Scared to Death! Extreme pain

I am 15 months post RNY.  I have reached goal.  I have had numerous complications.  Vitamin defiency, gall bladder and this extreme lower right quadrant pain that is unbelivable.  It is really terrible after I eat.  My surgeon is no longer practicing.  I had an endoscopy which was normal in August.  I am wondering if this pain is not bowel related.  Has anyone had this.  The pain is unbearable!!  I have no patience and I do not wait to go sit in an emergency room and be told to see a doctor in the AM.  I called my dr. and they can not get me in till next week!!!  SOmeone help.  They did call in vicoden which is giving me no relief

You should go to an ER and ask for a barium swallow, and a CT scan with and without contrast. You may have a bowel obstruction. How long have you had this pain? A bowel obstruction can be a life and death matter.
If the pain is that bad, and mine was when I had a partial small bowel obstruction, then you need to be seen by any doctor who will listen.

On and off for 3 weeks but non stop for 3 days

I had pain like this and I still have pain every once in a while. I went to my gyne since I wasn't able to see my dr and my gyne was able to see me. It ended up being an ovarian cyst filled with fluid. The pain got so bad that all I could do was cry. Work was going to call 911 for me when I 'toughend' up and drove myself. I have to go for a follow up CT Scan but I haven't had the time. I still have the pain but I have learned to deal with it. One of these days it will be bad enough that I will get one. 

I still don't know how I drove. I need to go back for another one since I have this strong pain and full feeling still. It is fluid filled and they think it is filled with blood but not sure.

Please go and see someone immediately. You could have either an obstruction, or you could have what's called a Peterson's Space hernia, where your intestines was brought up to connect to your pouch.
You have to be proactive for yourself, you could have a life-threatening situation. There have been several people on the boards who have had serious problems, and only by demanding care did they survive. One lady died while traveling because the hospital she went to couldn't figure out that she had a small bowel obstruction in time to save her.
Please don't wait. Sitting in an ER may just be something you need to do!

GO TO YOUR ER NOW! No patience for the ER? Would you prefer death? Because frankly, you may be closer than you think! Go NOW< tell them you suspect you may have a blockage in your Petersen's space and that it's very important!
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If you are suffering an intestinal blockage, all the noise in the world may not save your life. Or better said, if you think you're being loud enough, BE LOUDER-- and arm yourself with knowledge so you recognize it beforehand.

My story: 3 days after having my gallbladder out in June, I started feeling very nauseous and suddenly could not keep food down. (That'd be hard for some to note because they have trouble keeping food down anyway.) I hadn't had gas or a bowel movement in 7 days, but having just had surgery suspected it was just slow in coming.

After 6 hours of this nausea and pain not passing I paged my surgeon and his assistant. I was told that neither were answering their pages. I was able to get in some water eventually and went to bed.
 
The next day the nausea and pain intensified. By 6pm I could take no more. I was home alone, and so instead of driving to the metro hospital where I had my RNY, I could only drive as far as the local ER. This choice almost cost me my life.

I was sweating and crying when I went in. I explained to the triage nurse that I had an RNY and a gallbladder removal just days before and suspected I had an intestinal blockage, and that the pain was excrutiating. An emergency. I could die. 

But It was a holiday weekend, and people who cut their fingers on beer pull tabs were taken back, women who were upset over boyfriends, the general ER riffraff BS that takes place on a holiday-- and I was left standing (couldn't sit) in the waiting room for FIVE hours-- even though I returned several times to triage to say, "I can't take this much longer-- I am very afraid I have had a blockage and need a doctor NOW."

When I was finally seen, the CAT scan was "inconclusive"...the doc told me he saw a lot of fluid in my belly but thought it might be from the gallbladder surgery, and I should follow up with my surgeon in the morning. I was discharged at 6 am with nausea meds and pain pills.

When I called my surgeon, I read him all my tests-- enzyme levels, etc. He said he didn't hear anything alarming-- but he was listening for something gallbladder related-- a bile duct blockage etc. would skew the numbers. When it didn't, he more or less said, "You'll be fine." This was Monday.

