Well I did it. Yesterday they did the gastric sleeve operation at 7:30am.

When I arrived for checking they did some paperwork that allowed the hospital to bill my insurance, then they took me back to pre-op. In pre-op they had me strip down and put on a gown. I didn't have any valuables with me but that is when they would have taken them and put them in the safe. A gentleman came in and started the IV. Another nurse came in and was asking me about what I had to eat and drink prior to the surgery date. Then I met the nurses that would be assisting the surgeon. They gave me a shot of blood thinner to protect from blood clots. I met the anesthesia person, he asked about if I'd ever been under or if any family members had issues with anesthesia. The surgeon came in and asked if I had any questions before we got started.

They then wheeled me off to the operating room. In the OR there were several people work on getting everything ready, they hooked up to my IV, set up the heart monitor. Then anesthesia gave me something to relax. He then came over with a mask that covered my mom and nose and said he was going to give me some oxygen. Next thing I remember is waking up in recovery.

For me this was the worst part, not feeling good coming out of the anesthesia and being in pain. There was one nurse to every two people. Unfortunately the other person that my nurse was watching was being combative so he the attention of a lot of staff members. Once things started to clear up for me a bit they adjusted my pain medication to something a bit stronger. After about an hour of being awake in recovery they wheeled me off to my room.

On the way up to my room we stopped and got my family from the waiting room and they followed me up. I was pretty out of it from all the drugs they had been giving me. So I don't remember much about the day of surgery once I made it up to my room. It was mostly keeping me comfortable. They got me to the room around noon, and had me take a short walk at about 6pm. I was able to urinate for them so no need for a catheter. Yay!!! They gave me some more pain medicine and let me rest. Throughout the night someone came in about every two hours to check on me and my vitals and checking my blood sugar.

The next morning they came in and gave me another shot of blood thinner, I had been sipping Water this entire time. I got up and went for a couple walks around the floor. Had to prove I could still urinate. Then the surgeon came in and talked about the surgery and answered more questions. He gave the okay for me to be released.

I've made it home. Still in a bit of pain from one of the incisions but not the others. So far no real issues with nausea or vomiting. I feel this was the right decision for me and am excited to start this new chapter in my life. So far I'm doing good, as far as the pain, it sucks but I know each day it will get better and better. Just focusing on getting in my water and walking as much as I can.

I'm just now laying down for the night, sure will be nice to sleep in my own bed.

What a crazy night of dreams... Dreamed that I ate three slices of pizza and tore open my sleeve. Then that I caught a couple rodents and this guy was cooking them up. That was disgusting. There were others but I just can't remember them off the top of my head. Woke up about a half dozen times last night with weird dreams most of them involved food in some way.

My first post and wanted to say thanks. Having never had surgery I've been really stressing my upcoming date of 09/29. I know the benefits of going through with it are going to far outweigh the few days of discomfort. One thing I'm worried about and intend to ask the Dr during my class coming up is about a catheter. Did you have one at all? I'd rather leave that part of me alone.

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Congratulations to You All ! Thank You for all the information I see my surgeon on the 14 and I'm hoping for a surgery date soon . You are all inspiring ✌️☀️

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My first post and wanted to say thanks. Having never had surgery I've been really stressing my upcoming date of 09/29. I know the benefits of going through with it are going to far outweigh the few days of discomfort. One thing I'm worried about and intend to ask the Dr during my class coming up is about a catheter. Did you have one at all? I'd rather leave that part of me alone.

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I did not have a catheter. At one point they came into my room saying it had been at least 12 hours since I last urinated and they were saying if it didn't happen soon they would be giving me one. I went, so no catheter for me. I watched one YouTube video where the gentleman said they gave him one once he was under and removed it before he woke up.

Day 6, got a full 64+oz of liquids in today. That included an Isopure drink that was 40g of Protein. I had another quarter cup of tomato Soup. My wife wanted to go to some antique stores so we went and strolled around a few of them. Got in quite a bit of walking. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it has been, at one point today I had gone almost 9 hours without pain meds, but my dog put an end to that. He's been pretty bummed that I wouldn't let him lay on me while I was in my recliner. So he decided to just jump up there. Landed right on the large incision. Good thing he's just a Chihuahua but still hurt like a bugger, gave in and took some pain medicine. No leakage or anything from the wound so all seems to be well. Just hurt quite a bit there for a while. Blood pressure and blood sugar are still not being treated with medication and are both well within the normal range. I'm really happy to be off of some of the pills and am excited to come off the rest.

Today was the first time I got a little depressed and was questioning what I had done to myself. After a quick pep talk from my wife and a review of my lists, I was good to go. Come to think of it I don't think I've shared my lists with you guys. Basically I have a list of the pros/cons or having the surgery and a list of things I want to accomplish that losing the weight will allow me to do. I keep them with me and it's a good motivator when I'm down. Anywho, here's to tomorrow being as good or better than today

Congratulations and Thank you for sharing your surgery details mine is on 9/28.

