3 Months Post-Op

I first see Dr. Rasmussen at my 3 week follow up. This week also marks my 3 month post op mark. I have lost another 7 pounds.  We talk extensively about what might be going on and what the next options could be. Dr. Rasmussen suspects either a Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction or a clogged bile duct to explain the pain in my right upper quadrant. He is suspicious mainly because the pain gets worse after eating. But he says because of my newly formed anatomy I cannot have the test done to prove this is what I have. He wants me to address the issue with Dr. Frech since he would be more of an expert and see what he thinks. We also talk that my stomach just may not have any function and that removing the rest of the stomach and connecting the small intestine straight to the esophagus might be an option. He doesn’t want to go there and neither do I. The next thing that we talk about is that I may have food allergies. He wants me to avoid all milk products for a month and see if this helps. I am not too keen on this idea for several reasons. Number one I saw a food allergist for years and he never helped me. He was the one who actually suggest I see a gastro Dr. because I had a bigger problem than he could help me with. Number two, I am already having a hard time maintaining my weight let alone gaining any weight. Cutting out milk products means cutting out my protein shakes and bars, and I feel that’s the only thing keeping my going at this point. So his plan is to cut out my dairy and see him a month. He will also repeat labs at my next appointment to see if all my low numbers have come up at all.

Dr. Rasmussen and Scope Results

I see Dr. Rasmussen and he goes over the results of the scope. He wants to put me on Carafate for 3 weeks until I see him again. He says the pictures illustrate that there is some inflammation in the stomach and that the Carafate will help with this. He doesn’t want to change much more but agrees to up the protein shakes. He is very excited that so far the surgical anastomosis has stayed wide open and the surgery appears to be a success!

I am to continue taking the Welchol and add the Carafate. He says the next step might be to add in a probiotic if some of the symptoms don’t get any better. For now, just work on eating more to try and gain some weight and take the new medicines. I am to see him in three weeks for another follow up.

Dr. Frech and Scope Day

I see Dr. Frech on January 27^th and am feeling all over the place at this point. I have good days and I have bad days but don’t feel awful all of the time. The only thing is that my body can’t seem to decide if the surgical anastomosis is too small or too big at this point.  I sometimes get sick when I eat and sometimes I don’t. At this point, I don’t know if it is the food choices I am making or if something is up with the connection again.  Dr. Frech and I decide to do another scope since one hasn’t been done since the middle of October. I want Dr. Frech to do it before I see Dr. Rasmussen again at the end of the week. We get it all scheduled and you know how scopes go from this point.

My little sister takes me this time. We go to IMC and get all checked in. It only takes 3 pokes to get an IV started. I go back the procedure room and talk to Dr. Frech for a minute and when things are ready to go, I am given the medicine and the world goes black. I wake up and the first thing I do is look at the clock. I can always tell by how long the procedure took on what they found. It was about 10 minutes from the last time I looked at the clock before I was knocked out to when I wake up. This is a perfectly normal scope time. Nothing wrong. Good!

Dr. Frech comes and goes over the results and everything looks great he says. The anastomosis is about 3 cm and is wide open with no inflammation. Great! It seems that the idea of the surgery worked and hopefully things will look up from here. Dr. Frech puts me back on Welchol to help with some symptoms and also wants me to increase my protein shakes to at least 2 a day to stabilize my weight loss. He wants to see me in a month. I am supposed to see Dr. Rasmussen the next day.

Before and After Pictures and Numbers!!

HOLY COW...Check these out!!

 This picture was taken on my birthday in January of 2013.

This picture was taken in June of 2013, about 2 weeks before the initial surgery.

This picture was taken in San Diego in October of 2013. 

This is about 3 months post-op initial surgery.

This picture was taken on New Years Eve 2013. 

This is 4 weeks post-op revision surgery!

