The Dark side of Sleeving

Hi Dayle,

Yeah so when I ended up in Logan emergency (6 months post op - Dec 12")

They removed my gall bladder.

:)

kjmaybe...did you end up having your gall bladder out?

Sleeved June 2012.

(note: Have GORD prior to surgery, disclose this to my surgeon etc)

Surgery went fine, out of hospital within 3 days.


Right after my surgery I had extreme pain around my upper abdominal area.  Nurses said it was the gas this went on for about 4 hours eventually it calmed down (this may have been my first symptom - read on).

Home:
Sore but recovering nicely.

I think about 3 weeks in post-op I had another episode where the pain was incredible but it only lasted for about 10 minutes (felt like 5 hours to me). Then it was gone just like that.

First follow up - explained the episode told nothing to worry about (okay cool - so it is normal).

Follow up at 3 month mark had, had about 4 more of these episodes expressed my concern to my surgeon - told again nothing to worry about, normal side effect.

Next follow up booked for 6 months post-op - 3 months time (I do not end up going to this). 

I go to my GP after another episode, tell the GP that I told the surgeon and he said not to worry - so the GP says not to worry.
Week later go back to GP - GP brushes me off again

More painful episodes  (getting more painful - had no clue what pain was till they started getting more painful) and more frequent.

My sister comes with me to GP about 5 and half months post op - GP trys to brush me off, my sister basically screams a the doctor that we are not leaving till he orders some test to be done, reluctantly he gives me a referral for a scan. 

I ring right away earliest appointment a week and half away - cool booked in.

A week later (December) I'm rushed to Logan hospital. 

Logan:
Seen to right away given morphine put back out in the waiting room.
7 hour wait
ED doc sees me takes urine sample and looks at blood test results
ED doc puts me in "short stay"
ED doc refers me to surgical team but not able to see me for about 3 hours
ED doc try's to send me home - AH WTF????  I say but you said im seeing the surgical team - oh yeah okay I guess.
Don't see that ED doc again.

Surgical team comes - stand around my bed.  Head surgeon says "you could have died, why did you wait so long"  - Hi to you too!
He grilled me for about 15 minutes, told me that I have pancreatitis and the pain I was experiencing of the last 6 months was gall stones traveling into my pancreas (feel bad for my pancreas - he didn't ask for that). I then explain the above and he advises that he will be reporting this to someone - somewhere and that I will be having emergency surgery as soon as they have cleared my system to remove my gall bladder.

Problem solved - right?

Feb 2013 - Symptoms returns I'm thinking how is this possible - wait maybe it's my pancreas.  Go to my new GP who is wonderful she orders so many test but nothing comes up.

Aug 2013 - have to move to Melbourne (bye my awesome GP :( )

Sept 2013 - end up in ED of the Alfred hospital due to pain in my upper abdo area - rushed right into ED and seen to admitted right away spend 5 days while CT/MRI, and a bunch of other test are done. - nothing!!!!

Sent home with follow up as an outpatient.

MORE VISITS TO ED - MORE SHORT STAYS - NO MORE ANSWERS

(Fast forward)

NOV 2014 - PH Monitoring test (that I waited 8 months for due to a hospital stuff up).

NOV 2014 - results in - we believe your stomach is contorting (similar to twisting but not a full twist as that would properly near kill me). We could have just pined down your stomach in a small keyhole surgery but due to the level of acid and damage it is doing to your stomach we feel it would be better to do a bypass and remove 80% of your stomach.

Me: Yup go for it. (I'm very much over hospitals and my stomach)

NOW: still waiting for the surgery am a bit worried about it but also glad to have something happening.

- Would I do this all again if given the chance YES. The gall bladder issue was more then likely there before the surgery I recall having episodes a few years prior but as it was a one off it was shrugged off.  The sleeve and weight loss most likely pushed it forward but it would have happened eventually.  The rest of it well I would be sick in other ways I was heading towards a life of morbid obesity - it runs in my family. I use food as a comforter and I would never have been able to curve that without my surgery or my complications. 

I don't smoke,
I don't drink (since the pancreatitis)

But I'm very unfit (though my pulse and BP say otherwise) I am unfit since getting sick I've not been able to exercise because if I push to hard I end up in hospital. I have to be careful what I eat and drink and I become dehydrated very easily.

I hate Morphine (it is the Alfred ED go to drug) I refuse it most times I'm there now.

I appreciate all the nurses and doctors that work as much as I appreciate the police and fireman.

I hate VIC ambulance (but I respect their staff) - mainly because they will not come get me when I can't get down to the hospital because I am a 10 minute drive away. So a few times I've had to get onto a tram in pain and try so hard to keep it together while it looks like I'm having a heart attack.