By Wednesday the pain at night was unbearable. I cried and screamed into a towel. Wednesday morning I had a regular check up with my surgeon. Luckily, his assistant knows me very well and said, "Shari, you don't look right. Seriously." The surgeon said, "I don't know what to do-- want us to admit you and run some tests?" I think he expected me to say no, but I said, "PLEASE!"

So I was admitted around 4 pm. By 7 pm the pain was back, but they wouldn't allow me pain meds until after I had a CAT scan. I didn't hve the CAT scan until 3 am. They left me on a gurney in the hallway for an hour and a half  aftyerward, sobbing in pain, because they didn't have anyone in transportation to come get me. By the time I finally received pain meds at 5 am, I would have shot myself if I'd had access to a gun.

I finally fell asleep. At 7 am, my surgeon breezed in, threw open my curtains and said, "You're having surgery today. You have a bunch of fluid backed up in your belly, and we need to find out why." He explained he'd use the lap incisions he'd made for the gallbladder and go back in.

By noon I was in surgery.

At 4 pm, I awoke in the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I focused on a spot on the ceiling. I could not talk. I had tears streaming . The dilaudid wasn't even touching it. 

They explained to me, "You're a lucky woman. Your bowel (intestines) had twisted and actually permeated the wall of your excluded stomach. Generally when this happens, and days pass, we find a bunch of dead bowel which we have to remove. But for whatever reason when we reconnected you, you pinked up right away. Now we just have to see if it works-- if you can move your bowels or pass any gas." I was told that the lap procedure went open-- suddenly-- when they couldn't locate the source right away-- I had a large open incision now from my sternum to my navel. I'd been gutted and beat up pretty badly in the process. But I was alive.

For five days, nothing passed. My urine was dark brown, I was losing kidney function. Then it started to lighten, and returned. And finally on the fifth day, while walking in the hall, I passed gas. Sounds stupid, but I was so happy I cried. I gained 25 pounds in fluid and unpassed stool in 3 days--but within two weeks lost 40. My recovery took many weeks, but I finally  feel better now. I am grateful for the opportunity to live, and feel obligated to warn anyone who will listen.

Blockages like mine are 100% fatal if not caught in time-- usually within 72 hours. Why mine didn't take me down in the FIVE days that had elapsed, I am not sure.
 
I wanted to make sure you know what we're really discussing-- how it feels, what it looks like, how you might be treated. Your local ER will NOT be able to help you. You need to educate loved ones so that they can speak FOR you-- a medical alert bracelet will not help you. The beloved poster who passed away may have done all of the above, and still they missed her blockage until it was too late. You need to do everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen to you-- and this sort of herniation-- sometimes called a Petersen's hernia-- happens in about 5% of post bypass patients. Five out of one hundred. One in twenty. Could be anyone.

Symptoms in an RNYer include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and distention, inability to pass stools or gas. (Apparently in DSers, gas will still pass.)

Know the signs and symptoms. Don't allow anyone to dismiss you. Do NOT ignore pain that will not pass. Insist on prompt and appropriate treatment, and train your family to know how to help you if it should happen. You may save your own life.

After reading Jupiters post, I would definitely go sit in that ER. I know how you feel not wanting to go. We have a military ER here and I have waited full days there to see someone only to be dismissed (not related to rny). But she is right, you have to be your own advocate.
Please see someone soon, anyone. Even if its a regular doctor, not necessarily a surgeon.

The thing about ER's is that many of them don't practice very good triage--yeah, they all have those posters or plaques that say something like "please understand that patients might not be seen in order of arrival due to the severity of their injury or illness" but trust me, they all are apt to screw that up. One thing I DO know is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Be your own best advocate. Speak up, insist, explain precisely what it is and give all pertinent background. It's unfortunate that our ERs are often filled with people who don't have PCPs or any insurance.
Show up at your Dr's office and DEMAND to be seen, NOW.