Would Like to share my story. It's not good and its not the norm

[2legsshort 19]

I would like to share my story, but not to scare anyone, its to see what can happen with the wrong surgeon. I'm not going to do it tonight because it is long and don't want to get into it tonight. Also not sure anyone would like to hear another horror story which is still going on 18 years later.

[angyplus5 470]

I would like to hear your story. I think it's important to know the good and bad. Please share with us...

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[SIPSGrammy 27]

I agree with angieplus5, I feel it's important to hear both sides. So important to choose the "right" doctor with experience, knowledge, etc.

[orionburn 1,024]

5 hours ago, 2legsshort said:

I would like to share my story, but not to scare anyone, its to see what can happen with the wrong surgeon. I'm not going to do it tonight because it is long and don't want to get into it tonight. Also not sure anyone would like to hear another horror story which is still going on 18 years later.

As long as you take the right approach then use your experiences to help teach others. There have been people on here that intentially went around scaring people because they weren't happy with how their surgery went. That's the wrong way. However if you simply want to tell your story then by all means do so. I had a fluke spleen bleed on my third day after surgery. I don't have any hesitation in sharing that story with others, but I present it in a "hey it was an oddball thing, these things can happen, but moved on and am doing fine now." I know for others, like yourself it sounds like, that weren't as fortunate. There are risks with this surgery and people need to have an honest sit down with the pros/cons.

Either way I'm sorry to hear that you've struggled. :/

[melissa1227 3]

I would like to share my story, but not to scare anyone, its to see what can happen with the wrong surgeon. I'm not going to do it tonight because it is long and don't want to get into it tonight. Also not sure anyone would like to hear another horror story which is still going on 18 years later.

Would love to hear it

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Please share. And not to negate your suffering or issues, but in 18 years it would be reasonable to expect that many techniques have changed. I hope the surgeon at fault is no longer practicing and perhaps you should make known this tragedy where it would do the most good - in the surgeon's practice area by going to wls group mtgs and sharing the story there as well.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Sosewsue61

[kakatlady612 1,053]

I too would like to hear your story . My WLS itself has become even more convoluted in the last few days, I feel hearing yours may give me some insight on how to handle my own, please please share!

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[2legsshort 19]

OK let me start with a warning. My experience is not the norm for this surgery and it is a long story so I will do it in sections. Also some background. It actually started in the late 80's or early 90's don't really remember. Bariatric surgery was really in its infancy. I was in my late 40's early 50's.

Part 1: The first surgery I had was to have my stomach stapled. That worked to a point, I lost about 80lbs. I was getting so depressed at never being able to eat over about 2 shot glasses of food, After about 10 years of this I just wanted to be able to eat. I knew that this surgery was completely reversible so in about 98 or so I had it reversed. I was able to eat again and loved it but started gaining weight. I was around 190 then. My weight just kept going up. At about 275 I heard about a surgery at that time called a BPD-DS which very few doctors did but there was one about 150 miles from us. My wife was also quite overweight. We thought about it for around a year or so. In 99 we decided we would both get this if insurance would cover it. To our surprise they would so we joined the wait. The doctor Adrian Heap had been doing this for quite some time and felt comfortable with him.

Dr. Heap told us that all we would have to do post surgery was take a multiple Vitamin and we could eat anything we wanted that didn't bother us and we would lose weight. Sounded like a miracle. The internet was really new and there was very little info on this procedure. It just sounded too good to be true. Our turn came up in around 2000, mine was first. At the time this guy was doing about 3 of these a week. I was a little leary when it came to the night before and the only clean out we had to do was to drink 2 bottles of MOM and stay at a hotel that he had previously made arrangement with for all his patients. So early the next morning I went in and by that afternoon it had been done. I spent about a month recuperating and was able to return to work on the railroad. My wife was 6 months after mine.

