Major Complications

[LadyVelvet 9]

So sorry to hear this. My prayers are with you guys. Hope she has a speedy recovery.

[TKDBlackBelt15 0]

I tried reaching out to forums as much as I could. I feel as though people she hear about these risks if their serious about getting it done. And for those of you who thinks my post was elicit your the type people no one wants to deal with. My fiance we be posting stuff if she wasn't in an ICU room with 10 incisions an ng tube through her nose and an immense amount of pain. However she is doing better and is walking around the room. Her infection is gone and this monday she getting it clamped. Thank you so much everyone for your wishes god has blessed us dearly. I hope her story is very informative and helps you make ur decision wisely.

[rblessed 1]

Approximately 2 weeks ago my fiancée had her gastric sleeve operation. The surgeon said to me she has perfect anatomy and the surgery went very well. She got home about 3 days later and felt fantastic and started her home clear liquid diet. a couple days later she started experiencing chest pains, back pains and trouble breathing. after reading issues after the surgery we thought this was normal. She then started to develop a fever of 100 that didn't fluctuate. She became lethargic but this only happened at night. The following morning she felt great. The 3rd day I got home from work with her sitting on the couch. She had a fever of 101, red faced lethargic and was crying as she stated "why did I do this to myself?" I rushed her to the ER immediately. In the ER they wanted to her to drink an oral contrast for a cant scan to find the problem. After taking two small sips she experience pain equal to that of a heart attack and couldn't breath. Ive never seen her in so much pain in my life and was so upsetting to see her crying and screaming "why do I feel like this please help me" They gave her 9 shots of morphine and 4 shots of Di lotted. This did not immense the pain at all. They admitted her over night. The next morning that did a cat scan with the contrast given to her through an IV. a few hours later the surgeon game in and said she had a leak that caused an abscess below her esophagus and above her spleen the size of a soft ball. They scheduled another operation in the OR an hour later to try and seal the leak. After the operation the surgeon could not see the leak because it was so small. They gave her two drainage tubes on each side of her stomach and an NG tube out of her nose. They said they wanted to dry her stomach out so the the hole could clear on its own because of how small it was. she was held in the ICU to keep her under constant supervision. 3 days later she started to develop another fever of 102. The surgeon then ordered another emergency draining in radiology from the abscess above her spleen. this procedure was approximately 20 minutes. Immediately she lost all pain and felt great. She is now currently in ICU still and draining her stomach out. Doing a lot better but can eat or drink anything (she is so thirsty she says). Every time they move her she feels pain on her incisions ( 10 total). They have to move her so that the tubes can collect all the fluids in her stomach. What breaks my heart the most is that shes wanted this for so long and so bad and now says she regrets ever getting it done and has suffered greatly.

I experienced the same thing. I too wanted the surgery so bad and have come to regret it. After my surgery November 15, I was running a high fever. I went to after hours and they said I had pneumonia. I completed the antibiotics but did not get better. My mother demanded that I go to the ER. Thank God she did. It was at that time I was told I had a gastric leak. I stayed in the hospital from December 12 until the 23. I guess they were getting me out before CHristmas because I returned January 3 with the same complications, high fever and shortness of breathe. FInally, three surgeries later the leak is closed. However, it was a long battle. I stayed in ICU the entire month of March. The doctors told my family the only thing I had was going for me my age and pray. He told them there was a 90 % I would not make it. Man may say one thing but God has the last word. In April, I went through rehab to learn to walk and build my strength. Now, I am doing fine. I thank GOD everyday for sparing my life. My advice to you is to pray and don't give up. GOD will deliver your her. I am praying for you and her. GOOD LUCK!!

[YOLANDA240 13]

Sorry about the complication, I pray she stops regretting the sleeve. And has a speedy recovery Good Luck

Approximately 2 weeks ago my fiancée had her gastric sleeve operation. The surgeon said to me she has perfect anatomy and the surgery went very well. She got home about 3 days later and felt fantastic and started her home clear liquid diet. a couple days later she started experiencing chest pains, back pains and trouble breathing. after reading issues after the surgery we thought this was normal. She then started to develop a fever of 100 that didn't fluctuate. She became lethargic but this only happened at night. The following morning she felt great. The 3rd day I got home from work with her sitting on the couch. She had a fever of 101, red faced lethargic and was crying as she stated "why did I do this to myself?" I rushed her to the ER immediately. In the ER they wanted to her to drink an oral contrast for a cant scan to find the problem. After taking two small sips she experience pain equal to that of a heart attack and couldn't breath. Ive never seen her in so much pain in my life and was so upsetting to see her crying and screaming "why do I feel like this please help me" They gave her 9 shots of morphine and 4 shots of Di lotted. This did not immense the pain at all. They admitted her over night. The next morning that did a cat scan with the contrast given to her through an IV. a few hours later the surgeon game in and said she had a leak that caused an abscess below her esophagus and above her spleen the size of a soft ball. They scheduled another operation in the OR an hour later to try and seal the leak. After the operation the surgeon could not see the leak because it was so small. They gave her two drainage tubes on each side of her stomach and an NG tube out of her nose. They said they wanted to dry her stomach out so the the hole could clear on its own because of how small it was. she was held in the ICU to keep her under constant supervision. 3 days later she started to develop another fever of 102. The surgeon then ordered another emergency draining in radiology from the abscess above her spleen. this procedure was approximately 20 minutes. Immediately she lost all pain and felt great. She is now currently in ICU still and draining her stomach out. Doing a lot better but can eat or drink anything (she is so thirsty she says). Every time they move her she feels pain on her incisions ( 10 total). They have to move her so that the tubes can collect all the fluids in her stomach. What breaks my heart the most is that shes wanted this for so long and so bad and now says she regrets ever getting it done and has suffered greatly.

