paigeelaine

I have been snooping the forums for what seems like forever now, and have now come to realize that it is time to tell my story. My name is Paige and I am 19 at 5'7". I started this journey in July at 262 lbs and am now at 219 lbs. 10 weeks post op. Okay, here is a quick rundown of what has been going on. I'll try to keep it as short as possible (no promises). I was sleeved December 21, 2012. The surgery went smooth. I was in a bit of pain afterwards but that was to be expected. The first two weeks were a breeze for me. I was able to get all my Protein and fluids in while keeping my pain at bay. At two and a half weeks everything came to a screeching halt. I started having really bad pain in the upper left part of my abdomen and was vomiting up everything that I put in my mouth. I called my surgeon immediately and he ordered a CT scan with contrast (Jan 15). Everything came back normal. No leak and no infection. He gave me a prescription for more zofran and some reglan. A week later I was still struggling to keep anything down. I went back to my surgeon and he ordered another barium swallow (Jan 28). This one was horrible. I was gagging the whole time and the consistency was just awful. It took a few days to get the results back, but once again everything came back normal. Then he referred me to a GI doctor. I went and saw a GI doctor (Feb. 4) and he wanted to to a EGD ASAP to make sure that there wasn't a stricture. I had my EGD the following day (Feb 5). There was no stricture that he could see. He said that my esophagus and stomach were wide enough for a semi to go through. He also did a biopsy to check for H. Pylori. That came back negative. After he talked with my mom he decided to order an ultrasound of my gallbladder and a HIDA scan. My mom had her gallbladder removed and when she was having attacks her pain was on her left side, so it was worth a shot. I had these test done (Feb. 13). But surprise, surprise, they were normal. At this point the doctors are at a loss, and I am beyond frustrated. They doctors are also worried about me becoming dehydrated. My GI doctor advised me that If I started to become lightheaded and that if I stopped peeing it was time to get to the hospital for fluids. Sure enough the following Saturday (Feb. 16) I ended up in the hospital for 5 days. While I was in the hospital I had another barium swallow. This time we finally got answers! Turns out my stomach isn't emptying properly, gastroparesis. They explained it to me that since 80% of my stomach was removed the nerves have to re-grow to get the stomach muscle to work again. In some people it can take many months for the nerves to function properly. There is also a very small possibility that my stomach will never function the same again. Also, the head of the bariatric department at the hospital looked over my surgery notes and all the tests I had done to make sure that the other doctors hadn't missed anything. He agreed with the diagnosis of gastroparesis and their treatment plan. While I was in the hospital they started my on reglan, again, and dexilant. I started to see some results. I was actually able to keep down half a cup of yogurt. After I was released from the hospital I had a few good days. But on Tuesday the vomiting, pain, and constant nausea came back again. I just got back home from seeing my GI doctor and surgeon. They both agreed that the next step in my treatment is to have a EGD done where they inject the valve where my stomach and small intestine meet with Botox. The Botox will help relax the valve so it isn't as tightly closed shut. This will hopefully help the flow of things. I'll have this done on Tuesday. I pray that this is the answer because my surgeon said that if this doesn't help then the next step is exploratory surgery to check for scar tissue or a twist in the stomach that the x-rays missed. Now I'm Lortab to try and manage the pain. Dexilant to make sure that excess stomach acid isn't causing all the trouble. Phenergan for the nausea and vomiting. Reglan to try and jump start the motility of my stomach. I'm just at a loss right now, and extremely discouraged. I know I should be thankful that it isn't a more serious complication, but I find it so hard to be positive. I have been in constant pain for the past 8 weeks. Not to mention the nausea and vomiting. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks for taking the time to read this, Paige

Well... I was in the hospital this past weekend for dehydration again. While I was there I had another upper GI swallow study and another contrast CT. Both came back normal. That's good news because that means the Botox injection worked. It also means that my stomach is starting to contract on its own again. Even though my stomach is working again I am still in pain and battling constant nausea/vomiting. They say that my nausea is caused my extreme hormonal changes from the surgery, and that It will pass on its own in time. They still don't know what's causing all my pain though My magnesium and thiamine levels were both low so they gave me magnesium and thiamine to bring up my levels. I am also on three different nausea meds. Zofran, Phenergan, & Scopolamine patch. Even with them there are times that the nausea is unbearable. I go back to the GI doctor next week so we will see...

