Not Happening After all …

So I was scheduled to have my Lapband Removal/Gastric Sleeve/ Gallbladder removal surgery on Sept 29^th, but yesterday during the pre-op visit, it came to light that my surgeon, Dr. Fox, will be leaving for a month long vacation 2 days after my surgery! Given that he’s doing so much, he thought it unfair to leave and not be here should by chance I have any kind of complication. My logical side concurs, but I was so close to getting this done!!! I guess it was not meant to be….just yet.

So now I’ve been pushed back to November 2^nd. I guess I was more prepared for this than I gave myself credit for, because I feel disappointed, empty, and a little purposeless…much like a deflated balloon. Another 6 weeks to wait!!! *Sigh*. It was like hurry up and then brick wall. I’d made all these arrangements and had visions of a much smaller me on Thanksgiving… I'm staying on my pre-op diet...don't know what else to do. Perhaps I'll loose a lot more weight before the date and give myself a head-start

Brooding but trying to stay positive!

Ellie

Thank you so much ladies!

Finally home. Surgery was this past Thursday. 3 hour surgery, 2 night and 3 day stay in hospital. Band removed, hiatal hernia repair (I did not know I needed it), Gallbladder removal and ofciurse Sleeve. Very rough first day. But I took a Licken and kept on Ticken! Will write more about experience, when better rested. Hard to write on phone. Peace and love

Congrats!! So glad to hear you are doing so well my friend. Just 11 more days until my band to sleeve revision.

@@Fatty McFatster

Good luck!

@@Fatty McFatster

Good luck!

thank you so much!!!

To My dear Bariatric Pals!

I wanted to thank you all for your support during my jitters in the weeks leading up to the OR. Indeed, it was probably one of the most nerve wracking things I’ve ever done! As I close in on a week post opp tomorrow, I have refrained from posting too much about the experience because I think I needed a little bit of time, first of all to recover enough to be lucid enough to write coherently, but also because I needed to regain some of my emotional footing, as I let the enormity, irriversability and life changing capacity that this surgery has afforded me sink in.

I will post several things on how I prepared emotionally for the surgery and also the things I found helpful on surgery day to help those who are close to the date and need support to make it through, at a latter date. But in this post I wanted to update you all on how I’m doing in a synopsis.

First off…my surgery started at approximately 10:30am and lasted almost 3 hours, because along with the Sleeve, Band removal and Gallbladder removal, they found a hiatal hernia to repare (in short, I got the Blue plate special). Anasthesia was my biggest concern. Coming out of it took a long time…I was in pain and naucious but communicating with my caretakers gave them a chance to stabilize me such that by evening I was somewhat coherent.

At first, I was really tight…even taking down an ice-chip was hard. And ofcourse there was the bloated gas to contend with. Knowing this I was armed with my on Gas Ex strips, forget the baby Simithicone they were giving me, but most importantly, as SOON as I could semi wobble, I started walking the hallways…my 2 hour cycles ran like this…Sleep, take pain meds, sip liquid, pee, and walk those hallways as much as I could, and very soon, the gas problem was mitigated. Leaving the worse problem my banged up throat (from intubation) which was so raw and bad he surgeon took a pic of it to show the anesthesiologist! It felt like a layer of skin has literally been sloughed off, and so red and raw. And when I swallow…some skin seems loose like I’m swallowing my throat…yeah…bad).

After a nasty Barium swallow on day two I was clearned for liquids and the watered down Apple juice from an ounce cup felt like heaven!

I was release at the end of day 3. Back home I continued to walk. My fitbit registereing 6k steps all week and today I did 10k steps. Now these are veeeery slow put persistent and steady steps throughout the day, and after pain meds, and the only reason I can do this is because in the months leading up, I got a fitbit and worked my way up to about 12k steps, so I highly recommend you start walking now.

I finally was cleared from Clear Liquids to cream Soups today…wooo hooo. First few days I was not as hungry, but now, be it head hunger or what…mama wants some sustainance! And broth ain’t cutting it! The cream of mushroom was devine!

I’m weaning off of Hydrocodine and moving to liquid gel Aleve.

Upon my return home, gained Water weight coming back home from the IV as expected. My stomach feels distended and droopy as expected. And I have 6 incisions to nurse.

The more I drank, the more I started to shed the IV Fluid weight. So keeping hydrated remains key. And now I’m lower than pre-op weight.

I also found a book online. Emotional First Aid Kit Bariatric Surgery Patients to help hone some couping strategies for when I’m back in a world of doenuts.

And that’s where I am folks! Just learning how to live in this Brave new world I’ve been born into. Much like a toddler, taking baby steps, learning what I can and can’t do. It’s still just a week, so I’m looking forward to more healing and the rewards which we all so freverantly seek.

I hope my account is helpful to you.

Sending you peace and love,

Ellie123

Wow thanks for that posting this is day 4 for me the first 2 days were the worst and the pain is easing up trying to get all these liquids in is tough and all this swelling hoping to walk more later today thanks for sharing hope all goes well

Wow! You did have the blue plate special. Slow and steady wins the race. Take care of yourself.

Sounds like your well on your way to a new you! Did your doc approve alleve? I was told no NSAIDs ever as they can cause ulcer in new stomach.