There are 3 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1.1. Re: New to group
From: Sheila Derrwaldt
2a. Saw the Oncologist
From: scootaflea
2b. Re: Saw the Oncologist
From: Tiffany Wallace
Messages
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1.1. Re: New to group
Posted by: "Sheila Derrwaldt" sderrwaldt@yahoo.com sderrwaldt
Date: Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:38 am ((PST))
wow Tiffany rocks!
________________________________
From: Tiffany Wallace <tawelephant@yahoo.com>
To: afterweightlosssurgery@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, February 16, 2010 9:56:11 PM
Subject: Re: [After Weight Loss Surgery] Re: New to group
Oh Nora. I feel so bad for you and all of the hard times you are having.
My first couple months I dropped the weight pretty fast. I had my surgery on 11/18/08. I was 319 day of and I dropped to 172 after a year. I am at 183 right now, but I am pregnant, so I am not giving myself a hard time over it.
I am no specialist, but your doctor sounds like an ass. You need a new one. Mine cares about everything going on with me. Mental and physical. He listens to me and my concerns. He doesn't say 'take a pill'. You really need someone who will take your health seriously. It does not sound like your current doctor is good enough for you. You deserve better. This is your life and your health.
Are you able to drink anything? I was not eating breakfast, but I would drink a high protein shake instead. I was doing the Slim Fast ones until they recalled all the cans. I like the Ensure ones. They have less sugar than Boost. I cannot stomach the protein powders from the health food places. They make me sick.
Can you sip soup?
Go to an oncologist if that person will help you. You need to put yourself first. To hell with your surgeons opinion!
If I can help you in any way please let me know.
Tiffany
--- On Tue, 2/16/10, scootaflea <scootaflea@hotmail. com> wrote:
From: scootaflea <scootaflea@hotmail. com>
Subject: [After Weight Loss Surgery] Re: New to group
To: afterweightlosssurg ery@yahoogroups. com
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 8:26 PM
Thanks everyone for your support. I AM starting to get depressed with all the hoops I am jumping through and my complete inability to EAT. I have been cooking for my husband and kids every day since I came home from the hospital (the first time) and find myself now putting a bite of what I have made in my mouth, chewing it, and then spitting it out because I just HAVE to eat something and I know I will vomit it up even if I puree it. What a twisted way to live. My own little eating disorder.
What sort of weight loss SHOULD I have expected in the 1st month?
nora
--- In afterweightlosssurg ery@yahoogroups. com, "scootaflea" <scootaflea@ ...> wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone!
>
> My name is Nora. I live in NYC. I had my WLS (GBP) on Jan 12. I was doing very well in the hospital the first day but started to decline the second day. My ability to take in fluid dropped. I went home and started out walking every day and taking my protein shakes. I then discovered that I am allergic to the post-op dressings and ended up in the ER with a skin reaction that "went beyond Benedryl." As time went on I was able to drink less and less and on the day I to moved on to puree I started vomiting my protein shakes. The surgeon was just so happy with my weight loss so I was told to keep pushing myself. I became dizzy, dehydrated. I was sent back to the ER and had a CT which showed no blockages. I was told that I needed to be on anti-depressants because there was "nothing" wrong with me. I was sent home where I became unable to drink more than 1 oz every 2-3 hours (clear liquids only). I became so dehydrated that I could no longer
speak coherently and was sent back to the ER. The anti-depressants were mentioned again. Finally my surgeon sent me for an EGD (though he changed his mind a few times because it might "stretch things" and slow down my weight loss. EGD showed a stricture leaving an opening of 1 mm between my pouch and my intestine. It was stretched with a balloon and I have been able to drink clear liquids since then. Thicker things have to go very slowly. It takes me 3-4 hours to drink on thin (8oz of milk) protein shake. I still can't do puree at all. It is now a week past ballooning and my liquid tolerance is going down again. The surgeon as acknowledged that the stricture is most likely forming again but has decided to wait 2 more weeks before sending me for another EGD/ballooning (cause it ain't fun unless I'm loopy though dehydration! ). He noted that my weight loss did slow down after the first ballooning (only 7 lbs last week).
