SweetSherri

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After two trips to Minnesota, Mayo recommended that my the mesh in my stomach be removed & my abdominal wall be closed up. So...on June 9th, I had surgery. The mesh was all bunched up on one side. It was removed along with the scar tissue that was attached to it. There were two different types of infection in it. Once it was gone, the surgeons could see adhesions on my intestines so they removed them, cleaned them up by removing all of the adhesions and then put them back inside me. The abdominal wall was then closed as much as they dared to. There is a small strip down the center that they put a strip of calf muscle in to close the remaining gap. If they had tried to close the wall, there may not have been enough room for the intestines & them get ischemic again.  Considering my history with mesh (not good!), they opted for the calf muscle instead. My body will take over it and the bovine will break down and be absorbed into my body as my wall mends itself. All the excess scarring was removed and my bellybutton returned to just about center.

So...6 weeks later...

I'm still a little tender which I think should be expected. I'm going to have to slowly get my abs tightened back up. It's scary because you don't really 'know' how much will be too much and cause a hernia. I would really prefer not to have to have any more abdonimal surgeries!! There are two places though that the wall seems to be extra weak so I have to be cautious or hernia's could develop easily. The incision line is all healed up! Woo-hoo!! I am now back to work and NOT on desk duty! I got to participate in an experiment yesterday and it felt terrific. The only upsetting thing in this is that I had to go up a few sizes since my stomach is still swollen..that and with the ab wall being so weak, it's not holding anything back much so I have a pooched out stomach. That's ok..this time next year, it'll be back in shape!

Two weeks from today, on March 16th, Bill & I will be flying up to Rochester, MN. I have an appointment on the 17th at the Mayo Clinic. Which means, all the GI's around here gave up on fixing me up. That Mayo Clinic is suppose to have the largest GI clinic in the United States. Pretty much...if they can't help me, no one can. Although, Bill did say that if they can't, he's contacting Dr. Phil. Bill likes it that Dr. Phil has a way of getting people special help. If Mayo can't help me, then I'm going to need really special help! I keep thinking that when they do figure out what is going on with my intestines that it will be something rare, but fixable...most likely, with surgery.

Do I dare to dream of wearing jeans again??? Yes, I do dare! This girl just wants to have fun and get her life back on board with where it should be! Bill & I have alot of things that we'd like to do together...that we have had to put on hold. It's time for that finger on the pause button that is called 'my life' is removed!

Keep me in your prayers. And please keep those specialists in your prayers.

Sherri

 I really love this new format on OH. It's going to be so much easier for non-techies to get around!!!

I had posted this on the board...but I wanted to have a more 'permanent' record of it for myself as well.

Dr. Wittles called me last week and the hernia specialist had looked over all my scans from all the tests done so far. Not the results, but the actual scans. He feels that my intestines distend quite simply because they can. Your intestines normally do contract & distend as part of natural digestion of food. Because my abdominal wall was never closed up from the hernia (it's open ~9" circular), there is no abdominal muscles to prevent the intestines from doing whatever in the heck they want to do. Normally, as they distend & contract, you never know it because it is all held behind your abdominal wall. no abdominal wall to hold them in....pooching out is what they do.

So...I will be having a test on January 7th that will definately confirm if the intestines are working ok or not. If not, they will do an injection to jump start them, repeat the test later, and then proceed. If the test shows that they are ok, Dr. Wittles is going to advise Dr. Gupta to get my abdominal wall closed up ASAP. YAY!!! It is very likely that I will be all better within a few months and actually feel like enjoying my summer this coming year! I am so thrilled!

I'll let you all know what happens next....

Since I've last blogged, I had a CT Enteroclysis. It showed a piece of small intestine that wasn't functioning properly. It didn't push food along it's merry way. It also showed some small adhesions. Then Dr. Wittle's had me do a mach camera pill. It was the same size as the camera pill but if it got stuck, it would dissolve into jell. It had gotten hung up at the same place where the CT inticated problems (x-rays picked up the excess jell there). I had a upper GI last Friday. I'm waiting on the results of it. If it confirms everything, surgery should be scheduled soon. One year and 2 months. That's how long all of this has been going on. Since October 6, 2007.

