Obstruction HELP
hugs!! 
I called my surgeon but he is out of the country until next week. I spoke with his associate & he wants me to come in to be admitted for observation & so they can run more tests. Because I don't have any insurance I am going to take these antibiotics for today & see how I am tomorrow. If I start to get worse I will go back to ER. I am trying to wait it out until Tuesday so I can get in with a doctor that I can just pay cash for.
I did tell the ER about the surgery, but as the surgeon I spoke with today said most are just not educated about GB to know what to do for us. He said always make sure to check the hospital I use is a center for excellence because that means they are held to a different educational standard re patients who have had this surgery.
In the meantime I was not told what I can eat or not. Does anyone know? I thought just soft foods maybe? I had some oatmeal earlier & it didn't make me feel as sick. I am afraid to get weaker since I may be facing surgery soon.
I did tell the ER about the surgery, but as the surgeon I spoke with today said most are just not educated about GB to know what to do for us. He said always make sure to check the hospital I use is a center for excellence because that means they are held to a different educational standard re patients who have had this surgery.
In the meantime I was not told what I can eat or not. Does anyone know? I thought just soft foods maybe? I had some oatmeal earlier & it didn't make me feel as sick. I am afraid to get weaker since I may be facing surgery soon.
You need to be really careful - with a white count of 32, you have a nasty infection and probably needs IV antibiotics and your surgeon's partner is right that you need to be observed. Does the hospital any type of program for people that cant afford treatment? it isnt worth risking your life. Back in the fall of 2010, I had terrible abdominal pain and was constipated - I ended up waiting 5 days thinking the constipation wasnt that bad - by time I got to myGastro doctor - I was sent to my RNY surgeon an hour away for immediate emergency surgery - I had an internal hernia, intusseption, bowel obstruction. I was a mess. I wont go into all the details but it ended up being 5 months and 4 surgeries - lost a large part of my colon - I almost died.
When surgeons tell you that you need to be in a hospital to be observed it is because they need to see up close if anything happens and you need to be there if by chance it does and they can fix it right away - not wait until you get to another doctor have tests and decide if you are going to come in by them things could be much more serious.
Also, the CT scan you had was done at a different hospital than your surgeon. They probably dont know how to read it properly. The complications we get are very difficult to diagnose and you need very skilled radiologists with alot of experience in Gastric bypass to know how to read them. My surgeon will only let me have CT scans done for him at his hospital and if I am having complications when away - he has anyother place send him the images so he can see them first hand = then he goes over them with his radiologist.
I do hope you are feeling better but severe pain along with a severely high white count - normal is 4.0 to 10.0 = Do yo have a fever??????
Please let me know how things turn out.
I am not trying to scare you - I just dont want anyone else to suffer like I did - It was the worst year of my life - I am just finally recovered but am left with a very large incisional hernia
When surgeons tell you that you need to be in a hospital to be observed it is because they need to see up close if anything happens and you need to be there if by chance it does and they can fix it right away - not wait until you get to another doctor have tests and decide if you are going to come in by them things could be much more serious.
Also, the CT scan you had was done at a different hospital than your surgeon. They probably dont know how to read it properly. The complications we get are very difficult to diagnose and you need very skilled radiologists with alot of experience in Gastric bypass to know how to read them. My surgeon will only let me have CT scans done for him at his hospital and if I am having complications when away - he has anyother place send him the images so he can see them first hand = then he goes over them with his radiologist.
I do hope you are feeling better but severe pain along with a severely high white count - normal is 4.0 to 10.0 = Do yo have a fever??????
Please let me know how things turn out.
I am not trying to scare you - I just dont want anyone else to suffer like I did - It was the worst year of my life - I am just finally recovered but am left with a very large incisional hernia
I went back to the hospital yesterday because I started to run a fever and have horrible pain in my back, as well as now being totally constipated. . They took xrays this time & said my lood count is down so the infection is getting better & so is the obstruction. They let me go home. I am still very sick though & if I don't get better today I will make the 2 hour drive to the other hospital. I know I should have just gone there yesterday, but I felt so horrible making the drive seemed immpossible. I am also going to call the clinic here that arranged for my RNY and tell them what is going on to see if they have any other ideas. I actually think I have been getting sick over several months. I would feel horrible & have sharp pains for a few days then it would get better & I would go back to normal. I am pretty sure there is something else going on that has caused all of this, maybe scar tissue or an adhesion, IDK. Anyway, thanks again for your support & help. I apprecaite it!
Please make an appointment to see your surgeon as soon as you can. You are probably right that you have scar tissue and adhesions which ultimately cause your intestines to get kinked causing internal hernias which can be very serious. Once intestines get kinked from adhesions and scar tissue - it can progress slowly or it can progress very rapidly into a bowel obstruction and sometimes the internal hernia can become something called a pertersons hernia. Please search these boards and the complications board for information on internal hernias, petersons hernias and bowel obstructions.
Just the fact that you are so severely constipated and in such pain is the number one sign of a bowel obstruction that needs to be seen by a bariatric surgeon and not a local ER. They dont know what to look for when it comes to our insides with our connections and they dont know how to read CT scan properly for us. The fact that they are trying to diagnosing you with an XRAY, really scares me. 80% or more of our problems cant even be found on CT scan or any other imagine study and requires exploratory surgery of some sort. it is sad but true. So many of us end up having exploratory surgery after a couple of years and sometimes sooner (I had it after 7 months) only to find 4 sets of adhesions that were attaching my organs and RNY connections to my abdominal wall. If left any longer, I would have had a bowel obstruction at that point because the adhesions caused my intestines to be totally kinked up.
Our digestive systems are very vulnerable post op and need to be watched carefully. This is why we need to see our RNY surgeons for follow-ups plus must call them anytime we have any problems including severe pain and abnormal bouts of constipation. Like I said in my other post - it almost cost me my life - within hours.
Just the fact that you are so severely constipated and in such pain is the number one sign of a bowel obstruction that needs to be seen by a bariatric surgeon and not a local ER. They dont know what to look for when it comes to our insides with our connections and they dont know how to read CT scan properly for us. The fact that they are trying to diagnosing you with an XRAY, really scares me. 80% or more of our problems cant even be found on CT scan or any other imagine study and requires exploratory surgery of some sort. it is sad but true. So many of us end up having exploratory surgery after a couple of years and sometimes sooner (I had it after 7 months) only to find 4 sets of adhesions that were attaching my organs and RNY connections to my abdominal wall. If left any longer, I would have had a bowel obstruction at that point because the adhesions caused my intestines to be totally kinked up.
Our digestive systems are very vulnerable post op and need to be watched carefully. This is why we need to see our RNY surgeons for follow-ups plus must call them anytime we have any problems including severe pain and abnormal bouts of constipation. Like I said in my other post - it almost cost me my life - within hours.
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