Howdy 20's! Here is a big update....

Hey guys,

As you may or may not have noticed I've been absent most of the past couple of days and all day yesterday.  That is because I'm not doing so hot.  Since my exploratory surgery last Friday I have lost 17 pounds.  Not good, especially when 17 pounds is more than 10% of my body weight and I'm already sick.  Losing 17 pounds in a week might be okay for someone 2 days post-op, but for someone almost 2 YEARS post op that is an indication something is WRONG.  I lost the weight because eating is hard with my complication and because I have to drain my "detached stomach" every time I eat (this is much more explained in my blog) so I lose a lot of liquid and digestive power. Well yesterday I had some tests involving the pretty little tube that is sticking out of my "detached" stomach (for those of us that have RNY you get a "pouch" which is where food goes when you eat, and then separately from that you have the larger part or your "detached" stomach that still produces digestive juices that go down and mix with your food to help it digest later on when it meets with food in the Y part of your RNY), problem was I woke up with the stomach flu.  I was supposed to have the final surgery to fix the superior mesenteric artery syndrome (SMA syndrome) that has been making my life miserable for the past couple months today, but since I'm really sick and the tests I had yesterday came back saying the SMA syndrome isn't going to kill me anytime soon my surgeon decided to put that on hold. He would like for me to gain some of the lost pounds back (LOL - let's all have a good laugh at the irony of this situation - the doc wants me to GAIN weight before surgery, how messed up is that!), get hydrated again and keep my temp in the normal range for a few days.  So we're looking at surgery the week of August 27th. Until I get the surgery to fix all this I am on bed rest (not fun for someone like me who doesn't know how to sit still very long), being fed through a tube (also not fun, but this is the only way to eat protien shakes if you ask me), and if I lose any more than 5 pounds over the next couple of days I'm going to be hospitalized.  So for now my family is having to take shifts taking care of me and making sure I get my "feeding" every 2 hours through my tube.  This also means I probably won't be posting my menu on the Eatin Good thread because my menu consits of protien shakes, pedialite, liquid vitamins, liquid pain meds and water through my feeding tube.  However I'll still happily give feed back (I'm sure you are all thrilled about this ).  Prayers are much appreciated for me and my family because none of this is fun. It is not my intention to scare anyone out of seeking WLS through horror stories of my complications.  I am a freak.  You might have come to that conclusion on your own but really, I am.  Complications like this are REALLY rare.  My surgeon is one of the leading experts on superior mesenteric artery syndrome in post-ops and he has seen fewer than 10 patients with this in the past 15 years.  So fear not, odds are really in your favor of never having to deal with a complication of this magnitude.  You might have to deal with strictures, hernias, bowel slippage and minor things like that but those are all easily fixed.   So prayers, warm thoughts, positive vibes - whatever - are welcome and I am really looking forward to the "I'M CURED!" post that is sure to come eventually.

HI Sweetie, Oh I wish I was there and could give you a big hug. I continue to keep you in my prayers (just said a little one for you). You are a great addition to this board. Keep us updated. Get well soon. (((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))

Aww, Amy, what a bummer! I feel so bad for you that you didn't get to have your surgery today. I hope you can manage to get back to where you need to be to get this thing taken care of. Is the doctor certain it is SMA, and how certain is it that the surgery will correct it? Can it come back? Hang in there and don't get to "Frailey" on us....Feel better!

LOL - you know "Frailey" is my maiden name right?  After I got married I changed my last name on here and didn't include the "Frailey" part and people didn't know who I was (seriously one lady on the main board said to me "you look a lot like this Amy Frailey person who used to be on obesityhelp, but I haven't seen her around for a while")!  So I left in in quotes.  I am going to remove it though, so promise me that if you see just "Amy Berry" you'll know who I am. And as for your questions - yes my surgeon is positive it is SMA syndrome and he is positive the surgery will fix it (it shows up on the tests and we have ruled out pretty much everything else).  In the patients he has worked with all 10ish of them are still symptom free since having their surgery (and the last one was 18 months ago and still doing well).  He has written studies for peer reviewed medical journals about Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome in gastric bypass post-ops and surgeons around the country refer patients to him when they suspect SMA, so I lucked out with him.  It shouldn't be able to come back.  I have a more detailed description of how they're going to fix me in my profile if you want to check it out. I am working on the feeling better - I want to be OFF pain meds.  I am really worried about getting dependant on the hydrocodone because I know it is a real possibiltiy and I've been on it for so long.  I don't like how I feel on it though, so I hope that helps when it comes time to kick 'em.  For now someone needs to teach me how to be on bed rest because I suck at it.  Ever since I got mobility and energy back I don't live giving it up!  Thanks for the response!