[NJMOMof2 17]

I think it's wonderful how much you are there for your fiancee'. I am praying she continues to feel better and gets stronger every day. After a few months,she will be feeling great and can put this all behind her

[New & Improved Mel 1]

"I feel as though people need to hear about these risks if their serious about getting it done" I hope her story is very informative and helps you make ur decision wisely.

I couldn't agree more! People need to be aware that this can happen and hopefully your very informative post will make others recognise when something isn't 'right' with their sleeve and perhaps they may have some knowledge at what to expect in their next stage of recovery. Thank-you for sharing your story and it is wonderful to hear that your fiance is getting better each day.

Hopefully in a month or two, when she is feeling the amazing feeling that comes along with losing weight, all the pain and heartache she is feeling right now will be a distant memory.

Sending warm wishes your way,

[KellyL 173]

I'm so sorry your fiance has gone through so much, I know it must've been very scary for both of you. I'm glad she did the right thing and went to the ER and caught it in time. I am sure it's been very painful and of course she is regretting her decision at this point. The healing process can take a while and be both physically and emotionally painful. There may come a day that she will come to love her sleeve, it just may take a while. This procedure is a lifesaver for so many people, and no one thinks at the time they make the very difficult decision to have it, that they will be in the percentage that has complications. You are correct, people that are researching need to know of these complications, and also, they need to know the signs and symptoms of a leak in case they have one themselves. Thank you for sharing her story and for your love and support for her, I am sure it means the world to her. Please continue to update us on her condition and also encourage her to join this forum for continuing support in her journey. It is nice to have friends to share both the ups and downs. I hope she recovers very quickly.

Kelly

[TKDBlackBelt15 0]

UPDATE: Today my fiancée had a visit from the physical therapist. She walked around the room a bit which made her tired. They also took her off the IV, Oxygen support, the catheter was removed as well as her central IV line. She talks almost ordinary because she is clearing from the anesthesia. She looks great and sounds wonderful. The only thing is that now she gets nauseous very easily and vomits a very clear mucus and dry heaves.(I apologize for being vulgar.) This makes her stomach sore. Her stomach is apparently completely dried out which is good because now the swelling with subside and they can locate the leak. At noon she went down and did a cat scan and she was able to drink the contrast. A couple hours later the surgeon came in and said the leak was still there and now they can move forward with the next procedure. They can try and clamp it which I hear is a very easy quick and painless process. She gets it done on Monday by a specialist from John Hopkins. Wish her luck and thanks again all i'll keep you posted.

[SouthernSleever 228]

Thanks for keeping us updated TKD. I'm glad shes doing better and I hope they are able to get that leak prepared quickly. <hugs and strength> She's lucky to have you!

[1tracy 1]

I will look for your updating posts and wish her well from all of us here. Thanks for posting and educating on the possiblities that complications happen and are real. I have not been posting long, and have not yet been sleeved, but have been reading for a long time, and this group of people are wonderful and they truly care and can give a wealth of information.

I hope she continues to get well and with your love and supoport, she will be just fine! I pray that this summer will be one of new beginnings and of healing.

Best wishes to you both!!

[breezy 8]

I thank my lucky stars that I was one of the ones that had no problems with my surgery. There was a nice lady who had her surgery at the same time and we kept in touch afterwards. Her experience has been much worse. No leak, that she's told me about, but a lot of pain and worrisome problems.

It is true that some of us will experience problems. That is why the procedure should not be taken lightly. Thank you for posting so that readers will have a full picture when they are making their decision.

I hope your fiance feels better soon.

[sasicas 194]

So glad she is doing better. I had a hole too and ended up having it closed with glue during a scope.

The nausea, vomiting, dry heaves were awful too. Part of it can be from the swelling still in the sleeve. Tell her to ask for better meds, I was on 3 during my hospital stay for the complications. Phenergan, it works great but might just knock her out and Compazine works well too, again made me very tired.

[wishes 125]

Oh wow, glad she is doing better. Thank you for keeping us posted. When do you think she might be able to leave the hospital?

[Rainydayz 27]

So sorry you and your fiance are going through this. She is very lucky to have you. Please come back and keep us updated on her condition and know that we are all pulling for her and will be here when she is able to come post herself.

[TKDBlackBelt15 0]

UPDATE: so they identified the bacteria that gave my fiance the abcess is called VRE and yesterday had a stent put and and they were able to repair the leak. Tomorrow they will do another cat scan to confirm. Today she has made a complete 180 and cannot wait to get the he'll home lol I am so happy she has had her life worth saving by god.