>
> The CT at the ER? Well it did not show a blockage, true but it showed that my spleen (which should be the size of a fist) is the size of my liver. This could be from an underlying infection, or it could be lymphoma. I have a history of cancer (DX ovarian cancer in 2003 at age 33) which is why I had the WLS. Significantly dropping my weight brings my chances of re-occurrence or new cancer way down. When I saw him this past Friday, my surgeon told me that it was most likely that my spleen is just large. That it is just the way I am made. He based this on no previous abdominal studies (though my u/s 6 months ago showed no significant findings). In the mean time my spleen is giving me terrible back aches on the left side which radiate up into my shoulder. He told me it is in my head, that I really need to "go on those anti-depressants" and that I had no business going to the oncologist. After all... I have lost 52 in 4 weeks! Isn't that why I had
the surgery?!
>
> Well I am miserable. I can't take puree. I have trouble with my watered down shakes. My back (spleen) is killing me. My surgeon thinks it will all be better if I take anti-depressants. Thanks for listening to a rant in a first posting.
>
> Be well,
> nora
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (38)
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2a. Saw the Oncologist
Posted by: "scootaflea" scootaflea@hotmail.com scootaflea
Date: Sat Feb 20, 2010 8:34 pm ((PST))
Hi!
So I went to the oncologist yesterday and he did some stat blood work. The good news: I do NOT have lymphoma. The bad news: I most likely have a splenic vein thrombosis (a clot in the vein for my spleen) caused by injury during the GBP surgery in Jan. We are waiting for more (slower) labs and some CT scan results to come back and maybe more scans to come. The clot (if that is the problem) may clear on its own, but if the pain is persistent I may have to have a splenectomy.
I am SOOOOOO ANGRY at the surgeon who did my WLS. Not so much because of the injury during surgery (which I understand can happen) but rather that he has been dismissive about the enlarged spleen, my pain, and (perhaps unrelated) inability to eat. I am trying very hard to just focus on what I need to do to take care of myself and my boys but as G-d as my witness, I am ANGRY!
nora
Messages in this topic (2)
________________________________________________________________________
2b. Re: Saw the Oncologist
Posted by: "Tiffany Wallace" tawelephant@yahoo.com tawelephant
Date: Sat Feb 20, 2010 8:59 pm ((PST))
Nora,
I am so glad you went to the doctor and finally got some answers. You need to try to put aside your anger and concentrate on what you need to get healthy.
Don't get me wrong. I am pissed as hell and it has nothing to do with me. You definitely need a new surgeon. He is just an example of why some people hate doctors and think they are crap. You need a doctor who will work with your oncologist to ensure your health. Use your anger towards your determination to find a doctor who will take care of you as you deserve.
I adore my surgeon Dr. Pilcher. He is completely involved with my pregnancy. He voiced his concerns with the sugar test that pregnant woman usually have to take to determine if they have diabetes. He said he is going to stay in the loop but let my ob/gyn take the lead. He even wrote a letter to my ob/gyn about the test and because of it, I am eating a meal instead of drinking pure sugar liquid that would have made me severely sick with dumping syndrome. I wish you were in Texas because I would have you go to my doctor.
Please keep us in the loop with how you are doing. I am here if you need someone to cry, scream, vent, yell or just talk to.
Love, Tiffany
--- On Sat, 2/20/10, scootaflea <scootaflea@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: scootaflea <scootaflea@hotmail.com>
Subject: [After Weight Loss Surgery] Saw the Oncologist
To: afterweightlosssurgery@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010, 10:33 PM
Hi!
So I went to the oncologist yesterday and he did some stat blood work. The good news: I do NOT have lymphoma. The bad news: I most likely have a splenic vein thrombosis (a clot in the vein for my spleen) caused by injury during the GBP surgery in Jan. We are waiting for more (slower) labs and some CT scan results to come back and maybe more scans to come. The clot (if that is the problem) may clear on its own, but if the pain is persistent I may have to have a splenectomy.
I am SOOOOOO ANGRY at the surgeon who did my WLS. Not so much because of the injury during surgery (which I understand can happen) but rather that he has been dismissive about the enlarged spleen, my pain, and (perhaps unrelated) inability to eat. I am trying very hard to just focus on what I need to do to take care of myself and my boys but as G-d as my witness, I am ANGRY!
nora
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Messages in this topic (2)
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