My very long story...August 1st surgery!

[Beckyyb93 225]

My name is Becky and I just turned 21, I'm a nursing student and am engaged to the love of my life. I started my WLS journey in November of 2012 and got the gastric sleeve at the end of December 2012. My starting weight was 260. From the moment I woke up, I had a stricture and had pain with swallowing. We decided as I healed this would calm down and eating would become less painful. Well, that never happened..I've had roughly 10 endoscopy's and they have dilated the stricture each time hoping to help ease the pain. I've been hospitalized for pain and malnutrition roughly 5-6 times and it's been a tough journey. Now it's July of 2014 and I haven't eaten solid food since my surgery in 2012. I am in constant pain and have been taking the liquid Vicodin on and off this whole time. Living life has been a real struggle because I can't get in enough Protein or Water to stay energized or hydrated so I sleep a lot. I was a relatively healthy (besides some comorbitities) full time nursing student and now I'm barely staying afloat in school. I've pushed back my clinicals which pushes back my graduation date because I just don't have the energy to start them; plus I'm in the hospital so often that I miss class which is not allowed once I start working in the hospital. I went back to my surgeon two months ago and they ran all sorts of tests, he told me if I didn't get this fixed I was heading in the direction of Barret's and esophageal cancer which scared the crap out of me at 21. He said the only way to fix the severe esophageal spasms and the swollen inflamed stricture is to revise to a bypass which would stop the bile reflux and change the anatomy of the stomach which will hopefully help the irregular pressures in my esophagus and let the stricture heal. I agreed since that seemed to be the only option AND I haven't lost any weight...ZERO. It's because I can't eat what I'm supposed to eat, I can barely get down pudding and ice cream much less vegetables or Protein so my metabolism is basically shut down and I'm stuck. We are hoping the bypass fixes my pain but it would also be an added bonus to lose the weight like I originally planned.

We had set a date of 7/11/2014 which is today but I got a call on Wednesday saying the insurance retracted my approval because they want another EGD done. He did the EGD on that same Wednesday and came back out to talk to me about what he found. He said it's significantly worse than it was two months ago, my esophagus is eroding from the bile that keeps irritating the already swollen stricture. I asked about Barret's and he said not YET...so scary! My surgeon himself called the medical director of the insurance company to tell him how badly I need this surgery. He said he would be very surprised if we didn't get it approved and set a new date for next Friday. Here's to hoping I suppose.

I will keep you guys informed when I have a date and I will update on how I'm feeling. Hopefully in a couple of months this will be another success thread, I'm crossing my fingers and toes! I already have all of my Vitamins and Protein shakes from the last go around and have tried a ton of stuff and have a ton of experience with all things bariatric that are soft. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has and am thankful for all of the support that you guys provide.

My current weight is the same as my starting weight at 260 but like I said, I'm more concerned with the pain stopping than the weight gain although I'm hopeful that this will help me with both. My surgeon wants to keep me 2 nights in the hospital and saying the surgery will take 2-3 hours. I'll post pictures soon and update the title with the date we select..hopefully it will be 7/18.

Pictures:

Pre-Sleeve 2012:

Pre-Bypass 2014:

Recent Face Shot 2014:

UPDATE: Surgery is approved but won't happen until August 1st because my surgeon is out of town I'm keeping my head up and am thankful that it is approved at all even if the date is farther out than I had been hoping. I will keep everyone updated and am on a cancellation list so maybe I'll get in sooner.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Beckyyb93

[utahgirll 81]

Hi Becky,

I am so sorry for your problems. Thank you for being brave and honest in your posting of your story. It is helpful and so important to know all the benefits AND risks. I am so sorry for your pain and wish I could help. Please keep posting and if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to pm me.

triss

[barbb3 115]

Becky,

Wishing you the very best possible outcome. You have really been through a lot and so glad you hung in there. Please keep us posted!

[Ginger Snaps 1,323]

I hope you finally get the surgery and the relief you deserve. Keep us up to date.

[green*eyed*girl 170]

Oh my, how sad is that, I hope bypass will resolve your issues and you can step on the path of healing - and losing You have been through so much, I wish you the best of luck and keep us updated!

[NewLife4Me7 110]

Becky - I'm so sorry to hear all that you when through. I will pray for you to have peace, comfort and a speedy recovery.

[Beckyyb93 225]

My surgery was approved however my surgeon is out of town and his first available is August 1st so that's the day I'm scheduled for. I'm a full-time nursing student and classes start in early-mid August so unless he can get me in sooner, I'll have to take this semester off. It really sucks but I need time for my body to heal not only from surgery but it will take time for the stricture and the eroding of my esophagus to heal as well. I'll also need time to get used to my new stomach and want to have a cushion in case of any new complications. I'm hoping that all will go smoothly and I'll be nourished and ready to start my spring semester strong!

