HELP NEEDED

My best friend had surgery about 6 months before I did . She has never been quite ok and that was 3 and 1/2 years ago . She has pain in her stomach all the time when she tries to eat . SHe is on so many different things to try and calm the stomach but she still had pain . SHe had went through so several upper and lower Gi's etc and everything under the sun and they cant find anything. Has anyone else had this and if so what was wrong .. SHe looks like a war victim as she is so so thin you can see her ribs. She has been to EVERY DR in this town and they are all stumped and say it must be in her head. The thing is , I dont think it is . The Dr who was her surgeon and she had RNY wasnt well versed in the surgery nor is he much on after care BUT no other dr's will touch you if they didnt do the initial surgery, Her family and all of us are at our wit's end .. Thanks for any advice anyone might have / Shirl

Dear Shirl, What a sad story! I would recommend that your friend look into going to the largest teaching hospital in your area...no matter how far away that might be. Find a bariatric program at a large city hospital and start there. It would seem that her original surgeon could be liable for this problem? Sheryl

Shirl, I can only share my experience! Please see my profile where you can piece together more information. For me, the battle became more than physical. Living in chronic pain is very difficult not just physically but psychologically and spirtually!!! When people in white coats continue to relay there is nothing wrong, one begins to question their own sanity! It also reduces your physical abilities / mobility / energy / etc. It can then become very depressing! Anxiety over all of it and the depression then escalates the pain. It's very sad really!! I feel your friend's pain and yours! I KNEW that something was "wrong." Reporting it to several doctors/specialists, I had every test under the sun (CT Scans, blood work, X-Rays, colonoscopy, endoscope, ---some more than twice) and was told nothing was wrong with me. However, there was something wrong with me that could have taken a turn suddenly becoming very serious and even fatal within a very short period of time. My original surgeon (for which I had to travel back home to another state) was being kept informed of everything that I was doing (my choice). He finally called me and said, "Enough is enough!" We scheduled exploratory surgery. His suspicion (same as mine which I even told the doctors here in TX that I had and they wouldn't find until they went in) was that I had an internal hernia and adhesions. We were right. The hernia had my bowel incarcerated in Peterson's space and I had a huge mass of scare tissue (adhesion) also in the area where I reported the pain. That surgery was in June of 2006. I developed another adhesion which wrapped around a portion of the small intestine and caused a partial bowel obstruction which he diagnosed through my testimony, a physical exam, and another exploratory surgery where he repaired the obstruction in November of that same year (2006). Thirty or so hours later, I develped a full obstruction and required emergent surgery. The ONLY obstruction that showed on any test was the full obstruction because the bowel was actually kinked over. My doctor assured me that everything that I had was NEVER going to show on ANY of those test (unless it advanced to a full blockage and/or septic case) and could only be found through exploratory surgery. I am so thankful that he has continued to provide care to me when others failed me. I find it difficult to accept that people have pain without cause though statistics show that 50% of people with abdominal pain never get a diagnosis. I have to wonder WHY that is -- if I had kept quiet -- how long might I have gone with abdominal pain without a diagnosis? Do people go undiagnosed because physicians are not looking in the right places and/or missing a link somewhere? Sometimes, a probable diagnosis and potential treatment can only be had through an extensive medical history and verbal reports of symptoms from the patient. Today, I fight chronic abdominal pain. Acute pain that goes untreated can become chronic. Also, I have had too many surgeries in a short period of time and the neurologist here thinks I now have permanent nerve damage which may cause pain -- well -- for as long as I live. I, however, suspect most of this is caused from a B12 deficiency and hope that, since I am now being treated with B12 injections, my anemia and nerve damage may be reversed. All that said, I hope and pray that your friend can find a doctor who will really LISTEN to her and that she can proceed with continued courage as an advocate for her own body, mind, and spirit!! Please contact me if you have any specific questions. I will answer to the best of my ability as it pertains to my own personal experience and any research I have completed which may be of service/benefit to your friend. Best, Vanessa

HI Vanessa, My name is Beth and well I was just reading your story... I am so sorry that you have gone through all of that...my thoughts and prayers are with you. I had the RNY/LAP in May of 04 and well just minor complications ...so far. I am just wobndering if you had the decision to make again about having WLS what would you do ? Take care of yourself........................Beth

Beth, Do you mean if I had this decision to make again knowing what I know today would I have the WLS? Yes. If you look over my profile, you'll find an entry where I discuss that I don't wholly believe that my obstructions are a direct result of the RNY. I talk about adhesions, surgery, creating hostile envoironments, etc. as it all pertains to me. I've had abdominal illness/disease since the age of 15. RNY was either going to improve disease/illness in my abdominal cavity/organs, make it worse, or stay the same. I understood everything before I went into altering my anatomy. I believe I'd have been dealing with adhesions again anyway (I was told to EXPECT adhesions to develop again and that I would likely need surgery for them within 2-5 years). It was five years when I had the first surgery since my RNY to address adhesions. We were actually amazed that I didn't have masses of adhesions when he went in to do the RNY. Part of the plan for the surgery was to remove any adhesions that had developed so it was a bit of shock - though a good one. If I had not had the RNY and lost the weight, I suspect that I'd be having Lysis of Adhesions at 250 pounds and that I may now also be suffering from worse hypertension that I had prior, diabetes, and who knows what else? Dialysis, loosing my sight, stroke, heart failure....I did this because I didn't want any of that and I'm not having any of that -- so mission accomplished, yes? Yes. I'd do it again! The mobility this weight loss has given me is so precious. Feeling better, looking better -- has brought me more out into life again where I belong. The mental, emotional, and physical pain of being *ahem* morbidly obese was far worse than all I have endured in the last 2 1/2 years. It has been a challenge! It has been a strain on my family. We've made a lot of sacrafices but what sacrafices would have been made regarding illnesses related to obesity/lack of mobility/lack of energy, etc.? There has been much mental, emotional, and physical pain with which to reconcile. For me, it has been highly psychologically challenging because it happened so quickly. I was fortunate to afford plastic surgery and jump into it right away which added to the psychological adjustments regarding who I am -- what size I am -- what I look like-- what I can do now -- faster. Remvoing the old recorded thoughts of that large person and replacing them with the thoughts of this new person (who is really the old me) has been daunting. It's all worth what I have "gained." Yes, I'd do it again! I hope this helps! Best, Vanessa

Thanks, Vanessa I replied to your email and I so appreciate your response Shirl