Port Revision Surgery & Emergency Surgery....in one week.

WARNING: This is going to be a long one.....

It has been a VERY LONG 2 weeks.  I was all set for my port revision surgery on Monday, August 1.  I was a little nervous, but ready to just have it done.  My left side lower abdominal/pelvic pain had been gone for over 2 weeks, but started coming back on Sunday night right before surgery.  I couldn't believe it.  So I'm suppose to be at the hospital at 8am on Monday morning.  I get there, get checked in...and at about 9:30 the nurse says "we're just looking for the doctor."  I'm like, "what do you mean you're looking for the doctor?"  She says, "well, there were 2 people before you, but one cancelled and one went on Friday.  So you were bumped up to the first person.  But we're not sure if they checked the doctor's schedule."  That ended up being the case...when they bumped me up to 8am Monday, they didn't realize the doctor is in the office seeing patients all Monday morning and no one bothered checking his schedule.  So I sat until about 2:00pm before the doctor came running through the door.  He was NOT happy with them that they scheduled me so early cuz that's his schedule EVERY Monday.

Anyway...after all of that sitting around, I finally had surgery and home by about 7:00pm.  Woke up Tuesday in quite a bit of pain.  Tuesday & Wednesday were pretty rough.  Thursday I had an appointment with a Gastroentologist for my left side pain...which gradually was getting worse through the week.  It was actually really bad by the time I saw him Thursday.  He made me get another CT scan without contrast this time.  The CT scan I had 3 weeks prior to that, was with contrast.  So I had to have blood & urine tests and then sit and drink that nasty barium sulfate AGAIN.  I was not happy because my original prescription was written for a "CT Scan with and without contrast".  But when I got to the radiology place, the radiologist calls my primary doctor and convinces them to change my prescription to only with contrast.  If they would have done it the first time, like ordered, I wouldn't be doing this all over again.  So I went to this dr appt Thursday morning thinking I would be there for a quick appointment.  It was the first time I left the house since surgery, was by myself, no pain medicine with me, and in SOOOO much pain.  I ended up being at the hospital from 10am - 4:30pm.  I was dying I was so tired & in pain.

Friday morning I call to get the CT scan results.  They say everything looks great on the scan, they have no idea what the pain is, where its coming from, and what to do with me next.  He says "call your Lapband doctor."  My Lapband doctor didn't get back to me Friday.  By Friday night, my left side pain was so bad I couldn't take it anymore. I text my sister & boyfriend and said I was going to the Emergency Room.  The pain was out of control.  They gave me a shot of something...which finally kicked in after about an hour and a half.  And then morphine.  I was finally able to be comfortable and not in so much pain.  They decided to admit me and I send me for surgery Saturday.

My Lapband doctor was at the hospital Friday night (not sure if still there from the day or was on call & came back....but when he walked into the ER at 11:30pm, I was shocked).  I have to say, he seemed annoyed that I was there.  He said, we've done every test we can and we don't see anything.  He was like, I don't know what to tell you.  I got pretty upset at this point.  I was crying, I was in so much pain and said (in a very stern voice, but not yelling) "I'm in so much pain, I can't function and do normal daily things with this pain.  You're the doctor.  YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING.  I can't live with this pain."  He looked at the CT scan again, said the tubing from the port to the band does wind down into the lower left quadrant and said maybe it was looped around some intestine or fat and it's pulling causing pain.  He said we could go in surgically and do an exploratory surgery.  So that's what happened.

I was admitted and Saturday afternoon had surgery.  They had no idea what they were looking for and it was a complete shot in the dark.  I woke up in horrible pain.  I was in the hospital until Monday because they couldn't get the pain under control.  My pain was at a 10 all day Sunday.  Nothing would work.  I just wanted to cry my eyes out, but crying hurt SOOOO bad.  It was miserable.  They wanted to send me home and I begged to stay.  I couldn't go home like that...so they let me stay until Monday afternoon.  When they went inside for the surgery, they said the tube wasn't looped around anything, but that I had a LOT of Scar Tissue or Adhesion's.  He said he cut out a ton of Scar Tissue and hopes this was the problem.  If not I'm "fired" as his patient and that he's "waving the white flag".  I love when people try to be funny where you're in sooo much pain you can hardly breathe.

With my original Lapband

I've basically been in my apartment for 2 weeks now recovering from these 2 surgeries.  It has been so painful physically but also mentally & emotionally.  I hurt, I feel ugly, I only have 3.0cc in my band and that makes me upset & angry, I feel so lonely sitting here all day by myself...the list just goes on.  I will say, my boyfriend has been amazing.  He took the day off work on Monday for my port revision surgery, comes every day after work & school (he works from 8am-5pm & then is going back to school from 6-10pm), sat in the hospital & ER all weekend with me, comes daily to check on me and bring me things, and has just been amazing!!!  He has really stepped up to the plate and helped me out a ton.  But my days have been very long and lonely.  So I just sit here and have these horrible thoughts about my weight-loss stall, the surgeries, the incisions, etc.

Today has been kind of a turning point I feel.  This is definitely the best I have felt.  I have been able to be up more and walking around.  I went to the store, my post-op appointment and feel pretty good.  I just need to be able to get on a plane on Sunday and feel ok.  My trip home to South Dakota to see my family is this Sunday.  I need to get out of NYC and have a break.  Away from my apartment, away from work, away from all these doctors, etc.

Sorry this got so long....and if you're still reading...THANK YOU!!!!