Had surgery on 9/17

[GayleSBennett 0]

Its been 4 days since my surgery. I did not have surgery through Doctor Aceves. I'm sure he or she is completely competent.

I'm here because this is the most comprehensive board I have been able to find and I believe in its information and support. (My little disclaimer)

I had my surgery through the Military (I am a military wife). I had the sleeve done through laproscopy and I've only had a little miscomfort with moving too quickly.

The first full day after surgery I was just in the bed with a morphine drip. I would hit the button every few hours. The doctors, nurses, and aids, would come in and check on me.. give me anti-clot medicine, and anti-nauseaus medicine. I got the worst headache from the morphine that did not go away until I stopped using the drip. I slept most of the day. Your mouth will be so dry and I was given a cup of Water with a sponge on a stick to moisten my mouth. If you don't get one, ask. It was a lifesaver. hard to breathe when you're mouth is dry as paper.

The second day after surgery i was asked to get up and walk around. I was still hooked to the morphine drip for half of the day so walking around with IVs was difficult. But the doctors asked that I get up and walk around as soon as possible (and as much as possible) to make sure I wouldnt get blood clots. I was able to walk on the second day. The morphine drip came out and I was switched to an oxycodone (liquid form) and then was given a liquid diet to drink. Ask for ice chips in a cup. They are wonderful.. one at a time in the mouth is good. Don't drink cold liquid tho.. (even in your little sips) it was uncomfortable and made me burp. the beef and chicken broth (made from hot water and powder broth) was nice and warm going down. You cant drink too much. Only a little medicine cup every 20 minutes or so.. you dont want to upset the belly and have it stretch out.

The third day (which originally was my day to go home) was more of walking around.. less pain so I didnt use the oxycodone as much. Only at night to sleep. The most uncomfortable was the bed so I wasn't able to fully relax. The doctor came in and said he would like to be the one to discharge me so he asked that I stay an additional night. I said fine. The benefit of this was during surgery a drain was inserted by my ribs to the extra fluids.. if I stayed the extra night and didn't have much drainage they would remove it prior to leaving the hospital. Having a drain for 10 days until post op appointment was not going to be my favorite thing.

The fourth day I had to give blood again. My electrolytes have been out of whack so they wanted to check again. By now I've been poked so much in my left hand the veins just quit. so they took what blood they could. Husband had to get my meds filled. Oxycodone liquid, tylenol liquid, prilosec, and the a stool softener. The nurses removed my IV hookups and I was able to leave. At home I was able to shower and it was wonderful.

A few things about the medicine. Prilosec. Open the capsule and put into a medicine cup. It has little beads. Put the beads in your mouth and then follow it with water. don't mix the two.. the beads will stay at the bottom of the cup. The stool softner is horrible. The doctor said to open it with a needle and put it in food. I tried and threw up immediately. i understand we need the stool softner because the oxycodone makes us constipated but that is not happening. I will be asking if there's a chewable form for kids or if I can use a Fiber powder instead.

Had to give blood every day in the morning for my electrolyte issue. Blood pressure, temp, and oxygen was twice a day. Anti-nausaus medicine was two or three times, which was the same as the anti-clot medicine.

Bring with you (if you're staying the night in the hospital) the following.. it will surely make your life easier:

1) Eyemask

2) Ear plugs or Ipod/Mp3 player with headphones to knock out noise

3) Your favorite pillow

4) A stuff toy to hold on to if you're like me who gets the willies when they take lots of blood

5) Slippers.

I had also brought magazines, a dvd player/computer, but i didnt read anything. I did watch a little football on Sunday when it was the third day.. but you sleep most of the time.

Before the surgery buy the following:

1) Multi-vitamins (chewable) i made the error of buying pill form which will have to be smashed. Centrum with Iron and Calcium Caltrate

2) Gauze with tape for any bandages you have

3) Jello, juice, popscicles, broth,tea (decaf and sugar free)

this will help you for the first few days. Now that I'm almost done with the liquid clear diet.. I'm now moving on to full liquid diet. So tomorrow I need to go to store.

to help you so you don't have to go to store like I do tomorrow also buy:

1) 1% milk

2) Slim fast

3) Carnation Breakfast

4) Light or non-fat yogurt

5) sugar free pudding

6) sugar free cocoa

7) Soups (Cream)

Hope this helps someone. Thanks for letting me post.

