gonemadx3
MICHELE'S STORY
Sep 30, 2008
Highest Weight: 276 lbs
Lap Band Placed July 27, 2005- Its now September 2007 and I am currently waiting for a surgery date to have the Band removed and Lap RNY in its place. I am thrilled! My current weight is a fluctuating 232 lbs and 244 lbs and I am 5'6 1/4. BMI between 37-39 depending on the day! Surgery date for my revision scheduled for November 21, 2007!!
From start to finish this is how it went from what I remember. Lap RNY Nov 21. Woke up with severe burning in my tummy. I have profuse vomiting if given narcotics so I was given the equivalent of 600 ml Ibeuprofen for pain and Nexium. Nov. 23 I went home. Before I left as I was waiting for transport to take me out, I vomited for the first time during my hospital stay. It was light, not forceful, but I continued to vomit for the next 2.5 hr after I got home. I told my husband something was wrong because the taste of the vomit was changing and I was not ingesting anything. After going into the ER I was readmitted the same evening of my original discharge. They find out the next day I had an paralytic illeus (dead intestinal tissue) that was blocked and caused a leak from the gas pressure (this was the best part). My leak, caused the damage. I was sent into fluoroscopy every hour (again, without any narcotic pain meds because they were worried I would throw up worse) to check to see how things were flowing through my intestines. This being fresh out of RNY surgery two days before, I was in excruciating pain for about 8 hrs during this long, drawn out procedure. Finally, they decided that they needed to operate again, this time open, to repair the block and fix the new found leak. I continued to burp/vomit for the rest of the evening and the smell was horrific! The entire left side of my body absessed with cellulitis swelled up three times my size, turned dark purple and would bust open with infection trying to find a way out if I even barely scratched myself. Nov 25, the second operation took place. Since I had such trouble with narcotics they put a Scopalomine patch behind my ear to prevent motion sickness that might be causing my profuse vomiting to narcotics. To my surprise, it worked! Finally I could get some pain relief, but the worst was yet to come. My incision from this surgery stayed completely open for three weeks as they tried to heal me. In the first week I developed pneumonia, which makes it horrid to cough (and they MAKE you) after any surgery, I got a near fatal staph infection throughout my whole body mainly my left side and ended up with no white blood cells and two blood transfusions. I remember having an enormous tube down my throat, a jp drain, feeding tube, The infection grew so bad they put two electric deodorizers in my room for the smell and you could still smell my infection down the hallway. During this week/week and a half, I don’t remember too much. I remember a few visitors from work coming to see me, my husband coming in and out, but for the most part my body had shut off my brain periodically. I was having very high fevers off and on, one I remember very vividly. I was getting so cold and told the nurse, she came in to take my temp and I started shaking a little. Before I knew it I was convulsing and all I could say was I can’t make it stop, I can’t make it stop. Before I knew it, there were about 9 nurses in my room from all over poking holes in me everywhere to test this infection. My arms were so chewed up from IV’s and blood draws it was terrible, they couldn’t hardly get a vein. During this time my husband showed up not knowing what in the hell was happening. My body was just flipping and flopping all over the place. I could see the terror in his eyes as he stood and watched, there was nothing he could do. He thought I was dying that very moment. My temp was reading over 107. Since the infection was getting worse they had to do something. I was already on Vancomyacin to the max. I remember two residents came in my room and tried to numb and cut two deep holes into my left side to let infection drain, all of which I felt because my skin would not numb and they would not sedate me. I laid there are screamed. Then I got the wound vac. Best invention to medicine! This all lasted approx 3 weeks and they sent me home with all these tubes, drains, iv’s, wound vac & a feeding tube. I did get home health care, but this lasted 6 days and I spiked a temp once again and was readmitted from my surgeons office (which is in the hospital). I did finally get a PIC line placed in my arm for medications and blood draws since all of my veins were shot. I was in there for another 3 weeks or so. Then came the CAT scans showing I had pockets of fluid on my lungs and in my left side surrounding my spleen. I was given another drain under my breast and a chest tube. Four days later, another chest tube in my back. They took out the wound vac as my cuts were healing very quickly and nicely, they finally removed it. Finally got to go home on Jan 4, 2008 still with the PIC line in place, just in case. Now a trip to the surgeons office and he decides to close my open incision from the second surgery right there with NO pain meds, he said it shouldn't hurt, but neglected to realize these sutures had not been moved for three or more weeks, he thought he could just pull my skin together and no problem. Well, I am here to tell you I cried the entire time and tried holding my skin around the incision closer together for him so it wouldn't burn as bad. Yea, sometimes he had a really bad bedside manner, but for the most part he did very well. I think he was scared I was going to die too. Revisions are tricky. I can say he nearly killed me, but he also saved my life. I am very lucky to be here today. Staph infections like the one I had are usually fatal.
All I have to say is, I can't wait for the day when someone makes the comment about me taking the easy way out of losing weight!
Jan, 30, 2008- I have had labs last week and all looks fine, blood pressure is doing well too. I am thinking its a vitamin thing.
March 2008, I went back to work and I am now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Seeing a therapist for it. Changed my meds a bit and just trying to get through it the best I can.
Sept 26, 2008- No more high blood pressure meds!
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About Me
East Peoria, IL
Location
22.3
BMI
Dec 11, 2006
Member Since
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
230 lbs in 2005
242lbs
