Hospital time for me......
Hi all,
Well I'm 16 months out and was sailing along just fine......... I got home from work Friday evening, I hadn't been feeling great all day but thought it was just a bit of a bug. About 6pm I started having really intense lower abdominal cramps. I thought it was just gas!! Well, the "gas pains" came and went for several hours. I layed on the bed, rolling in pain, and told myself that "its just gas and it will go away." Poor hubby sat there and watched me and just kept saying....I don't think its just gas Kath. I think you should let me take you to the ER. Well, by midnight I finally concluded that he was right and off to the ER we went. I had x-rays and a CT Scan and the docs concluded that I had a small bowel obstruction. Now, mind you this is a hospital that doesn't have that much experience dealing with bypass patients. The ER doc called several surgeons and they ALL refused to take me as a patient because of my history of gastric bypass. This turned out to be a Godsend for me because my PCP finally just called my wonderfully fantastic bypass surgeon, Dr. Nusbaum who told him to that they should send me right up to the hospital that he works out of and he would take care of me. (the only reason I didn't consider doing this to begin with is because its an hour away from my house and I really didn't think it had anything to do with my bypass) Well, I was transported, by ambulance, up to St. Barnabas Medical Center. I got there at 11:30am Saturday morning and was in surgery by 1pm!! Dr. Nusbaum was absolutely fantastic. He told hubby that he knew as soon as he heard the results of the CT Scan that it more than likely wasn't a bowel obstruction in the normal sense of the word. There wasn't anything inside my intestines obstructing "the flow" of things. Instead I had some really bad adhesions (scar tissue) that was pulling on my intestines and causing them to fold in half almost like a V. So, yes my intestines were obstructed but it was from the outside caused by the adhesions. While he was removing the adhesions the doctor also found a small intestinal hernia that he repaired. He said that the adhesions and the hernia are the two most common things that happen to long term post-ops. So, I stayed overnight and came home just a couple of hours ago. I'm sitting in bed resting and am very happy to be home. I will never doubt my pain again. I was so embarrased that what I had was just gas that I refused to go the ER. I could have saved myself hours of pain if I had gone earlier. I could have also had alot more problems if I had waited much longer as well because the small intestinal hernia I had could have gotten much worse and that portion of my intestine could have become necrotic (or died) and that would have necessitated much more serious surgery and I definitely wouldn't have come home after just one night. The moral of the story boys and girls is when in doubt call your surgeon!!! Thanks for everything Dr. Nusbaum....you are fantastic.
Hugs and 
,
Kathy 5'3" 285/145
,
Kathy 5'3" 285/145 
I don't think I've ever been normal.....he he he......I will probably have another surgery - however (you know there is always a "however") I am having some female issues (finally someone figured out WHY my iron levels are so low, duh!) and I think I can "live" with the discomfort of the adhesions, because it looks like the female thing is going to require some attention. The last surgery (adhesions, stricture, obstruction and hernia) was really bad and I was a bad girl. I went back to work after a week (told to be home at least 2). So, they also think I have another hernia. Adhesions, I was told, are the way your body makes scar tissue - some people make more of it. Strictures too. Makes sense to me, I guess.
Take your pain meds - enjoy them (kidding). Just try not to do too much too soon (like me). Maybe with all this stomach surgery I am encountering someone will offer to do a tummy tuck?????
Wow Kathy what an ordeal. I am so sorry to hear it. Sounds to me like you had happen to you what my doctor thinks is going to happen to me. If you read a few posts back you will understand what is going on with me. I just wonder if you had any pain or discomfort before that day. My pain comes and goes and varies in severity and location depending on the day. I am happy to hear you had it taken care of and I wish you a fast recovery.
Jean
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