lizs101
Praying This is The Answer
Feb 09, 2013
I am new to this group and thought I would give you some background on me. I had my first Roux en Y in August of 2006. Looking back now, I was not psychologically ready to take that step. I did however do well at the time and managed to lose approximately 100 pounds before I started encountering difficulties. In 2008 the determined that I had developed an ulcer that had eaten through the wall of the pouch and into the old stomach which remained. I was sick all the time and in pain. In 2008 I had a revision to repair the ulcer and decrease the size of my pouch as I had managed to stretch it quite a bit. Following that revision, I developed a staph infection and had to return to the hospital to have two drains inserted and it was over 6 months before anyone could finally say that the infection was under control and the drains could be removed. There were more procedures and treatments in there but suffice to say this was a difficult six months.
In January of 2012, I decided I had to do something because I had now gained all my weight back, plus those extra pounds I gain every time I regain weight. Since I had already had a revision and my prior Dr. told me that was my last chance, I decided to visit the Swedish Weight Loss Clinic in Seattle and try the Medically Supervised Weight Loss program. During the course of my initial interview the counselor asked if I had considered a revision and we discuss my prior experiences. She asked if I minded if she consulted with Dr. McMahon to see if he would consider a revision. He felt that it would be well worth my being evaluated for a revision. I was not thrilled at the thought of surgery again, especially after the staph infection, but felt that it would be worth the evaluation at least. Dr. McMahon determined through an endoscopy that I had a hernia which would have to be repaired, whether or not I had a revision, so we might as well do the revision at the same time. So we proceeded on that track and got my insurance approval, spent 3 months on medically supervised weight loss, my surgery was scheduled for August 7, 2012.
My surgery went very well, Dr. Louie repaired the hernia and Dr. McMahon completed the revision. It had to be open surgery because of my prior surgeries and lasted quite a bit longer than they had predicted but they were both pleased with the outcome. Because of the hernia repair they used both general anesthesia and an epidural. The epidural was wonderful, it controlled all the pain and I felt no pain at all until it was removed. However because I could not leave the ICU until the epidural was removed I was there for three days before I was moved to a regular room and released.
Again everything went well. The three weeks on the liquid diet and then three weeks on the soft food diet were not problem at all. I had a new resolve and was determined that I could do this now. I was ready, I was doing this for all the right reasons. It was for me. I then advanced to solid food and began to experience some problems once again. In late September 2012 I was hospitalized for a heart problem which was determined to be A-Fib, and during that hospital stay I was unable to keep food down and part of the time could not even keep liquids down. After my release from the hospital I returned to Dr. McMahon and he determined that he needed to do another endoscopy to see if I had a stricture. He felt that the opening was a little smaller than it should be so he stretched it a little and I went back to solid food with no problem. Unfortunately within a couple of weeks I was right back to not keeping food or liquids down. As a result of the A-Fib and the lack of nutrition, I was only interested in sleeping. I had no energy and exercise was out of the question.
On November 28, 2012 I had an ablation for the A-Fib and felt great for a couple of days. Then I was once again back to not keeping things down.
On January 17, 2013, I was readmitted to under Dr. McMahon to Swedish Medical Center. All of my Doctors had determined that they would get to the bottom of this and figure out what was going on. It was determined that I would do a Swallow Test and lower G.I. and if that was inconclusive they would do laparoscopic exploratory surgery to see if they could figure out what was going on. The swallow test showed nothing so they scheduled the surgery. I had the surgery on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. They found that my lower abdomen was a mass of adhesions that had to be removed. In the process of removing the adhesions one of my bowels was nicked and had to be repaired. In addition to the adhesions they found that my pouch from the Roux en Y was at an odd angle which would not allow it to empty completely. They adjusted the set of my pouch. From the time I had entered the hospital on the 17th through the 22nd, I was on a clear liquid diet with nothing by mouth after midnight each night until I could have the surgery. After the surgery I spent 4 days in the ICU and was then moved to a regular room where I was finally allowed to have small sips of water again. I never knew that water could taste so good, but it does. I was in the hospital through January 29, 2013, exactly 2 weeks. I have been doing well on the clear liquid diet once again since my release from the hospital, and am filled with hope that the problem has been corrected. I am so looking forward to going in to the clinic this coming Monday and being allowed to advance to the soft food diet once again.
I first visited the Swedish Weight Loss Center on January 23, 2012. I feel like I have been on a roller coaster since then and I am finally feeling the cars slowing and coming up to the exit. I am so thankful that I have good Doctors and that they now appreciate the fact that when I say something is not right, they need to listen to me.
If you managed to read this entire blog, I want to thank you for taking the time to do so. I realize that it is much longer than it should be but it was all information I needed to tell someone. Yes, I have support, but they have not been through any of this and do not understand when I say I want my life back. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and after a short period on the soft food diet, I should be able to try solid food again. The end of this month I will find out if my ablation worked and I am clear of A-Fib and I can get clearance to drive again. I can't wait to feel normal and independent again.