How Do I Know If I Have A Leak In My Gastric Sleeve?

[jsfound 1]

I beg to differ with the insistance of a fever. I did NOT have one. I was not septic when I was admitted but was in kidney failure. I had a very low BP and a low body temp. Docs said it can go that way too. So, please DO NOT rely on a fever as being your only guideline.

[Pegsinthewoods 8]

I beg to differ with the insistance of a fever. I did NOT have one. I was not septic when I was admitted but was in kidney failure. I had a very low BP and a low body temp. Docs said it can go that way too. So, please DO NOT rely on a fever as being your only guideline.

Hey, Jsfound, thanks for chiming in. It sounds like your leak was a little different from the classic “fever-type”. Could you please tell your story? I am in the process of a revision from a SEVERELY eroded lapband. My doc tells me with my excessive scarring; I’m at higher risk for leaks so I am trying to learn as much as I can about symptoms, etc before my surgery. You speak of kidney failure, how was that determined? How did they finally discover it was a leak? What did they do as far as getting the leak fixed? Would you do it again? There is a forum on complications; if it is not too painful, it could really benefit others if you would share your story. Thanks, Pegs

[jsfound 1]

I was diagnosed over a year ago with kidney disease IgAN. It is a type of disease that basically causes your immune system to attack you kidneys as foreign objects in your body. It is progressive and there is no cure. My disease has been progressing rapidly and we realized that more than likely, I would need a transplant in the next 2 years. My current other co-morbidities were going to put and keep me at the bottom of the transplant list. I have Type II diabetes, obesity, high BP, and metobolic syndrome. According the the information and research, gastric sleeve surgery was suppose to help all of these. So I decided to move forward so that when the time came for a new kidney, I would be eligible for a good place on the list.

My kidney function was stable and the team decided I could have the sleeve done. My surgery was 10-11-11. I struggled those first few days like we all do. But as the weeks progressed, I just wasn't feeling good and I had a lot of stomach pain. (my kidneys were doing fine). I developed an infection on my main surgical site and was started on antibiotics. Then on Oct 27th I drank too much supplement at one time (about 1-2 oz too much) and had a VIOLENT vomitting session. It got really bad from there.The next week was spent in misery. My surgeons office just kept telling me to "sip, sip, sip". They didn't take my concerns seriously. Finally, they ordered a CBC blood test to see if I had an infection. The next morning the surgeons office called and said that the CBC was normal so the exhaustion (like to a point of I practically couldn't stand up from the toilet), the dizziness, the nausea, the pain in my stomach that radiated to the left, the dangerously low body temp and BP were not related to my surgery. HA - they were dead wrong.

My kidney doc called a few hours later to let me know my results from my kidney panel (which had suddenly tanked), he heard my voice and immediately direct admitted me to the hospital. WHen I got there my body was shutting down and I was in real trouble.

The speculation was that I had the leak all along and the vomitting made it worse. I was not septic because after the vomitting episode I was too sick to eat much. and I kept my drinking to Water only. I think I had every test known to man done in the hospital - 2 Swallow tests, x-rays, CT scans, enough blood tests for a small army. At one point I had 4 IV's running. They ended up putting in a main line IV (in my neck) and then a port in my arm.

I went home after a week and had home nursing care. For 4 weeks, I had IV nutrients 24 hours a day and 9 hours of saline per day. I was on IV antibiotics to prevent sepsis. I had 3 different IV push meds also available. BP and stats had to be checked every 3-4 hours and I wasn't allowed to be left alone at all.

I spent 4 weeks without eating or drinking. I'm now trying to teach my body how to eat again and its rough.

I didn't expect any of this. I feel like the docs need to explain more about the complications and what they involve. I read recently that 1 out of 100 will experience a leak. That's not good odds. I think that further education is mandatory so that we can make educated decisions. I thought I had but I made the mistake of trusting my MD. I trusted he had told me everything and not just the candy-coated stuff we want to hear. He did breeze over the complications but downplayed them as being a freak thing.

So, that's my experience. I will try to update.

Thanks,

Jenny

[Capt Derel 287]

And just to get this right. This was done in a US hospital? Did you do a barium swallow xray test before you were discharged?

All doctors claim they do a leak test while they can still see it laproscopically then a few days with the drain bulb then a blue dye test before the pull it out then finally a barium leak test. Did you have this done?

(null)

[Capt Derel 287]

The above comment was for jsfound. Sorry

(null)

[kulita 243]

^ mine didn't do a barium swallow test. I only had the blue dye test while I was under. I also didn't have a drain.