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If I was to describe my surgery experience I would say it was a very positive experience. I arrived and had a very sweet nurse to help me , then the anesthesiologist asked me questions , they gave me the blood thinner shots , and my nurse stayed with me until my doctor came in and asked me if I was ready? Let's do it? I said ok and I remember waking up in my room. Open my eyes and there was no pain :-) the nurse said to me. Every time you wake up push this bottom to release the meds for pain. So I was pain free. Went home on day 3 with very little uncomfortable feeling on my belly. Very Excellente experience I have had and I am sure it has to do witht Doctor and its team. All of them are very caring.

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Day 7, the pain was a bit better, coughing still hurt but not nearly as bad as it had been. Getting into and out of bed wasn't too bad either. My wife had a horseback riding lesson so I went along and walked around the barn and arena with her. Got in all of my liquids yesterday but was still shy of my Protein goals by about 40g. The Isopure drinks are starting to get a little easier to stomach. Still taking it slow and trying to let my body heal.

I had a 1/4 cup of tomato soup again. Since my medications have to be crushed I put them in some sugar free pudding. Still awful but tolerable. I haven't had Jello since before my surgery, decided to give some a try. Went down fine and I was able to stomach it alright. Problem with jello was I ate a little too much too fast and ended up in pain. It subsided within 20 minutes or so. Now I know I can't eat any more than half of the cup of jello.

Blood thinner shots still suck. No way around that though. I'm certainly ready to start the purée stage. Hopefully on the 14th. We'll see what doc says. Until then, liquids and Protein Drinks.

Last night I only took half of a dose of pain medicine and I slept through the entire night. That's progress!

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May I ask why you're doing the blood thinner shots. I have a clotting disorder, and was told I would be doing the shots for a few weeks after the surgery.

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Thanks for these posts! I was sleeved on 9/7-Wednesday. So it's super helpful to know our experiences are similar.

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Day 6, got a full 64+oz of liquids in today. That included an Isopure drink that was 40g of Protein. I had another quarter cup of tomato soup. My wife wanted to go to some antique stores so we went and strolled around a few of them. Got in quite a bit of walking. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it has been, at one point today I had gone almost 9 hours without pain meds, but my dog put an end to that. He's been pretty bummed that I wouldn't let him lay on me while I was in my recliner. So he decided to just jump up there. Landed right on the large incision. Good thing he's just a Chihuahua but still hurt like a bugger, gave in and took some pain medicine. No leakage or anything from the wound so all seems to be well. Just hurt quite a bit there for a while. Blood pressure and blood sugar are still not being treated with medication and are both well within the normal range. I'm really happy to be off of some of the pills and am excited to come off the rest.

Today was the first time I got a little depressed and was questioning what I had done to myself. After a quick pep talk from my wife and a review of my lists, I was good to go. Come to think of it I don't think I've shared my lists with you guys. Basically I have a list of the pros/cons or having the surgery and a list of things I want to accomplish that losing the weight will allow me to do. I keep them with me and it's a good motivator when I'm down. Anywho, here's to tomorrow being as good or better than today

I have started a list of things I want to do/ will be able to do after losing weight and feeling better...I never thought of carrying it with me for when I need a lift...I will b doing that now. I am still getting my pre reqs done and meet with the surgeon again on OCT 4th.

Thank you for sharing your journey!! Cant wait to see how well this works for you!!!

Day 8, I woke up feeling pretty good, which is surprising because I didn't take pain medicine last night. Got a shower and got dressed, with limited help from my wife. Had my medications crushed up and put into some sugar free pudding. Ate about half the serving of pudding. We then went out and took care of some errands. Since I hadn't taken any pain medicine I decided to drive. Stopped at the state surplus store, then an army surplus store, Bass Pro, and finally a grocery store. By the time we made it home I was pretty tired and a little sore. So I took half a dose of my medicine and relaxed the rest of the evening. Got in an easy 64+oz of liquid and 40g of Protein. Tomorrow I'm shooting for 80g of protein. Hopefully that will help a bit with my energy.

Finally today I started to feel human again. I was sore but not in a lot of pain. Looking forward to what tomorrow holds. May even make it to church service.

I forgot to mention, my watch slid down my arm today and rotated. Had to cinch it up a notch! Seems silly but it was a big deal to me.

Edited September 11, 20169 yr by #BirdDog

Thank you for sharing all this... It sounds like you are doing great.

And kudos to you and your wife. It sounds like you married a great woman.

Good luck going forward - I'm eager to follow how you are doing.

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Day 9, not much of a day, I was feeling a little depressed. Nothing in particular, just feeling a little down. Went out to the sporting goods store, then took my wife to the grocery store for some things she forgot yesterday. Came home and did a lot of reading and relaxing with my puppy. Still not feeling 100% as bedtime rolled around, we were doing the ritual of getting my blood thinner shot, blood pressure, blood sugar, and incentive spirometer. Blood sugar came up just a point low at 79. May have had something to do with feeling a little off today. Having a little bit of a sugary drink and turning in for the night. No pain today, just mild discomfort if I moved a certain way. Tried some strained cream of chicken soup, didn't set well with my system. Kept it down but will be waiting a while before I try that again.

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Thank you for sharing all this... It sounds like you are doing great.

And kudos to you and your wife. It sounds like you married a great woman.

Good luck going forward - I'm eager to follow how you are doing.

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Thank you very much! My wife is an extraordinarily great person. She has been very supportive throughout this entire process and I don't know that I could have done it without her.

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