Ooops- I did it again!

Yep- I ended up in the hospital… a SECOND TIME! UGH!! After being home a few days last week- the pain wasn’t really going away and by Monday AM I was so nauseous I called the Nurses line and the recommended I go to the ER. Thankfully Lisa- the building manager here where I live- was not only able to recommend a local ER that was “safe” and good to go to- but she was able to come and take me there so I didn’t need to take a cab! (THANK YOU LISA!- She took this picture of me- I had just been given meds for the nausea so I was finally feeling a little peppier!)

The doctors re-did my CT Scan- and when they did they found that my “remnant stomach” was filling with bile and blocked from the intestine. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/IM00560 This shows what my internal anatomy looks like now with the Gastric By-Pass. My “stomach” is no longer used to digest and pass food… but it is still connected to provide adidtional gastric juices and digestive support in the intestines.

They wanted to put me right into surgery that night to help relieve the pressure that was building up and fix the bloackage. THAT was a little freaky! They were talking about bumping me in front of someone else who was already scheduled even! But then they came back with a secondary plan- and I am glad that it worked out!

They used the CT Scan to insert a GI Tube into my remnant stomach. (I DO have photos of this tube sticking out of my belly- but uhm.. no body wants to see all that! LOL) THAT hurt people! I was in “Conscious Sedation” I kept telling them… “uhm.. more conscious than sedated here people!!” LOL I even told the nurses once- “I am NOT breathing through this… I am going to have a panic atack here!” LOL It was NO FUN! My whole body tensed up and hurt the whole next day! LOL

Anyway- there was pretty quick relief when all the gross was draining out of the stomach. I spent the next day resting up and letting my body relax enough to have the surgery. They thought they were going to have to bisect my bowel, cut out the blocked parts and reconnect them back to my “by-pass.” Oh boy- this was going to be fun.

I have to stop here and tell you- the nurses and the aides at the hospital (University of Minnesota- Fairview) were amazing! I love them! They took such great care of me. And let me tell you- my roommate was no peach (she complained about everything and needed something every 5 seconds!) but they were infinately patient with us both and I felt like I was in very good hands the whole time!

Anyway- Come Weds AM “Crack of Dawn”- I was in surgery prep. The Surgeon was telling me what he was going to do and telling me how I would have this awful GI Tube for weeks (Minimun of 6!!) and I was crying because I realized my dreams of the Half-Marathon race really and truly were over now! But my Dr. He is a runner too and he was empathetic with my pain! Next thing I remember the surgeon is standing there grinning and talking- I have NO IDEA what he is saying but it is good news apparently! LOL

Once I was awake enough to know what was going on- they told me… he had discovered that “all” I had was an internal hernia. Now this is actually good news! (Who knew an internal hernia could be good news!) Since it was a hernia- they could just put it all right- straighten it back out and sew up the defect area through which is was twisted- and they did NOT have to cut anything out or reattach anything! They straightened out my intestines which had been all twisted up and into themselves and then were done. THANK YOU FOR THE PRAYERS! I totally believe the hernia was the answer to all of your prayers for my health and safety!!

They kept me there until Sunday PM. Wish I could have gone home sooner- you know you get NO sleep in the hospital! But I got to walk quite a bit around the wards to keep me going and keep my back from totally going into spasms!

Sunday night. I took Monday off to just rest and stay close to the bed and get caught up on my sleep. I have been working from home since Tuesday. I am so grateful that I have a job that I can keep in touch via the computer and phone and it allows me to recover on the couch instead of having to drag into the office. The people I work with are amazing and totally kept things rolling while I was out. It was such a blessing.

So I have to say- for those of you considering Gastric By-pass… this problem? IS a known side- effect. It happens more in Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y patients than in the “normal” population. It happens less when the surgery is laproscopic- but still more often than normal. When they do the Bypass surgery they create these “openings” that are more likely for the intestines etc to slip through. So- this IS unfortunately because of my surgery. I wish I could say it wasn’t. But it is. So it is important for you to know that there are risks- and they are not all just at the time of the surgery. I am almost exactly 18 months from my initial surgery.

The good thing is- I am in better shape than ever so my recovery should be easier to manage. I AM a year and half older! LOL and the PA told me today- this surgery was the result of “emergent pain” not a nice neat planned surgery- which means I need to breathe and go slow and not push myself or expect too much… but that is HARD for me! It is hard to not be able to GO! GO! GO!

So- today I had the GI tube removed! (no six week requirement since he did not have to open up my system!!) The PA told me it will take a good month or so for the wound to really start to heal- Thank goodness she told me or I would be freaking out thinking I was dying!! LOL She also again reminded me- SLOW and STEADY!

Can you see a theme? I need to pace myself. I want to move move move- but I want to heal fully and not mess myself up in the meantime- so it’s hard to balance. I am sure you will all remind me to slow my roll as needed!