Oh.I had a place on my leg that kept filling up with fluid in the lymph node. Dr. Bergman had drain it several times and had cut it open twice. We thought it was all healed up. Saturday, that area swelled & got red (& hot...like with an infection). So...guess I'll be getting hold of her office too.

I feel like I've been a mess lately. My leg hurts. My stomach hurts. My hemmeroids hurt (and are bleeding now..oh joy). I've not been able to stay asleep at night thanks to my intestines so now I spend half the day with a headache from lack of uninterupted sleep. I am so ready for good health!!! Thank god for my good friends here that helps me get through this stuff.

Sherri

Dr. Fecht cried uncle! He finally decided that he didn't know what else to do and recommended I see someone else..either the specialists at Indiana University Hospital...or his buddy, another GI (which he was certain would agree with HIS findings). Of course, we chose IU! He was still insisting that all of my problems would go away if I had my RNY reversed. What an idiot! His office set the appointment up for Dec. 5th...my pcp's office got it changed to yesterday! Yes, I absolutely adore my pcp! She's fantastic!

So...the doc at IU actually listened & asked questions! Woo-hoo! He also explained what happened to begin with in October. He is the FIRST to do that! The other specialists when asked would just say 'it could have been alot of things'. He said that it was from scar tissue. It either pressed down on my intestines and stopped the blood flow or it pressed down just right on them, causing them to flip over on themself...and stop the blood flow. That actually makes alot of sence for me since I've had issues with over-growth of scar tissue several times in the past.

He also said that my problems are OBVIOUSLY caused by the episode last October and that either I have damage to my small bowel intestines and/or I have blockage caused by adhesions. He's ordering a test to see if there's blockage. If there's not...and that test doesn't pinpoint the problem, he's ordering this other test. The stupid thing? Dr. Fecht had mentioned BOTH of these tests at my very first visit with him and he never ordered either of them! Boy am I glad not to have him as my doc anymore!!!

So..that's the latest. I have a GI guy that knows what he's doing!!!! YAY!!!

Sherri

I wish my dear friends that I could say that everything has just been wonderful but that would be a lie...and I try my best not to lie to myself or to you. This morning, I find myself very much frustrated and almost to the point of being depressed. If this feeling continues, don't worry, I will be getting in to see my dear family doctor about it. I know that she has been following up on what has been going on with me so I doubt it would be any big surprise to her.

When I last blogged, I was getting ready to go back to work, still had diarrhea, and had noticed some bloating. Well..I did go back to work and my boss & co-workers have been wonderful so far.

The diarrhea..still going on, still constant. The bloating? Shoot, I 'grow' a minimum of 6" EVERY DAY now in my waist! I can no longer wear my jeans. All elastic waisted pants or bib overalls. But even the bibs are too snug by the end of the day on some days. To add to that, the mesh that was put into place over the opening of my abdominal wall has stretched thanks to all that 'bloating' (it's actually intestinal distension). So now my intestines once again feels like they are falling out. Technically, it's not a hernia since the mesh is there but that is the only reason it isn't. How to correct that? Well..gotta take care of the distension first. After that, then the mesh will need removed and the abdominal wall pulled back together and sewed together (so another surgery). They can't do that until the distension is taken care of though because the intestines need the room to distend or they would have their blood supply cut off...again...like it was on October 6th, 2007. To add to that, the incision line where the mesh was put into place had two places that just would not heal. They got so deep that you could see the mesh. So on August 22nd Dr. Gupta took me into surgery to close them up. She had to make an incision from one to the other so she could get in there and have good tissue for both sides to sew to each other. Well..the other night, in my sleep, my intestines distended and ripped out every stitch! I now have this large & deep opening on my stomach! Because of how deep it is, it looks worse than it did last February. I'm back to doing wet gauze bandaging on it. I just want to sit down and cry when I think about it. Dr. Gupta said that it wouldn't do any good taking me back into surgery and re-suture it because the distension would just rip it right back open. Thank God she didn't say I had to go back on the wound-vac. I guess Tuesday I'll really try out my boss & co-worker's patience and ask to go back to desk stuff only. I hate that. The part of my job that I love is the lab work...but with this opening? I am too afraid of anything spilling on me or me lifting just the wrong thing...you know? If Brian needs a note from the doctor, I know Dr. Gupta won't have any issues supplying it. I'm going to feel fortunate if she doesn't make me go back on medical leave actually. Financially, I just can't afford that again...not right now.

