4 weeks post op, feeling rotten

My RNY was done at St Mary's Paddington 4 weeks ago and initially I was fine, able to garden and walk around and get on with life. 2 week later it all went a bit strange.

I've got pain that seems to be from my stomach and which radiates across my abdomen and chest. No bleeding, vomiting or dumping, but no appetite either and I'm starting to live on protein drinks. So my energy levels are decreasing and my muscles are not being used.

Most of the diaries I read here either show a very straightforward recovery or an absolute catastrophe. Did anyone else have this pain? How long did it go on for?

Help help!

Thanks in advance

I would say you need to speak to your provider. It is possible that you have pulled some of the new plumbing if you have been gardening a little I made the mistake of reaching up for the line and I had to go to bed for a day. YOu need to take it easy but get professional advice you need to know for your peace of mind don't delay ring the ward today . xx

Hello Clare
sorry to read your in some kind of discomfort, all I can advise to do is contact your team in the morning or maybe called the ward you were on for the surgery as I guess they have a nurse on the ward who specialty is bypass surgery maybe?
if it continues to worsen then call your G.P or visit your A&E
I wish you a better recovery

I'm part of some research at Imperial so I asked them about this. They're brilliant. My abdomen was properly palpated and I had an armful of blood taken.

It seems that this was being caused by stomach acid. Now I'm on a high dose of ranitidine which, yesterday at least, turned the pain off. I had no reflux but it was still causing me some real trouble. A great side effect is that I know all my bloods are good, especially my vitamin levels. My liver enzymes, which had been very high, have plummeted to well within normal. Phew!

Clare Slaney said:

I'm part of some research at Imperial so I asked them about this. They're brilliant. My abdomen was properly palpated and I had an armful of blood taken. It seems that this was being caused by stomach acid. Now I'm on a high dose of ranitidine which, yesterday at least, turned the pain off. I had no reflux but it was still causing me some real trouble. A great side effect is that I know all my bloods are good, especially my vitamin levels. My liver enzymes, which had been very high, have plummeted to well within normal. Phew!

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I hun I'm under St Mary's too and also my fella..
They are a fab team and won't leave you dangling..
Their after care is very accessible isn't it ..

Good luck and remember you may only have 5 small incisions but you have had a major surgery ..
You need lots of gentle walking and not too much bending and stretching in the first couple of months ...xx

Hi Valentine,

Thanks for making contact! Yes, the St Mary's doctors have been brilliant. Almost all of the nurses have been great too, although one refused to give me analgesia on my first night and went pale when I told her I used to be a nurse and she should stop trying to abuse her power. Another nurse told me to take 8 solpadine a day - which would have put me into a coma - rather than asking anything about this pain. Those two events aside the care has been exemplary.

You're so right about the brutality of this op! My skin has healed really well. But I can tell you that my insides are still in a state of shock! TMI WARNING! My poo hasn't returned to the colour it should be but I'm not getting too worried about that! And I'm trying to push myself a bit with exercise because I could do nothing all day long, forever. So I have no appetite and sleep less well than I could.

I've just come back from the vets, a tube ride and a walk away, with my daughter carrying the cat and I'm knackered. It feels as if I can get the exercise - gentle but sustained - under control then other things will start falling into place.

One really good thing about this is that I can eat as much sashimi as will fit into my egg-sized stomach, and that's a wonderful excuse to eat it almost every day!

Clare Slaney said:

Hi Valentine, Thanks for making contact! Yes, the St Mary's doctors have been brilliant. Almost all of the nurses have been great too, although one refused to give me analgesia on my first night and went pale when I told her I used to be a nurse and she should stop trying to abuse her power. Another nurse told me to take 8 solpadine a day - which would have put me into a coma - rather than asking anything about this pain. Those two events aside the care has been exemplary. You're so right about the brutality of this op! My skin has healed really well. But I can tell you that my insides are still in a state of shock! TMI WARNING! My poo hasn't returned to the colour it should be but I'm not getting too worried about that! And I'm trying to push myself a bit with exercise because I could do nothing all day long, forever. So I have no appetite and sleep less well than I could. I've just come back from the vets, a tube ride and a walk away, with my daughter carrying the cat and I'm knackered. It feels as if I can get the exercise - gentle but sustained - under control then other things will start falling into place. One really good thing about this is that I can eat as much sashimi as will fit into my egg-sized stomach, and that's a wonderful excuse to eat it almost every day!

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Hi and yes you will feel very fatigued very quickly for a few months ..

Your main focus is healing and moving through the food stages ..
The exercise will fall into place once you have become accustomed to the lack of calories..

My sleep pattern was all over the place for the first 6-9 months.. It has settled down and I now sleep well and walk 5 miles most days along the sea front where I live.,

I have spinal problems so swimming and walking is about it for me.. Even the walking can be off the cards some weeks due to pain but on the whole it's a happy balance..

I had a bad experience with an agency nurse at St Mary's .. She tried to take my blood pressure with a cuff that she had put on my back to front with the Velcro fastening completely undone..

I was very relieved she didn't try to come near me with medication or a needle of any kind.

Three times she pressed the button on the BP machine.. I had to point out to her that she had made a mistake.. She then gave up and "made up" a reading!!!! She wrote it down and it was so different from all my other reading history that Mr Moorthy retook it himself..
(I have low BP due to long term opiate treatment for my spine) it went from 150/95 to 110/60 and he wasn't impressed when I told him why lol

She also works at Charing Cross via the agency and god knows how she qualified or where she gained her qualifications!!!!

They do abuse their power sometimes with pain meds... Very nasty when you feel so vulnerable..

My hospital stay was actually very good other than the BP incident so I can only extol praise..

I'm a year out and can still get an apt when I have questions etc via the phone which is fab as I am in Clacton Essex and it takes 3-4 hours to get to St Mary's from home.

Good luck with the next few months and I hope it all goes smoothly for you as it has for me and my fella who is also a WLS patient at St Mary's xx





S

I'm in Clacton too!

niccie said:

I'm in Clacton too!

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Small world!!!

Did you go private or NHS

Have you lived in Clacton for long??

I've lived about 30 years, going private to roding spire x