Re: Re: My Switch Story/Anita

[Guest guest]

Hi Anita -

Thanks for your well wishes! As far as adhesions go -- to my knowledge,

there is no way to prevent them and they can grow from any type of surgery.

If I weren't so close to my surgeon, I would make sure that I had a diagram

with me of my newly arranged innards and would make sure the local ER doc

called my surgeon to consult with him.

Take good care -

Kris G

Cincinnati, Ohio

5'7 " , 40 years old

8/22 - 283 - BMI 44.3

04/22 - 166 - BMI 26

ciao to 117 lbs. & 117.25 inches in 8 months

Open BPD/DS 08/22/00

Bowel obstruction surgery 4/20/01

Dr. Maguire, Kettering OH

HumanaFreedom Plus Plan

iwillbefit@...

Re: My Switch Story - 8 months VERY long

| Kris,

|

| I'm so glad you got that caught in time! Is there anything we can do

| to make ourselves less prone to adhesions ? Do you think the ER doc

| would have found it in time ? I'm only asking because if I have that

| problem which I hope I don't, I won't be near anyone trained in

| BPD/DS, just a normal ER. I don't know if their first response would

| be to do a CT scan.

|

| Glad you're back on the road to better health! *hugs*

|

| Anita

| Pre-pre-op in Denver

|

|

| >

| > Eight Months

| >

| > On 4/20, two days before the celebration of my eight month

| anniversary, I ended up requiring an emergency surgery for bowel

| obstruction. A couple days prior to the surgery, I was experiencing

| some pain in my mid-back, mainly the left side. It was a tired, achy

| feeling pain and I thought I was perhaps coming down with the flu.

| On that Friday evening, I started getting really bad gas and

| bloating, which is rare for me - I got much less gas post-op, then I

| did pre-op. After taking some meds for the gas, the gas pain turned

| into severe pain in the stomach area. My hernia was very distended

| and I couldn't push it back in. I called the emergency number and

| was waiting for the on-call doc to get back to me. The pain got so

| much worse and I began to panic, thinking I had a strangulated hernia

| or something. I called Dr. Maguire's nurse, Kim, at home - who is

| also a very good friend, and she suggested I have bring me up

| to Kettering and check into the ER. She said it sounded like an

| illeus (sp) to her (the beginnings of a bowel obstruction). My hubby

| drove me up there and before receiving pain meds in the ER, I'd

| safely say that I had a couple hours of the worse pain I had ever

| felt.

| >

| >

| > Kim and Dr. Maguire are THE best! Kim called Dr. Maguire at home,

| as he was not the doc on call. Dr. Maguire had called the ER twice

| before I got there, to see if I had arrived yet. He made

| arrangements for me to see the resident surgeon, instead of the ER

| doc, so that I could get right in as a private appointment instead of

| waiting in emergency. Upon arrival, I was vomiting and quite the

| loud paitient due to the pain. I was dehydrated and they were having

| trouble getting an IV into my already hard to hit, tiny and rolling

| veins. Dr. Maguire arrived at the hospital about the same time I did

| and while I was getting ready for the CT scan, he indicated he

| thought I may have a kidney stone.

| >

| >

| > He reviewed the CT scan, along with my husband, as they were

| performing it. Immediately afterward, he indicated I did have a

| bowel obstruction and that we needed to do surgery right away.

| >

| >

| > I was in surgery from 12:30 or 1:00 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. He

| repaired the bowel obstruction, which ended up being a kink in the

| bowel, with adhesions wrapped around it. He also spent time butting

| away adhesions that had developed since my original surgery. He also

| used mesh to repair my hernia.

| >

| >

| > Summary of symptoms:

| >

| > Back pain

| >

| > Gas

| >

| > Severe abdominal pain

| >

| > Dehydrated

| >

| > Very pale

| >

| > Clammy

| >

| > Vomiting

| >

| >

| > He indicated that because it was caught in such a timely fashion,

| that he was able to repair the obstruction with no damage to the

| bowel. A matter of just a few more hours could have caused some

| major problems with the bowel dying, becoming gangrenous or causing

| sepsis. I feel VERY fortunate to have such a conscientious, caring

| surgeon.

| >

| >

| > I asked him about the possibility of a bowel obstruction

| recurring. He indicated that this was even less likely than having a

| bowel obstruction in the first place, which is a very low

| percentage.

| >

| > I was in the hospital 4 nights. Was released on 4/24 after I had

| been passing gas about 12 hours. In the hospital, I was on potassium

| to get me rehyrated, an antibiotic, the morphine pump, toradol. It

| was all pretty similar to the first surgery, as he had indicated it

| would be. Though, he said it might be a little rougher than the

| first time around, I found it to be a bit easier. Especially, the

| walking was easier at this much lighter - I was a walking fool! They

| even took the inflatable stockings off after the second night, as I

| was up walking so much. They used the existing scar and the new

| incision was the entire length - but a bit longer at the bottom. I

| had a jp drain, which I came home with and have to drain and record

| the volume twice a day. I go in Friday, 4/27 to have the staples

| removed and hopefully, the jp drain. The recovery requirements, such

| as lifting, etc. are the same as they were for the original surgery.

