Less than 10 hours after my WRAP 5/6/13

Lady G.,

So glad this part is over for you! Now it's time for healing and back to a wonderful quality of life! I too have a bit of OCD which can make me very impatient at times. As Denise says.....listen to your body and use this time to baby yourself! Keep us posted! All these journals really help me because my days are numbered before I'm on the table!

Wendy

Great Lady G.
Sounds like you're doing GREAT. What a nifty idea to have mile markers in the halls ! Be sure to get your rest also. Linda

Here is my journal re-cap and update.

Monday May 6, 2013 - I went in for the surgery @ 2:00pm and by 9:00pm I walked 1/2 mile (the hospital have makers on the floor and walls with the distance calculated)

Tuesday May 7, 2013 - I was released from the hospital because all heath concerns were addressed and all looked good. I was told I could stay 1 more day but I opted not to since I had home support.

Tues, Wed & Thursday I was fine.

Friday May 10, 2013 - Around 3:00am I woke up to my stomach feeling like it was on fire and swollen (I guess this is what several people on the form called the swelling of the wrap). I called my surgeon and she called me back and assured me that nothing was wrong it was normal. Friday night I left NJ for NC (the 12hr trip I was talking about) I arrived in NC around 6:45am and wen to the hotel to rest. Around 9:30am I got one of those surprises I was asking about. My belly button started leaking several types of discharge. I called the doctor and laid down. When I woke up it was 12:00 noon. I never received any call back and it turns out that my eldest had also been trying to reach her.

I took pictures so I could show her when I arrived back in NJ. I went to my nieces college graduation and went back to the hotel (service was 45 minutes). At 6:30pm I went to dinner/party to celebrate her accomplishments. 1hr or less I stayed and then my 2 sons and myself left to go to the hotel get some sleep and head back to NJ. When I got to the hotel to change my belly button started acting like a penis and was spraying this stuff all over the bathroom floor (I took pictures of all of this)

As I got close to the hospital we called the doctor again and told her we were head to the hospital and when I got there the surgical team was there waiting for me. As I showed the pictures my surgeon she told me that there was a mistake made during the first surgery and the only was to correct it was for a second surgery which will not be as easy as the first.

The second surgery was done on Tuesday May 14, 2013 (1 week after the first one). The results are horrible. I am now dealing with a therapist trying to understand all of this. During all of this I am not eating because it was not known when the surgeon can get an operating room (4 days).

Monday May 20, 2013 I weighed myself I lost 14 lbs (14 days from 1st surgery. My throat just became sore 2/3 days ago. I am still on clear liquids but I am in lots of pain and discomfort from the second surgery. I started feeling sharp pains on my right side I was told it was related to gas but I have been moving gas with no problems.

In speaking to the surgeon there was a mistake made in the first surgery (part of my small intestine was punctured which caused the leaking (the trip did not have anything to do with it the leaking would have happened no matter where I was. The second surgery part of my small intestine had to be removed and what was left had to be reconnected.

Tuesday May 21, 2013 I started to feel very nauseous (flash back from pre- wrap surgery). I had a hard time vomiting due to the Wrap but nevertheless I experienced the same symptoms minus the heart burn. My right side still has the sharp pain and I have had 2 x-rays in the past 3 days and they see nothing.

Wednesday May 22, 2013 I had a repeat experience of being nauseous & vomiting but right now I feel good. I walk any where between 1/2 mile and 3 miles a day but the last two days its been more like just 2 laps around the floor track.

I really hope this is helpful because no one spoke about "the what if" aspect of this surgery but there are things that can go wrong.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today is Friday May 24, 2013 - I am told I am being released to go home.

My 2 week stay in the hospital was for the second surgery. I have to wear a Wound Vac.

On Monday May 20, 2013 I was weighed & the results were I had lost 14 lbs. Last night May 23, 2013 I was weighed again and lost 10 more lbs so in the past 17 days I have lost 24 lbs.

The Meds that worked for me were Anti-inflammatories, Zofran & Simethicone (Z&S taken together was they only way they worked).

I am also dealing with a bad cough (ouch the pain the cough causes) and being nauseous.

Pain - any anti-inflammatory meds. worked the staff was surprise that I requested anti-inflammatory meds but it works for me.

Lady G

So sorry to hear about your problems, it sounds like you were doing remarkedly well. Taking a 12 hour trip so soon after surgery must have meant the NF part had worked a charm.

I cant believe they punctured your intestine. If I was you I would be talking to a lawyer as soon as I was feeling better!

Have they not prescribed you any anti-vommiting drugs? Your wrap will still be healing and vommiting is not good for it.

