So many complications

Glad to hear things are improving SV, hope they just get better and better. Also hoping things are improving for Suzy. Thanks for updating, it is important that we give you and Suzy as much support as possible. It is also important that people thinking about the sleeve are aware that there can be complications.

Wishing you both good things and better health.

So pleased to hear the feeding tubes are out. I hope your tests improve. Thanks for sharing your story.

Wow, I must be sicker than I thought.....just had a phone call to say I'm having a house call for a blood test tomorrow....never had that before! Just so pleased I don't have to go out....makes me so tired these days.

Shrinking Violet wrote:

No, not stomach related. I have a chronic disease and am disabled. The blood test results are due to the disease. Unfortunately I'm not responding to the treatment as well as I used to and my disease is progressing. I've outlived all predictions...can't complain.

Oh sweetie, I am so sorry xx.

No, not stomach related. I have a chronic disease and am disabled. The blood test results are due to the disease. Unfortunately I'm not responding to the treatment as well as I used to and my disease is progressing. I've outlived all predictions...can't complain.

Forgot to mention, I don't have gastroparesis...I have a corkscrew stomach...things just get stuck.

Eeeeh  :(  have you got something else going on except for absorption problems  (?) or  lack of being intake due to your stomach problems?
You poor thing.
I remember that you had gastric paresis (?) is this still ongoing?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around your problems!

What is your day-to-day life like?  Are you able to engage in many activities? Back to work part-time?  What a bloody night mare :(

xx

Had an OPD appt today....dietician and surgeons happy with progress but.....the bypass word was mentioned again today....I'm definitely avoiding more surgery...end of story! 

Unfortunately my blood tests came back pretty awful and they wanted to admit me right there and then but I refused. The surgeon was delightful and went to a lot of effort and contacted a haematologist/oncologist and I'm going to have a blood transfusion tomorrow or Friday as a day case. Hoping to feel better after that.

The RBH OPD clinic is awesome.

Good to hear your doing better Shrinking Violet, hopefully you will continue improving!!

Thanks for updating us on Suzy, I think about her everytime I see the so many complications thread.  Hopefully she will hop on and update us herself soon.

All the best!!

Thank you for the update Shrinking Violet.
You and Suzy are always in the back of our minds.

I glad that life is on the improve for you, and on the improve for Suzy - in that she is hanging on in there.

Hugs to you both,
xx

Hi, thanks for the enquiry. After over 15 months on feeding tubes, both abdominal and nasal...I'm finally free of them. I'll admit that my ability to eat still isn't great and I'm reliant on fluids such as Sustagen and Milo for my protein and apple juice for higher calories, but I've come to terms with having to do whatever I need to do to keep the feeding tube out. I still regularly vomit food that gets stuck...sometimes if I'm not careful it can be stuck for hours and I vomit foam until the food passes or I throw it up. 

I'm being monitored very closely by the OPD clinic with fort nightly visits for weigh ins etc but hopefully I will be going to monthly visits very soon. My weight has increased from 39kgs to 51.5kgs and it's a constant battle to keep it from falling.

As for Suzy...I don't like to comment on other people but I think she's doing better than she's been for a long time but I don't think that she will ever be 100% without some kind of medical/surgical advancements. To the best of my knowledge she is still reliant on feeding tubes. My heart goes out to her....it's not a nice way to live but at least she's getting the nourishment etc that her body needs. Sometimes things go wrong and life sucks but she's tough and I'm sure she will continue to fight for a better outcome.

violet and suzie please let us know how are you doing now???

thinking of you both and all others who had complications and are battling the pain...

agus

Hi been thinking of you Suzy and Shrinking Violet and wondering how you are both doing now?

J, it's definitely a good idea to wait until you're comfortable.

If your surgeon seems a bit dismissive then its not a good indication. The surgeon that I saw was very careful to explain all the risks and the rules for if you want to suceed with the surgery. He didn't sugar coat it with me and he also was very upfront with me about the fact that it was a tool not a magic wand. He told me all the risks of the procedure itself, his personal stats for complications, how they would respond to that situation and has a particular fav horror story about patient non-compliance to keep you on the straight and narrow for the liquid diet post op.