• At my heaviest weight, I was 222 lbs. I now weigh 125 lbs. and have a BMI of 19.5. 
• A BMI of 18.5 is considered underweight. 
• I wore a size L-XL shirt and a size 16 pants.  I now wear a size XS-S shirt and a size 4 pants. 
• My feet have lost a full shoe size. None of my rings fit. I had to have all my watches re-sized!
• I have lost 97 lbs. in 7 months. I think you can tell the most in my face!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could be this small. It never even crossed my mind that I would battle becoming underweight once I had this surgery.We expected weight loss, but not this much and this fast. The weight loss has been a blessing but at what cost and where do you draw the line?

I guess for now, we'll enjoy the shopping for new clothes and not so much all the pain that comes with!

5 Week Post-Op-Dr. Rasmussen

I go to see Dr. Rasmussen for my 5 week follow up. Things are not going as well as we both expected. I still get sick and have severe pain any time solid food hits my stomach. I am doing much better with liquids, which is an improvement from the initial surgery. I feel like I am falling into the same pattern as before in regards to doing well and then once food was re-introduced, the pain and sickness comes back. The only difference this time around is that I actually force myself to eat since I cannot afford to lose a single more pound. If I lose one more pound, the feeding tube will be placed again.

Dr. Rasmussen thinks that this may have turned into a case of "Goldilocks". The first surgery created an opening that was too small. The second surgery created an opening that may be too big. It may become an issue of finding an opening that is just right. The only issue is that since it has only been 5 weeks, it is too soon to know if this is the case. I need to heal more and re-gain my strength. So now I have been lumped into the waiting game category to see what the opening will do.

At this point, I can no longer muster any more courage and my brave face falls to pieces.  I lose it and have an emotional break down right in front of Dr. Rasmussen. Luckily, he is very caring and doesn't seem too bothered by my tears and tries to convince me that with time, things will turn out OK. It gets harder every day to stay positive and have a good attitude, but I am really trying. I don't know if there will ever be a light at the end of this tunnel and this is now the way my life has become. I also don't know if I am prepared to live this way if that is the case. He wants to see me in 4 weeks and to keep a food journal. The reason for the journal is to see if food in general is causing me pain or food choices are causing the pain. He also wants me to see Dr. Frech to see what he thinks about the healing process and sizes of the openings as well.

The more time that goes on, the worse the symptoms are getting. The pain becomes more intense every day and it is becoming harder to eat. The hard part this time around is now I actually want to eat. I do have more energy so that has also improved from the initial surgery. I haven't passed out either. But I still throw up when I eat, which is becoming a little worrisome. But all I can do now is wait and see what happens…again! 

Post-Op Progress One Month

I see Dr. Rasmussen a week after being discharged from the hospital. At this point, things seem to be going very well. I feel like I actually have some sort of energy and that I am not going to pass out every time I stand up. I am still on a liquid diet at this point and liquids go down just fine, which is a big improvement from the previous surgery.

We go over all the typical post-op questions and he seems pleased as well. He adds some medication called Protonix to help with the burning sensations I am having in my stomach. He also wants me to use a steroid cream for the rash since it looks worse. I get to move to Stage 3 of my new diet which includes soft protein foods. He also says that if I lose any more weight, he will put the feeding tube back in. I have lost 12 more pounds this time around. I am to see him again in 3 weeks.

I see Dr. Frech the following week to follow up with him as well. He is not happy about my weight loss and is not convinced the surgery will work. But he says I look good and we are being hopeful that all will continue to go well. He agrees with Dr. Rasmussen about the feeding tube as well. He wants me to take it easy with the foods and see him in a month to address my progress.

I spend the next weeks trying to advance my diet. I am to the point I can take all my vitamins now, which is also progress. However, the more time goes on, the more pain that starts to come back.

5 weeks post-op and I can only drink liquids without pain. Eating is very painful again but I try my best because I cannot afford to lose any more weight. I am officially 100 pounds lighter.

Surgery...Round 2!