In the beginning my surgeon thought it might be a motitily problem. He put me on Reglan for a week and thought that it would get better. He didn't want to put me on the Reglan for much longer because it can have some serious side effects. He told me from the beginning it could take months for my stomach to start working properly again. I agree, when in doubt call your doctor. That's what they are there for. I hope I'll bring some good news soon.

Good luck!! I'm sure it will go great! You're in my thoughts!

My doctor put me on rx dexilant. It's kinda pricey but has worked wonders for me. Get better soon!

I posted a few days ago in post-op fourm and got the suggestion to post here as well. Here is the link to my original post http://www.verticals...ss/#entry710830 Basically, has anyone else suffered from gastroparesis as a result of surgery? My doctor's seem to think that it will only last for a few months. Hopefully, my stomach is just taking longer to "wake up". There is a small chance that it may be permanent and have to revise to gastric bypass. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Please let me know. Thanks -Paige

I think you saw my other post, but just to be sure. My procedure went well. Woke up in pain but they quickly took care of it. My stomach feels different, but I'm still struggling to keep anything down. Overall I can't tell much of a difference. It can take up to three days for the Botox to start to work. I'm trying to stay hopeful. I just want the pain go way. I can handle the nausea and vomiting but the pain is starting to become too much.

I got gastroparesis as a result of the sleeve. Managing it now with meds and botox injection . I hope getting the sleeve helps your gastroparesis. Good luck!

I want to say no, but we don't know for sure. They don't think my vagus nerve was damaged because my symptoms developed a couple weeks after surgery.They weren't immediate. I think I may be more of crappy luck becuase both of my parents have had nerve problems in the past. With any type of abdominal surgery gastroparesis could be an outcome. Although it is extremely rare. I just think I drew the short end of the stick. Thanks for your post

I have had doctors in the past that made me feel like an idiot.They didn't believe anything that I was telling them. In a sense I got lucky because my doctors have been amazing.

The main reason I posted my story is becuase there is many similar ones out there. As soon as my symptoms developed I knew something wasn't right. I am very grateful that I have great doctors that listened to me. Even though it took them a while to diagnose me, they always listened and never threw me to the side. Thank you for the well wishes.

Thank you! It's the pain that gets me. I can handle the nausea and vomiting. I just want the pain to stop. I'm glad you're better now!

They didn't know if the injections themseves were going to cause me pain or not. In some people they do and in some people they don't. In my case they did! After I started to wake them up and let me know the immediately gave me dilaudid, two doses of it. It was smooth sailing after that. Although, this morining I feel like I have been hit by a truck. Thanks for your post!

Thank you so much!

On my way home now. The procedure went smoothly. I was in lot of pain afterwards though. The doctor said I may feel the results immediately or it can take up to 3 days. I have noticed that my stomach doesn't feel so tense. I don't really know how to explain it. I had something to drink and still wasn't able to keep it down. So now it's a waiting game. I'm pretty optimistic, but scared at the same time. I let y'all know when I find out more. Thanks again. P.S. sorry for typos still super groggy from the meds.

Waiting now to have my procedure done. Thank you everyone for the the thoughts and prayers. It truly means a lot to me. I'll let ya know how it goes.

I had internal stitches and steri strips on the four incisions on belly. I also had an incision in my belly button that had three stitches.

I'm so sorry to hear about her complications. No fun. Hopefully you'll get answers soon. We can definitely chat sometime. I'm in Houston so that's a bit away. I did read your other post and I agree there are a lot of similarities. Good luck!

Thank you for the prayers. They mean a lot and really do help.

Thanks for your post. I'll be sure to update once I know something new.