HELP: Major DS Complications!

[Freebird86]

I’m cross posting this is several DS forums to try and gather as much info/help as I can, since I’m feeling pretty desperate and afraid at this point. I had a DS with Dr. Ng and Rex Surgical Specialist in Raleigh, NC April 13th, 2015. Theoretically everything went well (DS/hernia repair/gall bladder removal.) My second day post-op the issues started. I couldn’t get anything to go/stay down, kept throwing up. I was started on a cocktail of different things, Reglan, Carafate, Protonix, Zofran, etc. Things calmed down over the next day or so and I could eat and drink in line with that they wanted, so they sent me home on Thursday, post-op day 3. From Thursday to Wednesday next, I suffered terribly. I had a constant stomach ache, I could barely swallow, no combination of anything seemed to settle my stomach. I saw the NUT who kept encouraging me to try and drink MORE water and to take my supplements (none of which I was anywhere close to being able to tolerate.) Eventually by that Thursday I was severely dehydrated, acutely miserable, and out of ideas. I was re-admitted to the hospital through the ER. While there they did a swallow test and found my connection from intestine to new little stomach was crazy swollen, much much more swollen then it should be at this stage.

I was loaded up with drugs and admitted. As soon as I didn’t have to swallow anything and all of it went into the IV, things instantly quieted down. I was NPO for a few days and my stomach was fine, I was rehydrated by the bags of fluid and with several doses of steroids for the inflammation, I was feeling much much better. Finally went back to the clear liquid diet, everything went down fine at the hospital and after 3 days I was discharged yesterday. As soon as I had to go back to actually putting medication into my new little stomach, here came the puking/nausea, general stomachache. I threw up a cocktail of meds before Zofran, Carefate and time finally let me go to sleep last night. I put in a desperate call to my surgeon’s office this morning and had a long talk with his nurse. I don’t want to spend any more time in the hospital, I just want to figure out the right combination of medications to keep me from being miserable—or for them to scope me or something to see what the problem is.

Did anyone have even vaguely similar issues with stomach/swallowing/pain right after you’re DS? I’m at a loss for what to do to make this better and spending my life perpetually in the hospital is not something I’m willing or able to do. I have done everything I know how as far as varying temperatures of liquid, trying other kinds of liquid, meds before liquid, meds after, nothing makes a difference. If anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them, because I’m sinking fast and buyer’s remorse is setting in hardcore at this point, something I never thought I’d say. Even a wee bit of encouragement to stay the course would be welcome.

Thanks

Shonda

 

[southernlady]

((((((((((Shonda)))))))))))), I am sorry you are having issues.

You might need TPN or a feeding tube til things heal better. Keep being a squeaky wheel with your surgeon.

 

[marissamast]

Oh honey. So sorry it has been so rough. Make them listen to you! Be that squeaky wheel!

 

[DianaCox]

1) STOP trying to take your supplements - you don't need them yet, as you have plenty of stores that will last you a while and those pills are messing with your tender guts (I couldn't swallow pills for three months, other than my tiny PPI and thyroid pills, and I was just fine).

2) STAY AWAY from Reglan - it can have terrible psychiatric side effects. Use compazine or Zofran for nausea if necessary.

3) Yes, this is fairly common, and it ALWAYS goes away eventually - don't catastrophize. Keep an eye on things, and if you can't keep liquids down, get buffed up with IV fluids till your stomach heals - and it will. SOME people end up with strictures which need stretching endoscopically, so if it is an ongoing issue, do NOT let your surgeon off the hook.

4) I never heard of Ng as a DS surgeon - just sayin'...

 

[southernlady]

4) I never heard of Ng as a DS surgeon - just sayin'...

