Please take a moment to read and I hope something I say will help someone out there.  I just had surgery for a Peterson's Hernia one year postop gastric bypass.  This is can be a serious complication if not caught in time and repaired.  My intestines were slipping through an opening left from my surgery and actually getting stuck causing extreme abdominal pain, vomiting and a bowel obstruction.  Left untreated, it can lead to a necrotic bowel (dead bowel) which of course can lead to death.  My symptoms began about a month ago.  After finishing a meal (any meal... no food in particular) I randomly would develop upper abdominal pain in the center of my abdomen.  It is a pain like no other.  I have compared it only to a labor contraction that never ends and intensifies as time passes lasting anywhere from 12 to 36 hours.  The last case I had involved violent vomiting for more than 12 hours which landed me a trip to the ER via my sweet husband.  I must say had he not been here, I probably would have never went to the ER.  CT scan revealed bowel obstruction and I ended up in emergency exploratory surgery which revealed the hernia.  After 2.5 hours of surgery, they repaired it and I am on the road to recovery.  Please please please...if you have experienced any upper abdominal pain that is out of the normal for you and nothing you do seems to give you relief...i.e. TUMS, Gas-X, etc., contact your surgeon  immediately.  This is a very serious condition that requires immediate attention.  I thank God for a loving husband and for guiding my surgeons hands during this ordeal.  God Bless... Ro

I have had some symptoms like that, only about four times in the last few months.  A  couple people suggested to me that it could be a petersons hernia.  One of the times I went to the ER and they diagnosed gastritis and gave me pain meds and something for nausea and sent me home.  No tests of any kind.  Another time I went to the ER (a different ER, which I will not go to again) by ambulance because the pain was so bad I could not walk.  They actually made me get off the gurney and go sit in the waiting room.  After sitting there sobbing for close to an hour, I made the decision to just go home because I thought I would feel better lying down at home than sitting in a hard chair in the ER waiting room.

Anyway, here's what I am wondering.  First, do you think it would be possible to have a petersons hernia for several months with only a few episodes of pain and vomiting?  Or if I had that, would the situation have been getting steadily worse and/or would I just be dead by now?  Second, do you know what made them suspect it was something serious when you were at the ER?  Like, why did they decide to do a CT scan and then exploratory surgery but when I went to the ER with very similar symptoms. they decided I had gastritis and sent me home?  And did you see a bariatric surgeon in the ER or just the regular ER doc?

I'm glad you're doing well now.

First off let me answer your question about how long this can be going on before diagnosed.  this was my third episode in a month.  The second time it happened, I called my bariatric surgeon and he had me come in for a CT.  By the time I called my surgeon, I had already been in pain for over 12 hours.  Once I got to his office and had the CT, it came back normal.  He suspected may be an ulcer and gave me some Carafate and Prilosec.  Two weeks later, I had my third episode.  This time it began shortly after lunch on a Friday and at 3 am on Saturday morning my husband said "No more"...we headed to the ER which fortunately for me is the same hospital where my bariatric surgeon also works.  Upon arrival, my husband told them all my symptoms, the HORRIBLE UNBEARABLE abdominal pain, violent vomiting and that I had already had one CT done two weeks ago.  They put me on IV fluids, started administering Dilaudid for the pain and began to contact my surgeon as well as the general surgery team at the hospital.  They took me down yet again for another CT, this one showing that I had a bowel obstruction.  The plan at that point was to admit me to the hospital and put me on what they called "bowel rest" to allow the obstruction to hopefully diminish on its own.  Sunday afternoon, my bariatric surgeon came to see me, he was on his way to the airport and would be gone for twl weeks.  He said after looking at the CT he was sure I had a hernia that would need repair.  The next morning, the general surgery team came in and informed me they felt exploratory surgery was in order and that they were expecting to find a Peterson's hernia and if so, they would repair while in there.  They said worse case scenario, if we do not find anything, we will have to wait until it happens again and take you in to surgery immediately while it is happening so we can see what is going on.  Thank you Jesus they found the hernia right off the bat, along with some adhesions that they also repaired.  My advice to you is YOU are your best advocate.  DO NOT let them walk on you, this is serious and your life is precious.  This is one of those conditions that will not be consistent, it happens randomly and without warning.  So yes, you can have it for a while and unfortunately I do not know how long before serious damage has been done.  Just dont wait, call your surgeon, tell him you have studied up on the Peterson's hernia and you are very concerned that you may have it.  It wont always show up on a CT, simply because once the intestines slips into that opening, it usually works its way back out thus not showing anything abnormal on a CT.  Luckily for me, they were able to see enough on my last CT to know something wasnt quite right and I also have a GREAT bariatric surgeon who generally cares about his patients.  I hope this helps.  Please keep me posted.  I am praying for you. 

A co-worker of mine just went through this experience as well! She had Gastric Bypass 2 years ago. ONLY she did not get it diagnosed quickly enough and ended up having 8-10 inches of her bowel removed because it was dead!  It is a wonder she didn't die!  She will be out of work for at least 6 weeks.

Wow, thanks for the warning! I'm glad you're OK now!

Thank God you are okay.  That is such a serious complication and one that, quite frankly, concerns me.