At the end of the day I was happy to proceed because I felt it would improve my situation AND I had the confidence in him as a surgeon to look after me because of his credentials and the way he treated me. You have to be 100% sure it's what you want because once it's done you can't take it back.


To Suzy and Shrinking Violet, sending you all the best wishes. I'm glad that you are here to share. I am hoping that things do improve for you both and I'm sorry to have to say it because I've read so much of your stories that I wish it could already be true xx

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Suzy and Violet for your honesty in sharing with us here. It's great to read so many success stories but it's vital to know that things can and do go wrong in this major surgery. 

I take my hat off to you both for your amazing courage and perseverance, and wish you luck in finding sustainable solutions to your problems xo

J. As you have serious reservations I think you have made a good choice to wait until you are ready, if you ever are, to have this surgery.

If you don't feel comfortable with the surgeon you saw, you could see another surgeon if you decide to go a head.

I sat down and did a pros and cons page and for me the pros outweighed the cons, but we are all different and only you know what is best for you.

Stay with this forum, read lots and then make an informed decision. Good luck with your weight loss strategy, which ever way you go.

Suzy, I hope with all my heart you get better soon.  I want to thank you for your bravery and honesty. 

I went to see my would be surgeon today and while he seemed nice enough, none of the risks were really explained to me.  I went through some risks I read about: incontinence, constipation, not being able to drink enough water etc which he all waived away as minor problems.  Vitamin deficiency?  No problems, just take a multivitamin everyday.  No mention of other problems and I guess he assumed I had read up on it?

This is the first time I've ever read about people with serious ongoing issues after the sleeve and while I know it is rare I am so grateful for your posts.  Your story sounds like hell, it is making me have serious reservations about whether I want the surgery or not. My doctor was pushing me to have the surgery before Christmas, which I was reluctant to do because where I work that is our busiest period.  I am going to try (yet again) to lose weight on my own, of course with the pace of a snail, before Christmas and evaluate whether I want to have the operation next year.

I imagine you do get a quite a bit of heat from people who don't want to know, but please rest assured, your comments and experience have really touched me.  Please take care, I am confident that an answer can be found for you and Violet to heal soon.  Sending you good vibes~~~~

Warmest wishes
J

Oh Suzy, so sorry to hear that, you have to wonder about people don't you.
I think of both you and Violet often and hope things are improving for you both.

The fact that you continue to post here when you can is wonderful as hopefully we here can give both of you some support during these tough times and perhaps your posts will make people understand that this is not something to enter into lightly and that things can go badly wrong, and maybe also make people who have the sleeve, like me, thank the good Lord that we don't have the problems you lovely ladies deal with and that we (read me) need to make the most of the opportunity it has given us.

Suzy77 wrote:

Thank you for the lovely words of support.  I did read them when they were posted but haven't been up to responding. I've been back in hospital since Thursday (admission 35) and a new tube inserted to my gut after a recent experience when a guy tried to pull my nose tube out on a train. I didn't want open surgery but I couldn't live on the nose tubes anymore. I got a new button tube to the small bowel put in surgery last week but it's too tight and I've been in excruciating pain so I'm heading into endoscopy (also number 35!) today to try to replace it with another type. I'm pretty upset. Saturday is my three year anniversary and I'm still struggling and nothing is getting better.

Not sure if Violet will update but she is also in a bad place with her health and eating. She will be seeing a new surgeon to try to help her soon. The lovely lady still emails me daily and even sent me the most beautiful flowers yesterday. I'd be lost without her. 

So that's my update. Pretty miserable. I hope everyone who is doing well understands and appreciates the gift they have been given. A special hug to all those who post and message to check up on me. Thank you.
Xxx
Xxx

Oh dear.
Just on-going horrendousness for both of you.
But it is still good to hear how both of you are going.

"when a guy tried to pull my nose tube out on a train"
WFT!!!  I am HORRIFIED!
I hope they caught him and charged him with assault.

