Hello beautiful people!
My VSG was on Friday, July 9 at 11:00 AM. It lasted a little bit over an hour. I woke up in the recovery room and the pain was intense, but they were able to take care of it right away. It felt like someone was sitting on my belly for a moment... ? They gave me ice chips there, because my mouth was dry. Back to my room, I was up and walking two hours later. The pain was only around the big incision (by my belly button). They brought me a liquid diet trey with goodies (pic) about 2.5 after I was in my room. I didn’t have sore throat or nausea. I was surprised how well I was doing. No gas pain at all. I was up and walking every hour or so. Only issue I had was with urinating as my bladder was “not listening” to me, but they said that’s due to anesthesia and that improved over the time. I slept on my back first night and was interrupted by nurses’ visits to check my vitals. Pain level was about 3 the entire time. Never felt any pain inside, it was mostly when sitting/getting up and moving, around the big incision (1 in). Other 4 incisions are about 1/3 in. All of them are glued and there are no stitches to be taken out. I was released the following day around 4 pm. On the way home, we picked up the prescriptions that were given to me at the hospital. I know, every surgeon gives different meds, but this is what I got.
1. Liquid Children’s Tylenol every 8 hours for 14 days
2. MethocarbamoL, muscle relaxant, 4 times a day for 14 days
3. GasEx every 6 hours for 30 days
4. Miralax daily for 30 days
5. Omeprazole (GARD) daily for 180 days
6. Lovenox shots (blood clotting) for 14 days
My follow up with the surgeon is in one week and some new meds (gallbladder stones) and vitamins will be added.
Altogether, I was surprised how well I was doing in the hospital pain wise. I’m adjusting at home and every day is a little bit better. I’m able to sleep on my left side (Dr said it’s OK). My main goal is to stay hydrated, as I can have only 3-4 oz of liquid every hour.
Hope everyone is recovering nicely. And good luck to others with surgeries later in June!