SamKing

I wanted to tell you about when I woke up from surgery.. I thought I was going to die for about 24 hours.
I had a nausea patch behind my ear. I touched it and touched my eyes (do not recall when. how or why) but this caused my pupils to dilate for about 4 days. I couldnt read close up and everything was a tad blurry.
I was VERY nauseous and needed my pain medicine, just in the hospital, as soon as I was allowed to have it.. every 4 hours I think.
Because the IV was wide open, I had to PEE literally every hour. My doc wanted me moving as soon as possible, so I did not have a catheter . . so every hour... on the dot.. even through out the night, I had to yell for my husband to unhook my legs from the massager thing, my IV from the wall, and help me to the toilet.
THANK GOD for the On-Q pain pump! (ASK FOR THIS at your last pre op appointment with your doctor.. you will need it). The on-q pain pump is kind of like a small hose with holes in it (very small) that goes under your skin during surgery and releases a little bit of numbing medicine for about 3-5 days (mine lasted 5). This is the only way I made it to the bathroom or was even able to move. Once it was time for it to come out, I was really sore and could only imagine what pain i would have been in if I didnt have that thing.
The nurse had me swallow some pill that was ground into powder with a little bit of water. . 2 minutes later my friend stopped by to visit me.. i was gagging to throw up as I was talking to her, so do yourself a favor and save visits for family who are ok seeing you look like death and won't bother you. you really just need to concentrate on walking, breathing normal, swallowing water, and resting! I was really glad after that my mom had my friends wait a couple of days. By day 3 I took a shower, got my nappy hair into a pony tail, and had a splash of make up on.
I got really annoyed with people asking me how much weight I had lost... I mean.. come on.. this started day 2.. I was not up to stepping on a scale because I knew I was pumped full of fluids and swollen and it was pointless. . dont weigh yourself until your first doctors visit.
I think that is everything I wish I knew or had heard to kind of prepare myself! Good luck!

Hey there. My nutritionist wasn't too concerned with hair loss for the sleeve, mainly the bypass procedure.
My regret is I wish I would have tried more protein drinks and been more familiar with how much liquid I need to drink. I passed out from only drinking a small amount of fluid after day 3 because I felt full when I took a sip. I didn't know that the water and drink would flow right through and that I should be drinking all day long.
In terms of trying protein drinks, I just bought one kind of powder and didnt care for it after surgery. it seemed way too sweet. I have since tried several different powders and Isopure drink flavors and have been able to mix up my "protein meals".
I am very glad I had the sleeve, but this feeling of appreciation is new. I am about 4.5 weeks out from surgery and within the past week (after getting off of the liquid phase) I am finally losing weight (8 pounds in about 10 days). Do not be too hard on yourself when in the first 3 weeks you arent losing anything. Once you start incorporating the mushy foods and regular meals, you will see a difference!
Good luck!