powerful vomitting four days post-band

[squiggle 1]

i've been having a lot of trouble with diarrhea since being banded and not being able to tolerate anything other than small sips of Water or ice.

i was starting to feel much better this afternoon, even thinking about venturing out into broth.

however, the loose stools came back with a vengence tonight, and on my doctor's orders i took a dose of immodium. we're both concerned about dehydration.

i took 3 tbs of immodium, and then had to do a few sips of water to get the taste out of my mouth. very shortly, started to feel awful. cold sweat, chills, watering mouth, then i began to vomit HARD. all in all, i wretched six times very, very intensley.

right now i feel much better, but my throat is raw and my voice is scratchy.

have i damaged the band?

i'm afraid to even sip any water for fear of this happening again.

advice???

[nz_sunset 0]

ive got a thread in the complications forum but had no replys. with mine my stomach keeps churning (nausea) that is causing diarreah so im now on somec and immodiam... it has worked but im not sure if thats masking the problem or fixing it...im 4 weeks post op. i never had vomiting so cant comment on any damage done to your band.

[CCBSTX 0]

Amanda, do you think you possibly picked up something while in the hospital? I am thinking a virus. Yes, anytime you are vomiting, especially in the healing stage, there is risk.

If you can't sip Water without the vomiting, I'd suggest going to the surgeons office. If you are dehydrated, then you can get some fluids via IV. Maybe some anti-naseau medication as well?

Let us know how you're doing!

Shawn

[Boo 3]

I hope you DON'T have a flu! That is miserable and I am so sorry!

Is it possible that you are really tight and swollen from the surgery and had a PB from taking the medication too fast? If Immodium is really thick, it could have a hard time going down. Also, really cold Water and ice can sometimes make my band area tight. Try small sips of warm water every few minutes. You must stay hydrated!

[the best me 6]

Another suggestion: sips need to be super small. Maybe even smaller than that. Post-op swelling in the band area will cause the upper pouch to drain very slowly. You put 3 tbs of anything in there and it says "no way, Jose!" and up it comes faster than you can imagine. I *think* you may have just PB'd (vomited back up) what couldn't go through fast enough. Especially if you haven't vomited anything else till then, or since then.

I'd recommend (in addition to calling your docs) Aloe Vera juice for both of you. It's very healing and soothing. The sore throat could be from stomach acid (reflux) and aloe vera really helps that. Perhaps some Prevacid or Prilosec as well (acid reducer) or Tums (antacid) for short term relief.

Both of you take it very slowly, stay away from acidic liquids like orange and Tomato juices or tomato Soups. And try to stay hydrated.

IV fluids are helpful. I needed several bags 1 week post-op I could barely get anything down. The IV fluids put me on the healing side. I think it helped the swelling to go down.

Keep us posted, both of you!

[Constance 0]

I really feel for you! I wish I had words of wisdom...but I hope whatever it is passes and you feel better soon. That is really rough -- take care of yourself.

[Jachut 487]

It sounds like you're actually sick and have put the symptoms down to the surgery.

You poor thing, my kids picked up gastro literally 2 or 3 days after my surgery and I was in major panic about vomiting, I got straight down to the doctors and got a script for an antiemetic. I got sick but didnt get the vomiting and nausea.

Its obviously too late for that, hopefully it has passed for you. I'd just contact the surgeon and tell him what happened, chances are all is perfectly OK, but boy that must have hurt!

[La_madam 20]

Call your Dr. tel him again of this. I know you just had surgery and I do not mean to scare you but you need to take every precaution. A woman had hersurgerythe same day as I did, her band slipped before sheeven left the hospital, hersymptomswere exactly yours. It is possible for a band to slip this soon post op. It is worth checking into, not to mention all the vomiting before your band has had a chance to set into place could also make your band slip. Symptoms of a slipped band is not being able to even sip Water without vomiting, of course there are other symptoms andsome have had a slip woth experiencing no symptoms, but still not worth the risk. I know if it were my Dr. he would be concerned of a slip. Call your Dr. again..Good Luck

[squiggle 1]

thanks, all.

i have no idea what's going on. my stomach is just rolling and clenching, and i'm keeping a wet cloth on my neck and sniffing rubbing alcohol to try to stave off any more heaving.

i'm just trying to make it through to the morning, then i'll drive the hour to the hospital where i had my surgery and go to the emergency room. right now, i want an iv, some anti-nausea meds, and some pain meds. i'm seriously, seriously miserable. i've been in tears on and off since it happened, worrying that the band got messed up, that i made a horrible mistake in even getting it. it's a true pity party of the highest degree.

i'm pretty sure it wasn't a pb. i felt like my toenails were going to come up, and it was so loud it woke my son from a sound sleep.

[Jachut 487]

If your stomach is churning and rolling, you're sick. You poor thing. I hope this gets resolved soon, I would indeed go to the hospital.

[squiggle 1]

okay, i'm back home.

did go to the emergency room, and they admitted me straight away. i was so dehydrated it wasn't even funny.

they had to give me four bags of Fluid alltogether. it took nearly three full bags before my body started to produce urine. yikes.

also got morphine and some drugs to stop the nausea and the diarehha.

after the fourth bag, i was able to start taking liquids by mouth again. drank a lot of Water and some apple juice, and then they allowed me to go home.

the doc on call for my surgeon said he thought it was unlikely that i had slipped my band. based on the amounts of Fluid i was able to take by mouth, he felt it was still in place. i'm not entirely sure, but i'll default to his experience. my surgeon will be back in town next week and i'll see him for my surgical follow-up, so i know we'll address the placement of the band at that time.

for now, all i care about is that i'm able to drink and maintain fluid. i'll deal with other stuff later.

i was finally able to start adding in some liquids other than Water, too. for lunch just now i had about 5 ounces of a pre-made Protein drink before i got full. does that sound like the band is still there and working away?

whew. i'm glad i'm starting to feel better. last week really, really sucked.

[La_madam 20]

squiggle, that is great news! I am so happy to hear you are feeling better. It is amazing how bad we can feel just by bing dehydrated isint it? Keep us posted with your follow up with your surgeon but until then I hope you continue everyday to feel better

[em1125 0]

So happy to hear you're feeling better. From your first thread I read, I would almost swear it sounded like a terrible stomach bug. You may have picked up a virus in the hospital. About six months ago I had the worst stomach bug that I have ever experienced in my life. I also went to the hospital for fluids. Water is the worst thing to drink y mouth if you have a stomach bug. Keep us informed on your progress.

Regards,

[Bettina 0]

Amanda so glad you are feeling better...good thing you went to the hosp when you did! I am really big on the anti de-hydration thing. Hope you are 100% real soon!

[squiggle 1]

i'm amazed by how much better i'm doing!

lessee...i started off thinning my Protein drink down to the consistency of Water. when that went down well i started drinking it straight. when *that* went down well, i made some cream of mushroom Soup with three cans of Water and beat the lumps out of it with a hand mixer. when that went down well, i actually had some refried Beans tonight for dinner. i did thin them down with water, beat them with the mixer, and chewedchewedchewed.

no problems at all. :biggrin1:

:hungry:

so i think i'm officially getting on the very verge of being able to tolerate mushies. if someone had said that to me last week, i would have thrown up on them. LOL. i'm still also pretty sure that the band is unharmed, as i'm getting full from six to seven ounces of nearly water consistency Soup.< /p>

it's really stunning how quickly dehydration can effect your body, but also how quickly you can bounce back from it. i even started a new job today.