Comments on: Gastric Bypass Surgery Complications: My Week Of Horror

By: Debbie Miller

Debbie Miller — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:59:25 +0000

Just did a search for this problem….why? cause I am sitting here 10 years post my bypass and a few days out of hospital from twisted intestines. I know have a gtube (tube outside my body to my old stomach) This is how I get my nutrition now, cause when intestines twisted, so did my little stomach pouch. So I cant take in nutrition thru my mouth cept liquids. Sucks and Im not feeling to good right now bout anything.

By: heryl

heryl — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:12:20 +0000

I had my surgery 3 yrs ago, Right after I got out of the hospital, I had to be taken back, brcause od pain. I don;t remember alot. Most of this is from what my sister and husbsnd. But I got a blood clot where they joyned the small and large intestine which caused everything to back uo into my lungs and I was in a medical induced coma for about 3week and then trasfered to a setp down rehab care, they realy tried to kill me. I was only to be there for a week or two I ended up ther for almost 2 months. But whith everthing that happened I would do it again this time I make sure that I have a scane befoe I leave the hospital,

By: Nichol

Nichol — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:11:36 +0000

I had the same issue only 7 1/2 months after my surgery and literally two weeks after getting married. I had a nightmare experience with the ER as well. They sent me home. TWICE. Fantastic part of being a woman they can try to easily dismiss pains in your abdomen as ovary problems. My ER doctors after scans and ultrasounds decided I had a “cyst that ruptured causing my intense pain” all because I am am woman. Fantastic… I made it clear to tell them over and over that I had By-pass surgery and they still decided not to investigate further. After hours of crying hunched over on my couch I tried another ER and they were even less help. They insisted I see an OBGYN in the morning before they would do anything else. Now I know they almost gave me a death sentence. So I cried all night, waited till morning and saw that OBGYN who confirmed I had no “womanly issues” and immediately started looking for a surgeon to see me right away. Luckily he found one. It was still hours before I actually got to see the surgeon. At that point it had been over 24 hours since the pain started.

Obviously I am still here so they got to me just in time. The surgeon said my intestines had turned purple from being twisted for so long and had they waited even another hour I would have died and or lost that section of bowels. I was out of work for nearly a month recovering. This was the MOST pain I have ever felt in my life. SO much worse that the actual gastric by-pass surgery was.

To my horror two months later I started having the same pain again. I went to the ER at yet another hospital. This time they actually admitted me. I got my initial surgeon from my by-pass surgery this time. He found adhesions from the “fix” to untwist my bowels that left me with a 5 inch scar. Basically the scar tissue decided to wrap around my intestines and the pain was so close to the last time I knew it was going to lead to another surgery. Thankfully this was able to be done laparoscopically. I went back to work after a day.

Even after all that I would still go through everything again. It has been a rough ride but I have more energy and my health complications that I risked in my near future have been dodged. If you have pain be demanding even if you think you sound crazy because your life is in their hands and you need them to think it is IMPORTANT!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:11:06 +0000

I went many years without insurance so believe me I know how you feel. I was certainly NOT talking about anyone who really needed to be there. And it is true, because I’ve been on both sides of this fence, you wait MUCH longer and get much lower quality care if you’re there without insurance.

Yeah, I know, ER workers will post now to complain about that but it was definitely my experience.

I stand by what I said tho. There were a ton of people there who did not have emergencies. There always are. There should be a two-tier ER system: one ER for those who have real actual emergencies and one for those who have to use the ER for basic medical care. And yes, I’ve been in both groups. I had to go to the ER once with a bad case of the flu that had gotten me dehydrated. I just needed an IV with some fluids and some nausea meds because nothing would stay down. This was not an urgent emergency, but I couldn’t go to a regular doctor for it. But I should not have been in the way of someone having say chest pains or something.

Thats all I was saying.

By: Lizz

Lizz — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:23:35 +0000

I understand that you were in extreme pain, but I have zero insurance… I have read everything you have written but when I came across the paragraph about people without insurance “clogging up the ERs”….wow. I’ll admit some people DO go to the ERs for every little thing and you really, REALLY needed a doctor…but I just don’t see how their problems mean nothing, even without insurance. I work two jobs, my husband works two jobs, and we don’t have insurance.

By: belovedideas

belovedideas — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:03:55 +0000

Oh, how awful! I never knew they tacked our intestines to our fatty tissue. They never tell us that losing too much weight too fast is risky. I hope you’re recovering nicely. You’ve been through so much. You deserve to be healthy!