Popadopalous
Member
Thought I'd return to share my updates. The last time I posted, I talked about my stricture problem and how it was affecting me (mentally and physically). The link to my last thread is: http://www.wlsurgery.com/wls-gastric-bypass-rny/160157-3-year-down-line-possible-complications.html
Continuing on from that...
My stricture had gradually but continued to worsen to the point that I could no longer keep water down. I was still waiting on the date coming through the post from my consultant for the balloon dilation under GA but things were moving too slow.
Monday 18th Jan, I went about my business as normal this week although at this point, I was no longer able to keep soup and milkshakes down. I somehow managed to survive until Thurs 21st when I was no longer able to tolerate water. I was basically vomiting everything up.
My NHS dietician has always said my stricture problem got to THAT point, to contact him immediately. So on the Friday 22nd, I decided to pack a case and go up to the hospital where my dietician's office is based. Unfortunately he wasn't working that day, but his receptionist knew I really wasn't well and told me she'd try to catch him on his personal mobile. In the mean time, I went to A&E as I thought it would be considered an emergency (not keeping any fluids down) but sadly not and they sent me away.
An hour later, my dietician phoned me and told me he has arranged for me to be admitted to a ward. Amazing that he would do this on his day off. I take my case and go right to the ward and I'm admitted and put on IV fluids and my consultant was paged to let him know of my unexpected arrival.
The next day, Saturday, my consultant had booked me in for an emergency dilation under general and I was being wheeled down in the morning - excited thinking that I'll be able to eat come tea time! How wrong I was.
When I came round following the dilation, everything apparently went well and I was allowed to start on soups and liquids immediately. I had some lentil soup for lunch which went down great. I was drinking lots by mouth, it was great!
Saturday evening had arrived and I became severely ill. I was suffering the worst pain imaginable and I could no longer breath properly. They started pumping me full of morphine and oxygen but my condition continued getting worse, struggling desperately to breathe.
I was taken down for an emergency xray in the early hours of Sunday morning which showed air had completely filled up my abdominal cavity. My consultant was informed and pretty early Sunday morning, he arrived on the ward and took me right down to theatre to investigate.
After 9 hours in surgery, I woke up finding myself in the high dependency unit. There was an ulcer that had unknowingly burst when he did the dilation and of course all the soup and liquids I had drunk leaked in to my abdomen.
When he opened my tummy to clean out all the liquid that was swimming around, he discovered a fairly serious case of twisted bowels. A portion of my bowels (where the original bypass was done) had twisted and didn't have any blood flow.. there was a massive blockage of bowel contents going all the way up towards my pouch. There was a lot of infection too.
My consultant said the original surgeon neglected to close up the gaping hole when he re-routed my bowels to the pouch - so now there was a bit of room for the remaining bowels to move around and eventually twist in to a knot.
The dilation he did the day before helped for a day or two, but the stricture eventually closed entirely. I have a feeding tube coming out of my tummy so that's my only way of nourishment. I fell to 7 and a half stone so the consultant isn't going to sort out the stricture problem until I've gained more weight, currently at 7st 14lbs so a tiny weight gain. I was in hospital for just over a month.
So just now, I'm hooked up to a pump for 12 hours a day having feed pumped directly in to my intestines and will remain so until I've gained around 3 stone. Once I'm at an acceptable weight, me and my consultant have agreed to do a complete reversal of this miserable depressing bypass.
I'm extremely weak and permanently tired. I have to inject all my medications and fluids in to this bloody tube. I just so badly want to return to a normal way of eating and drinking but I'm 6 months (at least) away from that. I regret the day I ever decided to go private for this operation.
I look disgustingly ill, there's no colour to my skin and my bones protrude every part of my body but I do have a good team behind me going above board to help me. Urgh, this bypass has completely robbed me of my life.
Continuing on from that...
My stricture had gradually but continued to worsen to the point that I could no longer keep water down. I was still waiting on the date coming through the post from my consultant for the balloon dilation under GA but things were moving too slow.
Monday 18th Jan, I went about my business as normal this week although at this point, I was no longer able to keep soup and milkshakes down. I somehow managed to survive until Thurs 21st when I was no longer able to tolerate water. I was basically vomiting everything up.
My NHS dietician has always said my stricture problem got to THAT point, to contact him immediately. So on the Friday 22nd, I decided to pack a case and go up to the hospital where my dietician's office is based. Unfortunately he wasn't working that day, but his receptionist knew I really wasn't well and told me she'd try to catch him on his personal mobile. In the mean time, I went to A&E as I thought it would be considered an emergency (not keeping any fluids down) but sadly not and they sent me away.
An hour later, my dietician phoned me and told me he has arranged for me to be admitted to a ward. Amazing that he would do this on his day off. I take my case and go right to the ward and I'm admitted and put on IV fluids and my consultant was paged to let him know of my unexpected arrival.
The next day, Saturday, my consultant had booked me in for an emergency dilation under general and I was being wheeled down in the morning - excited thinking that I'll be able to eat come tea time! How wrong I was.
When I came round following the dilation, everything apparently went well and I was allowed to start on soups and liquids immediately. I had some lentil soup for lunch which went down great. I was drinking lots by mouth, it was great!
Saturday evening had arrived and I became severely ill. I was suffering the worst pain imaginable and I could no longer breath properly. They started pumping me full of morphine and oxygen but my condition continued getting worse, struggling desperately to breathe.
I was taken down for an emergency xray in the early hours of Sunday morning which showed air had completely filled up my abdominal cavity. My consultant was informed and pretty early Sunday morning, he arrived on the ward and took me right down to theatre to investigate.
After 9 hours in surgery, I woke up finding myself in the high dependency unit. There was an ulcer that had unknowingly burst when he did the dilation and of course all the soup and liquids I had drunk leaked in to my abdomen.
When he opened my tummy to clean out all the liquid that was swimming around, he discovered a fairly serious case of twisted bowels. A portion of my bowels (where the original bypass was done) had twisted and didn't have any blood flow.. there was a massive blockage of bowel contents going all the way up towards my pouch. There was a lot of infection too.
My consultant said the original surgeon neglected to close up the gaping hole when he re-routed my bowels to the pouch - so now there was a bit of room for the remaining bowels to move around and eventually twist in to a knot.
The dilation he did the day before helped for a day or two, but the stricture eventually closed entirely. I have a feeding tube coming out of my tummy so that's my only way of nourishment. I fell to 7 and a half stone so the consultant isn't going to sort out the stricture problem until I've gained more weight, currently at 7st 14lbs so a tiny weight gain. I was in hospital for just over a month.
So just now, I'm hooked up to a pump for 12 hours a day having feed pumped directly in to my intestines and will remain so until I've gained around 3 stone. Once I'm at an acceptable weight, me and my consultant have agreed to do a complete reversal of this miserable depressing bypass.
I'm extremely weak and permanently tired. I have to inject all my medications and fluids in to this bloody tube. I just so badly want to return to a normal way of eating and drinking but I'm 6 months (at least) away from that. I regret the day I ever decided to go private for this operation.
I look disgustingly ill, there's no colour to my skin and my bones protrude every part of my body but I do have a good team behind me going above board to help me. Urgh, this bypass has completely robbed me of my life.
