Update on my colectomy - IT IS A GO FOR 10/20

DSRIGGS

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So I thought we were set for surgery on 10/27 but Kristina had not discussed in detail with Dr k the specifics of my case. He will be out of town for a conference the following week so he is not comfortable doing my colectomy and then leaving town 8 days later. Kristina is checking with the hospital to see if they can move something around yo open a slot for me on 10/20. If that isnt possible then it will likely be Novemer, 11. I don't want to wait that long but I truse Dr k and will do what he feels is best for me.

My wife doesn't have enough vacation time left to be there the entire time and she doesn't handle LA traffic and being by herself well, so my brother who is a super guy (and my best friend) is going with me. He needs a DS as well and is finally ready to do it, so it is great that he can meet with Dr K and get the ball rolling. Mark is just under 6'4 and I am guessing 425 to 450. He is two years older than me and his wife has had MS for 20 years now, so he really needs to drop the weight for his health so he can continue to take great care of her.
 
Sorry you had such a hard time. I don't know your whole story, but I hope this is the last surgery for you
 
Scott, I'm sure the dates will be sorted out soon, and I'm thrilled that your brother is finally ready to meet Dr. K and have his much needed DS. All of us who have been through the decision process understand how hard it can be, and that we each get to that point of being ready in our own way and in our own time. Good for him!
Keep us posted.
 
Sorry you had such a hard time. I don't know your whole story, but I hope this is the last surgery for you
Thank you.

So here is my story:

  1. 9/2013 I had a virgin DS with Dr Stephen Marshall At that time I was not aware of the importance of the HESS method (shame on me). He gave me a 100 CM CC and 150 CM AL
  2. in September of 2014 I was admitted to the hospital for several abdominal pain which ended up being an internal hernia and small bowel blockage.
  3. A month later I ended up back at the hospital because I was very weak and passing out. It turned out that my resting HR was 35-40, BP was 70/38. They thought it was low blood pressure so after some testing they put me on a med to increase my BP and released me after 3 days. The next day I ended up back in the hospital with the same symptoms. They called in cardiology as they thought I might have heart failure and or need a pacemaker. Neither was the case as my heart was very healthy. The Radiologist look at my labs and said you are severely malnourished as you Albumin is around 2 and Total protein was 3.0 - 3.5....so basically about half of the lower limit. Most of my other lab values were for shit and the freaking NP who released me after my surgery didn't bother to notice and or tell me that my values were so low. I was below range on most everything. I was put on CREON which is a pancreatic enzyme that aids in food digestion. I ended up needing the max dose and was taking right around 400,000 IU daily give or take 36,000 IU which was the dosage of one capsule.
  4. I was on CREON for a year to see if my absorption picked up by time I got to the 2 years mark (at that point you should be kind of where you are going to be). A month short of the two year mark I dropped almost 20 lbs that I didn't have to lose in 17 days. Dr K told me to do one of two things. Either get out to him ASAP so he could extend my AL or have Marshall insert a central line and start me on TPN until I could get out to Dr K. I chose the former.
  5. 8/2015 - I had a revision with Dr K to fix my absorption issues. While doing surgery he measured my small and basically gave me a Hess DS. He also found that my internal hernia had opened up again so he repaired it. I immediately stopped all CREON and my numbers held steady as they were with being on CREON. He also fixed a small umbilical hernia.
  6. In January or Feb of this year I stared feeling a lot of abdominal pain and discomfort. It turned out I had SIBO from fecal matter backing up in my small intestine. A ventral hernia popped as well. Antibiotics helped with the SIBO but the hernia was still messing with my guts and was the size of a softball so on May, 24 I had a ventral hernia repair and an 8 x 10 inch hunk of mesh was screwed into my gut.
  7. Exactly a month later I ended up having a double inguinal hernia repaired.
  8. A couple months ago I went back to the ER as I was having identical pain to what I had with the blockage from the internal hernia. The CT did not show a hernia or blockage bad enough to do a repair (it didn't show any of them prior either) but it did show what he radiologist called a chronic functional obstruction and fecalization of the common channel.
  9. After I was discharged I was sent home and told to consult with the local surgeon who did the dual inguinal hernia repair. He told me he awasn't comfortable with my case as he wasn't experienced with the DS so I should see my DS surgeon. Dr K ordered a barium enema study and it showed I have a redundant or torturous colon that has a lot of kinks and folds. After trying a few things Dr K suggested with diet and other things it didn't help so Dr K said that the only other option was to remove my sigmoid colon and possibly the entire descending colon.
  10. In addition to all of that I have been very dizzy, weak, fatigued and passing out 2-3 times a day. My thyroid numbers were right at the bottom of range and even though not clinically hypthyroidism Dr K said I was symptomatically hypo so I needed to consult with my PCP and Endo. An Endo didn't want to see me so my PCP started me on a low dose of levothyroxine. It seemed to be helping a little after about 3 weeks but after I had it refilled I started feeling bad again
That is my long story and I am sure I forgot something but basically I have fell like shit every since I had the DS. I still would do it again because my out of control diabetes was gone immediately and that was why I had the DS. My BP and Lipids are also very low now.

Hopefully this surgery eliminates my constant abdominal discomfort and pain. Additionally I have IBS like symptoms because of the Redundant colon so I get constipated like (never actual can't go but feels bloated and pain like I am constipated) and then I end up with diarrhea. I can lose 10 lbs in a day. The goal is for the surgery to help with that and from feces backing up into my small intestine. Hopefully it also helps with they hypothyroid symptoms.

Sorry for the book but that is the deal.
 
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Scott, I'm sure the dates will be sorted out soon, and I'm thrilled that your brother is finally ready to meet Dr. K and have his much needed DS. All of us who have been through the decision process understand how hard it can be, and that we each get to that point of being ready in our own way and in our own time. Good for him!
Keep us posted.
Hi Larra - Yeah it took him time and seeing me struggle was not exactly a ringing endorsement but he understands it and that it wast the way my original DS was completed. He was more worried about employment situation and insurance but he has also realized that his weight is hurting him with a good long term career.

Thanks
 
omg that is a novel...as you know you will be in excellent hands......hopefully you will get in soon....
Thanks sweet heart. I hope your recovery is going well. My ventral repair with mesh was by far the most painful surgery I have ever experienced.
 

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