14 months post op and had my FIRST REAL complication, ended up in the ICU at hosp
I have lost about 157 lbs in a little over 14 months. Everything checked out great. Exercising, but not doing a lot of running due to back and knee pain! So I'm not regretting the decision.
Tuesday after dinner, I was getting mail ready to mail out, when ALL OF A SUDDEN I wa**** with a pain so excruciating I cried , rolled on the floor. I thought maybe something I ate for dinner hadn't agree with me. I got flushed, shaky, heart rate was high, diarrhea. So after about 3 hours I got really worried. Everything stopped except the pain. I tried everything, moving, sitting still, standing up, taking a warm bath, used a heating pad and nothing and I mean NOTHING helped. So I called dr. on call and he said to get to emergency room as soon as I can. So I didn't delay. My hubby and I got there about 4:00 am on Wednesday. By this time, my WBC were 19 and I was running a fever the took me to X-ray and ct scan and it showed a small bowel obstruction but that was all it showed. Couldn't find infection but they also couldn't see my appendix. I've had a total of three abdominal surgeries from 2003-2012 and not one person was able to find my appendix, so they figured that it where the high WBC and fevers were coming from. As one of Jehovah's Witness, I do not accept whole or partial components of blood products. Since they had been giving me dilaudid to just maintain some comfort ability, the surgeon took me in as an emergency surgery.
When I woke up in recovery 2 hours later, the doctor had moved on to another surgery. So the nurse updated me a little bit and my hubby the rest of it until I saw my surgeon yesterday. I would be going to ICU for up to 3-5 days! Wait!?! What!?! Why!?!
Well while in there he found the problem with the pain, WBC elevated and fever! About 20% of my small bowel became entangled in some scar tissue from a hysterectomy 10 years ago. It was completely dead and needed to be removed. The small obstruction was there but that wasn't where my pain and things coming from. I am now out of ICU and back in a regular room until sometime Tuesday or Wednesday. I feel like a totally new women. I can tell my bowels weren't moving much, but to get hit harder than labor pains and so quickly, I'll never forget! I'm still on ice chips for today, then clear fluids, then all fluids then soft foods and then I might get to go home.
it was very scary and the doc said that this could've happened at any time because the scar tissue is 10 years old. He feels it happened now because of the sudden weightloss. I'm compelled to agree.
Im doing my spirometer and up walking around. The incision is open with two small incisions on each side of the middle oneim just so glad this happened before the bowel turned gangrene, which was very close.
so just to sum up, know your body and listen to it. I've had chronic constipation sine 6-8 months postoperative and was told to start Miralax twice daily for the rest of my life. My GI doc really should have went in a few months ago to see if there was anything he could do, but that's water under the bridge. The important thing is I survived and I'm feeling brand new!
Missy
HW:348 Consult W:320 SW:295 Current W:156 GW:140
on 10/26/13 2:42 am - WI
I had the same thing happen to me almost exactly as you discribed...hysterectomy scars included!!! I was in ICU for a week ...touch and go. Nine months later, I had a second surgery for the same complication... but I knew immediately what was happening and went in. There was no necrotic bowel with the second surgery. Moral of the story... severe abdominal pain is NEVER normal. Sometimes a CAT scan can't see the real problem. Trust your instincts and insist the doctors look further.
HW 270 SW 236 GW 160 CW 145 (15 pounds below goal!)
VBG Aug. 7, 1986, Revised to RNY Nov. 18, 2010
