Anyone else have a sleeve revision to bypass due to complications?

[lisylooby 9]

Hey everyone, just wondering if there are any other sleevers who had to be converted to a bypass due to complications? I've had a pretty bad 8 months with complications from my sleeve and never actually progressed to solid food. My surgeon was concerned that I was dehydrated, malnourished and losing too much weight so she converted me to a gastric bypass.

Gastric sleeve surgery was on 16 November 2015. I had it in private with a lovely surgeon and support team.

So after my surgery I was pretty much vomiting up after my puree meals. The nurse at the hospital told me it was my own fault for eating too quickly (I ate 2 teaspoons over about 30 minutes), and since then I blamed myself every time I vomited. I rang the surgeon a couple of weeks after going home and said I was still regularly being sick and feeling hungry because nothing stayed down. Her advice was to cut down my intake even more and said I was just having head hunger. So I listened to what she said and things didn't get much better. I was losing about 5-6 pounds a week. At one month from the operation, she sent me for a barium swallow as she was suspicious of a stricture. The swallow showed narrowing in the sleeve, but the surgeon decided to wait and see if it resolved itself after the swelling from surgery went down. This wasn't properly communicated to me so again I thought there was nothing wrong except for how I was eating.

Fast forward to March of this year and the vomiting is getting worse - I felt a heavy pain in my chest whenever I ate and then an almost passive regurgitation of food and lots of mucus (Sorry for TMI). I even vomited in my sleep and aspirated, which was awful. I talked to the surgeon again and she did another swallow exam which showed I actually had a very tight stricture. So I had a gastroscopy during which it was dilated. I did it without sedation, just pain relief, but it was a terribly painful experience.

One week of relief and almost normal eating after the dilation (normal as in where I was supposed to be for a sleever), then the same symptoms came back. So about 6 weeks after the original dilation, I was having it again as the stricture was back. I am a doctor so it was frustrating missing so much work for these investigations - I had to travel to another city to have it done.

Fast forward again to early June, and the symptoms are there again! This is when the surgeon decided to admit me to the public hospital she worked at because I was getting too unwell and dehydrated. The gastroscopy showed I actually had TWO strictures - one at each end of the sleeve - and these were dilated. But the symptoms didn't go away and another barium swallow showed that there was still an obstruction. This led to an oesophageal manometry study, which confirmed that I had a torsion in the sleeve. This meant that when I ate, it was twisting on itself and effectively blocking the food and making it come back up. I was relieved this was found - turned out I had 2 rate complications in one. I was beginning to think that my symptoms were in my head after they kept happening after the dilations! Because of this, there was no option to place a stent (although it had been considered). Surgery was the only way forward.

On the 8th of July, I had the sleeve converted to a gastric bypass to basically bypass the torsion and enable me to eat again and get back on track. This was a horrendously painful surgery and I recovered slowly. I then got an obstruction of the distal anastamosis a few days later as it twisted and stuck to itself, resulting in blockage. Had to go back to theatre a week after the conversion to fix it. I am still in hospital as I type this (5 weeks here) but am hopeful to be discharged tomorrow!

This whole process has been really tough emotionally. I keep thinking "I never signed up for a bypass" but I didn't have a choice - it was bypass or slowly starve to death. The diet sounds very restrictive and I worry about dumping, although I am not much of a sweet tooth and I have already been living on very little food for months. When I first received the bariatric meals at the hospital, I was shocked as the amount of food for one meal was far more than I had been eating in a whole day!!

I think the main fear is being isolated - being unable to eat with my family/friends and being left out of social occasions involving food. I'm a private person so only my close family know about the surgery. I know it will get better eventually, but it's really sad. I have talked through this with the health psychologists at the hospital which has been helpful. I feel a lot of regret for having the original surgery, but there was no way anyone would predict that I would have such a bad run with complications. My surgeon said she's only ever had one other patient she had to convert from sleeve to bypass. I did know the risks of complications and I accepted these before I went in to surgery. Being 24, I didn't think it would happen to me. But it did.

