VSG PostOp Bad Experience

[myspeakgeek 2]

I had the VSG on June 29th. So far my experience has been pretty rotten. I passed out on 6/30 while sitting on the side of the bed. The nurse caught me and called for a rapid response. My BP dropped to the 70/40 range. I became tachycardic with a HR of 180. The response team put a pad on my chest to shock it into rhythm but thankfully it was just rapid not out of sync Later that day they did an upper GI with barium swallow that showed I was leak free. The next morning on 7/1 my blood tests showed I had internal bleeding as my hemoglobin was 7.9 The surgeon did the wait and see game and started me on IV fluids at a bolus rate. The next day on 7/2 my hemoglobin was at 8.1. On 7/3 my hemoglobin was at 8.2. The surgeon said that the bleeding had stopped and that I was able to go home. While preparing to go home I was moving around a lot more and noticed that my right calf hurt. I asked the nurse about it and she offered me a heating pad. I also asked if there was anything the doc could give me for the cramps in my right thigh. She didn't seem to be concerned about any of the questions I was asking so I dismissed my symptoms as sore muscles. I was at home from the evening of 7/3 till the morning of 7/7. On 7/7 I woke up at 5 am with pain in my right chest area and a fever of 101. I knew something was wrong and had someone take me to the ER. They ran through a series of tests starting with an x-ray, a CAT scan, and an ultrasound of my legs. I was eventually diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my right leg, multiple Pulmonary Embolisms in my right lung, and a Pleural Effusion in my right chest cavity. They started me on blood thinners and pain medicine. I will only briefly tell you about the pain of the PEs. I have never experienced so much pain before in my life. I was screaming for help as loud as I could and clutching my chest with both hands. I called for a priest and was prayed over because I thought I was on my way out. I spent the next day 7/8 getting drugged up with Dilaudid every 3 hours to keep the pain in check. On 7/9 I had a Thoracentesis to drain 600ml of red colored Fluid from my chest cavity. It is now 7/10 and I've been up all night dealing with pain and insomnia. I am supposed to go home today on blood thinners and pain management. My plan is to apply for 2 weeks of FMLA and short term disability to go with the 2 weeks of vacation I've already taken. I plan to take the additional time to recuperate because my body is a wreck.. I walked into this a pretty healthy 41 year old male 5' 11" at 295 lbs who exercised every day for 45 minutes but just had a monster appetite. I will be leaving the hospital today feeling like a weakened old man traumatized from the whole experience. I am not ready to make a judgement call on whether it was worth it or not. It is way to soon. I realize I'm in the early stages of the process and have many positive milestones to look forward too. I have hope that in a year, the memories of pain and trauma will fade and I will look back and judge that it has been with it.

[catwoman7 11,212]

wow - sorry this happened to you. Issues like this are pretty rare, but they do occasionally happen (and these can be a risk with any surgery, really). I hope this is all behind you now and you're on the mend..

[colormehappy 124]

Wow, I’m so sorry. I also had internal bleeding (sleeved 6/2). My doc immediately called for a CT after I passed out from low blood pressure and was tachycardic. Between sending you home after that and not realizing that leg pain could be a clot, it sounds like your team really dropped the ball. I hope you start to feel better quickly and regain your strength.

[myspeakgeek 2]

1 hour ago, catwoman7 said:

wow - sorry this happened to you. Issues like this are pretty rare, but they do occasionally happen (and these can be a risk with any surgery, really). I hope this is all behind you now and you're on the mend..

Thank you. Seeing replies like yours is very therapeutic. Just knowing others who have traveled this path are listening is why I wanted to share.

[myspeakgeek 2]

1 hour ago, colormehappy said:

Wow, I’m so sorry. I also had internal bleeding (sleeved 6/2). My doc immediately called for a CT after I passed out from low blood pressure and was tachycardic. Between sending you home after that and not realizing that leg pain could be a clot, it sounds like your team really dropped the ball. I hope you start to feel better quickly and regain your strength.

I'm sorry you also experienced a bleed. I was so tachycardic that I couldn't get out of bed. My resting hr was 110 and just sitting was 140. It was impossible for me to get out of bed, without pasing out, for 2 days. This is likely what caused the clots, even though I had IPC devices on my legs. In hindsight I should have directed all questions about my symptoms to the doctor.

[Foxbins 625]

I am so sorry your surgery had complications. I had a sleeve to bypass revision for GERD on 6/29. I was unable to stand up to begin walking without becoming tachycardic and dizzy on 7/1. My hemoglobin was 7.1 and I got 2 units of packed red cells. I felt much better afterward. My drain was left in for 10 days as I continued to produce a lot of blood from the chest. My surgeon suspects I bled from several areas as I had more than one procedure done. I feel much better now. I hope you feel better soon, you have been through a lot.

