Hi all,my name is Jim and I am 42 years old.I had my ORIGINAL gastric bypass surgery on May 24 2005.One week later i was transported to the hospital via ambulance with a temp of 104.8,after a long night in the E R and spending the whole next day having numerous tests and exams the doc finally decided to take me to the O R for exploratory surgery at 7 pm on June1.When i awoke the next morning i was shocked to find the surgical incision was left open and i had numerous drains protruding from my abdomen and an NG tube in my nose.when the surgeon made rounds he told me that i had a leak that he was able to locate,HOWEVER it was too sloughy to try to repair so he left it go and said it would heal in a week or 10 days.I was not allowed anything to eat or drink,for the first 4 days i was on TPN,a form of nourishment that is provided through an IV,My IV was a central line that was on the right side of my neck.On the 5th day a drain in my stomach was converted into a PEG tube,meaning i was now getting all my nutrition through my feeding tube,as a nurse i was quite familiar with feeding tubes and this made it all the more difficult for me to deal with.after 3 weeks in the hospital i was discharged to home with my open wound,my tube feeding and my suicidal thoughts.I was only home for 2 days when I once again spiked a fever and i was back in the hospital with an abcessed wound.The wound was debrided and i was on IV antibiotics, This stay was nealy a month.i continued to recieve tube feedings for 5 1/2 months when i was referred to a surgeon who was trained in placing stents in patients who had leaks following gastric bypass,this seemed to be where i turned the corner so to speak.One week following stent placement i was allowed my first food or drink by mouth,chicken broth never tasted soooo good.11 months following my bypass I was having some abdominal discomfort,my doc told me the pain was in my head,and i should seek some counseling (MY DOCTOR WAS A TOTAL JERK TO ME FROM DAY ONE,AT ONE POINT HE TOLD ME I WOULDN'T BE SICK IF I WASN'T SO FAT...THIS FROM A MAN WHO HAS BECOME A MILLIONAIRE THANKS TO OBESE PEOPLE) My wife insisted on an upper G I and he reluctantly agreed.When the results of the test were back they showed to ulcers,one that had actually eroded my staple line making it like i had never had the bypass,so i had to have the whole procedure done over,my wife fired my surgeon and we now had the chief of surgery taking over.My second bypass was done on april 4 2006,this time i had zero complications.I had my penniculectomy and thighplasty done on july 23 2007 and i am doing fine i had 6 drains when i came home and i now have 1 remaining in my right leg.I continue to wear an abdominal binder and ace wraps from ankle to groin on both legs,when i see my plastic surgeon on August 22 , i should hopefully be done with all my surgeries.Through all of this i have spent in excess of 10 weeks in the hospital,and had over 15 surgical procedures that required general anesthesia.My wife of 18 years never left my side through this whole ordeal,she slept at my side in the hospital,she was my private nurse responsible for my wound care,my tube feedings and trying to raise my spirits when i had no hope, and as always she was and is my best friend
.I guess i should say something positive about all my experiences,I have lost 235 pounds and gone from size 64 pants to now wearing size 36-38,and I can buy clothes anywhere i want,not just in the big and tall stores.thanks for taking the time to read my story,I look forward to being a part of this group
JIM