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Leaking like the Titanic..

Great news hun I will definately heald your advise do get dizzy spells occaisionaly which I have just placed on other conditions so I will put my mind at ease and request a bllod test through GP. So glad you are on the mend and WOW look at you living your life to the full 20 stone lighter................an inspirational woman xx
 
Sorry I havnt updated in a while, once again life has been busy with work, hospital and living in general. I wont bore you right now with the hospital garble but will say that life excluding the usual grind has been turned completely upside down.

Just returned from a week away in Spain with my boyfriend, Adam. He is no longer my boyfriend.

We are now engaged and planning our wedding and the rest of our lives together :)

Alot of friends have come and gone in my life, Adam has been a constant in mine, however we lost to
 
Touch but found each other again and the one thing good from this whole mess helped me with help from him the things i could never see though theyre right before me screaming hello and a new found confidence and belief in my own self worth, and maybe, just maybe Im worthy of those dreams and wishes one may have.

I have loved Adam since our lived colided over 10 years ago, but didnt say due to the above. I have learnt over the last year and nine months together he has loved me since then too. Whether at size 34/36 or current 10/12 has always shown it but i couldnt understand or believe it.

So life once again has been turned upside down in the blink of an eye. For the better. All the other stuff - hospitals, tests, results, ops just dont compare or can steal the thunder of how I feel right now. Indescribeable! We couldnt find a ring whilst we were away that we both liked, so that is todays task/ tomorrows.

As ever, thank you all for being there. Just wanted to share something good with u all. In the words of Katrina and the Waves.. "Im walking on sunshine.. and dont it feel good!!"
 
That's fabulous news. Many congratulations
 
Congratulations!!! xx

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery
 
Hi, its been a while since I last posted. To be honest things are still pretty much the same as they were.

Still up and down health-wise and just when we figure weve fixed one problem, an old one resurfaces or something new occurs. Thank god for daily distractions of work, crazy friends and family and the sublime feeling of being in love and loved.

Wedding date for 27/8/16, 90% sorted. Cant come quick enough!

Anyhows just thought Id drop in and say hi, hope your all well.
 
scooter81 said:
Hi, has anyone had any experience of stomach leaks??

I had a sleeve gastrectomy on 25th February 2012 and all appeareed to go well and I was promptly discharged. A week later, I was readmitted into hospital via A&E as I was vomiting blood and fleshy bits. I was given blood transfusions and admitted nil by mouth.

After 4 days of being in hospital, I was advised I had a leak and would need a stent fitted to control and eventually stop the leak. However, the dissolveable stent required could only be obtained from Holland and were made to order.

14 days later, still waiting for the stent to arrive, and having GAINED 31lbs, I was advised by my surgical team that I was seriously ill and had to goto theatre within the next hour or I may not make it through the day. I needed a stent fitted to stop the leak. They didnt know which stent was needed so whilst in surgery, they would examine the site via endoscopy and order the stent and fit it as soon as it arrived. A total shock as I was under the impression that this had been ordered prior and the talks and discussions with the team suggested that they were waiting for the stent to arrive.

Due to the leak any fluids consumed by me had gone through the hole, eaten through my diaphragm and into my lungs. What didnt enter my lungs cascaded down into my abdomen and attributed to my weight gain. When questioned with hospital staff prior I was advised that this was normal due to the volume of fluid through IV as I was NBM. It turns out it was because Id retained fluid, and developed further complications.

During surgery, 5 drains were sited to take away the infection, 4 in my abdomen and one in my back. It was a huge shock to me when I woke up, what I thought was a few hours later, but was in fact over a week later. Id been admitted to Intensive Care, and had received treatment for pneumonia and septecemia.

The stent had arrived 2 days after surgery, and was cited. However due to a miscalculation, I had to have a further stent fitted as this wasnt big enough to cover the leak. This slipped (stent migration) and found a new home across the base of my new stomach, blocking it off from draining. A further procedure was undertaken to fit a further stent off that at the base of my stomach to act as a slide and aid with drainage, and a further stent was fitted by the hole.

One by one, the drains have been removed except for one. I hoped that this would be removed a few weeks back as the fluid draining from it had drastically reduced from 600ml a day to 40-80ml a day. After having several central lines and TPN I was told I had to have an NJ (nasal-jejula) tube to provide me with the required sustenance as TPN was not sufficient. I was sent to endoscopy to check how the stents were positioned and determine if an NJ tube would be best or alternative method required.

It was determined an NJ tube was needed and I paid a second visit to endoscopy to have the tube fitted. Within a 3 hour period, I was hooked up to feed and things didnt feel right and I could taste the milky substance being pumped through the tube. I was told it wasnt possible, and the feed continued. When My consultant came round, he insisted that he flushed blue dye through the NJ tube to see if anything came out in the drain. He flushed it through, the drain filled up and the tube shot out my mouth. It hadnt been long enough and had coiled up from the bowel into my stomach. A second tube was fitted after the weekend and it had been noted that the drain was now collecting approx 500ml a day instead of the previous 40-75ml. When I questioned this I was advised this was normal, and could be due to a number of things, and not to worry.

