Sleeved this morning!

[nikkisue 6]

Sleeved yesterday morning. My procedure was outpatient, so I went in at 715 and came home about 2. Spent most of the day sleeping off anesthesia, but had little pain. Doc fixed a hiatal hernia I had and took a sample of some fat that was on my liver. Pain is a bit worse today, any moving if my trunk is rough. I haven't had much gas pain luckily. Oddly though, I feel pretty great and can't believe I had surgery yesterday. I've some strange stomach rumblings, not sure if it's gas or just that it doesn't like some of the things I'm putting in it (Popsicles and PB2 Greek yogurt smoothie).

[kd5wzr 108]

Update: feverish tonight. I think it's just a normal post op reaction since it's low grade, and I probably didn't walk enough. My pain meds knocked me out pretty good this afternoon, so I was sleeping when I probably should have been walking. Pain has been really mild tho, overall, especially now that the hiccups are gone.

[sdvorak88 10]

Glad its going well. And keep walking its a miracle worker!

[kd5wzr 108]

Surgery day + 2: my fever finally broke around noon, so I've been feeling pretty good today. I walked around the backyard for awhile and got a couple Protein shakes down. My doc includes thinned hot cereals and cream of mushroom in the full liquids stage (as long as they're not chunky), so I'm going to give those a try tomorrow. I'm starting to regain my interest in food, but it's different than before surgery. Sorta hard to explain... like I want to eat, and whatever my parents are eating does smell good, but I don't feel compelled to stuff my face, and a simple Protein shake is satisfying.

I won't lie, tho: I'm looking forward to having a scrambled egg with some refried Beans in a week or so.

[nursejenny07 401]

Congratulations! It gets better! The first two days were the hardest, and by day 4 or 5 I was feeling great!! Keep up the great work!

[marilynsasha 6]

OMG I totally know what you mean about the wanting to eat. I'm not really hungry but I just want to chew. Can't wait until next week when I can chew on some eggs maybe some hummus.

I was sleeved on the 11th as well. Finally home, I practically had to escape lol.

Been walking around a lot and it does help. Even went to walk in Target. Took pain meds at like 7am, 6pm and gonna take once more to sleep.

Gas is definitely moving, the more I walk, still feel a lil swollen though.

My family thinks I'm overdoing it but shouldn't I be moving?

Yay us!

[Bobby46 327]

I was sleeved on the 11th as well. Came home the next day around 5pm. No pain meds at all since 6am yesterday and that was regular strength liquid Tylenol. I am having gas pains that have settled in my neck and shoulders but a heating pad really helps with that. Still not able to finish a whole shake. Not really worried. I get a little more in each day. I walk around the house every hour or so.....not going outside without a bra hahaha! But I circle the livingroom, kitchen and the bedrooms a lot. I will wear a permanent imprint in the carpet if I cant get a bra on soon! All is well. Feeling better everyday. Take it easy guys, no need to rush things. One day at a time. Good luck, All!

[marfar7 1,528]

I'm impressed u could post already. I couldn't even see the letters on my keyboard till 2 days after, they doped me up so much. And I'm so grateful for that!

Good luck with ur receovery!

[kd5wzr 108]

Surgery day +3: I finally slept all night for the first time since surgery. The night in the hospital sucked because the nurses had to wake me up every couple hours to check my vitals, so I got very little sleep. The next night at home I tried sleeping on the couch because I was worried about trying to get in and out of bed, and that wasn't much better than the night in the hospital. But last night I decided "screw it" and went to bed, and I slept like a freakin' rock. I was actually more sore when I woke up this morning I think because my body finally had a good opportunity to start healing itself. Despite that, I felt so much better having gotten some rest.

Otherwise, today has been uneventful. I didn't walk as much today because my energy levels have been pretty low. But, I did finally eat some real food: thinned cream of wheat for lunch with pureed cream of chicken Soup for dinner plus a couple Premier Protein shakes as Snacks. Also, cherry sugar-free popsicles are absolutely magical after a few walking laps around the pool in the Texas heat. I spent most of the rest of the day just watching tv with my parents and doing fantasy football mock drafts. Could be worse. haha.

Also, @@marfar7 , funny you mention that. There seems to be a wide range of approaches to recovery by individual surgeons. I know mine used a robot for the actual surgery, and I've read that doing so reduces recovery time. I'm on pain meds only as needed (a couple times a day right now). I wonder if that had something to do with it.

Edited August 15, 2014 by kd5wzr

[Tamlyn 107]

Congratulations! I'm glad you're home from the hospital and feeling better. I lived on Popsicles for the first week I was home. Made me very grumpy, but my stomach did heal quickly.

[Linvega 1]

Congratulations! It gets better! The first two days were the hardest, and by day 4 or 5 I was feeling great!! Keep up the great work!

I had my sleeve yesterday I'm home today. I'm feeling sore and trying to figure out the best way to sleep. They gave me the wrap that goes around your stomach. Any suggestions?

[kd5wzr 108]

So, Post Op Day 5. The Cream of Things stage continues. I've become a big fan of pureed or strained cream of chicken. I'm still experimenting with cream of wheat; my pre-op cream of wheat recipe was bascially three parts cream of wheat, one part margarine, and one part sugar. lol. I tried a small dab of whipped butter and a pinch of sugar in my cream of wheat yesterday, and it was gross. I think I'll stick with just plain cream of wheat, though now that I think about it, a pinch of cinnamon might be good.

Today I'm adding thinned Campbell's broccoli and cheese Soup. The label looked like it didn't have any big chunks in it, but if it does, I'll strain them out.

My big problem right now continues to be energy levels. I don't feel particularly weak, but even the lightest activity leaves me a sweaty, exhausted mess for about 15-30 minutes, and then I'm fine. Otherwise, all my fluids and full-liquid foods are going down well, and my hunger level is more of a "I should probably do something about that eventually" feeling than the pre-op "OMG I'm going to die if I don't eat all the things immediately." I think I like that.

Pro-tip: if you can afford it, schedule a house cleaner for the first weekend post surgery. Mine is here cleaning the kitchen right now, and it's the best idea I've had in years. haha.

@@Linvega - I slept on my back until last night. I discovered that at this point I can sleep on my left side but not my right. Small victories. haha.

PS to mods: I hadn't intended this to be a running blog, so if you think it's more appropriate to move this thread to another forum, it won't hurt my feelings.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Glad to hear you're recovering so well.

I will (resentfully) mention that my surgeon has his post-op patients on Clear liquids for two weeks after surgery. Then there are two more weeks of a broader span of liquids, including the nice Soups you're now enjoying.

But there are no creamy Soups or bits of broccoli (or bits of anything else) on my menu for a while.

Enjoy!

[dreamgirl45 32]

Kd5wzr,

For your cream of wheat, maybe a drop of agave sweetener or honey. i noticed the agave near the honey in a local Walmart in my town. That combined with the cinnamon might be tasty.

[kd5wzr 108]

@@VSGAnn2014 - yeah, there's a huge range on post-op diets, though I'm not really sure why. My surgeon seemed to take the approach that it was better to be back on normal foods--albeit in smaller portions and with healthier ingredients--as soon as physically possible. I can start soft foods mashable with a fork, like scrambled eggs and refried Beans, on Tuesday, just 8 days post-op. I suppose we'll see if that works, but so far, so good.

@@dreamgirl45 - now you're talkin'. Either of those probably will be tasty, and now I have a mission for tomorrow morning!

Edited August 16, 2014 by kd5wzr