Well what a difference 24 hours makes. As I wrote my last entry I was in pain and feeling bad..that night the pain got worse. The vomiting of blood began and that night was one of the longest I can remember. On Friday, I went to work, yep, I went to work. I carried a small trash can in the car and threw up all the way there. I know, I am an idiot..I knew what I had to get done, then take care of myself. I had called the doctor at 2am and he said to be at his Jax office at 6:30am. I was there. He did a flouroscope and said my band had slipped. He told me to come back at 3pm and let him look at it again. If the stomach went down and back through I would be OK, otherwise...well we would talk about it then. I drove back to work (only a couple of miles) and laid down on my office floor. One hour later, I knew I was in trouble. I drove back to his office (I still don't know how I did that). He took one look and off to the ER I went. Upon my arrival at the ER I proceeded to vomit blood on their floor and almost faint. They started an IV and told me that I was going to have to have emergency surgery but at their hospital on the other side of town. They called an ambulance and my family arrived - I was taken to St. Vincents Hospital Riverside. I was a direct admit. They took Xrays and a CT scan. I met the surgeon and gave his the photos from my doctor. He said he need to stablize me but surgery was going to happen. At 11pm, they wheeled me into surgery. Before I knew it, my 3 year buddy band was gone and I was back in my room. They were able to leave the plication but said that my band had slipped and scar tissue was bad. There was no saving it or putting in another one. He further explained that the scar tissue was so bad that I would feel like my band is still there for a long time and the plication was good and should be all I need to not only maintain what I have lost but to loose the other 30 pounds I want to loose. I sure hope he is right.
As I write this, I am home (less than 24 hours in the hospital) and I am so sore..OMG, it didn't hurt like this the first time. I am on a liquids diet and some soft foods. Not really hungry but head hungry (you guys understand that). I am very nervous. I now have a new doctor (local) and someone who will take my journey from here. Gastric Plication is what they call my WLS now..Some say it is good, some not so much..I guess since it is all I have, it will have to do. I pray I don't find that size 22W again.
Depression is trying to creep in just a bit but I am fighting that. The pain meds don't work and I feel like crap. But this too shall pass. My stomach is making sounds like "what the hell is going on" and I am sore all over. Fortunately, I am off work next week anyway, so I will have a chance to take care of myself and heal. I am supposed to walk and drink lots of water. What caused my slippage???who knows. The new doctor said that sometimes stuff like that happens but the scar tissue played a big part in it and it would not have healed on it's own. The vomiting of black blood, cramps and pain were the worst I have had since I gave birth to my kids....Please take care of yourselves and don't be foolish like me - get help right away. In retrospect, I should have gone to the hospital Thursday night (our anniversary) but I was stubborn..I could have died. My husband wanted me to go to the hospital that night, but where...when my doctor moved to WPB it upset my applecart and I did not feel secure from that point on. With a new doctor I will now have to build a new relationship but at least he is in Jacksonville. Will I have issues with the plication in the future? I don't know, I guess that is something the new doctor and I will discuss when I see him at his office in a couple of weeks. I do know that I will be going back to Weight Watchers for support as I feel like I am out on a limb all by myself.
Take care my band friends and to my plication friends let me know how things are working out for you. I really appreciate this sight and all it has to offer, even if NO ONE reads my blog, I feel refreshed and glad I got it off my chest (so to speak). Have a wonderful Sunday and be good to yourselves.
One week ago tonight, all hell broke loose with my band. I was in pain, vomiting blood, dehydrating and wondering what in the world was going on. Within 24 hours, I was in an ambulance, ER, admitted, taken to surgery and lapband removed. Wow, that was quick.
I am now in recovering mode. I can eat once again. I am being very careful about what I eat and making sure I write everything down to remind myself what I ate. When I came home, I weighed and I was up 9 pounds - are you kidding me - 9 pounds - no food or water in over 48 hours and I GAINED 9 pounds - well yep!!!. Today, 7 of the 9 is gone and my weight is heading south fast. Amazing, when you are on liquids how fast you loose !! HAHA.
I see the doctor for a followup next Thursday and I must say I am looking forward to the visit. My biggest question is "Now what?" I have plication but what happens with those little stitches start to pull loose, stomach leaks or scar tissue forms there? What are the symptoms that issues are starting there? I am really scared to see if the "other shoe" will fall next. I would feel more comfy if this was turned into a sleeve but I am not sure that is an option (I really don't weight enough for more WLS) and I don't know if my insurance will pay for it. One question leads to another and another. I am making my list for the doctor as they come to mind. My incisions are painful and my poor belly button YUCK - good thing I am too old for a bikini..LOL. This has been very painful but I am walking it out, resting and trying to put me first (which is something I don't do well).
Take care, those of you who are dealing with slippage right now. This is no game. It will land you in surgery ASAP and the band will be history. Know the warning signs - I don't think I had any until it was too late. be good to yourselves. We took this journey together and took this big leap of faith for a reason - to better our health - live longer - and look better doing it...Having a "life event" like I just went through was not part of the deal.
I will update again next week and let you know what the new doctor suggests from here. Keep the support coming - This is going to be rough ride and a whole new journey from here. But there is strength in numbers and the WLS community is huge and so supportive - Thank you to you all..
As May gets under way, I realize it is a month of nurturing [Mother’s day], appreciation [National Police Memorial Week], and advocacy [international Fibromyalgia/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Gulf War Syndrome/ Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome Awareness Day].
My Fibromyalgia has been flaring big time but I've been busy building awareness of the special needs of people with Fibromyalgia who have had weight loss surgery.
For one, we cannot take out pain medication the way we did pre-op.
I testified at the FDA Public Meeting on Patient Focused Fibromyalgia Drug Development and spoke about my experiences as a post-op patient. After the meeting I posted all the questions which the FDA needs community responses online [Click here for questions].
If you are a WLS patient with Fibromyalgia, please take a moment, click on the link above and copy and paste these questions to a word document, answer them and then go to http://www.regulatio...013-N-1041-0004 and paste your answers as comments onto the FDA docket. The comment now button is in the upper right corner of the FDA’s page.
The comment period closes on May 26, 2014. The FDA really needs to know that there is a subgroup of people with Fibromyalgia who need their medication in chewable, dissolvable or liquid forms.
