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Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
April 7th, 2009
So, I spent most of last night in the emergency room. Around 6:15, I started getting some stabbing pain in my upper abdomen, right under my sternum. A half an hour went by and the pain intensified. Since I was at work, I didn’t want to make a scene. I shuffled over to the break room and called Gerald. He told me to go to the ER and that he and Maddie would meet me there. Well, I don’t know about you, but my personal version of hell is entertaining a toddler in the ER well after her bedtime. So, I nipped that plan in the bud and asked my boss/friend to take me to the hospital. Luckily, I work near the hospital where I had my gastric bypass, so I felt comfortable that they had experience dealing with post-op bypass patients.
I got there at 7:00 and was in a room by 8:00. They gave me some pain meds that didn’t work, so then they gave me morphine which also didn’t work. I had X-rays to check for a bowel obstruction and they came back clean. The pain got so bad that I broke out in a cold sweat, then my lips and hands started tingling and I passed out right in my hospital bed. Thank goodness the nurse was in the room with me. They gave me a second dose of morphine and a shot of a drug called Bentyl. In 10 minutes, the pain was a horrible memory. A couple of hours went by and then I had a CT scan. I went back to my room and watched late-night TV and texted Gerald with updates and plastered twitter with drug-induced misspelled tweets. At 1:00am, the doctor came in to tell me that the CT scan showed an internal hernia, most likely involving my colon. Apparently, hernias are one of the most common “complications” following gastric bypass. “Complications” in that it happens after the bypass, but isn’t caused by the surgery itself. Rapid, massive weight loss (like 105lbs in 8.5 months) results in loss of supportive fat in the abdomen and often results in a hernia.
They gave me the a prescription for the pill from of Bentyl and told me to make an appointment with my bypass surgeon. You know, because I want to have ANOTHER damned surgery. This will be three in 9 months. That’s ridiculous. I’m avoiding making the appointment and probably won’t do it at all until the prescription runs out and the pain comes back. I just can’t deal with another surgery. Not emotionally and certainly not financially. We’re still paying out $3000 on my bypass and $2300 on my gallbladder removal.
Gerald commented last night that I certainly am not the poster-child for gastric bypass success. I know things could be much, much worse, but this pretty much sucks. I’m not skinny enough for all this trouble to be worth it.
test Filed under complaining, WLS | Comments (17)17 Responses to “Drugs are bad, mmmkay?”
Good lord, you have been through so much! I really hope you don’t have any more complications after you get past this one. Get well soon!
I am SO sorry. I can’t imagine passing out from pain! Sounds worse than childbirth. Shudder.
I hope your take home drugs work just as well as the shot at the hospital. Also I think your surgeon should give you a punch card. You’re about due for a free one, chica!
Well, crap! That sucks! I hope they gave you a LOT of drugs!
Oh Erica, many many hugs!
You poor girl! **HUGS** I want to say, what next?, but I think that would be bad.
Also, I’m ammending your last sentence:
I’m not skinny enough for all this trouble to be worth it….YET!
I can’t even imagine how horrible that was for you. I hope that doctor wrote for a hundred of those pain pills!
ummm.. if you remember I was hit with a hernia also. My doc kept an eye on it and once my weight was off, he repaired it. Yes, it was the surgery from hell. Way worse than my bypass BUT it involved a benefit I never could have afforded. My gastric bypass surgeon trimmed off all the excess skin on my belly. I went from flabby to tight and flat in just one surgery. I went down a couple more pants sizes too. Oh, and lost 10 more pounds. So really, it’s not the worst thing that could happen. If it turns to lemons, make lemonade, girlfriend. Things could be so much worse!!!
Who REALLY needs a belly button anyhow?
Eva
Well, that pretty much sucks. I had FIVE surgeries in the couple of months following my youngest’s birth, so I know how much is sucks to just want to be healthy, and to keep trecking back to the frickety-frackin’ hospital.
I’d say schedule the appt. Get it all behind you. The longer you drag it out the more it sucks.
I hope you feel much better soon!!
i was worried about you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hellllllllllo
sigh
ok
what other extra parts and things that you don’t need are there that they can remove when they do the hernia thingy so you don’t have another complication??
liver?
a lung? i mean…aren’t you being kinda greedy using 2
your little toes ?
ooooooooooooooo….how about that giant goiter in your neck!!!! – i know you really liked it – but it totally distracts from your cute shoes.
sigh.
take care of you.
ok?
OK, this sucks. But I still think the surgery was worth it. Seriously. And you’re still losing weight. I’m having surgery in about a month and even if it results in more surgeries and hernias and all that, it will SO be worth it if I have results anything like yours.
See, I don’t think you’re the post child for it not working, I think you’re a great example of wonderful results, and that it isn’t an easy path. Nothing that serious should be easy, you’re just real. You look great, and it is obvious that you’re happy about how things have gone, even with the issues. Hang in there, I know it will get better. I’ve seen people go through with far worse complications who still say that it was the best thing they’ve ever done.
I did not know about that hernia thing! WORST. I am so sorry.
Oh, honey! I am so sorry! I cannot imagine how frustrated you must feel right now. I hope you start feeling better, and start having some better luck.
Don’t be ridiculous that it’s not worth it. It’s TOTALLY worth it for you to be healthy and strong and who you want to be! Waiting seems like a way to complicate things further and cause yourself more and worse pain, which only makes the suckage more sucky. You can do this, you’re one of the strongest people I can think of! Yes it seems like nothing but crap city to go through another surgery but YOU can do ANYTHING and you will only be that much closer to ALL BETTER!!
End rant from internet stranger.
So, losing over a 100lbs and getting healthier wasn’t worth it?
I think once your body settles and you lose all the weight you will totally think it was worth it. Until then, it’s all just a pain in the ……
Seriously, your daughter will totally think it’s worth it when you are playing with her instead of sitting on the bench.
But health stuff…YUCK! It’s never, ever fun. I dare someone to come out of a surgery and say it was fun!
I’ll be praying that things go smoothly and you don’t have that pain anymore.
HUGS!!
grace
Oh, how FRUSTRATING! This is the kind of situation that, for me, requires a few days for me to get used to the idea. Pain meds seem like an EXCELLENT mental assist.
hey girlie, it’s frustrating and you might actually be the poster child for why surgery was NOT the easy way out for us. Talk to the surgeon, some of them will do a tummy tuck alon with the hernia repair and only charge a litle extra if a plastic surgeon needs to be involved.
Good luck and DO NOT delay making the appointment.