I meet with Dr. Rasmussen one more time before the scheduled surgery. We go over any final questions and what the final game plan will be. I trust him to do what’s best for me, and that’s the plan we are sticking with. He also wants me to see a Cardiologist before the surgery to make sure that the palpitations I am having are just nerves. I also meet with Dr. Frech the week before surgery and he signs off on me having the surgery again. I also have another pre-screen appointment at the hospital the day before surgery and get all my lab work done. So now I am signed off for surgery by Dr. Frech, Dr. Rasmussen, the Cardiologist, and the hospital.

I am to check into the hospital at 5:30 in the morning again. It’s a super snowy morning and its quiet that time of day. Everything seems so surreal and I really can’t believe that this is happening again. I arrive at the hospital and the usual things begin to happen. More labs done, vitals taken, and I get changed into a gown. I wait for the nurse to come in and begin the charade of finding a vein and doing the final prep before the OR staff comes in. Luckily for me, the nurse gets a vein on the first try. We go over all history information and then all that’s left to do is wait for Dr. Rasmussen and the Anesthesiologist to come in. A short while later, the OR staff begins to trickle into my room. The OR nurse comes in and introduces himself and hangs out until all the other Doctors come in. Next is the Anesthesiologist, then Dr. Rasmussen. All final questions are answered and the plan is gone over again. Dr. Rasmussen will take out the feeding tube and then is anticipating the surgery to take 4-5 hours. Dr. Rasmussen leaves and so does the Anesthesiologist. Now it’s time for the versed and to be wheeled into the OR. I am only slightly freaking out at this point. I mention to the nurse that I would only like a little versed because the last time I had surgery I felt like I was given too much. He laughs and agrees to only give me a little. This time I actually remember saying goodbye to my parents and being wheeled down the hall. I get my blue hat and into the OR we go. I am wheeled into the OR room and am moved onto the operating table and then given the rest of the versed. I remember looking all around the room and then the oxygen mask goes on my face and the world goes black.

I remember this time waking up in the recovery section of the OR known as PACU. I was in so much pain this time, something I don’t remember from last time. Once my pain is semi under control I am wheeled to my room upstairs. I am in a big room this time and my parents are there. The surgery only took 2 hours which to me seems like a good sign. I am informed that the surgery went well and they were able to do a lateral (side by side) connection from the stomach pouch to the intestine. They were able to do this without taking any more stomach. The feeding tube is gone. I have another stomach drain as well.

I spend the next few days in constant pain. I had a lot more issues with pain this time around. I do pass my leak test and am progressed to a liquid diet. All of my post-op labs are done and a lot of the numbers come back bad. My calcium, vitamin D, and iron counts are all low, just to name a few. We spend the next few days trying to stabilize some of these values. I am given iron infusions for 2 days. A few other highlights of this hospital stay included an allergic reaction to pain medicine which caused some pretty entertaining hallucinations and an allergic reaction to the glue and steri-strips which caused a massive rash which blistered over. I was in the hospital for 6 days this time around. Over the weekend, I saw the on-call surgeon who wouldn’t let me leave until Dr. Rasmussen came back on Monday morning.

Dr. Rasmussen comes in Monday morning and looks at my belly and tears off all the steri-strips due to the allergic reaction. This rash/hives/blisters bit looks nasty. He also decides to take out the drain. I am discharged later that afternoon and am to see him in a week for a follow up. Happy Day!

I really have the best family and friends. They kept me going this time around. I had several melt-downs in the hospital and being on so much pain medication probably didn't help the situation. I always heard the statement that in your time of need you find out who your true friends are but learned what that statement truly meant. All of the hospital visits and phone calls/texts can mean the world to you when you are sick!  It sucked to go through this once but to go through it twice was awful.

IV Iron Infusion

Swollen belly when rash first started

Belly with drain coming out of stomach pouch

Rash when it first started

Rash after steri-strips were removed

Rash a few days after home from hospital

My entertainment and happiness for a few days!!