smariev

Wow froufrou, that is how I am feeling too. I cannot function much without the pain and discomfort getting in the way but the doctor acts as if this is completely abnormal. Sorry I didn't mention it before, I just didn't want to bore you with a super long post. I had the sleeve procedure in July, about a month out from surgery I found out that I had a leak. From the leak I got a blood infection and was in the hospital for about a week and was placed on TPN for about 7 weeks in order for the leak to heal. I could not have anything by mouth, not even water, for 7 weeks. It was incredibly hard, but luckily my family was very supportive and I made it through. The TPN was over in October, then fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I began to have a nagging pain under the left side of my ribs and as the days progressed the pain become worse and basically impossible to ignore. I went to urgent care, they found nothing, went to my surgeon and he brushed me off saying that it sounds like a strained muscle. I told him that I just didn't feel right and he ordered a CT scan. That evening I got the dreaded call yet again that I had another leak and that I needed to go to the hospital. I was devastated because I know how serious a leak is and clearly remember what toll it took on my family. My surgeon referred me to a GI surgeon that placed the stent. It is 15 cm long and is in my esophagus and stomach. That means my esophagus and stomach are always open, making acid reflux an every day thing. I feel this time around I am not as supported by my surgeon or the GI doctor. I have told them about the pain that I am experiencing and they offer little or no support. I am very happy to have found your post because it is nice to hear that someone else has had a similar experience (although it is a painful experience). Everyone I know personally that has had the sleeve have had absolutely no complications. It is very hard to go through this feeling as if no one else understands. So thanks for posting and for all your suggestions.

Thank you froufrou for the advice. I am home from the hospital now and the pain medication they initially gave me was tramadol, but that just was not strong enough. They did give me dilaudid in the hospital and that worked great, but not sure why they did not send me home with that. I feel a little unsupported by my surgeon and the GI surgeon because as I have explained the way that I am feeling they do not offer much advice on how to manage the pain or nausea. They make me feel as if they do not believe me or that I just need to tough it out. I really need to get back to a level of functioning as I have a family to take care of and a job. It has been 11 days since the stent placement and I am not able to do much at all except go for a short walk or maybe a quick run to the store. Froufrou were you able to work with the stent in place? I really appreciate your advice, I did try using the heating pad on my stomach and I slept so much better. I also received Carafate and have been taking that, it works great at soothing my stomach for a time.

Thank you for sharing your story. How long did it take the stent to heal your leak? Did you feel any discomfort while the stent was in place? I currently have a stent and am experiencing a lot of abdominal pain along with extremely painful gas and nausea. The stent has been in place for a week now and I can't seem to find anything that is comforting for the pain or the nausea. Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you.

I had a pain on my left side under my ribs. I noticed it on a Sunday and by Thursday the pain worsened. Any movement such as couching, hiccups, laying on my side, etc would make the pain worsen. The doctor thought I had strained a muscle. Turns out it was a leak. I am not trying to scare you, but you should call your surgeon and let them know how you are feeling.

Good morning @Sosewsue61, I work in the education field and they do not offer disability insurance. I assumed everyone did but I was wrong.

Thanks for the feedback, I am just getting my blood drawn once a week. I will talk to my doctor tomorrow about the fatigue.

I am new to this site but would appreciate any advice. I was sleeved the end of July of this year. Right before I reached my 4 weeks post op I became very sick and found out that I had a small leak in the staple line. I spent a week in the hospital and am now going on my 4th week of 24 hour TPN through a pic line in my arm. I really need to go back to work and am not sure if I can handle it. Since being on the TPN I have experienced major fatigue, heartburn, occasional stomach ache, and body aches. I tried to apply for Disability, but my line of work apparently does not pay into disability insurance. I am just wondering if anyone else works while having a TPN and how do you feel?