| >

| >

| > If you have any further questions on my experience, please let me

| know. Remember that this is very rare - I want to say 1%, though it

| might be a little higher percentage. Thanks to everyone who was so

| loving and helpful to me during this time. It meant the world to

| me. Definitely not the way I would have chose to celebrate my eight

| month anniversary, but am very grateful it was caught in a timely

| fashion.

| >

| > I had a better weight and inch loss this month than last month.

| And, due to bloating of all the IV fluids, am guessing next month

| will look pretty good, as well. Until the bowel obstruction, I was

| feeling really great - feeling almost normal and very healthy.

| Fitting easily into size 10 and some 8's. Only 7 more pounds to

| be " normal " weight and 19 pounds to the goal which was set by Dr.

| Maguire. I lost 12 pounds this month and 8.25 inches. Below are the

| accumulated totals of loss:

| >

| >

| >

| >

| >

| > To-date Loss

| >

| >

| >

| >

| > Weight

| > 117 pounds

| >

| >

| >

| >

| > Neck

| > 2

| >

| > Bust

| > 13

| >

| > Under Bust

| > 12

| >

| > Left Bicep

| > 5.25

| >

| > Left Forearm

| > 1.75

| >

| > Left Wrist

| > 0.5

| >

| > Left Thigh

| > 5.5

| >

| > Left Knee

| > 1.5

| >

| > Left Calf

| > 2.5

| >

| > Left Ankle

| > 1

| >

| > Right Bicep

| > 5

| >

| > Right Forearm

| > 2.75

| >

| > Right Wrist

| > 1

| >

| > Right Thigh

| > 6.25

| >

| > Right Knee

| > 1.75

| >

| > Right Calf

| > 2.5

| >

| > Right Ankle

| > 0.5

| >

| > Waist

| > 17.25

| >

| > Stomach

| > 22.5

| >

| > Hips

| > 12.75

| >

| >

| >

| >

| >

| > 117.25 inches

| >

| >

| >

| > Obviously, I need to concentrate on more on staying hydrated, so am

| going to really try and drink only a little Diet Pepsi and try to

| have water as my mainstay liquid. I continue to take Prevacid for

| GERD and since I switched vitamin brands, I haven't had to take

| acidopholus or Devrom. Will be interesting to see if that changes

| after this second surgery. I also found I need to continue taking

| Zinc, as for me, it truly helps stop the hair loss. I hadn't taken

| it for 4-5 days when starting my new vitamins, and it started falling

| out again. Coinicidence, perhaps, but it is the 2nd or 3rd such

| coincidence. On some of the other lists, it has been mentioned that

| Nixoin (a shampoo also utilized by chemo patients) helps with the

| hair loss, as well. The new vitamins I take are Vita 4 Life,

| specifically for weight loss surgery patients and can be found at:

| >

| > http://www.vita4life.net

| >

| >

| > I continue to feel very blessed with the surgery, although I'm

| disappointed I was one of the few who got a bowel obstruction. I'm

| not thrilled about having to go through recovery, basically, again.

| But, am very grateful it was caught in time. Even with this recent

| surgery, I would do it all again - as it has truly given me life

| back -- my good health back! The happiness I feel because I'm not

| disgusted with myself, the energy I feel because I am so much more

| healthy - makes it all MORE than worth it. I still count myself very

| fortunate, as I didn't have major problems and still haven't. And,

| may have even taken the obstruction blow statistics for a bunch of

| you. =)

| >

| > As I am continuing my recovery, I still plan on getting the ball

| rolling with the non-profit organization, New Life Teams for Better

| Health. There will be a website developed at newlifeteams.org.

| There are groups of folks working on start-up of the organization,

| education of PCPs and the public, education of insurance companies,

| funding for those qualified candidates who cannot get insurance to

| cover them or afford to self-pay, fundraising efforts on behalf of

| the organization and extended stay projects. If you are interested

| in being part of the organization, we would love to have your input.

| You are welcome to subscribe to the yahoo list at:

| >

| >

| > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newlifeteams

| >

| >

| > If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to our great

| cause, or know of someone who would, contributions can be sent to:

| >

| >

| >

| > New Life Teams

| >

| > P. O. Box 112116

| >

| > Cincinnati, OH 45211-2116

| >

| >

| >

| > Thank you, as always for your wonderful support -- I feel that you

| are all like extended family and feel very blessed.

| >

| > Love,

| >

| > Kris G

| > Cincinnati, Ohio

| > 5'7 " , 40 years old

| > 8/22 - 283 - BMI 44.3

| > 04/22 - 166 - BMI 26

| > ciao to 117 lbs. & 117.25 inches in 8 months

| > Open BPD/DS 08/22/00

| > Bowel obstruction surgery 4/20/01

| > Dr. Maguire, Kettering OH

| > HumanaFreedom Plus Plan

| > iwillbefit@y...

|

|

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