[wannabethin]

Hello everyone, First, I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and concern since my surgery. It was appreciated more than you will ever know. I've struggled over whether I should share my post-op problems on the forum, as I certainly don't want to discourage anyone who is still pre-op. Finally, I've decided that those exploring WLS should have every bit of information they can find, both good and bad, in order to make a decision that is right for themselves. And, just in case you think this long story is all gloom and doom, THERE IS A HAPPY ENDING!!!!! So, here goes.
My lap RNY was 8 weeks ago tomorrow. Along with the WLS, I had my gallbladder removed (pre-op tests showed that it needed to come out). I had done Opt-Fast two weeks pre-op, and the day of surgery I weighed #200. (I'm 5'3).
My surgery went well, although I remember my surgeon telling me that I was pretty "oozy" inside. Little did I know how those words would come back to haunt me. My hemoglobin dropped pretty low during the next two days, but my doctor didn't think it required a blood transfusion. He told me that I would feel like I'd run out of gas, but it would slowly build back up. I was released 2 1/2 days post-op.
Things went fairly well for a couple days, although I was absolutely wiped out. 5 days after my surgery, my heart started racing and I could hear my heart roaring in my ears. The on-call doctor told me to come to the ER, where I was given several liters of bolus fluids and admitted. Even though I had been doing well with the full liquids and drinking okay, I just couldn't compensate with the low blood volume. I was kept overnight and dismissed the next afternoon, feeling much better.
Something my surgeon does that I know isn't the same with all doctors, is that he puts in a G-tube and a Jackson Pratt drain during surgery. If all goes well, the JP drain is removed one week post-op, with the G-tube being removed the following week. I came to hate those tubes!!!!
Three days after my second stay in the hospital, I started spiking a temp and developed a bad odor coming from my drain. Back I went to the doctor's office for a sonogram, blood work, and a chest x-ray. I had developed pneumonia and my lab showed that I had an infection. The sonogram showed my diaphragm was irritated, which kept me from breathing well and probably contributed to the pneumonia. So, now I was in a pickle. I was started on antibiotics for the infection and pneumonia. Because some of my symptoms could be caused by a leak in my new anatomy, my surgeon took me off of everything by mouth. No fluids or food at all. I started tube feedings 4 times/day in order to let the possible leak heal. The first type of supplement he ordered caused me to have severe diarrhea, which dropped my potassium very low. This was pretty scary and he ordered a large amount of liquid potassium within a few hours to correct the problem. After 24 hours of intermittent Gatorade through my tube, things cleared up. I then started on a different type of supplement that I tolerated much better. For the next 32 days, that was my nourishment. What I would have given for a glass of water!
I ended up having 5 swallow studies (the first one was the day after surgery, and showed no leak). For almost 7 weeks the feeding tube and JP drain were kept in place. On each doctor's visit, he re-stitched the drain in place. He ordered Home Health to come to my house during all of this.
Thank God, by the 3rd week of September, the study showed that the leak had healed and I could start eating and drinking again. He didn't want to take any tubes out for another week, until he saw how I did without the tube feedings.
Finally, on September 22nd, he took all my tubes out. Sometimes when tubes are removed you can start running a temp again, requiring IV antibiotics. He told me that he would breathe a sigh of relief if I made it through the next week without problems.
I am so thankful that I got along fine afterwards. I am now eating most foods, although I'm still staying mostly with soft things. I go back to the doctor this Tuesday, this time with a huge smile on my face.
After all that has happened, I truly never thought there would be a time that I was happy that I had the surgery. For weeks, I wondered what in the world I had done to myself and had huge regrets.
Today, even though I certainly haven't forgotten all those dark days, I am feeling great now. I think it must be kinda like childbirth! To date, I've lost #35 pounds. Thanks for reading this long (and depressing at times) story!

[Kat]

Hey Wammabethin,
Thank you for sharing your story. You sort of went through the ringer, sounds like. I'm sorry that had to happen to you...makes me realize how lucky I've been so far. Are you feeling 100% now? I hope that the rest of your WL journey well be as good as the past was difficult. Your a trooper.

[fr1endly2]

OH MARCI ...
i am so glad you shared your post with everyone and your experience.
COMPLICATIONS do happen and not for one mintue were you not in my t
thoughts.
I did feel awful not getting back in touch with you as i wanted too. I got to caught up in getting my 3 kids ready for school and the start of school.
I been haveing trouble all month with the pre k (my 3 year old ) starting school and has had me sooo stressed the crying and all that.

I am so glad the leak you had has healed itself!
I bet your looking fabulous....
thanks for shareing you storey!
AND i look forward to seeing many more posts now that
your up and about and feeling positive!
ITS still a hard journey and we are all here for all
your bumps and struggles that arise.

LOOK FORWARD to seeing tons of posts bye you now that your feeling more positive of your choice!

((((((((((TIGHT HUGSSSSSSSSS)))))))))))))))

[PeggySue]

Marci, my goodness.... hope this finds you ok and feeling better. yes things do happen, but it sounds like you came tghru with flying colors... your experience will help others knowing that complications do happen and that it does get better.... thinking of you... Peggy

[DocSanae]

Wannabethin, thank you for sharing your bumps on this journey with us.
There will be those whose bumps are small and far between, while there also will be those whose bumps are a little bit more bumpy and seem to come togerher in a lump.
You held up well even with all the happenings along the way, yes, the sun is always behind that cloud.
Everyone thinking of this surgery needs to hear that there are rides like yours, but the happy ending is there as you say.
((((((HUGS)))))))), welcome back, and looking forward to more of your posts!!

[MSmom]

hey wannabe .... I do hope you are feeling better. Thank you for sharing with us. I still have not been approved yet (waiting out my 6 mo.) and I am glad to be aware of these possible complications. I truely do hate that you had to go through this. I hope you are feeling better now.

[Becca]

Oh my, i'm sorry you had some bad problem's,,i hope you feel better soon...............

[wannabethin]

Someone asked me about the infection I mentioned in my original post. I didn't make it very clear. My surgeon routinely gives an injection of Lovenox (blood thinner) one hour pre-op. For some reason, it caused me problems and I had a peritoneal bleed. He estimated that 4-5 pints of blood went into my abdominal cavity in the days following surgery. This is where the infection set up. The JP drain removed around 20% of the blood, the rest was absorbed by my body over a period of time. The worst part was the odor from the infection. The smell was unbelievable and I wasn't able to leave my house for almost two weeks. I kept a car air freshener and a Bounce sheet tied to my tubing and sprayed with Febreze every few minutes. The smell still permeated the house, even with a pillow over my stomach. I certainly couldn't be around other people during this time. Pretty disgusting, to say the least. Although it got much better after a couple weeks, the smell stayed in that plastic tubing until it was removed after 7 weeks. It was pretty disgusting.

[DocSanae]

Oh, my, that was yucky and a real problem for you. Unfortunately, disposable plastic and latex stuff used in the medical scene seem to pick up such odors so that it sticks around even if the origin of the odor itself had dissipated. I imagine that was very distressing and depressing for you.
((((((HUGS)))))))

[xsmith95]

Marci, I am really glad you decided to share that with everyone. I am a firm believer that everyone needs to know as much as possible about this surgery, preop or postop. It is true and realistic facts and it's good for others to see the other side of all the wonderful things we talk about.

I am very sorry that this had to happen to you but I am so happy to hear that you are doing great now. Please keep us updated on your condition and good luck with your weight loss.