Stats wise: I'm a woman, 24 years old. Started at about 250 pounds. I'm 8 months out now and have lost 78 pounds, giving me a weight of 170 pounds and a BMI of 25.5. It obviously slowed down when I was unable to take solids, because I was given total parenteral nutrition (food through an IV which worked out to be about 2000 calories a day). But I'm happy with the loss, not happy with all the complications and having 7 gastroscopies, 5 barium swallows, 3 dilatations and 2 extra surgeries. My goal weight would be about 150-160 pounds - I will see when I get there!

Sorry for such a long post, but it would be great to hear from anyone who has had complications with the sleeve - strictures, torsion, leaks, conversion to bypass etc. It would be great to have some support as it's been quite a whirlwind for me. Thanks so much :-)

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Geez! I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. But you sounds SOOO knowledgeable and strong and smart about everything that's happened to you.

I can't support you with any knowledge or personal experience with your situation. But I can certainly support you virtually with kind thoughts and hopes that you will continue to heal well.

Basically, it sounds like you now just have a gastric bypass, which hundreds of thousands of people have and have gone on to lead quite normal lives. I'd certainly hope that is in your very near future!

Welcome to the forum. Again, you have sure been through the wringer! Glad you're through the worst of it.

[lisylooby 9]

Thanks for your support!! Yep, I was just having so much trouble with the sleeve that converting to a bypass and starting fresh was the way to go. The only difference is my pouch is a little smaller as it was made from the non-strictured part of the sleeve. But otherwise, I'm just another bypass patient now.

Recovery will be slow but I'll get there. pureed food already feels more comfortable than with the sleeve.

Cheers xx

[chardon27 11]

I have very very very bad reflux doctor talking converting to bypass....i am not sure how pain this will be..was skeeved 8/5/15

Sent from my SM-G928V using the BariatricPal App

[escape_pinacolada 21]

Hello,

I am so sorry to hear what you have gone through. It sounds like you are on your way to what can be a "normal" life. My sister in law had the RNY a long time ago and she seems to be normal.

I too am having issues with my sleeve. I am just over a year out from the original surgery, then I had a second surgery to correct a pouch that formed and a stricture. The dilation gave me relief for about 4-5 months, but now I am back in as the symptoms have come back. I also have started to have unmanageable GERD. It is horrible, enough to wake me out of a sound sleep.

I am also gaining weight since I am not able to eat as much as I need to, so my metabolism has shut down and I am in starvation mode so back to square one.

I saw the PA yesterday and he wanted to consult with the Dr about the upper GI that was done. In between that and now I had to have a hysterectomy. It has been one thing after another.

I am not going to have a lot of time to be out of work, if I do have to have a RNY done. It sounds like that is what they are looking at. If they send me back in for another dilation I will be the first case ever to have to have a second dilation in their history. Makes me feel like I did something wrong. My husband is so worried. I hate to eat and the thought of drinking makes me anxious. Everything that goes into my mouth hurts. Either my stomach starts to cramp or I burp uncontrollably. Even Water hurts.

I had my fasting labs today to see how I am doing nutrition wise, and hopefully I will hear back from the Dr. tomorrow.

I am scared I don't know what to except from the revision surgery and the cost is going to put a huge dent in my pocket book.

I definitely didn't sign up for this, I had hoped I wouldn't be the very small percentage that has the problems.

Hang in there it will get better!!

[epiphany2011 16]

Hey everyone, just wondering if there are any other sleevers who had to be converted to a bypass due to complications? I've had a pretty bad 8 months with complications from my sleeve and never actually progressed to solid food. My surgeon was concerned that I was dehydrated, malnourished and losing too much weight so she converted me to a gastric bypass.

Gastric sleeve surgery was on 16 November 2015. I had it in private with a lovely surgeon and support team.

So after my surgery I was pretty much vomiting up after my puree meals. The nurse at the hospital told me it was my own fault for eating too quickly (I ate 2 teaspoons over about 30 minutes), and since then I blamed myself every time I vomited. I rang the surgeon a couple of weeks after going home and said I was still regularly being sick and feeling hungry because nothing stayed down. Her advice was to cut down my intake even more and said I was just having head hunger. So I listened to what she said and things didn't get much better. I was losing about 5-6 pounds a week. At one month from the operation, she sent me for a barium swallow as she was suspicious of a stricture. The swallow showed narrowing in the sleeve, but the surgeon decided to wait and see if it resolved itself after the swelling from surgery went down. This wasn't properly communicated to me so again I thought there was nothing wrong except for how I was eating.

