Just a reminder about self-advocacy

Hi All. It's been awhile since i've been on here. I'm just going to give a bit of a background for those who don't know my story.

March 23/2011 - RNY at TEGH - Diabetic, extreme high blood pressure, sleep apnea, depression, high cholesterol 

Total lost 105 pounds (top to bottom weight) (i'm 5 foot 1)

First round of iron infusions Sept/2011 (18 more since then)
Panniculectomy - Jan/2013
Gall bladder removal July/2013

Emergency bowel obstruction surgery November/2013
Dog-ear fix for panniculectomy - Jan/2014 (haemotoma on right side, seroma on left)
Full scar revision November/2014
Bone density scan November/2014 osteopenia .2 away from osteoperosis (have been taking proper calcium and Vit. D, seeing endocrinologist)
NO SURGERIES IN 2015!! 

I'm very active and have done three marathons, and biggest achievement of all this summer with completing an Ironman in August. I continue to train, because I love it. I have a half Ironman coming up in June and backpacking the West Coast Trail for 5 days in July. 

Since the fall I have been getting bloated on and off. Sometimes after eating carbs, others after eating protein. I changed things up here and there, and no difference. Then I noticed it was dense protein that was giving me the most grief (which we need so badly to keep the weight loss at bay). I called my surgeon, and she got me in fairly quickly for an endoscopy. That was fine (no ulcers), and she decided that with my history I would need laproscopic surgery to see what is going on. 

I also mentioned to her that I recently found out that my birth family has had colon cancer, particularly in the women. 

When she went in (last Tuesday), they fixed a HUGE hernia that my bowels had twisted in to. She assumes that it would twist and untwist, causing the bloating. (and i'm talking I looked 6 months pregnant on some occasions). She fixed another gap and they "ran" my entire small intestines. They discovered, totally un-WLS related, a growth at the bottom of my small intestine. Now i'm scheduled to go for my first colonoscopy on Feb. 1st, where they will do a biopsy. 

I'm not telling you all this to scare you, but to inform you. Please make sure you do not ignore any symptoms of pain. Even though I was going to the bathroom daily, I was still obstructed. I'm glad I gave her the information about the bowel cancer history, and she took the time to look for anything that might be off, because of it. 

I'm thinking positive thoughts for my colonoscopy (which is easy-peasy, and i'm not worried about) and that i'm in the clear :-)

That's all for now!

Kelly

I hope things go well for you, I'm rooting for you and hope everything is well and good. 

I definitely agree about seeing someone immediately if you have pain. I had severe back pains, they would shoot from my hips outward and it was easy to mistake them for very bad menstrual pains. I was hospitalized twice before I finally pushed and it turns out I had a hernia, gallstones and ulcers. I hope everyone is well informed about the possible side effects, see your bariatric team right away if there's anything amiss.

Good luck, and be well. 

First i'm glad to hear you are feeling better ......I too have had a few bowel obstructions since my RNY in 2012....the last obstruction was almost a year ago February 26th 2015 and it ended up as an emergency situation which the end result left me with an Ileostomy for the rest of my life (my choice) I pray you don't get that far to require any type of ostomy but if you do remember i'm here and this is the second ostomy i've had since 2010....all the best to you

Yikes! I'm glad you're ok. Did they perform your RNY differently because you had an ostomy before your RNY?

I still had my RNY done by laprascope which was amazing.

I'm so sorry to hear this, Kelly. I wish you the best of luck with your colonoscopy. Keep us updated. Fingers crossed and lots of good thoughts headed your way!

Wow Kelly.... you've had quite a time over the last few years.  Yes, these stories scare me.....but thank you for sharing and expressing how important it is for each of us to pay attention to our bodies and not to let things just go .

Here's hoping the worst is behind you now, and nothing but clear sailing from here on out !!!  

On a happier note, congratulations on your awesome accomplishments with your fitness.  Amazing !!

Thanks! It sucks telling these stories, because I feel that it might deter someone's journey, but I feel the need to inform so that when issues arise, people will know what to do!

Sorry to hear you had to have another surgery and I hope your colonoscopy results are clear.  Thank you for sharing your experiences, it is so helpful to know these things.  Let us know how things go.

Glad they found the problem. Hope the colonoscopy goes well. Let us know how you are