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

MrsOptimistic

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MrsOptimistic    38

MrsOptimistic
Posted

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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haleytrim    244

haleytrim
Posted

Wonderful and encouraging!

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melshot    7

melshot
Posted

Thank you for posting this! This was so helpful.

And thanks for the tip about the gas. I'm not looking forward to that but it's nice to know about it before hand.

Good luck!!! You are on your way. :)

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Mrs. Reid    392

Mrs. Reid
Posted

Congrats!!!! I've heard about the gas problems before and I am trying to be prepared for it.

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Jen0127    2

Jen0127
Posted

Thanks for the tip to bring something to wear under your gown!

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Dragonfly1111    61

Dragonfly1111
Posted

I had mine done at Des Peres too. Dr. Minkin was my surgeon. How do you feel about the nurses and assistants that were staffed in the evening? Congrats! You're on your way :)

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Cecilia2    5

Cecilia2
Posted

Thank you for sharing! My surgery is on Friday and I can hardly wait to kick off this new journey!

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MrsOptimistic    38

MrsOptimistic
Posted

@@Dragonfly1111

I had no issues with the staff. I just wish I would have known that the dumpster was right outside my window. The trash truck was super loud.

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Dragonfly1111    61

Dragonfly1111
Posted

@@Dragonfly1111

I had no issues with the staff. I just wish I would have known that the dumpster was right outside my window. The trash truck was super loud.

I'm happy to hear you had no issues. They weren't very attentive.... Seemed like they were understaffed while I was there. But I never heard the trash truck. ;-)

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MrsRMC    9

MrsRMC
Posted

Congratulations on taking the first step. I appreciate all of the info as I am getting ready for my surgery as well in November... need all the information I can get. Good luck!

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Go To Topic Listing PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

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    • KeeWee

      KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Aunty Mamo

      Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.

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