More bad news...but there is a HAPPY ending!
Hey all,
Today I went to my PCP and found out that I am not going to have a pinched nerve for the rest of my life. He also said that the excruciating and debilitating shocks and waves of pain that I am getting are going to go away in about 4-6 days. What a relief!
Here's what happened:
Apparently when the anesthesiologist accidently punctured my 'dura' before surgery, it caused a spill of liquid which led to the excruciating headaches on Sunday and Monday. When I started violently vomiting on Tuesday morning (the day we were supposed to fly out), the pressure from the liquid in my epidural area caused my head to pop and feel like it exploded. For the next few hours I had a very, very painful headache, they tell me it is similar to a severe migraine, even though I've never had one. At that point, the only thing they can do to relieve the pain is to do a blood patch. This is where they take blood from my arm, give me ANOTHER epidural (which I wasn't pleased about since the 1st epidural caused so many problems) and then patch the puncture with a clot of blood. Within seconds after he patched the hole, I was feeling 1000% better, although he did say I would have smaller headaches for another 4-6 days.
Now, the side affects of the blood patch range from sore/achy back which is very normal to sharp, electrical currents which cause you to writhe in pain. Guess which one I got....yeah. Apparently the blood does block the hole, but the blood also contains iron which when sitting next to your nerves, causes an irritation, thus causing the spasms in my nerves. However, here's the good news... The irritation is TEMPORARY. The blood needs to work its way out of my system. Once it's gone, and the iron is no longer against my nerve, I will get normal functioning back from my body. Halle-fricken-lujah.
Here's the ironic part. There is a 1 in 100 chance that an epidural will lead to a puncture. At that point, people usually experience minor headaches for up to 10 days. No big deal. I've found out that it happens to pregnant women all the time (well 1% of the time but 1% of pregnant women is a lot!). There is a 1 in 500 chance that your headache will be severe enough that you need a blood patch. There is an extremely rare situation where the blood patch will lead to the pinched nerve sensations I am experiencing...in fact my doctor had never heard of an actual person having this experience...and he is 65 and has dealt with many, many new mothers who had epidural issues.
So I am rare. Unfortunately in a bad way, but nonetheless, I'm special.
Other than that, I am doing very, very well. The actual gastric bypass surgery went very, very well with no complications. I got my second half of staples removed today and feel great. I am starting to eat more and have introduced a whey protein liquid into my day. Last night was our first night home and even though I was experiencing the nerve problems, I slept through the night...first time since the surgery. I am feeling great. I am only able to sit or stand in one place for about 20 minutes before the sensations start kicking in again, and if I move from a sitting to a standing position or vice versa, they come in pretty strong...but now that I know that this is not permanent, I don't mind them as much.
As of today, I am down 16 pounds. It feels great. I last weighed 306 in September 2003. So I have just taken off about 17 months of gaining. What a great gift this surgery was. I am very happy to finally be back home and able to work on this preparing for my new journey.
For all of you people waiting for surgery next month who might be reading this, please know that what happened to me was very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very rare. And my husband and I have talked about it and have decided it is a small blessing in disguise. If I would have returned home feeling as great as Tracy and Cindy, I might have thought I was better and went right back to work, over-stressing, over-doing, over-lifting, over-sitting, etc. etc. Since I have had to deal with this little setback, it has given me the chance to recover even more.
I don't want any of you pre-ops to get frightened by my experience. I would have been happy to know this last week, but I found out today that I was in 0% danger of becoming paralyzed because where they do the epidural there is NO spinal cord at all. This is something that just happens...and it just gets fixed.
I might have been a bit perturbed if prior to my surgery someone would have told me a horror story that made me possibly question what I was about to do. However, I spoke with someone who did say that it was important that we didn't sugar-coat the entire situation...as these things do happen. If I knew prior to surgery what I know now, I would have this surgery over again in an instant. Complications suck, but this will be a 2 week setback in what I am sure will be a wonderful new life of being mobile and able to live again.
Talk to you all later,
Lisa
p.s. Cindy I wasn't ignoring you when you called to go shopping...now I think you understand why I didn't call. But we'll get together soon!
Hi Lisa,
I'm glad to hear that things are improving for you.. You did look great when you left the hospital that last day.. Thank-you for coming to see me..I got stuck in the apt during mardi gra where the bands are playing every night until 2:00am. Larry was able to sleep thru them but I on the other hand cant sleep with any noise. I took a long nap today so as I can stay up late tonight and go out for a bit.. The grocery store down the street is wonderful. Very nice, very clean.. Bought some bread for Larry, some of that "wonder bread" that Dr. A talks about for me, and more soup.
Please keep us up dated on how you are feeling. I started with my water today.. I guess that I'm not the big water person that some of you guys are. I am glad that I brought a wash cloth to use in the hospital to wipe my face, neck,tongue/mouth off. It really helped. Tomorrow I get to eat!!!!! YES!! But I'm not hungry? Hummm going to have to work up an appitite, dont want to miss that broth that everyone talks about...!!
Talk later
GerrAnn 
Hi Lisa!
I'm glad to hear that everything is going better and will soon be back to normal. I must admit prior to my surgery I was more concerned about the epidural than the actual surgery. I agree it is important that everyone tell their story. Not everyone is going to have an almost pain free surgery like I did. If they hear things like this they will know what to do if it happens to them too. I totally agree with you that if I had to go through the surgery again I'd do it. I am just amazed at how good I feel and how much more confidence I have. I wish you the very best as you continue to recover. Congratulations on the weight loss!
Cheri
lisa...after reading some of the details of your experience i am left feeling a little embarrassed by my last post about this. it sounds a little "flip" to me and i certainly did not mean it that way. i'm sorry. 
what you went through sounds really scary and i am thankful for the occassional reality check. we may be entrusting ourselves into the hands of competent doctors but this operation is a big deal and stuff happens. i'm glad you're on the mend and i really wish you all the best. by the way, i am pre-op, due to have surgery on february 17th and i will be there. 
i'm sure i'm not alone when i say this is my best and perhaps last chance for a normal life.
what you went through sounds really scary and i am thankful for the occassional reality check. we may be entrusting ourselves into the hands of competent doctors but this operation is a big deal and stuff happens. i'm glad you're on the mend and i really wish you all the best. by the way, i am pre-op, due to have surgery on february 17th and i will be there. i'm sure i'm not alone when i say this is my best and perhaps last chance for a normal life. 
Lisa,
I am a labor and delivery nurse and have seen it happen one time so far. I've only been doing it almost 2 yrs. It's more common with younger women and over weight women for some reason.
It's funny you mentioned the risk of paralization, We here that all the time from pt who's mother's have told them that. It's a myth! It's funny once their labor starts rocking, they don't care anymore.
Your experience descibes an epidural HA like the textbooks do!
I am sorry you had to experience that! Take it easy and enjoy your new journey to the skinny side!!
Julie
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