My Story (Lengthy But Its Mine)

[bubblesbgood 29]

way back in 2006 i had hit my top weight of 275 lbs. no matter what i did hunger and carbs would always attack and win. i saw an ad for lapband in dec. 2006 and called they set me up for a seminar. i attended and i met the 4 surgeons who were there. after listening to the types of surgeries available etc. i chose the lapband again because it seemed the least invasive and could be removed if need be. i met the first surgeon and explained to him what i wanted and that i planned on interviewing all the dr.s that were at the seminar. he said we all work together etc he played right into my emotions by telling me what i needed to hear "this has effected you your whole life" etc. he schmoozed me into becoming his patient little did i know this was going to be the worst mistake of my life. i was given a list of test/drs i had to see for preop i was visiting all these dr's most of them had never dealt with lapband surgery and when i called my dr to keep him updated they would make me come in when i arrived my file was at another office why i couldnt tell you because id only been a patient in this office. the surgeon was always at least an hour late which i attributed to maybe helping others so it never struck me. at my appts. they kept saying "when you get your bypass" time after time finally i said "if i wake up with a bypass you guys are in big trouble!" they even called to say "your bypass has been approved" i checked out this surgeon online on health grades and various other sites and nothing came up.

so comes the day of surgery. i arrived at the hospital at 8am for a nine am surgery at 10am the surgeon arrived. i finally got wheeled in at 1030am for surgery. i awoke in immense pain, the surgeon said he nicked something and therefore i bled out for about 20 mins till he found it. after feeling really green for about an hour they sent me home. 2 days later i had a huge rash that covered my entire belly. the dr. said take benedryl. 2 weeks after surgery i finally managed to sleep in my bed only to feel like i couldnt breathe i had this odd pain in my shoulder blade i called and went in to see the dr. he said it was just gas, this pain continued until my first fill 2 months later, lo and behold i couldnt get my fill because my button had come off and wedged itself by my lung. it was repaired, then 1 month later i went for my fill. the weight was coming off in a great manner. i went for another fill when i could eat more i said my button is really sore, i had a hernia under my button. another surgery, this was the MO for the next couple of years until i ended up with 4 hernia ops. i developed this pain in my stomach and i kept telling the surgeon who had now moved to another office he didnt notify anyone until they called the old office for an appt. when i told him of my pain he said ohhh its just your organs being able to move again. this lasted about 6 months until i had another hernia and they discovered i had adhesions, the way i found out about the adhesions was when the OR nurse called the next day and informed me. that dr. looked right at my husband in the waiting area and walked right by him. but the story doesnt end there.

in Nov. 2008 i had really bad pains in my stomach i called the office and told them that i was having really bad pain, i had a hernia op in sept. and could my dr. see me asap. the secy who answered said she would inform him and he would call. he didnt call me back and the pain went away...for now..so i let it go...zoom forward to Jan.31, 2009. i was working part time as a preschool teacher and was also a realtor. i awoke that friday to having a stomach virus i was vomitting i thought ok id caught it from one of the kids i called my dr. because i knew i was vomitting like crazy and need to probably have my band opened. he never returned my call and come sat. i felt better so like a moron i let it go. sunday i was putting out open house signs and got the worst pain in my chest and stomach that even childbirth couldnt compete with i went back home told hubby to call an ambulance i thought i was having a heart attack thats all i remember until 3 days later. it turns out they couldnt find my surgeon for 2 days as yet again he had moved offices to the hospital i was staying in and they still couldnt find him? i had intestines that had pinched into guess what? another hernia....why this dr. kept stitching them shut instead of using mesh ill never understand. so my intestines had become pinched in the hernia and for months i would get that pain and then they would come out and id feel better. well this time they stayed in there and died off i had had gangrene. they removed 3 feet of intestines. as lay in my hospital bed the pain was excruciating i kept trying to tell the nurses something was wrong and they kept screaming at me to be quiet that i was driving them crazy. the next day i couldnt concentrate, i couldnt keep a thought, then i started sweating sooo badly it was running down my face. the next thing i knew i heard code something, they said "ok bonnie your blue we are going to give you a tube to help you breath. i had sepsis and was dying. i ended up in ICU on lifesupport with a 10% chance of survival. i remember hearing my husband cry for me to please come back so we can raise our daughter together, i remember hearing friends that came to see me. i was in icu for over 10 days and lo and behold i did come back to the surgeon standing there berating me for "not giving him a chance to fix anything" can you imagine my frustration? i finally got to a regular room and after another week there i signed myself out as my surgeon had informed me that he was taking his wife to the bahamas for her bday and i had no dr. looking after me. i went back to see the dr. a week later as i was told by the nurses to come back. i still had a drainage hole and he kept telling me to come back in 30 days? ummm i have an open wound and you want me to wait 30 days.i went back in 2 weeks because it had become swollen and red and they found i had pneumonia and guess what? ANOTHER HERNIA!. i started to look for an alternative surgeon at this point as i truly believed this man was going to kill me. no one would take me on with my history. i kept trying. but still had to see him until i could find someone. the last straw was when i went to see him and he filled me. for the next 8 months i was vomitting in my sleep, he sent me for an endoscopy while i was filled (i now know this couldve perforated my stomach) yes folks this is in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. he started brow beating me because id only lost 26lbs. i felt like a big fat loser. i realized i could eat more than the 3 bites of food i cut my self down to and went for a fill, this time he had to take out more than he put in thus id had an overfill for 8 months gee wanna know why im puking and im not losing weight? that was it i swore even if i didnt find another dr. to take care of me this one would never touch me again. my primary dr got involved and found me one of the top surgeons in the country who is head and director of 2 of the centers of excellence in my area. after 1.5 years of trying to work with the botched job the other surgeon did we realized there was so much wrong with his work, he used too big a band he never measured...he has my button right on top of my ribs...my stomach from being overfilled for so long and from vomitting so much has a bulge that cannot be fixed. after taking it on the chin for five years with this band from hell only to weigh more than i did before the lapband was put in. i am now getting it removed on June 5th 2012 and my new dr. is doing a vsg. am i scared? more than anything but i do believe it will work for me because i have the best of the best. this dr has had the same office for lets hear it...10 years!!! he has a nut on staff not one who doesnt know anything about lapband it turns out now when you pull the other surgeons name up on health grades it flashes "malpractice" i have since found out he was booted out of one hospital where 4 women died under his care not surprised on that one. i have not given up hope on myself i believe my new surgeon and my vsg will work. i look forward to the day that i can say i survived death, a bad doctor, a rotten lapband i deserve a second chance again. wish me luck please!

