stephwb

I looked at this site so many times in the weeks before surgery. I thought i had done so much research and thought i had really waived the possibility of a leak vs the gain of a healthier life. I also seem to be in the group that i feel a leak was sugar coated. I thought that it was so rare and no one ever said anything about the long, painful ,scary and the uncertainty of how to treat it. Here is my on going story. I got a call three days b4 my surgery that my surgeonn had an emergency and could we move my surgery up a few days,or i could another surgeon in the practice(whom I've heard for the past 6 mo is the best) since my husband was already going to be off work to b with me and we had help with our 4 kids already lined out i opted to go with his partner. Surgery was done on July 10th i felt great pain under control able to walk around my house. Then on July 13th i was getting in bed and all of a sudden i thought some one tried to rip my arm off. No one ever told me about that symptom so i thought i pulled something. The pain was horrible. By the 15th i couldnt keep down a sip of Water,my heart was about to beat out of my chest and my breathing was very labored. Trip to ER discovered a leak was admitted to ICU. Picc line in and 2 JP drains. B4 i was released from ICU my surgeon left on a mission trip. My original surgeon wanted a stent and the surgeon taking over for my surgeon disagreed so they opted till he got back to make a decision. My surgeon opted for 6-8 week stay on TPN and NPO at the end of 6 weeks and several ct scans and an upper GI he felt it was self contained and released me with drains and clear fluids 3 days later while drinking purple gatorade my drain contents turn purple. This continues over the next few month in and out of hospital,with the longest time at home 2 weeks. Home health,TPN but never really unpacked. After month 5 of this, he decides we will get the stent. My original surgeon put a stent in october and readjusted it 3 weeks ago. It is very uncomfortable, i have no desire to take in even water cuz i like a brick lands in my stomach. I fight nausea constanly,horrible heart burn and tons of acid. I have 3 weeks to go and a recent ct showed improvment finally, but in the weeks if it is not healed the will perform a by pass. Im in the hospital right now for a contaminated picc. Im told i wont regret it once life is normal but i dont c how that's possible since i will always regret the burden on my family, the fear my kids have been through and time lost.

I had my surgery on July 10th and discovered I had a leak on July 15th was rushed to the ER . I was then put in ICU for 5 days cuz I was septic. I spent the next 4 weeks in the hospitAL on TPN saline and 4 antibiotic and 2 drains. I got to start drinking and they next day try some yogurt everything was staying out of the drain .so I was allowed to go home on a Monday and did great till Thursday when I was drinking purple protein and my drain turned purple. Got in to see the doctor on Friday did a leak test and I watched it myself leak. I was then admitted for 2 more weeks and still leaked so I was sent home with pic lines and home healthcare . I am having such a problem with allergy drainage and horrible dry mouth and nothing works. Everyone I have seen healed In 4 weeks or so but I am double . It got so bad this weekend I started snicking ice and sucking on it . Can anyone give me advice that has been through this, I have 4 kids to take care of and my poor husband and family are wore out.

I have stuck with it to a T for 8 weeks but when ur mouth gets so dry u throw up but one piece of Ice keep u from it. I told my doctor about it too. And he said won't tell me to do it or not to do it ! I appreciate all the prayers and well wishes but please don't down me for some ice. I really am looking for some advice from anyone who had been through this or know some one who has . I may start looking for a second opinion from another doctor soon.