I will keep you guys updated but for now that's the plan.

[Beckyyb93 225]

I have a time! I have to be at the hospital at 7am tomorrow morning, we live 30 minutes away so will probably leave at 6:15. I'm so excited everything is packed and ready to go! And so it begins..a second time

[Crosby 303]

Wishing you the very very best!

[Bring It On 55]

Bless your heart! Good luck to you tomorrow! Keep us posted!!!

[CrashNCamsMom 58]

Yay!! Will be praying for you!!

[Beckyyb93 225]

Okay guys sorry for the slow update but some crazy stuff happened..

I got there on Friday morning at 7am for a 9:30 surgery and was in the holding room until 3pm because my doctor's surgeries ran late. So, I was super nervous because I was just sitting there alone thinking about surgery. Finally surgery got started at 3 and was supposed to be 1.5-2 hours long. I remember waking up in a lot of pain at 6 in the recovery room and they were pumping painkillers through my iv at lightning speed because my blood pressure was in the sky, they also gave me blood pressure medication in the recovery room to help. I was also on oxygen because my blood oxygen was low. When I woke up my mom was there and told me what happened.

My stomach had herniated into my chest cavity and was up near my lungs! OMG that doesn't even happen and can cause serious pain!! So, I was in severe pain from that repair and it was a pretty rough couple of nights in the hospital. I was on a lot of Diluadid every 2 hours and that was the first time we got the pain under control, it was miserable. This morning I felt ten times better and switched from the iv meds to the Lortab and was able to keep the pain down enough to be up and moving so they let me come home. I still have a good amount of pain and gas is still in my chest but I'm walking as much as I can and things are improving. I'm really glad to finally be home though. I had a drain and the pain ball and those both came out earlier which wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

I feel like I'm on the mend now and am starting to be able to tolerate some Protein and Water which is good. I'm going to keep drinking and walking and hopefully the pain will subside soon! I'll probably give a more detailed version later but I wanted to let everyone know that it was laproscopic and I'm home and getting better even though I'm still in a lot of pain.

[emilypaige 9]

Okay guys sorry for the slow update but some crazy stuff happened..

I got there on Friday morning at 7am for a 9:30 surgery and was in the holding room until 3pm because my doctor's surgeries ran late. So, I was super nervous because I was just sitting there alone thinking about surgery. Finally surgery got started at 3 and was supposed to be 1.5-2 hours long. I remember waking up in a lot of pain at 6 in the recovery room and they were pumping painkillers through my iv at lightning speed because my blood pressure was in the sky, they also gave me blood pressure medication in the recovery room to help. I was also on oxygen because my blood oxygen was low. When I woke up my mom was there and told me what happened.

My stomach had herniated into my chest cavity and was up near my lungs! OMG that doesn't even happen and can cause serious pain!! So, I was in severe pain from that repair and it was a pretty rough couple of nights in the hospital. I was on a lot of Diluadid every 2 hours and that was the first time we got the pain under control, it was miserable. This morning I felt ten times better and switched from the iv meds to the Lortab and was able to keep the pain down enough to be up and moving so they let me come home. I still have a good amount of pain and gas is still in my chest but I'm walking as much as I can and things are improving. I'm really glad to finally be home though. I had a drain and the pain ball and those both came out earlier which wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

I feel like I'm on the mend now and am starting to be able to tolerate some Protein and Water which is good. I'm going to keep drinking and walking and hopefully the pain will subside soon! I'll probably give a more detailed version later but I wanted to let everyone know that it was laproscopic and I'm home and getting better even though I'm still in a lot of pain.

I just messaged you asking how you were I guess I should've read this first I am sorry you are in so much pain. But glad you were able to go home and you are a bit better now

[CrashNCamsMom 58]

Praying for some relief for you! I'm sure it will all be worth it. I wonder if they how they didn't see your stomach had moved before? That's crazy! But, hopefully this means you'll be able to get back to a normal life

[Beckyyb93 225]

Yeah, I know the stomach thing is crazy!

I feel amazing today though..still sore and a little pain from incisions but no swallowing pain AT ALL! I haven't been able to swallow without pain in two years and I can't even believe that I feel so much better this soon my surgeon cut out the stricture and with the moving of my stomach I guess it makes sense that I wouldn't have my old pain but it's still unbelievable. I'm so happy I went through with this surgery, I can already see my life changing for the better! All of my family is so happy that I'm feeling this great, they were kind of skeptical about getting another WLS when the first one was so bad but these results are astonishing!

I'm sure I'll keep feeling better as I heal and I'm looking forward to be able to eat regular food AND lose weight, what a novel concept!! I haven't felt this good since my surgery 2 years ago and I'm less than 4 days post-op..I just wish I would have done this surgery first. It's all good now though yay!!