Just over two weeks ago I was having a lot of pain in my stomach area. I couldn't keep any food or liquid down. It started on Saturday night after I got done teaching a class. I just couldn't keep anything down and started feeling uncomfortable. The next morning, I thought I could "gut it out." (no pun intended.)
I went to work thinking that things would get better, but it actually got worse. I left work to go home, I was sure that my band was blocked. On the drive home, I called my doctor, and he met me at his office to remove the fluid from my band.
When he did the xrays, he noticed that it looked like my band had possibly slipped, but even after all the fluid was removed my stoma (whole which food travels thru) was very restricted. He told me to stick with liquids for a few days to see if it got better. Well, the next morning I felt worse, and couldn't get anything through still. The pain in my abdomen was worse. I called the doctors nurse and let her know what was going on.
She called me later in the morning to tell me that the doctor was ready to admit me to unbuckle my band, but I wasn't ready for that as I do not want to regain my weight. I've come too far with my weight loss to want to give it up now.
After a couple more hours of worsening pain, no fluids making it through, and my urine getting much darker, I knew I needed to do something. I knew I was getting severely dehydrated, and it wasn't getting any better. I called the nurse again and told her what was going on. The doctor told me that I should go to the hospital to be admitted for IV fluids.
Once in the hospital, the staff told me that I was scheduled for surgery the next morning to have my lap band unbuckled. The thought of having the band unbuckled was a little saddening for me. Not going to lie.
The next morning my doctor did the surgery to unbuckle my Lap Band, and while inside, found my gallbladder severely inflamed and decided that removal of that was the best course of action. Once I woke up, and was able to eat and drink I began feeling much better.
Yesterday I had my follow-up with my doctor. We talked about getting the Lap Band reconnected in a few months and about the gallbladder. Since I have done some research on the Gastric Sleeve procedure, I asked if that could be possible. He said that it is possible, but it might be a fight with the insurance company, but he is willing to try and get it worked out. We will have to see what the future holds on this.