Fast forward to March of this year and the vomiting is getting worse - I felt a heavy pain in my chest whenever I ate and then an almost passive regurgitation of food and lots of mucus (Sorry for TMI). I even vomited in my sleep and aspirated, which was awful. I talked to the surgeon again and she did another swallow exam which showed I actually had a very tight stricture. So I had a gastroscopy during which it was dilated. I did it without sedation, just pain relief, but it was a terribly painful experience.

One week of relief and almost normal eating after the dilation (normal as in where I was supposed to be for a sleever), then the same symptoms came back. So about 6 weeks after the original dilation, I was having it again as the stricture was back. I am a doctor so it was frustrating missing so much work for these investigations - I had to travel to another city to have it done.

Fast forward again to early June, and the symptoms are there again! This is when the surgeon decided to admit me to the public hospital she worked at because I was getting too unwell and dehydrated. The gastroscopy showed I actually had TWO strictures - one at each end of the sleeve - and these were dilated. But the symptoms didn't go away and another barium swallow showed that there was still an obstruction. This led to an oesophageal manometry study, which confirmed that I had a torsion in the sleeve. This meant that when I ate, it was twisting on itself and effectively blocking the food and making it come back up. I was relieved this was found - turned out I had 2 rate complications in one. I was beginning to think that my symptoms were in my head after they kept happening after the dilations! Because of this, there was no option to place a stent (although it had been considered). Surgery was the only way forward.

On the 8th of July, I had the sleeve converted to a gastric bypass to basically bypass the torsion and enable me to eat again and get back on track. This was a horrendously painful surgery and I recovered slowly. I then got an obstruction of the distal anastamosis a few days later as it twisted and stuck to itself, resulting in blockage. Had to go back to theatre a week after the conversion to fix it. I am still in hospital as I type this (5 weeks here) but am hopeful to be discharged tomorrow!

This whole process has been really tough emotionally. I keep thinking "I never signed up for a bypass" but I didn't have a choice - it was bypass or slowly starve to death. The diet sounds very restrictive and I worry about dumping, although I am not much of a sweet tooth and I have already been living on very little food for months. When I first received the bariatric meals at the hospital, I was shocked as the amount of food for one meal was far more than I had been eating in a whole day!!

I think the main fear is being isolated - being unable to eat with my family/friends and being left out of social occasions involving food. I'm a private person so only my close family know about the surgery. I know it will get better eventually, but it's really sad. I have talked through this with the health psychologists at the hospital which has been helpful. I feel a lot of regret for having the original surgery, but there was no way anyone would predict that I would have such a bad run with complications. My surgeon said she's only ever had one other patient she had to convert from sleeve to bypass. I did know the risks of complications and I accepted these before I went in to surgery. Being 24, I didn't think it would happen to me. But it did.

Stats wise: I'm a woman, 24 years old. Started at about 250 pounds. I'm 8 months out now and have lost 78 pounds, giving me a weight of 170 pounds and a BMI of 25.5. It obviously slowed down when I was unable to take solids, because I was given total parenteral nutrition (food through an IV which worked out to be about 2000 calories a day). But I'm happy with the loss, not happy with all the complications and having 7 gastroscopies, 5 barium swallows, 3 dilatations and 2 extra surgeries. My goal weight would be about 150-160 pounds - I will see when I get there!

Sorry for such a long post, but it would be great to hear from anyone who has had complications with the sleeve - strictures, torsion, leaks, conversion to bypass etc. It would be great to have some support as it's been quite a whirlwind for me. Thanks so much :-)

Wow!! What a story. I feel so sorry for you. Everything you've gone through I hope you would find it worth it eventually.

Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

[mschan218 81]

Bravo to you hon for being so very brave. God bless you on your recovery road!

Sent from my SM-N920T using the BariatricPal App

[WifeyMaterial 139]

So glad things are getting better with you I convert to bypass from the sleeve on Wednesday the 28th I'm so scared to honest that pain all over again is what I worry about and the dumping stuff people suffer.

Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

[imawlsfailure 1]

I'm having a revision from sleeve to bypass due to ulcers. I had revision from lapband to sleeve in 2014 due to my band ulcerating completely through my stomach. I lost 23lbs with the band, gained 70, lost 127 with the sleeve, have gained 30. So, maybe I'll lose the 80lbs total I need to lose this time.

[WifeyMaterial 139]

I'm having a revision from sleeve to bypass due to ulcers. I had revision from lapband to sleeve in 2014 due to my band ulcerating completely through my stomach. I lost 23lbs with the band, gained 70, lost 127 with the sleeve, have gained 30. So, maybe I'll lose the 80lbs total I need to lose this time.

Wow you have been through it as well when are you getting your bypass I got my wed sept 28 and I'm in so much pain and starving bloated etc.. I just wanna be healthy and live my life that's all

Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

[SuzieQ56 4]

Sleeved 6-2-15 down 196 lbs but I think is due to same issues as you. First thought was my gallbladder which did show sludge and stones. They took it out the pain and nausea changed but did not go away. Test after test did a 3rd EGD and it finally showed the problem I have a bulge on my stomach and when I try to eat or even drink Water it contracts into the inside of my pouch basically putting a shelf in my stomach just below my esophagus. Anything I intake either sits on the shelf irritating or comes back up. Only way to fix is bypass which I was very very determined not to have. I'm tired of being in pain and sick all the time but everything is on hold right now as I had to have major back surgery and only out of hospital 5 days and was readmitted with MRSA in my spine was in there a month the second time now home doing Vancomycin infusions and going back and forth to see Neuro every other day. I was actually going to give in to bypass when back issue came up but Neuro and ID Drs both say no to any surgery until absolutely sure MRSA is out of my tissue which first goal is to get to 6 months then a year before they will sign off for anything. Since I can not eat enough to promote healing that is causing problems now wanted to put me on TPN but unable to due to other medical issues. I'm so so frustrated that I sometimes wish I had stayed at 438 lbs.

My surgeon said that in all the Bariatric surgeries he has done or heard of I am only the 2nd one this has happened to and since so rare no one knows why or how it happens. Only good thing out of this no high blood pressure now actually is running low. I went from 6 insulin shots and 1000 mg metformin per day to nothing now even with that much drug on board A1c was 10.5 now it is 5.1 and have problem with low blood sugars. So I get how you feel so tired of being poked and prodded for over a year and not fixed yet but I still don't get hungry at all which is good for weight loss but not helping the malnutrition. I Hang in there and I will also and keep telling myself it will eventually work out for the good.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[Steven1954 89]

@lisylooby. I've had band to bypass two seperate surgeries. Two years of herendous complications forced removal of band. All was going well with bypass till week six when I started throwing up everything including Water

Ended up in hospital with stricture. Now three months later I've had five dialations I'm holding on till last minute as it's closing again next step is stent. If that doesn't work. Revision Hang in there There is a fix good luck

[Rae5148 28]

@lisylooby. I've had band to bypass two seperate surgeries. Two years of herendous complications forced removal of band. All was going well with bypass till week six when I started throwing up everything including water
Ended up in hospital with stricture. Now three months later I've had five dialations I'm holding on till last minute as it's closing again next step is stent. If that doesn't work. Revision Hang in there There is a fix good luck

How did your stent go? I had one placed and my body rejected it. Waiting for my body to heal enough so I can have a smaller stent placed.

[Steven1954 89]

I changed hospitals and went to Columbia Presbyterian in NYC. Dr put in stent

The plan was to remove it after 5 weeks. After week two it migrated and traveled to intestines. It was approx 10 inches. I was admitted with excruciating pain. First surgery they tried to retrieve it. That. Failed. Two days later with help of two surgeons they retrieved it but intentions were perforated. Two days later they did surgery again to assess damage I went home the next day.

Several days later I was admitted with abscess. Infection. Was cut open without anesthesia to clean out wound That was a horrible month but stricture fixed

next month was April. Excruciating pains. Small intestion total blockage

another week in hospital. Just when I thought it was over. Ended up again in hospital in June for small intestion resection. Now July for the first time in eight months I feel great. I hope it lasts

[Steven1954 89]

Suzie q. I thought I had I bad. It gets frustrating but you have to work through it

don't give up hope