Severe unexpected pain, vomiting, 5 1/2 mos out

[NMJG 1,266]

Hoping someone has some insight on this. Today I ended up in the ER for extreme stomach pain and vomiting. It was like an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. I was sipping a Swiss Miss Diet cocoa and bam! Was completely incapacitated.

At the ER they ran blood tests and did CT. My heart rate was too low (46) but that is because my blood pressure meds need to be adjusted again, no doubt, and that wouldn't cause this kind of stomach pain. The CT showed inflammation but nothing concrete.

They gave me zofran, which stopped the vomiting and helped with the pain a lot, which made me think that maybe the vomiting caused cramping which is now much more painful with a sleeve. The other odd thing is last Sunday I was drinking cold Water rather quickly and suddenly vomited it all back up. This is really weird since I am 5 1/2 months out.

There is flu going around. Maybe I have a stomach bug and it hits sleevers differently than presurgery? I called my bariatric surgeon's office, and other than the CT scan they had no other advice more than liquids for today and tomorrow and see if it gets better.

Anyone ever have anything like this? Do stomach cramps, flu, and other tummy issues cause pain after the sleeve?

[JeanZ_RN 378]

Gallbladder problem? Or did the CT rule that out?

[NMJG 1,266]

Gallbladder problem? Or did the CT rule that out?

Had it out in 1989, but that would have been a good suggestion. It feels similar to that kind of pain.

[JeanZ_RN 378]

How are you feeling today? Have the problems persisted? Any further ideas on what the cause could be?

[NMJG 1,266]

How are you feeling today? Have the problems persisted? Any further ideas on what the cause could be?

Hi Jean,

Was much better yesterday, but my tummy was still sensitive and I was plain worn out. My surgeon suggested liquids for a while. I did liquids most of yesterday then tried some chicken stew for dinner. Was only able to get down a few bites, then a couple of hours later a few more bites. Doing just soft foods and liquids today, don't think ready to go back to meats based on yesterday's experiment. My restriction is very tight again, like it was the first month. No idea for certain what is causing this, but I have some theories.

I think I may have a stomach bug, a flu or something like that. I think maybe viruses, nausea, etc. affect the sleeve differently and in some individuals possibly cause cramping that leads to pain. I say this because when I was given Zofran it significantly lessened the pain (not entirely but enough that I could think straight). Zofran is an anti-nausea med, not a pain med, so my thinking is that it is the cramping associated with the nausea that caused the pain.

Anyway, I'm much better but the mystery remains. I really wish I knew so I could avoid it in the future if possible. Even right after VSG surgery the pain wasn't like this the other day. So weird.

Edited February 6, 2014 by NMJG

[JeanZ_RN 378]

Glad to hear you're feeling somewhat better. Silver lining, if the increased restriction remains after you recover, ... it might lead to weight loss being faster, as it was [for most of us] the first month or so after surgery ?