Today I am starting week 4 of being in the hospital after a leak. I want to put my story out there because when I was looking for info on leaks and how people recovered I didn't receive alot of information. I had my surgery on Tuesday July10th for first couple of days I was doing great and all the sudden as I was going to bed on day 4 I got an awful pain in my shoulder, like someone was ripping it off my body. My husband and I tried heat nerve units ect cuz I thought I had laid on it wrong or something and had a pinched nerve. By the next day I was having a lot of labored breathing and my shoulder pain had lightened up some. By Sunday overnight I couldn't keep anything down and my breathing was so labored I knew I had to go to the hospital.We called the surgeon office for the doctor on call and he said to get me to the nearest ER. We stopped a mile down the road and picked up my mom. When we arrived at the hospital they immediatly got me back and I had two doctors and three nurses surrounding me. They did a chest x-ray and a CT scan and saw that there was fluid build up in my abdoman. They then transferred me to the bigger parent hospital to ICU. I was admitted to ICU and the surgeon was there shortly. He put me on every antibiotic he could think of he said and then later that day I went for a CT scan and a drain tube was put in my side. At first they though maybe it was a pool of blood that was left over from surgery of something or even a knicked spleen. Over the next few days I spent pretty drugged up in ICU and honestly don't remember alot of it. A pic line was put in because i needed so many IV lines and a regular IV wouldn't substain. I spent five days in ICU and was not allowed to have a drop of water during that time. I was allowed to start having some ice chips and water and then my drainage significanly increased. It was then determined that I had a leak and was told NPO(nothing by mouth) for that time period over the next week I had several more CT scans and a berium image done so they could see where the leak was. On week three I was taken down to have the first drain adjusted to get better drainage and put in additional drain to drain a second pool of lighter fluid they now saw. The day beofer I was starting my week 4 I was able to start clear liquids, because I handled them ok I was able advance to some yogurt and protein shake ect. (stage two) I did everything I could to put as much in my mouth as I could to show him I can give my own nutrition and go home. A perfect senerio I go home tommorow being Week 4 one day but he said it will most likely be Tuesday or Wednesday and that will put me at Week 4 day two or three. I am anxious to get home to my family especially my four kids. I have been extremely fortuante that I have such a wonderful family including in-laws or I never would have gotten through this!

I was sleeved in Oklahoma on July 10th and went home July 11th taking 1 pain pill vs 2 i could of. Everything was great no nausea perfect and then my world came crashing down . Friday my night I was nausiated a bit but nothing to be alarmed about and as I went to something felt lite it ripped my arm off. I knocked up to over doing it and maybe a pinched nerve . I was rushed to the ER and and then transferred to the main hospital where my surgeon met me at ICU where he told me in woman a shoulder pain can act as actual pain because my leak was in under my diphram . I have been in ICU 3 days hope to be in a regular room later and if my my drain rude. gets cleared and I.can tales liquids by mouth while doing a CT scan I can go home has anyone else had a similar experience? Sorry first time user

I have not been able to update do to health and accessibility. thank you for all the well wishes. It was confirmed today that I do indeed have a leak. it is small and the want it to heal on it's own so I will remain in the hospital 4-6 weeks and live on IV fluid and nutrition. I will not be allowed to take anything by mouth in that time. I can live with out food if i could just have some sips of water or even an ice chip. I was feeling guilty about having the surgery and putting my family through this, i felt selfish as it was for wanting to have the surgery but my beloved husband said " Why would you ever feel selfish for making yourself better. Even though it doesn't seem like you are making yourself better at the time, you have to realize that it takes 4-6 weeks to recover from most surgerys anyways and you would need us to do all that we are doing now. the only difference we get some extra help from the nurses instead of re couping at home but we can bring anything from home you want(minus my bed which is what i complain about the most) " Looking it at it from that view makes alot of sense , but I have such an amazing family that has already dived in got it all planned out . I am going to stop feeling guilty that I had an elective surgery and look at it as I had a life saving surgery and it will take me 4-6 weeks to heal :wub:

I had a CT with contrast and my white count was really high and Fluid was a in my legs and diaphragm so they set me up with a drain . Have any of u been through any of this

Well I was scheduled to be sleeved tomorrow and the insurance coordinator from the hospital calls me this morning in my way to pre-op and tells me she screwed up and accidently sent the insurance company approval for the band not sleeve when my whole chart says sleeve and now I have to wait and hope she can get it fixed today! So angry!