I appreciate what life can offer me a lot more then I previously did.

I will survive, I will fight and I will win.

Thanks for reading!

Veronica, I'm so sorry it's still such a terrible problem for you. I hope it clears up ASAP! Nice to hear from you, I just wish it wasn't such a bad state of affairs for you.
Arna, xxx

I'm really so very sorry pixeears that it's been such a terrible time for you. I agree with everyone here, it's very important to know that it's not always smooth sailing. Thank you so much for sharing and I wish you the speadiest of recoveries!

Come back if you can and let us know how you're going.

Arna, xxx

Hi pixie,

Thank you for sharing your story.  I hope you are now on the mend and feeling well.  There may be some truth in the theory that the best and worst are posted on the site however I think that with the increase in the frequency of this kind of surgery there is an equal increase in the number of complications.  I have been involved in this community long enough now to have some serious concerns about the process.  The difficulty is that the doctors by and large band together and will not publicly comment.  I think the fact that some health funds will no longer cover weight loss surgery is the tip of a very large iceberg and we (the surgical weight loss community) are going to be the collateral damage.  Not enough is known about the long term consequences of this kind of surgery and too many doctors are so very quick to jump on the band wagon, make lots of money, have big reputations while the complications are kept on the down low.  This is why forums such as this are so important, sharing the good, bad and downright ugly.  To anyone who has had a difficult journey I offer my support.  Your courage and tenacity in the face of such adversity is to be applauded.

Glenmaree

Cheeky_chooky2 wrote:

Hi pixeears
I'm looking at having surgery in Townsville can you give me any advice or reviews on the services here or should I look interstate?

Hi Cheeky Chooky
I have had my surgery in Townsville on 25 June this year - used Dr Bovey - way cheaper than Dr Baker here.  Bovey had a great support team of GP who is a weight loss specialist,  dietician - who has sooo much experience with sleevers, clinical psychologist  the same and exercise consultant. His nurse and his receptionist are both sleeved and extremely helpful in all areas. Bovey himself is not a very sociable man but he is an expert surgeon and is the surgeon of choice for medical professionals here in TSV - my daughter is a nurse and confirms this. He is very cautious in his surgery and recovery - I had 4 days in hospital - totally smooth run but he makes sure he takes all steps he can to prevent complications etc.  Cant recommend him enough.  Total out of pocket cost was 7000 and that included visits to the support staff and his follow up visits. you pay 5800 to him and then I haven't had to pay him anything else since.
hope this is helpful

Hi pixeears
I'm looking at having surgery in Townsville can you give me any advice or reviews on the services here or should I look interstate?

I hope you're feeling better soon.

Thanks for sharing your experience, these types of stories are important for people who are wanting to get sleeved. I know I read a lot about the complications before I had mine done.

Get well xx

Oh Pixie, that's a terrible experience! I really really hope you are feeling better now!

My surgeon sent out a big stack of notes to me prior to my op, including a list of post-op danger signs & strict instructions to get myself straight back to hospital if any of them occurred. One of the things on that list was "vomiting and inability to keep down fluids for more than 8 hours". That nurse should have got you straight back at the first sign :(

Bluebags I think there may be some self-selection when it comes to the forum, i.e. maybe it's people at either end of the spectrum who tend to post. So we probably encounter the 'best outcomes' and the 'worst outcomes', and don't hear from the majority in between.  Having said that, I think it's really really important for people to post about the problems. It's one thing to think that 1 in 1000 will have a serious complication. It's another to fully understand what that 1 person is going through. There should never be a stigma attached to recounting a difficult situation. The only way we can make an informed decision is to know exactly what the best outcomes, and the worst outcomes, actually entail. And then to think about how we would cope if we were that 1 in 1000 person.

Hope you are feeling better Lou.

Those with problems keep posting all need to be aware that the statistics seem a little bit out to me yes mine did go perfect but lately (several months) so many have not been so lucky.  I wish we knew more of the problems.  Is there some kind of medical coverup?  I wonder!  Maybe because of the likes of Glenmaree and Suzy more have found the courage to talk up.

Hi Pixeears
Leaks really are a pain in the butt aren't they, Ive had mine for 14 weeks now, still constantly going back and forwards to Perth, (200 klms from here) to have it plugged, I was on fluids only for close to 13 weeks and now allowed soft food but the leak remains, the drain I had fell out and now every few days the hole where the drain was bursts open and pus and blood come out then it seals again, apparently this will continue to happen till the leak is fixed and who knows how long that will be, things do go wrong

Hi guys,

Thankyou for your very kind words, unfortunately I am still leaking and Back to hospital on Monday, however I ask that you send your thoughts to Suzie77 who's experience for the past 18 months has reduced me to tears.
I am certainly feeling sorry for myself, however have been given renewed strength to keep fighting thanks to you Suzie.

