I had surgery on April 10, 2007. Everything went well, I got home same day. Pain was not the problem (thank you Percocet!). After few days I developed gastrix reflux disease. I had no idea what was going on, the pain would not go away, couldn't drink anything but milk. I went to ER, cause I was sure I have blockage. I was diagnosed with GERD, and they put me on Nexium.
(I think I should mention, that I live in Pennsylvania- had surgery in New Jersey, about 1 1/2 hr drive.)
I was drinking milk, like that was the only liquid in the world. Got terrible diarrhea, nausea, chills and pain all the time. What was going on? I FOUND OUT I WAS LACTOSE INTOLERANT !!! I knew my son is, and I was never a big dairy fan, so that was never the issue. I had to stop my milk therapy.
Do you think that was the end? Nah...
About 2 weeks after surgery I was home alone with my 5 years old son, had some SEEDLESS watermelon for lunch, no big deal. I started feeling weird, like there was something stuck in my throat. My guess: that watermelon wasn't that seedless, probably a seed got lodged there. I got diarrhea again, and pain in my stomach intensified. I packed my kid and went to closest hospital. It was around 2:00 pm, few people in ER. I started having difficulty breathing, pain got so bad, I couldn't sit, couldn't walk, I just cried. I called my husband to come and pick our son. When he got there, I was in really bad shape, my throat started to close, I was crying, but the nurses didn't really cared, because it wasn't my turn.
When I finally got inside they gave me nebulizer treatment (our guess was: stress related asthma attack). Doctor wanted to check my lungs after the treatment, he pulled my gown up and asked: how long have I had that rash on my back. I asked: "What rash?" and looked at my arms. I was covered in hives !!! What had happened earlier that day, I was loading last night dinner's dishes to dishwasher and probably touched my husbands plate- he had shrimps (I didn't- I know I'm allergic). I couldn't believe. I had to go the bathroom anyway so I looked in the mirror. God, my eyes were so small I could be mistaken for Mongolian, I was red all over. After shot of benadryl and steroids I started looking more like myself. But my stomach...The pain was terrible. Since it was 2 weeks since surgery, there should be no gas inside. After 7 hours in Lehigh Valley ER, I had CAT scan done, that revealed air in my belly. My white blood cells count was very high. They suspected stomach perforation. But because I had surgery in New Jersey, no one wanted to touch me (and they don't do Lap Bands in this hospital). I was transported via ambulance to Morristown Memorial Hospital and spend 3 days in post-ICU. At the end what had happened to me was just really, really bad luck. After observation and second CAT scan, I got better. My surgeon told me that they didn't flushed tubes properly. There was still air inside, that got out. So I had that air, that caused pain, really bad intestinal infection (watermelon?), and allergic reaction to my husband's cooking:D. I was treated with a massive dose of antibiotics, and released home.
Am I a winner or what!
I also found out about 2 weeks ago, that my GERD was caused by one of my medications. I was on Zoloft for about 2 years due to panic disorder. Since last year my insurance company requires "mandatory generic substitution". I switched to sertraline. Now, Medco (mail- in pharmacy) provides only one company's generic version of Zoloft. Some inactive ingredient in it caused my pain. I learn it the hard way. I forgot to take my pill in the morning, so when I got home after work I took it. The pain and burning kept me awake for a loooong time. So I had to switch to regular pharmacy ( I called around to check if they use different manufacturer). No pain since.
I'm almost 2 months after surgery. I had good days and bad days. If you asked me during first 2 weeks if I would do it all over again- I would say "No way !!" Now, I'm happy that I did it. I lost 30 lbs so far ( most during that first 2 weeks due to diarrhea, nausea and pain). I have more energy. I can eat regular food now (meaning low fat, no carbs etc).
I'm happy!
