Im afraid I won't recognize a leak if I have one

Im FREAKING out lol as my surgery date inches closer the Dr said if felt bad it could mean a leak he named symptoms fever raped heart rate etc im 3hrs from the hospital where im having it done and my surgeon...we do have a local.hospital with a bariatric center but I want my Dr if I had a problem should I risk the drive back or.go to my hospital??? Lol im getting nervous also when does.this leak window close?? When will I be out of the woods I don't wanna die from a leak which according to my Dr is the major cause of.death :( he said easily fixed if caught early what if I miss the signs???? 

If you can possibly afford it stay in a hotel or B&B close to the hospital for a few days after you are discharged.  Ask your surgeon how soon are you out of the danger zone - maybe 5 days after surgery.

Don't worry leaks rarely happen but I get your bit of worry - staying close to your WLS hospital might give you a bit of comfort.

For his out-of-town patients, our doc has us stay in town for 10 days before returning home, so by that time the chances of serious complications (such as a leak) has dropped from slim to infinitesimal. Our vacation/future retirement home a couple hours away was close enough for this requirement. We do have a local hospital, and several others in between, but like most surgeons, he won't trust other surgeons with his work if at all possible (and particularly for his DS patients like my wife - few surgeons know their way around that anatomy!)

I had the same worry. My surgeon said I should go to the nearest ER, not risk the drive to him. 

The signs of a leak are signs to go to ER regardless of whether or not you've had WLS, so I wouldn't worry too much that you'll miss them. They're pretty unmissable :D

The major sign is caught in your blood test after surgery.  They thought I had a leak or internal bleeding.  They took blood every hour for 48 hours, had me drink something, imagine that, just had 80% of my stomach removed and they gave me 32 oz of something to drink!  Got about half of it down.  My only sign was I was dizzy and not able to get up or stay up without assistance.  It is my understanding that I had some bleeding that clotted over a couple of days.  Iy extended my stay a couple of days.  It is such a small percentage of people that experience a leak, I wouldn't worry about it.

Advise above about staying locally for a few days is really good.  One of the reasons I chose the surgeon I did (who was in Mexico) was that he had his patients stay in the hospital for three days after surgery.

Ask your surgeon about the leak tests he does.  Mine did three routinely - one before closing his patients up, an air test I think, one a day or two after surgery involving drinking a blue-colored something-or-other and seeing if it shows up in the drain bag, and the third, a day or so after that, is a contrast medium (also something I had to drink) and an x-ray.  That last one is interesting because you can see the shape of your sleeve. 

And oh yes - take a breath, hon.  It'll be fine.

You will do great!!! Stop worrying! Leaks happen, and you can live with them for months before properly diagnosed. It just makes it harder for one to heal. STOP stressing :) ... Enjoy the ride!!

Xx

Donna

PS, the left shoulder pain was the worst for me... But, remember, you may get a bit from the gas in your body..

I am having my band to VSG on Wednesday and my surgeon says that he checks for leaks during and after most have to drink a blue liquid and see if it shows up in the drain, for me I have to have a upper GI because of the band to sleeve. That put me at ease, so ask him if he does that, it seems pretty standard.

My surgeon also said that because I am 2 1/2 hours away I can stay for up to three days if I don't feel I can handle the ride. Being that I have to go back there for post op one week later I might stay for a few days in the area. I had to ask if he charges more for that because I am self pay for the sleeve part LOL.....

We will do fine, there are risks in anything......heck the sleeve has to be better than the problems I had with my band!

I 

I just had surgery on May 13.  Complications do happen...  I was doing great, but about a week afterward came down with what appeared to be an infected mass on the scan.  Went back into the hospital for 4 days, then was discharged.  The mass came out over a few hours in the drain.  I felt a lot better for a couple days and then started feeling worse and worse. The pain in my shoulder was ridiculous.  I didn't realize it was the sign of a leak.  Dr sent me for another scan and determined I had a leak.  Either the infection caused the leak or the leak was hidden by the mass and caused an infection. I went in the next day, a Saturday, for stents.  I was in the hospital about 3 weeks before the stents were removed and I was sent home with IV antibiotics.  I have another CT scan tomorrow.  I'm feeling a lot better. Hopefully good to go!

sure, you should be concerned/aware that complications happen.  It's a small percent, though.  Just make sure you have a good doctor that is thorough and wants to see you better.  Keep a check on your temp and heart rate.  And call the dr if something doesn't seem right.  You should be feeling better every day. If not, there may be an issue.  And I resolving shoulder pain could be a leak.  I learned that afterward.

if you do have a complication, hang in there.  And the meds in the hospital are much better for pain than what they send you home with.  The stents were the worst part. Couldn't keep anything down, so I was almost glad to be in the hospital.  Plus I got IV nutrition and I didn't throw up.