3 wks out NAUSEA, VOMITING, HEARTBURN and EXTREME PAIN under skin at the largest...

I have been sick as a dog since the day before Christmas. I called my Surgeon's office and spoke to the incompetent office staff. Was told I could come in on Thursday to see the nurse because my doctor is out until the second week in January. After explaining the seriousness of my situation and the fact I can't wait that long. Plus what is a nurse going to do for me. She cant perform any test to tell me what's going on. Was told she would call the nurse who is on duty at another hospital and have her call me.Of course I haven't heard back from them yet. What do you think I should do? Go to any hospital's ER or go to one my doctor at least practices out of excluding the one I had my surgery at which was horrible. Please advise.

What's going on...you don't say how you are sick.  Fever, vomiting, diarrhea...what??  Can't eat or drink.??  There are some very bad strains of a stomach bug going around out there and not a whole lot you can do about it but let it run it's course...but if you are in danger of dehydration you better go to the ER.  You need to say what you have going on though or no one can respond to help you.

My adult son is in the hospital due to a horrendous stomach virus and his having become dangerously dehydrated with this virus. He starting with being extremely nauseated, then vomiting and having painful heartburn. He has not had WLS. He simply has the same symptoms you are reporting. In addition, he had an awful headache and was having trouble even standing at one point. 

Are you aware of this 'superbug virus' hitting your area?

How many times did your son go online to ask about his symptoms - or did he just get up and go to the hospital, realising that he was sick enough to do so?

The OP is the one that needs to decide HOW sick she is - none of us should be diagnosing on the internet!   We don't know enough to do so and it's a dangerous practice!

 

Not diagnosing, just offering some ideas of 'horses, not zebras' when hoof beats are heard. I think often people look just at WLS based possibilities instead of having that larger, umbrella view when things are awry. THAT is a dangerous practice, IMO. We were whole human beings before having our innards rerouted and need to remember that.

I guess more importantly, I don't want the OP to be ignoring what could be a dangerous situation with the rapid onset of severe dehydration and not thinking of other non-WLS possibilities. And as for my son, I am not aware of a single question or search he did on the internet as he was taken by ambulance when his roommate found him unconscious and unresponsive in a pool of his own vomit on the floor of his bedroom. This is a VERY dangerous virus that is going around and ha**** many parts of the country. It is important that people be very aware of it, the ER doctor said that people are coming in and seemingly unaware of this aggressive superbug. 

It also could be a flu virus, a bacterial infection, a stricture, an ulcer, or a myriad of different things related or unrelated to WLS!    How would we know?

You may well have given her another thing to think about - it doesn't change the fact that SHE needs to determine how she feels and where she should go to get the help she thinks she needs ... and to ask on here is pointless because we are not here, and nor should we be, to diagnose her or tell her what to do!  

I hope that the reason she has not posted again, is because she got off the internet and went in search of help!

 

I was in Texas last week and there is a flu epidemic.  At least six people have died in Houston including one teenage girl.  Texas hospitals will prescribe anti-virals right now even if your tests do not come back positive. 

If you are experiencing flu, then get to an ER and get help.  If you did not get your flu shot yet, please get one.

And this has helped the cause? first off? We ALL hope SHE has made the best decision for HERSELF. She is an adult and  we are not there , nor are  we willing to give medical advise, I am pretty sure she knows she needs  to be seen by someone, ER or DR , her choice..It is just so hard to see newbies giving so much advise when it is  not all accurate . I would hope that there is not one soul on these forums that would play with their health and would seek medical attention  when truly needed. The flu is horrible out there, we all had it here in my home along with 3 grandkids, we stayed the course by sipping and got through it, thank the Dr for calling out RX  for us ASAP, , thank god i have a GREAT  PCP.

This is an Internet forum where it is extremely difficult to interpret the tone of a post.  "Rudeness" is often only in the reader's interpretation, especially when you are new and don't know anything about the various people posting. Everyone is here to help, but we cannot know what the original poster considers extreme pain (some people have very high pain tolerance and some have very low tolerance), so have no way to know whether she really needs an ER or just a visit to a doctor.  

Our pouches are not made of Waterford crystal and not every digestive upset after  a RNY requires an ER visit, yet that often seems to be the go-to suggestion here since no one here is qualified to tell someone when they need an ER and when they just need to see their PCP or surgeon. Unfortunately, every time someone goes to the ER only to get sent home with no treatment other than some fluids and maybe some anti-nausea meds (which their physician or surgeon could have called in over the phone), it reinforces the "go to the ER" mentality.  Unnecessary ER visits jack up insurance premiums for everyone and clog ERs making it difficult for people with true medical emergencies to get the care they need.

Lora