I had my sleeve surgery yesterday...here's what to expect!

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September 27, 201411 yr

YAY! I had my surgery yesterday. It occurred at Des Peres Hospital in Des Peres, ( St. Louis) MO. I know everyone will have different experiences based on where they have the surgery, but here's what I experienced:

10 AM REGISTRATION: Registered (even though I pre-registered the day before on the phone) and made a payment on my portion after insurance
10:45 PRE-SURGERY PREP: The nurse took my vitals, reviewed my medical history, took urine, and had me change into a gown.
11:30 HOLDING: I laid in a bed in an area called "pre-surgery". It was kinda awkward because there were 7 other people in the room waiting for various surgeries. Some were staring at each other. You could here all of their machines beeping. Some were moaning. I asked for magazines to avoid getting nervous. The anesthesiologist came and asked me a bunch of questions and explained the process to me. Then Dr. Minkin showed up and answered any final questions I had.
1:30 SURGERY: I was wheeled into the OR. I was given some medicine via IV and was out cold within seconds.
3:00 RECOVERY: This was the worst experience ever. I woke up and though I was having a heart attack. (I must state that I was not aware that they put gas in your stomach to make room for the surgery.) The gas was all up in my chest and I truly thought I was dying. My throat was so dry that I was begging for someone to help me. They finally gave me some wet gauze to suck on.:
4:30 ARRIVAL IN ROOM: I arrived in my room ( all rooms at Des Peres are private). My nurses got me all set up, took my vitals, and gave me pain meds, nausea meds, and pepcid. They also hooked my legs up in some cuffs that would help with circulation and prevent blood clots.
NIGHT TIME: It's impossible to sleep. Nurses and techs are in your room all night checking on you.
MORNING: I went for my swallow test where they give you shots of dye and take X-rays to make sure there are no leaks.
11:00 food: My lunch arrived. It consisted of a bombpop, broth, crystal light lemonade, Jello, and an Optifast shake. I took it very slow and ate the lunch over 2 hours. I took very small sips.
1:30 ROUNDS: Dr. Minkin made his rounds and told me everything went great with surgery. He answered any more questions I had and gave me verbal post-op instructions. He then released me.
3:00 DISCHARGE: The nurse came by with my discharge paperwork and instructions.

TIPS:

Walk as much as you can. That's the only way to get rid of the gas. It's almost impossible to fart (odd, I know) so I mainly burped a lot. The gas is no joke!
Don't forget to take something to wear under your gown the next day (sweats/undies) to make you more comfortable while cruising the halls.
I gained a couple of pounds while in the hospital. I think it was from all the fluids being pumped into me.

Overall, I had a GREAT EXPERIENCE! I am so proud of myself for taking this step to improve my health and life. I am also so proud of all of you for making this choice too!

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