You would think so...

Hi all! I was sleeved on 9/4. I have had horrible nausea and dry heaves ever since. Mostly after trying to "eat" something or being up on my feet - like after a walk. I am on meds for it. All the docs said its normal. But its painful and kind of scary. Can't I pull stitches if I heave too much? Anyone else have this? How long did it take to go away? Any words of wisdom or encouragement are appreciated! Shelley

I'm on the 4th too. Our stories are similar! I'm also in school - getting a Master's. This semester is my last semester of internship and then I will be done. No more working for free for me - lol! I was thinking of putting off surgery until after internship was done, but decided to bite the bullet and just take a couple weeks off. I'm hoping I'll get a job offer from the company I'm working for, and I don't want to take the time off then. Maybe we should start a group or a topic for those of us having surgery on 9/4. We should have a fun name! Star Wars comes to mind...

I've seen some other on the forums suggest drinking things out of a cup with a lid, so that you don't get as much smell. That seems to work for me. Testing for a leak sounds like a great idea if they haven't already. My surgeon described the symptoms of a leak just as you are. It would be worth getting checked out. I'm still pre-op so I don't have much advice to offer. I wanted to offer you some (((((Melissa))))) and let you know I'll be thinking of and praying for you. Keep us updated!

I was able to do my sleep study at home. They sent me home with a little device to sleep hooked up to (which really just amounted to one of those things on your finger to measure your heart rate and nasal cannula). I just had to return it asap. If the test wasn't giving them the information they needed, then I would have had to do a sleep study at the clinic. I would ask the pulmonologist (or whoever is in charge of the sleep study) if they have the take home version. Or if there are other options. Good luck!

I was able to do my sleep study at home. They gave me a little machine, slightly bigger than a cell phone, that straps around your chest. It has one finger clippy thing (for measuring heart rate - forget what it's called at the moment), and a breathing tube thingy that wraps around your head and tucks into your nose (the thing they give you oxygen through in a hospital). Easy peasy. The worst thing about it was that I had to wear pajamas to bed that night LOL! I'm sorry, I can't remember what the unit was called. If you need to do it again, ask if they have the take home unit.

I had to have surgery last fall for kidney stones, and gave up caffeine in all forms at that point. I think I had a withdrawal headache for a couple days. For whatever reason, hot packs on the head seemed to help... weird, but true.

A lump in the back of the throat (actually, more at the base of the neck) is one of my reflux symptoms, but it doesn't happen every day, it tends to happen in waves.

I would like to have a really good scale in the house before surgery. The one we have now has a lower max weight than I currently weigh. What brand/ model/ type (whatever) of scale do you have, and do you like it?

I don't expect to have any tubes with this surgery. Last fall I had two kidney surgeries a week apart, and had a drain in my back during that week. Didn't really feel it for the most part, but I did have to be careful about how I slept and moved. The only time it bothered me was when they had to move it (I was still in the hospital) because it was placed too far in, and they didn't numb the area at all. IMHO, the catheter was much worse.