Dr. Gupta had talked to a friend of hers about me. He is Dr. Fecht, a gastro-internist. I'd like to say I like him...but I don't. Some people strike you as knowing their stuff, others, as being full of BS. He's the latter. He is trying his best to blame my RNY on all of my intestinal problems. Funny how I went through over 3 years of being post-op without any of these problems, huh? He just doesn't seem to 'get' that none of this happened until whatever happened on October 6th when my intestines had to be removed from my body! One test showed that there was thickening in the wall of my small intestines so the radiologist recommended a full colonoscopy with biopsies to be done. Dr. Fecht did that yesterday. He came out and told Bill that everything looked normal but he did take some biopsies. He then followed it by saying that he thought all my issues was due to gas from me having my RNY and that I may have to have my RNY reversed! Now how full of crap is that?? I am praying that the biopsies will come back with a diagnosis! If it doesn't, I think I'm going to have to ask Dr. Gupta to recommend someone else. Friend or no friend of hers, that man is an idiot. He even tried telling me that ALL of my intestines were bypassed with my gastric bypass. How stupid! It was the majority of my STOMACH, NOT my intestines that were bypasssed!

So here I am....
It must have been ~3 am by the time the noise & movement in my intestines finally allowed me to get some sleep. Actually, I think I was just so tired that I fell asleep in spite of that. I was woken back up at 5 by them. It's almost 6:30 AM now.

I have always tried to stay upbeat through all of my complications but I gotta tell you folks, it's being damn near impossible for me to do that right now. Yes...I probably will be getting in to see my doctor this week. I really do feel like I'm starting to have some depression issues going on. Pray for me everyone. The answers have got to be out there. It will be 11 months on the 6th..so in a week. I desparately need those answers to be known to Dr. Fecht. So please, pray for me and pray for God's guidance to all the surgeons and doctors involved in my care......

Sherri

11/07 Update:
After having lost 183 lb and maintaining that lost, I had decided to get some of the excess skin removed. So on September 25, I had a tummy tuck and thigh lift done. I woke in recovery wheezing and thought I had caught a cold from the OR...afterall, 7 hours in a cold room could do it for me. I was released that next morning. By Friday, the 28th, I couldn't breathe. I was admitted for pnumonia until Oct 1st. Part of the treatment for pnumonia is to try to cough up the junk in your lungs. No matter how much I tried, nothing came up. It hurt like hell though. I could feel the wire that was used to tight my abs with the tummy tuck bounce & vibrate against my insides. I was released on Oct 1st. On Oct 6th, I woke up with a horrible pain in my gut. I now know what a '10' feels like on the pain scale of 0-10. I was brought in for exploratory surgery on my intestines after a cat scan with contrast was done. After I was cut open, they found my intestines hadn't been getting any blood to them and was dark. They induced a coma on me and spread out my intestines to try to get blood to them. They told my family to pray...that I might not make it. That night, my blood pressure dropped to 50/30. Then they had to start pumping blood into me to try to get it up. A nurse told me it took 7  1/2 pints. The next day, it was back in surgery. The blood had returned to the intestines and they were pink...healthy. I don't THINK they found any blockages that had to be removed. My intestines at this point however were swollen and would not go back into my body. It took 4 more days and 2 more surgeries before they could get them in my body..although protruding out...with a wound-vac covering them. After 9 days, I was woken to the point of being fully aware. Bill tells me that they started waking me up two days earlier, but I don't remember that. At the end of that week, I was transferred to Seton Specialty Hospital so I could get some specialized rehab. Being in a coma tends to make all of your muscles & organs forget what they are for. After 2 weeks there, I was released to come home. So what started on Oct. 6th, I was able to return home 4 weeks later on Nov. 2nd. While at Seton, I learned that the cat-scan on Oct. 6th also showed that I had a blood clot in my lung and one in my leg. So the question remains in my mind: did I REALLY have pnumonia on Sept. 28th or was it the blood clot???

