severe dehydration and complications 3+ years post op (friendly warning)

momyshaver
on 1/16/21 5:28 pm
VSG on 06/28/17

Hi OH Friends,

I will have to go and try to catch up on everything that has happened in this past week. I swear, just when I think I am doing ok life reminds me where I need to improve...at times profound and severely. Long story short, I ended up in CICU (cardiac ICU) with a heart rate dropping from the 30s into the 20s, (not a typo), that took quite a while to bring back up and my organs were showing signs of shutting down. There were probably some contributing factors but the MAIN ONE was dehydration. I was still doing life and all the things and thought I was fine but I wasn't. I knew that I was struggling and had consulted with GI and a surgeon due to my difficulties eating and drinking but had decided to put things off due to covid, (I could have had the GJ replaced on the 7th). My children watched me be loaded into an ambulance and whisked away on the 10th. On top of that my labs are very poor and opened me up to infection (again)...both peritonitis and pneumonia after the surgery, (and the surgery had to wait until my vitals were stable enough to operate on). The surgeon removed quite a bit of scar tissue. She re-sited the stoma and said it initially appeared only a jtube would work but she took a risk and disected some of the scar tissue and more "pouch" of stomach opened up...enough for her to do a GJ that is a bit of a distance from where my other stoma is. I am hoping maybe this will allow me to have more of an appetite for actual food and have an easier time with both food and fluids. I have no idea how my other surgeon did what he did, why he chose his method or anything and I will never receive those answers. This is the USA. Perhaps that led to my constant tube dislodgement and...I don't know. It is too soon to tell. I have learned that hindsight is 20/20 with so much of this bariatric life.

I was grateful to get home today and know that too much is at stake to allow myself to get so distracted by busy work that everything would be for nothing. Don't be me. Get your fluids in however you have to. Dehydration can be sneaky and take away so much quality of life or even take your life quicker than you might think.

White Dove
on 1/16/21 8:32 pm - Warren, OH

I am so sorry for all that you are going through. I hope this turns around now.

Real life begins where your comfort zone ends

momyshaver
on 1/17/21 6:14 am
VSG on 06/28/17

Thank you. I am adjusting sails and forging on. I am happy to share successes but I appreciate the real talk discussion here on OH, too. I was very thankful to have medical care with as strained as many hospitals are right now. I feel grateful to all of the medical workers but I hated that I was there taking up resources during a time like this. Doing my best to avoid going back there. I was trying before but I did make too many excuses when I wasn't meeting my medical requirements. It does catch up eventually for most people and if you have comorbidities you just don't know when that might be. Last night after I put the kids to bed I just had a good cry. I hadn't really let myself think about it too much but now that I am home and all that post anesthesia loveliness....ahhhhh

Getting my fluids in and making the day count.

Melody P.
on 1/17/21 6:23 am - Amarillo, TX

Wow, I am so saddened to read that you went through all of this! It is a stark reminder for the rest of us. Thank you so so soooo much for sharing this. I need to work on some things and I needed a kick in the butt. This is it.

praying that your recovery is uneventful and smooth. So glad you're on the mend!

Mel

Partlypollyanna
on 1/17/21 8:38 am
RNY on 02/14/18

You have been through so much! Hope you have a smooth recovery and this gets you to a better place. Thanks for the reminder that dehydration is no joke.

HW: 306 SW: 282 GW: 145 (reached 2/6/19) CW:150

Jen

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