Hi pixeears,

Sorry for your experience, i had my surgery with dr sam baker on the 31st january 2014. Luckily i have not had the same issues as you.

Goodluck and hope you are on the mend.

Cheers

Wow pixeears, what an awful post op period for you :( 
I really hope things start heading in the right direction for you now. Thank you so much for sharing your experience... I think it is so important to hear ALL experiences - especially those involving complications, it's easy to have blinkers on about complications ('it'll never happen to me') when in reality it can unfortunately happen to anyone. 
My surgeon told me he's never had anyone experience a leak post-op as yet (but that of course it's always a possibility)... I told him I don't want to be his first stat!

Anyway... hope you are on the mend now, your attitude seems to be in the right place for sure - good on you :)
Lou

Hi all, I an new to adding to the forum however have been a reader for well over 6 months now!!!.
I had no intention of adding my experience, however if all of you can take the time to share your experiences then so can I.
 
So firstly my surgery date was 20th Jan 2014.
Surgery was performed my Dr Sam Baker at NQMIS Townsville.
At first I was the “Typical” ( at least what I thought was typical) Sleever.
The Operation went perfectly however I did have a lot of Nausea afterwards.
I was released from Hospital as planned after the standard 3 days, still with Vomiting but otherwise not feeling too bad.  I requested a script for the Nausea from Dr Baker to take home with.

2 Weeks Later- I am now at home recovering, thinking to myself, how the hell can people go back to work after 2 weeks????. At this stage I am Vomiting up to 6 times a day and can not keep even Ice down without it making an unfortunate re-appearance!!. I know at this stage you don’t have much energy but I was physically Exhausted.
 
I call NQMIS specifically the Nurse ( I will not mention Names) to ask about how I am feeling, with the following response. “Slow down your eating”.
At this stage I can not stomach ICE so anything more substantial was completely out of the question let alone eating it to fast, to which I stated.
 
I then get instruction to double the Nexium medication I was sent home with.........problem..... it seems they forgot to give me the script, and I had no idea I should have been taking it.
 
The major problem is I live 6 hours from where the Surgery was performed and 1 hour from the “Local” Chemist. The Nurse at NQMIS offered to send the script via mail, however would have taken 4 days to get here, so I opt to go and see/pay for my Doctor to write said script.
 
3 Weeks After Surgery- Vomiting has increased. Exhaustion worse. At this stage however it is important to mention that physically I am feeling ok. Scars healing nicely and no physical pain aside from the vomiting pain after 3 weeks. I call the Nurse at NQMIS again for assistance in regards to the vomiting (now up to 10 times a day) I was informed to take up to 6 Nexium a day (2 @ 3x daily)
 
4 Weeks- Severely sick at this stage, I can barley get out of bed. Finally my appointment with NQMIS again for follow up. After 5 minutes in the Surgery I am now back in Hospital with Severe Dehydration.
 
After some testing it was found that I indeed had a Leak (Gas Leak not Fluid), the reason I am writing this is to warn others it is possible to have a leak and not be in severe pain. I will not go into how it heals (this has been covered very well on the Forum) but after 2 weeks in Hospital, Central Line, TPN, Fluids. I am feeling much better.
I am sure most of you are yelling at your computer screens saying WHY!!! why did you wait so long to go back????
My only answer is that I have never had this Surgery, living 6 hours from the Surgery and being told over the phone from a very experienced Nurse that what I am going through is “normal for someone who just had major surgery” and “Its ok you don't have a leak”What can I say......I believed all of them instead of my own body.
If you have severe vomiting THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!. Vomiting is quite normal after this Surgery but not excessively.
 
Sorry for the novel all, If you read this all the way to the end 😜 
My warnings- 1. LEAKS HAPPEN TO EVERYONE- I am fit (for an Overweight person) , under 30 and followed all of my Doctors Instructions. I “should’ have had the perfect Surgery.  If you are considering this Surgery you need to be ok with this, for me it meant more time off work for both me and my Partner,  more money for hotels etc. etc. I seriously hope this does not happen to you, but I Urge you to be prepared in case it does.
 
2. DO NOT EXPECT FOLLOW UP FROM NQMIS- It was probably silly on my part but I was promised the earth before surgery, and did not receive so much as a phone call post Surgery, living 6 hours away. I did not expect them on the phone every day, however I had to wait 4 weeks to be taken seriously.
 
3. The Surgery was performed as planned. To be fair it is thought that the reason my Leak happened was from all the Vomiting, however the procedure was performed as it should have been.
 
Would I Do it all again?????
I don’t know- However who knows where I would be if I didn't have the Surgery in 10 years.
 
Pixeears- Coppabella QLD