almost40ish

I had my surgery on Tuesday, and now that I am 2 days post-op I finally feel like my head is clear enough to share the details of my surgery day.
I arrived at the hospital at 9:00am, as I was told to arrive 2 hours before my scheduled surgery time. After I registered, they called me back to be prepped almost immediately. I had to get undresses, and I had to wash my tummy with a Hibicleanse solution for 4 minutes. They started my IV and brought my husband back to see me. I talked with the anesthesiologist , and several other people, including my surgeon. After I talked to everyone I needed to, they gave me a Lovenox shot, antibiotics and Versed, and rolled me back to the OR. The last thing that I remember is them strapping my arms to the operating table. I also remember that I was starving since I was on all Clear liquids to on Monday.
I woke up in recovery feeling very groggy, and my mouth was as dry as the desert. My throat was sore from the intubation tube. I don't know how long I was there, but it seemed like they were rolling me into my room fairly quickly. I was not allowed to drink anything that entire night, but they did bring me some ice chips. These were the best ice chips I have ever had in my life!!! That's what it seemed like anyways. I was pretty in and out of it the rest of that night.
Now let's get to the point of pain when I woke up. I had a lot of gas pain up near both my right and left shoulder, but it was worse on the right side. My biggest incision, on my right side, is the one that did, and still now hurts the most. Even the muscle underneath it is extremely sore. The other incisions are not too bad. I can feel them, and I know that they are there, but they barely hurt at all. I also had a catheter in, which I didn't want, but I'm glad I had it because I was too sore to be getting up and down all night to go to the bathroom. I was up and walking within 2 hours of getting in to my room. I did one lap at first, then rested for a couple of hours and did 2 more laps. I have a history of blood clots, so I had compression socks on and a compression machine pulsing my legs all night when I was not up and walking. People woke me up all night long to take my vitals. Just as I would fall asleep again, they would wake me up again to do something else.
On Wednesday morning, around 5am, I was given another Lovenox injection, along with some pain meds and a dose of Levsin, as it felt like my stomach was spasming quite regularly. I was also allowed to take pills by mouth, as long as they were not to big to choke on. By 6am, they removed my catheter, which I really didn't even feel at all. I then proceeded to walk 5 laps, then came back to my room to rest. 5 laps was all I could really do at that point. A few hours later, i got more pain meds, and was up and walking again. This time I did 7 laps. I still had quite a bit of pain, but it was now being completely controlled by the liquid Hycet, which am able to take at home. I was supposed to drink 40oz of liquids on Wednesday, and I had gotten through 20oz within about 4 hours. I finished the other 20 by 10pm.
I knew from my EGD that my surgeon would be fixing a hiatal hernia, and they told me once they got in there, they saw that it was significantly bigger than they originally thought it was, so I actually ended up being in surgery for 3.5 hours due to that. I do feel some discomfort from that, but again, my worst pain is the big incision where they removed the stomach from. Actually, it is not really the incisions that hurt, it is really the muscle underneath that is giving me the most pain.
Overall, it was a pretty smooth experience. I expected the pain because of all of the research I have been doing prior to the surgery, so even though it hurts, it was right around what I expected, so at least I can say I was expecting it. I have 5 incisions, and I am attaching a picture so that you can see what they look like. One is up near my breast bone, so you won't see that one in the picture.
If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. I am sure that I am leaving out a lot of details.

What pain killer lasts for 3 days? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

100% self pay here, too.
Was saving funds for a new car.......said screw it, dude......you need a new YOU more than you need a new ride.
I have zero regrets about cutting that check for my sleeve. Best damn money I've ever spent in my life.

The person I dated after I lost 170 pounds couldn't have cared less. He didn't know I had lost weight at that point. I was self-conscious and worried, but as with the hair, we're so much harder and judgmental of ourselves than others are. I explained, and it was never a big deal except in my own mind. It's not worth worrying about it enough not to lose the weight. Your health is more important than the fear of the unknown that ultimately may not be a big deal.
Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App