Gayle

[GayleSBennett 0]

Also a few more things that I remembered this morning:

You will need to make sure you're breathing properly, so I was given an Airlite plastic machine to take deep breaths in to. This is to ensure you do not get pnemounia. You'll breathe into it 10x an hour. Its pretty simple and takes only a few minutes to complete the task. I didn't realize its value until after the lady next to me developed pnemounia and had to be taken to another ward.

You will also cough up alot of brown phlem <sp> because of the tube they put down in your throat to help you breathe. It was scary at first and really disgusting but it only lasted two days and now you can breathe so much easier.

First day of surgery they will fill your stomach up with C02 gas to be able to move around your organs and complete the surgery. Sometimes the gas becomes trapped when you're sewn up. I didn't have the pain, but my friend did. So she walked alot and took GasX strips and eventually the pain went away. She said it was real heavy on her chest and shoulders.

Whatever food (juice boxes, broth, or jello) you don't eat in the hospital, take it home with you.

And if you start passing gas.. that is excellent. means your stomach woke up and you're on the road to recovery.

[Tiffykins 672]

What a great post ! ! ! Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm a military wife as well, and had my VSG revision at a MTF.

Best wishes in your recovery, and congrats on getting your sleeve ! ! ! Hopefully, you don't have to keep breaking pills up for too much longer. I'm so glad I didn't have to do that with my Prilosec, and I was able to skip the stool softener as well.

[thinoneday 445]

Gayle! Welcome and what a great post as Tiffy mentioned. . .yes please continue to write and post things. . any questions you have and such, know that we're all here for you. . we might not know all the answers but together we'll getter done! You're doing fantastic, it's definately an interesting journey but you're not alone!

[wannalise 15]

Welcome aboard. First of all, no need to give a disclaimer on who your surgeon was, I am glad to hear you had a great experience. It seems we all find the place that works best for us, and I'm glad that was the case for you.

There really is a wealth of information here and a lot of people ready to answer your questions and support you along the way. Keep on posting!

Anna

[Wanna be a little mama 0]

Wow Gayle. Thank you so much. With my surgery right around the corner--16 days , I am full of questions and worries. That is such good information. Hope you are doing well. Keep us posted.

[Christabel 0]

Thanks for all the great information! I like to hear from different people about their experiences and suggestions as far as how it felt, what to bring, etc.

Welcome to the board!

[FatJuicyMouse 1]

Wow! I had my surgery on the 17th, too, and my experience was so different! I went to a surgical center as an outpatient to have my surgery (here in the states). I let everyone I talked to there know I was super nauseated after my last surgery so they were prepared and I never had to deal with it. I was more afraid of that than any pain. When I first came to after surgery the nurses were there and asked how I was doing. I said kinda pukey and it hurts a little. Boom, IV drugs wiped that out! When I was aware enough to do what they asked me to do, I got up out of bed and walked to a recliner and settled in to have a drink. Some time later (no idea how long since those meds mess with my sense of time), my husband showed up and he and the nurse got me dressed for my walk down the hall. "Look straight ahead and pick up your feet!" Yes, ma'am.

We packed up my things and went "home" to the hotel across the street. I had my hubby wheel me up from the parking lot to the room because I had no idea what my stamina would be. I took my liquid hydrocodone and sat for a while - trying to get down the Protein Drinks and Water without going my usual chug chug chug. Then I walked the halls of the hotel (about 400 feet), sat back down for a while and then went to bed.

When we got up in the morning bright and early because I was thirsty, I forced hubby downstairs to eat breakfast and I took my laps around the corridor, dodging the snooty little girls volleyball team from San Jose. When my husband got back from breakfast, we tried watching TV but quickly got bored so we decided to go out. We were in Vegas, and, since we don't gamble, drink, smoke or chase loose women, we went shopping. Took more meds, more laps and went to bed. The next day we went to Red Rock National Conservation area and drove around looking to see what we could find in the area. I came back and took a three hour nap after that!!:laugh0:

I had my meds and my little pillow so I could do my deep breathing and coughing while I was out, had Protein drinks at the ready and ALWAYS had a water bottle in my hands.

On Monday, after my surgeon's release, we drove 11 hours and I slept in my own bed and on my side for the first time! Still recovering from that!

Everyone seems to have such different requirements after their surgery, it's a wonder we all reach the same place!

[Eureka-C 20]

I love the detail filled posts. For me, the more I know, the less I worry. When I was pregnant, I watched every pregnancy show on TLC and read bunches of books, scanned the internet like crazy. I am like that now with this surgery. By the time I get the surgery, it will be as long as a pregnancy. I am birthing my extra stomach. :laugh0: