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Originally Posted by 100tolose
wow i would have trusted my surgery to the head of a department too...do you know what went wrong? i am so glad you are here with us....i hope you are feeling better everyday & dont have anymore complications...goodluck on a speedy recovery.
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I saw my surgeon for my first post-op visit and I was able to get some questions answered as to what happened.
The surgeon thinks there was a leak from my pouch that was very brief, but just enough to cause an infection to start in my abdomenal cavity. He did an exploratory surgery on Aug. 1st to see if he could find the leak and he couldn't with numerous dye tests, so he said his best guess was that it was a leak that sealed itself off fairly quickly, but not quick enough to prevent the infection. (I don't remember any of this because of the VERY strong pain killers they had me on) Once that infection got a hold of me it weakened my system enough for me to develope pnuemonia in one lung and then that lung collapsed and after they got that lung working then it traveled to the other lung and collapsed the other lung. The surgeon said I had COPD, which is some kind of lung desease, from smoking which did NOT help matters in any way shape or form. In all I had 9 drains in me, to try to keep fluid from building up, stuck in my stomach and a chest tube in my back. At one point I know he told my family that whatever the infection was it was strong enough to resist the strongest antibiotics they had and they were having to create combinations of antibiotics to fight it.
I am VERY lucky because my oldest daughter insisted on staying on a cot in a room with me after my original surgery. She was the one that noticed my trouble at first and brought it to the nurses attention. She tells me that I was acting very strange. Anything she would ask me, she tells me, I would answer with "I don't know". The surgeon also said that I went into uncontrollable pain and nothing they gave me was able to bring it back under control.
They intubated me on Aug. 1st and I was extubated on Sept 1st. My voice still hasn't returned completely and I still sound a bit like a breathy Marylin Monroe. I have no memory of anything after checking into the hospital on July 28th for the originally scheduled surgery for the gastric bypass. My daughter was with me in the pre-op and she says they gave me something to relax me and that at one point when they were wheeling me to surgery I let out with a "WEEEEEEEE" on the gurney. (I don't believe I have ever gone "WEEEEEEE" before in my life, not that I am not a fun person, but I am just not the WEEEEEEE type). All the time I was intubated they had me in an induced coma so I wouldn't pull the intubation tube out and wouldn't thrash in the bed and hurt myself. Apparently I was getting very aggitated when the pain was at it's worst and would kick my feet and move about in the bed. (again I don't remember any of that) I could not even say when I became aware and understanding of what was going on. I was in the hosp. for 12 days following the removal of the drains and insertion of a central line for administering the IV antibiotics. (regular IVs kept blowing my veins because the antibiotics were so strong) I wound up having 3 central lines put in because of different things going on with them, one got old, and one mysteriously fell out of my arm, (we never could find what caused that) I came home with the central line in place on Sept. 12th and a home visiting nurse trained my oldest daughter to give me the antibiotics in my central line. I finished the course of antibiotics on Tues.
When I talked to the surgeon about how weak I still feel he said it may be another 2 months before I start feeling like my old self. I walk like a 90 year old woman with arthritis and I get tired so easy and shake a lot. He said that after being in the induced coma for so long it is going to take a while for my body to recover from the inactivity and that all of the pain killers they had me on some withdrawl is taking place causing the tremors in my hands and that that may intensify when I am trying to put on make-up etc. He had me on methadone to wean me off the pain killers and now I may be having some withdrawls from the methadone as well. He said the methadone is a long acting medication so I can't drive for at least another week. (I don't think I would have good enough reaction times to drive right now anyway)
Well that's my story. Sorry it turned out to be a novel instead of a quick reply. One good thing that has come from all of this is that I quit smoking and haven't had one since July 28th before my original surgery. Always try to look for the silver lining. Well I am going to go. I hope everyone is doing well and thanks again for all the prayers and good wishes.
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