Update on stomach pain....

Hi, I thought I was doing pretty good w/ no pain for a day and a half. However, last night at 8:30 I ate some cottage cheese w/ splenda & blueberries. At 9:00 I started having the same severe pain in my upper stomach around my back. My husband was on night shift and the pain kept getting worse. I took a pepcid complete, then a phenergan @ 12:00, still no relief. At 1:00 I took a tylenol and I started throwing up, of course not much and it was a little green, foam looking. That kinda scared me because I have never thrown up before. Long story short, I went to the ER, the "jerk" ER dr said nothing but negative things about wls. He did labs and plain xray. Xray did not show a blockage, but my labs were doubled on my pancrease enzymes. He gave me Dilaudid and a double dose of phenergan by IV and I immediately felt better. He told me to follow up w/ my wls dr. I researched pancreatitis on the web and it sounds just like my symptoms. It could be caused by alcohol (which I don't drink) or by gallstones. I am going for my CT abd w/ w/o contrast & Hida scan on Friday. I made a followup to see my dr in Birmingham on July 12. Maybe this will help anyone else! I'll keep you updated the more I learn. Georgina

Hi Georgina. I hope you are feeling better today. Just wanted to let you know that I suffered from Pancreatitis 8 months after my RNY. I ended up being hospitalized for 5 days before they could even remove my GB. I wasn't allowed to eat in those 5 days, they didn't even let me have any water or ice chips, only IV therapy. Besides being hospitalized, I had to deal with potassium piggybacks every 4 hours due to a low potassium and a new protocol that hospitals are following. I hope you they can treat you before you end up like I did! BTW, the GB removal was done LAP and it was much easier than the RNY. I hope you are on your way to a full recovery. Please feel free to email me if you have questions. Take care of yourself. Cathy

Thanks Cathy, I just emailed you. Georgina

Hi Georgina, I wrote you the other day thinking it might be a closed stoma. Now I understand the pain somewhat from gallbladder if that is what you have. I had some very bad pains 6 months after my last child was born. I thought I was having a heart attack. Could hardly breath and had a pain like a knife under the breast and through to the back. It turned out to be my gallbladder, which was hard for any tests to detect. I did have it removed and haven't had a problem since. Mine was 35 years ago and was exploritory surgery so I have "railroad" track lines across my abdomen. These days, it's almost a snap to have it out with the four little holes they make to remove it. lol Oh well, I intersect with the RNY and at 65 years, I'm quite a site. No more bikinis for me in my lifetime unless I win the lottery. ha ha Hope you feel better soon. Marilyn

Hi Marilyn, Thanks for your response. I too think it is my gallbladder or pancreas. I just got home from a CT scan, which thankfully, I was hurting this time so maybe it will show something. I also have a Hida scan(which tests the function of the gallbladder)scheduled for Monday. From the info I have been reading, my pancreas enzymes being high could be from gallstones. I'm not sure, but I am anxious to go to my dr on Wed. Thanks for your input. I'll keep everyone posted because apparently I am not the only on having this type of pain. Georgina

Hi Georgina, Thanks for sharing your info. I am just shy of 3 years post-op lap rny. Doing GREAT till last week. Worked out and had a pain that wouldn't go away-- thought it was muscle, but didn't really feel like muscle pain. Sharp, hot, radiating, peaks and ebs- sort of like getting (what I expect it might feel like) a knife in the gut. Went to the ER last night, 2am, had tests-- all normal. Pain was it's worst last night. That's why I called my doc. I feel constipated, gassy, and bloated-- but nothing's there. ER doc told me to follow up w/ my doc on Monday. Told me to take motrin 400 mg 4x a day till then. They gave me a shot of torodol last night which took the edge off, but didn't completely get rid of the pain. They did x-ray and blood last night. I want this to go away. I was supposed to leave for a vacation w/ my daughter today, and this ruined everything. I am very unhappy. Sue