The following day, the main man AK himself came to see me and advised that the leak had increased as everytime endoscopy had put the camera down my throat, it had pulled away at the stents sited by the leak and made the hole bigger. It is not an option to use more stents, to have further surgery as the stomach is too delicate to be restapled, sewn etc.. the drain would have to remain in place and I have to wait for the hole to heal naturally and the leak to stop itself.

When asked how long they expect this to take I was advised they did not know, they had never had a leak this severe. They had previously had another case they managed to "get away with" and the poor girl had had a leak for 6 months. At the rate of which I am leaking, they say it could be 6-12 months maybe more.

In the meantime, I have a drain sited in my left side between my ribs collecting any fluid that gets through the hole (99.9% saliva) and I am still nil by mouth.

Physically Im drained, emotionally Im a train wreck and borderline at the end of my tether.
Click to expand...

Words fail me!!! :eek:
 
seems almost like an eternity away some days, but just like yesterday on others.
 
Scooter so glad you popped in I've wondered many times how you were, and I always think of you when I go up green lane on way to town . Congrats on setting wedding date.
I was sleeved at the manor by Misters Khan and Mirza on 15th April 15 and my journey since has been very uneventful particularly compared to yours.
Once again glad to hear from you, keep on trucking. X

Sent from my iPad using WLSurgery
 
Hi Kim, So glad to hear your doing well and have had a very uneventful journey in comparrison, and trust that it continues that way. Since my op, alot of the procedures pre op and post op have changed with the weight management. Seminars, group sessions etc.. Ive been involved at speaking at some about whats happened.

I find myself "lucky to be this unlucky" with my journey as alot of life has changed and my perspectives have too, and thats always a bonus. Still dont know what happened, never will, and I hope that my next visit there will be my last I live in hope that they will find an exact solution to ongoing issues and it will work and I can be discharged.

I understand cases like mine are a rarity and when things go wrong with this op, theyre usually big-style, however its not the problem but the resolution that counts. When I was hospitalised there was no immediate resolution as nobody seemed to know what to do. Proud to say since my journey began the early signs of problems have been identified quickly in other patients and theyve been fixed long before they got to endure what I have.

Despite the early days treatment, the not knowing etc.. the team are great, and I cannot praise Anna, Mr m, Mr K and Dr H enough, they are there if and when needed. Just hope we have a eurika moment soon.

Since my post last year things have snowballed a little. Ive been diagnosed with ME / CFS. My bloods are all over the place and I still do not make a stink nugget for weeks on end despite taking 8 prescribed laxatives in addition to colon cleanse drinks daily (citramag). When I do eventually go Im violently ill for days. So I dont go for 10 weeks+ chronic stomach pains, hurt all over, eating ability reduces, struggle to take fluid on board and all we can do is just try and keep on trying until we find the balance.

Ive been on one medication that worked, oh and the joys of not feelign bloated, no pain and having to go! Woohoo!! But within a couple of weeks, numbness in face, arms, pins and needles, nausea, dizzyness, collapsing.. promptly taken away so back in same spot. Now were on last grab shots and Ive been put on orlistat. It doesnt help. It doesnt do anything. Dissapointed but so thankful! It means Im eating right if im not passing those lava bombs.. So knowing this I guess when Im at my next appointment I am going to have to discuss signing a consent form for further surgery. That terrifies me.

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. Funny thing is, I go up and down Green lane probably 6 times a day and at some point weve probably passed each other :)

Enjoy your day, and take care of yourself
 
Sorry to hear your still not right, I started following you when I started my journey, I paid for my sleeve privately but Mr K had to snort the op mid way due to him finding that I had a massive hernia, I then continued to follow your story whilst I got on the nhs bandwagon, and despite reading all your posts I never once questioned what I was doing.
I've been lucky so far and only had sickness twice, even went to a restaraunt tonight with my family and explained to the waiter that I wasn't eating just picking. This is the second time I've been out for meals and no embarrassment. My biggest problem is still stocking the fridge then throwing it all away, trying to start a new regime this week, going to clean it out then only buy milk this week, my hubby will have to have cheese sarnies as I throw away ham every week. I've shrunk from a size 26 to a 18/20 so far and that is the best feeling, I can now shop anywhere. It was these changes that I read in your posts that kept me going rather than the horrible bits putting me off cause no matter how poorly you felt you still appreciated the transformation. Best wishes have a good weekend Kim x

Sent from my iPad using WLSurgery
 
Scooter81,
I am sending you my best wishes. I really hope all your troubles will just disappear so that you can truly enjoy the weight loss journey.
 
Glad to hear it Kim. We tend to frequent the local Brewers fayre in town if we fancy a bite to eat as they dont care what we order, if I want to pick, they let me pick bring out a side plate for me, and if I want to select from kids menu, they let me. You do whats best for you and comfortable.

I know what you mean about stocking the fridge. I do the same thing. Weve stopped doing a weekly shop other than salad & veg, bread and milk as my eatings all over the place and we were just binning alot of it or feeding it the dog. Its like sometimes I have some kind of urge to ensure theres "enough food in the house" despite the food cupboard being rammed with enough cans to survive for a year should a zombie appocalypse occur. The freezers the same. I probably think more now about food than ever, and more so.. am I feeding the other half enough/ too much. Crazyness..

Thanks Tules, I find one thing in every day to be thankful for, hold on to that and its that which gets me through.
 
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