[Sunshine25 5]

You are one strong woman! You will be in my prayers and this will be awesome for you.

[ShoeLover 141]

Oh my God, that is terrible. Just wow about that terrible surgeon. I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I am sending up prayers that your vsg surgery will be smooth and your recovery will be seamless.

[skane10 64]

All I can say is OMG! I hope you are feeling better and the VSG helps you. I would be interested in knowing how you progress. I think it just goes to show you that bad surgeons are everywhere, the USA, Mexico, ect.

[bubblesbgood 29]

You are one strong woman! You will be in my prayers and this will be awesome for you.

thank you so much!!

[bubblesbgood 29]

All I can say is OMG! I hope you are feeling better and the VSG helps you. I would be interested in knowing how you progress. I think it just goes to show you that bad surgeons are everywhere, the USA, Mexico, ect.

ty i plan on coming here a lot! i think it will keep me positive everyone is so nice!

[bubblesbgood 29]

Oh my God, that is terrible. Just wow about that terrible surgeon. I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I am sending up prayers that your vsg surgery will be smooth and your recovery will be seamless.

ty so much!!

[Eager12 12]

You are one strong woman! You will be in my prayers and this will be awesome for you.

[MinaT 669]

Wow, what an absolute nightmare and yet, you are blessed that you survived this. A positive attitude and knowledge will go a long in succeeding with your surgery. Most important thing is to be healthy. I'm glad your new surgeon is going to take care of you, and he knows what he's going in to with your adhesion issues, scar tissue and I'm sure he'll be sure to make sure there are no more hernias and that surgery was done properly.

My thoughts are with you and you are having Tuesday after my surgery and I will be sure to say a prayer for you and I look forward to hearing your updates.

[Lissa 2,631]

Wow!! What a nightmare and it is amazing that you have survived this ordeal!! Are you suing that doctor for malpractice? You don't have to answer that in an open forum, but you should be suing him!!

I know that you're looking forward to June 12 with hope and with trepidation! I will pray that everything goes well for you and that your sleeve turns out to be everything you were promised that the lap band would be.

[DebraLea 16]

OMG That is horrible. I hope you filed a complaint with the state against this guy. I went and looked to see where you are from because I truly thought you were in Florida as I was reading. I am glad that you have found a good doctor now. Whoever this guy is everyone should be warned to stay away from him. Bless your heart.

[Lisa's Hope 421]

Bubbles I wish you more than luck. I will surely pray for you. You have been through so much!! I just cringe reading your story. I am to be sleeved tomorrow morning and I'm really terrified. I just told my husband that maybe I shouldn't be reading this story the night before surgery. I can't imagine the suffering you have been through. God has more plans for you. I'm so glad you are ok.

[ChristineS NY 44]

You are one strong women! I can't believe what you have gone through, I just can not believe it! My prayers are with you, you deserve peace and a fulfilling life with your family.

[Calicolea 38]

Wow, that is an amazingly scary story. That doctor is very dangerous and I hope he isn't still practicing.

You are like Iron Woman I wish the very best and hope you have a speedy recovery!

[besquared1426 49]

I can only repeat what everyone else has said. Thank God you have survived this long ordeal. I hope the sleeve works out for you and gives you a new and healthier start to living again.