We made it to San Diego and did a little shopping today. Actually found some protein bullets and some isopure at a Nutrition store. Old Town is really nice. We ate at the Rockin' Baha. The only place to eat when you are on a protein diet. A bucket of shrimp, lobster, chicken and steak! lol Each day closer I get a little more nervous. I find myself saying "What the heck are you doin' girl?" Then I remind myself it's for my own good and I calm down. Still very nervous about the whole anesthetic recovery room deal. I am more worried about that than complications. Glad to have hubby here with me. More later. Going to get to bed for the big day of tests tomorrow.

Wendy

Ugh Spinal Block? So they do not just take you under with the IV in your hand? Getting nervous now!

No Angie, it is the bomb.com! They give you an ativan, then they IV you, then when you are so far under that you don't care about anything anymore they do the spinal block. It made it so I had NO pain those first two days. My memory of the spinal block is one of those kind of memories that is foggy and you only have glimpses of it, the way people describe being abducted by aliens (hehehehe) only in the end you end up thin with a cute butt!

Thank you! Well I have had two spinal blocks with the two c-sections I had, was not a good experience at all!

So I get another ativan on the morning of surgery? I also hate IVs so you see where I am going with this???

Thanks so much for the reassurance, promise my nerves will get worse BEFORE it gets better!

Be really direct with his staff about the things that make you anxious. The spinal block is optional but I did some reading on it and it really is a great thing for overweight folks. It allows them to use less anasthetic which is stored in the body's fat and makes your recovery happen more smoothly. I promise his staff has dealt with every imaginable situation. I have seizures and they had to get creative about how to medicate me because I was endlessly nauseated and could not hold anything down. Another lady who was there with me had nearly unmanagable diabetes and they found ways to make her comfortable and safe as well. Just be incredibly direct about your needs and desires. Advocate hard for yourself and you will be happy!

So the spinal block is optional? I have had many surgeries and have a high tolerance for pain, only time i had the block was for C-sections so that i could be awake of course. The ONLY issues I have ever had with surgery is when they wake me from surgery, I get nauseous. They usually give me phenergan which works great but knocks me back out for a couple more hours.

I ended up on loads of phenegran too. It works well, but I learned after the fact that it is a known anxiety causer (I mentioned it in another post but accidentally called it reglan) I also hate that it seems to "burn" my veins. Not unique to this experience, but I my one vein still feels bruised a month out. But yup totally optional. Talk w/ them in depth about it and they can better explain it obviously then you can make a great informed decision.

congrats!!! don't worry everything will be just fine, you are in the best hands.....plus you're so lucky to have your husband at your side. enjoy your new journey to weight loss!!! please keep us posted. Godbless:thumbup1:

i hope all is going well! the first few days will be but a mere glimpse when you're a couple weeks out! good luck!

I got really worried when I read about the spinal block. That would be a deal breaker for me because I have scoliosis (curved spine) so I'm not letting anyone poke around in there! I'm sure they know what they are doing but since it's optional I think I'm going to have to opt out. I hate that I will miss out on something that will help my recovery though. Thanks for the info wannalise!

No Angie, it is the bomb.com! They give you an ativan, then they IV you, then when you are so far under that you don't care about anything anymore they do the spinal block. It made it so I had NO pain those first two days. My memory of the spinal block is one of those kind of memories that is foggy and you only have glimpses of it, the way people describe being abducted by aliens (hehehehe) only in the end you end up thin with a cute butt!

You made me lol :001_smile:

So the spinal block is optional? I have had many surgeries and have a high tolerance for pain, only time i had the block was for C-sections so that i could be awake of course. The ONLY issues I have ever had with surgery is when they wake me from surgery, I get nauseous. They usually give me phenergan which works great but knocks me back out for a couple more hours.

yikes!! I would have opted out on the spinal block also! really don't want any part of those post-op headaches. I had an epidural once for my hysterectomy and that was just fine. The recent lumbar injection could have been with or without sedation but I opted for not knowing the 8" needle was digging around in my back.

Good evening everyone! I talked with Nina about a spinal block and she did say that it was done after you are sedated and that it is done to help in recovery. She said that doing so helps patients get up and get moving much sooner and it decreases complications (I assume from patients getting up and moving!). I have had two spinal blocks for birthin' my babies and although I hate needles, they were ok. So I figure if I am alseep, I really do not care AND if it helps recovery I am all for that.

I will definitely talk with the professionals once I get there the day before surgery but right now I am leaning towards having it done.

Hope you're feeling fine by now Wendy!

Well it's so hard to believe I go home tomorrow! All the things I was worried about seem so far away now. lol I cannot believe how easy this has been so far. A little pain but nothing that has not been manageable. I cannot however crush my pills and swallow them. It makes me gag so bad! I might just have to not take them for a while. I have an appointment Monday for my PCP so I will chat with him about it. I even hate those darn sublingual pills you have to put under your tongue. They gag me. Oh well. Better days ahead. In those size 14 jeans! :thumbup:

You can try putting the crushed up pills into some sort of liquid like crystal lite. I started taking all my small pills at 2 weeks post op.

I'm glad you're home an on the road to recovery and weightloss!

I am glad it was easy for you an everything went well!