Hugs to both you and Shrinking Violet,
xx

Thank you for the lovely words of support.  I did read them when they were posted but haven't been up to responding. I've been back in hospital since Thursday (admission 35) and a new tube inserted to my gut after a recent experience when a guy tried to pull my nose tube out on a train. I didn't want open surgery but I couldn't live on the nose tubes anymore. I got a new button tube to the small bowel put in surgery last week but it's too tight and I've been in excruciating pain so I'm heading into endoscopy (also number 35!) today to try to replace it with another type. I'm pretty upset. Saturday is my three year anniversary and I'm still struggling and nothing is getting better.

Not sure if Violet will update but she is also in a bad place with her health and eating. She will be seeing a new surgeon to try to help her soon. The lovely lady still emails me daily and even sent me the most beautiful flowers yesterday. I'd be lost without her. 

So that's my update. Pretty miserable. I hope everyone who is doing well understands and appreciates the gift they have been given. A special hug to all those who post and message to check up on me. Thank you.
Xxx
Xxx

Wow, so I've just  read through this thread, and 'reality check' over the week end. Suzy and Shrinking Violet, I am devastated for you both, and , like everyone else here, I wish SOMEONE in the medical world could find a solution for you both, and restore you both to full health ! I'm appalled by the way you've been treated by doctors, SV, and how other people have mistreated you on social media, Suzy.

This is what I love about this place, though  - it is such a great source of well rounded information based on fact and experience, and, as a Pre-Sleever, and also a low (for WLS) BMIer,  I'm so grateful that you have both shared your stories. I don't want to go in to this procedure without having researched every aspect, as well as having read real peoples' experiences with the surgery. I am still very sure that I want to go ahead, but feel like I go in better informed, and that I'll know what to watch out for , in terms of signs of complications. From what I've seen, this is a very welcoming and 'safe' place, where people share information and experiences, and don't judge others if things go wrong, or if they go really right! I look forward to starting, and sharing, my sleeve journey, and I hope that I start hearing some positive steps towards health & happiness for both of you ladies, you most certainly deserve it. Thanks again for being brave enough to tell your stories as they are!

My heart is with both you and violet.  Wish I could do more than send hugs. Always nice to hear from you . Stretching my arms around you caring very much how you both are.

QuirkyQuaintrelle wrote:

Hi Suzy. It just breaks my heart what you and Shrinking Violet have to go through. I hope this new option you are researching will finally bring some relief. Thank you for sharing so bravely and I wish you every good fortune from here on xo

I am so with QuirkyQuaintrelle on the above.

Thank you for the update Suzy77.
Thinking of you,
x

Thanks for your well wishes and I've updated my status in Reality Check.

Suzy, I wondered if it was possible to throw up the tube. I tried to eat lunch (cheese) and as usual threw up and it felt like I got a mouthful of tube but then it went back down again. It's scary to think I CAN throw it up, I'll have to be careful. I hate to think what the bills are going to be for this last hospital stay with the failed X-ray procedure and then proceeding to endoscopy. I think that because this is a new surgeon/hospital etc that I'll be slugged with gap payments. Good thing I had a chance to squirrel some away before I stopped working. I feel very blessed that I had many years in the workforce to have some financial security before this happened.

That's a good warning Aussiearies..........if this surgery goes wrong and you don't have PHI the medical costs can be enormous.....as Suzy says, hundreds of thousands wouldn't be unheard of and don't count on the public hospital to take up the slack. You could be on the waiting list for remedial surgery for years living on feeding tubes in the meantime. Chances are it won't happen to you but things can and do go wrong with any surgery.

BTW, thanks for this Suzy ....she is one of the sweetest ladies with the biggest heart you can imagine. Must be mutual admiration society because that's exactly how I think of you.

To Suzy and Shrinking Violet

I sincerely hope that something will work for you both in the future and that you can both get to better health.

Both of you are to commended for your strength and tenacity and I thank you both for sharing the worst side of this op to ensure people are aware of the really ugly possibilities before they commit to the surgery and I hope it encourages those thinking about the surgery to ensure they have PHI and not simply rely on their own funds or their super, as given the amount of surgeries etc Suzy I am not surprised the fees are as high as they are.

Thinking of you both and sending healing vibes

Hi Suzy. It just breaks my heart what you and Shrinking Violet have to go through. I hope this new option you are researching will finally bring some relief. Thank you for sharing so bravely and I wish you every good fortune from here on xo