antibiotic at my PCP's office. My PCP was in another clinic today but I did see one of his partners and the nurse gave me the antibiotic and I go back tomorrow for day 3. I am not sure yet what is going to happen over the weekend.
So right now where it stands I have 3 confirmed conditions which everyone has agreed even if my surgery didnt directly cause them its making them worse as I never had these issues prior. So the 3 definate conditions I have are the GERD/Reflux, Gastropresis, and the Esophagus Dismotility. All of these especially combined can cause all the pain, nausea, vomitting and dehydration I have been having. Like I said they have done pretty much every test on me and given me every form of different types of anti nausea meds and we dont know why they will only work well in IV form. I cant live my life in the hospital or in the ER. I had this surgery to be able to live my life and in the past 2 months I havent had much of a life at all. I have tried to be strong and fight for my medical rights and to fight the nausea and pain and everything else to where I will even try to keep swallowing when I feel stuff coming up to try and get it to stay down.
Besides those three issues nothing else seems to be wrong (besides the pnemonia which was not caused by my DS). My gallbladder is fine, there doesnt seem to be any obstruction or stricture, no scarred tissue was found etc. Due to the nausea and vomitting I am getting dehydrated and probably malnurished very quickly. I have been trying to gag down protein drinks and shakes and anything I can get in. Same with vitamins I have tried to open up what I could and take a sip with it and just pray it stays down. I feel and look like hell though.
I have some good hours here and there where I can get down things and dont feel miserable and think things are going to be better and then they go back to the way they were. I just dont know what to do anymore or who to go to. My surgeon feels he has done his share with giving me surgery and then opening me up when I had pain. While I agree in part with that I feel as well as my other Drs that he knows my anatomy and should have a little more interest in helping me control the nausea vomitting dehydration cycle and giving me more advice than just to keep things down. He did say if I was going to get a feeding tube placed it needed to be done by him and needed to be going right into my intestines. Right now I dont know if I need that and I really dont want that if its not 1000% needed. He told me to have my labs rechecked in a few weeks and come back and see him which I do plan on doing. However the surgeons here (who do not do the DS) think this operation has caused all these issues and if not caused them then definetly made them uncontrollable and my DS needs to be reversed. Obviously that is something I dont want either. All I want is to be able to feel good and get in my fluids, protein and vitamins and not feel weak, dizzy, nausous, and be in the hospital constantly.
If you made it this far thank you. I am not saying the DS was a mistake as it has clearly changed my life both for the good and the bad. For the good I have lost over 95lbs in less than 6 months, my liver enzymes have returned to normal and my liver no longer looks enlarged and fatty, and I feel better about myself and feel like I have something to look forward to when I am not sick. However being sick for these 2 months has really put a damper on me and I wonder what did I do to myself. I never had these problems before surgery and I knew the surgery had its risks I just was not prepared for this all to happen.
Would love to hear from some of you who had complications and hopefully what helped you etc. Again I am not posting this to upset anyone I am just saying that I am having issues and feel I need a place to be able to vent and share with others who can understand. Thanks again if you got this far.
Are you still experiencing heartburn on that dosage?
Why don't you try 40mg of omeprazole twice a day and see if it makes a difference. Everybody responds differently to different meds.
Protonix is not omeprazole. Prilosec is omeprazole, protonic is pantoprazole.
My GERD got worse after the DS and I've been taking omeprazole for a long time and it totally fixed the problem.
Why don't you try 40mg of omeprazole twice a day and see if it makes a difference. Everybody responds differently to different meds.
Protonix is not omeprazole. Prilosec is omeprazole, protonic is pantoprazole.
My GERD got worse after the DS and I've been taking omeprazole for a long time and it totally fixed the problem.
Yes I am still getting breakthrough heartburn at this dose however its been the best one I have tried so far so no one seems to want to change it for fear that another wouldnt work as well as this one. I dont know if it would be worth changing to see. I did try Prevacid and a few other ones that didnt have as much of an effect on me that this one does.
Most Active
Recent Topics