Everything went along just fine the first couple of years, or at least I thought it was. I was eating everything I wanted to and take my multiple vitamin. The weight was just melting off. People at work started noticing I was looking really bad, pale getting thin and I just shrugged it off. I continued to lose weight. I started not feeling very well at around the 6 year point but not so bad that I was worried. I hadn't seen Dr.Heap in a few years, he was still doing the surgery but had come up with and unapproved version of the operation by then he called the mini BPD-DS. I read some horror stories about it. I started getting worried in early 07. I was down to about 150 and thought I was fine but by then my PCP didn't like the way I was looking and did a big battery of labs. He found I was dangerously low on albumin and several other things but the albumin was the worst, it was at 1.8. In the summer of 07 he had me admitted to the hospital for an infusion of albumin. It was supposed to be just overnite. They started the infusion and part way into the first bag of it I had a reaction, anaphylaxis. I came out of it and they continued the infusion, first mistake. The second reaction was worse, they couldn't get me to start breathing again normally. They rushed me to ICU. They put the tube in and all I remember is that first breath of air. The put me in a medically induced coma and on the respirator. I'll stop here for now. It starts getting pretty dicey after this.

[kakatlady612 1,053]

And then and then? You haven't lost me yet, I always loved ghost stories so I'm feeling more empathy than fear.

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[melissa1227 3]

OK let me start with a warning. My experience is not the norm for this surgery and it is a long story so I will do it in sections. Also some background. It actually started in the late 80's or early 90's don't really remember. Bariatric surgery was really in its infancy. I was in my late 40's early 50's.
Part 1: The first surgery I had was to have my stomach stapled. That worked to a point, I lost about 80lbs. I was getting so depressed at never being able to eat over about 2 shot glasses of food, After about 10 years of this I just wanted to be able to eat. I knew that this surgery was completely reversible so in about 98 or so I had it reversed. I was able to eat again and loved it but started gaining weight. I was around 190 then. My weight just kept going up. At about 275 I heard about a surgery at that time called a BPD-DS which very few doctors did but there was one about 150 miles from us. My wife was also quite overweight. We thought about it for around a year or so. In 99 we decided we would both get this if insurance would cover it. To our surprise they would so we joined the wait. The doctor Adrian Heap had been doing this for quite some time and felt comfortable with him.
Dr. Heap told us that all we would have to do post surgery was take a multiple Vitamin and we could eat anything we wanted that didn't bother us and we would lose weight. Sounded like a miracle. The internet was really new and there was very little info on this procedure. It just sounded too good to be true. Our turn came up in around 2000, mine was first. At the time this guy was doing about 3 of these a week. I was a little leary when it came to the night before and the only clean out we had to do was to drink 2 bottles of MOM and stay at a hotel that he had previously made arrangement with for all his patients. So early the next morning I went in and by that afternoon it had been done. I spent about a month recuperating and was able to return to work on the railroad. My wife was 6 months after mine.
Everything went along just fine the first couple of years, or at least I thought it was. I was eating everything I wanted to and take my multiple vitamin. The weight was just melting off. People at work started noticing I was looking really bad, pale getting thin and I just shrugged it off. I continued to lose weight. I started not feeling very well at around the 6 year point but not so bad that I was worried. I hadn't seen Dr.Heap in a few years, he was still doing the surgery but had come up with and unapproved version of the operation by then he called the mini BPD-DS. I read some horror stories about it. I started getting worried in early 07. I was down to about 150 and thought I was fine but by then my PCP didn't like the way I was looking and did a big battery of labs. He found I was dangerously low on albumin and several other things but the albumin was the worst, it was at 1.8. In the summer of 07 he had me admitted to the hospital for an infusion of albumin. It was supposed to be just overnite. They started the infusion and part way into the first bag of it I had a reaction, anaphylaxis. I came out of it and they continued the infusion, first mistake. The second reaction was worse, they couldn't get me to start breathing again normally. They rushed me to ICU. They put the tube in and all I remember is that first breath of air. The put me in a medically induced coma and on the respirator. I'll stop here for now. It starts getting pretty dicey after this.

My albumin on 1/11 was 1.9 I’ve had an infusion or a banana bag they call it.

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

Oh wow!

[melissa1227 3]

I am patiently waiting to hear he remainder as I’m going back and forth with my surgeon now to reverse malabsorption of my ds I’m down to 119 pounds almost 2 years out my situation is not the norm either I had rny in 2003 gained 80 pounds back and did a revision to ds 2016

[SIPSGrammy 27]

Wondering myself!

[mfk0303 0]

What happened next?

[doxaholic 252]

I am patiently waiting to hear he remainder as I’m going back and forth with my surgeon now to reverse malabsorption of my ds I’m down to 119 pounds almost 2 years out my situation is not the norm either I had rny in 2003 gained 80 pounds back and did a revision to ds 2016

How do you reverse malabsorption?

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