I am home!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

I'm glad to be home.. Surgery went great. NO leaks. Last test made me very icky and sick, but am better. Weak but that is to be expected. Trying to get in my liquids but not getting enough just yet. It will get better. Ice Chips seem to be the ticket for me.. I had a whole bucket of them Friday night and felt much better Saturday. The trip home was exhausting.. Left the hospital at 7 am and arrived at my home after midnight. Finally slept.

Taking it easy today and sipping water and broth for the most part.. I'm going to try a SF popsicle in a few minutes.. Can't hold much at a time

Met a lot of new friends and can't wait to get to know them better.

I'm going to post some pictures later this week. Just dont' feel up to it just yet.. I"m going to rest as much as I can today.

One question though, The incision where they pulled my stomach out is red and puffy, is that normal? it wasn't like that until this morning. .I'm thinking it was from my long trip and the drain being taken out.

I was told to wash with antibacterial soap over the tape.. how long before the tape can come off and I can just keep neosporin on them.

The insicion doesn't hurt. jsut looks red and swollen. It is about a three inch diameter of red and puffy..

I also want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I were greatly appreciated.

I'm not hungry but I'm shooting my hubby.. he just came home with a sack of candy.. I do not want it and I know I can't... but I really don't want to have to look at it either..

I've not had any vomitting and the nausea is getting better.

But i'm soooo tired. Guess that will pass soon. I can't wait for my scales to start moving down. I've gained a few pounds this week but I think it is from the swelling and the IV fluids.

I LOVED the drs' and staff at the hospital and I'm so happy that I chose to go there.. I couldn't have made a better choice.

I will post again later when I feel a bit less dizzy.

hugz!

Penny~

PS: Jazmine, if you read this.. HOW are you doing?? any trouble crossing the border? and has you scaled moved down any?

My neice and I both kept commenting on how beautiful you were and how sweet and soft spoken. You are the best!

So glad you made it home Penny. That had to be an exhausting trip. As for the incision where the drain tube was, I was told to take the gauze off when I showered, use anti-bacterial soap on it and all the other incisions (over the tape) and after showering, pat the area dry and reapply some gauze. I was told to do that for 14 days; however, the incision closed up long before then. I think I actually kept it covered for about 7 days -- the tapes took awhile to fall off -- I would pat them dry with a towel and then take a blowdryer on cool/low and blow them until they were dry before I got dressed. Some drainage and redness at the site where the drain was located is normal for a few days so I wouldn't be too overly concerned. I was told NOT to put anything on the incision such as neosporin ... just be sure to wash it well with the anitbacterial soap.

You will be tired for a while and the dizzyness (which I felt more like fogginess) will dissipate over time as you are able to get in more liquids/protein.

Sounds like you're doing awesome -- keep us posted!

Penny, VA pretty much covered it. I was also told not to put anything on the incisions.

Glad to hear you are home and starting the recovery process. It will get better as each day passes. Take care.

Penny, glad that you made it home safely. You are doing the right thing by resting today. Hope you feel better soon. Judy

VA is right, the incision usually heals nicely on its own and it remains open and drains for about 10 to 14 days, however, with that being said...If the area remains red and swollen and gets worse or does not improve, see your PCP or call Dr Aceves. It is

ALWAYS good to keep your doctor informed early on with any possible complications.

Glad you're home and on the mend.

Hope you're doing okay on the post op diet.

Thanks ya'll.

I'm trying to get my liquids in. Yesterday I did pretty good but today I just didn't get in as much as I should have. I only had about 40 ounces today. I am going to get a shaker or blender and fix me protein drinks tomorrow.

Water was going down good, but not I am struggling to drink it.

i don't like the isopure, but I make myself drink little bits of it during the day. Chicken broth is alright and I don't have much trouble with it.

The only things that are saving me right now are Ice Chips and SF Popsicles. I've had 3 cups of ice chips and 3 popsicles today. I"m thinking of having another before bed, even though they say to stop 3 hours before bed.

I really do not want to get dehydrated.

I really really want to eat something and I'm not going to, but man when my guys are eating I just want to take it away from them.

I am just going to have to get them to eat in the dining room instead of trying eat in front of the tv while I'm on liquids. It is not easy as you all know, but I know it will get better everyday and I'm so looking forward to full liquids and then to the "mooshies". I read my papers everyday on what I can have and when. I'm marking the days off on my calendar. I'm so excited that I can have yogurt in a few days.. I can hardly wait. Yogurt is going to be my saving grace with the unflavored protein.

My family are so wonderful and helpful to me right now and they didn't realize how difficult it was for me until today when I just broke down and told them I couldn't handle it..

I'm just muddling through one day at a time and with God's grace I'll make it through with enough liquids in me each day.

I appreciate all of the kind words, encouragement, and prayers that I know I receive from the people here, and for that I am forever grateful to all of you.

Just been a rough day here for me and thanks for letting me ramble.

Hugz,

Penny

Penny,

So glad to hear from you. It sounds like you are doing great with your liquids.

Your family sounds very supportive and that is going to help out alot. It is ok to be a little emotional right now. You just had a serious operation plus giving up a good friend (food). So you just go ahead and have a good cry and get it out of your system if you want. Then you will feel better and be ready to start again. We are here for you. Hugs, Judy

Penny, I agree with Judy, this is a very emotional time. I think we go through a sense of mourning our old friend, food. But, it sounds like you understand what you need to do and are doing quite well with everything. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Penny, I'm on mushies - just one more day until solid food - and I'll say this: the hardest days were the earliest. After a while, the food just didn't seem appealing. In the beginning of the clears, EVERYTHING smelled sooo good. But then I adjusted and really didn't care about the food. You've been through a surgery and emotions are bound to come up. Just remember - less than 30 days and you'll be back on normal food. You can do anything for 30 days.

xo

I am happily marking each day off on my calendar in bright red! I can't wait for the mushies. I'll do them for as long as I have to, I just want WATERMELON... YUMMMMM

seriously though, I'm going to follow directions from my physician because I do not want to have any complications that I could have prevented by eating correctly.

I'll happily and joyfully celebrate when my 30 days or up though..

Hugz

It's good though that you're getting your

liquids down.

Are you on full liquids yet? Fulls are so much

easier than clears. there are a lot of good

Soups out there and you can have sf fudgsicles too.

Penny! I'm so glad you are home and recovering well. So good to hear from you

Hi Penny!

I just saw your post and just wanted to say thank you for the kind comments, you made me blush! I loved meeting you, you're such a sweetheart. And I look forward to knowing you for a very long time!