Now, I am battling diarhea and spasms in my intestines. A GI said I may have to battle these for 3 months or so. I still have a 4" x 7" hole in my stomach. I see Dr. Gupta on the 8th and she'll let me know how/when it's going to get closed up. The incisions from the plastics is pretty much healed, but the scars are probably worse than normal since I wasn't and won't be able to wear the compression garment. I do have alot of swelling. So far, I have lost 11 lbs since pre-plastics.

If you have surgery and can't breathe afterward, ask to be checked for a blood clot in your lung, do NOT assume 'cold' or 'pnumonia'. I really do believe I was misdiagnosed with the pnumonia..and therefore, received the wrong treatment...which could have killed me not just by iritating my intestines and blocking the blood supply to them but by keeping an untreated clot in my lung.

Again, complications DO happen. Weigh the risks VERY carefully!!

December 18th, 2007
I learned yesterday that I will be going into surgery on January 21st. Dr. Gupta and Dr. Bergman will be tag-teaming getting me fixed up. I still have a 2" x 7" opening in my belly and am on a wound-vac (have been for most of 2  1/2 months) to help close it up & help it to heal. I also have a huge hernia on my intestines that makes me look like I'm about 6 months pregnant on my front right side. I no longer have an abdominal wall to keep it from protruding so it is 'right there'. The surgery in January will: remove the hernia, install mesh to act as an abdominal wall, close the opening in my stomach..and do it where the scarring is minimal. In other words, I'll look 'normal' again. It is expected that I'll be on the wound-vac all the way till then..that, I'm not thrilled with but we do what we gotta do. In the meantime, I continue to slowly lose weight. My original goal was 154 lb..so I would be right in the high side of a normal BMI. 152 lb would mean I had lost 200 lbs from me heaviest of 352 lb. Right now, I'm 151 lbs! Woo-hoo! I had to rethink my weight goals. A normal BMI for my height is 115-154 lb so I'd be ok anywhere in that range...so...140 sounds good. We'll see. In the meantime, I'm trying to get in the Christmas spirit. It is very difficult to do that this year...but I have to, for our grandkids sake.

April 6, 2008
I had the hernia repair on March 3rd. I had some delays in having it because the blood thinners for the blood clots were making my white count plummet. Now though, I am FINALLY on the healing side of life! I am suppose to be able to go back to work on April 21st...two weeks. I hope I'm able to..but at the same time, I really don't know that I am strong enough to. So we'll wait and see what Dr. Gupta & Dr. Bergman thinks when the time gets here. There are still some unresolved issues such as I'm still fighting diahrea. Dr. Gupta had a 3rd culture done on the stool to see if there is a bacterial cause for it. I'm also on my 2nd round of meds 'just in case' it is. At least this time it isn't making me sick. My weight is now ~142. I also still have alot of swelling. Others can't tell it so much, but I can feel how hard my stomach is and I have very little ability to 'suck it in' so I'm only able to get into 2 pair of zip up pants right now. One was my biggest jeans and the other is very low cut so the top of them is below where the swelling starts. At least I'm not bound to elastic waist only so I'm happy! LOL!

Bill & I walked around the block yesterday. Whew! Did that tire me out!! To think, I was walking ~15 miles a day???? I know, I will get there again. It's just been a long, hard past 6 months or so. The pain level has really improved alot. I'm still on pain meds though...so still can't drive. I also tried to sleep in our bed for a nap one day and it hurt to move around, it hurt to get out of it. So...still on the couch! Needless to say, that also means Bill & I still haven't been able to get frisky. We sure didn't know back in September that there was going to be such a long dry spell! We really thought 'eh...4 weeks or so'. Sure..anywhere but in Sherri World! LOL!

April 15, 2008 Update
I should be returning to work nexxt Monday...the 21st. So...7 MONTHS instead of the expected 7 weeks. I am still having some pain but it is getting better each day. The only real concern I have right now..especially with going back to work, is this darn diarrhea! 7 months of THAT is getting very, very old! I'll update again after I'm back & let you all know how well I survive!

To make a recipe more healthy:  http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5543.html

Other great info:  http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/