He's fairly new on the scene...I have heard of him but don't know much about him. http://www.rexbariatrics.com/

 

[Freebird86]

Thank you to everyone that has replied so far, I guess I just feel overwhelmed because of the constant stomach pain, that it's good to hear this won't last forever. To clarify, I haven't made ANY attempts to take supplements, I could care less about them right now when I can barely hold liquid. I was prescribed reglan/carafate/zofran/prilosec/phenergan and no combination of any of that brings any real relief. Anything I put in my stomach immediately makes it hurt terribly and all I can think about is wishing I hadn't bothered, if it's bad enough, I'll end up having it all come back up on me anyway in a few minutes. I was NPO at the hospital this past weekend and on IV everything including IV steroids for the swelling in the connection between intestine and new pouch, I felt really good. At this point I spent 15 minutes on the phone with the surgeons's nurse who could only tell me to try round-the-clock zofran for the nausea and she or the PA would call me back (no heard back yet, today was a surgery day.) I'm not a quitter, whiner or a crybaby by any means, but being constantly in severe stomach pain coupled with near dehydration all the time is just wiping me out physically and emotionally. I can't and don't want to keep going into the hospital but there doesn't seem to be any other option that allows me any relief from this. I would almost welcome TPN or feeding tube if it meant giving my stomach a break. I'm hoping maybe they will scope down there and see if they missed something.

 

[southernlady]

between intestine and new pouch

Just remember to try and call it a sleeve, not a pouch. Pouch implies RNY.

 

[Freebird86]

Oops, my bad! Sorry about that, the ER doctor had said pouch and got me saying it wrong too. You're absolutely right, it is a sleeve.

 

[southernlady]

Oops, my bad! Sorry about that, the ER doctor had said pouch and got me saying it wrong too. You're absolutely right, it is a sleeve.

When medical staff call mine a pouch, I look at them and say, no...I had the DS so I have a sleeve for a stomach.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Aw man, sorry you're dealing with that. Hopefully it'll calm down soon!

 

[Larra]

Shonda, I'm so glad to "see" you here! I hope by now you have heard back from your surgeon's office. I think the most important thing at this early date is to stay hydrated. Everything else can wait. If you are unable to stay hydrated, well, then you need to get hydrated at the hospital. You will feel so much better when hydrated, too. If the problem persists, then you need a work-up to rule out any anatomic problem, such as a stricture - they are much less common with DS than with gastric bypass but they can occur. Or maybe your poor sleeve is just still swollen for some reason. Different people heal at different rates. And frankly, I have never heard of steroids hastening the resolution of swelling of the stomach or intestines that comes from having surgery done on them. It's usually the type of problem that resolves itself with time, and the amount of time is quite variable.
So stay in touch with your doctors, go to the ER/hospital if you have to, and know that it WILL get better!

 

[hilary1617]

Sorry to hear you are struggling. Hope this resolves soon! Please stay hydrated!!!!

 

[EricaK]

Shonda, you and I are surgery sisters in a sense. I also had my surgery April 13 2015 with Dr. Ng at Rex. Mine was in the afternoon so maybe yours was in the morning. Anyway, I hope you are getting some relief or a good idea that things are improving today. I haven't had any issues besides still having the runs because of the liquid diet, but I'll be thinking of you and catching up here to see how you are doing. You will get through this.

 

[Will2014]

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles my friend, but these are actually very common post op problems. Your stomach has been cut off and thrown away, and your intestines cut and anastomatized multiple times. Your body is displeased by all of this, and is rightly informing you of it's insult. PLEASE listen to Diana's advice and stop the pill madness-including pain pills! Narcotic analgesics are notorious puke inducers and you shouldn't be needing narcs now anyway. Focus on staying hydrated and letting your system HEAL. You have literally months of stored vitamins and minerals that your body can draw from. I know you are suffering and I hope you feel better really soon! You will find this site to be the greatest source of DS information in existence on the web. Please listen to the vets and try to remain calm as you go day to day. It WILL get better I promise you!

 

[Freebird86]

Hello everyone, I yet live! I ended up going back to my surgeon's office and from there they sent me to be re-admitted Tuesday where I stayed until I was released a little while ago. They did a CT scan and an endoscopy and confirmed it was swelling that was causing the issues. I was given tons of fluid to rehydrate, meds to make me comfortable and soothe my sleeve and out of pain, I could finally rest. I have been improving daily, able to tolerate fluids well and feeling so much better now that things have calmed down inside noticeably. Now my focus is to just to keep sipping and getting in nourishment and letting things heal at their own pace. They want to see me back at my surgeon's office next week and so far I've lost about 30 pounds since surgery. Thank you for all the advice and well wishes, I really do appreciate it, and you'll definitely be seeing a lot more of me around here in the future.