Valuable Lesson: Don't let doctors dismiss your pain!
I am so sorry you have been having so much pain! It really is frustrating when you have THAT much pain and no answers. I hope the Bariatric specialist takes good care of you and pinpoints the problem. You might want to check out Vanessa's profile. She has a wealth of information on her page, as she has been through quite a bit with pain: http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/butterflyreborn/ Also, and Vanessa might already have this on her page - you can do a google search for: "gastric bypass" & "internal hernia (type it in just like that) and you will find a lot of information and research on the topic of internal hernia's - you will see that although the best test for finding an internal hernia is the CT with contrast - very often it does not present on the CT findings despite being present. I hope you are feeling better soon ((hug)) - Good luck with the specialist and I pray you get the solution.
So glad you wrote about this. It happened to me too! I had an occasional pain after eating my small portions but at one year post op I ate a small portion and it hit a double small bowel obstruction from scar tissue growing around the small bowel. I hurt so bad I called 911. First time in my life I had to call an ambulance for myself.
The ambulance driver after hearing that I was a year post op RNY patient and 4 month post op from having my gall bladder removed refused to take me to my WLS hospital. He said he had to take me to the nearest hospital (country hospital). I knew they wouldn't know what to do or look for. But I was hurting so badly I couldn't argue with them. The doctors who didn't even know what a RNY was, shot me full of morphine and sent me home with a diagnosis of stomach flu. I went home and when the morphine wore off I was in extreme pain again.
I asked my husband to take me to the hospital I had the WLS at. They knocked me out and did a bunch of tests, the next thing I remember is my RNY surgeon saying he was going to do an exploratory and look for possible bowel obstructions. He found two which had completely shut my bowels down. I will never go to Hardin Memorial Hospital again for anything unknown again. I'm so glad I did finally get to my bariatric hospital, Suburban Medical Center in Louisville, KY. They had to remove 2 inches of small intestine. I will not go anywhere else for pain in that area again. I actually thought I was going to die from the pain or a rupture. Doctor Shina is my hero.
It is both scary and relieving to read these stories. Scary in that I see how common complications are, and a relief that I am not alone in what I've endured.
I had my Roux en Y in July 2003. I lost about 120 pounds, got married, had a baby in 2005, another in 2007, and another in 2008. First two pregnancies went wonderfully, babies and myself happy and healthy. 3rd delivery I knew something wasn't right - the pain was like some form of medieval torture. Baby was born healthy, but the next day in the hospital I suddenly became extremely ill. I had acute pain in my abdomen near my ribs, was very nausous to the point of vomiting every hour, and was just sick sick sick like I'd never been before. I pressed the nurse button repeatedly and they kept coming in telling me that the post-delivery contractions after multiple babies get worse each time. I said I felt like I was in hard labor - and this like 12 hours after giving birth. I got so sick I couldn't even hold the baby, my family said I was grey. Finally that afternoon some surgeons came in and ordered a CAT Scan. Turns out I had a bowel obstruction. 4 hours later I went to into surgery. While waiting in for the surgery I was so sick I was losing consciousness and in extreme pain. They kept giving me morphine and it was doing nothing. I remember faces coming to me and saying "you just had a baby! congratulations!" and I would try to smile but was barely conscious because of the pain. I don't even remember going into surgery.
I woke up the next morning and felt better. My stomach was completely bandaged up. My husband told me they had to remove 5 feet of my intestines due to intussusception (they telescoped in on themselves). Surgeons said I would make a 100% recovery. I finally held my newborn and besides the incision pain I felt pretty good. It was so scary because I had to go home to 2 toddlers and this newborn -and no lifting for 6 weeks! I got help and made it through. My newborn is now big and healthy and 3 months old.
But now I'm getting scared again. I've had something very strange ever since my 3rd baby was born: a lot of vaginal gas and some strange (not painful, more like dense) feelings in my abdomen. For about a month I thought it was just due to everything my body had gone through. But it hasn't gone away and I did some research and I'm thinking I may have a fistula. The only fix: more surgery. I have an appointment next week to get this looked at. But i'm so scared. I'm getting so scared of dying. I think about it every day now. I have 3 beautiful innocent little kids, and I'm terrified of leaving them. What other health problems are lurking? How many surgeries will I have to go through? Will these affect my lifespan/life quality?
I'm just writing b/c I'm scared. I haven't even told my husband or anyone else about this latest issue. Reading all these posts has made me realize how much I have to take my health into my own hands. It's all very scary. I don't regret the surgery - life wasn't worth living for me at over 300 pounds and I'd tried everything to lose weight. But I don't want to die or be sickly now!!!
I had my Roux en Y in July 2003. I lost about 120 pounds, got married, had a baby in 2005, another in 2007, and another in 2008. First two pregnancies went wonderfully, babies and myself happy and healthy. 3rd delivery I knew something wasn't right - the pain was like some form of medieval torture. Baby was born healthy, but the next day in the hospital I suddenly became extremely ill. I had acute pain in my abdomen near my ribs, was very nausous to the point of vomiting every hour, and was just sick sick sick like I'd never been before. I pressed the nurse button repeatedly and they kept coming in telling me that the post-delivery contractions after multiple babies get worse each time. I said I felt like I was in hard labor - and this like 12 hours after giving birth. I got so sick I couldn't even hold the baby, my family said I was grey. Finally that afternoon some surgeons came in and ordered a CAT Scan. Turns out I had a bowel obstruction. 4 hours later I went to into surgery. While waiting in for the surgery I was so sick I was losing consciousness and in extreme pain. They kept giving me morphine and it was doing nothing. I remember faces coming to me and saying "you just had a baby! congratulations!" and I would try to smile but was barely conscious because of the pain. I don't even remember going into surgery.
I woke up the next morning and felt better. My stomach was completely bandaged up. My husband told me they had to remove 5 feet of my intestines due to intussusception (they telescoped in on themselves). Surgeons said I would make a 100% recovery. I finally held my newborn and besides the incision pain I felt pretty good. It was so scary because I had to go home to 2 toddlers and this newborn -and no lifting for 6 weeks! I got help and made it through. My newborn is now big and healthy and 3 months old.
But now I'm getting scared again. I've had something very strange ever since my 3rd baby was born: a lot of vaginal gas and some strange (not painful, more like dense) feelings in my abdomen. For about a month I thought it was just due to everything my body had gone through. But it hasn't gone away and I did some research and I'm thinking I may have a fistula. The only fix: more surgery. I have an appointment next week to get this looked at. But i'm so scared. I'm getting so scared of dying. I think about it every day now. I have 3 beautiful innocent little kids, and I'm terrified of leaving them. What other health problems are lurking? How many surgeries will I have to go through? Will these affect my lifespan/life quality?
I'm just writing b/c I'm scared. I haven't even told my husband or anyone else about this latest issue. Reading all these posts has made me realize how much I have to take my health into my own hands. It's all very scary. I don't regret the surgery - life wasn't worth living for me at over 300 pounds and I'd tried everything to lose weight. But I don't want to die or be sickly now!!!
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