I hope you recover swiftly and there are no further complications.

Lady G,

I'm so sorry to hear you had a complication with your surgery! Just know that you have a lot of people thinking about you and praying for you! It's hard to believe how well you did after your Nissen- to be able to travel and all! You must have felt pretty good in the beginning! Stay strong in your recovery! You will get through this!

Wendy

Hi Lady. G,

I have been waiting and waiting to hear what happened to you.  I knew it couldn't have been good.  Your experience is a surprise I have no experience with, so couldn't have given you that possibility.  The chance of that happening is tiny.  That's why they say, "Every surgery is major surgery"...there can always be unexpected complications.  You definitely had a bad-luck situation.  I've spoken to over a hundred Nissen patients, and Bill's endoscopy tear/holes in stomach from incorrectly done wrap, were the only big problems that have occurred (other than a tight wrap or motility issue).  A perforation is extremely serious, and I'm glad that you called and got to the hospital right away.

Now to the nausea.  You shouldn't be vomiting right now, as it is very bad for your healing wrap.  You need to get some very effective anti-nausea drugs immediately, as vomiting and retching can damage the wrap.  Once wrapped, you need to carry anti-nausea drugs at all times, just in case you get a stomach bug.  Don't put this off.  It's very important.

Having been through two major surgeries in as many weeks, you're going to have a lot of pain, and your recovery will be more challenging than the average Nissen post-op patient.  You'll have to be extra patient.

Still, even with all the problems you've had, I have to do it...

Welcome to the Wrapped Club! We'll be here for you for support and to answer questions tha might come up.  Rest, rest, rest, and get your strength back.  Hang in there, my friend!

Happy healing,

Denise

Hi LadyG,

Glad to hear you're on the road to recovery.  I will tell you this; there is no way that anyone here could have prepared you for the complications that occurred with your surgery.  Yours is a first here at the forum. However, they always say that "every surgery is major surgery" just for that reason. Complications occur and you never know if you're going to be that tiny percentage point that has problems.  It happens very rarely, and you just got the bad luck of being the one who suffered with them. 

But that's behind you now.  You're on the road to recovery, thankfully.  Hang in there...it does get better!

Happy healing,

Denise

Hey Bill. I thought of you during my second surgery. For some reason you stood out while I was researching and asking questions, I guess something on the inside was telling me that I maybe following your path to some degree.

I am doing a lot better now. Right now other than the cut that I have to dress....I am really healing from the wrap more. I am still on liquids. Every now and then I will take a bit of something soft and chew it like 50x before swallowing. The diaphragm still hurts.

The hospital staff and my surgeon were all surprise that I did not request pain meds. At first I had the pump and it was set for a dose of morphine every 6 minutes. When I woke up for the brief moment they were explaining things to me I told them that morphine does not work for me. They switched it out to Dilaudid I had the pump for 2 days and had only pushed the pump 5x's. (I have a real fear of being coming addicted to anything & dying over mixed drugs interactions & when I was able to stay conscious I explained it to my medical team. Most of the pain was gas & I just could not get my brain to understand why I would take narcotics for gas. After my stomach was pumped then the gas pains sat and moved every where I was cut....it was driving me crazy. Once we got the gas to move...Maalox (no prescribed medication worked) the pain eased up.

2 best meds. for me were over the counter Maalox and Dramamine;

Hey Bill -

It took about 3 days before my navel started leaking. I had the surgery on Monday 5/6/13 I was released on Tuesday 5/7/13. Now looking back at the big picture my nave started leaking (drips) on Thursday 5/9/13 but it looked like iodine or something to that effect and it was just drops.

The only reason why I can say this is because I noticed the elastic on my panties went from being white to pink (I know TMI). It took me a day to figure out what was going on so I just went and got some gauze for my navel only. Friday the red fluid was lighter like pale pink so I figured it was getting better (again it was no a lot at all it was maybe 1 or 2 spots.

Friday night around 9pm all of a sudden my belly got hard and painfully swollen like it was going to bust. When I spoke to the surgeon she told me that was normal but I never mentioned the linking because it was going away, so I thought.

Saturday morning around 5:30-6:00 I felt a pop like a release in my stomach & the swelling got worst but since my surgeon had told me it was normal I did not call. When I stop to use the ladies room I then noticed the dressing was soaked I figured it was from sitting so long & when I got to the hotel 7:45- 8:15 am I laid down. While I was sleep I was wakened with a feeling that my stomach was in a flood I stood in front of the large full length mirror to see my navel and the it started pouring out like a faucet.

So we sort of had the same time frame. How long has it been since you had your wrap and are you still loosing weight?