OMG Did I just screw everything up?

[mysunflower621 69]

Hi!

I apologize for the length of this post...I was sleeved 11/15, so just 8 weeks ago and I am down 29.5 lbs so far, not too bad. So, shortly after the surgery I had this severe pain on the left between the left and center incision. It was like a stabbing, ripping burning kind of pain literally between the 2 incisions to the waist where pants or undies would sit. At times it goes straight through to my back and other times the skin is sooo sensitive pants or undies hurt it. The doc thought it was a muscle tear and sent me for a CT san which I did today.

Got a call from the PA at the doc's office. Scans are negative and she contradicted herself saying in one breath the CT won't show a muscle tear (then why did you send me for this?) and in the next breath that it would show a hernia in the muscle! Makes no sense! GRRRR so she tells me not to do anything...UMMMM life maybe, work, 3 kids, 3 dogs... do nothing??? I said to her that I'm barely doing anything NOW and I can't keep not going to work because I can't get in the car from the pain. I asked again where we go from here and she said, again, not to do anything!!! GRRRR So frustrated..

Its this next part that scared the life out of me... She then tells me to take tylenol and I said, yeah, I have taken some motrin. She gasps and says to never ever take motrin (or aspirin), ummmm ok good time to tell me! That's what I was taking! Ugh She said it will cause bleeding ulcers in the stomach.. GREAT! Now I'm worried as hell that I screwed everything up!! I think I may have taken 1 dose (2 pills) for a total of maybe 5-6 days in the last 8 weeks. OMG now I'm scared of this too! I feel ok, other than this pain and told her so but she said that it takes time for the damage to happen!

Now what? I don't know what to do! Did I really screw myself up completely and mess up my sleeve???? HELP!

[IsB 209]

My cardiologist still has me on a low dose aspirin a day and my surgeon is okay with it. It's not ideal but sometimes you need to weight one ailment against another.

Since you're worried you should give your doctor a call and listen to what they tell you.

[CCCross 31]

Hi!

I apologize for the length of this post...I was sleeved 11/15' date=' so just 8 weeks ago and I am down 29.5 lbs so far, not too bad. So, shortly after the surgery I had this severe pain on the left between the left and center incision. It was like a stabbing, ripping burning kind of pain literally between the 2 incisions to the waist where pants or undies would sit. At times it goes straight through to my back and other times the skin is sooo sensitive pants or undies hurt it. The doc thought it was a muscle tear and sent me for a CT san which I did today.

Got a call from the PA at the doc's office. Scans are negative and she contradicted herself saying in one breath the CT won't show a muscle tear (then why did you send me for this?) and in the next breath that it would show a hernia in the muscle! Makes no sense! GRRRR so she tells me not to do anything...UMMMM life maybe, work, 3 kids, 3 dogs... do nothing??? I said to her that I'm barely doing anything NOW and I can't keep not going to work because I can't get in the car from the pain. I asked again where we go from here and she said, again, not to do anything!!! GRRRR So frustrated..

Its this next part that scared the life out of me... She then tells me to take tylenol and I said, yeah, I have taken some motrin. She gasps and says to never ever take motrin (or aspirin), ummmm ok good time to tell me! That's what I was taking! Ugh She said it will cause bleeding ulcers in the stomach.. GREAT! Now I'm worried as hell that I screwed everything up!! I think I may have taken 1 dose (2 pills) for a total of maybe 5-6 days in the last 8 weeks. OMG now I'm scared of this too! I feel ok, other than this pain and told her so but she said that it takes time for the damage to happen![/background

Now what? I don't know what to do! Did I really screw myself up completely and mess up my sleeve???? HELP!

Take a deep breath. many sleeved patients take NSAIDs (Motrin) post op. Some take them multiple times a day. That being said, many surgeons say no NSAIDS ever. I highly doubt you got a bleeding ulcer after a few doses but I'm not a doctor; she should have mentioned that her warning was precautionary.

A slight muscle tear may not show but a large hernia might.

It could be the stitches pulling or maybe there's one rubbing on a nerve. My internal stitches from many csection (4 years ago) still tug and when I sneeze, its a white hot ripping pain that causes me to double over.