[BigSue 1,372]

Yikes, that's scary! This is why I put off having the surgery for so long. I've been obese all of my adult life, but relatively healthy. For many years, I rarely got sick, never went to the doctor, wasn't on any medications, and was in good enough shape to do a physically demanding job, and I thought it would be crazy to take a chance of giving up my good health just to lose some weight. But things have changed recently and my health has started to go downhill, which made the risk of surgery seem better than the risk of letting my health continue to decline. I do still have that fear, though, that I'll end up being one of the unlucky few who have terrible complications. I've never been a very lucky person.

Anyway, I'm sorry that you were one of those unlucky patients, but I hope you get better quickly and I hope it ends up being worth it. By the way, I always try to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, so I have actively searched for WLS horror stories, and even the people who have horrible complications mostly say that they would still do it all over again!

[rene50 147]

I'm so sorry you've expereinced so many complications. May I ask where you had your surgery? Here's my take, and it's just based on the people I know, very limited: the people who have had it at local hospitals have ALL had some kind of problem. Every single person I know! The people who have it in Mexico or Las Vegas seem to do better. I think the surgeons in our area just don't have the volume and they are not as proficient as the surgeons who perform 1-2 a day. You also have to be careful about choosing a place where the surgeons perform too many surgeries a day.

[It's time. 145]

I too am sorry this happened to you. Hospitals do take extreme care to ward off complications, but they do happen. It will get better. I was working out a lot before surgery and now feel like a weak slug. I have an incision that is taking it's sweet time to heal so I'm being very careful that it doesn't get infected. I've had my fair share of surgeries, open heart took 12 weeks. This is a moment in time, it will get better. Take the time you need to get healthy.

[myspeakgeek 2]

49 minutes ago, rene50 said:

I'm so sorry you've expereinced so many complications. May I ask where you had your surgery? Here's my take, and it's just based on the people I know, very limited: the people who have had it at local hospitals have ALL had some kind of problem. Every single person I know! The people who have it in Mexico or Las Vegas seem to do better. I think the surgeons in our area just don't have the volume and they are not as proficient as the surgeons who perform 1-2 a day. You also have to be careful about choosing a place where the surgeons perform too many surgeries a day.

The surgery was performed by a local hospital in the US. It has a very good reputation and a well established surgical and non surgical weight management program. They perform this type of surgery on a regular basis. By all accounts they seem to be a good program with lots of success stories.

[myspeakgeek 2]

--- Morning Update 7/10/2020 ---

I was on my way to getting discharged. However my wife trusted her instincts and requested them to do another x ray. Thankfully she did because it looks like the Fluid is back. Tomorrow they are going to be putting in a chest tube to continually drain the area and I will be here a few more days. Trying my best to stay positive, I'll admit a few tears have leaked out though.

[rene50 147]

6 minutes ago, myspeakgeek said:

--- Morning Update 7/10/2020 ---

I was on my way to getting discharged. However my wife trusted her instincts and requested them to do another x ray. Thankfully she did because it looks like the Fluid is back. Tomorrow they are going to be putting in a chest tube to continually drain the area and I will be here a few more days. Trying my best to stay positive, I'll admit a few tears have leaked out though.

I am so sorry! A chest tube is serious, I know. You will be in my prayers.

[Foxbins 625]

Good call by your wife! And the Fluid is better out than in, hoping you will feel better soon.

[_Chonk_ 28]

Oh my God, I am so very sorry to hear these horrible stories. I will keep everyone here in my prayers.

@myspeakgeek, hang in there, you will get better soon - we are all pulling for you!! You are young and healthy, and on your way to a happy and fulfilling new chapter in your life!

@colormehappy, did you have a leak? Do you know what caused the bleeding, and how did they find it? Was your surgery in the US or Mexico?

@Foxbins, did you have an additional surgery for the GERD, like some kind of fix for the hiatal hernia? Do you know what caused your issues?

@rene50, thank you for your input and thoughts about this. I am scheduled for surgery in Mexico in less than a week. I wonder if they would be as thorough if they found these issues during my recovery, and if they could provide the support that was needed. Dr. Illan's office says that they have only had one leak of the thousands they have done, and their patients don't have complications. I'm not sure what to make of that, but most of the stories I hear are positive coming from Mexico. it sounds like you have heard positive stories too.

Thank you to everyone for their input here, because it is important that we know what symptoms to look out for, and what those symptoms may mean, so that we can advocate for our care.

[Foxbins 625]

@_Chonk_, GERD gave me an esophageal stricture that was fixed with a myotomy, cutting through the muscular outer layer of the esophagus to let the inner layer expand. I also had a small hernia repaired. So in total with the bypass I had three procedures done. It was a four hour surgery. My surgeon suspects bleeding from one of the staple lines, but he doesn't know which one. I had a drain for nine days.