Dear Georgina, I am new to this website based on info rec'd from a friend of ours that is also a postop RNY patient. I happened to mention to her that I have had extreme, sudden bilateral back pain starting about 2 years post op (I am now 4 years post op). They at first thought it was my gallbladder; removed that and I thought it was done with. Approx a month after my gb was removed, I had the sudden onset of pain again; same type of pain as with my gallbladder; extreme, bring me to tears,to my knees pain that lasts for hours with nausea, not vomiting usually, feeling gassy and just lousy to put it mildly. After going to the ER x 3 with this only to receive pain meds and to be treated like a drug seeker, I have been using my friend a doc to help me find out what is causing this. He noted that another patient of his who is 2 yrs post op RNY also had the same type of pain with her gb removed and they can't figure out what her pain is either. Most symptoms sound like I was passing a kidney stone, but all test came back neg for that. Since my gallbladder is removed, they think I may have sphincter of oddi dysfunction; but don't know for sure. My friend the doc is surmising that this is something related to post op RNY surgery and may be a "blind pouch" syndrome, a sphincter of oddi spasm or something else that is not diagnosed yet as a post op complication for RNY patients. I am interested in hearing from any other post o p RNY patients that may have had this type of agonizing pain and what it was diagnosed as, treated with, related to or anything else. To tell the truth, I feel like I am nuts most of the time because my lab tests, er tests always come back negative. I basically treat myself with Hydrocodone at home when I get the attacks and let them ride their course rather than go to the ER because I don't know what else to do. I cannot tie them to a triggering event such as a food type, event, exercise, etc. If anyone has anything similiar to this, please feel free to email me or send me the info. With all said, I am still glad I had the RNY. I have lost over 150 lbs, am no longer diabetic, no longer hypertensive, my arthritis is no longer a daily pain (still there but with less weight to carry, it is not pain as before), my chest pain is gone and I feel great most of the time. Even though I have lost most of my muscle mass, and my bone density has decreased, I still am much healthier than before the RNY. I just wish I could get a handle on this pain because when it hits me it is worse than labor. If I have it at work (I am an RN/ Administrator of an outpatient surgery center), I literally wind up on my knees in a fetal position crying till I can get pain meds to lessen the pain. My friend the doc has taken to giving me demerol as an outpatient (legal of course as his patient with chart, orders etc) to make it go away but we still can't find the cause. ANyone with info: Please share. Best wishes to everyone and congrats to all who have successfully undergone a WLS procedure; best health and everything else is wished to you always. Kim H/ Merritt Island, FL

Kim....Laura and maybe Tess and I are meeting in Cocoa Village for lunch on the 14th. Any chance you can join us? I have also had this pain...and been to the er...and its never been diagnosed either. And you hit the nail on the head when you say it comes in spasms. It started with me about 2 years post op....one episode lasted for 2 days before it went away. Drugs stop it. I am thinking your Doc friend may be on to something. I am going to print your post and send it to my Doc along with Georgina's post. However....and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I had an endoscopy....and my stoma 'rotor rooted' and I have not had the pain since. If it comes back, I'm at square one again. Drop me an email about lunch on the 14th... Hugs Charlie

Hi Charlie and gang, I would LOVE to meet you at Cocoa Village on 7/14 but unfortunately I work M - F 0700 - ???? If you ever get together on a weekend, please let me know and I will definitely join you. I actually work for endoscopy doc's and they "roto-root" all the time, but that didn't work for me. I hope the pain is gone for you, but please keep me posted and let me know what your doc's say. Another friend of mine that had the same type of pain as ours start about 2 years post RNY was hospitalized for 7 days recently and they could not diagnose her pain with any specific diagnosis, but the PA treating her graduated from the U of Florida, and prescribed tramadol/Ultram. According to the PA, the opiates tend to increase the occurrence of spasms associated with Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, but tramadol/Ultram does not, and it can be taken long term without becoming habit forming. My friend said she has been pain free for over a month on tramadol/Ultram. It seems that we are all grabbing at straws, but at least I don't feel as nuts as I did a few days ago since so many people are saying they have the same type of pain as us after the WLS procedure(s). Have a great lunch at Cocoa Village and think of me. Let me know if you have any other get-togethers and I will make plans to meet up with you. Best of luck; Hugs back to you.........Kim

Thanks Kim, My story exactly, my CT came back as borderline fullness of the intrahepatic biliary tree & common bile duct that is upper limits of normal size. So I guess that there is some blockage. I have an appt w/ my wls on Wed, hopefully he will be able to solve this but I will mention all that I have read here. Thanks again for your reply! Georgina