My advice, see a different doctor. And calm down. I think that medical professionals sometimes don't realize that not everyone can just lay in bed for 3 weeks. Try a maternity girdle, I wear one when my incisions hurt and it helps. Take it easy as much as possible and get a second opinion. Feel better!

[Richard Foor 655]

Motrin can cause bleeding and ulcers in the stomach, but it is not guaranteed to have done that. You can't change what is already done so first off obviously don't take anymore, secondly it sounds like you need to speak to the actual Dr, he should be able to give you a better idea of what to look for and possibly do some tests. It doesn't help anyone when they just tell you that something could of caused a problem but not what to watch for or what to do about it. As for the ct scan showing muscle tears it can but what they were probably trying to say was that it is possible to have some kinds of muscle tears that won't show up on a ct so just because the scan is negative doesn't completely rule out a muscle tear, the dr might want to check some other things or he might order a MRI which could detect more types of tears. Most important thing is to not let yourself get all upset and hope the Dr. has a better plan, maybe the PA just isn't sure what the Dr wants to do next so they don't want to confuse you more. Good Luck.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

severe pain left and center incision. or undies hurt it. doc thought it was a muscle tear and sent me for a CT san which I did today. taken some motrin. She says never take motrin (or aspirin), Did I mess up my sleeve????

mysunflower

OMG sorry for getting mixed signals from dr. i understand that must sound awful

telling you one minute tests came back negative - then telling it takes a while for a problem to show up

in my LAYMAN opinion, taking 5-6 motrin/aspirin over 8 weeks - "hopefully" didn't cause any damage.

she should have given you better instructions on what to take or not to take

i hope your pain goes away

i'm sorry this happened - try and be patient (i know thats hard) to hear all your results

i will be hopeful that all is ok

DON'T dwell/think about this 24/7 - you can't

"IF" something happened (which i don't think) things can always be fixed

again as i LAYMAN i really don't think you messed up your sleeved

take care,anxious to hear how things turn out

good luck

keep following your program

[ashelaine 382]

We talked about NSAID use post op at my follow up appt on Monday. Basically the internist said European studies are showing no harm (since they can actually test for things that might hurt people). He also said that if you suffered no ill effects pre-op, it is highly unlikely you will suffer them post op. I have to take NSAIDs and steroids fairly often- this is the reason I chose the sleeve over the other WLS options out there.

[traceyc 89]

I originally was going to get bypass but since I needed to be able to take anti-inflammatory including NSAIDs my surgeon recommended the sleeve. She explained there was a high risk of ulcers where they attach the intestine to the stomach in bypass. I have taken Advil and prescription NSAIDs multiple times since surgery. I have had no issues.

If you are in pain and it is not getting any better, keep pushing your doctor to look for a cause or go to another doctor. 8 weeks out seems far out to be in that much pain.

[mysunflower621 69]

Thank you so much everyone! You all made me feel a lot better!! My head was just spinning earlier today. I thought everything was going great sleeve wise, no problems at all whatsoever! This stupid pain is the only problem I have.. it acts like it's muscular, but wow, child birth wasn't this bad! LOL

Thank you again!! I will provide an update after my appt on Monday!

[KK66 61]

I am back on Aleve twice daily (with food or milk) for severe OA of my left hip. My surgeon said that with the sleeve, NSAIDs are perfectly safe (albeit, the same risk as preop--take with food, milk,) I am also on a PPI (omeprazole) so this helps with irritation as well.

[suzthebrit 146]

My doctor also said the NSAIDs were perfectly fine post op. as long as you are not taking too many of them at a time and you are taking them with food or milk you'll be fine.

The pain you are feeling may be a nerve. When nerves are cut and healing they are very very very painful and it can last a few months. Try a heating pad or cold pack on the are and see if either one helps.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

[ozeedonkee 145]

Yes, after reading all the "you must not ever use NSAIDS" comments on here I specifically asked my surgeon about it. He said it's fine as long as it's not long term (over a week or so), that they could cause irritation to the stomach.