Major Complications

[TKDBlackBelt15]

Approximately 2 weeks ago my fiancée had her gastric sleeve operation. The surgeon said to me she has perfect anatomy and the surgery went very well. She got home about 3 days later and felt fantastic and started her home clear liquid diet. a couple days later she started experiencing chest pains, back pains and trouble breathing. after reading issues after the surgery we thought this was normal. She then started to develop a fever of 100 that didn't fluctuate. She became lethargic but this only happened at night. The following morning she felt great. The 3rd day I got home from work with her sitting on the couch. She had a fever of 101, red faced lethargic and was crying as she stated "why did I do this to myself?" I rushed her to the ER immediately. In the ER they wanted to her to drink an oral contrast for a cant scan to find the problem. After taking two small sips she experience pain equal to that of a heart attack and couldn't breath. Ive never seen her in so much pain in my life and was so upsetting to see her crying and screaming "why do I feel like this please help me" They gave her 9 shots of morphine and 4 shots of Di lotted. This did not immense the pain at all. They admitted her over night. The next morning that did a cat scan with the contrast given to her through an IV. a few hours later the surgeon game in and said she had a leak that caused an abscess below her esophagus and above her spleen the size of a soft ball. They scheduled another operation in the OR an hour later to try and seal the leak. After the operation the surgeon could not see the leak because it was so small. They gave her two drainage tubes on each side of her stomach and an NG tube out of her nose. They said they wanted to dry her stomach out so the the hole could clear on its own because of how small it was. she was held in the ICU to keep her under constant supervision. 3 days later she started to develop another fever of 102. The surgeon then ordered another emergency draining in radiology from the abscess above her spleen. this procedure was approximately 20 minutes. Immediately she lost all pain and felt great. She is now currently in ICU still and draining her stomach out. Doing a lot better but can eat or drink anything (she is so thirsty she says). Every time they move her she feels pain on her incisions ( 10 total). They have to move her so that the tubes can collect all the fluids in her stomach. What breaks my heart the most is that shes wanted this for so long and so bad and now says she regrets ever getting it done and has suffered greatly.

[Amymbd]

I'm very sorry to hear of her problems and I hope her recovery is speedy.

[KimD]

Your story sounds near identical to mine, however when I had my emergency surgery and the "leak" they saw in the CT magically disappeared, I didn't have any other problems except a bad case of pneumonia from the anesthesia. I already posted more details in another post if you want to read about it here: Forum Post
I am really glad she is okay. For a while I completely regretted my decision to have the surgery and kept thinking to myself "Why didn't I just try Weight Watchers instead of doing this?" But she will eventually get better. If she or you have any questions for me please let me know!

[Dana]

So sorry! What a horrible experience. Since its done I hope it still benefits her and fulfils all her expectations. We know the risks involved with this but its still hard to see it happen. Again, so sorry this happen to you both.

[Puppylovemommy]

I am so sorry to hear this. Yes, we all know the risk, but never thing it can happen to us. I try to pray at least every day and have other prayer warriors doing the same. My priest is even praying for me so I think praying helps. I hope I didn't offend you, but I am a devout Catholic.

Can I ask who was her surgeon?

[splendaaa]

who was the doctor who performed the surgery?

[Puppylovemommy]

Could this person be a faux?

[candace281]

Hi everyone I am the girl he is talking about. I am doing a lot better but still having some issues. I am having my stent removed this Wednesday and then having some testing done to make sure the leak has closed. I am having a really hard time getting my fluids down I have a constant full feeling I also feel nausea every day. I think out of everything that is the worse. I have lost 50 lbs since surgery but it doesn't seem to make me happy. I cant wait to feel like myself again.

[Ash Lash]

im really glad you are ok candace281

[Puppylovemommy]

I'm glad you are better candace281. I'm just tired of people coming on here bashing the sleeve and its only been their first post. You have to be careful ya know! It could scare people like me away from changing our lives for the better which is exactly how I feel. I could never have lost the amount of weight I have so far if it hadn't been for doing the sleeve. I pray everything continues to go better for you.

Lori

[RXQUEEN]

I'm glad you are better candace281. I'm just tired of people coming on here bashing the sleeve and its only been their first post. You have to be careful ya know! It could scare people like me away from changing our lives for the better which is exactly how I feel. I could never have lost the amount of weight I have so far if it hadn't been for doing the sleeve. I pray everything continues to go better for you.

Lori

Lori you shouldnt let anyone change your mind about you choices for your life. Some people like myself appreciate the honesty of all the possible effects that could happen since not everyone is the same. Cause maybe there is people that wonder dam am i the only person on the boat with bad after math. hackers scammers they are everywhere you cant remove them all its unfortuanate but it is what it is. My heart goes out to this lady and i wish her a great recovery and fast. So in the end if you want to steer clear of the negativity pre read the most and decide whether you really want to read it or not waste your time on a scammer. I believe this sight is to vent,share your hard times and express your great times

[yippyskippy]

Hi everyone I am the girl he is talking about. I am doing a lot better but still having some issues. I am having my stent removed this Wednesday and then having some testing done to make sure the leak has closed. I am having a really hard time getting my fluids down I have a constant full feeling I also feel nausea every day. I think out of everything that is the worse. I have lost 50 lbs since surgery but it doesn't seem to make me happy. I cant wait to feel like myself again.

Hi Candace,
I am glad to hear that you are feeling better! Thank you for sharing your story with us.

[gettinskinny1988]

Well I had surgery last Monday. (One week today) and at my highest weight about 2 months ago, I was 25 pounds heavier then I am now. When I had surgery I gained 5 pounds. Since surgery I am down 12 pounds yet I feel as though my weight is coming off slowly, when it is actually coming off at mega-speed. 12 pounds in 7 days is actualy excellent. I was also told that I need to be aware that I may experience constipation due to my pain meds yet I am and have since surgery experienced diarrhea. Has anyone else experienced diarrhea?

[BeWell]

Glad to hear you are feeling a little better. Popsicles helped me get fluids down (Edy's fruit popsicles)...also crushed ice, cold applesauce, certain warm liquids seemed to go down a little easier like Sleepytime tea and "Better than Bouillon" chicken broth. Hope it's smooth sailing from here on for you Candace. Best wishes!

[Gunka]

Hi everyone I am the girl he is talking about. I am doing a lot better but still having some issues. I am having my stent removed this Wednesday and then having some testing done to make sure the leak has closed. I am having a really hard time getting my fluids down I have a constant full feeling I also feel nausea every day. I think out of everything that is the worse. I have lost 50 lbs since surgery but it doesn't seem to make me happy. I cant wait to feel like myself again.

Candace, hope you feel much much better really soon!